Web Design

Automatic WordPress Updates – The Pitfalls

WordPress updates and website maintenanceHere’s a great example of why automating updates in WordPress is only smart for non-business websites. As I write this, one of the WP plugins published by Facebook just released an update with invalid code.

Not just a bug — code so wrong that it crashes sites. Code that wouldn’t have passed basic testing.

I’m sure “Facebook for WooCommerce” will be fixed promptly. However, over 900,000 online shops use it. If they were all running automatic updates, almost a million shops would be offline right now.

Other WordPress Update Problems

This comes on top of the GADWP fiasco earlier this year, too. In that, ExactMetrics changed the nature of their popular plugin without warning, through an “update”.

Version 6 of the “Google Analytics Dashboard for WP” plugin was “redesigned from the ground up”.… Read the rest “Automatic WordPress Updates – The Pitfalls”

Why Do Website Prices Vary So Much?

Small businesses often want simple, affordable web design packages. That’s fine, we can do that — but then some call professional web design “expensive” and “overcomplicated”. So why do website prices vary so much?

Because web design can mean several very different things.

Business websites serve a wide range of purposes. Some of those purposes are common, others less so. So there are at least three levels of web design to consider.

Affordable Web Design Packages

Common requirements can sometimes be standardised, and processes streamlined, to keep costs down. However, flexibility creates complexity, so in practice, “streamlining processes” always means “restricting choices”.

For some people, and some purposes, that makes little difference — and cash flow is often a bigger concern for small businesses.… Read the rest “Why Do Website Prices Vary So Much?”

Ten Common Website Design Mistakes

Web design is like cooking — it may look easy, but it’s easy to get wrong. No microwave can make you a chef. Similarly, DIY website builders let you make costly mistakes. So Base22 kindly provided this infographic of ten common website design mistakes, and I’ve added a few more points below.

Ten Common Website Design Mistakes

Whilst DIY web design often makes these mistakes, so do inexperienced web designers. That’s why experienced professional web design is a better business investment, even in affordable web design packages.

Poor User Experience

Whilst user experience is also affected by most of the points below, visual design plays a big part too. It’s not just a matter of making things look pretty, either.… Read the rest “Ten Common Website Design Mistakes”

Top 3 Tips for Small Business Website Growth

So you’ve launched your new small business website? Congratulations! Or maybe you’ve had one for a while — and are now wondering if it’s really working? Well, building your site was just the beginning. Now you need to focus on website growth.

Not sure where to start with that? Don’t worry, that’s quite common. So here are three vital things that many small businesses overlook.

1. Use Your Website Stats

Any usable business website generates a lot of stats on its visitors. If yours doesn’t, you’re flying blind. It usually takes weeks to collect enough data to start seeing meaningful trends though. So you need to fix this immediately.

Thankfully, most sites are easy to link to Google Analytics, Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.… Read the rest “Top 3 Tips for Small Business Website Growth”

Top 5 Website Project Risks (& How to Avoid Them)

Building a website can be a great investment for almost any business — and vital for most. Yet nothing is as simple as it seems. Every website project can be put at risk by common mistakes.

Knowing these basic web design project pitfalls helps you avoid them. Still, they’re common because they aren’t always obvious. So here’s a list of the top five website project risks.

1. Delaying Decisions

It’s easy to put off big decisions, telling ourselves we need to think them over. However, we then rarely get around to doing so.

We forget 70% of new information within a day — and opportunities don’t wait. “Let me think about it…” is the Dreamkiller Phrase — it rarely leads to anything but procrastination.… Read the rest “Top 5 Website Project Risks (& How to Avoid Them)”

Why Your Business Needs a Mobile Friendly Website

Almost 60% of internet searches are now performed on mobile devices. So, if you haven’t got a mobile friendly website, you are losing out on a lot of potential business.

That should be a pretty compelling reason to make sure your website is mobile friendly.

Even if your site isn’t mobile friendly, though, mobile devices will still try to display it. If you’re really lucky, it may even be almost-usable – with a lot of scrolling and zooming. Obviously, that’s not going to help you win many customers, but it’s not the only reason you’ll lose out on business if your site isn’t mobile friendly.

So, here are the other ways in which “responsive”, mobile friendly sites beat old-style desktop-focused sites for modern digital marketing.… Read the rest “Why Your Business Needs a Mobile Friendly Website”