Whether its starting from scratch with the design or taking a design created by a designer into a working web site. Technologies used including CSS, HTML, CSS and PHP.
Most of the web sites I work with nowadays use the software WordPress. WordPress is a very popular content management software which powers a large percentage of the web sites on the Internet. I have been using WordPress for many years and have built lots of sites using it.
Once your web site has been built and is live on the Internet, you will want to keep it updated with new content. WordPress makes it easy for anyone to do this.
Nowadays, its very important for a web site to “work” on a mobile device – whether its a smartphone or a tablet. You want visitors to have the best possible experience when navigating your web site and to find the information they want. It used to be web sites on mobile phones displayed and worked just like those on a computer but smaller but this is not the best option now. Also, by making your site responsive, this can improve you search engine ranking on the likes of Google.
As a web designer, I understand the importance of professional, easy to understand content on your web site. As well as being engaging for your audience, it is also something which is important for SEO Optimisation. Whether you need blog posts, product descriptions, company history or landing pages, we can help.
Staying secure on a web site is important. This is especially the case when purchasing something on an online shop or you have a web site with some sort of registration/login. You will probably be used to seeing padlock symbols on web sites such as Amazon, but its becoming more important now to keep everything as secure and private.
Google is pushing for more sites to have an SSL certificate. In fact, in Chrome, if a site does not have an SSL certificate and not on HTTPS, it actually says “Not Secure” in the address bar. This is similar to in the browser Safari where it also says Not Secure in the address bar. Also, having a site which has an SSL certificate can improve search engine ranking.
Its actually quite hard to find a web site nowadays which does not have an SSL certificate. So at the moment, its not essential but its recommended.
If you want an online shop, you have many different options. I have built a few online shops using different ways. One of the most popular options is to use an e-commerce platform such as Shopify. With Shopify, it is designed and built for the sole purpose of selling things. With Shopify, you usually purchase a theme – one which you are happy with how it looks etc – and then requires setting up. As well as adding products, you often need to setup different pages how you want it to look e.g. adding sliders for home page. I have been involved in setting up a few Shopify web sites.
An alternative to Shopify is using WooCommerce. This is a plugin/add-on for WordPress. So if you already have a web site which uses WordPress, WooCommerce can be used to add e-commerce functionality on to your web site. I have used WooCommerce on several different web sites. WooCommerce itself is installed on more than 4 million web sites.
If you already have a web site but need it updating, I can help with that. Whether its just a one-off update where you need help adding something or if you want regular maintenance on the site.
For example, if you have a WordPress web site, its important to keep everything up to date (the software). WordPress is a good piece of software which makes it popular – but this, like anything popular, means its more likely that certain people try to find exploits in WordPress and WordPress plugins. This is why its important that software is kept up to date to fix any bugs – as well as add features.
I regularly maintain several WordPress web sites and regularly check for updates – and if required update them. This sometimes requires backing up of the web site files and database if its a major update.
