Need a website and some control?

These days I mainly create Content Management Systems aka CMS. These can be done in different platforms wordpress being my favourite. These are template designed websites with plugin features and controls. They are great because you don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for a developer to code your site for you from scratch. If you need something highly customised to very specific requirements then you would still need to. However if you are just needing something fairly standard and lets face it most people need very common functions from a website you may as well just get your functionality straight from the box.

I would either choose for your or assist you in choosing from the many templates available to get the functionality and basic design you need then the real work begins. You may ask what you need a designer for if the website comes more or less ready made with a template. Well first of all you still need someone who knows how to use it to put your content in for you and secondly even though many templates are very good they still need tweaking, refining, adjusting and jazzing to get them to a point where a) despite being based on a template your website won’t end up looking like everyone else’s and b) it will look professional!

All the usual identity factors that make a piece of collateral look like it represents your company will need to be applied, logos, fonts, colours, styles etc. Images are very important in sending the right messages and engaging people emotionally with your site. A bunch of mismatched clipart and fuzzy photos from the office party will not suffice to give the right image for your company and a shaky handheld shot against a grimey office carpet is not going to show off your product to it’s best advantage. It’s one thing to understand intellectually the concept that high quality imagery is mandatory on a site but it takes the discipline of a designer to set a standard and guard it like a bulldog. You can put whatever you like on your blog but don’t let Jo Blogs from Accounts near your home page design. There are considerations of eye flow and search engine optimisation and much more that really need a specialist approach.

The main thing to know is not to procrastinate. If you don’t have a website at all yet there really is no better time than the present to get started. Alternatively a spruce up of an existing site or just some fresh graphics can work wonders. Keeping things updated and current is one of the best things you can do for your website. I am also happy to help people set up a blog and get started with their social media.

To discuss a website or blog click here.

Or to check out what I’ve done for others click here.