Before making any purchase you need to ask yourself these fundamental questions:
1 - What is my website for? (E.g Advertising? Selling? Entertainment? Information?)
2 - Do I have a marketing plan for my new website?
3 - Do I have all the appropriate graphics and text content?
4 - Will I have a reliable point of contact for any future website issues?
5 - How much should I budget for my website?
The last point depends on the old analogy of 'how long is a piece of string'. Depending on what you would like your website to do relies on the budget you have in place. A new 'brochure' website is just that. It contains only basic interactivity (a navigation menu) which is a source of information online. They are usually best used to supplement offline advertising such as newpaper ads and business card distribution.
After you have figured out what you have for your new website, you need to take a bold leap and find out what you want that website of yours to do. Here's a generalised list of websites you may require (the lowest typically priced first):
1-Brochure Website
Is used primarily presentation and showing off, through galleries, advertising pages and basic contact forms.
2-Information Website
You will need a good hosting provider and a secure database for informational websites. These type of websites tend to have a lot of data behind the scenes which is usually searchable via some kind of search page. An example of this type of website is wikipedia.
3-User Login Website
Some websites have a login feature, so visitors can access further (locked) information. Sometimes this can be subscription based. This is also interchangable with...
4-E-commerce Website
This has a built in shopping cart, a store database of products, and a checkout facility where customers can make purchases. Only really suitable for website owners who have a lot of categories of products/services to sell.
5-Content Management based Website
Fits into most categories of new websites. Allows website owners to update information themselves, with minimal technical knowledge. Prices can vary depending on how complex the system needs to be
6-Community/Social Networking Website
Okay so this encompasses a large area, from facebook to twitter. Most of the content is dynamic and generated by the end user. By far the most expensive type of website.
This list is by no means exhaustive and websites can (and usually do) feature more than one of the types listed. Don't forget that websites are organic, so you don't need to put all your budget into it from the start. Get a one page website to start with, market it well and see where you go from there.
More information on what to have in your new website.
[ add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | related link |
( 2.9 / 28 )There is always a risk, obviously, when you publish something online that some undesirable might want to nick it. I came across a couple of handy resources that help find out if anyone is using your website text or images without your permission.
Copyscape - This does a reverse text search based on the content of a specified web page
Tineye - A very cool website which can recognise if an image is used on another website, even if the image has been altered!
Unfortunately there is no foolproof way to prevent people from stealing images from your website, they can just use the Prnt Scrn button which copies whatever is displayed on screen onto their clipboard. If you really need to copyright images the only real way to put people off stealing is to watermark your images, or put them in a password protected area which only your privileged users can access.
[ add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | related link |
( 2.9 / 49 )Flash is a very versatile plugin for internet browsers used to display a variety of media.
It is used for:
- Interactive Banner Advertising
- Animation
- Streaming Video (as used on youtube.com)
- games (as used on facebook.com)
- Offline presentations
- Website applications (mp3 players, photo galleries etc)
- Simple 3D animation
Websites can be built entirely in Flash. The only downside to Flash is that it's currently not very Search Engine Friendly. The best approach to using Flash is to use it to complement your web pages. If you really want a full Flash website, provide a text alternative. Not only will this keep your website performing well in search engines, but will also be accessible for visitors who need screen readers to navigate websites.
You can usually tell if something is made in flash by right-clicking on an object you think is Flash in your browser. If the object is Flash, the dropdown menu should read 'About Flash Player(version)...' at the bottom. However this does not always work, depending on how the flash object has been placed onto the page.
It is estimated that around 97% of internet users already have Flash installed on their internet browser.
As I have mentioned, Flash is used on some well known websites (youtube). If you don't have Flash installed, the browser will normally tell you and the download size is very small. Flash has also spread (like the internet) to mobile formats including the Ipod.
Flash is great to add some extra 'juice' and interactivity to your website. However I'd think long and hard about building a full website based on the technology.
[ add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | related link |
( 3 / 76 )In the run up to Christmas I've had a few last minute jobs come in. I'm currently working with Lee from Bespoke Pools & Spas Preston who needs a new website. As part of his package, I'm helping him with his branding and logo. These are some of the final designs I came up with:
I evolved from being a Graphic Designer doing this type of work, but that was a long time ago, so my logo skills are a bit rusty! I tried to follow the best advice I learned from college about logo design.
-Keep it simple
-Keep it legible
-Make it easily transferrable (printable in black and white, smaller fonts etc)
And for you folk who are curious, Lee chose design number 2! Next phase for me is to create some web page layouts incorporating Lees new logo...
[ add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | related link |
( 3 / 75 )A Content Management System is simply a way for a website owner to update his pages via the internet. It involves some kind of admin area he can log into and make changes to existing pages, add pages etc.
Usually a CMS is build into a preset template page, meaning you will add pages based on that template. So in that sense its not a way to 'build websites' from the ground up.
There are certain requirements to setting up a CMS. In most (if not all) cases you will need a web host which uses PHP. To find this out, you can contact your webmaster or hosting provider. In many cases you'll also need a MySQL database. This holds all your information including administration login, your content for the pages etc. Again, ask your webmaster or hosting provider if this is available.
But do you really need a CMS?
Most Content Managed Systems are built on the basis of creating a website from scratch, customising an existing preset template. If you already have a website and want to implement a CMS system into it, you may need a custom CMS system built specifically for your website. You need to justify the reasons why you would need a content management system.
What are the alternatives?
Say you only need a CMS for certain pages. For example you need a Content Management System for your latest news. A better option would be to link to a blog with your latest updates and news, or use an online website such as twitter. This also can be beneficial to your online presence, as it spreads your business out more on the web.
If you need an updateble photo or video gallery, the most affordable option would be to:
-Open a youtube/flickr account
-Link your own webpage to an RSS feed of your youtube/flickr account
-Everytime you add or change your youtube/flickr account, the changes will automatically be reflected on your webpage.
What's an RSS feed? It's kind of a cheating (but ethical!) way to get fresh dynamic content on your website. Promise i'll explain it fully in a future post, as it's slightly off topic here!
CMS systems are best used for huge expansive websites that demand a lot of changes to different pages regularly. Examples would be Content Driven websites such as wikipedia, large community websites and company intranet resources. Content Managed System Admin areas avoid most technical knowledge requirements and so is ideal if you want to give your website updating job to your admin staff. In the past I worked in a few civil service roles which made use of huge Content Managed Systems for managing all their online content. Like I said CMS is extremely good for editing content, but there are other avenues to look into (such as the RSS feeds) before making a decision. Depending on your requirements, a custom CMS on your existing website might prove to be a much more expensive option.
So are you sure you're sure you want full CMS?
Places to start looking for CMS :
opensource CMS
This website has lots of demos of different available systems. Opensource means they are free to use. Some might be more difficult to set up than others.
A really little content management system
Just like what it describes, is very affordable and comes with minimal features for ease of use and quick set up
www.minicms.eu
A similar system to perch
XML Based CMS
Content Managed Systems which don't use MySQL. Not really recommended if you have heavy traffic updating your website all at once.
There are also other opensource options such as wordpress(mainly for blogs) and joomla, which are heavy duty Content Managed Systems. Some Technical knowhow preferred!
[ add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink | related link |
( 3 / 91 )Next
Avatar
