So which things are key if you want to create a successful free website?

• Choose a good colour scheme that compliments your business or community and don’t choose colours that conflict with one another. Learn a bit on colour theory so you know what works with colours. To help you with choosing colours check out Colour Lovers. Another good one is Kuler. Try to stick with a clear colour scheme and don’t mix too many colours together (unless you are really confident with your colours). To read more on different methods for choosing the right colour scheme in web design read this article.
• Be sure to learn about SEO. There really is no point creating a website that no-one can see. A good place to learn about SEO is SEO book. Be sure to grab the free tool bar for Firefox. Or request a free SEO report at Escala Web Strategy and Design Singapore.
• Make sure you have fast loading images. Don’t just put a 2.5 mb image on your page and then resize it. It will takes ages to load. What you need to do is optimise your image for the web first. Luckily you don’t have to buy an image editor to do this as there a free options available. Check out the top 10 free image editors for Windows users or free editors for the mac.
• Create a good website structure and make your site easy to navigate. Here is a chapter of “don’t make me think“, a book by Steve Krug on web usability, that will get you started.
• Don’t use too many flickering graphics or sounds (unless you want to annoy people that is) and make sure that these graphics or sounds serve a purpose. It’s ok if you want to make your website interesting but sound and overpowering graphics will turn lots of people away.
• Create balance in your design. Don’t a lot of text on the left side and then nothing or big blocks of nothing in other parts. This is an interesting article on the principles of design and balance.

This should get you started. Please take it to heart and don’t put an ugly, ineffective website out there. Doing it yourself means you will have to put a lot of effort into it in order to create a professional looking website that will get the results you want.

Have anything more to add? Then please do so below.

There are many ways to create a website these days. I have done extensive research and I currently use only 2 software applications for all my websites: ProntaCMS and WordPress. Both have their pros and cons. I thought it would be helpful to highlight the similarities, pros and cons of the 2 options and who should be using what.

What is the main difference?

ProntaCMS is easier to use and comes with more inbuilt features and functionality. ProntaCMS is specifically built for business websites and a blog can be integrated into the website. It also gives a bit more flexibility when it comes to sidebars; on a prontaCMS website these can be different on each page. As it is a business owned solution it comes with a higher security level and dedicated support.

WordPress started as a bloggers application. Although it is increasingly used for business websites as a CMS it still focussed on the blogger. WordPress is therefore the best choice for a blogger or topic based website. If you don’t like the idea of hosted solution and would like to be in control of your own hosting, then WordPress is also the way to go. WordPress is an open source solution that can be easily extended and is supported by the larger number of online users. System security is the responsibility of the site owner.

Pronta CMS

ProntaCMS is an easy to use content management system that lets you easily create and edit websites. ProntaCMS can work with any design and has lots of incorporated features. Features like forms, image galleries, evites, and calendars are easy to use and integrate into the site.

Recommend for

I recommend ProntaCMS for small businesses that want to have an effective web presence and like to maintain their website themselves. ProntaCMS allows small businesses to have a high quality website at a low budget. When the business grows then your ProntaCMS website can grow with you. ProntaCMS is easy to use and you can edit your website directly in your page.

Pros

• Easy and quick setup (if you choose one of our templates as the base)
• Low setup cost
• Many features included like: slideshows, online forms, evites, calendars and others
• Integrated image editor where you can edit and manage images
• Flexibility with individual pages (side bar can be different on each page)
• In house hosting which makes your website very secure
• Full dedicated support

Cons

• ProntaCMS is a hosted solution so you can’t move the website to another host
• Although it has a lot of functionality built in it is harder to extend beyond that
• Higher ongoing hosting costs for a large site (although hourly maintenance costs will be lower as there will automatic updates and no security maintenance)

WordPress

WordPress is a publishing platform that is focussed on blogging. However, it is increasingly used as a content management system for businesses and organisations. WordPress comes in 2 flavours: .com and .org. The .com version allows you to setup a blog quickly online. You cannot use it with your own domain and customisation is limited. .org is the self-hosted WordPress version which allows you to customise your website as you please and install plugins that add extra functionality to WordPress.

Recommended for

I recommend WordPress for businesses that want to make their blog an important feature in their site and who don’t mind a bit of a learning curve. WordPress is also good for large sites that have lots of pages and categories and want to continuously extend their site.

Pros

• Free software that can be downloaded from the Internet
• Very popular so lots of help available on the Internet
• Nice interface that allow for easy website management
• Highly customisable
• Many free and premium themes available
• No extra costs when more pages are added

Cons

• Higher learning curve than Pronta
• Many features will have to be installed separately
• Higher maintenance costs as you will need to make sure that your WordPress installation is secure and runs on the latest software version
• Still more focussed on blogging

If you thinking about setting up a new website I will be happy to consult you on what is best for your business. Contact us to setup a web consultation.

Of course you do not have to start with an existing theme. We can also create a completely unique theme for you from scratch.

So why do I now recommend WordPress for the creation of a business website for certain customers?

1. WordPress is free Software

It sounds amazing and it is really. WordPress can be downloaded for free at WordPress.org. Of course it will take some time to install, customize a theme to your liking and install all the features you would like, but you don’t have to pay for any application development.

2. You can create a very sophisticated site

WordPress is packed with functionality. It works like a content management system, has search incorporated, has numerous supported plugins and can be customized to your specific design requirements.

3. Very nice user interface

It is a pleasure to work with the WordPress admin panel and create and update your site. WordPress is also constantly improving its software so it will stay up-to-date.

4. Easy to update your pages

WordPress works like a content management system. It is very easy to add new pages or edit content without having to worry that you will break the site or the design. All design elements are controlled by CSS so it is easy to keep your site consistent.

5. Multiple people can work on the site

You can create different user account with different access levels. This will make it easier to get anyone involved with the site and keep it current.

6. Lots of plugins available for extra functionality

There are a lot of free plugins available on the Internet that can be integrated into your site. Polls, forms, calenders, photo albums etc. are all easy to achieve.

7. Lots of support

As so many people and developers use WordPress now, there is a great amount of support available for any technical issues that may come up. So it will never be too difficult to find a solution for your request.

8. A wordpress site is very search engine friendly

WordPress is very search engine friendly. You can add tags to your posts and there are several plugins that allow you to add descriptive titles, descriptions and specific keywords for each page. You can also setup search engine friendly URLs and generate an xml site map for Google for easy spidering.

9. You can update you site anywhere in the world

You don’t need your own computer to update your website. All you need is a computer with Internet access and you are ready to go. There is even a free iphone application for quick updates.

10 WordPress is standard compliant

WordPress adheres to the latest web standards and is user friendly.

These are great reasons for using a wordpress powered website but what are the disadvantages of using WordPress?

1. Not as flexible as static pages

You are usually a bit more flexible in creating many different pages on static sites. Although this can also be achieved with a wordpress site it is more time consuming.

2. A wordpress site requires more maintenance

The backend constanly updates as does PHP. In order to stay current,  the software needs to updated on a frequent basis. You will also need to make frequent backups of your database and carry out testing. A wordpress is also more difficult to move to another server than a regular static site.

3. Security

As WordPress has become so popular, more hackers are targeting WordPress sites. This is why it is important to keep updating the software to plug security holes.

These are the pros and cons I communicate to my clients. If anybody wants to add to this list then please leave a comment below.

People may be surprised that I also promote templates on this website. Would that not cause less business for me? Well, in some cases yes, but let me first go into more detail on why I think templates can be helpful for businesses.

Good reasons to create a template based website

You know what you are geting as you can pick the design

Designing a website can be a lengthy process. I would first create a design based on your specifications. You would then have a look a this and possibly make adjustments. I would then turn this design into a website using the technology which is most suitable for your particular website.

However, if you find a website template that you already like you can cut the whole design phase from the project. You will already have a design that you like that may need some tweaking but is fundamentally correct. Have a look at some great clean and functional wordpress templates that I selected for an earlier article.

Functionality is already there minimizing programming costs

A lot of functionality is often already incorporated in the template. This is especially the case for WordPress themes. It really doesn’t make any sense to start from scratch building functionality that is already readily available in some templates. It can save you a lot of time in development cost. Of course it is important to select a good quality template otherwise it can have the reverse effect. To know what you have to look for, please check the article 20 things you need to know before selecting a WordPress theme.

Full customization can still give you a unique look

Many of the good quality templates can be customized to suit your needs. So creating a website with a template as the basis does not mean that your website will look the same as many others. All colours and images can usually be adjusted.

Quick

Sometimes you just want to have a website really quickly. For a special promotion or just because you can’t wait to get your idea online. Nothing speeds up website creation more than a template.

Things to take into account before buying a template

These are all good reasons to consider buying a template. However, also be aware of the following:

Changes and tweaking are almost always needed

Be aware that in order to get a good quality business website you will need to have changes made to the website. Almost every template and theme needs tweaking to suit your particular business needs. So allow for changes in your budget.

You will need to do some search engine optimization

Your templates also need to be optimized for search engines. With millions of websites already on the web your website will only be found when the right search engine optimization techniques have been employed.

Templates are often not so easy to install or customize as the vendor claims; know your skill level

Most people will not be able to customize and install the website themselves. It still requires a lot of skill to tweak the templates in such a way that they will look professional and original. It is always best to hire a a qualified web professional to do this for you.

Choose wisely

It is important to know what you want and need before buying a template so read my article: 20 things to check before buying a wordpress theme.

Finally

So what about those customers that come to my website, buy a template and disappear? Well. in many cases these customers were not yet ready  or prepared to set a good budget aside for a website. Many do not see their website as a valuable component of their marketing strategy. I have come accross many businesses that got themselves a ‘cheap’ website only to realize later that this website is not generating any business for them. Although I believe that you can make a good quality website with a website based on a template it is still advisable to get some advice on tweaking and search engine optimization to make your website successful.

There are also individuals and small businesses that would have otherwise not been able to afford a website. A website template allows them to have a professional website on the internet. This is a lot better than the home-made very poorly designed websites that we saw so much in the early days of the Internet. I would much rather see a well designed template based website than a poorly designed “original” website.

Cushy

Nice minimalist theme that integrates the blog into the site.

Typoghaghicus

This is a theme from Themeforest by wordpress premium. I like the simplicity and clean lines here and the emphasis on the main article. Widget ready and comes in 4 color combinations.

Vigilance

This is a very elegant theme that is search engine optimised and it’s free to download.

Overeasy

A very nice minimalist layout with lots of features like the slide panel on the front page. Ideal for business websites who like to integrate a blog into the website but don’t want it to be the main focus. Comes in various colors.

Wp Remix

This is a good option if you want to use WordPress as a content management system. It has lots of different page templates and a lot of flexibility and SEO. Lots of room for customisation too!

Agregado

This is a free great looking blog theme.

Equilibrium

A  free blog theme (CC license) which is very well laid out and designed.

Basic

Elegant Themes have a number of nice themes and this one is as the name suggest a nice basic theme.

Cold Stone

Another elegant theme. This ones will need some tweaking but overall great layout and features here.

Productum

A very nice new theme from Woo themes. Very suitable for businesses that also want to incorporate a blog into their site.

Thesis

A very customisable theme that pays a lot of attention to SEO, typigraphy and accesibility.

Geometric

A theme with a widgetized frontpage that allows you to either put your blog on the frontpage or your portfiolio. You can also have your side navigation on the left.

Perfection

I like the simple layout of this theme and bold white lines. I would not keep the dark featured area though but that could be easily customised. I also like the page and category navigation, although it would need to include drop downs to be really useful.

Your folio

I like the simple clean layout of this theme and that the blog is integrated as a page. The frontpage is different from the other pages so you can highlight your latest work there but still have the space on the other pages.

Market

A good solution for an online wordpress store.

Fresh News

A good magazine theme with all the necessary features like widgetized sidebars, drop down menus, featured posts panel and automatic image resizing.

Architect

This is a good theme for a small business. It has a very clean stylish layout and incorporates a blog.

Cassiopeia

Another well laid out portfolio theme that has different page templates.

Interphase

I really like the look of this theme, although I would have wished some more page templates. It’s widget ready and comes with theme options.

Karma

Rounding off the list is Karma, a basic theme for a personal blog. Easy to navigate and uncluttered.

A premium wordpress theme can be an enormous timesaver when you want to have a high quality website  up and running quickly. But make sure that you know what you want to achieve with your site before you buy. Otherwise you may end up having to do a lot more modifcations than you expected (or start all over again if you are not happy with the result) and your template may prove not to be such a time saver after all. 

So what are the most important things you need to pay attention to before buying a premium wordpress theme?

1. Compatibility

Is it compatible with the latest version of WordPress?

2. Widgets

How much of the theme is widgetized. The more widgetized it is, the more you can determine the look and layout of your pages.

3. Has it been optimised for SEO?

SEO is very important as your main traffic will come from search engines. Make sure that the theme is properly coded and uses SEO optimisation techniques.

4. Is it easy to customise?

Does it have multiple css style sheets? (so you can easily change the colour). Is it easy to change the header image? Does the theme have any special theme options?

5. Structure

Is the structure of the theme similar to what you had in mind for your site? although you can play around with the code to change the structure, it is much more efficient if the correct structure is already in place. Pay attention to where the pages are located and the categories. In a business website your pages need to be more prominent (and sub menus functionality should be included) whereas on a blog or content site categories are usually more important).

6. Article structure

Have a look at how the articles are displayed. Does the theme display whole posts on the frontpage or only excerpts? What about the archive pages? Does it match how you want to display your posts?

7. Features

Does the theme have any special features. Some of the features you may want in a site are:

• featured sections
• automatic image resizer
• google analytics
• special theme options
• strolling or moving images
• flickr gallery
• advertising integration
• contact form integration
• tabbed sidebars
• image / banner rotation
• video integration

8. Support

Check if there is support for the theme that you buy. Any theme will need some tweeking and it saves a lot of time if there is a good support team that can help you with your questions.

9. Multple page layouts (templates)

Check if there are multiple page layouts or if every page looks the same. For a business site it is often desirable to have a different homepage from your content pages and a different blog section. Also check how other pages like the archives are formatted.

10. Determine how much customisation is needed

Most themes will need some tweaking. A theme that has special theme options allows you to make certain changes without needing to go into the code. Know how much you can customise yourself. Are you comfortable with adding plugins, tweaking code or do you want do everything with the theme options?

11. Validate the code

You can check if the code of the theme validates by going to http://validator.w3.org. It’s always better to buy a theme with no errors.

12. Browser compatibility

Check if the theme is compatible with the main browsers: IE6, IE7, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Chrome. Try to test the theme in as many browsers as possible.

13. Styling

Examine how the theme is styled and what typography is used. Is it easy to read? How are the comments styled? Although a lot of the styling can be changed with css this will take extra time so the closer the styling is to your desired style the better.

14. drop down menus

Is the drop down manu functionality already built in?

15. Instructions

Does the theme come with clear instructions on how to install and customize it? Any theme is constructed slightly differently so good instructions are always helpful.

16. Is the source code well commented

If you do need to make changes it is very helpful if the source code is clear and well commented. You may need a sample of the original files to check this.

17. Photoshop files

Are the original photoshop or fireworks png files included? This is always a benefit as it will make customizing the theme even easier.

18. Theme upgrades

Will you get a free upgrade of the theme if WordPress has a new upgrade or will you need to pay again?

19. Error pages

Type in a wrong address for the site and have a look at what the error page looks like. Has this been constructed to your liking?

20. Price

Shop around. You can get really good value in some places with yearly membership that lets you use all themes.

Good luck with choosing your theme. And if you want help with choosing a nice one then stay tuned for a list of the best clean and functional themes coming up soon.

1. Positively state your goal: What exactly do you want? State what you WANT and not what you don’t want.
   eg.”I want to have a succesful profitable content website that provides useful information to my visitors on a topic that I have a passion for”
2. Prioritize: Which goal is the most important to achieve? Although you may have several, define which goal would have the largest influence in your life and make that a priority.
   eg.”If I can have a profitable website it can earn money for me in the future without me having to keep a full time job.”
3. Control: What will you do to achieve this goal? Make sure that you have full control over achieving your goal: there should be no room for you to blame others for not achieving it. Realise that only you are responsible for the outcome.
   “if my articles have a problem of finding an audience I will investigate the needs of my audience  and adapt accordingly.”
4. Evidence: How will you know that you have achieved your goal? Try to see, hear and feel what it would be like if you had already achieved this goal and try to describe that in your answer to this question.
   “I know I will have achieved my goal if I receive lots of responses on my website and my revenue increases on a monthly basis. I will be able to cut back on my regular job and be able to spend more time working at home.”
5. Context:When do you want to achieve this goal? Specifying a time frame will help to give you a deadline and gives you something to target.
   “I want to have 200 subscribers to my website by the end of this year.”
6. Blocks: What has prevented you from already achieving this goal? Knowing what usually stops you from achieving your goal helps you to take steps to overcome this.
   “I have to cut social activities and work on an article every day.”
7. Resources: Which resources (skills, belief, support, behaviour) do you already have that can help you achieving this goal? And which ones would you need? This will help you realise that you may already have plenty of resources/ skills and can make you aware of what resources you will need, eg. additional training in some areas.
   “I already know a lot about my subject matter and have a passion for it, I love to do the work and connect with others in my field. I will need to update my skills on internet marketing and the use of social networks.”
8. Ecology: What will you gain or lose in achieving this goal? It’s good to look at your whole life and look how succeeding with your goal may effect other goals or people.
   “I will need to work in the evenings in the beginning but if I succeed with my goal I will be able to work from home full-time.”
9. Worthwhile: How is this goal worthwhile (what will achieving this goal get for you)? When you are clear about how your goal will fulfill you it will be easier to reach it.
   “I know that goal is worthwhile because it will give me the chance to do the work I love (writing about my passion), work from home and be closer to the people I care about, I will have freedom over my own time.”
10. Action: What is your next action in order to achieve your goal? Make sure that you break your goal down into smaller manageable steps. And focus on the NOW. Only the current moment and the actions you do in that moment can bring you closer to your goal, one step at the time.
    “I will write one new article each day, I will educate myself on web promotion and particpate in discussions on my topic every week, I will research my target audience”.

If you answer all these questions for yourself and write the answers down, you will find that you are clearer about your goal and why you want to achieve it. This will keep you motivated.

The next step is to break the goal down into smaller steps and realise that all necessary work has to be done in the current moment. Doing this  you are well under way to actually achieve that goal.

Good luck!

Well, the principle is simple the more hours your web developer spends on a website the more it will cost.

So what do we spend those hours on and how can you minimise the cost of creating a website? To illustrate, let’s go through the various steps of creating a website and see where you can save costs.

1. Requirement specifications

The client will inform the web developer what the requirements are for the website. Points to discuss are among others: design, structure, functionality, no. of pages, content.

Where to save costs

• Good preparation reduces the time your designer has to spend on meetings and will allow them to design more effectively, so
• Have a good idea of what you want and if possible try coming up with a structure.
• Have a look at other websites so you can tell them exactly what you do or do not like about them.

2. Web Design

Your designer will create a web design in accordance with your specifications.

Where to save costs:

• You can usually create something more special if you have more allocated hours for the design phase. However, you can specify within your budget how many hours you want to spend on design.
• When the designer gets a good idea about your style and your requirements they can usually create a design that you like, minimising the number of amendments necessary.
• If your budget is small you can make a huge cost saving by using a web template as the basis for your new website. The web design is not unique but can be customised with your logo and company colours and because the design and html creation is already in place the website can be created a lot quicker. Many of the web templates can be purchased for under $70. To have a look at our templates visit Escala’s web templates.

3. Website development

Your web developer will create the web pages in your chosen format.

Where to save costs:

• Fewer pages.
• Simple or no animation.
• Basic functionality.
• Avoid any changes to the approved design.
• Content and images ready at time of approval of design and supplied in a digital format.

4. Testing and launching

Your website will be tested and uploaded to the web

Where to save costs:

• A basic website with uncomplicated coding will be quicker to test and upload.

5. Marketing of website

Your website will be submitted to search engines and other marketing strategies will be implemented.

Where to save costs:

• Have all your keywords ready at development stage so we can optimise your pages already at that stage.
• Make use of all the free marketing possibilities on the Net

If you would like to know more and see what kind of websites Escala can create within your budget than contact us for a free quote or consultation!

Not necessarily. In order to understand which visuals or tools you will need for your site it can be good to look at your intended audience. What kind of people are they and what would they respond to? 

One way of classifying your audience is to understand if they are predominantly visual, auditory, kinesthetic or auditory digital. Most people are a combination of these of course, but they usually also have a strong preference for one of them.
Photo by Kate Shirley

Visual people respond well to images. They will get very bored with a website of just text and go elsewhere. They respond well to colorful websites that use pictures, graphs and other presentations. The words that you use in your content would be: “I see it like”, ’it appears”, “in view of”, “see to it”.

Auditory people respond better to sound. So if you can integrate a audio sample or video for this group then you are more likely to get a response. This group would also appreciate a podcast. They value quotes or statements in the text and words and expressions to use are: “I say..” , “clear as a bell”,  ”manner of speaking”.

Kenesthetic people are more sensory and respond to texture and contrast. They would want to have a brochure of your business and would want to experience your product or service first (have a try-out). They may want to print your pages. They respond to phrases like “I feel”, “it boils down to..”, “get in touch with”.

Auditory digital people tend to analyze a lot and respond well to many facts and lots of information presented in a structured way. They will take more time going through your site.

If your audience falls within one of these particular groups and you apply some of the suggestions as mentioned above you will be more likely to connect with your audience and illicit a response from them.