Design, Develop, and Grow
E-Commerce is making the world go ’round. But your company’s web design could be hampering download speeds and user interaction. You should be aware that “one in four people abandon a web page that takes more than four seconds to load.”
Changing design trends are trying to keep pace with technology. Here are a few of those trends you should know about. [Read more…]
A webmaster can build the most beautiful website on the planet, brand the site to perfection and offer great content, however if their site is missing key components for success the site is likely to fail or in the least not reach its full potential.
By taking the time to incorporate five “must have” functions into your website you can help ensure a better chance at success for your project
1. Social Integration From Off-Site Sources
If you’re running a website for which you constantly interact with your users using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networks you should show those conversations to be carried over to your website. An increasing number of websites in recent months have begun showing Twitter feeds from their accounts while providing Facebook activity streams and other offsite content conversations. By bringing off-site conversation to your website you allow users to create a circle of interaction that extends from on-site conversations to off-site conversations and then back to on-site conversations, a nice little circle of interaction that keeps users returning to your main product (your website). [Read more…]
With thousands of web hosting providers to choose from it can be quite the headache to choose which hosting provider will best suit your needs. HostUCan attempts to solve that problem with their “hosting relevancy” tool which allows users to search hosting providers by name while checking user reviews, uptime and other information relevant to the type of framework (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, etc) that they plan to use.
To start using the system I simply navigated to HostUCan at which point I was able to enter the name of the hosting company I wanted to receive a hosting review and analysis about, in this case I used HostGator and then clicked on the magnifying glass.
I’m not a fan of WordPress Multisite functionality, I’ve always found the system to be clunky, confusing for new users and constantly in need of tweaking, that’s why I was happy to test out ManageWP from developer Vlad Prelovac. Not only is the system not clunky, it makes adding new websites, managing plugins and themes and backing up a WordPress setup extremely simple, even for beginners.
Setting up ManageWP is just a matter of downloading the plugin and activating the program on your website. Once activated the plugin shows up on the left side of your admin panel under the “ManageWP” heading.
As you’ll notice below the main ManageWP section all of the websites you have managed are added for easy access. To add a new website simple load the ManageWP plugin to the new website and active the plugin, then access the “Add Website” tab and input the website URL and username to add the site. [Read more…]
As a fan of simple to use “what you see is what you get” (WYSIWYG) applications I was pleasantly surprised over the last few days to be testing Basekit, a website builder that allows for easy and attractive website creation.
The system works by allowing users to pick PSD (Photoshop) templates which are geared towards certain users such as artists, traders, photographers and various other sectors. Users can choose from literally hundreds of available templates.
Once a specific template type is chosen users are then able to drag and drop certain functions into their website. For example, you can choose to drag a navigation menu to the top of your template (or any other location you choose) and then add a Google Maps location to the center portion of your page. By layering elements on top of each template Basekit makes it simple to feature certain functions in a matter of seconds.
Much like WordPress, Tumblr and other content management systems the Basekit program also provides a decent set of widgets, for example users can drag their Flickr account into their website or setup RSS, Twitter and Carousel options with ease.
I personally tested Basekit.com with a sub-domain on their system (subdomain.basekit.com) however the site also allows users to point their own domains to their monthly Basekit account, creating a more personalized experience. Users can even add Google analytics to their site to track visitor numbers.
Not only does Basekit allow users to quickly create website pages, it also gives excellent customization options, for example I was able to easily change content fonts, line height and other information using simple drag bars while coloring is just as easy to implement. The program also allowed me to choose which parts of the website I was attempting to modify, for example I could choose different font and font sizes for the body of pages compared to headings.
The Basekit program also allows users to easily setup the columns on their website, for example a user might want a top column for their header and then a content area followed by a sidebar, all of which can be dropped into place by make a simple setup choice.
For more advanced users the program also allows for manipulation of direct HTML and CSS code. After a page is created users can access tabs which allows them to manipulate the base code of their websites.
Throw in the ability to add videos and images with simple drag and drop functions and it’s easy to see how simple it is to create a website using Basekit.
For users looking for distinct web pages Basekit is a great option which provides a decent set of website building options. Drag and drop functions, the ability to customize your entire website via HTML and CSS functions and a sleek interface makes Basekit worth a closer look, especially for users who only need a smaller website that can be easily customized on the fly.
Give Basekit a try today and let us know what you think.
