EVERYTHING YOU - PDF document

1 EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE ST
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR WEB DESIGN PROJECT 01273 358812 For even more tips & advice, call us on 2 IN THIS GUIDE CHOOSING THE RIGHT SYSTEM FOR YOUR BUSINESS THE ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF YOUR CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM DOMAIN NAME WEBSITE HOSTING WIREFRAMES SECURITY COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS 3 WHAT CONTENT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE IS RIGHT FOR YOU? A CMS (Content Management System) is a system that allows users without technical programming knowledge to manage their website content. This software enables you to have greater con - trol over managing your content, but it is essential that you are using the correct one to meet your business’s needs. Think of a CMS as a p

2 latform that organises all of the conten
latform that organises all of the content you need on your website, whilst offering pre-built functionality to make it all come into shape. This verses a static website, which is like a blank piece of paper ready for code to be added, makes CMS' a top choice for businesses looking for more control in managing their site. Working out which Content Management System is right for you & your business is an essential step in the process of building your website; it can be the difference between your website suc - ceeding or going under. If you would like further advice, Søren our in-house Digital Strat - egist & MD, would be more than happy to talk this through with you. Feel free to give him a cal

3 l on 01273 358812 ext 502, and he can t
l on 01273 358812 ext 502, and he can talk through your business needs, current digital market - ing & where you want to position yourself in the future. 4 Company name GUIDANCE FOR YOUR CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM • Avoid heavy developer reliance - choose a CMS that is flexible & will allow you, or your developer, to utilise exisiting softeware & templates. This can help to save costs (but remember, if you edit your site & break something, you will have to pay for an expert developer to find and fix the fault & this can get very expen - sive). • Make sure your CMS is scalable - you never know how big your business will grow, therefore it's important to choose a scalable platform that can

4 grow & expand with you. It can be more
grow & expand with you. It can be more expensive in the short term, but could save you money & time down the line. • Invest money in the User Experience (UX) design stage of the project - UX is essential to a well functioning website build specifically for your customers & their needs. Poor design can lead to lost sales, so its worth investing in UX to ensure that your site is performing to its full potential. 5 Company name • Pay a professional to design the Information Architecture (IA) IA is how the site is organised to ensure the UX is appropriate & that you can easily manage your website. • Organise your content properly - word counts, image size, quality & layout.

5 It may be worth paying a professional to
It may be worth paying a professional to help as content is usually the biggest delay in a web project & can take a lot of time to complete. 6 THE ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF YOUR CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: 7 ADVANTAGES NO. 1 WORDPRESS 59.7% Marketshare DISADVANTAGES • Very popular, therefore there are a lot of plugins to enhance your site. • You can easily access lots of support material to manage your site. • Easy for edits to be made by yourself. • Can allow for minor visual tweaks for the user. • Ecommerce platforms can be created using plugins like WooCommerce, which can work really well for small to medium online stores. • The system in general

6 is a lot easier to build and maintain
is a lot easier to build and maintain therefore can be cheaper to develop. • Less free plugins compared to other CMS & can cost lots of money for full functionality • The system can be limiting when it comes to heavy customisation by developers. IDEAL FOR Small businesses brochure websites small ecommerce sites 8 ADVANTAGES NO. 2 JOOMLA 6.7% Marketshare DISADVANTAGES • Joomla is a free open source project, meaning there is a lot of expert industry community support. • This expert support has created a good product as many talented developers around the world contribute to the Joomla project. • Joomla is geared towards more advanced developers which means t

7 hat it offers a huge range of customiza
hat it offers a huge range of customizability (pretty much anything can be achieved on Joomla). • The plugins are normally cheaper and Joomla comes with many features out of the box, which you would have to pay for additional plugins if you were using Wordpress. • Development costs can be more expensive than Wordpress. • Managing the site yourself could be more difficult. IDEAL FOR Small businesses brochure websites complex builds 9 ADVANTAGES NO. 3 MAGENTO 2.3% Marketshare DISADVANTAGES • Extremely scalable eCommerce platform designed for medium to large ecommerce sites. • The highly advanced system allows you to automate a lot of processes. • Relativ

8 ely easy to manage stock and sales. &
ely easy to manage stock and sales. • The system is designed specifically for eCommerce so it offers many features which non-eCommerce CMS’ such as Wordpress and the likes will not offer. • Very expensive to build and maintain as it requires magento developers. • Very closed system, so there is limited information about it. IDEAL FOR Larger online shops looking for stability and growth larger businesses 10 ADVANTAGES NO. 4 WIX Marketshare Unknown DISADVANTAGES • Easy to build yourself • Drag and drop functionality • Cheap as no need for web designer • Not SEO friendly • Develops slow websites • Limited in flexability IDEAL FOR Start up

9 s build it yourself budget crunching 11
s build it yourself budget crunching 11 ADVANTAGES NO. 4 SHOPIFY 1.7% Marketshare DISADVANTAGES • Great system for start-ups or small eCommerce shops • Very easy to use • Lots of plugins/apps available • DIY option compared to others • Monthly subscriptions can be expensive • Can be limiting for custom development • Speed can be an issue IDEAL FOR Build it yourself shops all bundled into one system a simple sales system Your domain name is the website address used by consumers to access your website. Ensuring that your domain name is represen - tative of your company, easy to remember and resonates with your audience is a key tool in your digital mark

10 eting strategy. This section of the gui
eting strategy. This section of the guide will take you through some of the key points you should be considering when you are deciding on a domain name for your business’s website. Here’s what we’ll cover: Checking the domain name you want Which registrar should you use? (123reg, godaddy) Should I buy a popular domain name or save money on a cheaper one? What are the prefered country code top level domains? 12 CHOOSING A DOMAIN NAME 13 HOW DO YOU CHECK THE DOMAIN NAME YOU WANT IS AVAILABLE? WHAT IS A REGISTRAR & WHICH REGISTRAR SHOULD YOU USE TO BUY YOUR DOMAIN? Initially, choose a domain name if you don’t currently have one. This should be easy to remember and f

11 ind when a user thinks of your company.
ind when a user thinks of your company. Make sure it's relevant to your business, business name, and won't be easily spelt wrong. When you are looking for a domain name usie a domain name registration site to help you check if it's available & at what price. We would recommend checking on 123reg or godaddy. A domain registrar is an accredited organisation by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) who assign domain names to companies. This is to provide companies with easy to remember names rather than confusing and hard-to-remember IP addresses; you can only register a domain name if it is available. Each register has associated positives and negatives for

12 example: Godaddy - Trusted, they have b
example: Godaddy - Trusted, they have been around for a long time & are one of the largest domain name registrars. Watch out for pricing ad-ons. 123reg - One of the largest web hosting providers in the UK, up to date services, & expert support teams. GOOD TO KNOW Watch out for resellers who although provide legitimate domain names, often don't provide support and are not accredited by the ICANN. Check the ICANN accredited list to ensure you are buying a supported domain name from an accredited corporation. 14 CHOOSING THE RIGHT NAME VS COST: PREFERED COUNTRY CODE TOP LEVEL DOMAINS: • Popular domain names will cost more • Its vital that your domain name is appropri

13 ate for your business and weighing long
ate for your business and weighing long term benefits of a good domain name against upfront cost is essential. • Try different variations of the domain name you are looking for and compare a couple of registrar companies for the domain name you want. • .com & .co.uk are the prefered country code top level domains. • .com is generic and a good option for global • .co.uk (country top level domains) are good if you are hoping your site will reach a specific countries audience. • .net is usually used by a network - email or internet service provider. • .org used by organisations, often commercial businesses. Hosting is essential for your website to go

14 live, therefore without it, it's inacce
live, therefore without it, it's inaccessible. When choosing which type of hosting is best for you, it's key to consider a few different elements for your business. This section of the guide explains the dif - ferent types of hosting available to you, as well as the advantages & disadvantages of each. 15 WEBSITE HOSTING Dedicated hosting is more suited to larger corporations, with high levels of traffic us - ing their website. With dedicated hosting, you can have full control of the server so that it meets the needs of your business, with the option of choosing whether you want a managed server or not. With a managed server your hosting pro - vider can manage your server to control

15 any issues that may occur. Otherwise, th
any issues that may occur. Otherwise, the control can be in your hands. Cost associated with a dedicated server is usually higher than the Reseller Hosting alternative and is often affected by the full bandwidth, storage space, and amount of RAM needed by your company. 16 ADVANTAGES DEDICATED HOSTING DISADVANTAGES • Speed • High level of customizability • Greater size • Very expensive • More difficult to manage - a developer is needed With reseller hosting, a hosting provider rents hard drive space to another compa - ny and can then manage any changes that need to be made for the client. It is a great option for companies who don’t want to manage their

16 own website, having to deal with File
own website, having to deal with File Transfer Protocols & Domain Name Servers, for example. The Reseller hosts can manage the cPanel so the company can focus on their expertise rather than trying to keep up with website manage - ment. RESELLER HOSTING 17 ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES • Less Expensive • Greater ease of management • If you require any changes, your hosting provider makes them for you • Relying on a hosting provider can mean it takes longer to get things done. • Size and customizability is limited GOOD TO KNOW For further advice on which Hosting System might be best for you, speak to our MD Søren who has been working with hosting companies for

17 over 10 years. We are also offer a F
over 10 years. We are also offer a Free Website Audit to provide you with the starting blocks you need to refresh or start your next web design project. Wireframes are the blueprints of your site, setting out the content and functionality of the pages, ensuring user needs are met and that customer journeys are clear. They provide the structure before the visual design and content phases. Trust the professionals on their decisions as they have years of experience to back up their decisions. Why are wireframes so important: • They are the blueprint for content & functionality • Ensures that the wesbite is build around the user's needs & desired journey • Provide st

18 ructure before visual design & content
ructure before visual design & content • Create confidence in the catering of the page to customer needs 18 WIREFRAMES Data security is fundamental for every business, whether you are a large corporation or a new start up. Your customers need to trust your website before they purchase with you, and that’s why we build secure websites, reducing the chance of hacking whilst following best practices with minimal impact on the user or aesthetics of your website. It's vital to keep your website up to date to prevent outdated and vulnerable software from forming holes in your site’s security for hackers to take advantage of. Ensure that you only use reputable plugins which receive

19 frequent security updates and that your
frequent security updates and that your website is regularly backed up to ensure data loss prevention, whilst providing encryption through TLS (Transport Layer Security) to protect web applications from data breaches. Use SSL Certificates and reputable plugins which regularly receive security updates, as well as globally recognised payment systems, for eCommerce shops to ensure that your customers can be confident throughout their transactions. GOOD TO KNOW Your site needs to be kept up to date. Ensure only reputable plugins are used. Use complex passwords. Limit the amount of admin accounts you have. 19 SECURITY Q: How long does it take to build a website? Websites can take 2 weeks to 3

20 months depending on their size. Q: How
months depending on their size. Q: How much does a website cost? Anywhere from £1000 to £5000 for smaller simpler sites, £5,000 to £15,000 for corporate medium sites, £15,000 + for large more complex builds. Q: What platforms do you build your websites on? Joomla, WordPress, Wix, Shopify, Magento, and Static. Q: Can you help me update my existing website that another web firm built? Yes in principle, providing it has been built in a professional manor and is using systems lists within our platforms above. Q: Can you help me source photos for my website? Powerful photography is something we are passionate about at Huga. If you are looking for Photography or guidance we would be happy to help.

21 See our photography services for furthe
See our photography services for further information. Q: Can you help me write content for my website? We are more than happy to help provide content for your website - to find out more have a look at our Content Marketing Services. 20 CUSTOMER FAQ'S Are your websites custom designed or do you use pre-made templates? Do you review my current website and analyse performance before going forward with design decisions? Where do you stand on policy regarding building websites for my competitors? How do you manage web design projects? How do you approach analysing my business, market and competitors? Who will I be working with on my website project? What happens if I don’t like the initial design

22 ? What level of input will I have with m
? What level of input will I have with my website design project? What do you need from me to get started? Do I need to provide content for the project and what systems do you use to manage this? Can my website be built to expand as my business grows? What happens if I want to change something to my website mid-build? 21 QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK BEFORE DECIDING ON A WEB DESIGN COMPANY Will you create a logo for my site? Do you provide services to help me source/create images for my site? Will my website be compatible with smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices? Do you offer SEO services? Do you provide A/B testing? What type of content management systems do you use? Do you cover e-commerce

23 services? Will the functionality of my w
services? Will the functionality of my website be tested before it goes live? Will my current site experience downtime as you update it? Do you offer web hosting services? Do you offer on-going maintenance after my site goes live? 22 QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK BEFORE DECIDING ON A WEB DESIGN COMPANY HEuuO@HUGA.CO.Ur 01273 358812 EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR WEB DESIGN PROJECT Need advice? Call Huga 01273 358812 or email help@huga.co.uk EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR WEB DESIGN PROJECT EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR WEB DESIGN PROJECT Need advice? Call Huga 01273 358812 or email help@huga.co.uk EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR WE