Website design is an interesting concept to most and is a very difficult topic to get agreement from wider groups of people. Everyone has a perception of what looks good and what looks bad and they are all right! (In their own world anyway) What one finds vibrant and colourful, another may find too bright and in your face.
It is because of these many, differing opinions that satisfying a prospective client can be a challenging task – especially when the client asks for changes that most designers would consider to be design suicide… It’s at these points most designers (just like Oley Media Group) are forced to bite their tongue, smile and suggest getting a 2nd, 3rd or fourth opinion…
Once most customers come to some type of agreement on their web design preferences, then comes the arduous task of creating a website. The other massively challenging task is weighing up great design and great user experience – some designs are brilliant however, are only ever really created for print – converting such designs into a website can prove to be extremely difficult and the process can reap undesired results.
There are many platforms to host a website and CMS platforms seem to be the most prominent these days as they allow greater flexibility to change the website in the future. Some options are outlined below with the pros and cons of each so you can make an informed decision.
HTML/CSS
Basic website conversions simply consist of HTML and CSS loaded onto the server. This type of website is generally the simplest as it requires little to no configuration of any software and simply requires the loading of files via FTP.
Pros
- Quick and easy to build
- Easy to load and get up and running
- no coding required (other than HTML)
Cons
- If you add a new page, the menu needs to be updated multiple times (on each page)
- All add-ons and additional functionality needs to be hard-coded or integrated into the code (i.e. calendars, galleries, slideshows, member areas, etc.)
- A re-design will require the entire website to be rebuilt
CMS
A Content Management System (CMS) is the most flexible platform for hosting a website as it allows for the addition and modification of pages through simple “Word” like interfaces. Some common and popular CMS platforms include WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, WebsiteBaker to name a few.
Pros
- Installation is generally simple and easy
- All come with pre-installed templates if you’re happy for a basic design
- Adding your own custom design can be achieved
- Adding new pages can be done qucikly and easily with automatic menu registration (you don’t need to recode every page to include the new page menu)
- There are loads of free plugins and modules that can be added and configured with little fuss to extend the functionality of your website
Cons
- Configuration can be cumbersome and time consuming
- There are many advanced features which require a level of knowledge to configure
- Plugins are fit for purpose and require some configuration to work the way you need
Shopping Carts
Shopping carts are similar in their concept as a CMS in that they can be installed and customised in a way that adding content becomes an easy process that can be handled by a basic administrator. The main difference between a CMS and a shopping cart is the ability to add and configure product categories, products, pricing and include a payment gateway for customers to pay online to receive their goods. Online shopping carts have come a long and there are loads of platforms that offer free shopping carts which can be used out of the box to sell products online. Again, as with a CMS, custom templates can be loaded to give your cart a look and feel that fits your brand.
Some popular shopping cart platforms include OsCommerce, OpenCart, WooCommerce (WordPress Plugin) just to name a few.
Pros
- Ability to add multiple products and categories with ease
- Integration with a payment gateway like paypal is simple
- You can be inline within hours selling products
- You can configure in many ways to get exactly what you want
Cons
- Configuration can be quite extensive and confusing
Oley Media Group offer many solutions to get your business online quickly and easily and can customise a solution to your business. Apart from our stunning designs, you’ll be blown away at our knowledge of platforms and solutions.
Contact Us today for a quote on 1300 795 390
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