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WP Design
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Jul
20
2011
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Thinking of WordPress for your web site project? |
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If you are thinking of using WordPress for your web site project, it can be difficult to know what to think about! OK, according to WordPress.org,‘over 25 million people have chosen WordPress to power the place on the web they call “home”’.
Surely, millions of people can't be wrong, can they?
But millions of people are not you and you will want a solution that can achieve the particular objectives of your web site project. Subscribe to our E-Newsletter and we will send you a FREE copy of our 15-page e-booklet 'Is WordPress the Right Platform for Your Web Site Project?'
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Sample Page Screenshots
Posted in Miscellaneous, WP Design | 
Tags: content management system, design solutions, web design, web site management, WordPress blog, WordPress web site | 
Comments Closed
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Jun
25
2011
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The new Hearth Centre web site |
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The Hearth Centre harnesses the transformative strength of the arts. They use professional theatre to trigger discussion about how services can be changed or improved. They offer role play to encourage staff to try out different professional approaches .They also offer creative writing and reading workshops to promote the well being of individuals and groups. The Hearth Centre has had a web presence for a long time but wanted firstly the ability to manage web site content themselves (a content management system) and, secondly, the incorporation of a blog. WordPress proved the ideal solution for both requirements.
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Itsnoprob worked with the existing 'static' HTML design and converted it into a WordPress theme. The majority of the site looks like a 'traditional' single column web site, giving full screen space for the presentation of content, but the blog element can be triggered on any page from the distinctive graphic at the bottom.
The redesigned site has only just gone live, so watch for the blog postings to come!
Posted in Projects, WP Design | Tags: content management system, Web redesign, WordPress blog, WordPress web site | Comments Closed
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Jun
11
2011
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The new Equilesse web site |
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Equilesse Pilates already had a web site but required a complete redesign of the site using WordPress, largely due to its content management capabilities. The new design is a good example of how the 'appearance of a traditional, 'static' web site can be effectively combined with a blog component. Itsnoprob completed and implented the redesign in around 2 weeks against a clear brief from the client who clearly communicated not only the nature of the business, but also the 'feel' or 'tone' of the required design, colour scheme, etc.
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At Itsnoprob we can offer a complete design service, including the loading of initial content, training in site management, search engine optimisation, etc., For this project, however, we were asked to just provide the web site 'theme', along with appropriate plug-ins to aid site management and promotion. The 'outline' site was then handed over to the client for the publication of live content.
At the time of writing, the site is live but still being developed…
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Posted in Projects, WP Design | Tags: content management system, web design, WordPress blog, WordPress web site | Comments Closed
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May
08
2011
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Do you need a mobile version of your web site? |
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The mobile Net is great, giving people access to information and services when they are on the move. BUT, when you browse the web on your mobile device how many sites do you come across that are virtually impossible to view on your phone? We all know the limited attention span of the average Internet user, even when accessing sites via their desktop or laptop machine, so how many people are going to stick around if they need superhuman eyesight to glean even the basics of what a web site is all about? So what we are suggesting is that you might need a bespoke, abridged version of your web site, specifically for those viewing it on mobile devices, whether iPhone, Android or BlackBerry. Your first, totally understandable, reaction might be:
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Posted in Generating Traffic, WP Design | Tags: mobile phone, smartphone, web design | Comments Closed
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Apr
13
2011
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Can other media such as video be included within WordPress content? |
Yes, certainly.
The promotional video for one of our clients, Fircroft College, is a good example of this. This is original video converted and compressed into Flash format to give the best and widest presentation on the Net.
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You Tube Videos
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Embedding You Tube videos is even easier. You Tube generates the code for you to embed the video within your posts or pages, as in this example. Note: Reload the page if the video does not appear first time - we are dependent on the link to You Tube as that is where the video is ‘sitting’. |
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Similarly, inserting audio is a breeze. Put your feet up and listen to a few short tracks from Naresh Sohal, a unique voice in contemporary classical music. |
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Born in Punjab in 1939, and a long-time resident of the UK, Sohal’s work spans two cultures. As a British composer, he writes fluently in the Western idiom: as an Asian composer, he draws heavily on the insights of Indian philosophy. |
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Oct
10
2010
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What are Widgets? |
Widgets are a great feature within WordPress, allowing blogmasters to add functonality to their site without having to understand the coding that lies behind them!
Widgets appear within the sidebar(s) of WordPress blogs and are easily implemented by drag-and-drop from within the WordPress online Administration or Control Panel – once they have been uploaded to the site of course.
There are a great number of widgets available to blogmasters and there is a temptation to add as many as possible, believing that this will increase the sophistication and popularity of the site, but care should be taken to install only those widgets that:
- Add value to your site
- You have tested and confirmed work as advertised
- Other blogmasters appear to endorse as reliable and effective
- You can configure to meet your requirements
As with all software, widgets can be of variable quality and can sometimes do more harm than good.
Blogmasters also need to bear in mind the implications of adding plug-ins to the core functions of WordPress for web site maintenance and security… For example:
- Is adding yet another widget worth the possible increased security risks presented by third-party coding?
- Will a widget genuinely add value to your blog?
- What will you do if you find that the widget no longer functions as you upgrade your version of WordPress over time?
- Can you test a widget you might want to use on a development WordPress site before implementing on your live blog?
Carefully chosen, reliable widgets can greatly enhance your blog with little effort, but can is not necessarily the same as will!
Posted in WP Design | Tags: categories widget, links widget, search widget, security risks, widgets | No Comments »
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Oct
05
2010
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The Importance of Images to Your Web Site |
We would all agree that presentation is important and this applies equally to how you display images on your web site.
If images are of poor quality then they are probably best not displayed at all.
Assuming, though, that your images are of high quality and relevant, important to the message you are trying to convey via your WordPress web site or blog, then they must be presented – literally – in the best possible light.
We have all seen web sites containing links to full-size images that each open in a new browser window surrounded by acres of redundant whitespace.
If there are multiple such image links, then the visitor is likely to be swamped and annoyed by the number of new windows opened, almost decoupled from the web site.
This approach risks turning what should be a positive into a negative.
How much better if the visitor can see your images in a single window automatically resized to the dimensions of the images to be presented, that allows easy scrolling through your image 'gallery' along with explanatory text as required?
Take the time to look at our Lightbox page which demonstrates the impact that can be achieved.
Such quality, image displays are gradually becoming the expectation rather than the exception. So, if you want your digital images to help your WordPress blog or web site stand out from the Internet crowd….
Posted in WP Design | Tags: high quality images, image gallery, images, Lightbox, WordPress blog, WordPress web site | No Comments »
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Sep
25
2010
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A WordPress blog or a WordPress – or other kind of – web site? |
Well, the answer depends on one key question – what is it that you are trying to achieve from your web presence?
At the risk of stating the obvious, a blog implies blogging – the expression of personal or organisational opinion and, perhaps, interaction with your site visitors.
So, if that's your objective and you want the process to be as straightforward and painless as possible and totally under your control, then a WordPress blog could well be for you.
Then, what are the advantages of a web site?
Well, there are quite a few…
- a web site conveys a quite different impression from a blog. A web site, if well designed of course, suggests something less personal, more corporate, than a blog.
- a web site, rightly or wrongly, is often viewed as more professional, less amateur, than a blog.
- a web site implies content that is more permanent, perhaps more crafted, than a 'here today, gone tomorrow', blog posting
If you go the web site route for your web presence, you might well want to consider WordPress to 'power' it.
WordPress frees you from the ongoing clutches of a web designer and allows you to publish and amend content quickly and easily. You get the ease of use of a blog and the more established 'corporate' image of a web site.
Or, you could always be more ambitious and consider doing what more organisations are doing – having both a web site and a blog as is the case with this site!
And you wouldn't expect us to finish this post without saying that Itsnoprob can meet all your needs whether this involves:
- a WordPress blog
- a WordPress web site
- a site that is both web site and blog
- a non-WordPress web site
Posted in WP Design | Tags: control, corporate, interaction, personal, WordPress blog, WordPress web site | No Comments »
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Sep
23
2010
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Why WordPress? |
Let's state the obvious first – WordPress is free, Open Source software.
But that definitely doesn't mean that WordPress isn't a powerful solution that can satisfy your blogging, or indeed, your web site needs. It is and it can!
WordPress gives you control. It is a database-driven content management system that allows you, the web site owner, to update your site anywhere you have Internet access.
And WordPress makes straightforward content publishing almost as simple as wordprocessing using its online editor.
After all, your Internet presence – whether a blog or a web site – belongs to you. There's no reason to be dependent for ever on a web designer for web site maintenance and updating.
WordPress is best known as a blogging tool, but the software is so flexible that there's no reason why you shouldn't use WordPress to power a fully-blown web site as opposed to a blog. See this article >>
And if you want to keep things as cheap and easy as possible, you could adopt one of the default designs that come with WordPress. Here are a couple of examples:
Click here if you want to see this web site's home page in WordPress' Default design >>
Click here if you want to see this web site's home page in WordPress' Classic design >>
But here comes our argument…
The software you use to drive your web site or blog should be there to invisibly deliver impressive results to your site's visitors. It shouldn't be the focus of attention to the detriment of your content or message. Most clients don't want site visitors' first reaction to be "Oh, it's a WordPress site."
Yes, you've guessed it – that's where good design comes in, design that that conveys your desired corporate or organisational image and presents your message in the most effective way, rather than advertising the technical mehods used to create your web presence.
At Itsnoprob we offer design solutions regardless of whether your web presence is going to be a blog or a web site…or both.
Posted in WP Design | Tags: blogging, content management system, corporate image, design solutions, maintenance, Open Source, theme, updating | No Comments »
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Sep
21
2010
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Why design is critical for blogs |
We never like to sell our services by criticising others, but if you have browsed the Internet we think you will agree that the impact of many blogs is compromised by poor quality design and presentation.
Blogs are not exempt from the universal law – first impressions count!
So if you want your blog to stand out and your message to be taken seriously, then please take some time to consider your blog's design before you start blogging!
And, we would of course be delighted if you contacted us to talk through your requirements and ambitions.
Posted in WP Design | Tags: custom design, design, presentation, quality design, themes | Comments Closed
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