Category: Web Development

  • Mobile-first design

    Mobile-first design

    Have you checked what your website looks like on a smart phone? Or a tablet?

    More than 60% of visitors to your website will be viewing it on a mobile phone, so it is important to make sure that it looks great on a mobile device.

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  • Splash images

    Splash images

    When you share a webpage on social media, it usually has an image attached to it. I have always called this the splash image. The still image that you upload to be the cover image of a YouTube video is called a splash screen. The idea is that it should make a big splash.

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  • WordPress vs Google Sites

    WordPress vs Google Sites

    When building a website, or commissioning us to build you a website, you might be wondering which is the best tool for the job.

    WordPress and Google Sites are very different tools, and each has advantages and disadvantages.

    WordPress

    Advantages

    • Has many free plugins, including third-party tools.
    • WordPress blocks are easy to use and customize.
    • You do not need to learn coding.
    • The editor is very stable and behaves consistently.
    • You can create reusable patterns for your templates (like blocks but more complex).
    • You can edit the underlying code (HTML and CSS).
    • The Site SEO plugin walks you through the SEO settings.
    • You can customize the page templates, including the blog layout.
    • You can add JavaScript and HTML widgets.
    • A lot of developers and service providers use WordPress.
    • If you use WebHosting Canada, the website is hosted in Canada.

    Disadvantages

    • You need to pay to remove ads and get access to fully customizable templates.

    Google Sites

    Advantages

    • This is a free tool with a lot of features.
    • Google Sites offers customizable templates, and you can set up your own colour scheme and fonts.
    • You can easily embed other Google products in your website, such as Forms, Maps, Docs, Slides, Sheets, etc.
    • If you already use Google Drive products, the user interface will be familiar.
    • The editor is very stable and behaves consistently.
    • You do not need to learn coding.
    • You can add JavaScript and HTML widgets.
    • The free package appears to include lazy loading.

    Disadvantages

    Let us build it for you

    We can create a new website for you, spruce up your existing one, or improve its performance, accessibility, and search engine rankings.

    See pricing
    contact us
  • 5 ways I can enhance your website

    5 ways I can enhance your website

    There are many things to consider when you’re building a website. As a small to medium-sized business with many claims on your time, do you have time to think about all of these? If you are building a website using an automated tool, it does not usually provide all these settings – you need to add them manually.

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  • Alternative Text for Images

    Alternative Text for Images

    One of the key components of accessibility is providing alt text for images, especially if the images contain text.

    This is because, when people with visual impairments use your website, they rely on a screen-reader to read the text out to them. This only works with images if they are described using alternative text (usually referred to as “alt text”).

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  • Mega Menus vs Drop-downs

    If you have a lot of pages on your website, you’ll eventually want to create submenus. A mega menu is a wide menu with multiple columns of sub-pages. A drop-down is a narrow menu with a single column. Which is the best choice?

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  • Microformats

    Microformats are a way of marking up standardized data so that search engines, AI tools, and calendar tools can process it. Adding them to your site helps AI tools and search engines to rank your website higher in search results.

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  • WordPress vs SquareSpace

    When building a website, or commissioning us to build you a website, you might be wondering which is the best tool for the job.

    WordPress and SquareSpace are very different tools, and each has advantages and disadvantages.

    WordPress

    Advantages

    • Has many free plugins, including third-party tools.
    • WordPress blocks are easy to use and customize.
    • You do not need to learn coding.
    • The editor is very stable and behaves consistently.
    • You can create reusable patterns for your templates (like blocks but more complex).
    • You can edit the underlying code (HTML and CSS).
    • The Site SEO plugin walks you through the SEO settings.
    • You can customize the page templates, including the blog layout.
    • A lot of developers and service providers use WordPress.
    • If you use WebHosting Canada, the website is hosted in Canada.

    Disadvantages

    • It is harder to animate the transitions in your website.
    • There are less templates available.
    • You need to pay to remove ads and get access to fully customizable templates.

    SquareSpace

    Advantages

    • SquareSpace offers many templates and content patterns.
    • You can build a website with AI.
    • The editor is very stable and behaves consistently.
    • SquareSpace provides a large number of useful layouts.
    • You do not need to learn coding.
    • All packages come with lazy loading and animations by default.

    Disadvantages

    • After you have generated your website with AI or with the template provided, you still need to remove all the content it has added and create your own.
    • The editor is a bit fiddly to use – you have to edit the settings for each element in a popup (instead of in the side panel that WordPress gives you).
    • You cannot edit the underlying code on the Basic package.
    • You need to pay to publish your website. SquareSpace’s cheapest package is $21 per month (if you pay annually).

    Let us build it for you

    We can create a new website for you, spruce up your existing one, or improve its performance, accessibility, and search engine rankings.

    See pricing
    contact us

  • GoDaddy versus Wix

    When building a website, or commissioning us to build you a website, you might be wondering which is the best tool for the job.

    Wix and GoDaddy are different tools, and each has advantages and disadvantages.

    (more…)
  • GoDaddy versus WordPress

    GoDaddy versus WordPress

    When building a website, or commissioning us to build you a website, you might be wondering which is the best tool for the job.

    WordPress and GoDaddy are very different tools, and each has advantages and disadvantages.

    (more…)
  • Wix versus WordPress

    Wix versus WordPress

    When building a website, or commissioning us to build you a website, you might be wondering which is the best tool for the job.

    WordPress and Wix are very different tools, and each has advantages and disadvantages.

    (more…)
  • Understanding Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

    Understanding Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

    Many people are now searching the web using AI. The measurement of how your website will be ranked in AI search results is called Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), or AI Engine Optimization (AEO).

    (more…)
  • Website Performance

    Website Performance

    Website performance involves making web pages load quickly, or failing that, making slow processes appear to be fast. This is important because, if your page is slow to load, people will give up waiting for it to load and go somewhere else.

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  • Hosting and Domains

    Hosting and Domains

    What is the difference between hosting and domains? Why do web companies list prices for these separately? What’s a redirect? This blogpost explains all these terms.

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  • About that “free” website…

    About that “free” website…

    There’s no such thing as a free lunch… and there’s no such thing as a free website either.

    (more…)

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