Web design Archives | Iain Cameron Design

WordPress or Wix a web designer’s opinion

May 20, 2020/in Web design

For anyone considering a new website, WordPress or Wix may well be a question you are facing. I have worked on a couple of Wix sites for clients recently. I am a WordPress web designer of over a decade, my bias is obvious, but I am being truthful with my opinions. I recommend you search for other opinions before making your decision.

WordPress or Wix a web designer’s opinion?

If you are completely new to creating a website, my first bit of advice would be to accept that whether you use WordPress or Wix or another solution, a considerable chunk of time will be needed to put it together with a steep learning curve, irrespective of what Wix’s marketing says. You may greatly enjoy that process, you may find it deeply frustrating, or a bit of both.

What is best for your website, Wix or WordPress? The simple answer is I honestly can’t see a single advantage with Wix at any level.

In fact I would say the changes WordPress has made in the back end for creating new content, with the Gutenberg Editor than was launched in late 2018, makes WordPress considerably easier and more user friendly. It is probably thanks to Wix and other web builders for that development, pressurising WordPress to up it’s game.

What is the technical difference between WordPress and Wix?

WordPress is a CMS (Content Management System), as are Drupla and Joomla, while Wix is a website builder, as are Squarespace, Weebly and Shopify. And what is that difference for a non web design person? Not an awful lot. With a website builder you also get hosting, simplifying the start of the build, on the other hand you are also tied to them, and you can’t scale up.

How difficult is it to start a WordPress website from scratch?

There are a number of component parts that sound complicated but really aren’t. You need to purchase web hosting from a web host (a place on the internet your website ‘lives’), you need a domain name (www.yourcompanyname.com) and you need it set up for WordPress.

There are lots of web hosts out there. Names you have probably heard like GoDaddy, Bluehost, and Siteground. I use one.com. I began using them in 2008, have never had any problems, I believe their price is reasonable and their 24 hour chat service is a great back up. There is a security in being with a large hosting company. This IS an affiliate link for one.com. If you use it, we both get 100 DKK back on the deal.

I will now talk you through getting started in WordPress on one.com as of 2020

Start with the name you want. There is a search engine that offers you the chance to see if your desired name is available.

Purchase the one you want, then you will be prompted for hosting. (the place your website ‘lives’ on the internet). The cheapest option will be fine, and purchase. You are two steps into the three step start.

Number three is to log into your new account via the Control Panel on one.com’s website, and find the large button ‘One click WordPress’.

And you’re off! You have your own WordPress website on your own domain. The beginning of a professional website with all WordPress offers. Everything from creating pages to controlling menus to changing themes and adding plugins is available on YouTube.

Is WordPress worth learning in 2020?

Absolutely. It’s 35% of the internet, up 15% since 2015. It’s still developing. It’s still being updated. Tutorials are all over YouTube. Do it.

Why is Wix so ubiquitous?

Wix is so ubiquitous because of their marketing. Their marketing is very, very good, and they are keying into the often confusing start up process for a web design for people with no web design knowledge. Why is there no WordPress advertising? WordPress is open source. It’s free to use and maintained through altruism, albeit the altruism of companies that do very well out of selling WordPress related products.

Good luck, go for it, Google and YouTube are your friend.

Iain Cameron is a Copenhagen based web designer.

Is it worth making your own website?

September 10, 2019/in Web design

Is it worth making your own website?

The three variables are time, interest, and budget. Can you make a website, that is professional for your business needs? Perhaps. Do you have the time, and patience to learn through trial and error? What if that time turns out to be wasted. Can you afford to waste that time? Do you have the budget for a professional? It may be far cheaper in the long run, to bring in a professional, who will also come with advice for best practices, and you concentrate on your core skills for your business? Certainly something to consider.

Very much like plumbing, electrical work, car maintenance, and a fair few other skills, a professional is the correct and cheapest option for the reasons mentioned above.

There is another scenario. You might discover you love it. It maybe you want to throw away your business idea, and become a web designer. It is very rewarding, and if it suits you, fantastic. Welcome to the world of HTML, CSS, CMS, and FTP.

Here is an incredibly good link to get you started. www.w3schools.com/html/html_links.asp and here is how to get to the top of the stack www.w3schools.com/cssref/pr_pos_z-index.asp

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Iain Cameron is a Copenhagen based web designer and graphic designer. My about page.

My web design page.

How much does a website cost?

July 15, 2019/in Web design

How much does a website cost? A very important question for anyone starting a business, or looking to update a website. How much a website costs, is also subject to your requirements and needs. One website is not very much like another website. They can change very significantly, and going with the cheapest price available may well turn out to be the most expensive choice.

What do you need from a web designer?

Your needs are specific to you and your business. If you don’t know what you need, and many don’t (why would you, your field of expertise is somewhere else) you need someone who will explain the different options, and give their recommendations, and explain that in simple English after carefully listening to, and researching your needs.

Your website is your shop window to the world. That shop window needs to work for you.

A web design vocabulary guide

Some basic phrases to give you a better understanding of your own requirements.

Webhost. This is the name for where your website ‘lives’ on the internet. On a server, or big computer, at a large company. I use one.com (That is a referral link. I make a small amount of money if you use it)

Domain name or URL. The name, or address of your website. This needs to be purchased, and can typically be bought together with web hosting as a package from the aforementioned large company.

CMS. Content management system. There are many of these. This is the name for the ‘engine’ of your website. WordPress is a CMS. And the most used.

Themes and plugins. If WordPress is the engine, the theme is the body, and plugins are the extra features, in this car analogy. Subject to the scale of the web design job, these are tweaked and re-worked by web designers to create a unique solution.

SEO. Search engine optimisation. Being found on Google. Whereby your content is written and presented with a view to your website appearing as high as possible on Google for your preferred search terms.

Responsive. The word used to describe a modern website. In a world of smart phones and tablets, to make sure your website functions as well on a small screen as it does on a large one.

Wireframes. An early stage part of the web design process for testing out navigation and functionality. A prototype version of a site, pre branding.

Maintenance. The general care for a website. Maintain updates and ensure there are no conflicts. In my case this can also extend to all duties on the website. Adding and editing content, to allow my clients to get on with their areas of expertise.

So how much does a website cost?

If you want to know how much a website would cost from myself, without any obligation to use my services, get in touch. studio@iaincameron.dk. And here is my website portfolio.

Famous brands using WordPress

April 3, 2015/in Design, Web design

There are many famous brands using WordPress. Sony Music, Renault, Vogue, Facebook, The New York Times and the BBC. There is an excellent Showcase page on the WordPress site that features many of the great sites using WordPress.

A favourite of mine is Facebook’s Company info page, in which Mark Zuckerberg is just another humble CEO, on just another humble About Us page on the internet. Sheryl Sandberg even mentions her fish.

So with around 20% of the internet, and 70% of the CMS market, and growing, if you are not already using WordPress, you really ought to, come your next new website.

Adding plugins in WordPress

October 21, 2014/in Design, Web design

Plug from The Beano, who is copyright D.C. Thomsen, and just holding this space until I get an illustration drawn…

Adding plugins

There are some great plugins that can improve your site. Here is how to add one to your WordPress site.

In the back end > plugins > add new, put the plugin you are looking for into the search box, install and activate it. Easy. Some work immediately on activation, some need certain aspects set up on their set up page. Somewhere in the backend left hand sidebar, will be the set up page for the plugin. Look under ‘Settings’ if you can’t see it.

A word of warning on plugins. They can cause problems on your site. Don’t bring in too many (I’d ay about 5 max, less is better). Check to see if a plugin is popular by downloads, or has lots of complaints in their forum before bringing it in.

Dealing with plugin issues

If something goes wrong with your site in WordPress it is almost always a plugin that is responsible. Not necessarily a bad plugin, it can be two plugins are conflicting with each other, or with your theme. If something goes wrong with your site, start by de-activating your plugins one by one, and checking if the problem is resolved. If that doesn’t solve it, deactivate them all together. If that doesn’t solve it, change your theme to one of the default WordPress themes you got with the install. Between those steps, almost all issues will be solves. You should be able to isolate, what will almost always be a problem plugin, and then delete it.

Update your plugin

Whenever the red symbol appears that a plugin needs updating, update it. This also goes for WordPress, keep it updated, and your theme.

Recommended WordPress plugin

I recommend you should have WordPress SEO by Yoast. Adds a box below each article in the back end of your site for you to fill out for SEO. It teaches you how to SEO each article or page through choosing a key phrase for that page or article, then adding it to the Title, description and in the content. It effectively teaches you to write better SEO content.

I also recommend Disqus plugin for comments. At the bottom of this article you can see my comments section is with Disqus. It allows visitors to log in with social media, or Disqus itself, and can interact with other blogs. You occasionally meet it on large scale sites such as The Daily Telegraph.

You may also like:

My WordPress portfolio page.

Adding an article in WordPress

July 2, 2014/in Web design

This article will explain how easy adding an article in WordPress is. How to add images, a link and format text. All with a view to maximum readability and for search engine optimisation.

A post relates to a new blog article, while a page is a permanent fixed page.

Once you are logged in on your Dashboard page, you need to go to New > Post. There are two places to do this, both marked in red below.

The top area is for the title. The larger box is for the article content. Ensure your window looks like the window below. If it does not, click ‘Visual’ marked in orange, to see the visual editor.

Formatting your content in WordPress

It is recommended you break up your text with sub headings. This creates an easier to read visual experience for the reader, and gives Google a further idea on how best to index your site. H1 will be the biggest going down to H6 your smallest size of sub heading. H1 to H3 are the most important sizes for Google. (Other search engines are available).

How to add an H3 sub heading (this is an H3 subheading)

Highlight the text you wish to make into the heading, then go up to the drop down ‘Paragraph’, in the graphic above ‘Paragraph’ is just above the word ‘Article’ in green. In the drop down will be all the options, choose ‘Heading 3’.

Just above this area is ‘B’, which in the way described above will make the text bold. I, which will make the text italic ‘. You can try the other options to see what they do.

If you wish to colour a word it is the tool bottom row, third from right. You really should not need this, ever.

How to add a link

Select the text you would like to link then click on the link icon. It looks like a linking chain. The window below appears.

Simply add the URL (link address) to the box next to URL. Add a title if you want – helpful for SEO. If the link is to a website other than your own, click the Open link in a new window/tab box. This ensures the viewer still has a browser window with your website open. Then click ‘Add Link’.

How to add an Email link

Exactly the same as the way to make a link described above, however add ‘mailto:’ in front of the email address, in the URL box. So in the URL field it would say mailto:example@example.com

For both the link to a website and to an email address always check them on the site afterwards.

How to add an image

Just above the formatting tools and below the article title is a box marked ‘Add Media’. Click it.

If your image is already uploaded in your site, you can find it in your Media Library. If it is not, click Upload Files (top left corner just below Insert media) to navigate to your computer and find the image you wish to add. For SEO purposes it is best to have the name of your image as something descriptive of the image’s content/article’s subject matter.

The image above then appears. In the right hand column the text field ‘Title’ is automatically added. Remove this as it is the annoying rollover description tag. Add in the Alt text the description. Where I have written ‘WordPress training’. Again this is for Google.

Further down on the right hand column is ‘Link to’. The default is ‘Media file’. Which means when clicking on the image it will either open the image in a page of it’s own, or possibly open the image in a lightbox depending on your theme. I do not want this so I change it to ‘None’.

Click ‘Insert into post’.

Publishing your article

Depending on how your blog is set up, you can now press ‘Publish’. However typically my sites are set up so certain categories send the articles to different areas of the site. This also gives readers the option of reading articles on one subject matter. Categories is in the right hand column, normally the second box under ‘Publish’.

If your article is not finished use the ‘Save Draft’ option. Your website will save your article for later, without publishing.

Once you have published you have the option to change the date of publication if need be. In the same box as the Publish button. Which will now be entitled ‘Update’.

Enjoy your website.

Life as a Brønshøj web designer

February 8, 2014/in Copenhagen, Web design

Working and living in Brønshøj as a web designer has it’s advantages. Close enough to the City Centre by bike for meeting my city based web design clients, plus with the beautiful natural area of Utterslev Mose close by, not to mention the rather magnificent Brønshøj BK (Danish first division football team) on my doorstep.

Brønshøj BK have the most fantastic stadium. Where I grew up in Scotland I followed Highland League football, and it reminds me of one of their stadiums. Which is not an insult. It’s the combination of relaxed atmosphere, and passionate locals in a one stand stadium. Plus the small bars dotted around the pitch, the very definition of hyggeligt! A beer will cost 18DKK for a bottle, and the draft is 30DKK. Entrance is 70DKK.

The stadium recently had new floodlights added which have added even more to the great atmosphere. Getting to Brønshøj stadium is relatively easy using public transport from the city centre, bus 2A from the main station or main square will take you very close. Just ask the driver or another passenger where to get off.

If you fancy a beer after the match before heading back into the Copenhagen city, there’s Staalvand, a modern, bohemian cafe bar at Brønshøj Torv, and Gert’s Vinstue, a proper Danish pub.

Here is a link to an excellent article by a Swansea supporter on his visit to the stadium, entitled Lost in Brønshøj.

A guide to choosing a web designer

July 5, 2013/in Web design

Choosing a web designer is very difficult for a business

As I’ve recently opened for business as a freelance web designer, I now have a far better idea of how difficult it is for a business in choosing a web designer for their business.

Firstly business owners are experts in their field, and probably a number of others. But very few have much knowledge as to the often very confusing technical world of web design. So I will use this post to explain a little about what we do.

CMS and other indiscriminate uses of capital letters

CMS stands for ‘content management system’. Back in the old days of the web, about six years ago – I know! – a business would contact a web designer and they would build a website with your content in, and then it was finished. If you wanted a change to your content, you’d contact the web designer and he or she would update it.

So CMSs were created to allow a business to change their own content. A CMS will have a log in, which allows you, the business owner, the ability to go into what is called the ‘back end’ of the website, and edit and add new content. The ‘back ends’ are now very user friendly, and with a little training this is relatively simple to do.

There are a number of different CMS systems. Drupla, Joomla, DotNetNuke, WordPress. You have no reason to know, or care, what this means. I use one called WordPress. It is the world’s most used, and the one largely regarded as being the most user friendly for the ‘back end’. It currently powers 18% of the web. The additional benefit to a web designer is, these systems come with a number of the website’s core functions already built in. Allowing the web designer to concentrate on the visual side of the website.

SEO, yet another abbreviation

SEO stands for ‘search engine optimisation’. This is the ability for the website to rank highly in search engines. To rank highly on Google when a potential visitor to your website Googles either the name of your business, or the services you provide.

Recently this area has become much more simple as Google has changed the way it rates sites to a much fairer system, whereby good quality content, and regular new content, are the best ways to aid your site’s google rating. There are other areas that are important. The title, description and keyword phrases being added to each page. Plus using the keyword phrases (the phrases you think potential customers will Google to find you) through your pages’ content.

It’s a tricky balance between making your content readable, and being search engine friendly

By way of example. Take this article, or ‘post’ as WordPress prefers to call it. The URL (The page’s address) https://iaincameron.dk/a-guide-to-choosing-a-web-designer/, the page title is ‘A guide to choosing a web designer‘, and dropped through the content is ‘choosing a web designer‘. Good phrases for anyone googling ‘choosing a web designer‘. ‘Choosing a web designer‘ is also in the page’s external title (the top of your browser). Why on earth do I keep repeating the phrase, ‘choosing a web designer‘!

The importance of a blog

A blog within a business website is something I recommend to all my clients. A blog is simply a collection of articles on one page in reverse chronological order. The latest article is always on the top. This is very good for your site’s Google rating (see above) and allows your potential customers to learn more about you and your business. A blog can be a diary, an events page, a place for your opinions on your business area, a way to extend your brand, a place to give more information on your product(s), a way to provide support for your customers, and gain feedback through comments. There are any number of other potential uses. You are currently reading an article on my blog!

How much should a website cost?

There are free websites out there, you can set up your own relatively simple. You can learn through www.lynda.com or WordPress.org or just Googling what you need to know. There are companies who will charge thousands, and others who will charge a little, every month, forever.

However if you come to me, I charge for the website, and we are done. A contract is agreed in advance, there are no extra charges. This will include 12 months support, where I will happily advise you, or help you with any issues. I will listen to your business needs, and your thoughts on how your website should be. I will ensure your website looks fantastic. I will ensure you rank highly on Google.

I am a one person business. I am not aiming to get the Coca-Cola account. I understand, and have my own small business. With a number of years experience working in Web Design Bureaus, the same expertise, without the overheads.

I see every piece of design I create as an extension of my business, and of myself. It is in my interests to ensure you are a satisfied customer, as you are my best source for my next customers, and through sheer personal pride/vanity!

You can read more on web design from my web design service page, in particular why a responsive website is now essential. My web design portfolio is at the foot of the page. Internal and external links are also excellent for SEO!