Every WordPress web design company has a choice of using WordPress as a stand alone content management system, or to use a “framework” with it. A framework is different from a template. It allow for added funtionality, while working hand in hand with WordPress web design. Our preferred framework is called “Genesis”. With a Genesis content management system (CMS) you get these benefits:
1. Make your own website content changes and updates
WordPress web design has an administrative area. This is called a Dashboard, and allows an administrator with basic computer skills to login and make changes on the pages such as changing dates within a page, or changing the wording of a current event page to the past tense for maintenance purposes.
2. Posting / Blogging
Posts are similar to web Pages in that they have a title, body text, and associated metadata, but they are different in that they are part of the chronological blog stream. Posts are categorized and can be “tagged” for quick grouping with other like-post subjects. Traditionally people call a “post” a “blog entry” but the CMS allows for posts to be used for traditional blogging or for categorization of sculptures, current news, frequently asked questions, or anything that requires organization and separation into categories.
3. Show and automatically manage current news on the home page
A skilled WordPress web designer can set the site up so that posts in different categories are displayed on the home page. For example: a certain number of current news items can be shown on the homepage along with a photograph and when news is entered in a newer post, these old posts will be automatically pushed off but archived so people can still read past news.
4. Social media marketing / networking
WordPress web design allows for advanced integration of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other such social media methods of marketing. It is much better for interaction with the public than older site concepts, which is how users like to interact with websites these days.
Social media on your WordPress site is a two way street. Your news can be automatically posted to your Facebook page, or your Tweets can be automatically shown on your home page (or all pages). Pre-developed functional modules allow users to subscribe to your posts, and have them sent via email. We can keep count of the number of times a user “likes” your page, or tweets about it. We can have a tweet include a link back to the site without the user having to enter it. And your WordPress web designer can easily make the site itself become a social networking site by turning on the functionality to allow comments on your posts.
5. Genesis WordPress sites are search engine ready
State of the art code and smart design architecture make it easy for search engines to see what is on your WordPress pages. With automatic updates to the framework, you never have to think about it. Your site code will always be up to date. The Genesis framework that I use will ‘allow’ your blog to rank in the search engines, and by actively enhancing the site, and blog, with search engine optimization information specific to your site you can achieve even better search engine placement results.
6. Faster design changes
The way your site looks can be updated while all of the SEO benefits and the core functionality remain untouched. That means that changing the look of your site is controlled in one area, and spreads to all pages within the Content Management System. You can change the look of your site every year if you want to, and you’ll never hurt your search engine rankings because the design is kept completely separate from the core code.
7. Update your site’s WordPress Version instantly
Sites that are not kept up can be hacked. Most blog owners don’t update because it can feel pretty complicated with other platforms. Even some WordPress web designers and users have spent hours or days fixing a problem created by updating to the latest version of the software. This is one reason I use the Genesis framework. Using Genesis makes updating to the current version of WordPress pretty simple. Everything is integrated. They test all updates thoroughly, so we’re not playing Russian Roulette. This allows us to keep the look of your site exactly the way you want it, but quickly update the important code that runs in the background.
8. Customizing your site architecture is easier
Features make it simple to set up your site exactly the way you want it. And if you change your mind later, you’re just a few clicks away from creating new sections and functions.
“Widgets” are self-contained code modules that provide a quick and easy way to add powerful functionality to your site. Many “widgets” are built-in to add functionality to sidebars, footers, and the home page for this purpose. They allow social media sharing buttons, enews subscribing, search boxes, and much more, without writing code.
Want to update your font size and choice? Change the categories you display? Adjust the number of posts you show on your home page? All these can simply be selected from a drop-down box. Adjusting these types of options is quick, and your site is updated instantly.
9. Comments from users
Allowing comments from users is a great way to build engagement and loyalty with your readers — if you choose to use it. But you can also disable comments. If you use comments, you will want to subscribe to a spam protection service that comes as a plugin for WordPress. There is a small yearly subscription cost for the top rated service.
Here’s a list of some of the custom widgets available:
- My Tweets – displays an unordered list of your latest Tweets.
- eNews & Updates – displays an opt-in box for users to receive your posts by email.
- Featured Posts – displays post excerpts and a thumbnail to be used in a featured section.
- Featured Page – displays page excerpts and a thumbnail to be used in a featured section.
You can choose any of 6 layouts for each one of your individual pages or posts. You’re not limited to one layout for your entire site, although that does promote a sense of calm within the site. Here’s a list of the 6 layout options:
- content/sidebar
- sidebar/content
- content/sidebar/sidebar
- sidebar/content/sidebar
- sidebar/sidebar/content
- full width content {no sidebar}
10. More cost effective for your WordPress web designer to add functionality
Additional functionality can be added for a fraction of custom programming costs by choosing from thousands of “plugins”. These plugins are coded pieces of functionality that are developed independently by WordPress web design companies to work within the framework, and include such things as forums, slideshows, interactive forms, payment systems as complex as full shopping carts, etc. They develop these on their own and make them available to the public in return for contributions. Typically, I give small donation per plugin that I use. Most of my sites have 5 to 10 plugins.
11. Auto-sized featured images
Draw attention to your blog entries, news and articles with an image… nothing sparks interest better than using great images. Thumbnails are simple to add with the integration to WordPress and the “featured image” capability allows that image to be shown on any page that references the news, or article – such as the homepage. To save disc space, you will want to keep photo sizes generally small, but you don’t need to mess with sizing thumbnails, it is done automagically based on choices presented when adding a larger image.
12. Ready for advertising
We can show advertising easily. Just insert your advertising code, like Google Adsense, or any others, into a sidebar, header, or footer widget. We can also add sponsor logos within the pages or sidebars.
13. Tablet friendly
Most current web sites were developed before the iPad or Android tablets. Main navigation systems sometimes do not work well with iPhone and iPad (and possibly other smart phones and tablets). In addition, because Apple CEO Steve Jobs made a decision not to support “flash”, Apple products do not currently show flash-based slide shows. As a progressive WordPress web design company, we use Javascript based sliders to display photos or infographics on site homepages.
14. More cost effective interactive forms
The cost to build interactive forms in WordPress is more cost effective, as we license a plugin that is a simple “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” (WYSIWYG) format. Advanced forms may require advanced programming still. But it is quicker to build a form with logic, such that it opens a new section if a radio-button or a check-box is clicked that you need more information about. Opinion polls, for instance, are quite easy. We can even provide ones that keep a running count of percentages of opinions and show them to the viewer after they make their decision.
As your WordPress web designers we will make all the decisions to determine if you can benefit from the Genesis WordPress web design platform.
Call expert WordPress web designer Jon Camrud at 303-750-6114 to get started!
