Below the Fold

Basically this means content in the bottom half of the page i.e. the part of the page that is visible when the user arrives on the webpage for the first time so the user dors not need to scroll down to see it.

Browser

This refers to the piece of software installed on your machine that allows you to “surf the web”. Examples of which are Internet Explorer or Google Chrome.

E-Commerce

This is the buying and selling online, using websites. The items can be physical or digital.

Favicon

Customizable iconsthat shows in the address bar in most browsers.

HTML

This stands for Hypertext Markup Language. The main language used to write websites its provides contene thata you see in the browser. Wihtout HTML the web wouldn’t work very well 🙂

Landing Page

This is the page that a person arrives at when they enter your site, this can be any page on your site and is not necessarily your home page.

Open Source

This can refer to computer programs that are available to the general public. They are usually free or low cost and are developed by teams of people, sometimes comprised mostly of volunteers e.g. WordPress

Template

This is a file which is used to help create a design that can be consistant across a website. Content Management Systems use templates alot

The post 10 More web design terms you may need to know.. appeared first on HeHa Web Design.

Backend

This refers to the actual website code that makes the user see what they see in the browser window when they look at the webpage. In addition it can also refer to the area in the back of a CMS (see below) where you an make your chnages to the site. Double meanings all over the place 🙂

CMS

CSS

Short for Cascading Style Sheet this is a file thats contains all the information which makes a website look “fancy”. No CSS = boring site

Domain

Basically the address of your website e.g. www.hehawebdesign.co.uk. Your website won’t work without one

FTP

File Transfer Protocol a method for transferring files around the net. Specifically for website design its a way of getting files from your machine to your website hosts machine

Keyword

This describes a word that is used to search for information on the net. Your website will need these to enable your site to be found when people look for things on the net e.g. to find this site you kight have used: website design; web designer etc. These can be imporved by using SEO techniques (see below)

Responsive

This describes what happens to a webpage when it is viewed on different sized screens. If your page / site adapts itself to the screen size then it is described as responsive. It should be as this will help your SEO (see below)

SEO

This stands for Search Engine Optimization. The method whereby your website is altered to improve where it appears in the results when someone does a search. Improving your keywords (see above)

URL

Uniform Resource Locator is simply your website address. Some say the difference between this and your domain is the http:// at the beginning. For example https://www.hehawebdesign.co.uk

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Are you using WordPress for your website? It is one of the best CMS’s out there as far as security goes. However there are a number of “extra” simple things you can do for yourself to make it even more secure.

Always Update

Whenever WordPress and a piece of software is updated you should try to update your own installation as soon as you can. Most wordpress updates are done to improve the system and this includes security. So when you see those immortal words “please update now” at the top when logged in, go ahead and do it……wait though, make sure you do a backup first!

Secure your Username

Create a secure username, never use the terms admin, administrator, the site name, user or test as your login. These are too easy to guess and as most attempts at attacking your site using the login and password are brute force attacks (see explanation below) this makes sense.

Also if you are using the blog element of your WordPress installation make sure in your user profile you change your “display name publically as…” option to NOT be your login name. This meta info usually appears after every post so if not changed this just gives the attackers the first part of your login credentials

Complex Passwords

When people see the term complex passwords they always think that this means complicated keying such as: Dt123Fgn&* i.e. very hard to remember! However this doesn’t have to be, if your password is long it can actually be a phrase (with capitals) that is easy for you to remember, just make it long! Why? same reason as above most attacks come as a brute force attack so its just a series of guesses by software run by the attacker. Longer passwords are harder to guess, the keys used to create your password are irrelevant the software can’t tell if the password is an actual word. You could even potentially use the term “Longer passwords are Harder to guess” 🙂

Limit your admin access

If you have an admin account access to your WordPress site don’t use it for stuff that can be done with a lower level of access. For example, create an editor account and use this to update entries on the pages or to add posts to your blogging area. This way the admin capabilities aren’t “open” every time you are logged in so an attacker can’t piggyback in and access all of the important bits.

The post Secure your WordPress website appeared first on HeHa Web Design.

Out there on the web there are many ways to help you create your own DIY website. It can work, but can it work well? Your website is your “online shop” and I don’t just mean e-commerce here, even if you are not selling products online it is an extension of your business premises.

Badly designed website = perceived bad shop = lost business.

A homebuilt website may save you money in the short term but will eventually cost you money. A well designed website may cost more at the beginning but will pay for itself over the long run.

Below are 3 potential errors associated with homebuilt websites.

Not understanding your design needs

This is one of the largests areas where mistakes are made. Web design is more than just making the site look pretty its about engaging correctly with your target audience. Is the image gleaned from your website matching what your company is trying to project?

For example, the site may work and the links go where they are supposed to go but what happens if the links are in the wrong place? Your navigation structure maybe muddled, so people don’t know where to click or even find where to click to navigate around you site. Maybe your favourite colour is green but should you be using it in your site? What colours, combinations of colours and amounts of colour attract what repels? Personal tastes may not be best for your website.

Using the wrong technology

Web technology moves very quickly and it can be hard to keep up so just a couple of examples of technology mistakes.

Flash based sites, they were all the rage in years gone by and there are still DIY website builders out there that utilise this technology. It gave great visual impact however there are numerous reasons why it shouldn’t be used today in creating a website, do you know why this is so? Just Google it and you will see.

Using off the shelf based templates bought from template stores. They may look attractive to start with and true the templates are cheap but once you have bought one there is little scope for an amateur to alter it to match your brand. If the template you bought is popular and remains unaltered then a lot of sites in your business field may be using the same one, generic so could be bad news. If you are working to a budget a professional designer can help to alter a template to match your brand.

Not making friends with Search Engines

Or in other words being to hard to find. Google is the most used search engine on the web and if you don’t follow their guidelines helping to create, monitor and optimise your site you will lose out in search results pages.

Good SEO (Search Engine Optimization) practice is very important when designing your site and must be built in as you build your site. Quality SEO is an ongoing process and if not done correctly your site can end up buried way down the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), not appear at all or worst case get blacklisted by the search engine.

The post Mistakes of a DIY Website appeared first on HeHa Web Design.

Let me throw a few numbers at you:

1,687,866,303 – Internet Live Stats and this is weeks old!

Quite a large number that huh? This is the total number of active websites (estimated) out there as of June 2016 as stated by Internet live stats.

However no-one is absolutely sure, there are lots of sites that are invisible and lots of sites on parts of the web that are unseen such as those on the dark web.

But even if we take this as an estimate it can’t be that far off, which brings us to the topic of this post, how do you get your site seen by the audience that you want?

Plan Plan Plan!

Make sure the site you create is geared towards your audience. Consider who the target audience is, is the design and content what the target audience wants and needs and importantly make it differ (in a good way ) from your competitors

Make em stay!

Everything (and I mean everything) on the site must benefit the audience directly, value being the key word here. Once you get them onto your site you have to make them stay there/ return

What ya going to call it!

A good domain name is half the problem. Don’t make it to complex, long or hard to spell. If possible make sure it contains a keyword that describes what you do. It doesn’t have to be your business name, take B and Q their domain is DIY.com!

The logo

If the logo is bad the perception of the site will be bad. A memorable logo or byline / slogan that sticks in the target audiences mind is important. Make it easy to remember but not too complicated or “fiddily”

It’s a mobile world out there

This is the last one but is the most important. Design for mobile is a MUST this means responsive design, if it doesn’t work properly on a mobile then you will suffer in Google search results not to mention drive people away as soon as they land on the site.

If you need any help with the website give us a call

The post What will make your website stand out from the crowd? appeared first on HeHa Web Design.

Does site size matter?

If you are looking for a new site, even a small 5 – 6 pager you really need to sit down and have a chat with whomever you want to do the design and when I say sit down and chat I mean in the real world sense and not just over the phone.

A face to face gives you and the designer time to talk about the ins and outs of your requirements. It also, from a designers point of view, can give them an  insight to see what you are like this will help them work out the design you need, as the design reflects you the client.

If you want to have a chat and a meet up with me give me a call

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