Category: WordPress

In the digital age, the experience visitors receive when seeking content online is what drives the success of most businesses. Big brands know this, and that’s just one of the reasons why large corporations use WordPress as their content management system. W3 Techs have found that 59% of the world’s top one million most visited websites in the world are using WordPress over other CMS, making it the most popular platform of choice! Today we’re explaining seven reasons why both small and large corporations use WordPress over other CMS options.

7 Reasons Why Large Corporations Use WordPress Over Other CMS

What’s not to love about WordPress? It’s easy to use, freely available and has plenty of design options for users. Here are just seven reasons why many big brands have chosen it as their CMS of choice:

  1. Open Source – it’s freely available, supported by a large community of CMS developers around the world and can be modified without any cost or permission required.
  2. Wide Range of Plugins – plugins add functionality to a site and WordPress has thousands of free and paid options available.
  3. E-commerce Suitable – while originally designed as a blogging platform, WordPress overs users a fully customisable e-commerce experience for even the largest business!
  4. Easy to Edit – WordPress lets users edit its features easily. It can handle a wide variety of media formats, such as videos, photos, graphics and GIFs.
  5. Mobile Responsive – with mobile device usage continually increasing and Google penalising non-responsive sites, websites must be mobile responsive. Large corporations use WordPress because they know their website will be 100% mobile responsive and usable by everyone.
  6. Affordable – a large corporation’s website will require a lot of customisation to meet the needs of the brand. Instead of only relying on the developer who built the site, they can hire many WordPress website developers to assist with their customisation needs.
  7. SEO Friendly – while a large website will often have more rank than smaller ones due to the amount of content it has on it, SEO is still a major Large businesses still want their website to rank above their large competitors and WordPress is incredibly SEO friendly. There is also a wide variety of SEO optimisation plugins available for it too.

Next, we’ll take a look at some of the world’s largest businesses who have chosen to use WordPress as their CMS.

9 Of the World’s Largest Businesses Who Use WordPress

To explain why WordPress is so popular with large businesses, simply look at what nine of the world’s largest businesses have done with it when creating their sites:

Our website alchemists would love to chat with you about how we can use WordPress to promote your business too. With no limits to the customisation of a WordPress site, we will provide you with a highly customised site which is easy to use and incredibly cost effective. Get in touch with our team now – we’re ready and waiting to start!

By Ralf Klis, FutureLab’s owner and technical leader.
This post was originally published on LinkedIn.

 

I work in an industry bursting with various options and solutions. There are hundreds of web development companies out there, providing thousands of solutions. From customising Wix websites, building entire CMS from scratch, WordPress, Magento, Umbraco – the list goes on and on. All of that falls under the broad definition of web development.

Defining Custom Web Development

There are as many definitions of custom web development as there are companies out there specialising in providing it. But what they have in common is providing some sort of customisation for the customer. The most popular ones include:

  • Customising a closed source system for the customer’s needs
  • Creating a completely custom solution for the customer
  • Customising an Open Source theme for the customer’s branding
  • Customising an Open Source CMS for the customer’s needs

The majority of custom web development companies out there would be developing one of the above solutions. Basically, these solutions are about making the experience of the website/web app unique on the market in some way. And there’s no single “right way” to do it; often the same result can be achieved in a number of different ways.

You’re probably wondering why I’m writing about customisation if it’s all the same. Why start the discussion in the first place? Because through my own journey of building a custom creation business, I discovered that we were all wrong. That the above definition is not what custom web development really entails.

What is custom web development

Here’s a hint. To get to the heart of what “custom web development” really means, remove the “web” part and what’s left over? Custom development: it’s the entire journey of the project, from the idea through to the result, which must be customised. My sales person once asked me to create a script for the initial meeting with a new customer. It was an impossible request. Because creating a script would ruin my definition of customising the experience. Customising the creation of something new. And it cannot be fully customised or innovative or unique if we aim to repeat any of the previous solutions.

The custom journey

We create custom solutions. In order to deliver them, we customise every element of the journey. It’s not a trademarkTM and it’s not a rocket science, but we make sure that the web journey is unique for every customer.

  1. The start

    One of the most important elements of the first meeting with our customers is that we don’t do much talking. We listen. In the end, we’re not here to offer a pre-ordained solution, we’re here to find out what the customer needs and then come up with a solution to solve their problem. So once the customer tells you what they need, that’s when you can start the talking. Only then can you suggest the solution, discuss options and start the process of customising the journey.

  2. The data

    Whatever the end goal, you can’t get to a perfect solution without measuring the current state. This is assuming that we have access to some kind of data. Even if the customer’s product is brand new, there are tools like Google Keywords Planner or Google Trends to do some initial competitor research. If your customer already has a web presence, Google Analytics is invaluable for measuring data. We also use Hotjar to create a User Experience (UX) report and Google Data Studio to assess all the most important data in one place.

  1. Discovery

    Whether it’s a simple website or a web app with a complete business management system, the discovery phase is where the custom journey gets up to full speed. We divide this into visual and technical discovery.
    Visual discovery is learning about and helping to organise all the information about a customer’s brand, brand guidelines, likes and dislikes. This is sometimes reinforced by very simple design presentations to find out what the customer likes.
    Technical discovery is also called scoping. This phase gathers all the required functionality, describes it and puts it in one place (the scope document). This document also becomes your delivery goal as all the functionality described and agreed on by all stakeholders becomes an end-product checklist.

  1. Design

    The design phase should use all the above elements to create not only a unique user experience and design, but also to provide a solution to the identified problem. This is often a struggle between the data and the customer’s needs. The ideal solution is a middle ground between what the user is looking for (UX report) and what the customer wants (scope). A great example I frequently bring up relates to the contact form on the top of the homepage. When we did a UX report on one customer’s old website, it turned out that no one ever filled out the form on the home page itself. All converted users automatically clicked on the menu element “contact us” before even looking below the menu. The solution was a middle ground – remove the “contact us” tab on the menu and replace it with a button “enquire” that pops up a contact form without leaving the page.

  1. Development

    This part has been already described above. Whether it’s a fully customised CMS or customised Wix website, it’s important to focus on delivering the right solution for the customer. One customer may look for ease of editing; another prefers full automation. Whatever the needs and goals are, the majority of the web development work happens here.

  1. Training

    This might be a somewhat unique approach of my business and my philosophy, but as much as I love our customers and love keeping in touch, the last thing any of us would like to hear is “can you please fix that typo on my blog”. It’s not just important for us that the customer has full control of their content and website; it’s also very important for every business to have full control of their product. This might be a landing page, eCommerce, or the web app of a startup fully built on the web. Whatever it is, the customer needs to be in control because otherwise, they become dependent on one developer. That is why we provide training on using the custom solution, plus a manual with full documentation, on every project we do.

  1. Handover and go live

    Having worked in the Internet industry for most of my life, I know well how things can go wrong. And there are no promises or guarantees in the world that will prevent it. Just like the development process, the handover and go live process need to be customised as well. If it’s a transactional website, the go live plan needs to cause minimal disruption to the system, purchasing, ordering, booking etc. Even with a simple landing page replacement, there has to be a plan for whether the links will change, any redirects, carrying over extra tracking tags from the old website or perhaps simplifying everything by switching to Google Tag Manager. Either way, this part is very important and the customer’s input is needed to ensure it’s as smooth as possible.

  1. Support

    This often-forgotten step is an important part in customising the development experience. There is no golden rule and once your web solution is live there will always be something that goes wrong, has been forgotten, or even misspelled. A clear plan of responsibilities, action and support process is very important for every customer. That’s because their online journey hasn’t finished but just started: with constant changes in the Internet and in the industry, the solution that has been developed will constantly evolve. And there’s nothing more frustrating than not being able to deal with the problem.

 

Whoever knows me, knows that I’m a huge Open Source supporter. I’ve been co-organising WordPress meetups and WordCamps for several years. And I volunteer for one reason – to make the Internet a better place. That’s why when we provide a custom solution it’s a custom journey that we all take together. It’s a small but crucial point of difference, and at the end of the journey you can often end up somewhere completely different than you might have predicted at the beginning. That’s the beauty of a truly customised development process.

You are in need of a new website. Should you go with an open source or closed source software option for it? Sometimes it’s not a clear cut decision, with pros and cons for choosing either solution. Today we’re going to explain the differences between an open and closed source website to help you decide on what to use.

What is Open Source Software?

Open source software for a website is available for everyone. Technically free of charge, it is software which anyone can use and access. The source code within it is visible and known to others, and it can be modified free of charge by those who know how to. Open source software (OSS) is continually being modified by web developers, so the way it works and looks can often change too.

What is Closed Source Software?

Closed source software (CSS) is private and not available for the public to see. It is owned by a specific person or business who pays for the right to use it. The source code is not shared with others, nor can it be modified without permission.

Differences Between Open Source & Closed Source Software

There are five key differences between open source and closed source website software:

  1. Cost – open source is free to access and use, but it doesn’t mean it won’t cost you at some stage if additional add-ons are necessary. Closed source is pricey, as it is designed specifically for the user.
  2. Support – support for closed source website software is far better, because you have paid (or still are paying) for their service. You will receive specific assistance which meets your needs too. With open source, you are generally relying on public forums or privately hiring someone to support you.
  3. Usability – there are user manuals written for OSS, but these are generally aimed at developers. CSS does provide detailed user guides written for the person or type of person whom it was created for. There is support available to help understand these further if necessary.
  4. Security – security is a big issue for OSS. With it being available to everyone, there’s always the possibility that what you have has been altered in a negative way, such as with a trojan or bug. While there are regular updates available, you need to rely on them to be published. For CSS, the security levels are much higher, with only limited people having access to the source code. Updates are done automatically too, reducing the efforts you need to make.
  5. Innovation – a closed source website can only be edited by the developers. While this requires additional fees, you get exactly what you were needing. With open source sites, as there are many contributors to the adaptation of the code, new advances are often made.

If you’re still unsure about which type of web software source to go with, get in touch. We’d be more than happy to discuss what your specific requirements are and help you to select the best option for your business.

If you’re not regularly updating your website plugins, be they from WordPress, Joomla! or Magento, you’ve potentially got a big problem. In fact, we’d go as far as saying it could be a disaster waiting in the wings for your website. Today we’re going to discuss the importance of updating your website plugins.

Importance of Updating Your Website Plugins

A website may look the same to your visitors, but the back end can be an ever-changing hive of activity. While the majority of the code remains static, there are always new updates being released by platform developers. Some of these updates simply make a site load faster, while others prevent hackers obtaining private information. Website plugins also receive their fair share of updates, offering users new features and increasing security levels.

There are five key reasons why updating your website plugins is critical and we’ll start with the most important one: security.

  1. Website security – no one wants their website to get hacked, yet every day unscrupulous individuals find their way into thousands of sites. A website which is up to date is always secure, giving you peace of mind in knowing that both your data and that of your customers remains safe.
  2. Improved functionality – the WordPress platform is regularly updated and consequently so are most of its If you fail to perform regular plugin updates, you run the risk of them not working correctly.
  3. Improved features – like functionality, website plugins are revised to improve the number and quality of features they provide. Many new features provide you with additional benefits, so it’s well worth updating them.
  4. Increased speed – plugins have the potential to slow down the loading times of your website. Developers know this and are continually fine-tuning them to reduce their impact on your site’s speed. An updated plugin ensures your website is operating at maximum speed.
  5. No bugs – we all make mistakes and plugin developers are no different. Thankfully bugs are reported by users and other developers often, and consequently corrected. To prevent the occurrence of annoying errors and quirks on your site, it’s important that plugins remain up to date.

A well developed and designed website can be easily updated, without any issues. A poorly constructed website can’t, which causes even more headaches for website owners. For a website which can be relied upon to run and update without any hassles, chat with us today. We’re experts in the web development industry and look forward to being of assistance to you and your business.

You’ve likely got a clear picture of the type of audience you want to attract to your website. But what if the idea customer arrived ready to purchase, but was unable to use your website? Web accessibility is about making sure that the information on your website can be accessed by everyone.

One of the greatest things about the internet is that it allows any person with internet access to search and use information regardless of their disability or cognitive function. As in most countries around the world, New Zealand has created its own web accessibility standard, the New Zealand Web Accessibility Standard 1.0,  based upon the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines or WCAG.

The WCAG 2.0 is an international standard which sets out four key principles which make accessing web content easier. They state a website should be:

  • Perceivable – to be able to be seen and perceived
  • Operable – to be able to be used by anyone, including assistive technologies
  • Understandable – the content needs to be readable and understood
  • Robust – the content needs to be able to be interpreted by many different users and assistive technologies

In New Zealand, all public and non-public service websites must conform to the NZ Web Accessibility Standard 1.0. To do so, all publically available web pages and all internally facing web pages created or redesigned since July 2014 must be web accessible.

However, even non-governmental websites should ensure their sites are also meeting the NZ and WCAG standards. That’s because as a business owner, you want your products or services available to everyone within your target market, not just the able-bodied.

What Are the Benefits A Site Being Web Accessible?

There are many benefits from ensuring your website is accessible by a wide variety of people, including:

  • Enabling people to use your website to find information, purchase products from or contact you
  • Having a website which is easy to use and navigate
  • Being easier for search engines to crawl and index
  • Creating a positive public impression
  • Increasing sales by being inclusive to all
  • Avoiding discrimination and its legal implications
  • Improve usability for visitors

The best time to focus on website accessibility is right at the start of the creation of a new website. As web developers, we understand what a website needs to be accessible, with the sites we create, meeting the New Zealand Web Accessibility Standard 1.0.

We’re more than happy to chat with you about how we can improve the accessibility of your website, or simply create one from scratch. Contact us today and let’s begin the process of developing you a fully accessible business website!

You’re looking for a new fully customised website, so you head to Google to find someone to build it for you. You’re either going to enter ‘custom web solutions’ or ‘web development.’ After all, they both mean the same thing, don’t they?

Actually, no. While it’s true that people with web design and web development skills share many of the same characteristics, they don’t produce identical results.  Today we’re going to explain the differences between these two terms to help you select the right website solution for your company.

What is Custom Web Design?

Custom web design provides you with a website solution tailor-made specifically for your business. It’s what we do here at Futurelab. We take a holistic view of your business; it’s reasons for needing a website, your services or products, and your branding to customise a 100% unique solution for your digital needs from the ground up.

A customised approach means we start from scratch when building a website. Only adding what you need, we cut through the “normal” clutter a pre-designed template gives, ensuring your visitors use the site exactly how you want them to.

A customised web solution also focuses on the aesthetics and usability of your website. The way it looks regarding graphics, font and colours, to the way a visitor navigates and interacts with the site are the important details for us. A complete outside-the-box solution, we bring dreams to life for our clients, and you’re next in line!

What is Web Development?

Website developers are sometimes called programmers or coders. They’re concerned with all the little parts which make up a website. Using HTML, CCS, Javascript, they write custom scripts for websites, setting up the code needed to show banners, forms and shopping carts.

Web development is focused on adapting a pre-built website platform, such as WordPress. It doesn’t mean that we give you the same solution as everyone else though. Your website is infinitely customisable, fully branded for your business and contains all the content you require it to have. It’s just not built specifically for your business alone.

Differences Between Custom Web Design & Web Development

The answer lies in the word ‘custom.’ A custom web solution means the entire website is built specifically for your business and your business alone. Our dedicated creative director and the team of programmers use their skills to completely customise you a website from the ground up. This option is the costlier of the two.

Web development does include making changes to an existing web platform but using something which is already built and which thousands of other websites are using too. However, the price point is lower than a custom web solution.

To find out more about our customised web design and development services, please contact our creative team today.

We’re days away from Gutenberg being part of every single WordPress worldwide. Yes, that means over 31% of the internet. So what’s that all fuss about and should you be scared?

What is Gutenberg

Gutenberg is a new way of editing content in WordPress. The current WordPress editor that you know has been with WordPress in a different state almost since the beginning. About a year ago Matt Mullenweg has announced that WordPress community will completely rewrite the popular WYSIWYG into a completely new block experience. The new editor will be actually What You See Is What You Get (did you know that’s what WYSIWYG stands from?). You can play with a new editor on the official Gutenberg demo site.

WordPress old WYSIWYG
WordPress old WYSIWYG

Fast forward a year later, after thousands of iterations of development, thousands of bugs and features solved, this month Gutenberg feature changes have been officially locked and Gutenberg has been announced ready for release.

WordPress new Gutenberg editor
WordPress new Gutenberg editor

When will Gutenberg be released?

Gutenberg is now officially ready for release, which means very soon it will become part of WordPress core. As of today, the “go live” date is at the end of August 2018 and that will be WordPress 5.0 release containing new Gutenberg editor. However, in the next week or two Gutenberg will be introduced to every WordPress user in the update 4.9.8. This update will have an extra “Try Gutenberg” callout where users will be encouraged to install Gutenberg and try on their new website or install standard editor in order to switch off Gutenberg when updating to version 5.0

Will the update affect me?

If you’re a WordPress website owner, the answer is yes. After WordPress 5.0 every website will have Gutenberg built in. How will it affect you depends on how your website is built and what theme you’re using. At FutureLab we follow WordPress coding standards in order to prevent our customers from future updates like this. Nonetheless, each and one of our customer’s websites will be manually updated to version 5.0 to test whether it works with Gutenberg. Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that everything will work smoothly, that is why it’s very important to have a backup of your website and make sure you have a support team handy for any troubleshooting.

What is the future of Gutenberg and WordPress?

As much as we’re scared about the implications of WordPress 5.0 update at the end of August, we’re very excited about Gutenberg. We’ve been working with Gutenberg for over 3 months now and are due to release the first website made on blocks only next week. We’ve prepared our processes and trained our programmers to follow the new editor structure.

We feel that this is yet the biggest update to WordPress ever and it will create unlimited opportunities for content creation. It is important to understand that Gutenberg is not a page builder (and we can’t really see that it will become one day) but it’s an advanced content builder. With the right blocks, the sky is the limit for the content build. We’ve already made our own blocks with buttons, images and other elements matching the design and are very excited how easy it is to edit the design elements for the website admin. If your developer is using Gutenberg and will style each of the blocks in the right way for your design, you can change the structure of your content in any way and keep your end user excited about the progress of your website.

 

When: Tuesday 12th September
Where: GridAKL, 101 Pakenham Street West
Why: Meet your local WordPress user group, eat pizza and mingle!

The September WordPress Auckland Meetup is coming up soon. This month we are featuring lightning talks on the topic of WordPress “DISASTERS: how I found myself in trouble and how I recovered”. Our speakers will talk about problems they encountered with their WordPress site, what they did to fix the issue and the lessons they learned from the experience!

Lightning talks are informal, 5-10 minute talks that give an overview of a particular subject. If you’ve never spoken at one of our WordPress Meetups before, this is a good way to get involved in a friendly and informal manner. If you’d like to speak, please do get in touch with us or any of the other Meetup organisers.

You can find full event details on the Auckland WordPress User Group Meetup page. Join the group to get reminders for our monthly events. We hope to see you Tuesday 12th September!

About FutureLab and the WordPress Auckland Meetup Group

For the last two years, FutureLab has been co-organising, sponsoring and attending the Auckland WordPress monthly meetups. We love meeting other WordPress users and specialists in the Auckland community, and sharing our knowledge, expertise and problem-solving abilities with those who are newer to the WordPress platform. In the past, we’ve featured talks on WordPress setups, search engine optimisation, the design and branding process, Gravity Forms, WordPress security, and more. The WordPress user group includes programmers, designers, bloggers, writers, SEO specialists, and amateur WordPress enthusiasts. We welcome all abilities to our Meetups – as long as you work with or use WordPress, we’d love to see you at our next Meetup!