Most websites last 1-2 years. Getting a website to go three or more means making the right choices up front. The platform and methodology, the stack of components, to a certain degree the attitude.
STRAIGHT ANSWERS, YOUR PRIORITIES
FAS delivers the full range of consulting solutions for corporate clients.
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A WEBSITE YOU STILL WANT
Three Years Later
“When I need it now, I still ask “What’s going to serve us in the long run?”
PLATFORM
PLATFORM
CODE BASE
FEATURES DRAWN FROM BIG OPEN
MARKET OF INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS
SOME TRIED &
TRUE FROM THE
OPEN MARKET
UNIFIED
LIBRARY OF
COMPONENTS
EVERY COMPONENT
IS CUSTOM CODED
This is the most popular method. But the site can
be a hodgepodge, requiring significant
maintenance to resolve compatibility between
modules as they are updated. Site may require
frequent overhauls (once every 1-2 years).
This method makes the site initially expensive &
time-consuming to build, but also expensive to
maintain, since custom components need to be
updated as browsers/devices change. All that
proprietary coding makes it hard to change
developers if something happens.
Unified libraries of components give clients 90%
of bells and whistles they may want, while
playing well together and facilitating easier visual
updates over time. Augmented by fewer but
more venerable ‘open market’ components, you
can get a stunning and powerful site.
THREE WAYS TO BUILD A WEBSITE
“No, not your daddy’s Wordpress. It’s grown into Wordpress Rex!”
THE MOST COMMON PLATFORM IS WORDPRESS,
With Good Reason
IT’S OPEN SOURCE, COMMUNITY SUPPORTED, SEO-FRIENDLY, FREQUENTLY UPDATED FOR SECURITY AND
COMPATIBILITY, AND HIGHLY FLEXIBLE & SUSTAINABLE.
Q: But Isn’t Wordpress hacked a lot?
A:. Wordpress not often, but Wordpress sites using poorly
chosen modules from the open market are, because there are
so many, which makes them a target. It’s important to choose
judiciously and then put extra layers of excellent security
measures in place, because nothing is bulletproof.
“A slight modification to approach can make all the difference.”
PLATFORM
THEME
FRAMEWORK
PAGE BUILDER
PLUGINS
REGISTRAR
HOST
PLATFORM
THEME
PLUGINS
REGISTRAR
HOST
USUAL
WORDPRESS
METHOD
MORE SUSTAINABLEBUILDING A MORE
SUSTAINABLE WORDPRESS
Requires just a couple of changes
1. Use a highly respected theme framework
instead of just a theme. That way, you can
change themes (within that framework) in a
few years without a complete tear-down.
2. Use a page builder instead of custom-coded
theme pages in PHP. That way, you are not
locked into the theme, and you don’t need a
coder every time you want to change layout.
“He literally changed the website before our eyes, and said “hit refresh!”
WHAT ABOUT
PAGE BUILDERS?
Q: I used a page builder once, and it was crap.
A: They certainly were in the early days, but they’ve come a
long way. Modern page builders are faster, leaner, more
powerful, and don’t leave stray code in the site when you
deactivate them. It’s not the old free drag and drop stuff -
the market has gotten extremely competitive. We’re seeing
some amazing sites built with page builders—sites that
look like 50-100K but done for less than half of that.
WHY THEY ARE USED
❏ Flexibility to change layout quickly.
❏ Control without sending back to
development for custom coding.
❏ Some well-documented custom
coding (for style only) can
significantly extend their capabilities.
“I like getting things done in the most efficient way
possible. Because anything else is time and effort we
could instead be pouring into business growth.”
- Daniel DiGriz, MADPIPE
THE ATTITUDE
WHAT HAS YOUR WEBSITE DONE FOR
YOU LATELY?
❏ Each page is sales collateral. If the sales team can’t use it, it’s a fail
❏ Each button, form, and download should ping analytics as a conversion.
❏ Each content piece must be reasonably shareable by the sales team and
your internal brand advocates, and not hide the fact you’re in business.
“I lifted the lid on one site, and the
developers didn't’ even make it
compatible with Google Analytics. You
couldn’t measure sales as conversions,
and couldn’t set it up that way. I mean,
they DO know why the site exists, right?”
Our Practice Areas
Cloud
Migration
Database /
Data Mining
Project
Management
HRIS, Time
and Payroll
App
Integration
Mobile / Web
App Dev
Org
Development
Marketing &
Sales
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