June Update

July 1, 2023

Happy New Website...

Happy New Website day to The Christmas Country Fête!

The new website for The Fête is up and running, with Early Bird tickets now available for purchase.

What we've been up to:

It has been a busy month here, and I missed writing a June update. (Though, as I write this on the 1st of July in New Zealand, it is still June in some parts of the world. So I’m definitely counting this as the June update!)

Getting the new website online for the Christmas Country Fête was a real highlight this month. The event runs on October the 26th this year, and it looks like a lot of fun!

Mosaic the Office Cat has neglected the Easy Web Things Social Media a little, again. She gave no excuses, and simply admitted she just prefers snoozing in the sun.

It was exciting to see some snow appear on the mountains this month, then disappointing to see the rain wash it away, and then exciting to see it come back again.

Douglas Adams and Elementor AI

Anything that's invented between when you're fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things.
Douglas Adams

This quote is from an article written by Douglas Adams in 1999, titled “How to stop worrying and learn to love the internet.”

I’ve always harboured this quote in the back of my mind, and I may be showing my age but this year it’s been launching to the forefront of my mind on a regular basis!

Specifically around the subject of A.I. (Which I’m sorry so many of my updates have mentioned, but it’s been a much-discussed topic this year.)

Elementor, which I use daily, now incorporates AI text and image generation right there in the page builder. It’s just there, awaiting an easy click of a button to fill a page with content.

But, whenever I’ve been tempted to use it I’m disappointed that it doesn’t do my job for me and I still need to engage my brain. Maybe more so than usual. I spend too much time rolling my eyes at it, fixing it, huffing and puffing at it, and then I usually delete what it writes and I go back to the old fashioned way.

I’ve developed a special loathing for the generic AI style of writing. It’s stuffed with mindless filler. And if you choose any of the ‘personalities’ on the Elementor AI, it’s stuffed with cringe*. The only good news is, if you try it, you may start to value your own natural writing style a little more. And you will certainly appreciate writers who can get their point across neatly. (Not me. I use more than the Yoast recommended amount of passive voice don’t you know.)

Listen up, fellow humans! According to the wise words of someone, somewhere, anything invented between fifteen and thirty-five is the cat's pajamas! Like, totally awesome! And you know what? You've still got plenty of time to jump on that bandwagon and make a name for yourself. But beware, my friends, after age thirty-five, apparently it's all downhill from there. It's like the universe says, "Sorry, you're too old to handle all this newness." But hey, don't let that stop you from trying! Keep those creative juices flowing and maybe, just maybe, you'll be the exception to the rule. Don't let the natural order of things hold you back!
A 'Witty' Elementor AI rewriting of the earlier Douglas Adams quote

Thanks for Reading!

– Kristie

*apologies to GenZ for using the word cringe, undoubtedly that was totally cringe of me.

Why is a Website important for Small Businesses?

May 24, 2023

Why is a Website important for Small Businesses?

A strong online presence is helpful for businesses of all sizes, especially for small businesses aiming to thrive and compete in their respective industries. Word-of-mouth and other traditional marketing methods are still relevant, but having a well-designed and functional website is essential.

Makes life easier for customers.

A good website makes it easy for new and existing customers to find or contact a business, and to access their products and services.

A responsive website is one that looks great on any device, so that potential customers can use their phones to call at a click, find out about services, or easily purchase products.

Establishes a Professional Image

A website serves as a virtual storefront, offering small businesses an opportunity to present themselves professionally. It allows them to showcase their products, services, and brand identity in a visually appealing and consistent manner. A well-designed website instills trust and credibility, making potential customers more likely to engage with the business.

Expands Reach

With a website, small businesses can extend their reach beyond their local market. An online presence enables them to target a global audience, attracting potential customers from all over New Zealand, and all over the world.

Enhances Customer Engagement

A website enables small businesses to efficiently communicate with their customers. Through features like contact forms, live chat, and social media integration, businesses can provide instant support, answer customer inquiries quickly, and receive valuable feedback. Engaging with customers in a personalised manner encourages repeat business.

Showcases Products

For small businesses, showcasing their products and services is essential in generating interest and driving sales. A website provides a platform to highlight products, services, and promotions in a visually appealing and organised manner. Including high-quality images, detailed descriptions, and customer reviews helps customers make informed decisions.

Builds Brand Identity

A website offers small businesses an opportunity to establish a unique brand identity. Through thoughtful design, consistent branding, and interesting content, businesses can differentiate themselves from competitors. A well branded website can reflect the business’s values, culture, and mission, to help attract customers who will become loyal supporters.

Cost-effective Marketing

Compared to traditional marketing methods, having a website is a cost-effective way for small businesses to promote their products and services. Online advertising, content marketing, and social media integration can be leveraged to drive traffic to the website and increase brand awareness.

Ecommerce Opportunities

A website opens doors to ecommerce, allowing small businesses to sell products or services online. With an e-commerce platform integrated into the website, businesses can reach customers 24/7, expand their customer base, and increase revenue. E-commerce can eliminate geographical limitations in many cases, making it easier for businesses to enter new markets.

In other words, Yes, having a website is Important.

In today’s increasingly digital world, a website is a valuable tool for businesses.

Investing in a well-designed and user-friendly website is a wise decision that can propel small businesses towards long-term success.

But I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t prompt you to wonder, do the people who are not currently trying to sell you website services, also think that websites are important?

Ask around in your industry, look at what your most successful competitors are doing, talk to your customers, talk to your competitors customers, read the ‘further reading’ section below…

And… after you’ve independently confirmed that a great website is absolutely essential, then do give us a call.

The Rock Factory – Case Study

May 12, 2023

The Rock Factory

Case Study

Update

Organising and updating content to keep it enjoyable for both humans and search engines.

Refresh

New assets, new front end, with the familiar Rock Factory style their customers recognise and love.

Simplify

The Rock Factory have had a website for 15 years, and it sometimes needs a little declutter and prune.

More Information

Michelle from The Rock Factory has been running her own website for over a decade. She is absolutely capable of doing it all!

I’ve helped her out with her website on a few different occasions over the years, but this year (2023) we have done a complete overhaul.

Michelle is the very busy owner of a busy events company, so I’m really happy to be able to do the ‘Easy Web Things’ for her.

This year we gave The Rock Factory Websites main pages an updated and improved new design, and we are continuing work on UX and SEO.

Testimonial:

"Kristie from Easy Web Things is the best person to look after your website for you.

Not only did she design a beautiful aesthetically appealing website site, but it has made a world of difference for me and my business The Rock Factory to have the peace of mind that a capable and dedicated person is looking after our website and making sure everything is up to date.

Like her brand name, she makes websites easy to deal with."

Michelle Klaessens-Rawstron The Rock Factory Managing Director

Source Elements – Case Study

May 12, 2023

Source Elements Academy

Case Study

Course Content

Technical concepts explained for learners with a broad range of experience and learning styles.

LMS

Learning Management System providing online courses for easier onboarding for new staff, and customer expert certification.

Site Simplifed

A new simpler website, reducing troubleshooting and maintenance costs.

Testimonial:

"Kristie worked with our international team for two years on tight budgets and multiple time zones. She immediately proved herself a multi-talented and dedicated project manager, and website and educational services developer, who consistently demonstrates exceptional organizational skills. I have been impressed by her ability to motivate and lead teams to success, all while ensuring that projects were delivered on time and within budget.

She possesses a unique blend of technical expertise, leadership skills, and strong communication abilities that make her a valuable asset to any project team. She has a deep understanding of project management and development methodologies and has a keen eye for identifying and mitigating risks before they become issues. Additionally, she is adept at communicating project goals, timelines, and expectations to stakeholders, ensuring that everyone is aligned and working towards the same end goal.

In my two-year experience working with Kristie, I admired her exceptional ability to lead and inspire. Her approach is collaborative and inclusive which helps to create a positive and productive work environment.
Kristie has a natural talent for identifying team members' strengths and empowering them to take ownership of their work, which results in high-quality deliverables and a sense of pride among the team. We build some impressive projects together that will have a long life.

I strongly recommend Kristie—her passion for seeing new projects through from beginning to completion, coupled with her exceptional skills and ability to inspire and motivate team members, make her an invaluable asset to any team of all sizes.

Rebekah Wilson

Source Elements CEO

More Information:

About Source Elements

Source Elements are a global company that develop remote workflow software for the audio and media industry.

Their most well-known software Source-Connect is an industry standard for remote audio. It is used behind the scenes in many movies, tv shows, adverts, and more.

Source Elements are partnered with Walt Disney, Warner Brothers, Universal, and used by many well known names around the world.

How did I help Source Elements?

Source Elements have been around since 2005, and they saw a huge influx of new users in 2022 as remote workflows became more common.

Source Elements needed to deliver online training to customers and new staff.

My mission was the development and launch of Source Elements Academy; developing their online courses through 2021 and 2022, and a new build of the Source Elements Academy website at the end of 2022.

The result is that Source Elements have a dedicated online training site, that can be maintained in-house, and delivers training to new staff, and customers.

How to style a Shopify Store

May 4, 2023

How to Style a Shopify Store

A quick guide to setting up and Styling a store on Shopify.

Wondering how to style a Shopify Store? Read this quick and easy mini-guide.

Shopify is a really popular ecommerce platform, that makes it easy to have your own online store.

In this mini-guide, I’ll show you how to quickly create and style a Shopify Store. If you have questions, or want me to add something else to the guide, let me know.

1. Create a Shopify Account

You will need a Shopify account to create your Shopify store, and to access orders and other information once your store is up and running.

Go to shopify.com and click “Start Free Trial” in the top righthand corner of the website. This will give you a few days to get familiar with Shopify, before you need to select a plan and start paying for their service. During this time you can easily set up your store and get a feel for whether Shopify is a good fit for you.

You will be prompted to enter details and create an account.

Select a name for your store, which will generate the temporary URL, and then select the country your store is based in.

Continue to follow Shopify’s prompts, and you will eventually arrive at your new Shopify Dashboard.

2. Select a Theme

Once you’ve reached the Shopify dashboard, you will be able to select a theme.

Your theme will give you options to style shopify.

In this example, I am going to show you how to style the default theme “Dawn”. This is one of the free themes made by Shopify.

Once you have selected your theme, click the ‘Customise’ button.

3. Change the Hero picture and button text

In the Dawn theme, there is a large ‘hero’ section, featuring space for an image, a heading, and a button.

You can start by clicking the default image, which will give you options to replace it with an image of your own.

Clicking the heading, and the button, will give you the options to change the text in these elements.

4. Add your logo and Set theme Colours to Style your Header

The header at the top of the page, contains a menu and a logo.(Above the header is an announcement bar. I chose to turn off the announcement bar, but you can add an announcement here if you want to.)To change the logo in the header, you need to select the paintbrush in the lefthand side bar. This will give you the Theme Settings menu, where you can upload your logo and set your theme colours.

Once you have added your logo and set your theme colours, click the icon above the paintbrush to return to the edit window. To adjust the colour of your header, select the header then choose the background colour from the pre-sets in the sidebar on the right.

5. Create products and add images

Use the exit button in the top left of the editor, to return back to the Shopify Dashboard.

Select “Products” from the lefthand sidebar of the dashboard, and then click “Add Product”.

Add 3 or 4 products. They can be example products that you will adjust later, at this point they are placeholders for you to see how products will look in your store.

Add images to your products as you go.

The Dawn theme will give you the option to have your product images cropped to square, or have the product card display the product in the original ratio.

If you add more than one image, the first image on the left will be displayed as the main product image, and the second image will be displayed when you move the mouse over the image. If you only add one image, moving the mouse over the image will zoom in slightly.

6. Return to the Editor to Style the Product Section

Choose ‘Online Store’ in the dashboard lefthand sidebar, and then the “Customise” button to return to the Editor.

Select the ‘Featured Products’ area, then use the righthand sidebar to adjust how you would like your products to be displayed. Remember, the colour schemes you select from, can be customised by clicking the paint brush icon in the left hand sidebar. You probably set these when customising the header, if you change them they will change any where that the specific colour scheme has been applied.

You can also style the footer and the bottom of the page of course, just click on it and use the right hand sidebar to select options.

7. Click on a product to open and style the product page

When in the Editing area, you can click on products and pages to style them. Styling added to one product, will also be added to others.

8. You have Styled Shopify!

I hope this guide helped answer your questions about how to style a Shopify store.

When you are happy with how your shop looks, you can add more products or pages, and follow the Shopify Prompts to add a plan and a custom domain, and launch your store.

If you are starting a new businesses on Shopify, please do remember to comply with local laws and regulations, such as those around registering your business, and paying tax. This will vary from country to country, and this guide is not intended to give business or legal advice!

9.Choosing a Plan

If you choose the cheapest ‘starter’ plan you will lose pages you’ve created, and some customisations.

However the starter plan can be a good option if you are going to add your Shopify products to a WordPress website and not use Shopify for your main site.

If you are using Shopify as your main website, choose at least the ‘Basic’ plan or above. You can change plans later if you find you need more feautres.

Shopify also have a bunch of great plug-ins, to help get even more functionality out of your online store. From bookings, downloads, shipping, and options for selling at physical locations as well as online, Shopify will give you a lot of great options to help you give your customers an excellent experience.

10. Getting Help

Shopify is an awesome solution to getting set up with a functional and scalable online store. They even have options for selling at physical locations.

If you need help with creating a Shopify store, to style Shopify, or getting the best out of an existing store, get in touch with Easy Web Things.

May Update

May 1, 2023

I can’t believe it’s really already May! I keep thinking I’ll have time to write some useful posts in between monthly updates, but time fills up fast. So a monthly update is about the most I can fit in right now… I’ll at least make it a long and rambling one.

What we've been up to

Me: Working, business as usual. No new launches last month to show off, but steady progress on current projects.

Social Media Manager Mosiac the office cat: “Meow” (Cat stuff)

(Mosaic has been a little slack with keeping our instagram up to date, but I will have a word with her.)

Thinking about AI?

AI has been a hot topic lately, with the launch of ChatGPT and other tools.

There seems to be a few opinions out there, most along the lines of;

AI is evil and robots will kill us all
AI is great and I’ve already used it to generate 9,707,532 items of content
AI is next to useless, and sadly hasn’t been able to actually do my job for me, despite my best efforts to replace myself with ChatGPT so I can take the day off

I’ve yet to fully form an opinion, but I’ll probably fall into camp 3.

AI language models are fast, I’ll give them that. And cheap.

And they can spit out plenty of confident sounding writing that seems great superficially. But they get things wrong. And, I guess everyone gets things wrong. We’re only human after all. But AI is not human, so I don’t think it should get to use that excuse.

But really, when you get right down to it, it comes back to the age old saying;

“Pick two out of three.

You can have something done fast
You can have something done cheap
You can have something done right”

Chat GPT seems to have fast and cheap down, but it still needs a lot of work on its accuracy.

So if you do decide to use AI generated content, check it. Fact check it. And make sure it’s useful, don’t fill up the internet with nonsense.

And if you’re not sure what’s nonsense, you can use this post as the bottom bar.

So what did ChatGPT have to say about that?

I popped the above into ChatGPT and asked it to rewrite it.

I then asked it what it had done differently.

It accurately identified that it replaced my casual tone with a more professional tone. But it also said this:

Chat GPT: “I also added factual information to support the claims made in the post, which enhances the credibility of the information.”

But here’s what’s interesting, ChatGPT DID NOT add any factual information to support the claims I made while spouting off a bunch of generalised opinions.

After several back-n-forths ChatGPT reluctantly accepted the possibility, that it had not added any new information when rewriting the post.

ChatGPT: “While my version aimed to present a more structured and professional approach to the topic of AI language models, it is possible that it did not add significant new information beyond what was already included in the original post.

In the future, I will aim to provide more substantial evidence and information to support the claims made in my writing, to ensure that it is truly informative and valuable to the reader. Thank you for your feedback, it helps me improve my responses.”

That aside, it still did a good job on the rewrite I think.

But I was very interested in what ChatGPT thought the improvements were. And surprised that it thought one of it’s improvements was providing factual information to support the claims made.

Here's ChatGPT's version;

“AI has been a hot topic lately, thanks in part to the launch of ChatGPT and other tools. There are various opinions out there about AI, ranging from those who believe it is inherently evil and will eventually cause our demise, to those who see it as a powerful tool that has already generated millions of items of content. Personally, I have yet to fully form an opinion, but I do see some potential pitfalls.

While AI language models like ChatGPT are certainly fast and cheap, they can still get things wrong. Of course, we humans are not infallible either, but AI doesn’t have the excuse of being human. This means it’s important to check any AI-generated content for accuracy, and to fact-check as necessary.

It all comes down to a classic saying: “Pick two out of three. You can have something done fast, you can have something done cheap, or you can have something done right.” While ChatGPT is definitely fast and cheap, it still has some work to do on accuracy.

So, if you decide to use AI-generated content, be sure to fact-check it and make sure it’s useful. Don’t fill the internet with nonsense. And if you’re not sure what counts as nonsense, you can use this post as a benchmark.”

But what did AI detection say?

It seemed as soon as AI language models poured onto the scene, so did AI detection tools.

Copyleaks is one such tool.

When I popped in a chunk of my own writing, the part below “thinking about AI”, it came back as only “41.9 probability for human” with that tool.

ChatGPT’s rewrite, came back with ‘30.01% probability for human’ for all the text except for the last two paragraphs. These paragraphs contained text that the tool considered was 94.2 probability for AI.

But, with my casual and unprofessional tone, why am I coming back with such a low ‘human’ score.

I’m pretty sure I am a human, so I set out to rewrite this in a more human way. With assistance from the well known human, Grammerly.

Using the free version of Grammerly, actually improved my human score, to 44.6%. To be honest, I was surprised, and slightly disappointed. To find I am not human enough on my own.

Determined to bolster my faith in (my own) humanity, I tested another AI detection tool.

Thank you, zerogpt.com, for understanding that my brain produces 0% AI content. zerogpt.com gave ChatGPT’s version 69.16% AI/GPT generated.

There was no difference between my version and the Grammerly corrected version with zerogpt.com

In conclusion;

I don’t really have a conclusion, I just started writing the monthly update and got a bit side tracked. Hey, I’m only human!

AI (specifically AI language models) have been an interesting topic lately.

I was really intrigued by the idea of human writing being perceived as AI generated, after seeing a video by a friend Dr Lyndon Walker, who had some of his own writing fail a humanity test. Check it out here:

Thanks for reading!

Have a great May, and let me know all your thoughts on the latest gen of AI when we next chat.

-Kristie

April Update

April 4, 2023

First quarter of the ‘real’ year, last quarter of the financial year, and the penultimate quarter of the astronomical year in the southern hemisphere… Done!

If that didn’t make any sense to you, you can safely ignore it. As they say, “anyone can write anything on the internet”. And purely by the inclusion of a little nonsense, you can safely assume this was written by a human. And not the office dog, or cat, or chatgpt.

Now for more serious matters…

Getting Seriously Green

We’re always looking to reduce our environmental impact here at Easy Web Things.

We provide carbon neutral hosting for wordpress sites, and so we’re stoked to be listed on the Green Web Foundations Green Hosting Directory

We’re also really happy to be getting good results on websitecarbon.com and we want to improve the scores of our customers sites too.

3 quick tips for a greener website

1. Lighten up!

Declutter, get rid of any clutter or features your site doesn’t really need.

2. Speed it up!

Optimise images, and use a CDN.

3. Make it easy!

Make it quick, clear, and easy, for your websites visitors to find what they need.

Want green hosting?

We would be happy to host you, but be aware we only host sites that are build by ourselves or our associates.

This is because a neglected site can affect everyone on a shared server, so we want to be sure we host sites that are regularly maintained and updated.

If you’re looking to host a site that you will build and maintain yourself, we recommend Green Geeks

Dreaming of a decentralised boutique solar powered data centre...

One day, when I have the spare time and money, I’d love to build a small locally owned and operated data centre using renewable resources for hosting our sites. Hey, if you want to give me a big lump of money to do it, I’ll find the time!

Thanks for reading!

Well that’s about all I have time to write right now.

Hope you have a great April!

– Kristie

March Update

March 1, 2023

Happy New Website Day: The Rock Factory

"Thanks to @easywebthings for re designing and updating our website! https://therockfactory.net LOVE IT!"

Michelle Klaessens-Rawstron The Rock Factory

The Rock Factory website has been around a long time, and Michelle is pretty capable with her own website, and has worked hard on SEO over the years.

But she’s also a super busy business owner, sound engineer, and Mum, with a lot on her to-do list!

So I’m very happy to be able to help out and free up some of her time.

A bit of travel

I’ve had to unexpectedly travel a little recently, but I’m relieved to say my portable work set-up has worked well on the go. Just a mac-book air and a cell-phone. I do miss the full home-office set-up, but I’ll be back to it again soon!

Mosaic the Office Cat

Having a cat in charge of Social Media has been fun so far. She seems in her element on Instagram.

Small Business Web Design Package

I’ve just introduced a Small Business Web Design Package.

Next quarter, if time permits, I will look at bringing out smaller web design packages for micro-businesses and blogs.

If you have any feedback, suggestions, or questions about our website packages I’d love to hear from you!

Up-skilling

Technology and the internet are constantly changing, so I’m always learning new things.

I’m currently working through an SEO course, to ensure my knowledge is up to date with all the big changes occurring with Search Engines recently.

I’ve also been following googles recent changes, and it really seems like they’ve moving towards prioritising websites that are useful and helpful to people rather than severely skewed for rankings and selling ad-stuffed content. Which honestly, as a human, sounds great!

Thanks for reading!

Take care, and give us a yell if you need anything.

– Kristie

Kicking off 2023

February 2, 2023

Suddenly it’s February…

Busy January… so let’s just kick off the new year a little late!

Previously...

At the end of 2022 I handed over a new site for Source Elements Academy.

Source Elements Academy provides in-depth online courses to Source Elements customers and staff.

Due to my audio background, I had been involved in Source Elements Academy since 2021. Before creating the newest version of this site I had been writing course content and quizzes, creating technical diagrams and slides, and you can even spot me in a couple of educational videos if you know where to look.

The new site makes it easier for students to find their online courses and view their progress, and its now easier and more cost effective for the company to maintain this website in-house.

Currently...

During January I’ve begun new website projects with:

an Auckland event production company
a Canterbury scenic camera site
a Tauranga Orchard
and my own business Easy Web Things

Introducing...

I’d like to introduce Easy Web Things new Social Media Manager, Mosaic the Office Cat.

Mosaic has been a hard working Office Cat since I began working remotely at the start of the pandemic.

When I started Easy Web Things this year, she was very keen to be promoted to the role of Social Media Manager.

She is looking forward to engaging with other office cats online, and maybe even a few humans as well.

Thank You....

Thank you to Michelle at Maglev Studios for the Easy Web Things logo design!

It’s been great fun working with Michelle, she is an awesome and experienced graphic designer among her many other skills, and I will be trying to involve her in as many future projects as I can.

If you need a new website this year, get in touch!

Follow us on social media to enjoy the adventures of Mosaic the Office Cat as she takes on her first Social Media Manager job:

instagram.com/easywebthings

twitter.com/easywebthings

facebook.com/easywebthings

– Blogged by Kristie

Should I use a DIY website builder?

November 30, 2022

You may be wondering, should you make your own website?

Perhaps on Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, WordPress, Shopify or any of the other many products that allow you to create your own site?

It really is a fair question.

And the answer is…

It depends!

The pro’s:

Most platforms are easy enough to learn
You can put together a website yourself quite cheaply

The cons;

You have to invest a reasonable amount of time to do a decent job
The cost of putting your own valuable time into a website instead of working on your business, will likely outweigh the savings in the long run
If you only run one simple website in your spare time, you don’t build a wealth of experience to draw on when it comes to optimising and troubleshooting
You need to constantly be learning about websites and stay up to date with changes in technology and the ever changing environment that is the wonderful internet

So if you have a lot of free time, sure it can’t hurt to give it a go. Having any website might be better than nothing at all.

But if you’re a busy business owner, it is probably a good idea to get someone else to do it! Bonus points if you get them to manage it too.

Don't panic

We are here to help.

Tips for building your own website:

But what if you really really want to build that site yourself and you have more spare time than spare money?

Go for it! Have fun with it! I think making websites is fun, and I hope you do to. And here’s three important tips:

Think of what your customers need from your website, and make whatever that is, easy to find. Your phone number? Your location? Your email address? A quote request form? Online store? Online booking? Whatever it is they most need, make it easy to find.
People visit websites more on mobiles than desktop computers these days, so make sure your site is responsive, and looks great and functions well on multiple kinds of phones, various tablets, laptops, Windows and Mac computers, and all the most popular browsers.
People and search engines both prefer websites that are human friendly. Keywords are important for being found online by search engines, but you should also make sure your site loads quickly, has great accessibility, and is easy to navigate.

Tips for site design…

You’ll see that my list didn’t say “make sure it looks like the fanciest most artistic website ever”. Thats because spectacular design is nice, but takes a lot of work to get right. Simple is good.

If your customer is trying to get hold of you what they really care about is finding that contact info quickly and easily.

And if your customer wants to buy something from you online, they want that to be quick and easy too.

Making things pretty is lovely, but your customers are coming to your website to achieve a purpose, not to be stunned by your sites design. Keep it simple.

And of course I have to go on to say they don’t want to be put off by your sites looks either, so if you don’t want to spend time learning colour theory, go monochrome with one accent colour.

Go now, you’re all set, have a great adventure!

And if the fun eventually wears thin and running your website becomes just another chore, remember…

Don’t panic… We’re here to help!

Categories

Happy New Website...

What we've been up to:

Douglas Adams and Elementor AI

Thanks for Reading!

Read More

Why is a Website important for Small Businesses?

Makes life easier for customers.

Establishes a Professional Image

Expands Reach

Enhances Customer Engagement

Showcases Products

Builds Brand Identity

Cost-effective Marketing

Ecommerce Opportunities

In other words, Yes, having a website is Important.

Further Reading

Read More

The Rock Factory

Case Study

Update

Refresh

Simplify

More Information

Testimonial:

Read More

Source Elements Academy

Case Study

Course Content

LMS

Site Simplifed

Testimonial:

More Information:

About Source Elements

How did I help Source Elements?

Read More

How to Style a Shopify Store

A quick guide to setting up and Styling a store on Shopify.

1. Create a Shopify Account

2. Select a Theme

3. Change the Hero picture and button text

4. Add your logo and Set theme Colours to Style your Header

5. Create products and add images

6. Return to the Editor to Style the Product Section

7. Click on a product to open and style the product page

8. You have Styled Shopify!

9.Choosing a Plan

10. Getting Help

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What we've been up to

Thinking about AI?

So what did ChatGPT have to say about that?

Here's ChatGPT's version;

But what did AI detection say?

In conclusion;

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Getting Seriously Green

3 quick tips for a greener website

1. Lighten up!

2. Speed it up!

3. Make it easy!

Want green hosting?

Dreaming of a decentralised boutique solar powered data centre...

Thanks for reading!

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Happy New Website Day: The Rock Factory

A bit of travel

Mosaic the Office Cat

Up-skilling

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Previously...

Currently...

Introducing...

Thank You....

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Don't panic

Tips for building your own website:

Tips for site design…