Next year is the start of a new decade, and the fourth decade in which websites have been online.
The first web page went live in August 1991, and was built by the founder of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, at CERN in . Interestingly, the page’s original URL looks remarkably familiar – http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html
Fast forward to 2020, and the whole concept of easily accessible information online is central to our way of life. As with all emerging technologies, the internet revolution created new jargon, (search engine, cellular phone) and then products made it redundant (Google, iPhone).
Let’s face it, who actually remembers what http, html or CSS stand for?*
We do, and that’s just one reason why we want to help you update your business website and make it 2020 ready.
New Decade, New Website, New Solutions
As business owners, you don’t need to know jargon or platforms or protocols. You just want a website that works. At Akira Studio, we do need to know because web ptechie stuff is constantly evolving and updating, along with the devices you and your customers use every day. We spend considerable time learning about new developments in web technology, assessing them, and implementing the best into good-looking, tech-smart websites that still do essentially the same job – showing your pages. Only faster, better and with more clarity.
If your website is outdated, not mobile friendly, slow (or all three) it really needs to be brought up to date in 2020 if your business is to compete or outshine with those of your competitors for the attention of potential customers. If it doesn’t look good, they’ll simply click on to the next.
Outdated Website?
Call us to discuss a revamp, redesign or even a new website to reflect the quality and success of your business online. We’re now taking enquiries to discuss your requirements, with availability to build your new website from late January 2020 onwards.
The Secret of Successful Websites
The real secret of highly effective business websites is good design. The best modern websites convey information with speed, ease, clarity and (preferably) elegance. That doesn’t mean a website needs to be ‘whizz bang’, clever or complicated. In fact, in today’s cluttered world, the simpler the better in many ways.
The key is for each design to work well on ANY device, not just a desktop computer screen. Your website needs to look good on laptops, smart phones with differing screen sizes, various types of tablet computers and increasingly, voice assistants.
Yes, voice assistants. Even without a screen, your website needs to allow the search engines behind these devices to access the text in such as way that it can answer queries using the information your website provides. That is as much a technical challenge as a copywriting one, so that’s why we have our own copywriter and SEO expert on the team, as well as an experienced web designer and expert coder.
WordPress and Websites
WordPress started life as a simple blogging platform back in 2003. It was (and is) initially free to download, constantly improved and updated by a community of dedicated developers, users, and supporters. This simplicity was and still is its its key virtue, along with the ability of owner/users to simply log in and change stuff, without the need to go through their web development team each time.
16 years on, WordPress is used by at least 60% of websites built on recognizable platforms, which essentially means a lot of business websites! WordPress is flexible yet robust, simple yet scalable, adaptable and best of all, accessible via a simple to use user dashboard. This means that once your website is built, you can add new text, write and post articles, change pictures, and more.**
Why Update to WordPress
In the past, we have built websites in Joomla, which was a really good way to build technically smooth websites that had an accessible CMS (customer management system). However, if you’ve got a Joomla site that’s over 5 years old, it’s basically out of date and needs replacing. Give it respect for its loyal service and retire it. It’s done its job, but it will be showing its age and slowing down big time!
Over the past year, we’ve been encouraging our long-established clients to seize the opportunity to move their websites to WordPress AND get a fresh new look for the new decade. Here’s why:
- Search engines like new websites because they are easy to read (index) and provide them with answers to the questions potential customers are typing in.
- Your customers like WordPress websites because they work well, are easy to navigate and answer their questions using a variety of media including text, sound and video.
- Businesses like WordPress because it enables them to get into the ‘back end’ of their website anytime 24/7/365 and update information. (We can also do this for you under a monthly agreement if you’re too busy or not confident – just ask us for information.)
Here’s another reason.
Over 60% of searches are now made on mobile devices. If your aging website is *not* responsive (i.e. adapts to the device it is viewed on), it will look awful AND not work properly. Some search engines may not even list your site. So you’re waving goodbye to 60% of all new customers before you even start.
Why Choose Akira For Your New WordPress Website
Lots of website designers use WordPress without really appreciating or understanding the power of the platform itself. That’s where our technical expertise really kicks in. We create WordPress websites that have the gorgeous looks and fast speeds of top marque sports cars with the robustness, longevity and simplicity under the hood of your favorite SUV! Our prices are very cost-effective too – definitely more Ford F series than Ferrari.
Book Now For 2020
Call us to discuss how we can drive your business website into the fast lane in 2020!
* http = HyperText Transfer Protocol, html = Hypertext Markup Language, CSS = Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
** depending on your access level, as set by your web designer