No Geek Websites

If your business or organization isn’t on the Web, you’re simply not being found. Most people are now searching on the web before they crack open the Yellow Pages. The Internet and World Wide Web is available everywhere. People have broadband at home, they have the Web on their phones, on their mobile laptops – everywhere! We’re a plugged in society!

Ok, so you need a website or you need to update your old site. What do you do?

Honestly, it’s not just enough to have a website nowadays. You need a website that’s a tool – an interactive communications tool. Think of your website as an extra salesperson that’s always awake and is always selling. It should be able to talk about your business or organization, take orders, feedback or even reservations. If you have some news or a new product that you want to get on your site, you should easily be able to do that yourself in a few minutes – without having to wait for some web geek to some day get to when he has time.

To accomplish all of this, you’re going to need a website that’s powered by a database and basically an online program running on your web host’s server usually built on a programming language like PHP, Perl, Python or Ruby on Rails Ok, did that just fly over your head? Don’t worry. What you’re looking for is an online publishing system for your website called a Content Management System or “CMS” for short.

A Content Management System allows you to login to your website and make changes using a word-processor like interface. There is no software to install on your computer because you just use your web browser. It’s really easy. You have all the normal functions like bold, italics, bullets, paragraph alignment and so forth. You can even make links yourself and add images. Most websites created today are using some sort of CMS.

Some popular Content Management Systems out there today are:

• WordPress
• Joomla
• Drupal
• Expression Engine

A lot of simple websites are being made with WordPress. This website is a WordPress site. It’s great for blogging and adding pages easily. There are a lot of pre-made themes available or you can have a theme (website design) custom made for you as well. Some themes allow you to add in your own logo but others don’t.

If you want more features including e-commerce for your website, then you may be better off choosing a system like Joomla or Drupal. Along with WordPress, they have a lot of plug-ins available and they are freely available as “Open Source” software.

And if you don’t want to mess with setting up a website, you can have one made for you. Many website design companies will help you set up a website with custom design, add in your content, buy your domain name, set up your website hosting and email. They will, of course, have to charge you for their time but they’re experts at it and it’ll save you a lot of time – time you could be using to do what you do best… run your business or organization. Get an easy to manage website today.

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