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Friday, 14 September 2018 00:00

Selecting a Content Management System (CMS)

Selecting a Content Management System (CMS)

When selecting a Content Management System (CMS) for your website, consider the following:

  1. Will your website have a significant affect on your business? For example, a restaurant business is not going to be severely affected by a poorly designed website. 
  2. Do you have a very specific, highly custom and very large-scale plan for your website? For example, are you thinking of setting up a social networking community website similar to Facebook? Are you developing an Online auction?
  3. Will you offer a significant amount of content? Will your website have more than 50 pages?
  4. Will your website have a blog where people can post comments?
  5. Will your website offer a newsletter subscription?
  6. Will you be selling anything via your website? One item or multiple items? Locally or Internationally
  7. Will you offer free downloads of PDF, Word, Excel files?
  8. Will you have a lot of visual elements, such as product image galleries, photos, videos, etc?
  9. Will there be restricted areas on your website that would require users to login?
  10. Will you have a lot of social interaction on your site (posting comments, uploading photos, exchanging messages, etc.)?
  11. Do you have plans to grow and enhance your website gradually, i.e. adding polls, surveys, quizzes, adding e-commerce, etc.?
  12. Will you be changing the look and feel of your site frequently, i.e. once every 2 years? 

If you answer 'Yes' to 5 of any of these questions, your choice of a CMS should be Joomla. If your website is largely driven by a blog or simple text - it is safe to select WordPress. If you answer 'Yes' with an strong emphasis to question #2 - select Drupal or Magento.

One of the benefits of selecting Joomla for your website back-end administration is ability to chose from over 8000 third party Joomla off-the-shelf components and plugins. A Using quality extensions a Joomla developer can "assemble" a highly complex and sophisticated site in a matter of days. Customizing the flow and adding granularity to the features can be later enhanced and completed in phases, adjusting the requirements to real user behqaviour.

Whatever you do, make sure to test drive your CMS. Do not solely rely on sales presentations or word of advice. Consider the following CMS comparison article. And if you are still uncertain and would like to talk to us about a website CMS, call Joomla Bliss at 613.231.6308. 

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Monday, 26 December 2022 00:00

Single Page Web Design Trend of 2022

Love it or hate it, but you can't deny that it's there. The single page web design is the most noticeable trend of 2022.  

When we ask our clients what website designs they like they send us samples of the sites that all have a few things in common:

  1. Scrolling: One page (i.e. wall) design where the main menu tabs, if present, do not take you to new pages but jump you down on the same page. Scrolling can be quite extensive!
  2. Flat navigation, i.e. no submenus visible
  3. Excessive pagination, where one article is spread through multiple pages, making users click "next" multiple times
  4. Sliding in and out of side navigational panels a la Windows 10
  5. Zigzagging of on-page information by presenting a chunk of it aligned to the left and then the chunk that follows aligned to the right
  6. On-page boxes instead of the traditional navigation with the main menu on the top or side bar
  7. Use of imagery, icons and buttons of huge dimensions; use of huge font sizes; use of contrasting bright colors
  8. Use of transparent background with overlayed images and buttons
  9. Stacking links to key information points in the footer area, with no site map
  10. Limited amount of information presented on a page

Take a look at some of the examples that illustrate this web design trend:

One-page desing with zigzagging of information

Huge overlayed images with transparency work

Large images, large buttons, centering small chunks of information

Oversized images, fonts, buttons, and boxes

As with everything, there are pluses and minuses of this web design trend.

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Friday, 13 July 2018 00:00

10 Tips for Marketing Managers: Website Design or Redesign Project

Planning on undertaking a website design or website redesign project? Allow us to present the ultimate website redesign checklist.

Download this checklist in PDF format

Kick off the project. Get executives on board

  • Schedule informal one-on-one meetings with your key executives and ask them what they would like to see in a new website.
  • Then schedule a group meeting with all key executives.
  • Get their consensus on all main points regarding the future website's usability and look and feel
  • Define roles and get proper authority for yourself. Get your executives to officially appoint you as the Project Lead by sending an email announcement to everyone in your company who maybe involved in this project.

Plan your project. Prepare. Do homework

  • Large website design project can last several months
  • Create a project plan
  • Work backward from the desired launch date
  • List all major milestones first (prepare requirements, hire a web design agency, etc)
  • Split each milestone into smaller tasks (provide screen shots of favorable design samples, collect links to sample websites, etc)
  • Setup reminders for yourself
  • Adjust the plan as you think of more things to do and add more tasks

Define website requirements and create an RFP (request for proposals) document

  • List all features and capabilities you'd like to have on your website.
  • List as many as you can, even some very small ones
  • Order them by categories (interface, usability, back-end management, statistics, etc)
  • Provide links to applicable examples and paste in screen shots (do both).
  • Clearly articulate things that you do like and those you don't like
  • In case of RFPs, more is better. The more information and examples, the better.
  • Plan at least a week for this milestone

Most common items to include in the website design RFP document:

  1. your company overview and vision/mission
  2. main purposes of the website (reputation, information presentation, lead generation, selling online, event management, etc)
  3. list all desired functionalities, including very small ones (CMS recommendation, online backup capability, mobile device friendliness, external link open new window, browser compatibility, stylish typography, etc.)
  4. ask for recommendations on features and functionalities, a lot of useful information will come your way that may help you cut costs
  5. planned completion date (website launch)
  6. planned project duration, for example, 90 calendar days
  7. request a project plan
  8. request training and post-launch support options
  9. request website maintenance options (SLA)
  10. request hosting recommendations (even if you already have hosting)
  11. request detaile financial proposal: cost breakdown, the number of hours allocated for each item and hourly rate. Do not specify your budget unless it is very small. Request to add all costs (such as project management, communications, etc.). Request to specify what extra charges may be incurred later on (additional project management if the project gets delayed, moving the site to a live hosting, communications with your host, etc)
  12. specify whether or not image sourcing and formatting will be required or not
  13. provide proposal evaluation criteria. Be specific, assign points to each criteria.
  14. provide clear submission instructions (print/email, deadline for questions, deadline for submission, etc)
  15. specify proposal award process (winners are invited to the interviews in 30 days after proposal deadline; losers are not notified)
  16. ask for portfolio samples of similar projects
  17. ask for client references (this is different from portfolio! and very important to ask for)
  18. request resumes with designers' qualifications
  19. include legal clauses (no obligation, confidentiality)

Source qualified web design agencies

  • Do a Google search for "website design" in your area and gather emails from 10-20 website agencies
  • Send your RFP doc to these design agencies via a BCC email
  • Alternatively, you can post your RFP on MERX (if you are in Canada)
  • Gather proposals and read them carefully while taking notes. Even though it is time consuming, this step is crucial for the success of your website redesign project. Proposals will be part of the legal contract you will have with the hired agency, so if an item is not in the proposal, the service provider will have no obligation to complete it
  • Select three finalists and invite them for an interview

Hire the most qualified web design agency for your project

  • Prepare a checklist with 5-10 hiring criteria, for example:
    1. understanding of your requirements and objectives
    2. agency’s expertise and portfolio
    3. similar projects completed and client references
    4. designers' qualifications (many web design agencies have a very high churn and hire recent grads for the actual work; only sales and account management folks are permanent)
    5. project methodology (ask for a "walk through" on how the project is progressed; what PM software tools are used, if any)
    6. risk mitigation strategies (what if you don't like the design concepts? will you need to pay for rework?
    7. quality assurance processes
    8. communications protocol and response rate (emails are answered within 12-24 hours)
    9. account management (who will be your main contact and their role in the agency)
    10. cancellation policies (what if the web agency decides to end the project prematurely)
  • Select three finalists and invite them for interviews
  • Schedule all three interviews in one week
  • Schedule all interviews in the morning
  • Do not interview more than one agency per day
  • Take your time. Spend 1-2 hours on each web desing agency
  • Ask questions and take the opportunity to fill potential gaps in your knowledge
  • Create a matrix for the three finalists and evaluate the results carefully. Do it in writing. First impressions are not always correct. Some sales people are very good, but this does not always mean that their proposed value is the best
  • Use a group meeting if your team is large, gather “votes” and analyze 'pros' and 'cons' for each agency
  • Address the financial part of the proposals separately
  • Double check to make sure that all costs have been factored in (your budget can double because of the "not included" items)
  • Schedule a meeting with your executive team and present your findings to them along with your recommendation on the final candidate.
  • Make sure you get their consensus and official approval
  • Notify the web design agency who is awarded your contract
  • Ensure that the proposal is pasted into the legal Contract with all the necessary changes
  • Sign the contract and get the signed copy from the hired web design agency
  • Provide down payment if required.

Start the design and production process

  • Request a kickoff meeting with the web design agency and ask them to walk you through the process again. This can be done remotely.
  • Set up tasks and reminders for all milestones of the project as per the project plan submitted by the hired web design agency in their proposal/contract.

Coordinate with the  web design agency

  • If the project plan is too high-level, make necessary adjustments and update the web design agency on the changes.
  • Use Google calendar to track milestones and main tasks and share it with your web designers
  • Split up all milestones and large tasks into small tasks. For example, for larger chunks of tasks, such as re-format 100 pages, ask to complete 1-4 and pages first and show them to you for approval. This step can be split into three tasks: ask for 1-4 samples; provide feedback; verify the final results (set reminders for yourself).

Organize project files properly

  • Update your project plan promptly
  • Store all emails and documents related to the website design project in designated folders. Have a back up copy online (Google drive is highly secure).
  • Use long descriptive subject lines in your emails. Request the designers do the same. This will help you locate a particular email quickly.
  • Do not send long emails, but be specific.
  • Do not delete emails for 3 months upon completion of the project.

Manage quality and conduct QA

  • Provide your feedback in writing
  • For the main reviews, summarize your requests in one document. Be clear and specific, add illustrations and screen shots - this will ensure the best quality of the final product and decrease your communication time.
  • Provide your approvals in a timely manner.
  • Plan for and conduct Quality Assurance
  • Conduct your own QA and list all the items
  • Request your team members do the same (make sure to explain that no design changes will be made at this point)
  • Summarize all required changes into one document and send it to the designers
  • Schedule a QA meeting with your web design agency (in person or via skype)
  • Go over all items one by one

Manage your management wisely

  • Some executives request new features  after the design has been completed. This can get you caught into a grinder between the designers, executives and your finance department.
  • Notify your management and get their approvals on each important milestone by email (completion of the design concept, completion of content porting, completion of usability flow)
  • Clearly explain where additional charges may apply.

Joomla Bliss is a specialized boutique website design firm based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. We will be delighted to talk to you about your website design or redeisgn project. We work on a fixed-cost all-including contract basis, and our quote includes Joomla and SEO training as well as granular project reporting and post-launch support. Call Anna at 613.231.6308 or email her to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to discuss your website design or redesign challenges and objectives. 

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Saturday, 14 October 2017 00:00

Website Template Provider: Yootheme

Hi from Joomla Bliss, a web design agency in Ottawa

This post is a review of one of our favourite website template designers Yootheme. The company is based in Hamburg, Germany and run by a team of young designers and developers. They build their templates using Warp framework . 

We like their style. Their website templates come loaded with a suite of neat widgets. We find that for North American business environment their templates are best suited for small businesses and consultants, and not for medium or large corporations.

They stay in synch with times and add new templates often. The demo site is very easy to use, each site comes in several color schemes. Their website templates are designed for Joomla and Wordpress. 

The prices are higher than average and the Euro conversion makes their templates adn subscription almost double of those of Rockettheme or Joomlart.

If you are interested in finding out more, contact Joomla Bliss via this site or give us a call at 613.231.6308.

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Friday, 17 November 2017 00:00

Website Template Provider: Rockettheme

Hello from Joomla Bliss, a web design agency in Ottawa

This post is a review of one of our favourite website template providers Rockettheme. The company is based in Denver, Colorado and run by a team of experienced web designers and developers. They build templates for Joomla, Worpress and Magento.

We love them almost as much as we love Joomlart. Their website templates come loaded useful extensions and neat modules. And their templates are very well suited for any type of business in any country. 

They stay in synch with times and add new templates often. Rocketheme has a vast network of partners who offer signigicant discounts on their products via Rocketthem

The prices are very reasonable in the web design industry. We love how clean their code it, how scalable it is and how rich with extensions their website templates are. 

If you are interested in finding out more, contact Joomla Bliss via this site or give us a call at 613.231.6308.

 

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Monday, 25 September 2017 00:00

Website Template Provider: Joomlart

Greetings from Joomla Bliss, a web design agency in Ottawa

This post is a review of our favourite website template provider Joomlart. The company is 11 years old, which is very old for web businesses; it is based in Vietnam and run by a team of young web designers and developers. They build their templates using powerful T3 framework.

We like their style. Their website templates come loaded useful extensions and neat modules. We find that Joomlart's templates are very well suited for North American businesses of any size as well as for individual owners and consultants. 

They stay in synch with times and add new templates often. The demo site is very easy to use, each site comes in several color schemes. They also develop templates for Magento as well, which is a very good engine for ecommerce sites. The extension suite that they offer for sale is of exceptionally high quality. It is a one-stop place for any online business. We can assemble some of the most complicated business models for under $1000 using Joomlart's tempates and extensions.

Recently Joomlart began to offer templates for Wordpress as well.

The prices are very reasonable and probably the best in the web design industry. We love how clean their code it, how scalable it is and how rich with extensions their website templates are. 

If you are interested in finding out more, contact Joomla Bliss via this site or give us a call at 613.231.6308.

 

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Sunday, 24 December 2017 00:00

Joomla! 3.4.8 Released

Season's Greetings from Joomla Bliss in Ottawa!

The Joomla Development Team has just released Joomla version 3.4.8! Unlike the last few patches which are more urgent, this is mainly a bug-fix patch, so the team agreed that this can wait until after the holidays :) We do recommmended every one to update to 3.4.8 as soon as they can though, just to stay up-to-date.

You can update your site in your Joomla! admin panel or download the packages on the Joomla! site.

If you need any assistances with Joomla design upgrades or need to restore a hacked Joomla website, we at Joomla Bliss are happy to help. Just give us a call!

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Wednesday, 20 December 2017 00:00

Joomla! 3.4.7 Released

Hi from Joomla Bliss web design firm in Ottawa,

The Joomla! Development Team has just released version 3.4.7! This is a security patch that, as before, requires immediate attention, but only for a smaller target group. The fix this time follows up on the 3.4.6 fix, and patch a vulnerability on Joomla websites that are running on the older PHP 5.3. It is recommmended every one updates to 3.4.7 though, just to stay up-to-date.

Version 3.4.7 only contains security-related fixes, so in general, it shouldn't affect templates or frontend experience.

If you are using Joomla! 3 (which we recommend all our clients do, as Joomla 1.5 and J2 are no longer supported), you can update your site in your Joomla admin panel, or download the packages on the Joomla! site. Since Joomla 1.5 and Joomla 2 are no longer officially supported, you will have to download the hotfix here, then apply the patch manually.

If you need any assistances with Joomla! upgrades or need to restore a hacked Joomla website, we at Joomla Bliss are ready to help you. Give us a call!

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Thursday, 14 December 2017 00:00

Joomla! 3.4.6 Released

Hi from Ottawa,

Designing websites is always fun, but it is also important to stay abreast web design industry news. The Joomla! Development Team has just released version 3.4.6! Like Joomla 3.4.5, this is a security-only patch. This time around, the vulnerability discovered affects even broader - anyone using Joomla 1.5, 2.X and 3.X for their websites, are at risk of being compromised, and need to update immediately.

Version 3.4.6 only contains security-related fixes, so in general, it shouldn't affect templates or frontend experience.

If you are using Joomla! 3 (which we recommend to all our clients, because J1.5 and J2 are no longer supported), you can update your site in your Joomla! admin panel, or download the packages on the Joomla! site. Since Joomla 1.5 and Joomla 2 are no longer officially supported, you will have to download the hotfix here, then apply the patch manually.

If you need any assistances with Joomla upgrades or need to restore a hacked Joomla site, we at Joomla Bliss are ready to help you. Give us a call!

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Sunday, 22 October 2017 00:00

Joomla! 3.4.5 Released

Hi from Ottawa,

Designing websites and following industry news here, which we want to share with you. The Joomla! Development Team has just released version 3.4.5! This is a very important security patch, everyone using Joomla 3 for their websites need to upgrade immediately. The security holes in question exist in the Joomla! core codes, meaning every unpatched Joomla! 3 website, regardless of setup and configurations, are at risk of being compromised. Publishing the patch and security vulnerabilties on the web would also have the undesirable side-effect of making the exploit more well-known - so it is imperative that everyone update asap.

Version 3.4.5 only contains security-related fixes, so in general, it shouldn't affect templates or frontend experience.

You can update your site in your Joomla admin panel, or download the packages on the Joomla! site.

If you need any assistances with Joomla upgrades or need to restore compromised Joomla site, we at Joomla Bliss are ready to help you. Give us a call!

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613-231-6308
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548 Aberfoyle Circle,
Ottawa, Ontario, K2K 3R2
 

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