Approach: Web Design for Performance & Productivity

Proper web design & development not only initiates an attractive customer experience, but also enables effective analytics and optimization for continual improvement. As a value added service, I also offer website design services (in addition to web analytics consultations & implementations), to ensure best practices, and simplify the maintenance and management of my client's online presence.

I predominantly develop in Wordpress, recommending Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) to ensure 'light-weight', efficient, SEO friendly code.  However I also support 'heavier', more customizable premium Wordpress Page Builder platforms, such as Divi or Elementor. Themes for these solutions allow business owners and marketing professionals more accessibility and control to customize, optimize or test site content and designs following launch of a new website.   Even Webflow.com, Wix.com or GoDaddy.com hosting with free website templates can be more than adequate to meet the needs of individuals or small business owners.

A 'Page Builder' approach also offers out-of-the box mobile responsive designs so your visitors can effectively access your site on their phones and mobile devices, while also addressing search engine mobile-first requirements (Google, Bing, Yahoo) to improve organic search rankings.  However, the extra ‘weight’ in terms of additional javascript, can detrimentally effect Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts and performance due to slower page load times.

As the Wordpress CMS also includes a plugin architecture and a template system, there are significant options in regards to supporting ‘plugins’ and content or business specific ‘themes’ to consider.  I strive to minimize dependencies on plugins to support or expand  a Wordpress theme as they inherently present risks, such as limited support, compatibility or extra ‘weight’ in terms of additional javascript, load-time and site performance.  

However, there are definitely plugins that are very beneficial and are worth relying on, such as Yoast SEO, Akismet Anti-Spam or premium plugins to facilitate forms, image optimization, navigation menus or internal search features.