Web design blog

A content management system provides you with the means to update the content on your website at a time that suits you, and is easy to use (if you can send an email, you can use a content management system!)

Many users of the internet access information “on the go” via either a mobile phone, smart phone (such as Android or iPhone) or tablet (such as iPad), and therefore, it’s not only essential to have a mobile friendly website to get optimum traffic, but it also imperative that you provide content on your website that works well on mobile devices.

Over a third of all adults in the UK now own a smartphone (such as an iPhone, Blackberry, Android or Windows phone) with access to the internet.  Mobile webviewing is on the increase and we are interacting online more than ever before. Almost half of mobile users make more than one purchase a month via their mobile devices. At a recent press launch we noticed that over half the people attending had looked at our client's website on their mobile device during the presentation.

Once you have got traffic to your website, it is imperative to provide the information that your website visitors are seeking and in a way that keeps them engaged, so that they do not navigate away to competitor sites. Content is king, and therefore, good quality information presented in a number of formats will keep visitors on your website for longer, along with appealing to a much wider audience.

Content is king! How many times have you read that with regards to your website or blog recently? Search engines love new content, which is great for SEO, but always keep your content updated to satisfy your website visitors not the search engines. Do what is right for your target audience and you will get the SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) benefits, don’t do it the other way round as it is will show that you are writing for machines, and your readers will move on.

There are few things more off-putting for visitors (read current and potential customers!) to your site than stale, unimaginative or incorrect information. So whilst a well-targeted, user friendly, search engine optimized (SEO) and visually appealing website are key factors which should not be overlooked if you want to establish and maintain a professional and respected online presence, these are only half the picture. Equally important are your site’s content, and your ability to keep it fresh, innovative and accurate. This is where CMS (Content Management System) comes in. At Covenant Solutions, we favour SilverStripe as our CMS of choice when building websites for our SME clients.

Your website may have been 'state-of-the-art' 5 or even 2 years ago but, with massive changes in technology and the way people use the internet, unless you've kept your site up to date your business could be losing out. Yet a website refresh or update need not be a costly exercise. Often quite small changes will update your website – and it'll also give you something to tell your clients about.

A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate to be able to take some time out from the business and spend the day at Building The Perfect Council Website. It was the first time I had attended and I wasn't sure what to expect. I had already done my research and knew that Ektron, Jadu and Sitecore were among the exhibitors and thought it would give me a good opportunity to talk to them about what their products offered and to see how they stood up against Documentum Web Publisher and SilverStripe.