In my day job, I’m a software developer. I’ve done this for a long time. Mostly, I develop software that does complicated stuff with real-time information. But I also develop websites.
I’d like to develop yours.
Why should you ask me to do this?
Let me share with you a few observations about websites, especially in relation to small-to-medium size organisations:
- There really is no excuse these days for any organisation, however small, not to have a website. Hosting is cheap, and development is straightforward.
- The primary purposes of such a website is to convey information. Sometimes it will also collect information, and occasionally it will also sell stuff.
- In order to do so, such a website needs to be simple, easy to navigate and – most importantly – sustainable.
- It should not be necessary for the owner of the website to have to call on the developer every time they need to make a change.
- A surprising number of websites belonging to small-to-medium size organisations are terrible.
- This is usually because they have been developed using an out-of-date package, or even using raw HTML/CSS.
- This has two key effects. First of all, they won’t be taking advantage of new developments in web design, and some things like Amazon buttons and so on will have been superseded by new versions.
- Secondly – and more importantly – they will have out-of-date information, simply because in order to update that information would need a call to the original developer.
- There’s really no excuse for any of this either, because if your website is built using Wordpress, it will look professional, it will be future-proof and – most importantly you’ll be able to keep it up-to-date without having to call in the developer every time.
I’ve been using WordPress since 2008 and I’ve seen it mature from a tool for bloggers into a highly versatile basis for any website. Once I realised how it was coming on, I threw away the hand-crafted HTML/CSS I’d used to build the website for my software development company and rebuilt it using WordPress. I’ve built several other sites since then, including adding some custom widgets – the one used here for the links to various non-Amazon bookshops is one of mine.
Here are a few more that I’ve done recently:
Subbub – Submissions Management for the Modern Era
Hazel Southam, Journalist, Project Manager and Author
Laura Pritchard, Creative Problem Solving
Lev Parikian, Conductor and Writer (especially this bit – more about it here)
The 2016 Bath Spa Creative Writing MA Anthology, SPARKS
Spilling Cocoa Over Martin Amis
Jonathan Pinnock and Associates
Axbridge Archaeological and Local History Society
Gail Pinnock, Specialist Bariatric and Obesity Management Dietitian
Here’s what one customer said:
The website is excellent – straightforward, easy to navigate and nice crisp unfussy appearance – congratulations to whoever designed it.
President, AALHS