website design – Keep Up With The Web

Choosing WordPress Themes: Security Risks, Code Bloat and Other Issues

Years ago in the early days of WordPress, everything was free. You either chose a boring default theme, picked one someone else had created or wrote your own theme. Then two things happened: 1) people realized they need to make money and 2) hackers discovered themes are a way to create security holes.

Unfortunately, since one can get website code easily, it is easy for a hacker to use a particular theme to hack your website. Also, there is the do-it-yourself trend, in which someone who knows no coding wants to set up a whole WordPress site with only a click here and there.

However, if one also wants a complex theme or lots of choices, this can bring about what is called “code bloat” – lots of calls to the database that slows down your site or lots of short codes that make theme switching difficult. In this post we will discuss two issues: theme security and code bloat. Then the post will suggest a few ways to make good theme choices.

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Can You Influence Consumers by Using Neuromarketing Techniques? #FridayFinds

In my last #FridayFinds post, we took a look at neuromarketing and how big companies use it to influence buyers. For those of you who may have missed that article, in neuromarketing, companies use medical technologies such as fMRIs (functional magnetic resonance imaging) and EEGs (electroencephalography) to study how our brains respond to marketing stimuli. In that article, I shared a bit of the history behind this field of marketing . (Remember the 2004 Pepsi Challenge?) We also took a look at how digital marketers are applying behavioral psychology into website design and how neuroscience can be used to increase conversion rates on our web pages. This week, let’s recap what we learned in my previous post, take a look at a SlideShare presentation by neuromarketer Jeph Maystruck and take a look at how conversion experts are using website forms to entice visitors to subscribe for email updates.

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Big Companies Use Neuromarketing to Influence Buyers. Can You?

As a website owner (and digital marketer), could you apply the principles of neuromarketing to your online efforts? Do you know what neuromarketing is? Do you know how to apply the principles of neuromarketing to your website design and how to create landing pages that will generate more conversions? Learn the answers to those questions by reading the excellent articles that I found for you in this week’s #FridayFinds.

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Responsive Design or Mobile Site? Which is Best For You?

It’s a frustrating situation when a company has created a mobile site or an app that ends up causing more of a struggle than if you were to use the regular website. Let’s take a look at the differences between these two types of website designs, and when one might work better than the oth Continue reading “Responsive Design or Mobile Site? Which is Best For You?”

Friday Finds – Blog Reader Engagement, Google Penalties, Mobile Websites

This week’s Friday Finds includes tips from 33 influential bloggers who share their insights and experiences on how to improve reader engagement. Also asked this week is the question: Were you hit by the recent Google penalties? Do you know how to check to find out and what would you do if you were hit? You won’t want to miss an epic post featured on SocialMediaExaminer that lays out steps to getting the most out of Google+. Also, get more info on designing a responsive design for mobile computers including an excellent case study of how one company developed a responsive website and were able to eliminate their separate mobile site.

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6 Ways Tablet Computing Influences Web Design

Tablets are computers, but they work a lot differently than the standard desktops and laptops everyone is used to. This means web designers need to build in accommodations for mobile users, whether this is a separate mobile website or an app. Take a look at these six ways that tablet computing influences web design and how you can plan for it.

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