DEV Community: Daniel Bishop

WordPress vs Static HTML: Which is Best For 2022

Daniel Bishop — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 18:13:06 +0000

Having an effective website is one of the most important aspects of your business. You need one that is easy to use for visitors, is easy to find, and provides information and functionality that users need. Besides being right for customers, you also want it to be right for you. Your website is a major part of your marketing and ecommerce, so you no doubt work with it every day. You need to be able to build it and keep it updated effectively.

Two of the most common options for business websites is a WordPress site or a static HTML website. As we move into 2022, if you are looking at updating your website or building a new one, there’s a good chance that you will go with one of these options. Here are the pros and cons of each, so you can make an informed decision between WordPress and Static HTML.

Static HTML

With static HTML for your website, you will truly be building your site from the ground up, with potentially a very thin framework. To build the website yourself, you will need coding knowledge. Each page has to be built individually using code, meaning that you cannot update your entire website all at once. You will code changes on one page, and then do the next, and so on.

Pros

The most valuable thing about a website built with static HTML is that you can have complete control over everything. There is no template, so you have the ability to do anything you want. HTML sites are also not updated very often, so there is less work to do on a regular basis, and less of a need for backing up your content. In most cases, an HTML site is more affordable as you do not have to buy a theme or template, and you can run it on a less costly server.

Cons

The biggest drawback about going with a static HTML site is that it is not for beginners. You need to have at least some knowledge and experience with coding. In fact, you may need to hire web developers in Kansas City to do the work for you. Depending on what you want, it might be beyond your abilities. This goes beyond building your website. Even for updating, you will need to code.

Because of the coding involved, it is also more time consuming, even if you are an expert. You need to do each page individually with no components that carry over between pages. You may also find that it is more expensive to maintain an HTML website because of having to hire experts to do it for you.

WordPress

WordPress is a web development tool that uses pre-built templates and themes. It handles most of the coding for you so that you do not need a high level of knowledge. Instead of interacting with code, you work with the interface that WordPress provides.

Pros

Using WordPress means that you can get started immediately without any experience. There are many tutorials available for beginners, and a lot of help available online. The user interface makes it simple to build and update on a regular basis, so you can take less time to get set up and less time to update it on a regular basis.

There are always updates available, and you can customize many of the themes and templates. While there is a cost to many of the plug-ins and themes, you can choose from a wide selection at all prices.

Cons

There is a reason that WordPress is the most popular web development tool, but there are still some drawbacks. For one, while there are many ways to customize, you may not be able to do exactly what you want if it is not an available option without knowing some coding yourself.

Another drawback is that your website might look like many others out there. Themes can be very similar, and they often follow patterns. You will need to work to make your website stand out. Often, making your website look different will involve purchasing more expensive options to make things work. WIth the regular updates that WordPress goes through, you may all of sudden find that there are compatibility issues, leading to having to make repairs and changes.

Having a website is an absolute must in this day and age. You probably can’t even remember the last time you made a purchase or interacted with a business that didn't have one. Not only must you have one, but it has to do everything you need it to do, along with providing SEO and marketing benefits. If you are building a new website, or updating your current one, you will no doubt be faced with the choice between a static HTML and WordPress site. This guide will help you make the choice that’s right for you.

How to Handle a Website Migration Without Losing Traffic

Daniel Bishop — Sun, 19 Jul 2020 21:26:29 +0000

Migrating your website is not something that you should do lightly. In fact, it’s a risky proposition that could backfire if not done correctly. Make sure that before deciding to migrate that you’ve taken on a comprehensive decision-making process that covers all of the pros and cons. There are several legitimate reasons for wanting to make a switch. In most cases, it’s because the website is hosted on an old platform that doesn’t support everything you need for successful search engine optimization. However, it could just be that your site has major issues and requires an overhaul to be able to rank properly.

Website Migration Basics

Website migration can refer to either changing the basic setup of your site or changing the technology you will be using with it. It is not the same as updating your site. Migration means that your site will undergo extensive changes that will fundamentally alter its structure, content, design, or the location where it is hosted. Migrating comes with a ton of risks. You may lose the rankings you’ve worked for on search engines, or you could even end up losing pages and components of your site that you wanted to keep. Once you’ve made the choice you must do it right to find success and not find yourself in a bigger hole.

Here are some ways to mitigate the risk and make sure that you don’t lose your rankings and lose revenue when you migrate.

Plan It Out

You’ve probably heard the phrase that if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail. That’s especially true when it comes to site migration. You need to have a strategy mapped out from the outset so that nothing is missed and everything is considered. Run it past everyone who has a stake and some knowledge of website development and SEO to get feedback to make your plan as bulletproof as possible.

That said, there is no doubt that some things will not go as planned throughout the process, so you also need to be flexible. Build-in extra time for it in case you need to make changes you weren’t expecting. Everyone should be aware of the possibility of delays so that it is not shocking when it happens.

Make sure that you are not planning your migration during inconvenient times. This means waiting until after your busy season. You want to leave yourself enough time so that everything is up and running and well-tested before you get to your peak time. Otherwise, you could hurt your sales when you need them the most.

Testing

Speaking of testing, make sure you do a lot of it. Throughout the process, at every step, test to make sure that everything is working. A slight change may have a ripple effect on other components of your pages or your site, and it’s important you stay on top of them. Otherwise, you could have a big mess on your hands down the road. In fact, you can migrate your site in bit-by-bit with testing along the way. Testing should continue after the migration as well to make sure that everything is still working when the site is live. This can include using an online SEO tool to make sure that your SEO is still effective.

Changing Technology

If you are migrating your entire website, then there’s a good chance you will want to update the technology behind it when you do. Unfortunately, while new technology can be faster and come with bells and whistles, it may not be automatically SEO friendly. You might have to integrate tools and tailor your content to make sure you can maintain your SEO from the site before it was migrated. If you change the structure of your site, you could also lose regular users who may find the changes difficult to navigate because they were used to the old way. As you change, make sure you continue to check your SEO score online to make sure that things are still running smoothly.

One of the most important things when changing technology is speed. Website speed is one of the biggest factors for user experience and thus your SEO scores. If you are not considering this when you migrate, then you may lose some speed performance when making the change. This can drastically decrease your traffic. Of course, new technology may also help to improve your site’s performance, so make sure that you know what your technology can do.

Site Structure

Migrating a website means changing its basic structure. There’s almost no way around this. However, this can also affect your internal links in unexpected ways. You need to account for this when making your strategy. When it comes to long-tail keywords, you need the vital pages to be as close to the homepage as possible. There are online tools you can use to test how many clicks a certain page is from the homepage, so you can work to get them closer. Mapping out your site ahead of time will help with this process so that you aren’t making updates and changes on the fly.

Redirects

If you are changing the URLs of your site, then you need to make sure that users are redirected properly from the old ones to the new ones. If you don’t get the redirects right, you will lose a massive amount of traffic as users end up on dead pages. You will end up with very few visitors and the search engines will have a harder time discovering and indexing your new URLs. The association between the old and new will help you rank higher as rankings can be retained if the redirect is handled correctly.

Content

If you want to rank well, then your content has to be original, authoritative, and share-worthy. The more shares and engagement you get, the better you will rank. Migrating to a faster technology or one that’s more SEO-friendly does not mean that you can get lax when it comes to your content. In fact, if your content affects your site speed in certain ways you may want to make that tradeoff as long as it’s not devastatingly slow. Make sure that your content is geared towards your keywords, and also towards converting your visitors to what you want them to do. To keep up your traffic, then your content has to be as good or better than it was before, or else all the work of migrating will have been for naught.

SEO is not a simple process anymore. It involves taking into consideration many factors and weighing what works best for your site. The same goes for migrating your website. If you do not account for everything and test along the way, then you could end up with a disaster on your hands. Check your SEO score regularly after you launch your migrated site, and make any tweaks you need to keep your rankings intact. Most of all, remember that SEO is an ongoing process, and your site migration can be a success if you take all the right steps.

Cloud-Based CRM System: Is it Safe and What Are the Benefits?

Daniel Bishop — Wed, 28 Aug 2019 08:49:50 +0000

Thanks to the massive expansion of internet infrastructure in recent decades, cloud computing solutions became the de facto standard for business software deployment. Gone are the days when companies had to rely on complicated in-house network setups to perform even the most basic business activities.
Thanks to the power of the cloud, businesses of all size gained access to advanced software for marketing automation, data mining, and most importantly customer relationship management. However, not everyone is convinced that moving to a cloud-based CRM solution is the right move. The most frequently voiced concerns surrounding cloud-based CRM are those related to data safety, application speed, and long-term costs.1
If you considered switching over to cloud-based CRM yourself, these questions are probably high on your priority list. And in order to help you out, here is an overview of the key benefits of cloud-based CRM. Keep reading, and find out how cloud-based CRM can help your business grow.

1. User-friendly Installation

Companies are often reluctant to try out new software for the fear that the installation process might be too complicated. After all, what is the point of spending money on a tool that makes things harder for you? Fortunately, most cloud-based CRM solutions take little to no effort to set up. For the most part, all you have to do is install a lightweight client frontend, and you are ready to go. And if you’re using a browser-based cloud CRM solution, you can just log into your account on the spot, no installation required.

2. Ease of Access

Nowadays, businesses are rarely confined to a single office building. Remote work is more prevalent than ever, and people working on the same team might live on entirely different continents. As a result, modern CRM systems tend to be accessible from every platform and region. All you need to use one are your login credentials, and an internet-capable device and you are ready to go. And since your data is hosted in the cloud, all your team members can access it at their convenience.

3. Low Price

On-premise CRM solutions usually require a large upfront investment, making them unsuitable for businesses with limited resources. They also require to keep IT experts on hand for maintenance and troubleshooting, further increasing the cost of using it. Cloud-based CRM solutions, on the other hand, are mostly subscription-based with a variety of payment plans, from completely-free to enterprise-grade. Your CRM provider will also handle all the maintenance, so you can keep your staff lean. It is also much cheaper to change your CRM provider since you can cancel your subscription at any time.

4. Enhance Team Collaboration

Cloud-based CRM gives all your departments access to the same customer data. This makes it easier to formulate business strategies and keep everyone involved in day-to-day business operations. Most cloud-based CRM platforms provide built-in features, such as a chat interface, or a shared dashboard. Not only does this enhance collaboration between sales, customer service, and marketing reps, but it also enables you to leverage smarketing to provide a seamless customer experience.

5. Scalability

On-premise CRM software has built-in limitations in terms of how much data it can handle. This makes it unsuitable for businesses experiencing rapid growth. In contrast, cloud-based CRM is inherently scalable. As your business grows, you can adjust your subscription plan to suit your needs on a regular basis. And if your company ever experiences a downturn, you can easily scale back your plan to save on costs, while retaining the same level of functionality as an on-premise solution.

6. Seamless Integration

Most companies today use a variety of software tools in their day to day operations. This can lead to issues due to format incompatibility, mismatched inputs and outputs, and different system requirements. Cloud-based CRM applications can help you avoid these difficulties because they are integration-friendly by design. Top CRM apps are built with integration in mind. You can connect them easily with the other tools you use, such as productivity software, email automation systems, AI chatbots, and cloud-based office tools.

7. Data Safety

In the wake of recent data theft scandals, companies are required to put in more effort to protect customer data. Fortunately, cloud-based CRM tools come with built-in security features, making it easier to keep your data safe. For one, all your CRM data is stored externally on the cloud, which is inherently safer than storing it on a local server with light-weight security measures. Cloud-based CRM providers also keep multiple backups of your data, saving you the trouble of hiring a DevOps expert to perform manual backups.

Conclusion

Cloud-based CRM represents a major step forward in the development of business software. It consistently comes out ahead in terms of performance, safety, ease-of-use, and cost when compared to on-premise CRM solutions, which are increasingly seen as a thing of the past. Give cloud-based CRM a try, and make your tech stack future-proof for years to come.