Putting the Power of Change in Your Hands (Part I)

One of the considerations many people have when creating a website is "how often do I want to update or change the content on my site?" It's a fact that keeping a site fresh with new content significantly increases traffic and maintains user interest. For some sites it's practically required because they need to post changing schedules, classes, company news, upcoming events, entertainment schedules, menu changes, special promotions, and so on.

In the past however, the task of making these changes has proven to be a bit of a challenge. It pretty much required that the site owner get a hold of the people who created their site, submit the changes, and wait for the updates to take place. It's a bit of a process. Creating a website, and making changes to it, involves knowledge and skill in computer code writing. It's a technical skill normally held only by trained professionals...and not that easy to master. And, because web professionals necessarily need to charge for the time that they spend working, the cost of making these changes could add up.

Hence, "If only I could make my own updates..." became a common sentiment echoed by many website owners.

But, now for the good news. With the advent of Content Management System (CMS) technology over the past few years, web developers are now able to create sites that are more easily changed and updated by non-technical users. Here's how it works...(continued in Part II)

Putting the Power of Change in Your Hands (Part II)

In the past, what you saw as a website on your computer was essentially lines and lines of computer code layered behind a visual "window." This window contained the basic layout, graphics, colors, pictures, and content that you saw on your site. The appearance of the window is dictated by the code underneath. With CMS, another "invisible" layer is built in that houses control panels and modules that allow you to make changes to the site that are then translated for you into the technical coding language that the site needs to operate. This allows a non-technically trained user to go in behind the window, make changes and update the site. All without any knowledge of code writing. Mastering these control panels and modules is relatively easy and can readily be learned with a little training. Even the most non-technical person can master them with a little practice.

Today there are several CMS platforms available to website developers. They each offer the owner more control over the modification and updating of their site. But each have differences that make one better suited to a particular application than another. Many web companies have elected to not pursue this technology and have remained with the status quo. Many who have embraced CMS have chosen to specialize in one particular platform over another.

At Orange, we got into the CMS game early, recognizing that this technology was going to make a significant difference to our current and future clients. Today we are well versed in all of the major CMS platforms available. Our feeling is that one, website development is a technology business and you need to keep up on what's current. You can always design a site the old way of course. But, why not also embrace the new? Two, giving the user the power to update their own content only benefits all concerned. It's better for the site owner and the audience they serve. And three, if you don't offer capabilities in all the platforms available, your clients are missing out on the best solutions that meet their needs. And that's not good business.

So when you're choosing a website partner, and you want to be able to easily (and frequently) update your content, ask yourself if the company you are looking at can make that happen, and if the platform they are recommending is the best one for your needs.

If you're asking those questions of us....the answer is YES.

89% of consumers research online before selecting a restaurant. Wow. That's huge. 89%.

This is according to a poll conducted last year by AIS Media, a leading e-business software developer. We ran across this info while researching a project for one of our clients. Here's some more of the findings:

"This result shows the impact that online services and marketing are having on the restaurant industry. Among those who research online prior to selecting a restaurant, 57% of respondents said that they check out the restaurant's website. This was greatest among respondents in the 25-45 age groups...

"With competition at an all time high, and chain restaurants crowding the market, a smaller restaurant needs to look at new ways to market and entice customers. Traditional advertising is reaching a diminishing market.

"Technology is changing the restaurant industry completely. In the past traditional advertising such as the newspaper or telephone book was the way most people selected a restaurant. Advertisements that stood out influenced consumer's decisions. Today, the Internet is replacing or becoming additional exposure to traditional advertising and marketing. The first contact that many people have with a restaurant is its website. It is critical that a website reflect the restaurant in its look and feel, is easy to navigate, have a simple way for a consumer to contact the restaurant, and have mapping directions to the restaurant."

At Orange, we're big fans of the culinary world. We like to cook. We love to have great dining experiences. Many of our best ideas have been hatched at the tables of our favorite restaurants. So as business professionals, and customers, this report gives us pause to think. We've always been big believers that involvement on the Internet is important for any business. This report shows how vital that involvement is becoming for restaurants. So next time you see us sitting at YOUR restaurant, pull up a chair. We got some things to talk about.

Well last weekend our company went to our first ever Expo. We joined over 280 other people in the biggest Joomla event in the entire world. This is the first ever Joomla event in the US.
We are very lucky to experience something so amazing in our own home city of Chicago. We listened to 9 guest speakers who were all experts in their industry. Topics that were discussed pretty much covered everything in the internet world.

Topics included (but not limited to):

• SEO (search engine optimization) and building sites that attract a greater presence through SE's like Google, Yahoo!, and MSN.
• Entirely CSS sites that allows us, web designers, more flexibility to be more creative and follow web development standards.
• Disaster Preparations - Knowing what to do, and how to recover in the event of server and website malfunctions.
• Building Interactive Sites - In making your site come alive and feature rich. Attract visitors, and maintain an active website.

Our company learned a ton and we love to stay cutting edge. We just want to do it better than everyone else. Do you blame us? We could be here all day and discuss what we learned, but we won't bore you with the geek techy stuff... Be sure to ask us how we can better your website!

Hello Everyone!

We have added a blog for you to get to know us better. Here at Orange Concepts, we want to keep you posted with what's going on with our company along with industry trends.

We want you to gain the most knowledge about website design and business development. Very frequently we will be updating our blog with company news, press releases, industry news, or just things we like! Check back often, you don't want to miss a thing!

Our goal is to be the freshest resource in website design and development. If you have any questions or would like further information, please visit our 'Contact Us' page and we will be sure to get back to you.