WEB DESIGN

[DanH]

I need to build a website that can have a proper user area from which they can download the products they have licenses for etc. Perhaps even communication with my plugins later down the line (as some of you have done).I haven't done anything on web design since dreamweaver many years ago :face_with_tears_of_joy:

Currently I use Wix but its absolute sh*t.

My friend suggested beginning with Laravel, but I'm very open to suggestions and advice. It occurs to me that sticking with JavaScript whee possible would be useful as I don't know html (yet!).

Thanks!

[d.healey]

@DanH Don't write it yourself, use Wordpress + WooCommerce.

[DanH]

@d-healey ok will check it out, thanks

[Matt_SF]

@DanH +1 for wordpress + woocommerce

[orange]

@DanH Wordpress + WooCommerce combination will be great and classic. Shopify is more like "in-the-box" all in one solution when it is compared to WP. Not quite detailed but very easy to use. You can think Shopify as macOS : ) WP is more like Windows, you really need to dig in to make a cool and fast website also you need to install lots of plugins which means lots of UPDATES and performance bottleneck according to the plugin that you use.

• WordPress' market share is 43% of all websites around the World.

• WooCommerce powers over 28.19% of all online stores around the World.

Be careful if you go with the Wordpress, below cases are important:

Theme : The Wordpress theme choice is crucial. The theme you choice has to be WooCommerce optimized exclusively and it must have great loading performance. I've tried tons of Wordpress themes including lots of themes that have shitty performance. I can definitely suggest Kadence or maybe GeneratePress or similar popular WooCommerce & Performance optimized popular themes. So go with big theme/plugin developers. You really need to be able to update your website with the latest versions to be secure and updated. Unknown plugin/theme developers can bring some trouble to your website with security and performance wise.

Page Builder: Don't use external page builders (Such as tagDiv Composer, Visual Composer, Divi...etc.), the Gutenberg will be enough and the best choice for you. Since the Gutenberg is the native block builder of the Wordpress, it's been updated in great loading performance and killed lots of plugins already : ) All of the latest tests show us that The GB is one of the fastest loading page builders.

Licensing Plugin: You can use Woocommerce License Manager plugin for distributing your licenses with its very well built-in API.

Hosting: Use a Wordpress optimized serverless hosting system, instead of classic servers. I use Kinsta, it has a great caching & cloud system (with free CloudFlare support).

Images: The image size is much higher when it is compared to the css, js, php files. Use an image optimizer plugin to optimize your images, this way you can grab great loading performance. Shortpixel is a good one for the image optimization.

Security: It is the most important thing. Since the Wordpress is the most popular system around the World, that means Wordpress websites are the most attacked ones by the hackers. Because it is open source and the hackers invent new ways to hack it. Thus, for the security, first thing you need to do is to be updated. So always update your theme and plugins. Some developers deprecate support, you really don't want that : ) So go with the big theme/plugin developers, never use unknown things. Uninstall the themes and plugins that you don't use. Second thing is: Use firewall services like Wordfence (premium) or other alternatives. Also use 2 Factor Auth for the admin login. So even if the hacker has your user and password, he can't login because he doesn't have your smart phone.

Plugins: As previously mentioned never choose unknown plugin developers. Use as few plugins as possible.

Performance check: Use https://gtmetrix.com and https://pagespeed.web.dev to check your website's performance. Make sure that the speed is optimized. Statistics show that the sales and user respect for the brand are also affected by the website speed & design as much as the product quality.

[DanH]

@orange Thanks so much for this :)

Could I host it on PCloud? I read somewhere on here that I could.... Perhaps @Lindon knows?

[orange]

@DanH said in WEB DESIGN:

@orange Thanks so much for this :)

Could I host it on PCloud? I read somewhere on here that I could.... Perhaps @Lindon knows?

Regarding to the hosting, I meant website hosting.

For file (the software that you will distribute) hosting you can use AWS S3 or of course cloud sharing.

[DanH]

@orange Yup, but I think I read there was the ability to host a website on it. I could be wrong.

So I tried to find Kadence and GeneratePress in the themes but they didn't show (free or premium).

[orange]

@DanH It has a free version: https://wordpress.org/themes/kadence/

Also this is the premium version with layer cake premium options : ) : https://www.kadencewp.com/kadence-theme/

[DanH]

@orange thanks! Will the free version be enough for me you think?

[orange]

@DanH said in WEB DESIGN:

@orange thanks! Will the free version be enough for me you think?

Personally, I wouldn't go with a free theme for a commercial business. Basically, it would be enough. But for better options like Kadence Blocks Pro, Conversions, Pro Add-Ons, AMP..etc. it would be much better, especially for a new business.

Statistics show that the sales and user respect for the brand are also affected by the website speed & design as much as the product quality.

[d.healey]

@DanH

Will the free version be enough for me you think?

Don't pay for anything until you have spent a decent amount of time getting familiar with constructing sites in wordpress and using WooCommerce and have felt out the ecosystem of plugins properly. Then take your time to decide where to spend your money.

[DanH]

@orange noted. Do you use pro, essential or full?

[orange]

@DanH I have Lifetime Full Bundle. By the way, I've added some items to the requirement list above ;)

Like @d-healey said, first you can try free version, and also watch the review videos on YouTube and then decide.

[DanH]

@d-healey @orange yeah I'm just trying to understand the costs - seems like they can rack up pretty quickly!!!

[DanH]

@orange This is brilliant thank you, hopefully useful to others as well

[d.healey]

@DanH

seems like they can rack up pretty quickly!!!

That's up to you. I use a free theme from WooCommerce, which I've customised a bit. Most of the plugins I use are free too.

[Lindon]

@DanH said in WEB DESIGN:

@orange Thanks so much for this :)

Could I host it on PCloud? I read somewhere on here that I could.... Perhaps @Lindon knows?

no hosting on pCloud - its a simple cloud storage service....

I use siteGround for web hosting....

[DanH]

@d-healey oh ok, so woocommerce has themes too... on I go

[d.healey]

@DanH Themes and plugins - https://woocommerce.com/product-category/themes/