Ever wonder why most new technology, companies and products often have strange names?  In the world of web design we’ve got Yola, Wix and Weebly.  In the world of VOIP you can choose from Skype, fring and a dozen others.   Even television manufacturers run the gamut from Akai to Zonda.  And, of course, the world of content management systems is no difference.  Joomla, an eclectic-sounding company can easily be dubbed one of the most popular content management systems today, for good reason.   In this post I will focus on which users would be served by Joomla, and in the upcoming posts I’ll discuss its biggest competitors (namely Wordpress and Drupal).  By the end of this brief series you should be able to make an informed decision as to which content management system is right for you.

Here are some advantages of building a website powered by Joomla:

1. It’s free.
2. It’s fantastic for anyone looking to create user-generated content or host forums on their site.
3. It has hundreds of settings and options to enhance a website.
4. If hundreds of options and settings confuse you, you can tap into Joomla’s own robust forums and find answers and advice about almost any issue.
5. Joomla has its own data collection and reporting tools
6. Webmasters or web designers can integrate banner ads into any website powered by Joomla.
7. It has chat software.
8. Joomla runs on Linux, Windows, FreeBSD, MacOSX server, Solaris and AIX, which means it’s suited to practically any user.

Of course, Joomla’s content management system also has downsides:

1. Although Joomla doesn’t require extensive programming knowledge for basic changes, it is quite complicated to implement.
2. Websites powered by Joomla that are overburdened with extras have been known to crash when daily visitors exceeds 50,000.
3. Joomla cms has been known to have security issues, especially when hosted on servers that are shared with questionable websites such as porn sites.
4. Joomla functionality is often reduced when too many plug-ins or extensions are added.
5. It is difficult to integrate SEO functionality on a website powered by Joomla.

Have any other comments about the advantages or disadvantages to Joomla?  I’d love to hear them!

As someone who works in an internet-based industry, I can say with certainty that I’ve seen more than my fair share of Flash websites.  Some of them look fantastic, operate smoothly and provide an entirely positive user experience.  Others definitely don’t.  The resulting question that most business owners, bloggers and web developers must ask themselves is ‘what makes one Flash website great, and what makes another one dreadful?’  Providing an honest answer to the questions below will help you determine whether you can benefit from a Flash website or whether you’ll be better off with a more straightforward web design.

1. Can Flash communicate your message properly? If you are looking to present a specific multi-media message to the user or to highlight certain features of the site with a subtle animation, you may want to add snippets of Flash to your site.  If, however, your goal is simply to ‘make an entrance’, the Flash presentation may actually distract the user or alienate him entirely.
2. Are you looking to rank well in the search engines (reach defined SEO targets)? A significant disadvantage of every Flash website is the fact that the information embedded in the Flash presentation cannot be ‘read’ by search engines.  If you are hoping to rank well for your targeted keyword terms you may not want to mask your site with a Flash presentation.
3. Can a long load-time harm the user experience? One of the biggest disadvantages of a Flash website is the long load-time.  Expecting a user to wait for the presentation to load and then to watch the entire Flash production may be too much to hope for.  If you don’t think that your target audience will be willing to wait for your page to load, it is not advisable to build a Flash website.
4. Are you implementing a game or movie? Flash websites are remarkably popular as a platform for game and video websites, as they don’t require any special media players or have any bandwidth limitations.
5. Is there a specific purpose for the Flash presentation? Many boutique business owners can successfully use Flash to showcase their portfolio of work or achievements.  Nevertheless, not all small business owners have a distinct need to display their work.  And, let’s face it – having a Flash website with rotating pictures of your office staff isn’t really necessary.

It is also important to realize that Flash requires a plug-in that not every user has.  In other words, when you have a Flash website, not every user will see it – and those who don’t will definitely have an impaired website experience.

Finally, to create a truly spectacular Flash website you may need to hire a professional webmaster.  But, if you’re ambitious, tech-savvy and creative you can try your hand at building your own.  I highly recommend Wix as one of the easiest do-it-yourself Flash website builders, and you can get some great inspiration at koflash.com  If you have any other suggestions that can make it easier to build a Flash website, please share them!

When building a website, it’s natural to focus foremost on the site’s design, as this is what visitors see immediately upon arrival.  There are, however, many aspects of a website that aren’t obvious to the naked eye, which can be just as critical as website design.  Search engine optimization is one of these elements.  Simply put, search engine optimization is a series of features that are built into a website that can help the website rank higher in the organic (unpaid) search engines, such as Google and Bing.  It is possible (and even recommended) to integrate these features into your website design so that the site will perform optimally from the get-go.

Why, you may be asking, do I need a website design that integrates the principles of search engine optimization?  There are multiple answers to this question, but the most obvious one is that it provides free traffic to your site, which, for a small business, can mean more exposure and more business (two things that business owners usually want).

Another reason why you can benefit from a web design with search engine optimization practices is that it can create a form of long-term publicity that shorter advertising campaigns cannot provide.  Although earning a high placement in a search engine is an achievement that can be nullified, search engine placements are often difficult to undo and can provide enduring exposure for companies who are savvy enough to earn them.

Finally, it is important to consider that implementing search engine optimization practices when designing your website is an easy and affordable way to generate traffic.  Integrating these techniques after the site is built requires significantly more time, money and energy as it will likely require significant changes to the site’s code or backend structure.

There are few things that are more frustrating than speaking to an empty room or operating a store that gets no customers.  Why would you want to launch a website that gets no visitors?  Designing your site with search engine optimization in mind will not detract from the look of the site.  In fact, it often enhances the user experience.

Stay tuned for future posts to learn about which search engine optimization features you can use in conjunction with your website design, and how you can best optimize the appearance and user experience on your small business website.