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RT Design Studio
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We have been designing and coding sites based WP and Joomla for quite a while and every time a new project would appear, there would be a decision making process that would determine which of these two (WP or Joomla!) is more suitable for the ongoing project.
We always choose one of them basing on our rich web experience paying attention to the particularities of the project.
We decided to share our knowledge with all those who still wonder what are their options in specific situations. And this is because people come to us without knowing exactly what is the best option for them.
This is mostly what led us to creating the whole Wordpress vs Joomla concept and site.
And all these being told, here is how we did it:
We gathered up a creative group from our team. For this project we've gathered together the Chief Art Director, Chief Designer, our main Joomla! and WordPress coder, our Marketing Specialist, web designer and Content Writing specialist and we went on to the lab.
We came out with this idea of Wordpress vs Joomla! fights of who is better and why. And we've thought that our main two keypoints are to keep this website fun, simple and informative and comprehensive for the beginer level user. So - if simple and fun, then we thought to come up with something drawn by hand and original and in order to show this vs scene, we've created two characters - one for Joomla! and the other one for Wordpress. And of course after that we've created several positions for each character.
We tried to choose a color for each half representing Wordpress and the other one Joomla, but eventually we had to give up to that since Joomla has 4 logo colors, but still we've chosen to use the backgrounds used on Wordpress and Joomla! official websites for each side and decided to use the left side for posting articles and the right one is a sidebar.
Since the name was WP vs Joomla we've chosen the exact domain name www.wordpressvsjoomla.com.
After that we asked ourselves which would be the best platform for this project. Since the point was to post articles in which we would show in parallel the pros and cons of wordpress vs joomla judging from specific requirements of a certain project which either has been done or is a probability - we've chosen Wordpress.
It is very easy to write articles and post them in WP and the design of the page could be easily done since we considered to split the page in half: one half represents WP, and the other one Joomla.
We wanted to present it in a fun and simple way so it would be easy to see why this and why that, and the advantage of wordpress or joomla in each specific area of web design or coding and also in a different page to show how did these 2 perform one against the other overall.
This is where the box fights idea comes in: punches, belts, medals, points appearing on our table of sketches.
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Web Design & Development
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Everything we do has its rules, and web design is not an exception. Some simple moments have to be known by everyone who works in this domain.
At the beginning of creating your web page, answer to a simple question: “Why am I doing this?” Because a site without a clear and well-defined purpose launch a message unconvincing and dull.
The visitor will ask, no doubt, "What serves this site? And if doesn’t satisfy his needs will rush to leave it.
If we take a look at all pages/sites, we can see that they are not made just to be on web. Everything must have a purpose. Every single part and element must help users achieve their goals and support the site's goals.
What means success in web design?
Success isn’t just professional skills, each of us can learn the basic elements of web design but not all will achieve the level of a “good site”. But for having a really great web page everything must be in a perfect combination.
Success is a result of good thinking plus some hard work, in which everything goes perfect with the site’s goal. This is what I call “golden rule”. All the elements from your web site must have well defined purpose. It must either guide the visitors to achieve their goals, or support the site’s purpose without forgetting the visitor’s goals.
Every single step of the process applied in accordance with the principle of Golden Rule will make a result that can bring you the success.
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Web Design & Development
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If you ask yourself “why we need a simpler site?” The reason is very simple. The user reaches the site and not just finds what you give.
A simple web design has much more benefits to visitors, clients and even for designers. A quality web design combine graphics and images to highlight what is truly important in a website: content.
A simple design must be, first of all, effective, which does not distract the visitor from what it should see: your offer. The time page loading should be very small so that the visitor does not wait for loading a photo or graphic element.
What are the advantages of a simple design?
Primary the Internet develops with a vigorous and amazing speed. So the visitor or users have to enjoy a high offer exposure to a platform that is easy to understand, especially easy to interact.
There are many benefits of simple design. The pages load faster for users. The content can be read faster and quicker responsive, at the same time much easier to be scanned by client eyes.
At the same time we can’t forget about your own commercial benefits. You can get more profit by making a quicker design or redesign. And it is easier to maintain and make work on different platforms and browsers.
Remember some rules for simple design.
If at first sign seems easy to design simply, then in reality is more sophisticated. It takes lot of skills, practice and clear vision. How can I get the practice in designing simply?
1. Keep your goals fresh in your mind! Don’t forget sometimes to get a break, when you’ll come back refreshed the work will have a new look.
2. First think and then do. Trust yourself completely, and let your mind work for you. Don’t be afraid to experiment with the tools, but don’t exaggerate with it.
3. What is more - is viewless! Too many images, elements or text will make the visitors lost and confused.
4. Be short and concrete. Let the content jump in user’s eyes. The visitors always will return to the page where they found fast the information they needed.
Most of all, simplicity in design can save your time and money. Or, rather it finds room in a budget for thinking creatively about the real design problems, which is where you can discover the solutions that deliver true competitive advantage.
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Marketing
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A brand means everything that you want to communicate consumers about your company or product.
It must be given a great attention to branding, it should be careful chosen because the result of branding is the first and primary method of communication and interaction with potential customers. If done well, your brand image can inform your consumers' thinking about your market position, value, quality, price, service level, heritage, size, and anything else that matters.
Good brands are those that are loved by customers and sales force. There are brands that are looking to the consumer in 10 stores until you find, to wait for 2 days if is required before the product appears on shelves.
How works a brand?
For a brand to work, it has to have credibility. The easiest way to be credible is to believe it yourself, too love and take care of it. It means being "Web Doctor". Like a method actor, it means leaving out the brand, so that it comes through every action and connection.
All companies that have the vaguest interesting marketing want to have a brand. Few are those who succeed. Because it's so easy to create on the web, a lot of people devalue their own brands even as they create them.
In terms that the competition and customer demands, on most markets increase, the pressures on budgets make the brand importance bigger for any business to grow.
Usability and Branding for the Web is crucial for communicating a positive brand impression. Do everything you can to ensure your visitors get what they came for, and have a smooth, positive, enjoyable experience.
Visual Branding for the Web.
For a company or goods to become a brand has to take a unique meaning, to make a public promise and respect. Be consistent with other media output, but don't necessarily apply every brand guideline slavishly, particularly with color. There is no Pantone for the web - you can't guarantee how a color will appear on your users' monitors, and not every printable color can be displayed on-screen.
How to become better.
1. Learn to be sincere with your client. Sincerity towards the customer is a very important factor when you want to win that customer in the long term. So your brand must be based on the reality.
2. Involve the client as part of your brand. He must attend the entire business process or at least feel it. Sense of belonging helps a lot in building long term relationships.
3. Go meet your customer. Should not be aggressive, you just have to let you know that you're there at their disposal.
Carrying a brand over to the web is more than following through your corporate colors and fonts. It's more important to translate your offline experience into a positive and compatible online experience.
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