Why use WordPress over Wix to build your own website.

I think everyone remembers their first website and shudders – whether it was the worlds most customised MySpace page (how many people got their start in coding thanks to those skills I wonder…) or a badly coded multi page website done in DreamWeaver and actual code files that barely worked. No matter what side of the fence you fall on there, we can all appreciate how easy it is to create a beautiful website yourself with just the click of a few buttons and a reasonable eye for what looks good. My first website was my own. And it was (in 2011) a Wix website. And I still shudder. From that experience to a few more websites built on the platform and quite a few conversions from Wix to WordPress, I have learnt a little bit that cements my belief that WordPress is literally the best website builder known to us. Here’s what they won’t tell you about working with Wix. Updating things is frustrating. Getting the initial build done on a Wix website isn’t all that difficult. Once you learn how the system works, the user interface is pretty friendly and you can get the thing working quickly.  But basic functions like blogging or an Instagram feed or adding more items to your portfolio are much more difficult than they need to be, and it dis-inclines you to do it. A website is a living breathing thing, and should be updated regularly for you to build better search engine results, a better user experience and ultimately grow your brand (whatever that looks like). Mobile responsiveness is not a priority Today we have to be constantly aware of how technology and devices changes our impression of a website. If you’re working on an iPhone 7 and all of a sudden someone’s website looks like shit, you’re absolutely going to notice and assume that business simply isn’t up with the times. So while you might be able to make your website look the way you want it to on YOUR computer or phone, Wix gives you incredibly limited tools to test and see what your site looks like on other devices or browsers. I just don’t think it’s good enough, and I have absolutely been burnt before. Hosting is a pain in the ass. Wix really encourage you to purchase hosting through their channels, and you have to be a hacker of defence-department proportions…

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Susie & Jake’s Wedding Invitations

Producing wedding invitations for any couple is going to be a challenge. You are working on the biggest and most expensive day of their life and you want to make sure that you do that honour justice. You want to do the absolute best job that you can possibly do for them.   I am lucky to have been involved in a  few weddings over the past couple of years, like Laura & Tim’s and Jo & Martin’s, and I really do relish the challenge of coming up with a distinct look and feel for wedding invitations that suits the couple to a tee. When I was approached by Susie & Jake to work on their wedding invitations, I knew I was ready for a new challenge. Susie came to me with the idea of using water colour paintings and native flowers as part of her invitations. This tied into her overall wedding theme of natives for bouquets and decorations at the receptions, and it’s lovely to be able to produce invitations that speak to part of the overall look of the wedding.   The clusters of native flowers seen on their Save The Dates and Wedding Invitations are hand illustrated, not purchased stock imagery. This is incredibly important I feel to ensure that for a day like your wedding, you have a beautiful and completely unique piece that represents how important and individual your day is. We decided to continue the theme throughout all the stationary, with each piece having its own flavour – the Save The Dates have less flowers, being the first piece of the puzzle, while the Invitations are more like the bridal bouquet, layered with flowers and the RSVP cards are made up entirely of foliage, giving them a distinct look and feel.   I absolutely afore these invitations, I think the effect is beautiful and totally suited to the couple they were created for. More importantly, the couple and their guests have all been completely delighted by the invitations, and you cant really ask for much more than that.   Thank you Susie & Jake for letting me be part of your special day!

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KNOKAL HOMEPAGE REDESIGN

I think one of the hardest parts about going out on your own and starting your own business is knowing where to start, and where to find new customers. Part of it is not being afraid of rejection and literally getting in touch with everyone you have ever wanted to work with. And part of it is just putting yourself out there, and hoping that the person you are looking for is also looking for you. My god, this could be the intro profile on a dating website. What they say really is true – the best opportunities come when you put yourself out there. And in very few instances has that statement been as true as in the work that I have done with Knokal recently. Knokal is the online version of a business directory, specifically designed for small businesses – if you’re looking for an accountant, a graphic designer and even a zoologist, Knokal is the place to go. If you’re working for a big corporation and you need a freelancer or small business person to help you out, Knokal is the place to go. And as a small business owner myself, I wanted to check out the competition, get a bit of work from other small business owners (some of my favourite kinds of client) and generally put get on the page. I created a profile on Knokal, thanks to a hot tip from other entrepreneurial ladies in the LMBDW Group on Facebook. If you aren’t involved, you really should get on there, it’s a hotbed of badass babes doing good things. Anyway, that aside, I created a profile. Put in some information and thought that at the very least having more information about me around on the interwebs would be good for my SEO, and besides it was totally fee – so I wasn’t loosing anything by putting myself out there.   Then along came David. David is the founder of Knokal, and knew that he needed a homepage redesign to get better conversions and attract more sign ups. He is a big fan of the entrepreneurial theory that business owners should “eat your own dogfood” – that is, if you have a product, use that product when you find yourself in need of whatever it is that you offer. So David needed a graphic designer, and he went to Knokal. I don’t know if it…

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WHY GEOFF LEE IS WINNING AT MARKETING

In the lead up to the election, campaigning is on everyone’s mind, from Malcolm Turnbull to Tony Abbott and even Bill Shorten has decided to get on the band wagon. And at a national level, its easy to assume that politicians are always campaigning, because they are so visible thanks to those media followers, photographers and their squillions of dollars. At a local member level, we see a stark difference. I have lived in a lot of different electorates in my life, and as such I have noticed that most local members want you to elect them based on the 2 or 3 weeks every couple of year they spend being visible in your community, showing off what they could do for you, in the hope to pull the wool over your eyes regarding their commitment. I’ve never bought into it, because it is exactly that – a bit of a sham, a con, a façade if you will of community engagement.

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WHY YOU SHOULD BE COMMENTING ON BLOGS

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Commenting on blogs is both my most utilised tool as a social media manager, and the most underrated tool I see in other’s social media activities. If the end goal of being involved in social media is to create conversation and dialogue, then a comment is the response YOU make to the question or statement being posed by the writer – without it, you aren’t fulfilling your end of the conversation. As a content creator of any kind, your aim is to develop a community of like-minded people, who are essentially picking up what you are putting down – whether that’s knowledge, reviews, experiences or warnings. So it’s absolutely natural for comments to happen, as people respond to your content. Think about the blogs that YOU read. How many times have you sat at your computer during your lunch break and verbally gone “Ugh YES” when the content is great, or “Pfft” when it’s a bit off. THIS is when, how and why you should comment. Be part of their conversation.

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MY TOP TIPS FOR TIME MANAGEMENT

Forgive me readers, for I have sinned. It has been exactly one month since my last blog post, and heres the dirty little confession – I really enjoyed taking a break.

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The Top 5 Apps you need on your Phone for Digital Marketing – And they’re all FREE!

hootsuite top 5 apps you need for on your phone for digitial marketing and theyre all free

Marketing, and in particular digital marketing, has become a full time gig for a lot of people. I’m absolutely one of them, but I know that there are a lot of small businesses who still handle a lot of their own digital marketing. The only problem you run in to, is when where and with what. It seems that there is so little time in a day to be doing all this marketing, and keep up to date with the running of a business.

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HOW DOES SOCIAL MEDIA GROW MY SMALL BUSINESS

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The question of how small businesses can grow using social media is one that I get all the time. Most small businesses understand that they need to be using social media, they understand which platforms exist (sometimes), but how they can actually measure a return on investment, or how to use it to target completely new customer groups is another thing entirely.

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WHY SHOULD SMALL BUSINESSES USE SOCIAL MEDIA

why should small businesses use social media em designs emma wright

The hardest part about the new digital world of marketing and advertising is knowing where to start. Most small businesses are one-or-two man operations, where marketing has previously been limited to word of mouth, and the occasional spotlight in the local paper. This has worked really well for a lot of small businesses, but its also a great way for your business to stay just that – small.

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