Every great website design starts with a great brief. By answering a few simple questions you can better clarify your thoughts and the objectives of the website so they can be properly addressed in the design.

Below are a list of questions that I ask clients to consider when putting together a brief [...]]]>

Every great website design starts with a great brief. By answering a few simple questions you can better clarify your thoughts and the objectives of the website so they can be properly addressed in the design.

Below are a list of questions that I ask clients to consider when putting together a brief for a new Website Design.

1. Do you have a motto, tagline, mission statement or similar?

2. What type of site do you require?
Eg Brochure, Blog, Ecommerce, Minisite?

3. How many pages are needed and what are they?
Eg Home, About Us, Services, Contact

4. What style do you envisage for the site?
List any existing sites you would like to cite as a reference and what appeals to you about these examples.

5. What is the main goal/objective of the website?
Briefly describe the goal and functionality of the website.

6. What is the primary call to action?
Eg Call now / Buy now / Sign up / Get a quote / Email us / Work with us.

7. What is the tone of the website?
How will you be addressing the audience? Eg serious, friendly, playful, professional etc

8. What search terms do you want to target?
Which search terms will potential customers use to find you?

9. Preferred colour scheme
Do you have any corporate colours that need to be used?

10. Deadlines
What timeframe did you have in mind? Are there any specific deadlines?

11. Additional information
Provide any additional material that could assist with the project. Eg logos, images, documents.

12. Additional services
Do you require any additional services to complement the launch of your new website? Eg Email marketing? Facebook Posts? Online Surveys? Print Design or  Corporate Identity Design?

Samantha required a brand identity that set her apart from the traditional pink floral websites of other celebrants. Her approach was fresh and creative so this Northern Beaches celebrant wanted her website to be reflective of her style. What I created was a simple, clean corporate identity [...]]]>

Samantha required a brand identity that set her apart from the traditional pink floral websites of other celebrants. Her approach was fresh and creative so this Northern Beaches celebrant wanted her website to be reflective of her style. What I created was a simple, clean corporate identity using colours that were still warm and inviting despite being non-traditional.

Services

• Logo Design
• Business Card Design
• Website Design

What they said

Lauren has provided a number of design services to me over the years including website, logo, print and copywriting. Her unique and creative ways are unrivaled and her attention to detail leaves you relaxed and confident that the job will be perfect. I recommend her to anyone looking for something special.
Samantha Morgan Celebrant

Simply Gifts is an online gift store that needs to frequently update their site in order to promote new products and seasonal specials. I create banners, tiles and any other graphics required for the site along with the design, build and dispatch of regular email marketing campaigns.

New Leaf Nursery is a family run sustainable nursery located on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They needed a simple, fun and accessible website that was easy to update.

Seeds 4 Learning is a safety training company that required a corporate identity to set it apart from it’s competitors.

“The project was completed on time, on budget, and in a friendly, professional manner. I am extremely pleased with the quality of Lauren’s [...]]]>

Seeds 4 Learning is a safety training company that required a corporate identity to set it apart from it’s competitors.

services

• Logo Design
• Business Card Design
• Letterhead Design

what they said

“The project was completed on time, on budget, and in a friendly, professional manner. I am extremely pleased with the quality of Lauren’s work and the courteous and friendly manner in which she worked on this design brief.

Lauren comes highly recommended for all graphic design and publication work.
Trevor Goodear, Owner, Seeds 4 Learning

Following on from the Permaculture Sydney Institute logo and brochure design I developed their website. The website features events, a news/blog section and a comprehensive course and accommodation booking form.

Lauren is a [...]]]>

Following on from the Permaculture Sydney Institute logo and brochure design I developed their website. The website features events, a news/blog section and a comprehensive course and accommodation booking form.

services

• WordPress Website Design
• Smart booking form
• Content creation
• Galleries

what they said

Lauren is a natural at design and the love of her work manifests in everything she does. It is fresh, creative and spot on. A true professional and nothing is too much trouble for her. I would recommend her to anyone.

Why is WordPress so great you ask? I can [...]]]> As you may have guessed from my portfolio, I am a big fan of WordPress. I recommend it to all my clients and feel that it is the perfect content management solution for the websites I design for small to medium businesses.

Why is WordPress so great you ask? I can think of a number of reasons but here are my top 5…

1. It’s free. Yep, that’s right. WordPress is an Open Source project, which means there are hundreds of people all over the world working to build on and improve the product every single day. WordPress gives you access to an incredibly powerful website platform for nix. Which means your budget can be put towards a killer design rather than a complicated back end interface.

2. It is widely supported. Recent stats showed that 22 out of every 100 new active domains in the US are running WordPress. This means there is a mass of support, information and other resources out there built to support the product. If you have a question about WordPress, odds are you can type your query into Google and get at least 10 solutions to your problem.

3. It is scalable. Every business starts of small. Obviously the aim is to grow and the beauty of WordPress is it can grow with you. Aside from the ability to add infinite pages, posts and sections to your site, there are literally thousands of plug-ins, themes and widgets that have all been developed for WordPress users. And the best part is that many are developed in the spirit of the Open Source community and are therefore either very cost effective or free. Need a gallery? There’s a plug in for that. Need a custom booking form? There’s a plug-in for that. Need a members only area? Surprise, surprise, there’s a plug-in for that too.

4. It’s easy to use. You don’t need a weekend to learn how to update your WordPress site. You need a couple of hours. It’s that simple. WordPress empowers clients to take charge of their website with an intuitive back end and extensive support through online documentation and forums. You don’t need a developer to add a sentence on your “about us” page. WordPress will allow you to save money on all those little changes you need from time to time and allow me to focus on what do what I do best. Design websites.

5. Google loves it. Everybody wants to be friends with Google, and thankfully Google wants to be friends with WordPress. Page Title and Description are incredibly important in search. Permalinks allow you to place important keywords in your post titles and plug-ins such as All In One SEO allow you even greater control in this area. By it’s very nature, WordPress encourages you to organise content into relevant categories and cross link content with tags. Furthermore, it’s ease of use means your site won’t sit static for months on end. A dynamic site is an interesting and relevant site. Relevancy is the key here. If your content and keywords are relevant to what people are seeking and they well organized then Google will notice.

So have I convinced you yet? I hope so. WordPress is a great way to get your business online and noticed. Trust me. You’ll love it too.

PSI required me to develop their brand from scratch. I came up with logo plus an economical brochure format and concept for the promotion of their education courses. A5 brochures are designed to open out to an A3 poster with details of seasonal courses for display at local Permaculture meetings and other relevant areas.

In my experience you get what you pay for with web hosting. The cheapest host is not necessarily the [...]]]> There are hundreds of web hosts out there so I’ve put together a bit of a wish list to ensure you know what to look for when setting up hosting for your WordPress website.

In my experience you get what you pay for with web hosting. The cheapest host is not necessarily the best option, but as most of my clients are start ups or small business you don’t need all the bells and whistles either. Most small businesses are well served by a hosting plan costing around $15-$30 a month.

WordPress hosting wishlist

• Linux hosting. To maximise your website in search results you want a linux host so you can make the most of WordPress Permalinks
• Your host needs to support
  • PHP 5.2.4 or greater
  • MySQL 5.0 or greater
  • The mod_rewrite Apache module
• Do they have any Php.ini modifications limits. It is preferable that this is at least 64Mb.
• Do they offer phone support and what are their hours? I have dealt with hosts that charge for phone support and only answer etickets. This is not ideal if you have anything other than a simple request.
• Where are the servers located? Servers and support within Australia is a plus as it means they are in the same time zone if anything goes wrong.

so who do I use?

I currently use Digital Pacific as my preferred web hosting provider. They are a smaller company so good level of support with 99% up time.  More importantly though they offer carbon neutral hosting so its better for the planet! Each of these hosts has instructions for setup and getting your own email established in their support areas.

what else?

Alot of hosts offer specials at end of financial year or if you complete the transaction online. It’s also worth calling to see if you can get a better deal by paying for a year in advance.

All sounding too hard?

Give me a call. I am more than happy to get all this set up or answer any questions you may have.

Wicks needed a site to showcase the extensive range of brands found in store. Using WordPress as a CMS are able to easily update the homepage and individual page banners with offers and promotions.