Web Design Gorey ::Blog - General Discussion

WordPress 6.4 “Shirley” Released

WordPress 6.4 was released on November 7th. The release name is “Shirley”, named after Shirley Horn – one of the leading jazz musicians of her generation.

What’s New?

A new theme – Twenty Twenty-Four – is bundled with this release. This theme comes with over 35 templates and patterns out of the box. Check out a demo here. By all accounts this theme is seen as multi-purpose and suitable for any kind of website design.

There are new productivity enhancements too such as new keyboard shortcuts, list merging and enhanced linking options. Other headlines in this release include pattern filtering, extended design tools and image enhancements.

Top 10 mistakes made when designing a website

Designing a website can be a complex and challenging task, even for experienced designers. With so many elements to consider, it’s easy to make mistakes that can negatively impact user experience and business results. To help you avoid these common errors, we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 mistakes made when designing a website. From poor site speed to bad SEO, we’ll cover the most critical mistakes and provide tips for avoiding them. Whether you’re a seasoned web designer or just starting, this post will provide valuable insights and advice for creating a website that looks great and performs even better.
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e-Commerce in Ireland in 2023

In today’s digital age, e-commerce has become an essential part of the business landscape. E-commerce refers to the buying and selling of goods and services online. It has revolutionized the way we shop and has opened up new opportunities for businesses of all sizes. With the advent of online marketplaces and social media, businesses can now reach customers from all over the world and sell their products and services with ease.

In Ireland, e-commerce has grown rapidly in recent years, with more and more businesses turning to online platforms to sell their goods and services. The country has a vibrant e-commerce ecosystem, with many businesses leveraging technology to enhance their customer experience and streamline their operations. In this blog post, we will take a closer look at the state of e-commerce in Ireland in 2023, including the benefits of owning an online store, the best platform for Irish businesses, and the pitfalls of selling online.
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LEO Trading Online Voucher Wexford 2023

The Local Enterprise Office (LEO) Trading Online Voucher scheme is designed to help small and medium-sized enterprises in Wexford (and indeed all of Ireland) improve their digital capabilities and online presence. The scheme is part of the wider Trading Online Programme, which is supported by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment. The purpose of the scheme is to enable businesses to sell products and services online, reach new customers, and expand their market reach. This blog post will cover the eligibility criteria, acceptance criteria, and application process for the LEO Trading Online Voucher scheme in Wexford.
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The importance of a website to your business

In today’s digital age, having a website for your business is more important than ever before. With the vast majority of consumers turning to the internet to find products and services, having an online presence is critical for businesses to succeed in Ireland in 2023. In this blog post, we will explore the importance of having a website for businesses in Ireland and discuss various topics related to website development, including how long it takes to make a website, the key success factors of a website, and the current state of website adoption among Irish businesses. Additionally, we will delve into the potential revenue opportunities for businesses that establish an e-Commerce presence and discuss the importance of website hosting, security, and site speed. By the end of this blog post, you’ll have a better understanding of why having a website is crucial for businesses in Ireland and how you can leverage the benefits of a website to grow your business.
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WordPress 6.1 “Misha” Released

WordPress 6.1 was released on November 1st. The release name is “Misha”, named after Mikhail Alperin – a Soviet-Norwegian jazz pianist who introduced the work of jazz ensembles in the USSR and globally.

What’s New?

A new theme – Twenty Twenty-Three – is bundled with this release. This theme is interesting as it comes with 10 different styles and is accessibility ready. This theme claims to allow users apply completely different look and feels to their site with the click of a button.

Templates were introduced into WordPress earlier this year and version 6.1 brings in new templates which will make page creation easier and more intuitive.

Other headline features include improvements to the menu system, various improvements to the block editor, streamlined style systems and enhanced accessibility options.

WordPress 6 is here!

WordPress 6 was released on May 24th. The release name is “Arturo”, named after Arturo O’Farrill – a Mexican Grammy-wining jazz musician.

What’s New?

The release contains over 500 enhancements and over 400 bug fixes. Some of the major enhancements are covered below.

Full site editing

This is a feature that has been available on certain themes for a while and the WordPress developers have been slowly working towards integrating it into WordPress core for block based themes. Essentially full site editing allows you to modify your entire site look and feel through the block editor page – rather than going into specific ‘Appearance’ pages for the theme. Useful for those with block based themes.

Switch theme styles easily

This is another theme based enhancement. Theme developers will now be able to create style presets that can be modified through a new style button on the block editor.

Export theme options, templates and styles

This new feature allows you to easily export theme options from one site to another. So let’s say you created beautiful styles and modules in a website – and some of these elements might work on another project – WordPress now allows for easy export and import of these options.

Block editor enhancements

Most releases in the last 2 years featured enhancements to the Gutenberg block editor. Release 6 introduces new blocks such as comments, read more, author biography & avatar. Also introduced in release 6 are enhancements to editor to allow for easier text selection, the ability to lock reusable blocks, and the ability to select multiple blocks in the list view amongst other enhancements.

Accessibility changes

WordPress 6.0 introduces many accessibility improvements that will greatly enhance the experience for those with accessibility needs.

Under the hood improvements

As with every WordPress release, the developers have made enhancements to the WordPress core to make it easy for third party theme and plugin developers to integrate and extend their capabilities of the platform.

Wexford ‘.IE’ Domain Registrations On The Rise

According to the latest report from .IE, Ireland’s country domain manager, Co. Wexford based businesses, organisations, clubs and individuals registered 1,678 .ie domains in 2021. This is a whopping 32% increase on pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Two of the most frequently used keywords for domain registration were ‘cleaning’ and ‘roofing’. On a wider level, 36,875 new .ie domains were registered in Leinster and 57,530 nationwide.

Government lockdown policies in 2021 and business adaptation are the chief drivers for this increase according to David Curtin – chief executive of .IE.

“Businesses in Wexford and across Ireland are investing in new websites, integrating e-commerce technology, and making use of productivity-enhancing tools all year round because they now recognise the huge role they play in profitability and customer acquisition,”

Cybersecurity was also mentioned in the report and it states that 54% of all .ie websites are secured with SSL / TLS.

Mr Curtin acknowledged that this figure was “encouraging” but stressed the importance for .ie domain holders to do as much as possible to protect their site visitors from cyberattacks.

“We urge all businesses in Wexford to review their cybersecurity in 2022.”

Sources : –
https://www.weare.ie/ie-domain-profile-report/
https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wexford/business/1678-new-ie-domains-in-wexford-last-year-growth-of-32-on-2019-41299731.html Continue Reading

Do you feel the need …. the need for speed?

Page speed has always been important in web design. Back in the days of dial up, developers had to be very careful about how they laid out pages and used media, CSS and JavaScript. With the introduction of broadband over the last 20 years, internet speeds have increased to astronomical levels allowing developers to create more complex, media rich and engaging web pages.

However in that process, certain principles and disciplines were lost. It became acceptable to write inefficient & sloppy code. This went largely unpunished until recent times, but Google and other search engines are now placing much more emphasis on page speed in how it ranks your site in it’s search results.