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Archived in Our series on beautiful website design wouldn’t be complete unless we made a special mention on the most popular blogging platform around – Wordpress!
Downloaded millions of times and with a massive fan base of developers supporting it, Wordpress is an open source publishing platform that’s growing in popularity all the time.
Content management systems are designed to be easy to update with new content, and using Wordpress to build an entire website offers many advantages, including:
Ease of use – posts and pages can be added without any complicated coding language
Free plugins – Wordpress’ functionality can be extended with over 5000 free plugins. Popular plugins enable you to optimise your content for search engines, to add social bookmarking buttons and to record stats on what your visitors are looking at
RSS – visitors can subscribe to your site’s feed and keep up to date on your latest content without having to revisit the site, great for relationship and trust building
Interactivity – visitors can comment on your content, ask questions and interact in an open format
SEO – in basic terms, Google ranks websites based on how regularly they’re updated and the number of links from relevant sites. Regularly publishing useful articles people want to share can achieve both these aims
Easy to use and easy on the eye
Whether it’s powering an online portfolio, a news/magazine style site or an online shop, Wordpress can be used for a wide variety of purposes.
Here’s our top ten of beautiful sites built with Wordpress:
1. http://www.enroutefilm.com/ – an online showcase of Canadian short films which are also screened on Air Canada flights. So grab some popcorn, grab a notepad and decide which short firm is a worthy winner.
2. http://www.blup.fr/ – this smartly designed personal blog of web designer Dew illustrates its pop culture focus through its beautifully designed header. The blog design also provides an attractive frame for his photos and posts on what’s interesting in the world of Dew.
3. http://www.jrvelasco.com/ – this blog offers a ‘veritable panoply of literary, visual and aural diversions’, with an intro that’s as long as a post on its own. The unique, personalised header and navigation gives this website the impression of being an interesting place to spend some time, if you speak Spanish.
4. http://www.homedesignfind.com/ – if you’re fan of Grand Designs or Property Ladder you might want to have a read of this interior design online magazine. The authors provide a daily guide to the latest furnishings, trends and ideas that can give your home a unique look.
5. http://ecoki.com/ – if you aspire to live a greener lifestyle then this site offers organic recipes, eco-fashion and an online community sharing their passion for all things eco-friendly. The front page is divided into clear categories and the strong visual element makes it easy to find topics of interest.
6. http://icondock.com/ – if you’re a designer and would like some interesting new icons for your print or web projects then this site offers icons galore. You can buy icons in sets and subscribe to their blog for the latest in all things iconic.
7. http://www.45royale.com/ – this web design studio loves Wordpress so much they’ve used it to power their own website. An eye catching banner, prominent hero text and clear links to their latest projects and blog makes this a great showcase of their talents.
8. http://anidea.com/ – don’t like this website’s theme? Then change it simply by selecting a different one from the dropdown box. This digital advertising agency promotes their expertise by offering insight and smart thinking, rather than with a boring online brochure.
9. http://www.gomediazine.com/ – this art and graphic design magazine offers helpful tutorials and a range of resources for the digital artistic. You can easily wile away some time watching videos, entering polls and engaging with its enthusiastic community.
10. http://www.twiistup.com/ – this bright, vibrant website presents the online portal for an LA based Dragons’ Den for startups. You certainly get a feel for how Twiistup can be a bit livelier than traditional stuffy conferences. Let’s hope it makes its way to this side of the pond.
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BDA (Buckingham Design Associates) blog – real people giving real opinions, and a complete lack of agency waffle. BDA deliver an exciting blend of design and creative marketing for the Oxford, Milton Keynes, Northampton and London region.
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Wow, that