#ppd4

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Selecting a Theme

I am subscribed to a website called Elegant Themes, which offers premium WordPress themes.

Aaran and I have had a look through and selected our favourites. The four we liked were these themes:

'Nimble' - 

I liked the Nimble theme because of its compatibility with mobile devices, which I think is quite important in todays world as a lot of people use their phones as their main way of browsing the internet. The layout is nice and simple as well.

'Origin' - 

Origin looks like it'd be great for showcasing photographs, but it offers little in the way of space for information. 

'ePhoto' - 

ePhoto is probably the strongest of the three in terms of versatility. It has been created for photography, which will be very useful to us. There is also lots of space for text and information, which will be vital.

We will try out all of these themes once the website is available to us.

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Transferring the domain

I bought the domain name from 123 reg and the hosting from GoDaddy. To start work on the website I need to move the domain over to GoDaddy. I have found instructions on their website and have successfully transferred the domain. 

I am now waiting for the domain to be transferred. This takes about a week.

While I'm waiting I have installed WordPress to my GoDaddy hosting so that I can start work on the site as soon as possible.

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Purchasing Hosting

Unfortunately I was unable to host the picknmixexhibition.co.uk with 123reg due to terms in their conditions that I was unaware of. Their hosting seems quite pricey so I am going to look at other companies and see what they offer.

GoDaddy - 

GoDaddy currently have a sale on, which is great. Their hosting looks to be good value. The best package for me would be the 'Economy' package. This includes unlimited bandwidth, Linux/Windows OS, 1 website, and 100GB of disk space, which will be important to us as there will be a large amount of photographs being put on to the site. You can also purchase hosting for 3 months at a time, which is great for us as we will not need it for more than that.

123reg - 

  The 123 reg hosting is much more expensive than GoDaddy's. They offer only 500mb of web space (half of the amount you get with GoDaddy), and they do not allow applications with their starter package, which means that I would not be able to install WordPress. They also only allow you to purchase hosting for a minimum of 12 months, which would instantly make it a pricer option than GoDaddy.

UK Host -

This hosting costs slightly less than 123reg's package, but once again I am only able to purchase hosting for a minimum of 12 months, which makes it quite expensive. This is not something that I can afford so I will have to rule this site out. They also offer a fairly small amount of disk space and monthly bandwidth.

I have decided that GoDaddy are by far the best option. I will struggle to find a better package due to their current sale making the price pretty much unbeatable. I will purchase a hosting package with them and move the domain from 123reg to GoDaddy.

The hosting ended up costing me £7.16 for 3 months

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Choosing A Domain

Aaran and myself have come up with a few ideas for domain names. These are:

picknmix.co.uk

picknmixleeds.co.uk

picknpixphotography.co.uk

picknmixexhibition.co.uk

In my opinion the best ones are the shorter URL's as they are easier to enter into a web browser. However these are bound to be the most popular URL's and have been taken by other people. We found that the most suitable domain that's available is 'picknmixexhibition.co.uk'

I have looked at different hosting sites to see how much this domain would cost. The most cost effective option is with a hosting company called 123reg. I already own domains and hosting with them and I plan on using my current hosting package with the Pick n Mix Exhibitions website.

The domain cost £5.99 to purchase.

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Creating a website using WordPress

I have done a Google search and found numerous articles that will aid me in creating a site. This article in particular was very helpful and gives step by step instructions on creating a site powered by WordPress.

http://wp.smashingmagazine.com/2011/12/14/15-step-checklist-creating-perfect-wordpress-website/

The main points are:

Choose a domain - e.g http://www.picknmix.co.uk

Choose a hosting package - look to see if the host supports WordPress, how much bandwith and storage am I allocated?

Upload WordPress to the hosting site using FTP (File transfer protocol)

Choose a theme - there are thousands of free and premium themes to choose from. Use Google to find the best.

Create essential pages - Home, About, Contact pages etc.

Optimise for search engines - try and draw in as much web traffic as possible

I will look back and use these tips when I eventually start creating the site.

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What is Wordpress and what are the advantages?

Wordpress is an open source content management system for websites. 

It allows users to create and update content on their website

Provides good search engine optimisation, which means that your site has a high chance of appearing on the first pages of a Google search

Users can create pages and content without having to know HTML, CSS or any other kind of coding language.

Users can choose from a variety of extensions to put on their site. Extensions range from template themes to plug-ins such as PayPal.

Can be installed by the vast majority of hosting providers

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Different Ways of Creating the Website

There are a number of different ways I could build this website:

Creating the site from scratch in Dreamweaver

The advantage of this method is that I can custom build the website and use any kind of design I want. I have no limits. I have previously built numerous websites using HTML and other types of coding and used software including Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Dreamweaver. However this method takes a lot of time, and there are a number of things that could go wrong with the coding etc. As I haven't built a website for two years, and because I don't have an awful lot of time to build the site I have ruled out this method.

Buying a website template

Using a template would make things a lot easier for me. The website design has already been made for me and all I would have to do is put in the content and create the different pages that I need. The negative is that for a nice looking website it can cost a lot. Some of the sites I have looked at cost upwards of £100. For this reason I will not be purchasing a template from a website.

Creating a website using Wordpress 

This is the technique that appeals to me most. Users can choose different templates and themes. They are cheap to set up and very easy to run. This is the way that I will create the Pick n Mix website and I will research Wordpress further.

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Researching Website Design Techniques and Tips

I've looked at a few web pages and found some tips that will aid me when I make the exhibitions website. 

This site tells users what is currently popular amongst web designers and website users: http://webdesignledger.com/tips/web-design-trends-in-2013 "Infinite Scrolling

A number of social media websites have begun applying infinite scroll effects onto dashboards and timelines and user feeds. This effect was gaining traction due to the popularity of Twitter and Tumblr’s unique layout style. And now more recently Pinterest has also adopted this infinite page scroll on their homepage."

"Whitespace & Minimalism

The terms minimalism and whitespace are thrown around a lot. And while it is true that these trends have been part of web design for years, it’s also true they have evolved to fit this newer spectrum of creativity. There are plenty of websites using whitespace as a design tool which forces users to focus deeper on the main content. But even very dense websites can utilize whitespace in smaller areas to alleviate room."

"Big Photography

We have previously written about big photo backgrounds and this trend has not been slowing down. In fact, I have seen even more websites and portfolios launching under this design style. Website layouts can be attuned for a very specific feeling or emotion based on the colors and background style. Large photographs are one other method to push for a very specific emotion.

I would argue this trend is certainly not for everybody. However in the right situation where you have enough space on the page, this large background offers a pleasing aesthetic for the visitor. The biggest problem is fitting content into the layout where it is still clearly readable. This is why the best solutions for big background photos often include landing pages or firms/agencies."

The tips above are the things that stood out to me because I like the ideas and I have seen them used on other websites I have used. They are definitely things that I will try and incorporate into the Exhibition website.