6 months ago I made a website for my business on Microsoft Expression Web 4. I’m a guy who knows very little code so the whole process was pretty frustrating for me. Been there too? Recently, I have been overhauling my site using WordPress and it has renewed my faith in web design! Here are three things I absolutely love about wp.

1. It’s incredibly easy. Developing a nice looking, functional website on WordPress requires very little knowledge of computer science. If you have an idea of what you want to do, it’s fairly simple.

2. Like I mentioned before, if you have an idea as to what you want to do, chances are it’s very simple. This is thanks to the vast number of widgets and plug-ins available for download, many of which are free. It seems as if there is a widget and a plug-in for everything. Everything from Google Maps to local weather. Love it.

3. Lastly, if there is something you aren’t sure about, it is fairly simple to figure out with the help of codex.  You can simply Google what you need help with, or search their help site, codex.wordpress.org.

If you are not a code whiz, save yourself the time and pain.  Use WordPress!

Twitter is an extremely powerful social media tool.  It allows you to connect to your audience and interact with them.  I found a great plugin in WordPress that really allows your Twitter account to be integrated to your website.  It is called cbnet Twitter Widget.  It is a really sleek looking plugin that extremely customizable and allows people to see what your Twitter profile looks like and what they would be following.  I use my twitter account to mainly let people know when I have written an article.  This let people see exactly what  they would be signing up for.  Here is a picture of what the plugin would look like on my website:

Written by Ford Jordan
FordJordan.com | SEO, Web Design, Sports, and Business

Below, Drew Houston, founder of Dropbox discusses ideas on how to create a successful startup.  Drew shares the experiences he has had in the lead up to creating dropbox and provides advice to those interested in starting an online company.  It’s long, but if you are thinking of starting an online company, there is definitely some useful info here.

On of my classmates is now on to bigger and better things.  His name is Blake Imeson and last summer he started www.limecuda.com.  LimeCuda is a  business that creates websites for small businesses.  They do everything.  They will build the website, optamize it, market it, and even host it.  If you are a small business looking for an affordable solution, check out LimeCuda.

Initially, when I first heard of Flickr I thought it was just another place to throw some pictures on the web and have more of a focus on pictures than Facebook. However, there is much more to Flickr- it is a community.

It is a fast-growing and active community. There are options to share photos with others, join and discuss in groups, let people know who you are, and share all of that on your website.

If a business can tap into that community, that adds a whole new dynamic to the face of that company and has the potential to draw in an audience.