Building a website isn’t just about content; it’s about creating an intentional, cohesive, and welcoming experience. This week, I used the WordPress Customizer and theme settings for Digital Geekette. I’ll share what I changed, why I did it, and what I learned.
Choosing the right WordPress theme is an important step in building a website. The theme shapes how the site looks, works, and feels for users. For a site about UX/UI design and technology, the theme should be responsive, easy to customize, and fast. In this review, I compared three popular WordPress themes using a decision matrix to find the best fit for the website’s main goals.
Creating and managing a website requires more than publishing attractive content—it also requires protecting that content, user data, and the overall integrity of the site. According to WordPress 5 Complete (7th ed.), website security is an essential responsibility of site owners because WordPress sites can become targets for hackers, spam, malware, and unauthorized access if not properly maintained (Williams, Damstra, & Stern, 2020).
Web accessibility refers to designing and developing websites so that all people, including individuals with disabilities, can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with online content. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) created the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to provide internationally recognized standards for making web content accessible. (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2, 2023) WCAG is built around four foundational principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust (POUR). (Initiative, 2008) These principles guide developers and designers in creating inclusive digital experiences.
As I continue building my UX Blog website, I’ve learned that plugins are not just about adding features; they are about strengthening security, improving performance, and expanding growth opportunities. Jetpack offers a collection of modules designed to enhance security, marketing, performance, and design, all within one plugin. After reviewing the features, three modules stand out as beneficial for my website: Account Protection, Blaze, and Blocks.
I learned that managing a website is not just about installing themes and plugins—it also involves efficiently managing files, media, and backups. External storage and file-sharing services are important tools that help website owners store, protect, and distribute files outside of their WordPress hosting server. (External services for media on your WordPress site, 2023) These services can be integrated into WordPress through plugins or direct linking, allowing site owners to improve storage management, collaboration, and security (Sabin-Wilson, 2023). Because hosting plans often have storage limits, external services can reduce server strain while also providing additional backup protection. (Back Up WordPress to OneDrive: Free Up Space & Secure Your Site, 2023)
Three external storage and file-sharing services that are compatible with WordPress include Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft OneDrive. Each offers unique advantages and potential limitations.
One thing I learned is that plugins are the power of a WordPress site. While themes control a website’s appearance, plugins control its functionality. They allow you to add features like contact forms, SEO tools, security protection, backups, performance improvements, and even eCommerce capabilities, without writing custom code. According to the WordPress 7th Edition, plugins are essentially packaged code that can be installed, activated, deactivated, or removed as needed, giving site owners flexibility and scalability (Sabin-Wilson, 2023). This modular system makes WordPress extremely powerful, but it also requires responsibility when choosing which plugins to install.
A relevant example of UX/UI design in real life occurred when I visited a newly opened clothing store and attempted to use the self-checkout. I found a jacket I liked and proceeded to the checkout, only to be confused about how to ring up my item. A rectangular sink opening was cut into the countertop surface, with a monitor and a scanner. I automatically scanned my item, but nothing happened.
Why UX? I have an interesting career in UX/UI. After completing a UX/UI bootcamp, creating a design portfolio, completing a capstone project, and landing a job, I have a few things to share about what I’ve learned along the way. I am still in the early stages, but there is so much more to learn about UX/UI than I could have imagined. I am always willing to learn and deepen my understanding of what I do. This blog will be my journey and a place to share tips to do so.
Categories and tags are used in posts to help organize content and make it easier for people to find what they are looking for on a website. They are the main topics of a site and give posts a general home. They help create structure and keep content organized and clear. Tags are more specific and describe details within a post. They are used to highlight particular ideas or keywords and can connect posts that share similar themes.