EKW and Accware have been working hard to bring the group’s websites under common ownership and control. Terra Network and Accware will host the new websites, which were previously hosted by Practice Web, who provided an excellent service over the years.
EKW will now use the popular web platform WordPress. “WordPress is a state-of-the-art publishing platform with a focus on aesthetics, web standards, and usability. WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time.” WordPress.org (2009)
Test websites were originally created to assess the suitability and usability of WordPress. Accware hosted the test sites on their network and taught the basics of WordPress and FTP to an employee at the group. The test sites became live at the start of October and EKW examined them with a degree of enthusiasm. Once EKW were happy, wheels were put in motion to apply the software throughout the group.
All websites are designed using the Atahualpa theme, a 1-5 column, fluid or fixed width theme, with optional rotating header images and a variety of option pages. A number of different plugins can be used in conjunction with Atahualpa that really add value to your website. EKW speak highly of the plugin Ultimate Google Analytics – it links your website to Google Analytics without html coding.
Andrew Patterson, Marketing Officer at the Group, speaking about WordPress, “It’s a fantastic tool that is easy to customise and has a selection of options for the user. I would definitely recommend to any company that is wishing to save a few pennies in the current economic climate”.
WordPress has been applied to all websites, including, EKW Group, EK Williams, Milestone and PAYEpeople.
Check the websites @
EKW Group: http://www.ekwgroup.co.uk
EK Williams: http://www.ekwuk.co.uk
Milestone: http://www.austens.co.uk
PAYEpeople: http://www.payepeople.co.uk
