Combining data, technology and creativity to power businesses in  a digital-first world.

Experts in every aspect of  the product lifecycle.

Very very happy with the service provided and would have no hesitation in recommending them.

Fantastic team to work with, they really know their stuff

They have played a pivotal role in the design, build and rollout of the new websites

A leading Digital & Software Agency combining data, technology, creativity and engineering to help power and transform digital-first businesses.

Folifi | A Leading Digital & Website Design Agency

This year Google announced another change by eliminating broad modified match type, this is another significant step towards keyword management defaulting to automation. Although it may seem like a big change broad match modified is now being applied to the updated phrase match as the graphic shows below.

To get the best results from your Google Ads campaigns, it’s important to have the right campaign set up for the product or service you are trying to sell. It’s also critical to ensure your campaign type matches the budget you have set aside for your marketing efforts.

Pretty much every time a customer comes to us for help with their campaigns we see the same mistakes over and over again which is not only costing them money but potential revenue as well. So here are a few tips on how to pick the right strategy for your business.

Choosing the best Google Ads bidding strategy for your campaigns is not always an easy decision especially if you don’t have experience using Google Ads. From the outset, it’s important to define the objectives for your campaign.

For example, if you’re a plumber you may have a PPC campaign for boiler and heating installation, you could also have a campaign for brand protection where you’re bidding on your brands’ keywords.

Going back to the plumbing example, you’re a plumber and you want your phone to ring or for customers to complete a contact form. This leaves three bidding strategies.

The key to smart bidding campaigns is you need volume if your campaign is restricted by budget or you’re only getting a few conversions a day. Smart bidding won’t work as Google needs data volume to make good decisions in order to optimise and automate your campaigns. That’s why Manual CPC is always a good start. 

So what do you pick if you’re not budget-restricted or are generating enough conversions for Google to optimise your bidding strategy?

Target CPA gives you more comfort due to the ability to set a target cost per acquisition – in terms of how much you are willing to pay per lead giving you control and flexibility to make sure your leads come in at a certain price. 

But say you’re a business such as a call centre with no budget restrictions and need the phones to be ringing then maximise conversions could be better for you. Google will optimise your campaign to find the maximum conversions for your budget which can make it more expensive per conversion but your overall conversion volume should be higher.

For a sales strategy, manual CPC is used in the same way that I’ve described in the lead strategy. 

If your budget is fixed and you want to ensure you don’t go outside of your fixed budget then Target ROAS is the best strategy for you.

Maximise conversion requires a lot of conversion data to be optimised efficiently for your campaign – meaning if you have the data and are not restricted on budget giving google free reign to optimise your campaigns could be the best option. 

What we tend to do with our clients is start the campaigns on a fixed target advertising spend and as we generate conversion data is to run split experiments to see what Google can do with the data. 

To ensure a certain amount of impressions and to maximise impression share for your brand’s terms. Then target impression share could be quite useful.

Another example is some breaking news within your niche and you want to capitalise from people looking for this story you can then bid on this particular term to generate traffic. 

Choosing the right bidding strategy isn't easy. With many options to pick from it can be quite overwhelming for users new to the platform. Before selecting your bidding strategy make sure to assess your campaign goals, this will make it easier in picking which setup to go for. 

To get the best results from your Google Ads campaigns, it’s important to have the right campaign set up for the product or service you are trying to sell. Find out How to Pick the Right Bidding Strategy for Google Ads.

How to Pick the Right Bidding Strategy for Google Ads

WordPress powers more than a third of the internet, an impressive statistic when you consider that there are over 1.8 billion live sites as of today. Whilst impressive, it is also somewhat concerning as it means it is far more likely to be exploited.

According to a report on website hack trends published by the security company Sucari, a staggering 90% of all CMS hacks happen to WordPress sites.

According to the report, the leading cause of exploitation was down to “component vulnerabilities” like themes, plugins and extensions that had not been updated; other factors such as a lack of overall security maintenance also played a large part.

If you’re using eCommerce functionality you might want to check up on your site, the report found that eCommerce sites are notorious for not updating their plugins and themes because of the website downtime associated with these updates.

Ecommerce sites are targeted the most due to the valuable data they collect and the more extensions that are needed to support such functionality. The more plugins an eCommerce site has, the more opportunity there is for hackers.

39% of WordPress sites were running out of date core software at the time of an attack, so right away you can see a correlation between getting hacked and using an outdated core.

WordPress as a CMS is not vulnerable, it’s the decisions developers and site owners take that make it vulnerable. Overusing plugins that bloat a site making it difficult to manage, not updating to the latest core, and not updating themes and plugins when a threat is identified; these are a few examples of how a WordPress site is exposed to a possible attack.

There are many different ways a hacker can gain access to your site. According to a survey conducted by leading security plugin Wordfence, the top four reasons for vulnerability were:

Plugin - 55% of hacked sites were plugin related.

Brute Force - 16% of hacked sites were due to a brute force attack (weak password).

Core - 5% of hacked sites were due to an outdated core.

Theme - 4% of hacked sites were theme related.

Those are how the hackers gain access, but what do they do when they have access? According to the guys and gals at Sucuri, this is how:

SEO Spam. Hackers target highly ranked website’s SEO to monetise via affiliate marketing, one of the most vulnerable plugins is the popular SEO plugin Yoast.

Malware. One of the most popular forms of exploitation, malware is browser-side code that creates drive-by downloads on your site and was found in over 50% of vulnerable WordPress sites.

Backdoor attacks. These attacks happen when files are used to reinfect a site to retain access.

While there is no way you can make your website 100% secure, there are a few things you can do to help mitigate against the chance of an attack.

Use a super strong password and change it every so often. If you're running a high traffic site, an eCommerce site, or a site with a lot of functionality then we recommend you change it every month. Use a password that has at least 16 characters, use at least one number, one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter and one special symbol.

Install an SSL certificate on your site. An SSL certificate used to encrypt all communication between your website and server. Encrypting this data makes it much harder to intercept and will result in a more secure site, it also benefits your SEO!

Only use plugins and extensions from reputable developers that offer support, and only use plugins if you have to! If you have to use a plugin, be sure to use them from reputable developers with good reviews and a solid record of updates and support.

Keep plugins and themes up to date, but don't set them to auto-update. As outdated plugins are the most common cause of exploitation, you must be sure to keep them up to date as often as you can. Don't just set them to auto-update and think you're good to go, if a plugin is updated that hasn't been thoroughly tested it could end up breaking your site; we've fixed many that this has happened to!

Want to avoid 90% of all hacks & secure your site?

In this article we've covered a few reports from Sucuri and Wordfence, learning that the leading cause of CMS infections is plugin and theme vulnerabilities, followed by misconfiguration and poor security protocols.

If you're ready to take your WordPress website security seriously, it's time to find someone who can manage it 24/7 so you can focus on your business.

As a website owner you will constantly have to find out about new vulnerabilities, make sure everything is updated safely so the site doesn't conflict at the time of an update (believe me, it happens!), consistently monitor all activity, and learn about how to mitigate against attacks. It's tiring, you won't have the time for it and it will lead to vulnerabilities that leave you and your customers at risk.

At Folifi, we manage hundreds of WordPress websites every single day, preventing attacks and securing sites is our forte. Whether you have an eCommerce site or a small blog, your site can and will be attacked at one point or another. Using Folifi as your WordPress Support provider is the safer and more cost-effective choice.

Don’t leave the security of your WordPress site up to chance, get in touch with us today!

90% Of All Hacks Happen to WordPress Sites

WordPress has dominated the CMS market for years and with a 65% market share (and growing!), it's showing no signs of slowing down. It's easy to see why it's so popular, with a drag-and-drop editor, thousands of plugins, widgets and themes, all combined to enable users of all skill levels to put a functional website together.

Even though WordPress has its benefits, it also has some downsides. Before we go into alternatives, let's explore why you'd consider an alternative CMS to WordPress.

The most glaring weakness in WordPress is the security, this isn't because WordPress itself is poorly developed; almost all security issues in WordPress are down to plugins and themes from third-party developers, for example, a critical plugin bug that left 320,000 websites open to attack - because of this, WordPress accounts for 94% of CMS infections according to a 2019 report by Sucuri, not great...

So if you're going to use WordPress, make sure it's up to date and not overly reliant on plugins!

WordPress' main function is blogging. Unfortunately, to take full advantage of this, you must install third-party plugins to have a website with the slightest amount of complexity, which is an issue we mentioned earlier.

Having said this, WordPress has improved flexibility in authoring with the release of the Gutenberg editor back in 2018. As well as more built-in flexibility regarding SEO, so you don't have to rely on Yoast so much.

So to get enough functionality which you typically find in an enterprise or headless CMS, you have to rely on third-party plugins.

According to a CMS benchmark by Yottaa, WordPress is the mainstream CMS with the slowest performance. WordPress is typically slower than other CMS platforms because each plugin requires several JavaScript files to be loaded, thus bogging the performance.

To summarise, WordPress is a good CMS if you're a small business that requires a website with little functionality and uses barely any, if any, plugins. But if you want something more or don't like WordPress for any of the reasons listed above, here are some alternatives you should check out!

Prismic is a headless CMS; our go-to for small website developments that don't require much functionality. What we love most about Prismic is the simple, intuitive interface and unique page builder that uses a feature called Slices. Slices make it easy for authors to mix and match components as well as customise them whenever they’re editing or creating a page. The way we design in Figma, utilising a component structure, works seamlessly with our development team when building out Slices, creating a much smoother process. 

As much as we love Prismic, it does have its limitations, so we generally build smaller sites that don't require much functionality.

Headless CMS for speed, scale and security.

Content slices for easy content authoring.

Craft CMS is an open-source content management system for building custom websites, it's a blank slate that puts your content first and provides a flexible, tailored experience for developers and content authors.

Craft has a great interface, a more stripped back version of WordPress that's built and tailored to your needs and requirements. The simple interface makes updating and adding content a much more enjoyable experience.

A further advantage is the handy live preview feature Craft CMS offers. Authors can view the content edit section and a live preview next to each other at the same time, allowing you to see your edits in real-time, which makes updating content a far better alternative to WordPress!

Security and performance in Craft eclipses WordPress, with no need for a vast number of third party plugins that often result in heavy and unorganised code. Craft is a flexible and lightweight CMS that can be tailored around your current and future business offerings; it's a great choice and one you should seriously consider.

Highly customisable, tailored around you.

Flexible for both developers and authors.


Shopify is one of the best eCommerce platforms on the market today, designed to allow merchants to build and launch their online store, Shopify provides a great platform that's easily scalable to grow your business.

As you're dealing with sensitive customer information, your site needs to be fast, secure and always online. One of the big advantages of a hosted solution is the reliability it provides, meaning that all of your functionality comes to you from Shopify's servers. So you don't need to worry about installing software or buying web hosting, unlike a self-hosted WooCommerce website. 

Shopify will take care of all server maintenance and upgrades to keep your store and shopping cart available at all times, you don't get that with WooCommerce unless it's hosted through WordPress - even then, it's more susceptible to attack than Shopify.

Security & performance are much better than WooCommerce.

Another headless CMS alternative, Ghost is for businesses or individuals more focused on blogging. Ghost is a minimalistic blogging platform that lets you focus only on writing without distraction, the sole purpose of Ghost is to create a publishing platform.

Ghost comes with great SEO functionality built-in, so you don't need a plugin to optimise this like you would with WordPress. Other integrations are also available if you'd like to extend your content offering, for example, paid subscriptions can be activated easily through Ghost and integrated with Stripe.

Ghost is super lightweight and is available as hosted or self-hosted, just like WordPress. As Ghost runs on NodeJS, a modern technology stack, it is considerably quicker than WordPress - no need for boated plugins!

Interested in learning more about Ghost and why it's better than WordPress? Learn more about it here.

More affordable than a WordPress alternative.

So, do we still use WordPress? As a digital transformation agency, we are always looking to use the best technology for any given project. We want to offer our clients the best on the market, so we've explored many different ways of building websites and we've found that there are much better alternatives to WordPress. Not every website is the same, so we like to use different tech stacks and CMSs depending on the functionality required for each project.

While we always recommend any of the CMSs above over WordPress, we do occasionally use WordPress! Sometimes it's the ideal CMS for the job as a low cost, easy to use solution for a small business on a budget, or the client may prefer using it; but when we do use WordPress, there is no reliance on a plethora of plugins, we prefer custom-coded solutions as to not affect security or performance.

Regardless, a good CMS will enable you to build and manage a site that meets the needs of goals of your business over time. So whether you’re trying to generate brand awareness or convert visitors, any of the tools above will help you bring your business online. The key to selecting the right one for your brand is figuring out what you’re trying to achieve.

WordPress is a good CMS if you're a small business that requires a website with little functionality and uses barely any, if any, plugins. But if you want something more or don't like WordPress for any of the reasons listed above, here are some alternatives you should check out...

4 Best WordPress Alternatives & Why You Should Consider Them

Our design team worked alongside PWN Finance, an exciting cryptocurrency startup, to create a strong visual edge to their existing graphic system. The new website acts as a promotional tool to attract users to their new peer to peer lending platform.

We worked with the PWN development team cross collaborating in Figma. We created a series of draft layouts and components which were modified and refined to create the final designs which were turned into prototypes.

This is a financial services web design case study for PWN Finance, an exciting cryptocurrency startup that enables peer to peer lending using any token as collateral.

PWN Finance Case Study | Financial Services Web Design, Folifi

Peer to Peer Lending Using any Token as Collateral

V&F set out to curate beautiful and unique home accessories and furnishings that stand out from the bland at affordable prices. V&F approached us with nothing. A small brand that needed an identity and a website to sell and promote its products.

To create a brand and online platform from nothing.

Our team collaborated with the client in Figjam to draft out the website architecture, we then got to work looking for inspiration which we fully annotated helping the design team work out what components will be required within each page layout. Using Shopify's eCommerce platform we designed and built the website within just a few weeks. 

This is a homeware website design case study for V&F Home. V&F set out to curate beautiful and unique home accessories and furnishings that stand out from the bland at affordable prices. A small brand that needed an identity and a website to sell and promote its products.

V&F Home Case Study | Homeware Website Design, Folifi

Automotive Group website was underperforming, affected by legacy system issues and failing to deliver for the customer. We provided a comprehensive technical audit and streamlined their digital estate that incorporated their existing brand which the client wished to retain. 

Our tech stack included 3 tools of Miro, Figma and WordPress, we always start our projects with a research phase where we pull all ideas together in Miro on one mood board, this includes key features, competitor analysis and layout components. Prototyping, wireframes and design phase was all done in Figma.

Car Dealer Website Design  | This is a website design case study for Automotive Group, the UK's Premier Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Manufacturer.

Automotive Group | Car Dealer Website Design, Folifi

UK's Premier Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Manufacturer

Digital marketing campaigns for all aspects the healthcare industry.

We implement effective digital marketing campaigns for all aspects of the healthcare sector, helping brands come to life through careful development, data-driven marketing and strategy. 

No matter your healthcare business, we generate results; with a new medical website from us, we optimise it, promote it and we even show your team how to use it to support your different objectives. Improved insight, better patient care, greater efficiencies and superior service - all driven by our healthcare digital transformation. 

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High Quality Care Providers with a Person Centered Approach

Dentist, doctor, hospital or care home; no matter your business, we implement effective digital marketing campaigns for all aspects of the healthcare sector.

Tailored eCommerce digital marketing to increase traffic and sales

We create digital platforms so you can sell products online 24/7 and have the power to update content easily using our prefered eCommerce cms, Shopify & Craft. Our eCommerce digital marketing plans make sure you get noticed through paid search whilst we build out an organic search campaign to boost site visitors in the long run. 

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We create digital platforms so you can sell products online 24/7 and have the power to update content easily using our prefered eCommerce cms, Shopify & Craft.

Answer key business questions and scale winning combinations of message and design across your brand's digital footprint.

Transform your business with  automotive solutions.

We provide bespoke automotive solutions and marketing initiatives to service the automotive industry from retailers and manufacturers. Our digital engineers forge next generation websites and technology to provide a unique user experience for our clients and their customers. 

The results help our clients' nature more dynamic, productive and profitable relationships with their customers.

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Uk's Premier Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Manufacturer 

We provide bespoke automotive solutions and marketing initiatives to service the automotive industry from retailers and manufacturers.

Automotive Digital Marketing Agency | Folifi

Deliver more efficiency with a connected experience.

Our strategic digital team works in conjunction with B2B organisations in commercial services, professional services, utilities and manufacturing to optimise processes, transform digital strategies and deliver optimal experience to clients and partners. 

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A leading supplier in Hygienic walls and ceiling linings. 

Our strategic digital team works in conjunction with B2B organisations to optimise processes, transform digital strategies and deliver optimal experience to clients and partners.

Digital placemaking for the property sector.

Whether you are a house builder, a housing association, an estate or letting agent or a commercial property business, we have the expertise that will help you bring intelligent property services to life and market them profitably.

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We have the expertise that will help you bring intelligent property services to life and market them profitably.

Folifi - Digital Solutions for the Property & Construction Industry

Smart, inventive and out-of-the-box digital marketing for the hospitality sector.

From luxury hotel brands, to independent boutique hotels and restaurants, we work with our clients to discover the character of their brand and transform it into a unique design aesthetic. Functional, beautiful and meaningful is our mantra.

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From luxury hotel brands, to independent boutique hotels and restaurants, we work with our clients to discover the character of their brand and transform it into a unique design aesthetic

From luxury hotel brands, to independent boutique hotels and restaurants, we work with our clients to discover the character of their brand and transform it into a unique design aesthetic.

Improve your organic growth locally and nationwide.

Your potential customers are always searching online, but are they finding you? With more search features than ever, including maps, knowledge panes, PAAs, hotel booking forms, carousels and rich snippets; knowing how to optimise your site for organic search is a minefield.

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A Leading Supplier in Hygienic Walls and Ceiling Linings.

The most cost effective way to win online is through an effective organic search engine optimisation strategy.

Search Engine Optimisation | SEO Agency | Folifi

Organic growth provides lasting and more stable results, it should not be neglected. With relevant and quality content, organic SEO will generate more clicks and ultimately, more customers.

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The design team to make your website stand out on the market.

User Interface Design (or UI Design for short) is the visual style and layout of the various elements that make up what a user can see on a screen at a given moment. This can be anything from a website, a mobile app, the screen of an ATM, or a complex medical device.

The goal of a user interface is not only aesthetic but also functional. It must be created with all the key use cases in mind, and avoid the typical clutter that one often expects.

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We’re committed to using industry leading tools and technologies to create meaningful products for our clients. By being mindful at every step, we climb the slope of progress.

The pursuit of constant improvement becomes reality through a rich toolkit of design systems that we have used for mobile apps, web platforms and embedded systems.

Having built websites for more than 10 years, our team understands that multi-device design, and a clear interface, is key to a unique user experience.

Website Design Agency | Remote Website Design | Folifi

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Make your product stand out on the market.

Not just a pretty face, our bespoke websites are designed with functionality in mind that delivers results.

We use well-esteemed development software and technologies to build successful products from scratch or increase the performance of an existing one. With the right technology solutions, we build a secure, stable platform that delivers exceptional user experience to a client and their customers.

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With the latest technologies alongside high quality coding standards, we craft memorable website experiences that transform perception, strengthen bonds, and drive change.

Headless Website Development Agency | Folifi

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We have a proven track record in bespoke PPC search & display campaigns delivering monthly increases in leads and sales. Strategic PPC campaigns provide the perfect opportunity for more traffic, leads and customers instantly. With the right campaign and website setup, you could be generating customers and a positive ROAS in no time.

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Running paid traffic successfully takes a multi-faceted approach. At the core, paid traffic requires knowing your numbers, but also takes strategy, creativity, and a high level of knowledge of the ad platform.

We have a proven track record in bespoke PPC search & display campaigns delivering monthly increases in leads and sales.

PPC Management | Google Ads Management | Folifi

Our expert marketing team have a proven track record in bespoke PPC search & display campaigns delivering monthly increases in leads and sales.

Start a conversation

Search Engine Optimisation

Website Design

Website Development

Paid Advertising

Combining data, technology and creativity to power businesses in  a digital-first world.

Search Engine Optimisation

Website Design

Website Development

Paid Advertising

Healthcare

Retail & Consumer Goods

Automotive

B2B

Property & Construction

Hospitality

Experts in every aspect of  the product lifecycle.

PWN Finance

Peer to Peer Lending Using any Token as Collateral

V&F Home

To create a brand and online platform from nothing.

Automotive Group

UK's Premier Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Manufacturer

“Very very happy with the service provided and would have no hesitation in recommending them.”

Sophie Hall - Hygenic

“Fantastic team to work with, they really know their stuff”

Darren - Pro-fit Wardrobes

“They have played a pivotal role in the design, build and rollout of the new websites”

Drew McGilvray - CCS Group

Trusted by leading businesses

News & Articles

How to Pick the Right Bidding Strategy for Google Ads

90% Of All Hacks Happen to WordPress Sites

4 Best WordPress Alternatives & Why You Should Consider Them

Let's get your project started

Search Engine Optimisation

Website Design

Website Development

Paid Advertising

Combining data, technology and creativity to power businesses in a digital-first world.

Search Engine Optimisation

Website Design

Website Development

Paid Advertising

Healthcare

Retail & Consumer Goods

Automotive

B2B

Property & Construction

Hospitality

Experts in every aspect of the product lifecycle.

PWN Finance

Peer to Peer Lending Using any Token as Collateral

V&F Home

To create a brand and online platform from nothing.

Automotive Group

UK's Premier Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Manufacturer

“Very very happy with the service provided and would have no hesitation in recommending them.”

Sophie Hall - Hygenic

“Fantastic team to work with, they really know their stuff”

Darren - Pro-fit Wardrobes

“They have played a pivotal role in the design, build and rollout of the new websites”

Drew McGilvray - CCS Group

Trusted by leading businesses

News & Articles

How to Pick the Right Bidding Strategy for Google Ads

90% Of All Hacks Happen to WordPress Sites

4 Best WordPress Alternatives & Why You Should Consider Them

Let's get your project started

Combining data, technology and creativity to power businesses in  a digital-first world.

Experts in every aspect of  the product lifecycle.