“In 2023 I started my journey to find the best web technologies for new entrepreneurs.”
I had 20-years of experience working in corporate, university, & NFP marketing roles using a variety of CMS websites – & it was a mission!
I compared hosted sites, e.g. WordPress.com, HubSpot, Shopify, & Wix, with self-hosted sites, e.g. WordPress.org, Drupal & others.
I looked at what systems entrepreneurs were using, e.g. Kevin Geary, Tony Robbins, & Christian Leblanc & they were all on WordPress.
I found a WP system that combined Brick’s theme & builder with a framework for styling (ACSS) & pre-built wireframes (Frames) – perfect for me.
“My goal was to find an affordable web-tech that enabled customisations & performance.”
Lean about personal branding A Guide To Personal Branding For Entrepreneurs.
Web-Tech Evaluation
My first challenge was choosing the base website technology that was fast, supported & affordable.
I liked WordPress (self-hosted), HubSpot, & Braze, having worked on these platforms before, & I found them to be high-quality with pro features.
“I needed a system that could create lean fast pages & without excessive HTML code.”
I thought the best tech would likely come from one of these, but how do you launch efficiently?
HubSpot is a global marketing system with website, blog, email, automation, & CRM for AU $20K+ budgets.
Braze is a global marketing system for automated customer journeys via email, SMS, IAMs, & Push, for AU $20K+ budgets.
I had also worked on Dreamweaver, Squiz Matrix, & Drupal sites but these were not as current.
My evaluation moved onto WordPress as it seemed affordable for new entrepreneurs.
I checked a few sites but they were slow on Google’s CWVs, & found Kevin Geary explaining how some builders output excessive code.
Google’s PageSpeed Insights was the main reason I required fast web-tech.
After researching website performance & finding a few fast WordPress sites, I was ready to join them.
A WP self-hosted solution makes sense for start-ups, as the core platform is customisable, & a small budget (AU $1-2K) delivers a quality site.
Choosing A Theme & Builder
WP websites need a theme & builder to control the design & structure without custom code.
But here’s the kicker, not all website themes & builders are engineered for page speed performance.
“Plus Web hosting & CDNs assist page-loading speed, in addition to the website technologies theme & customisations like caching.”
Selecting the theme & builder was the 2nd critical part of my website technologies evaluation lifting new entrepreneurs.
I required a system with parent & child themes, a pro dashboard & clean code to meet Semantics.
I found speed tests involving different WP themes, e.g. Astra, Elementor, GeneratePress, Divi & others – where Astra & G-Press did well.
You can get information on WP performance reviews from Tom Dupuis at Online Media Masters, or HubSpot reviews.
Plus the optimisations you make to website settings for delaying assets, images, & scripts, e.g. Lazy Loading improves speed.
GeneratePress was fast & when combined with GenerateBlocks builder, you could import full sites or patterns – but I wanted unstyled wireframes.
If you like templates & you don’t need structural changes, then GeneratePress & GenerateBlocks is a fast solution – but you’ll be restyling pages.
Alternatively if you want to customise & not work backwards – a better solution is to find a theme & builder which imports unstyled wireframes.
The WP builders that could do this at the time were Bricks, Cwicly, & Oxygen.
After watching videos from Kevin Geary & Grant Ambrose – I chose Bricks theme & builder as it was fast, standards compliant & well supported.
The Fantastic Four System
I needed a system the could meet my requirements & qualify for the best website technologies lifting new entrepreneurs.
I found 4 integrated website technologies & called it the “Fantastic Four” system, as it provided the flexibility to customise pages using a powerful dashboard & pre-built wireframes.
“WordPress, Bricks, ACSS, & Frames when combined together make building high-performance websites possible for all.”
See SBMarketer’s High-Performance Marketing Websites complete system overview here.
The custom templates you create in Bricks & the unstyled sections & components imported from Frames, enable DRY development practice.
You install WP & Bricks parent & child themes on your PC using LocalWP software, or a staging server, then install Bricks builder, ACSS, & Frames.
Combining these 4 systems & following SBM’s instructions, makes it possible for all to build a professional website.
One key aspect is when you install the official WP from WordPress.org, you only get a shell framework.
It’s like you have the rolling chassis of a car with an engine, but no accessories or features!
But you can avoid all the set-up, by starting with SBM’s Website Launch Kit with skeleton pages, posts, CPTs & plugins saving you a lot of time.
To get started request my High-Performance Website Checklist to get access to exclusive specials.
In reality the plugins you install become the tools, accessories & features. Learn more about SBMarketer’s plugins.
I use Postmark, Admin Cols., ACF, HappyFilesPro, Metabox CPTs, Perfmatters, RankMathSEO, WP Rocket, ShortPixel, WPCodePro, WSFormPro & CDN Cache plugins.
Customising Using Frames
Imagine you could structure web pages without learning custom coding. Well now you can.
Customising web pages with pre-built wireframes was the 3rd critical element of my best web technologies evaluation lifting new entrepreneurs.
“Once you connect Bricks to Frames library, it’s easy to import unstyled wireframes to pages.”
You get to structure a web page from a large selection of wireframes (sections & components) in Frames library.
Frames also integrates with Automatic.css (ACSS) a system for styling pages using utility classes.
Select Home page in WP dashboard, connect Bricks builder to Frames, open/edit the page in Bricks & import from Frames library.
It’s that easy to customise your web page with the pre-built wireframes from Frames.
On SBM’s Home page, Hero Section Foxtrot is ‘above-the-fold’, Feature Section Delta for main services, & Feature Grid Delta for other services.
While researching WP best practices, I found Kevin Geary, who is one of the sharpest web developers who’s improving the industry.
Kevin’s tutorials inspired me to do his Website Building 101 Course – which I recommend for anyone who wants to build websites to Semantic standards.
All you need is two hours a day, or one day a week, building your future Internet business on your PC with the “Fantastic Four” system.
I was able to build my site without writing any HTML, PHP, or CSS. If you can read & follow instructions, you can too.
Styling Using ACSS
Styling web pages with a CSS framework was the 4th critical element of my best web technologies evaluation lifting new entrepreneurs.
SBM’s website styling is controlled by Automatic.css (ACSS) which enables effects, colours, & spacing based on their framework.
“It’s better to style a site with an existing framework with full scales for colours, shades, & spacing.”
ACSS is a Utility-First framework that speeds-up website styling.
It’s built on a BEM-inspired class structure leveraging selectors & design tokens to keep styles & spacing consistent.
You reference & adjust colours, shades, & transparencies, using utility classes & variables from Bricks dashboard.
Utility class styling attached to HTML elements enables scalability & maintainability, with DRY development efficiency.
With utility class styling you change one source & all duplicated instances update on a site – like changing all H1 heading sizes from one source.
ACSS enables consistent spacing via variables (set padding, margin, column, rows) for visual rhythm based on math scales.
It may seem complex, but once you style a utility class & attach it to a HTML element using Bricks builder, you will agree anyone can do it.
Use Basic Computer Skills
Anyone who can read & use a computer is capable of using the “Fantastic Four” system to make a professional website.
You access a library of wireframes to customise your web pages, posts & CPTs using a powerful dashboard & styling framework.
“All my website coding & heavy lifting was handled by Bricks Builder, ACSS, & Frames.”
It takes the same time to learn a builder like Elementor or Divi, as it does to learn Bricks, which codes to standards & offers intuitive control.
These website technologies go faster!
It’s always better to use a professional builder like Bricks, so a site functions properly, loads faster & improves UX.
If you can learn by reading instructions, following standards & watching videos, you can build a site using the “Fantastic Four” system.
Your Internet business will launch sooner, using the best web technologies lifting new entrepreneurs.
Become An Entrepreneur
A bad office job or hard worksite is not the end of the world, it’s an opportunity for growth.
Imagine how nice it will feel when you have an Internet business – leaving your day job forever!
“Behind every successful entrepreneur is a bad former manager or boss.” Codie Sanchez
All you have to do is start on a side hustle business on your PC, using the “Fantastic Four” system & a Website Launch Kit.
This is your secret weapon to making it happen!
If you have a little voice inside your head that says, “I’m meant for more than this,” then consider being an Internet entrepreneur.
Don’t fight the voice, elevate it with intention, & motivate yourself to a better future.
“You may not realise you have skills & passions & the ability to serve people from your lived & work experiences.” Dean Graziosi
Become obsessed, find a role model, lean into the journey, & keep going when it gets hard!
You can start from Base Camp 1, 2, or 3 skipping WP set-up – ask about my Website Launch Kits made with the “Fantastic Four” system.
Request SBM’s HPW Checklist to start & get access to my Website Launch Kit specials.
Get the High-Performance Website Checklist here.
Add Marketing Automation
The goal for Internet entrepreneurs is to build leads with automation using a system built around a lead-magnet (LM = checklist, guide or report).
You need a website with a LM, an automated email marketing system, a landing page, a confirm page, a delivery email & follow-up emails.
“Lead-magnets & sales funnels are tools for accelerating growth once you get momentum.”
A typical set-up includes a Follow-up Series of 7 emails over 1 week, or 8 emails over 2 weeks, to nurture leads after downloading the LM.
I use a global marketing system called Mastermind Business System, that’s affordable & has been engineered to assist new entrepreneurs with AI, templates & workflows.
The “Fantastic Four” website technologies combined with automated problem-solving content can attract & convert leads with 35% email open rates & 2.5% conversion.
The key is to have a working business model, valuable signature offer & quality website.
Ask about partnering with SBMarketer to get started using marketing automation sooner.
The Best Website Technologies Lifting New Entrepreneurs
Many professionals agree the “Fantastic Four” system (WP, Bricks, ACSS, & Frames) are the best website technologies lifting new entrepreneurs.
Why so? Entrepreneurs get an affordable quality WordPress CMS system that’s the global market leader with support into the future.
Bricks builder has a powerful dashboard, ACSS & Frames speed-up development, & all are maintained by experts following standards.
All four systems are powerful with helpful communities to answer questions & troubleshoot.
Collectively these systems make it possible for everyday people to build professional websites.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
