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Needing Designs on a Better Website?

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bigstock-Brand-Branding-Marketing-Produ-104597561-300x263Is it about time that your business website got some spring cleaning?

For too many business owners, their websites almost become an afterthought following years in the business or even when starting up. Unfortunately, such thinking can lead to missed revenue and a low Google ranking.

So, what designs will you move forward with now and down the road to make sure your website is a proven winner?

Look and Feel of Success

You first need to start with realizing that your business website can always use some improving.

From there, what kind of improvements might you need?

Among the areas to focus on:

  • Design – First and foremost, is your site eye-catching, a site that will keep returning customers and those you are looking to land coming to your site again and again? The design of your site goes a long way in determining how inspired consumers will be to keep returning. Whether you opt for phoenix web design or numerous other choices, make the best selection the first time around. When you find the right designed from day one, you spend less time and effort getting your designs the way you want them, ultimately saving money over time;
  • Content – What goes on your site certainly matters too. If you toss up any content (without determining why it should be on the site in the first place), you risk several things. First, lackluster content is a problem because your website traffic is likely to be minimal at best. Secondly, your search engine ranking will suffer as a result, leaving your site way down the list when consumers search for your respective product or service. Be sure the content is not only authoritative and informative, but also is free of major gaffes. You also need to have content that consumers (and other businesses for that matter) will want to share with the public. When they do that, your traffic is likely to pick up, giving you the ability to drive more business in your direction;
  • Imagery – As important as your content is, having nothing other than content is about as exciting as watching paint dry. Colorful images should dot your site’s landscape. You would also be well-served to include some relevant videos. Having a company video about what your team does and how your brand stands apart from competitors is a great tool to have. Also look to include as many people-friendly images and videos as possible. When making videos, be sure they are exciting (include some music in the background while you are at it). A five-minute webinar with a person sitting there reading a script will put viewers to sleep in record time;
  • Podcasts – If you haven’t taken notice, podcasts are becoming more and more of an attraction to business websites. Companies see the value in making short podcasts available to the public, especially ones that are informative on trends in respective industries, how products or services impact the lives of consumers, what the future is for a respective market etc. You can even consider including short commercial breaks in the podcasts, though keep them to a minimum. In offering these, you can attract advertisers and increase your advertising dollars;
  • Accessibility – How accessible your website is (especially contacting you, your department managers etc.) is also something you should never overlook. When a consumer pulls up a business site, they might very well have questions, issues etc. they want to discuss. In doing so, they need easy access to a contact email or phone number. Better yet, if you have myriad of departments in your business, be sure to list those in charge of each unit (email, office phone etc.). This is better than having a general office email or phone number for consumers to have to contact. When a consumer can go directly to the individual they need, it saves them time and also saves your office team time.

Your website is oftentimes the bread and butter of your brand, so don’t underestimate how powerful of a tool it can be.

If your site has been lacking that punch as of late, put a focus on needing designs on a better one.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

How to Ace Your Business Website Design

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By Linda Parker

There was a time when people assumed you did not need a website if you were not planning to sell your products online.

But with Internet usage exploding like there is no end to it, every business – big or small, local or international – needs a good website to establish brand presence, maintain customer confidence and boost sales.

So if you are planning to build a new website for your company from scratch or upgrade your existing one, you can use this handy infographic compiled by AddPeople to get your website design started on the right foot.

infographic - basics of a winning website

Featured image via Flickr Creative Commons: Team Dalog

Is Your Website a True Hit?

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If you wish to maximize your profits and expand your business, you should consider making your products or services available to consumers in foreign countries.

The Internet has made it possible for businesses of all sizes to go global, but you may have to localize your website if you want to reach out to a non-English speaking audience.

Website localization refers to the act of modifying a website to make it comprehensible, usable and suitable to specific local markets, and it can be beneficial to your business in many ways.

Here is a look at why you should localize your website….

Cross Language Barriers

English is presently the most widely used language on the Internet, but this may change in the future as the number of Internet users outside North America and Europe continues to grow.

Many businesses are beginning to realize that English may no longer be the global language, and they need to localize their websites if they want to be competitive in foreign markets.

According to an article entitled “Website Localization Key to Improving Customer Experience“, a survey conducted by Common Sense Advisory in 2014 showed that consumers in foreign countries were strongly biased towards localized websites, and a large percentage of them avoided English websites.

In Europe, it was estimated that only 44 percent of Internet users were open to using non-native language websites.

Website localization enables you to cross language barriers and attract and engage consumers in foreign countries as effectively as native language websites.

Increase Revenue

Most Internet users prefer to buy products from companies that can communicate with them in their native languages.

Being able to understand product information clearly and communicate meaningfully with companies can help them make better informed purchasing decisions.

By localizing your website, you can reach out to potentially millions of new customers and increase your chances of converting them. This can lead to a significant increase in revenue.

Improve Search Engine Visibility

Another benefit of localizing your website is that it can help you achieve higher rankings in native language search engines.

The translated parts of your website will be indexed by native language search engines, and they will be more easily found by Internet users who perform searches in their native languages.

As such, you will see an increase in traffic to your website.

Build Credibility

Generally, consumers have greater respect for companies that can communicate in their native languages and offer products and services that are tailored to their cultures.

Localizing your website is a way to show your foreign customers that you are truly a global player, and you are committed to giving them the best shopping experience possible. It will help you gain their trust, loyalty and long-term business.

As the business world continues to become more global, an increasing number of companies are localizing their websites to gain a stronger foothold in foreign markets.

You need to do the same if you want to stay competitive.

About the Author: John McMalcolm is a freelance writer who writes on a wide range of subjects, from social media marketing to growing your business.

6 Tools for Running a Successful eCommerce Business

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By Teddy Hunt

Running a successful business of any kind, whether it’s a brick and mortar store or an e-commerce website, requires the right tools. Before you launch your online company, make sure you have these programs and systems in place. Opening your digital doors without them is a risk your company should not take.

A User Friendly Purchasing Experience

Shopify

Unless your customers can buy your products easily, your e-commerce business will stumble out of the gate. A simple checkout experience powered by the right shopping cart platform can solve the problem before it starts. If you’ve never run an online retail store before, go with Shopify.

This software allows you to get your store up and running without needing to muck around with servers and complex coding systems. Adding products and changing prices is simple using their intuitive system. You can also process credit card payments the second you open it.

In order to keep your prices as attractive as possible, do a little comparison shopping of your own to keep business expenses low. Since utilities are among your company’s primary bills, you should compare rates through a website like powerexperts.co.uk.

Reliable Business Communication Systems

Establishing real world connections with your vendors and supply chain requires traditional forms of communication. Many business people won’t deal with you if they can’t reach you over the phone. They want to know you are a real person, which makes a business line an essential tool for running a successful e-commerce business.

Mitel Systems offers multiple enterprise solutions for shoring up your lines of communication, including cloud-based providers. Choose from a variety of devices, including digital phones and conference calling systems. “Softphones” allow remote workers to call in right from their desktop without the need for a separate device.

Social Media Account Management

Your online store is more than a website; it’s a brand. Customers expect your company’s brand to exist on social media, and not on just one or two platforms.

Promoting your store’s identity across the web requires multiple social media accounts and delivery systems, including Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. Posting to each individually can take up valuable time and hurt your company’s productivity.

To manage all your social accounts form a single dashboard, try Hootsuite. Their platform allows you to schedule posts to your social accounts ahead of time and gauge user interaction to your content. You can also set permissions that allow you as the owner to approve all out-going posts.

That way your brand message stays consistent.

Analytics Tools

Google Analytics

Image via Flickr from Panayotis Vryonis

Knowing how visitors behave when they visit your online store can serve as an invaluable asset for improving your product pages and increasing conversion. Google Analytics gives you this information, including user flows through social media, total web traffic, time spent on site and conversion goal tools, free.

Installing the program is a single-string code that you can copy and paste into the header of your e-commerce site. Adding code for Google Webmaster Tools (also free) helps you find errors, including pages that don’t load properly, before they turn into larger issues.

Customer Feedback Channels

Don’t ignore the people who buy your products. Providing them with an email address, blog comments section or social outlet where they can communicate with you is vital for your site’s success. Make sure you respond courteously and in a timely manner to build strong relationships with your customers.

When your customers believe they have a voice, they morph from people simply buying a product into cheerleaders for your brand. Cheerleaders do more than spend money; they leave positive reviews and encourage others to give your store a try. That type of advocacy is worth more to your business than any one transaction.

A Stable Website

Your e-commerce business succeeds or fails on your website’s reliability.

You want a site that uses streamlined coding for fast load times, runs strong security software to protect customer information, and that won’t crash during heavy traffic periods.

If you’re new to the e-commerce world, using templates generated by design platforms like Shopify and Magento can give you a solid basis to launch your store. Once you get comfortable with their system, you can customize features to suit your needs going forward.

Launching an online store is not a quick process. Skipping steps or rushing can leave you without the necessary tools needed for success. Build your e-commerce business the right way, and you’ll reap the benefits for years.

Author’s Bio: Teddy Hunt is a freelance content writer with a focus on technology. When not behind a computer, Teddy spends the majority of his free time outdoors and resides in Tampa, Florida.

How to Work with a Web Design Firm; 5 Questions with Andy Crestodina

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When you’re starting a business, one of the first items on the agenda is putting together a website. But it can be really tricky to figure out who can help you get it done.

site is under construction

Luckily, I managed to snag some time with the very busy Andy Crestodina of Orbit Media. I asked him some questions about how to hire and work with a reputable web design firm. (Thanks Andy!)

Every entrepreneur starts out thinking they can cobble together a decent website with HTML, spit, duct tape, and the design knowledge they picked up in college. How do you know it’s time to get professional help?

You know your website is bad when you hope that people don’t visit it. It sounds like a joke, but it’s not uncommon. You tell people the address, but add a disclaimer: I’m still working on it… I made it myself… I’m planning to redesign it soon…

If it’s not obvious from a lack-of-pride, it may be obvious in your Analytics. If traffic isn’t up from last year and if it’s not turning 1% – 3% of visitors into customers and leads, something is probably wrong.

What are some critical indicators that you’re talking to a rip-off artist rather than a professional web design shop? Some of them look pretty convincing.

If you connect with the company through a referral, that helps. Beyond this, I recommend asking some specific questions:

  • Can I meet the team? This will tell you if they’re a company of full time people, or a collection of freelancers. There’s more risk of issues if they’re all freelancers or if they outsource the work.
  • Have you ever done a similar project for a similar company? Ideally, the answer is yes. Ask about the return on the investment and the results in Analytics.
  • What kind of support do you offer after the site goes live? If they have a team dedicated to helping clients post-launch, you’re more likely to be happy in the long run. If their support team is the same as the project team, they may not be great at service over the long run…

They should be really excited to answer your questions. You should be able to feel some passion. If they sound worried about your project, you should probably be a bit worried about trusting them with the project.

What should we expect in an initial consultation with a web consultant? Do we need to have anything prepared in advance?

You should expect to get a demo of their process. Most web companies have a process that they believe in. Seeing this will give you a sense for what to expect. The process should emphasize the people, the scope and the timeframe.

Listen for evidence that the process and the projects are focused on results. Listen for signs that they understand Analytics. They should talk a bit about search engines, visitor psychology and future updates. This shows they care about the three most important things: traffic, conversion rates and easy updates.

How often should a website be re-designed or refreshed? If it’s working well, do you still need to change it periodically?

Website content should be updated regularly, but that doesn’t mean you have to blog everyday. In a recent post about how often to blog, we suggested that blogging and email frequency be aligned to the sales cycle in your industry.

But if the site performs well, it should be years before a complete redesign is necessary. The lifespan of a great website is three to five years!

What’s the most common web design mistake you see small businesses making right now? You don’t have to name names.
There are so many common mistakes! Here’s a quick list…

  1. Generic Navigation
    If the navigation looks like this… “About, Services, Blog, Contact” …then you’re probably missing opportunities to communicate quickly to visitors and indicate relevance to search engines.
  2. Contact Pages Without Forms
    If the contact page doesn’t have a form, it doesn’t have a thank you page, which means you can’t easily track leads in Google Analytics. A contact page with an email link is a problem.
  3. Long Paragraphs
    Remember, visitors are busy. They want to scan. Be concise.
  4. The Home Page Title Tag Says “Home”
    This little bit of text is the single most important piece of SEO real estate on the website. You wouldn’t write a book and call it “Book” so don’t make the title of your home page, “Home”
  5. Abandoned Spaceship Syndrome
    The about page should have names and faces of the team. Better yet, make a page for each person. People buy from people, so add personality to the site. Small business have an advantage here, but a lot of small companies miss the opportunity.

There are a dozen other common mistakes, but these ones are pretty easy to fix. Hope this is helpful!

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Photo Credit: jakeisdead via Compfight cc

6 Reasons You Need to Stop Wasting Your Time With Flash on Your Website

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By Teddy Hunt

When you design your website, there are a lot of things that you take into consideration. You worry about the design colors; you worry about your site’s compatibilities across different devices; and you worry about your website looking good. For a stylish effect, it’s likely that you’ve tried to implement Flash on your page. That’s a huge mistake, and here are a few reasons that you need to stop using it right now.

It’s Not Compatible With Everything

Flash error
Photo Credit: jonathanpoh via Compfight cc

Flash can look pretty awesome on a desktop computer. That’s the problem, though — a lot of users are accessing the Internet through their smartphones. It seems like everything and everyone loves smartphones except for one thing: Flash. Flash doesn’t play with mobile devices, and though many have tried to design a workaround, none have completely succeeded. For those that have succeeded in getting Flash to work on a mobile platform, they’ve experienced a lot of lock-ups and performance issues. By using Flash on your site, you’re completely alienating your audience.

It Takes a Long Time to Load

It’s been said that the average attention span of an Internet user is four to ten seconds. If you’ve ever dealt with Flash, you know that if you have any sort of awesome looking video, it’s not going to take three to five seconds to load. In fact, you’ll be lucky if it loads in under 15 seconds. During that time, you’re going to completely lose your mobile users because of the incompatibility of Flash, and the desktop users that you do get will likely navigate elsewhere rather than wait for your site to load. It’d be wise of you to completely ditch Flash and choose an introductory image or banner.

Not SEO Friendly

The goal of starting a website or a blog is to get users, right? Flash is completely counterproductive to that end. Flash isn’t index-able, so search engines won’t be able to do anything with it. Which would you rather have: an awesome intro or visitors who found your website from a search engine?

Very recently, both Yahoo and Google added the ability to see Flash videos. It requires a lot of extra steps by the site administrator to enable, and even then the search engines will likely not be able to see the text in the Flash video.

It’s Expensive

Flash doesn’t come cheap. It involves you buying the software to create the Flash video, which can cost $500 or more. You’ll also have to deal with maintenance and upgrade fees associated with the latest versions, and you’ll have to constantly update your creation. In contrast, HTML is very cheap and it’s extremely flexible.

It’s Difficult to Maintain

Once your Flash site is rolled out, it’s not easily editable. With HTML, you’re able to switch up the design as you see fit. If you’re using Flash, you’re out of luck. You’ll be unable to easily edit the link structure of your site, but even simple edits, like text, are a pain. You’ll have to completely take the Flash portion of your site down, decompile it, edit the content, recompile it, then upload it again to the website. It’s a long, boring procedure, and you’ll have to do it every single time you need to update anything.

Instability

In theory, Flash is a unique platform designed to show off your product — and to that end it’s effective. The problem, though, is that it’s not stable. You’ll need a plugin for your browser to watch the Flash video, Shockwave. Those with extremely old computers won’t be able to properly use Shockwave in their browser, and instead of seeing your intro, they’ll see a blank screen.

No matter how badly you want to incorporate Flash into your site, it might be better to leave it completely off. It limits your user base and it adds virtually nothing to your site.

Do you have any experience with Flash? If so, do you still use it? Leave a comment below and let us know.