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The Staples Of a Professional Website

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Professional Website|The Staples Of a Professional WebsiteIt’s easy to get a website up and running. You can do it in about ten minutes. But building a quality website? That’ll take a bit more effort. And if you’re trying to get people to regularly come to your website, then it’s an effort that you’ll have to make. Of course, some people just set up a website for their own use, which gives a lot of freedom: you don’t need to think too hard — if you’re happy, then it’s fine. But things are different when it’s a public-facing website and greatly different if the website is for business purposes. At that point, the quality of the website can be the difference between business success or failure.

To get customers, your site will need to be professional. But thankfully, getting a professional website is not a complete mystery. It’s all about incorporating those digital representations of professionalism into your site. So how can you do this? In this blog, we’ll run through some of the staples. Take them all on board, and you’ll be on your way toward success!

Excellent Design

First impressions count for a lot in most areas of life, including with websites. So what are your visitors seeing when they land on your page? If it’s anything other than a well-designed, clean looking website, then you’ll run the risk of their first impression being slightly less than impressed. As well as the overall design, it’s important to ensure that the look of the website fits in with your company’s branding. Due to the importance of having a website that looks the part, it’s best to work with a web design agency. This will cost more than if you did it yourself, but it’ll be worth the expense.

Photos and Videos

You won’t just rely on the text of your site to wow your visitors. You’ll also need to have photos and videos. But, of course, it’s not as if just any old photos and videos will do. You’ll need to ensure that they’re high-quality. There are plenty of websites that offer license-free photographs, but if you don’t find what you’re looking for, you can always turn to paid photographs. If you’re selling items online, you may also consider hiring a photographer to take photos of your products for you.

Limited Number of Pages

Many times, less is more. It’s tempting to add as many pages as possible because it helps to make your website look fuller and bigger. But it’s not the best approach. The best method is to only include content and pages that are genuinely needed. Don’t think that you need to add more pages because your website only has a few. If you’ve said everything that you need to say on those pages, then that’s fine — the added pages won’t only not add anything, they could dilute the message of the pages that you really want your visitors to see.

Easy Navigation

It’s important to think about the overall user experience when they land on your website. If your visitor is struggling to find the pages that they need, then that’s an issue. You should make sure that your visitors find it easy to move around your site.

Regular Updates

People want to know that your website is alive and kicking. It shouldn’t have the appearance of being dead! This is where regular updates can come to your rescue. By this, we don’t mean that you need to change everything all the time. It’s just about showing your visitors that the site is actively being managed. You can do this in a variety of ways. For instance, by hosting a blog, which you update regularly. You can also make small design changes in line with a seasonal event (for example, a Christmas design).

High Security

There’s no way to build a successful online venture without taking privacy seriously. Without it, you’ll find it difficult to gain the trust of your visitors. They need to know that they’re safe when they visit your website. You can do this by working with an IT company to ensure that your security measures are robust and up to date. But you should also go further. If you have a blog, be sure to block spam comments by using a service like Defendium. If you don’t, then you’ll run the risk of your visitors falling victim to a phishing scam — and that’s something that won’t reflect well on your business!

About Us Page

You can go a long way towards gaining your customer’s trust by writing an informative ‘About Us’ page. In this day and age, there’s a greater emphasis on digital trust than ever before. People want to know who they’re buying from, and your informative ‘about us’ page is the best way to convey that information. This doesn’t just give you a chance to show your professionalism. You’ll also be able to share your story, which is one of the best marketing tools you’ll have at your disposal (providing, of course, that you have a good story to share!).

Well-Written Content

Your website could look the part, but the details of the site are pretty key. There are plenty of sites that look the part, but then, when you get into the details, you can see that there’s very little there. For example, the website copy. The writing should be clear and sensical. Without it, your visitors will be more likely to have a negative view of your website and, by extension, your company. If you don’t know how to write persuasive copy, look at outsourcing the job to a professional copywriter. They’ll make sure that your website’s writing sings.

Conclusion

The tips we’ve outlined above won’t ensure that your business is successful. But if you’re running an online business, then you’ll find that it’s impossible to find success without those things. As we’ve seen, none of them are difficult to incorporate into your site. They just require a little bit of time, effort, and thought — easy!

Humanizing Your Website: Why The Personal Touch Is Best For Business

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Website|Humanizing Your Website: Why The Personal Touch Is Best For BusinessYour website is your opportunity to communicate directly with customers, clients, suppliers and partners. The visual appearance of the site and the content that it contains are the most direct way that you can speak to anyone interested in working with your company. It is also the foundation for your marketing and your brand presence online.

If your website doesn’t show off your business in a positive light, it is not only going to make it challenging for you to gain new customers, it can also leave your team feeling underappreciated.

Focusing on a more personal element to your website is the right way to move forward, and moving away from that more impersonal ‘corporate’ style site can do wonders for your business. But how exactly do you implement this practically? Here we take a look at some of the best strategies that your company can use to humanize your website.

Avoid stock photos at all costs

One of the major issues causing company websites to look cold and corporate is the overuse of stock images. Stock photos might look more professional than those you can take on your camera phone and they can lend credence to a small business that is just starting out. But, having these images lingering on sites can leave it feeling corporate, less personal and unrealistic.

It’s a much better idea to take your own images. This is clearly a good option for companies producing products, but it can also be effective for service-based businesses too.

There are still many businesses that are put off providing their own product or incidental photography because of the perceived high cost of camera equipment. Yet this isn’t the right way to think about it. Of course there are some initial outlays to investing in high quality in-house images, but they have so many advantages compared to stock photos it is really worth doing.

It should be pointed out that equipment costs don’t have to be as expensive as they used to be. It is now possible to spread out payments from more costly equipment by using services which utilize so-called ‘buy now, pay later’ companies, such as Klarna and Affirm. For businesses keen to follow the sustainability route, another option is trading in used equipment to get money off a new purchase – many camera specialists offer this.

Speak like a human

It is still extremely common for small businesses to have websites that use a very corporate writing style. Being formal and professional can be appropriate in some settings, but it is no longer the case that all companies need to present themselves in this manner, especially if it does not necessarily suit the target market and industry.

Of course, it won’t suit every business to be extremely conversational and loaded up with jargon and many professional writers prefer to think in terms of ‘business casual’ as the standard preferred style. However, again this will depend on the specifics of the business and what works with your audience.

Focus on community

One of the most fundamental ways to humanize your website is to install a sense of community with your customers. The benefits of building a community amongst your customers are well established.

“As a part of your community, members feel more emotionally connected to your brand,” says Rachel Burns, writing for Podia “and when people feel connected, they’re more likely to recommend your brand and products to others.”

Companies are still regularly using social media platforms for their community building, but actually it can be beneficial to do a lot of that work yourself to optimize the business success of a site. This can be done by making use of user-generated content.

How To Take Your Website To New Heights

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Website Design|How To Take Your Website To New HeightsIn the 21st century, it’s near impossible for a business to survive without a quality website. Such a large percentage of commerce is now being done exclusively online, and this is encouraging a greater focus on producing enticing, effective web pages that are sure to draw in as many customers as possible. Luckily, figuring out how your business can take its website to new heights needn’t be as difficult as you might expect, as there are several simple tips and tricks that you can make the most of to transform your platform in no time at all! So, if you would like to find out more, then simply read on to uncover some of the best steps that you can utilise today.

A Recognisable Name

Before you even start to think about selling your wares online, you need to come up with a unique and original domain name that you can register for your business. Every website has a domain name, as this is essentially a representation of a physical address that a brick and mortar store has. Choosing an unusual or unrecognisable name is going to drop you in the deep end surrounded by a sea of other websites, as you need to identify a suitable URL that relates to your products and services. If your business name is already taken then do not panic, as you can experiment with adding letters or words to make it work. Adding a simple ‘the’ may be enough to identify a totally unique domain name, or even including your head office or flagship location can ensure that you have little competition. Choosing and registering your URL can be a bit of a tricky process, but luckily there are experienced teams like DomainQuick that can pinpoint the perfect match and make sure it’s yours to utilise.

The Design & Aesthetics

One of the most important aspects of your website that can make or break its success is the overall design and aesthetic that you choose to channel. Having a jumbled mishmash of random colours, garish patterns and interrupted aesthetics is going to reflect badly on your business, as you need to accurately represent your brand and its values through the design of your website. A poor quality aesthetic will lead the customer to believe that you produce poor quality products or provide low quality services, so you must make an effort to keep on top of your website’s design to ensure it meets expectations. A minimalist design is likely the best option to explore, as you can remain classic, elegant and professional all rolled into one. Always use dark text colour on top of a light background to maintain accessibility, as those with visual impairments can read better this way. When adding pictures, videos or graphics, try not to go overboard – a couple of photos per page is more than enough, as too many attention grabbing elements can quickly become overwhelming, and even increase the load time of your webpage in the browser.

Make It Interactive

Another brilliant way to upgrade your website is by making the platform as interactive as possible. When visiting a normal brick and mortar store, you will likely encounter an employee as soon as you enter through the front doors. This customer will greet you, and ask whether you’ll be needing any help during your visit – however, this essential introduction is often lost when browsing the web, as few websites give you the chance to discuss your queries without phoning up a remote call centre. Adding in an interactive chat messenger feature is a brilliant option that is sure to increase the quality of your virtual customer service, as you’ll be able to send users in the right direction whilst clearing up any issues they may have before they grow into serious complaints. Having a chat feature can be beneficial in many ways, as you can cut your customer complaints considerably by actively attempting to resolve any problems through the use of the secure messaging platform. You can even choose to program your chat box to pop up after 5-10 seconds of browsing, as this will alert the user of its presence and remind them that if they want to talk, you’re here to help!

Seek expert advice

If sales have stalled, you’re losing visitors once they hit your homepage, your landing pages are not converting or your site looks basic, it’s wise to seek expert advice. If you don’t have expertise in web design and development or you lack these skills in-house, hiring experienced developers and designers could make a huge difference to your sales, traffic volume and lead conversion rates. If you’re looking for information or services for your business, you can visit site pages and contact representatives to discuss packages for your company and get ideas. Compare quotes, learn more about agencies and view examples of previous work and case studies before you make a decision. 

Taking your professional business website to a whole new level has never been so simple when you can take the time to make the most of some of the brilliant tried and tested tips and tricks that have been carefully detailed above.

4 Pitfalls Of Digital Transformation

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Digital Transformation|4 Pitfalls Of Digital TransformationWhether you enhance your digital presence or tweak your website, there’s a good chance that you’re transforming your processes for the sake of the internet. Online is so essential that you can’t afford to miss out, with everything from marketing to lead generation and communication receiving a boost. Even costs drop when companies invest in digital transformation practises.

Adapting to the digital world isn’t an afterthought since the failure to react could leave you in a tricky position. However, with all the benefits that digital transformation offers, it’s tempting to assume there are zero side-effects. This isn’t true. As with any investment, you must be aware of the pitfalls beforehand. Otherwise, nasty surprises may pop-up out of the blue.

The concern is that you don’t want to fall behind. Still, it’s smarter to be safe than sorry. In this post, we’ll walk you through the four biggest consequences of digital transformation and how to avoid them.

Improved Customer Experience

On the face of it, this only seems to be a good thing. As technology enhances the user experience, you can encourage more people to buy goods and services, boosting your conversion and click-through rates. Although this is true, and several companies have taken advantage, an improved UX sets a precedent.

Today, consumers expect a certain level of service, and if they don’t receive it, they’ll bounce to a competitor. As a result, you get one chance to make a positive first impression. If you don’t, your market share may begin to shrink. 92% of leaders are already developing advanced strategies, which highlights the need to keep up with the latest developments.

One way to do this is to enroll in college courses. Poetically, you can do it online to reduce the impact on your routine and save money. Attending seminars and networking events is a must as this is where you can make contacts and increase your knowledge base.

Raises Data Collection Processes

Again, collecting data doesn’t appear to have a dark side. If anything, you should hoard as much information as you can because it contains the answers to the questions that will stop the business from failing. As big data has proved, the right info will reveal the actionable insights that you can implement in real-time to improve the UX and raise awareness of the brand.

But, as you will see with organizations regardless of the size, collecting data is a contentious issue. Firstly, customers are wary of the practices after the Cambridge Analytica scandal that is alleged to have affected the 2016 election. Also, creating a data culture encourages you to collect information for the sake of it.

Once this happens, you take unnecessary risks. Why? It’s because lengthy registration forms turn-off shoppers to the point where they’ll abandon their baskets. Nothing is worth a lost sale, especially data you won’t use.

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Digital Transformation|4 Pitfalls Of Digital TransformationDigital Transformation Is Time-consuming

You’ve got to spend a lot of time digitizing records to complete the process. Of course, it’s massively time-consuming and only adds to your workload. Aside from the imbalance between your job and your life, you must consider how the extra responsibility impacts your focus and concentration levels.

As the boss, it’s essential to take care of the most important jobs. However, if you’re too busy overseeing the switch to digital, you may easily miss crucial meetings and deadlines. The answer is to outsource the role to a third-party since managed IT services are reliable and have many more resources.

Therefore, outsourcers not only use their expertise to improve the standard, but they cut money and time wastage by concentrating on a single job. Hiring one is a no-brainer. The trick is to work out which business or individual is the most suitable for your specifications.

Virtual Collaboration

Communicating effectively is something that managers attempt to iron out regularly. After all, when you and your team interact positively, there are fewer mistakes. Plus, everyone understands their job and what’s expected of them daily. Digital communication is varied, and that’s the potential pitfall.

With too many channels to choose from, it’s common for employees to miss vital notifications as they can’t check all their accounts every five minutes. And, which one people prefer is a personal decision as they may find an email more professional, whereas a text message is instant.

You must set policies that outline the platform workers should use during business hours. That way, sharing essential data and collaborating healthily will be the norm, not the exception that proves the rule.

Your business needs to go digital, yet are you ready for the potential consequences?