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If you’re not in the web design industry, it can be difficult to know how to choose a web design company for your small business or non-profit. There are lots of businesses out there who make a lot of promises when it comes to web design: guaranteed visitors, mobile responsiveness, sites that never need to be updated, etc. The truth is that buying a website is a lot like buying a car: some cars are great and are exactly as-advertised. Some are pretty good, but are overpriced and not worth your money. And others are downright lemons. Some Other Questions You […]
[…]your old one. You also might feel like it’s difficult to tell the difference between a good web designer and a bad one. Below are 5 warning signs to look for before you sign that contract. Warning Sign #1: Offers to Work Without a Contract The first way to spot a bad web designer is that they frequently “offer” to work without a contract. This may seem like a benefit to you, the customer. No red tape. No worries about them overcharging you. Room to haggle if you see the need. The problem is: working with a web designer without a […]
[…]why aren’t you getting the customer response you expected? You might have fallen prey to common web design mistakes that small businesses make. Even a few of these mistakes can drive all but the most loyal customers away. Web Design Mistake #1: Slow Loading Website With the advent of high-speed Internet, customers are no longer patient about waiting for webpages to load. Most customers will wait no longer than 3 to 5 seconds. There are several possible reasons that your website may be loading slowly: Your server is not fast enough You’re not using the latest version of your CMS […]
[…]all you need to communicate in order for them to know what to create for your organization. When a web designer hears you use the term “wow factor,” it is akin to hearing you say you want that “je ne SAIS QUOI”—which is French for “I do not know what.” What is a wow factor for one client can be entirely unimpressive to another client. Web design firms can’t read their clients’ minds. But they can communicate with you to help understand what is a “wow factor” for you and your organization. Before you end your relationship with a web […]
[…]your organization needs if is not carefully crafted and maintained. Below are some of the biggest web design mistakes non-profits make and how you can avoid them. Web Design Mistake #1: Vague Mission Statements Your supporters want to know what your organization does and what your organization aspires to accomplish. A clear mission statement provides details about what your organization is currently doing to address a pressing social problem. For example, your organization’s mission statement might be: We provide lunch and dinner to hungry, homeless Washington, D.C. community members 7 days a week. Your mission statement should also tell supporters […]
[…]does? Once you’ve reflected on what makes you a successful business, you’re ready to design a web presence that builds on that success. UX for Small Business Tip #2: Design for Core Interactions Once you’ve zeroed in on what makes your brand unique, you need to think about how you want to interact with your customers online. Try to identify all the tasks customers should be able to accomplish through your website, mobile app, and/or social media channels. Make a list and describe what you’d like your customers to be able to do. Then identify which tasks fit with which element […]
[…]the time, expertise, and resources to do a good job? Do you know best practices for mobile-ready web design in a world where smartphone usage is currently higher than 75%? Do you have the necessary skills to maintain your website after you build it? If you answered no to one or more of these questions, you should read this post before you make the decision to design your own website. You owe it to yourself to know what you’re getting into before you get started on a DIY web design project. But Don’t Sites Like Wix and WordPress Make It […]
[…]non-profit to be successful. Tip #1 for Building a Non-Profit Website: Work With Established Web Designers Only Something we have seen far too many times is non-profits who choose to work with less established web designers, such as students or volunteers, and who end up getting taken for a ride. In fact, most of the referrals we get for non-profits are from organizations who have had a bad experience with another web designer. Why is this? As non-profits often suffer from a lack of resources, especially when first starting out, it can be tempting to work with someone who offers […]
[…]and non-profit managers get locked out of their own websites: They sign a service contract with a web designer that forces them to pay for each revision to their website They don’t learn the necessary skills to maintain their own website, and are unable to update it themselves There are two primary technologies used for building websites. A Content Management System (CMS) is a software program like WordPress, Joomla!, or Magento that makes building and maintaining websites easier and cheaper. These software programs run on web standard languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Sometimes web designers will simply build you a static […]
[…]to build a website, or improve your current one, you may find yourself lost in the jargon of web design. Responsive? Single-page? CMS? Custom? Before you go chasing trends, read below to discover the 5 website must-have features that just about every organization needs. Won’t This List of ‘Website Must-Have Features’ Be Outdated as Soon as It’s Published? It’s true that web design trends change on an almost daily basis, but when you’re running a smaller organization, you don’t necessarily need to stay on top of every hot new design trend out there. What you need is a reliable, well-designed website […]
[…]quickly and easily add, delete, and revise the content on your website. Unless you have a sizable web design budget or are a web developer yourself, there’s simply no reason to build a website outside of a CMS when there are so many good ones on the market. Tip #2 for Building a Small Business Website: Unless You’re a Designer, Hire One Even though CMS-based websites are easier to build than from-scratch websites, you still need someone on your team who is a designer. Unless you have experience with web design, you are simply not going to end up with […]
[…]management system (CMS) for your website. The advantage of using a CMS, whether you work with a web designer or not (and we recommend you do), is that it will allow you to more easily maintain your website after it’s launched. It’s also much more cost effective to pay for a website to be built in a CMS rather than from scratch because the CMS provides much of the code needed for the website to run. Some popular CMS’s include: WordPress Joomla! Magento You will notice that “free” website builders like Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace aren’t mentioned here. That’s because these […]
[…]your website, then the user experience of your site was probably determined by whoever did. Your web designer made certain decisions regarding what users would expect when they arrived at your site, and these decisions influenced the final design. Paying attention to UX means making these decisions consciously. If you’re working with a web designer, you need to make them aware of the people your website is targeting. The more specific you can be, the better. Also: if they don’t have plans to test a prototype of your website with actual users before launching it, you should ask them why. […]
[…]and openness. Of course, all these trends are only assumptions made on the basis of the current design moment we are in. Since designers aren’t rooted to any particular aesthetic, we hold the potential to constantly envision new techniques and trends in the future. Need Help With Your Logo? This is a guest blog post by Brian Jens. Brian loves blogging and designing. He currently works at DesignContest where he covers design topics from A to Z. Brian is always in trend as he takes every opportunity to improve his […]
[…]be very concerned. Everything we’ve described in this article is a best practice for modern web design because this process works. Make sure you’re working with a designer who is aware of the best practices if you want to end up with a website you can be proud of. Need Help With a Website […]
[…]your organization can maintain your new website? Or do you need to outsource all maintenance to a web design agency? These are just some of the questions you should consider before launching a new website. To help you begin to answer them for your small business or non-profit, below are 3 tips for doing so. But Wait, Do I For Sure Need a (New) Website? Of course, the answer to this question is completely up to you. To answer it, you need to take into consideration your business goals, your budget, and several other factors. If the question is–“do you […]
[…]and only require a small monthly fee to maintain. The reality is that if you work with a competent web designer, the price of that custom WordPress website is only going to be a one-time cost, whereas over the months and years, that “small monthly fee” will eventually add up to more than you would’ve paid for a custom website. Questions to ask before you buy: How long will the monthly fee be required? If I want custom development, is that available for an additional charge? What does the monthly fee cover? Is there a contract involved and if so: […]
[…]you can test out before ever writing a single line of code. Whether you’re working with a web designer or putting together your own website, you need to get a sense of what features you want on your site before putting in the time, effort, and money to actually build and launch your site. Below are some of our favorite prototyping tools. UXPin: UXPin is a very robust tool with a lot of different features for protoptying, including a full design library that contains some really beautiful design elements, like buttons, icons, and even whole website and mobile layouts. Sketch: […]
[…]best, reason not to sign a 12 month website contract is that when you first start working with a web design company, you can’t be sure that they’re the best company for your long-term goals. Most good digital marketing agencies have specialties. They are better at some things than others. Most agencies aren’t experts in all aspects of digital marketing. So, if you sign a 12 month contract with one company, then find they’re not able to meet your needs over those 12 months, you’re prevented from finding a better digital marketing partner. Building a website with a new digital […]
[…]WordPress Infographic To give you a full picture of the impact of WordPress on the world of web design, the infographic below contains 28 little-known facts about WordPress. All the information in the infographic is based on relevant data and the latest research results obtained from credible sources. Need Help With WordPress or Web Design? This is a guest post from Colin Cieloha. Colin is the North American Territory Manager for Skilled.co, a ranked database of digital firms available for hire. He is also an avid snowboarding enthusiast and world […]
[…]a tool for customer or donor engagement, you need to strategically employ calls to action in your website design and content. What Are Calls to Action? A call to action is a directive that you want website visitors to complete. CTAs should be simple, understandable, and easy for website visitors to execute. Depending on your goals for your website, you may choose to employ a variety of CTAs, including: Subscribe [to our listserv, newsletter, blog] Download [our app, our free toolkit] Find Us [on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram] Contact Us [via email, phone] What Are Strategic Calls to Action? At first […]
[…]on the web, however, doesn’t mean that it will be effective. Unless you are a professional web designer, building your own website means that you’ll be presenting an amateur-looking site to consumers. It also means that your website will underperform when compared to the websites of competitors who hire professionals to build their sites. Learn why you shouldn’t design your own website: 3 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Design Your Own Website Looking for Honest Help with Your Digital […]
[…]the necessary skills to fix the issues you uncover in your audit. You may need to hire a competent web design agency to help you. Looking for Help with a Website Audit or Outdated […]
[…]for “user experience.” As Foolproof, a UX consulting company puts it: Experience Design* is a design practice focused on human outcomes, particularly the level of engagement and satisfaction that the user derives from a product or service and the relevance of the experience to their needs and context. *Note: Experience Design, User Experience Design, and User Experience are typically synonymous terms. Digital marketing is a term you’re probably more familiar with. It simply refers to doing marketing in online venues, such as standalone websites, social media platforms, mobile apps, search engines, etc. You need to not only think about how you […]
[…]help you optimize your WordPress site! Are You a Small Business or Non-Profit That Needs Help With Web Design or Website Maintenance? This is a guest blog post by Sudhir Bhushan. Sudhir is a Tech & Social enthusiast. He is also a Web Entrepreneur by Profession and loves to write about the latest trends on Social Media & SEO. You can follow him on: Twitter | Facebook | […]
[…]service with a pretty design is all that you need to garner support. There is no denying that design can powerfully impact your messages to your supporters. Design can enhance your message by drawing attention to it. However, it is vital to remember that design and other tools should be used to achieve one overarching goal: captivate your supporters and convince them to deepen their relationships with your organization. In what follows, we provide three strategies for generating high -quality emails and using the features of popular email marketing services like MailChimp to deliver targeted, captivating messages to supporters of […]
[…]mark or you’re aiming for even slower speeds, you can find more tips on speeding up your website here. Need Help With Website Optimization? This is a guest post by Mike Wallagher, a professional blogger and internet marketer who helps beginners to make their blogs more successful. When he is not behind a computer, he is probably in the woods taking pictures of nature. Visit him online at: […]
[…]website functions smoothly at all times is equally important and this is where choosing a reliable website hosting provider becomes crucial. A website host plays an important role when it comes to website security, speed and download time. It also makes your task of incorporating new technological features seamless. Thus, as one of the major investments in the online face of your business, you need to ensure that the website hosting company that you have chosen is able to provide you with all the features that are required to run a business website successfully. What Are Signs of Low-Quality Website […]
[…]us when we introduce them to this relatively new approach to marketing: How does content on the web attract people to your business? How do you find or create relevant content? Do you create all the content yourself or is it okay to curate content from other sources? If you do curate content, why would your audience want to hear from people other than you? Won’t that hurt your business? Where should the content appear? On a website? A blog? Social media? Traditional media like newspapers, television, and radio? All of the above? To help answer these questions for folks […]
[…]get stuck on? What do they like? What can be improved? Test #2: A/B Testing New Elements of Your Website’s Design Are you thinking about developing a new design for your website or adding an entirely new feature that you’re not sure about? Think about conducting what is called split testing, or A/B testing. According to Brian Jackson, A/B testing “pits two page elements against each other in a head-to-head scenario that tells you which element readers respond to more.” This usability method enables you to show two different designs, such as your old design and your one, to your […]
[…]a product suite. Finally, UXPin can be used to gather feedback about any idea at any stage of the design process. This way non-designers can be engaged in the review process and feedback analysis. CONTENT GARDEN: At Content Garden, we’re a small, “boutique” digital agency, meaning we do a little bit of everything. We use UXPin all the time for client projects, but can you tell us, from your point-of-view, why you think UXPin is a good tool for digital agencies? MARCIN: I think UXPin is an essential tool for a digital agency of any size. The speed with which […]
[…]in which designers churn out an endless supply of documents, none of which necessarily move the design process forward. A popular website for UX practitioners currently lists 32 distinct UX methods and deliverables. And don’t get us wrong: those deliverables are all useful, just not in the same project. More than just cutting down on deliverables, however, in their book Lean UX: Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience, Jeff and his co-author Josh Seiden introduce the principle of “continuous discovery” to the UX process: Continuous discovery is the ongoing process of engaging the customer during the design and development process… The […]
[…]in the infographic include: 1. Not creating and submitting a Sitemap. 2. Having a Non-responsive website design. 3. Having Duplicate Content on your website. 4. Over-optimization of Keywords. 5. Having unoptimized images on your website. 6. Not Implementing Alt tags for images. 7. Not Reviewing Analytic Reports. 8. Inconsistent Content Publishing and Promotion. 9. Unproductive Outreach Strategy. 10. Lack of Local SEO. To know what other SEO mistakes to avoid check out the infographic below and you can even print this infographic or download a free PDF and use it as a reference when optimizing your website. Take a look! […]
[…]North, one of the leading Internet marketing companies in Chicago that offers SEO, PPC and web design services. With more than 25 years of sales and marketing experience, Brad has been featured in leading online publications including Smashing Magazine, American Marketing Association and […]
[…]a website for them and the client struggles to update their own content. Sometimes nefarious web designers will even lock clients out of their own website in order to charge them per hour for updating content. To help clients get out of this content trap, we recommend WordPress. WordPress is a content management system (CMS) that allows you to build a range of websites, from simple blogs to full-blown e-commerce sites. Any web designer worth their snuff can also build you a customized WordPress website that looks great and that you can maintain yourself. What makes WordPress so innovative is […]
[…]is because a website migration can happen for any number of reasons, including: You want to redesign your website You’re unhappy with your hosting and want to try a new provider You want someone else to take over management of your website and so need to do a domain registration transfer You want to change from one CMS (i.e. Drupal) to another (i.e. WordPress) The first thing you need to do when considering doing any of the above things is to figure out a website migration process that will solve the specific problem you’re trying to solve. Below are some […]
[…]create an account exclusive to your website, you can have them create an account with your website using their account from websites like Google and Facebook. By providing this option, you can expedite their account creation process and make it more likely that they will create an account on your website. Example CTAs: “Login with Google;” “Login with Facebook” Call to Action 3: Sign Up For Updates Another great way to engage with customers is to ask them to sign up for an email newsletter or to subscribe to your blog. Another version of this CTA is inviting them to download […]
[…]Web Design Techniques for Digital Marketing What it is: A comprehensive guide to marketing on the web. It explores how to market your organization through websites, social media, and search engine optimization (SEO). Why we picked it: Digital marketing is a relatively new approach to marketing and is just starting to take off. This book will tell you everything you need to know about key terms, best practices, and techniques for ensuring your digital presence is spot-on. Pick #3: The Growth Hacker’s Guide to the Galaxy: 100 Proven Growth Hacks for the Digital Marketer What it is: This encyclopedia-like book gives you […]
[…]Architecture/Content Strategy: how useful and usable is the information contained in a website? Visual Design: how appealing and appropriate are the visual elements of a website? Interaction Design: how useful and usable are the actions users can take on a website (clicking, subscribing, entering information into forms, etc.)? So, who has been paying attention to problems of this variety? Lots of people. To help you get started, however, here are some of our favorite UX thought leaders: Jakob Nielsen Steve Krug Jeff Gothelf Kristina Halvorson Whitney Quesenbery Tomer Sharon Jim Kalbach Jared Spool Leah Buley Janice Redish You might also consider checking […]
[…]to create segments within lists, and to track opens and click-through-rates. It also allows you to design very nice-looking email templates that feature your organization’s logo and links to your social media accounts and websites. If you want to stay top-of-the-mind for existing customers or past donors, MailChimp is a great choice for your email marketing. Tools Just Help You Create and Deliver Great Content Tools such as these help you streamline some of the most tedious parts of content marketing, including editing for grammar mistakes, managing a content calendar for your social media posting, finding good content to share over […]
[…]we’ll tell you all the components you’ll need to create a simple strategy for all your web content within a single document. What Is a Content Strategy Template and What Should It Include? According to Kristina Halvorson, “Content strategy plans for the creation, publication, and governance of useful, usable content.” A content strategy template is a single document that contains all the information you need to develop, maintain, and deliver your web-based content for your organization. At minimum, it should include: Content Goals: Goals are simple and realizable statements of objective facts. You don’t want to say things like “increase reach.” […]
[…]to HTTP, you need what’s called an SSL certificate. This is basically an add-on to your website’s code that validates your website as secure. Unfortunately, because certain companies weren’t issuing valid SSL certificates before 2017, some website owners may find that they have an HTTPS website with an SSL certificate, but are still labeled “insecure” by Google. Recently, for example, Symantec was found to have improperly validated over 30,000 SSL certificates. Bottom line: even though you installed an SSL certificate on your site, you may find yourself penalized by Google. If you have HTTPS and have been penalized by Google, […]
[…]is encrypted, meaning no third parties can view any information that the user inputs into the website. Websites prove that their information is encrypted by utilizing a Secured Sockets Layer or SSL certificate that tells web browsers the website is secure. When Did Google Start Marking Websites as Unsafe? Google has been talking about penalizing unencrypted websites since 2014, but they just made SSL mandatory for all websites in January of 2017. How Is Google Penalizing Websites? Though Google doesn’t release every factor that their search engine uses when determining the credibility of a website, here’s what we know: Websites that […]
[…]recent survey, it was found that over 85% of people claim they wouldn’t buy from or use a poorly designed website. Doing a usability test of a business website can help you figure out where the problems lie in both the design and performance ends of the spectrum. By improving these issues that customers find on your site, you not only help them find the information they’re looking for, but also improve their impression of your business. Reason 2: You Only Need a Few Users When you start to think about usability testing your website, you may think: “oh, we […]
[…]trial, you can continue to utilize WooRank’s features at the “Pro” level for one website for $49 a month. Hootsuite If your website is already up to snuff, then you’re ready to tackle social media marketing head on. Say you’ve got Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts. Now you have to find content for each of these channels, log into each one every day, and post appropriate content at the right times. What if you didn’t need to worry about your social media pages every single day unless you wanted to? This is why Hootsuite can be your best friend. Hootsuite […]
[…]as possible, be sure to make use of EWWW Image Optimizer, which enables you to automatically web-optimize every image you upload to your site. Step 11 of Launching a WordPress Site: Install and Activate Google Analytics Dashboard for WP WordPress has a native plugin that you can use to keep an eye on visitor traffic, but nothing beats Google Analytics when it comes to free tools for parsing out who is finding your website and why. The Google Analytics Dashboard for WP plugin enables you to see most of the information from the full GA dashboard every time you log in to your dashboard. […]
[…]do you want it to be 1 column, 2 columns, the full width of the page? With a simple click, you can design it just the way you want. Email Newsletter Tool #2: Venngage Our second tool is Venngage, a platform that allows you to create cool infographics, among other visuals. If you’re thinking about branching out a bit from the basic templates services like MailChimp provide and are looking for a more visually-stimulating approach, Venngage may be the tool you’re looking for. Above is an example visual newsletter template from Venngage. Since the call to action (CTA) of a […]
[…]product listings. Trust us: keeping your content current does matter. It matters so much that many designers are starting to talk about a content-first approach that ensures good content is at the core of business strategies. Think about it: if you go to a business website and see content that is outdated, missing, or ineffective, what impression does that leave you with? Are you more, or less, likely to purchase from that business? To help keep your content current, keep a list of your most active pages (meaning the pages that users visit the most) and review them at least every […]
[…]the perception that everyone is getting worse as writers. In their book Content Strategy for the Web, Kristina Halvorson and Melissa Rach provide a much more logical explanation for this phenomena: While organizations have struggled for decades—centuries, even—to make sense of their content, they were always able to keep the chaos (and consequences) to themselves. Then came websites, which created the perfect content strategy storm. Suddenly, organizations had to put all of their content (product info, investor reports, press releases, etc., etc.) in one place. For the first time. For all the world to see. And it hurt. It’s not […]
If you have a business website, you want to use that website to convert website visitors to leads and customers. This is your conversion optimization strategy: how effective your website is at persuading visitors to do something you want them to do, like sign up for your newsletter, download an ebook, or make a purchase. Why a conversion optimization strategy is important for business websites Many business owners may be unaware that website visitors are one of the best sources of potential revenue. Think about it: people visit your website for a reason. They want to learn more about your […]