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What Is Holding Your Website Back?

June 22, 2018 by Dustin Ramsdell in Informative, Sponsored

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In 2018, there is no excuse for not having an effective website ad a good online presence. However, this can often be a lot easier said than done, especially if you have found yourself in a bit of a rut and you do not know where you are going wrong. If your website is failing to have the positive impression you hoped for, read on to discover what could be holding it back.

 

A lack of security – There is only one place to begin, and this is with security. Today’s customers are savvy. They know that there are a lot of hackers and fraudulent businesses on the web today. They don’t want to take any risks, and so your website needs to be a safe haven. How do you achieve this? Firstly, you need to make sure the payment method available to your customers is secure. Aside from this, trust signals, including security badges, work well. You should also make sure there are a number of different ways for people to get in touch with your company.

 

No responsive design – Mobile has surpassed desktop in terms of Internet usage, and so if you have not had your website optimized for use across all devices, this is most definitely what is holding you back. You are going to be missing out on tons of potential customers. Not only this but not having a responsive design will hurt your search engine ranking too.

 

You have used a free website builder – Free website builders can be very tempting. After all, they are free! Nevertheless, these websites are very limited in terms of functionality, plus they offer nothing in terms of branding. Your website will look like thousands of others on the Internet, which is never good. Not only this, but it is likely that you will have to cope with a plethora of performance issues. Your website will also take a long time to load because, with every design facet, there are dozens of lines added to the back-end code. Slow load times create a poor user experience and this also hurts your search engine ranking.

 

You don’t capture customer information – Finally, a customer will present you with an abundance of information whenever they enter your website, and you need to capture it. This is essential in terms of target marketing and boosting the experience your website provides. From finding out at what point people leave your website to zoning in on buying habits, there is so much to gain by capturing consumer details.

 

Hopefully, you have now got to the bottom of where you are going wrong with your website. If you have noticed any of the errors mentioned above, there is no need to panic, but you do need to get to the bottom of the issue sooner rather than later so that you can start seeing the improvements you hoped for in terms of visibility and, ultimately, conversions.

June 22, 2018 /Dustin Ramsdell
Website, Design, Tips, Advice, Improvement, Audience
Informative, Sponsored
Comment
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Give Your Blog The Ol' Spit And Polish

October 16, 2017 by Dustin Ramsdell in Informative, Sponsored

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Every now and then, we could do with a bit of a makeover. You know the kind of thing I mean - hitting the shops to buy a new jacket, getting a new haircut, and buying some slick new shoes. It’s great for our self-confidence, but it also helps us keep up to date with all the current trends.

And this is the case with our online personas as well, specifically our blogs. Imagine if you had kept the same blog design that you had when you first launched it? It would certainly look very out of date by now! So, every few months, it’s time to go over your blog and make sure that it’s all up to date and is looking as good as it can. It’s what I like to call the good ol’ spit and polish! Here are some things to add to your blog checklist.

 

Update The Design

When was the last time you changed the design of your blog? As I’ve mentioned above, if you haven’t done so for a while, it might look decidedly outdated right now. And this could be putting off new readers - after all, no one wants to spend time on a blog that looks like it’s straight out of 2007! So, if you are using a hosting platform like Squarespace or WordPress, it’s a good idea to take a look at some of the other templates on offer. Don’t worry; changing the template shouldn’t lose any content, but it’s always a good idea to backup just in case!

 

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Pexels.com

Watch Your Language

How is your language on the blog? If all of your blog posts are filled with spelling mistakes and other typos, your readers will be instantly turned off. It really is worth going through your most recent posts and making sure that all your writing is up to scratch. Got a few grammar questions that are bugging you? You can also check out this blog to see if it holds all the answers. It’s also worth getting a friend to proofread your posts before you publish them as they will probably find it easier to pick out your mistakes.

 

Review Photos

As well as regularly updating your website’s design, it’s a good idea to review photos on a semi-regular basis too. If you are using someone else’s photos and images, it’s important that you go back to check the license for them. Sometimes these can change and an image that was creative commons might not be any longer. If this is the case with a photo on your blog, you need to change it.

 

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Pexels.com

Go Mobile

Is your blog mobile responsive? If not, it needs to be so that it can improve its SEO. Mobile responsive just means that it can be viewed on a smartphone or a tablet device easily. If you use WordPress or Squarespace, they will have guides that can help you create a mobile-responsive design for your blog.

 

Once you’ve given it the ol’ spit and polish, your blog will look great!

October 16, 2017 /Dustin Ramsdell
Blog, Website, Tips, Improvement, Design
Informative, Sponsored
Comment

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