Tag Archives: Business Website

Web Site Health – Customer Satisfaction

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Web Site HealthYou have improved the content of your companies web site or blog, it is fresh and accurate. There are lots of products covered and you have added all of the information that your clients and customers may need to help them decide on using your firm or contacting your firm for more information. But calls and contacts are simply not coming through and you are beginning to wonder if the investment in this web site was worth it. Maybe you should review your Web Site Health first.

There are many different attributes that will determine if customers will come to your site and then stay there to browse your material. By having excellent original content you have satisfied the search engines, but have you done enough? Once your potential readers or customers have been presented with search results that include your web site, the next step is for them to click on the link and be presented with the results.

Web Site Health – Response time

Many web sites are slow to respond for a variety of reasons. In some cases it is the server that it is running on that is slow. In others it can be a network issue. It might even be the readers last mile or modem at their location. Regardless, if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load a page, many people are just going to move onto another site and you have lost them forever!

The server and the configuration of your web site is within your control, while the other elements are not. Take the necessary steps to make sure that you are paying for a high response time server. Then design your web site to be as fast as possible. Delete any plugins that are not being used. Compress images before uploading to your blog. Delete anything that is not being used so that your blog can run as fast as absolutely possible.

Select a WordPress Template that is Efficient

There are all types of templates available. Some are more complex than others and some will load faster than others. Keep it as simple as possible. Test a lot until you have a template that delivers the content in an efficient manner that is satisfying visually to the customer. Keep testing to ensure that the theme and template work well with your server. Remember the 3 second rule and if your site is not loading within this time frame you could be losing customers.

For information on customer satisfaction information, click here.

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Simple Web Design

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Simple Web DesignSome web sites look so complicated and even difficult to read that you just move on to another site. Ever stop to wonder how much time it takes to develop and maintain a complicated website? Something with lots of graphics, links to other pages both on and off-site, updating of content that is related to current events or activities within your company. These topics all take a lot of time compared to simple web site design criteria. If you are just starting your business or perhaps just getting started with an online presence, you probably should follow the KISS principle – Keep it simple silly! You can always add more detail later and pretty up the site later when you have the time or the need. Your customers will not care provided that the basic information is available and easily found. It still needs to look professional, easy to navigate, and provide the information they are looking for, however, this is easily completed even on a relatively simple and straightforward web site.

Simple Web Design – Basic Web Sites

What are the basic things that customers and readers are looking for on company sites? They are easy to consider if you think about your business for a minute. Here is a partial list, although we think it is pretty comprehensive :

  • Contact information that is accurate and works e.g. email
  • Who you are and where you are located
  • Products and services that are offered
  • How to purchase the products and services
  • FAQ’s which are up to date and really do answer all of the standard questions
  • Shipping information if applicable
  • Information about ordering products and services
  • Note that ordering and processing is not considered part of a basic site

If you cover the above in five or six pages that are easy to navigate, then you probably have a pretty simple web design. As you add more products or services, you may need more pages as well.

Updates to your site should be relatively easy and straightforward. You should be able to perform these changes yourself providing minor edits, adding pages as needed and updating content as needed. Adding functionality such as taking and processing orders online takes you beyond the simple web site design. There are widgets available that will also handle these functions for your customers.

If you need more information or would like a web site set up for your company contact us today be sending an email. For more web design topics and ideas, click here.

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Small Business Needs

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Small Business NeedsSmall business needs never seem to end. The owner / operator can be stretched really thin in terms of time as well as financially. They need to keep their business going and expand it to grow sales. They must also provide support to existing customers. It can be tempting to develop your own website yourself and interesting as well. But is this something that you really want to take on in view of all of the other things that your small business needs to address? If you do not have the knowledge, you have to learn it and still invest the time to do all of the other things a small business start-up needs.

We ask this question because we can add a small business web site for you with little expense. We can have you up and running quickly and provide the right structure to allow future expansion as your time permits and company success demands.

Small Business Needs – Basic Website

We can add a small web site with five pages covering the basic information all companies need to get you started. These include the main company web page that describes who you are and the services and products that are offered. Next we have an “about” page that provides a little more information about you and your company. A contact page for people who need to get in touch by phone, email or even snail mail if desired.

We also include two more pages or posts that can be used to describe products or services in more detail. These pages can be used for anything that is desired. Of course you are not limited to just 5 pages. You, your employees or ourselves can add more posts as needed to the web site and needed. Many customers will have a page providing a list of frequently asked questions. This helps their customers find the information they need without having to contact you and take both their time and yours as well.

As your company grows or you add more products, you or your employees can add pages as needed. If you would prefer we can add additional content as well on your behalf. We just need the basic information and instructions regarding anything specific that you need. Adjustments are easy to perform and can be accomplished by either party.

Feel free to contact us about setting up you small company web site today. We can have one set up for you in no time at all with your company logo, pictures and text etc.

Best Business Web Sites

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Best Business Web SitesThe Best Business Web Sites are not often the really glitzy sites. They offer what the customer is looking for and they inspire confidence in the company. The definition will be different for each company depending on the services and products they sell. In our opinion, there are four main attributes that a web site needs to have in order to be one of the best business web sites. We will review each of these attributes in the following post, however one item that is implied throughout is that they all have great high quality content.

This is one of the more important attributes to have both for your customers as well as for indexation by the search engines. Your readers are looking for information that can help then solve whatever problem or issue they may have. The search engines look for high quality content as one of the factors they use to ranks web sites. If your web site does not rank well, few people are going to come to your site since it will be way down the list of search results presented by the search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. Fresh high quality content is definitely the way to go for your customers as well as the search engines.

Best Business Web Sites – Advertise

One of the main objectives and goals of a web site is to clearly communicate the services and the products that the company provides. This is what will provide to your customers a clear message about your company, your staff and provide information for your customers about the industry that they are in.

Best Business Web Sites – Purchase

Many web sites do not have the capability to allow customers to make direct purchases from the web site. Or pay for those purchases and also arrange for shipment. In some cases depending on the product, all of this can be automated. Unless the customer requires support of some kind they will not actually speak to a support person.

Best Business Web Sites – Support

Support is provided via the web site. The site should provide lots of information that addresses the majority of the customers common questions. There should also be a method of reaching a live support person should the need arise. Many web sites will provide a list of frequently asked questions and only after the customer has reviewed this page will they be provided with the contact information to reach a live attendant.

Best Business Web Sites – SEO

Now that you have this website with all or some of this functionality. It is important to have lots of great content that will attract the search engines and rank your content high for a variety of search engine topics. If your customers cannot find you, then your web site will have been built for very little return.

Business Hosting Web

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Business Hosting WebBusiness hosting web sites play an increasingly critical role in the success of companies these days since more and more customers are looking for information online. Consumers are increasingly using smart phones and tablets to browse the internet and search for information. They are looking for information about products and services, they are making purchases, and they are communicating with their friends as well as the companies they deal with online. Some companies are doing more business online than through walk-ins. Others are driving more and more business to their walk-in stores driven by the information that is available online. Online sales are clearly the way of the future.

Business Hosting Web – Keep it Up To Date

If you just build a web site and then forget about it, the content will get stale, and your returning customers will not find anything new to review. When customers return, and they find new content, updated content, new services, and products, they will tend to book mark your site and return again and again.

We find that the best web sites institute a program to review all of their old content on a regular basis. They may find that they need to tweak the content here and there to correct information about products or services, and they may also be revising their policies from time to time. Use a sorting program to always update the older pages so that they remain fresh and current on your business website.

Business Hosting Web – Add new Content

Adding new content is important, as well. Fresh content shows readers that there will always be something to read about that they have not seen before. If you are selling product or services, then adding new content that describes the products and services from a different perspective can also be helpful. Prospective customers may not have considered the ideas and thoughts that are discussed in the new content.

Search engines will also notice and return time and again to index the new pages on your business hosting website. They will pick up any changes that have been made. The search engines recognize fresh content and updated content. They will rank your site somewhat higher in the results of searches.  A higher ranking means that your web site may appear in the first or second page of the search results. There is a better chance of being visited by someone looking for your topic, services, or product.

There is no use having a great website if no one can find you. If you are low down on the search results, there will be little traffic. It is a competitive environment. Business owners know they have to work at gaining the traffic, visits to their website, and conversions into paying customers. This is part of the new advertising media that all companies need to adopt.

Web site small business

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web-site-small-businessThere are many things to consider when developing a website for small business. Aside from the overall design, hosting, domain name, and registration, there’s also content that should be included on the website. We have tackled several of these issues on other posts on this website. One thing that most people, business owners, and website developers forget is security! This is an essential aspect of all websites, for small businesses as well as personal websites. If you do not pay attention to this issue, you will be hacked. It starts with having a secure password that is not easily figured out.

Web site small business – Security

Hackers can gain access to your website through many different means. They may come in through the back door through your hosting company. The situation develops when they gain access to the server that your site is hosted on. They come through someone else’s site, and they can infect your files.

Another approach is to provide comments on some of your pages. They come with links to malware, phishing sites, and pages that contain code that will infect your website. Always be careful about comments that you approve, and review all links before approving them.

Poor password policies can also allow hackers to gain access. If your password is not strong, you may find your site compromised. A password should contain letters, numbers, symbols, capital letters, and lowercase letters. If not, then your site may be accessible to hackers. Some people will use simple passwords, allowing hackers to gain access quite easily. Use a password design tool to pick one considered strong and challenging to break.

Website small business – Access

If several people access your site to perform various functions, they will all need a password to gain access. Password management is critical in situations like this. Frequent changes in passwords, security of passwords, and avoiding sending passwords by email can enhance the security of your business website.

In summary, protect your website, your passwords, and IDs for your website like it was your bank account. You don’t give that information out easily and don’t give out your passwords for access to your website easily, either.

One hacker even tried to guest post on one of our sites with hidden malware in the guest post. Fortunately, we caught it before it was posted to our website and did any damage. Always be on guard and use virus detection programs to check all of your software on your website and the pages posted on your Business website. Among all the other things you need to do on your website, pay a lot of attention to website security.

Design Business Web Site

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Small Business Web Sites to match your budget

Small Business Web Sites to match your budget

Designing a business web site can be relatively easy with today’s online tools and processes. Chose the domain name. This is the name of your website that you will provide users, customers and acquaintances. This website name is commonly referred to as the URL. It is the name of your online Company website. Then you need storage space and a content management system or CMS.

Storage Space or Web Hosting

Obtain storage space on a server located somewhere in what today is called the cloud. There are many companies that provide storage space. They can be located anywhere in the world. All you need is the IP address of the server which you will use when you are setting up your URL.

Obtain a Domain Name

Once you have your storage space and address you can then point your domain name towards the server. It will provide the storage that you have reserved. You also need to make sure that there is something on the server to respond to customers or browsers of your web site.

Now you have a domain name that is pointing to a server that has no information on it. The next step to design a business web site is to install a content management system. This system manages all of your data including text, images, and any charts, etc. that you might be using on your website.

A typical content management system is WordPress. WordPress is a very popular content management system used by millions of websites around the world. It is user-friendly, easy to install, and once set up is extremely easy to update content and to add new content for your readers.

Design Business Web Site Services

We offer all of these services for you and will install and build your website to your design. Once the website including the content management system is installed and the first few pages created. Business owners have the option of updating their own content at their convenience or having us provide and develop additional content for them.

We like to use information that they provide in terms of pictures, images, videos, and text from your company. This helps ensure that everything is accurate and portrays the image that you’re looking for regarding your online presence.

As we mentioned business owners can update their own content or have us do it for them.  These content management systems are easy to use once set up. There is no need to have a lot of IT knowledge. For more information about creating a business website, maintaining a business website please send us an email or give us a call to discuss in more detail.

For small business ideas and suggestions, click here.

Basic small business website strategy

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small business website strategyAll websites, regardless of whether they are for large companies or small businesses should always have a set of objectives. They should have a strategy for achieving those objectives. The objective should be geared towards whatever it is that they’re trying to achieve with the website. It should support your objectives to increase sales or to drive business to the company.

One area the web developer should pay particular attention to is the quality of the content, the freshness of the content, and the ability for the search engines to index their content.

We have all encountered websites where the content is almost next to useless. These have been written just to obtain search engine results. But they do not offer anything to the consumer or anyone searching on the Internet for a particular topic.

The search engines are trying to de-index these websites and this is the main reason why a website should have excellent content and why the content should be kept fresh.

Old content can quickly become out of date and as far as the search engines are concerned will be given a lower index rating as a result. In addition, if this content is about your products or services, business owners will want to ensure that the content is kept up-to-date and currently reflects the services and products that you offer.

We have developed the following strategy for keeping our content up-to-date on our own websites. Our websites are principally aimed at providing information to the consumer and therefore we recognize the value of that content is kept up-to-date and accurately reflecting current issues as well as information that consumers are looking for. Here’s our strategy.

Small Business Website Strategy – New Content

Depending on the subject of the website and reader interest, new content will be added at least twice a month and in some cases once a week to provide readers with new information about the subjects they are interested in. This also tells the search engines that new content is available to be indexed for consumers conducting searches on these particular topics on a regular basis.

Update Content

Older content should be reviewed and updated on regular basis to keep it current and fresh. There are several ways to do this. Our decision has been to focus on older content that is short duration. We also focus on older content that has not been touched for some time.

Posts are sorted based on size from smallest to largest. The smallest post is updated by adding more content. We increase it in size compared to the next smallest post. On average our posts will become larger overtime. At the same time, all punctuation and grammatical errors are corrected.

Tweak Content

Some of our posts already pretty good and just need to be updated. We want to show that they are still current to the search engine crawlers that crawl websites every second of every minute of every day. All posts are sorted based on the last time that they were updated. We then update the oldest post. We may add a few comments or improve the content of the post in some manner.

All of this work is aimed at keeping our website current. We are following these steps typically once a week or once every two weeks depending on the website.

Web for Small Business

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Web for Small BusinessA small business website must have several basic elements to be successful in terms of meeting customer needs. Also, the objective for Small businesses is to be found by search engines. We will discuss these two aspects in this post. We also describe why business owners who are focused on developing, building, and running their business need to care about a website for their company.

To begin with, a company website should describe the company. The services or products offered by the company and how to contact the company should be covered. It is a way to communicate with readers who they are and what they do. This basic information tells the reader who you are and what you care about. It should be easy to navigate, and customers should have no problem understanding what you are offering.

Once you have described your company, the next part is even more critical. It is one of the reasons we are writing pages such as this one. We want the search engines to find us and index us in a manner that allows customers to find us. The same is true for your company’s website. Business owners need to invest in primary Search Engine Optimized material. This will tell the search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing that you are available and what your company does.

Web for Small Business – SEO Indexing

They will index your site and present the results to consumers who search for your products and services. If you end up on page 50 or page 1000 of the results, customers will never find you, and you will not receive traffic to your website and have no opportunity to convert them to paying customers. You need a page for each possible search term that might be used to find products or services your company provides. That is one of the reasons we are issuing new pages every week or so that talk about websites for small businesses.

It is a page of advertising about what your company will offer customers. We provide website hosting, construction, and maintenance for small business owners. You can find more details about our offer on our pages along the right-hand side. They cover services as well as prices. There is also an option where we host and build the website, then open it up for our customers to add their content. This is an opportunity for the small business to tightly manage editorial control while at the same time keeping costs under control.

For more information give us a call or email us for details.

Small Business Entrepreneur

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Small Business EntrepreneurThe small business entrepreneur has lots to think about while getting a new business started. From financing to design, production, shipping, and support there are so many to keep them all straight. As a result, you may not focus on a quality web site.

Their website, their content, and the communications messages are just one element among hundreds of issues. Even getting a website launched can be a challenge with all of the items that need to be addressed. There is simply not enough time to cover everything and many things must be prioritized and delegated.

Small Business Entrepreneur – Hosting and Content Management

A hosting site and a content management system that allows easy updates on the fly are really appreciated. Business entrepreneurs can update their own pages or arrange for professional website designers to build their websites for them. Content managers can add content that describes the company’s business, services, and products as needed.

Your communications team can focus on communications and not spend time on IT issues! IT website issues can be a drain on resources as well as time.  Using a flexible content management system with built-in hosting is one of the more important decisions to make.

Use WordPress Content Management Systems

We use WordPress as a content management system for this site. Although this one is a simple straightforward website, readers can certainly see how a site can be put together and updated easily on a regular basis. Once it is set up, just focus on what new content needs to be added along with videos or pictures. Now you are using your time efficiently!

We can set up a basic site for you and your start-up business, then turn the website over to you for ongoing maintenance and/or updates. You need to focus on adding new content or functionality.

We can assist with your content as well, making sure that it is optimized for your business and optimized for your customers as well. Search engine optimized content is also important if consumers are going to find you when they search for information about the services or products you provide. There is a lot of competition out there and online advertising is no different.

Let up help you become successful and meet your entrepreneurial goals! Contact us by phone or send us an email today for more information. Our prices are reasonable. Content management is set up so that your own team can perform updates. Or you can contract updates us as well.