The Number One Key to Continual Online Business Growth
Companies approach Your Design Online all the time with one main objective behind their web development and social media marketing: Grow my business!
Much like considering medical options with your doctor, website marketing and design is built around professional opinion that stems from previous case studies and an educated point-person.
Take for instance, a person who has heart trouble. A doctor will assess that person’s health, explain their medical condition, and then make recommendations based on his or her findings. The recommendations could range from a change in diet and exercise, to incorporating stress reduction techniques, taking medication, or having surgery. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to health, just as there is no one-size-fits-all approach to website development and marketing. Both scenarios, whether it’s your personal health or your business posture, require a long-term commitment to goal-oriented, productive behaviors.
What kind of long-term commitment are we talking about when it comes to website design and marketing?
For one thing, contrary to popular belief, you can’t just build a website, hit the “launch” button, and forget about it. That was all good ten years ago when the Internet was still one-dimensional and less interactive. Websites that function well today require attention. This can come in the form of:
- • Fresh video content
- • Regularly scheduled blogs
- • Updated news feeds
- • Active social media links
- • Inviting and responding to guests’ comments
- • Posting helpful tips
- • Linking valuable and relevant sites
- • Rotating customer-centric promotions or sales
- • Featuring customers and testimonials
- • Games or contests
- • Live video webinars
- • Moving “ticker” updates and industry news trends
What are your impressions when you stop in a brick and mortar store and their parking lot is empty? Do you believe that the business is floundering? That’s how most people perceive stagnant websites. The number one key to business growth today is to keep your message in motion and appear “alive and responsive” through your online presence.
Your Design Online can train your internal team to keep your website rolling with fresh content, or we offer website maintenance in various packages designed to meet your ongoing web marketing goals. We even work with independent business owners to help them maximize their time, message, and presence while building their business.
What are your favorite websites, and why? How can you capture those elements and raise your website to the next level?
Let’s start the conversation. Meet us on Facebook or call one of our team at 1 (800) 698-5859 to learn more today.
Kingmaker
An insightful topic from Seth Godin about the success of a production company:
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/05/kingmaker.html
Developing your Business’ Image Online: Who Ya Gonna Call?
Do you ever wonder why Target chooses to prominently feature their deep red color throughout their store or why Walmart plays music on their overhead while you shop?
It comes down to more than simply branding their stores’ image or one big-wig’s color or music preferences. Their visual and audio selections are carefully placed components that are designed to subliminally befriend customers and put them at ease. The red color psychologically raises a person’s excitement and urge to buy. Reminiscent 80s and 90s tunes and light Top 40 music eases shoppers into a relaxed state of mind when they’re coming in to shop after a particularly harried or stressful day.
Since a website serves as the face of a business in so many ways, how do you want your customers to respond when they see yours? Companies who are building or making over their website with us often have their eye on the prize—tons of traffic and ruling the search engine optimization arena. But our job at Your Design Online is far greater than just leading people to your company’s website. Our mission is to get visitors to spend time on your site and come to like and trust your brand enough to initiate a purchase.
That’s where the “Design” in our name comes in. We know SEO companies are a dime a dozen and that free website templates are practically jumping into your inbox. The market’s flooded with wanna-be’s and has-beens and it’s difficult for clients to judge who the legitimate companies are from the teenage techno-whiz who’s operating out of his parent’s basement at night. This is why we encourage you to interview your prospective website development or website design company and thoroughly review their portfolio. Look for longevity and make sure you see them delivering results for their other clientele over a period years.
Check out our portfolio and tell us about the instant vibe you get from scrolling over the first page of each site we’ve created. We love to use movement and color to paint the picture of a company. What is your first impression of these establishments? Is it evident what they wanted to impart to their visitors? Clearly, they didn’t use a Go Daddy template or tell the weekend girl to “just put something together” because she’s the most Internet-savvy of the bunch.
If you are serious about having a website that invites people in to your business with open arms just as if you were welcoming them yourself, let’s talk. Our team of experts can develop a website that exceeds your expectations. Your website is the face of your company and works for you in the far reaches of the world, night and day. Do you think it’s worth the time and talent to have it done right?
Should You Blame the Designer if Your Website Doesn’t Feel Right?
Not really. What browser are you using and which version is it? Funny how most websites look funky on IE (Internet Explorer), particularly the older versions i.e. IE 6, 7 and 8, yet everything looks fine on other browsers. Keeping it simple, the look and formatting of your website is contained in a CSS file (cascading style sheets). Problems occur when some browsers interpret the CSS differently. This has been and still is a challenge for web designers. Unfortunately, IE holds over 40% of the web browser usage share worldwide so we have to deal with it.
Part of our website launch process includes cross-browser compatibility checks, and we do our very best to get rid of the inconsistencies. Occasionally there may remain tiny irregularities, but the essential elements of the site are not compromised.
Technology moves very fast and so are the standards for web design. Ideally, sites must look pixel prefect on the newest browsers although we remain perceptive that there are still people using the older versions of these internet browsers.
For our clients and internet users alike – staying up to date as far as the operating system and web browser is always beneficial. Not only do we get more security while surfing the web but it substantially adds to positive user experience. If you are curious how your site looks like when viewed on other browsers, you may install other browsers on your computer or try some online tools like Browser Shots and Browsrcamp. You’ll be able to get a feel of how web designers and developers diagnose most site flaws.
Anyway, we try to get this covered as much as we can so our clients don’t have to worry about it and we are constantly working out solutions to combat issues such as this. Your Design Online goes all-out to deliver quality websites at all times.