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8 Tips for Safe Web Browsing and Accessing the Internet

8 Tips for Safe Web Browsing and Accessing the Internet


8 Tips for Safe Web Browsing and Accessing the Internet

Hackers make an attempt at breaking into a system every 39 seconds. The last thing that you would want is for them to make your system the one that they break into. 

Safe web browsing is essential if you want to avoid having your personal details and money stolen. Once a hacker has access to your device, they can wreak havoc on your life. 

But what can you do to ensure you don’t fall prey to an attack? Our handy guide to internet safety will help you.  

Here are eight tips for browsing the internet safely. 

1. Keep Your Operating System, Browser, and Plugins Updated

Hackers are always on the hunt for new ways to get into people’s computer systems. Whenever a vulnerability is spotted in a browser, plugin, or operating system, an update will be released to prevent hackers from getting in. 

It is essential that you stay up-to-date with these changes and download any new updates. 

2. Block Pop-ups 

While most pop-ups are just annoying ads trying to get you to buy something, some can be more malicious. 

To avoid malicious attempts at getting you to accidentally click on links, install a pop-up blocker. 

3. Use Antivirus Software

It should go without saying that to stop viruses and malware attacks, you should have antivirus software installed on your system. 

There are plenty of different free options available. Here are some suggestions. 

4. Use a Firewall

Hackers are trying to get into your system. One of the best ways of stopping them is by having a firewall installed. If your computer has a firewall already installed, make sure it is turned on and is up-to-date. 

5. Use Strong Passwords

Whenever you access any website with a password, you should make sure that it is unique. Using strong passwords will mean that they won’t be easily guessed. Use a mixture of letters and numbers and change your passwords often. 

6. Use Bookmarks

To avoid making a mistake when typing the name of a website that you commonly visit, you should always bookmark your pages. A bookmarked link will always take you to the right page every time.

Consider using a browser that lets you access bookmarks across all devices. 

7. Consider Where You’re Accessing the Web From

If you’re using your device to access the internet in public spaces such as coffee shops and airports, consider the safety of the network that you’re connected to. 

In addition to being cautious of public networks, consider using a safe charging datablocker to protect your device when plugged into a public USB socket. 

8. Avoid Clicking Links in Emails

Viruses and malware can be spread via emails easily. All it takes is for you to click a rogue link in an email and your device may become infected. Even if you know who an email is from, you should always regard links as being suspicious. 

Safe Web Browsing

Now that you know some of the best tips for safe web browsing, you can protect yourself from attack. Remember to always keep your browser, antivirus, and your operating system up-to-date and avoid clicking on links in emails. 

For more great articles, please check out the rest of our site.  

Technology

Top 5 Reasons to Choose AngularJS Web Development

Top 5 Reasons to Choose AngularJS Web Development


Today every business wants to make a strong online impression. To make your customers fall in love with your online business it is not enough to create an appealing website but you have to work hard to enhance your customers’ experience when they visit your online business. There are different web development platforms available out there to create websites. If you are considering creating a web application then AngularJS development is a helpful way for you. AngularJS is a popular JavaScript framework that offers extensive features to create advanced web applications. Here are the top 5 reasons to go for AngularJS web development. 

1. Backed by Google

AngularJS is backed by one of the world’s leading tech giants Google that makes it a reliable web development framework. This framework has a solid codebase and it is one of the most stable JavaScript frameworks. Due to its reliability and stable code, most developers and companies prefer to work with this framework for developing high-end web applications. 

2. Seamless integration

When it is about the collaboration of the framework with other libraries for AngularJS web development, it offers seamless integration. If a web developer wants to work with varied object-oriented MVC frameworks for developing server-side solutions, AngularJS serves as an easy way for developing client-side code. 

3. MVC architecture

AngularJS works with the principles of MVC architecture to build interactive and robust web applications. When it comes to working with many other frameworks, web developers are required to divide the code into components. The developers write code for different components and combine them. In the case of AngularJS development, javascript developers deal with different code components that are readily available with this framework. As it follows MVC architecture, so the code is divided among Model, View, and Controller components. 

4. Excellent data binding

A major reason why developers choose AngularJS for developing web apps is due to the two-way data binding capacity. As a result, any change that you make in the interface is immediately reflected in the app’s interface. This is important for saving development time as you can easily see the effects of changes you make in your app. Developers can know the effects of any change that they want to commit in their apps and ensure a greater quality of web applications. 

5. Use of directives

HTML is utilized as the pattern language is AngularJS web development that also comprises directives. These directives help in promoting good conduct for coding. They help you focus on creating logics that influence you to work more beneficially. You can reuse them that enable you to ensure code readability. By creating a readable and reusable code, you can create a more robust and high-performance web application. 

Final words

These are a few reasons that make AngularJS a popular front-end development framework. When it comes to web development you have to deal with both front-end and back-end. Front-end is the part of a website that you can see and interact with – the user interface of a web app. To accomplish front-end development, you need to use frameworks like AngularJS that allows creating interactive and appealing user interfaces for web apps. Although there are lots of front-end web frameworks, AngularJS is one of the most used frameworks, 

We have discussed some of the top reasons for why you should choose AngularJS development for creating web apps. There are several other reasons that make it an ideal choice for developing web applications for all kinds of businesses whether small, medium, or large enterprises. It offers a quick and convenient way of developing web apps. 

Technology

What Are Guest Blogging Services? 4 Proven Ways They Boost Web Traffic

What Are Guest Blogging Services? 4 Proven Ways They Boost


What Are Guest Blogging Services? 4 Proven Ways They Boost Web Traffic

What are guest blogging services? We’re glad you asked.

If you have a blog, new or old, you’ll likely want to use this winning resource at some point.

Guest blogs are when you write up a blog post but it gets published on someone else’s site, with a link or bio drawing readers back to your site. This allows you a new method of reaching readers you may not normally have. Of course, it helps to guest post on a site that has high traffic, as the odds of someone reading your blog will increase. 

Additionally, you can allow other bloggers to post on your site to beef up your content.

If you’re trying to booster your web traffic, guest blogging may be a worthwhile tactic for you. Check out the following information to see how it benefits your site.

1. Blogs Establish Your Authority

If you want to prove yourself an industry expert, you need to have authoritative blog posts that highlight your expertise.

Readers are more skeptical than ever, but if you establish trustworthiness by posting expertly-written content, your audience will trust you as a leader in your niche or industry.

This will immediately provide you with leverage over poorly-written, spam-heavy content.

2. Blogs Speed up Your Discovery Rate

In your mission to get your website noticed, have you written blog post after blog post and felt like the words never got read? Were you writing to a non-existent audience?

Guest blogging beefs up your content without having to deal with the middlemen—editors and publishers—and without you having to plug away at the keyword night after night. This way, you can add to your inventory and get discovered in weeks or months rather than years.

3. Your Competition Is Utilizing Guest Blogging

An astounding 89% of B2B marketers cite content marketing as a “very important” marketing strategy.

What does this mean for you?

It means that if you don’t use guest blogging services, your competition already is. Your blog will stand out in a bad way—as one that doesn’t have the authority or in-depth knowledge of a subject.

If nothing else, blogging will align you with your competition; in the best case, it’ll elevate you above those who aren’t using it yet.

4. Your Audience Uses Blog Posts to Aid in Decision-Making

If you’re selling a product or service, guest blogging (and blogging in general) is all the more critical.

People use blog posts to help them make decisions about a product or service. They seek out information before buying something—perhaps to solidify their purchasing decision. Most B2B buyers consult blog posts at one point in their buying journey.

Ready to Utilize Guest Blogging Services?

If you think guest posting would work for your site (and it will), start reaching out today. It’s hard to continually generate new content, and because of that, many publishers will likely consider having your post on their site.

In the future, you may even consider having a guest blog published on your site! It’s a win-win for both parties.

If you enjoyed this article on guest blogging services, keep scrolling through our site. We can help you leverage the power of the internet to become successful in your business endeavors!

Technology

Web Presence: Elementary Strategy to Follow for Improving It & Find New Customer

Web Presence: Elementary Strategy to Follow for Improving It &


It really doesn’t matter which type of business you have what matters the most is which strategy you follow to improve your web presence. Web presence plays a crucial role when it comes to enhancing the customer base and earning more ROI in less time. During the past days, businesses used to follow two important methods for improving their customer base that is: 

1. Direct advertising. 

2. Word of mouth

However, in today’s digital era a wide range of options are available for businesses due to access to the internet, it has opened up new ways for businesses that aim to improve their business’s presence on the web and grab the attention of a large audience base that also in a very short span.  

Know what is the Exact Meaning of Improving Web Presence for Your Business

Web presence simple means summing up identities that businesses have created and interaction which have been established online using this identity. These identities can include your business website, pages, social media account, and much more which pop up in the search engine list whenever any of the customers search for your business. 

Web presence is an effective digital salesforce and when businesses try to optimize their web presence they can easily create brand awareness. This digital interaction can help to turn your web visitors into your ideal clients. Once you develop a strong web presence for your business, you will definitely have a huge potential which helps you to retain and attract one through various channels available online. 

Different Way to Consider for Enhancing Web Presence for Your Business 

All types of businesses these days are using various marketing strategies but unable to get the desired and steady stream of customers for their business. No matter whether you have established business or have just started your business what matters for attracting more customers and gaining huge referrals is optimizing your web presence. 

By optimizing the web presence of your business you can easily reach thousands of customers all over the world. As a business entrepreneur if you want to expand your business outside the boundary of your local area then you have to pay attention to improving your web presence. You can develop an effective marketing strategy and can use various proven ways to enhance your web presence in lesser time. 

Optimizing the web presence of your business doesn’t happen overnight, but having a strong web presence is very essential for businesses as it helps them to achieve long term goals. It allows the customer to find your business, communicate with you, trust your brand, and much more. Having a strong web presence can sound quite challenging but if you want to achieve it then you have to plan and implement the right strategy which provides the proven results for your business. There are proven ways which you can adopt to increase conversion rates, customer engagement, traffic, and much more for your business. 

Develop a Website for Your Business

Only 51% of businesses have their business website while almost 97% of consumers are searching online for preaching products or services from the brands. Businesses who have yet now owned their business website are losing end number of opportunities what is waiting with open arms on their way. 

And for enhancing your web presence developing the website and an app for your business can prove to be the first and essential activity. With the help of the expert or mobile app development company, you can portrait an excellent piece that loads quickly on the user’s devices and provide them with updated information about your business product or service which you sell. The website or app crafted by them will be mobile-friendly, eye-catchy and will optimize your business URLs.

Sponsored Advertising

Businesses should leverage other sources to improve their web presence, they can use other sites which allow them to advertise their business online using sponsored advertising. Making advertisement using other websites ensure you to reach more customers from the desired targeted market, websites which allow sponsored advertising can be proven beneficial for your business product or service. Each click on your advertisement can bring more customers and traffic to your business website. And each view done by the customers can ensure customers have exposed your business. 

Stay Active on Social Media Platforms 

Staying active on social media platforms can help businesses to grab the attention of millions of users because the majority of customers might have their account on one or other social media platform. One of the most popular activities on the internet is Social media usage. 

As per the report, around 2.65 billion users use social media platforms worldwide, this number is estimated to jump and reach 3.1 billion by 2021. Hence businesses who want to improve their presence online must utilize the power of social media and must create their business page or account on famous sites like Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and many more. 

Facebook has around 2.45 billion active monthly users, hence it will provide you the best way to communicate with your target audience. The use of social media can also help you to get more word of mouth from the customers. You can share posts on Facebook and tweet on twitter to attract your targeted audience and make them know more about your brand. You must include all the information about your business on social sites and also pay equal attention to regular updates about your newly launched product, offers, discounts, and much more. 

Multiple Forms of Content to Attract the Audience

There is no doubt that blogging is one of the effective ways to enhance your web presence online. But you can also use multiple forms of content for attracting your customers, this useful content can help you to define your brand’s voice and also build trust among the customers. Businesses should focus on developing multiple forms of content to provide customers with informative and entertaining on like: 

  • Vimeo or Youtube video that represents your brand. 
  • Developing infographics. 
  • Podcast hosting.
  • Creating a case study.
  • White paper and ebook publishing. 

When you provide qualitative and unique content to your audience it will surely create a positive image in your customer’s mind and will force them to trust you. You can also convey them to make a purchase by delivering good content which will ultimately increase your business sales. 

Find the Best Match for Your Business!

All online activities togetherly are responsible for creating your brand’s images in your customer’s mind. Hence businesses who want to develop a positive image in their targeted audience’s mind must take extra care while performing various online activities. 

Put your customer’s need on top is the success mantra for all the businesses who want to enjoy a huge audience base and high profit for their business. But businesses who are lacking to have a strong business presence will not receive the desired outcome for their business in this digital world. They can use helpful tips to enhance their web presence and can reach the targeted objectives in lesser time

Technology

A Beginners Guide for WordPress Web Design

A Beginners Guide for Wordpress Web Design

 

A Beginners Guide for WordPress Web Design

WordPress powers around 34% of the internet. Not only is WordPress powering blogs, but many eCommerce sites are using WordPress as well.

If you’re thinking about starting your own website, you might be considering WordPress but are wondering how hard WordPress web design is. If you aren’t very technically inclined, it can seem daunting to design your own website but we can help. Continue reading this article and learn some simple tips for designing your website on WordPress.

Choose a Theme That Will Work for You

Depending on how good you are with technical matters, you might need to choose a pretty simple theme. WordPress themes are what make your website show up the way they do online. WordPress themes allow you to have certain functions and ways to showcase your content without coding it yourself.

There are literally thousands of themes available online. You will find some themes are paid themes and some are free. You’ll find themes that require a yearly subscription and other themes that you can buy with a one-time investment.

Depending on the type of site you want to make, you’ll find that certain themes work better for you than others. If you’re building a magazine-style website, there are themes that are specifically for this style of website. If you want to build a photography website, you’ll be able to find themes optimized for sharing your photography.

Keep a Tidy Sidebar

The sidebar of your WordPress site is seen on every page on most designs. The sidebar isn’t where you should put everything that you can think of. Recent posts, ads, promotions, about sections and many other sections could confuse or distract your readers.

Be purposeful when you put things into your sidebar. Whether you’re using managed hosting or cpanel hosting, you access your sidebar settings the same way. Go into your dashboard, go to appearance and click on widgets. When you are in the widgets section, you’ll be able to easily change what’s in your sidebar.

Make It Easy to Navigate Your Website

Nothing is more frustrating than going to a website where you can’t find what you’re looking for. Your website navigation should make sense when people come to find information.

Group related topics, create categories, and structure your menu section in a way where people can see your system and thought process. If you have a finance section on your website, you might add subsections like Debt Resolution, Savings, Investing, and anything else related that can be considered a subtopic.

User experience is an important part of web design. Focus on planning out your website navigation before you even create content and it will work much better for you.

Choose a Clean Permalink Structure

Permalink structure is your website link structure. For instance, if your website is yourwebsite.com, your permalink might be yourwebsite.com/post1 or yourwebsite.com/posttitle. You can choose what your permalink structure is in the settings section near the bottom of the dashboard sidebar.

Use Images to Drive Your Point Home

Images help your readers stay engaged. We all remember loving to read picture books and getting excited to see what was on the next page. Now as adults, images still help drive points home so we are able to understand the information.

Not only do images make your page look better and engage your readers but they can also help with search engine optimization (SEO). You have the ability to put “alt text” with the keyword when you upload it to your WordPress page or post for better SEO results.

You can use stock images or you can take your own images and use them on your site. Stock images are inexpensive these days or you can even find some online for free.

Select an Appealing Font

If you don’t want to look like every other website online and use the Arial font, you might want to look into other fonts. You are going to find that there are a lot of options available but you need to find fonts that go along with your brand’s look.

You don’t necessarily have to use a different font throughout your website but you might want to use a fancy font on your headers. While you want your website to be attractive to your visitors, you don’t want to visually overload them or make your website difficult for them to read.

There are even places where you can create your own font, download it and use it on your site to make it uniquely yours. This is a little bit of a pro-tip but it might be something you want to consider later down the road when you’re working on your branding.

Don’t Forget the Footer

While the footer might seem a little boring, it is prime real estate. People scroll to the bottom of your page to get an idea of how long the content is. Make sure you have important information there so they can see it and possibly decide to stay on your page longer.

Depending on the theme you choose for your website, you may even be able to pull images from your Instagram feed, show excerpts from your About page and more.

WordPress Web Design for the Win

Now that you know more about WordPress web design, a whole new world is open to you. Why not keep learning? We have many other articles on our site that can open up more worlds and exciting opportunities.

Browse our website, find your favorite section, drop a bookmark and come back soon for more great reads.

Technology

Change Web Hosting in 2020 and Use These Principles to Find a New One

Change Web Hosting in 2020 and Use These Principles to


Change Web Hosting Providers in 2020 and Use These 8 Principles to Find a Better One

There are 1.7 billion websites online right now.

The way that those billions of websites sit on the internet is that they’re all hosted on physical servers that are hard-wired into the World Wide Web.

If you’re reading this article, you probably knew that already. After all, assuming you’re a website owner, you’ve probably had to go through the stress of picking a web hosting provider to get your site up and running.

While we get that you probably don’t want to go through that stress again, we really think that you should change web hosting providers (or at least consider it) next year to cash in on price and performance upgrades.

In this article, we offer some tips on how to find the perfect host to switch to.

1. Do a Reputation Scan

There are a lot of web hosts offering their services online. While many of them are good and dedicated to providing the best possible customer experience, other hosts aren’t.

Of course, no bad web host is going to advertise on their website that they’re bad. They’re going to promise you the moon and the stars and the moment that your credit card gets charged, they’re going to burn you.

To avoid getting bamboozled on your hosting experience, do reputation research on any hosting provider that you’re considering before signing on the dotted line. People’s online reviews should be telling as to what you can expect.

2. Look at Pricing

One of the top reasons why people change web hosting providers is that they want to cash in on better pricing. If you feel like you’re paying way too much to have your website hosted, you’re going to want to make savings a top priority in your plan to switch.

Web host pricing isn’t too hard to find. Just go on a host’s website and they should have their rates promoted on their front page.

As a matter of fact, any hosting provider that’s being coy about letting you know how much they charge is A) A scam company or B) A company that’s targeted at enterprise customers.

3. Watch Out for Promotions

One of the absolute worst parts about getting a web host is the bait-and-switch pricing schemes that they use. You know what we’re talking about.

A host flashes a great price in front of you and then 12-months later when your account auto-renews, your price magically goes up by 400%.

To make sure that you’re not caught off guard by promotional rates, understand how much your web host will cost when you to renew and shop based on that price rather than their low initial promotional rates.

Some hosts have price-lock programs that promise to keep rates the same. If you can find a host like that, jump on their offer.

4. Consider Upgrade Options

Different websites have different hosting needs. As your website grows, you may very well have to upgrade from one kind of hosting package to another.

Consequently, picking a web host that offers hosting plans that you can easily grow into is a big plus.

In general, a good host will offer shared, virtual private and private web hosting packages.

If your host only offers shared hosting, you might want to think twice about doing business with them since you may run into problems if a server migration becomes necessary.

5. Think About Customer Service

A lot can go wrong with your website. Your web host’s customer service team can either make solving those issues a breeze or a nightmare.

Read reviews regarding a web host’s customer service team. If you’re seeing that their group seems to be made up of unhelpful people that pass around problems and aren’t domestically based, you’d do well to avoid all of that.

Sometimes, you have to pay a premium for a web host that offers exceptional customer support. In our opinion, that premium is well worth it.

6. Get The Full Story on Unlimited

Just about every web host offers unlimited bandwidth, storage, sub-domains, etc. What they don’t tell you though is that they reserve the right to mess with your site if they feel you’re taking up more than your fair share of resources.

Ask what your prospective web host’s policy is on taking full advantage of their unlimited services. If they tell you that they will slow your site down or take your site offline if you scale too quickly, move on.

7. Always Go With a Trial

When you change web hosting, try to switch over to a host that ticks the boxes we’ve discussed thus far and offers a trial. Any web host that’s not willing to stand by their services by offering a trial or money-back guarantee is likely trying to take your cash and run out the door.

8. Ask Yourself if Migrating is Worth It

This post is meant to entice you to see what your alternative hosting options are. If you’re finding that new deals aren’t that much better than what you’re getting with your current hosting package, stay where you’re at.

There’s no point in undergoing the stress of a server migration if you’re not going to get something great out of your efforts.

Wrapping Up What to Look for When You Change Web Hosting

Most people that change web hosting providers enjoy better service for a lower price. If you stand to reap those benefits by making a switch, we recommend doing so!

Looking for more write-ups that can help you solve technical problems, improve your business and more? If you are, browse more of the content that we have featured on our blog now!

Technology

Saved By The Web Development Firm: When You Should Hire Help For Your Website

Saved By The Web Development Firm: When You Should Hire


Saved By The Web Development Firm: When You Should Hire Help For Your Website

What can you do in 50 milliseconds? People looking at your website will make a decision about engaging with your brand in little more time than the blink of an eye. 

If your website isn’t easy to use, engaging from the first moment, or attractive, you’ll lose potential customers. 

You may think your website is functioning fine, but in reality, you’re missing out on potential opportunities. Here are the top signs you need some help to develop, grow, and build your site with a web development firm.

Four Signs You Need a Web Development Firm 

Running a website on a do-it-yourself level is tempting for startups and small businesses on a tight budget. However, a little investment could make the difference between staying small or huge growth.

Here are six signs you need to call on a professional to help with your website.

1. You Haven’t Updated Your Site in Months

Regular and fresh content is the number one way to achieve continuous organic traffic. However, when you’re running your own website it’s easy to fall behind and forget to refresh your content from week to week.

Worse still, you’re probably neglecting plugin and security feature updates. That leaves you open to hackers and also risks parts of your website not functioning. There is nothing more frustrating for a user than images that don’t load, broken Flash files, or missing hyperlinks.

2. You Don’t Know if You Have Any Broken Links

Speaking of links, when was the last time you ran a check to find any 404 errors? Have you made sure your pages aren’t redirecting to blank pages? Do you know if backlinks to your site are still relevant?

Professional web development firms have software that runs checks on things like this for you. You don’t need to click every single link on your website. You also don’t need to invest in expensive software subscriptions for a comprehensive search.

Instead, the professionals will use their own software access to check missing and broken links for you and repair them. This saves you significant time and stops users from bouncing off your site in frustration.

3. You’re Doing Everything Else for Your Business, Too

Running your own startup, small business, or freelance side hustle means you’re doing everything else on top of website development. You’re an accountant, a CEO, a marketer, a business consultant: do you have the time, depth of knowledge, and resource pool to do your website, too?

Investing in a professional website development firm will save you significant time. You can use that extra time to focus on your true skills such as marketing and finding sales opportunities for business growth.

4. Your Site Doesn’t Have an SSL Certificate

Do you know what an SSL certificate is? Does your website have one?

Without an SSL certificate, you’re missing out on website traffic. Google now uses secure websites as a priority ranking factor. That means if your website still uses http:// instead of https:// you’re losing out on potential traffic.

A website development firm will manage security updates and other important changes to make sure you’re always ahead of your competition and continue to rank well in search listings.

Time Equals (Lost) Money

If you know you’re harboring any of the above problems when it comes to managing your website, it’s time to call the professionals. 

A web development firm will always work with you and your budget to find a solution suitable for your business. Some capital investment in web design will save you time and money in the long-term.

Before you reach out, have some ideas in mind to help steer the project and stay on budget. Check out these incredible web design tips to trigger your imagination!

Technology

7 Web Design Tips That’ll Improve Your SEO Dramatically

7 Web Design Tips That'll Improve Your SEO Dramatically


7 Web Design Tips That’ll Improve Your SEO Dramatically

It’s Saturday night and you’re going out with your friends. You get out your phone and pull up a ride share app to arrange your transportation.

As the page is loading, a note appears that your ride will be found within the next minute and a countdown starts on your screen. As you tap your foot, the first minute passes and the next thirty seconds seem to drag on for eternity.

After the time is up, the page continues to load. You’re now wondering if it’s going to find you a ride at all, so you open up the competitor’s app and give them a shot at securing your ride.

Even if this scenario doesn’t sound familiar to you, it’s a reality for many people. In this dog-eat-dog world, responsive web design tips are necessary for success. Read on to learn what you need to do.

1. Optimize Your Site for Multi-Device Usage

Responsive website design refers to the programming of a website so that it realigns text and images automatically when a device is reoriented.

If your website design doesn’t adapt based on the screen size and angle that your customers are using, then you are making life more difficult for them. Trying to read a full-scale webpage on the small screen of a cell phone can be frustrating. No one wants to have to scroll back and forth to read lines of text.

Make sure that you take the time to ensure your site is displaying properly on all devices. This makes it easy for Google to crawl your web pages and deliver the content searchers are looking for.

2. Boost Your Site’s Mobile Capabilities

Google’s algorithm has regarded mobile-friendly websites as superior for a few years now. This is because currently, the majority of Google’s searches are coming in from mobile devices such as smartphones.

It used to be that you had to wait until you get home to look something up, but now everyone has the ultimate encyclopedia in their pocket. Numbers of mobile users are only expected to grow in the coming years so adapt today and rise with the tide.

3. Achieve Lightning Fast Load Times

Internet users want websites to load instantaneously. If it takes more than a couple seconds for one of your website pages to load, then they will find another site to visit. With the responsive design we previously mentioned, your website users will have the experience they crave.

4. Keep Your Bounce Rate Low

Your bounce rate refers to how often someone comes to your website to land on a single web page for only a moment. This behavior signals to Google that the content they provided wasn’t what the reader was looking for.

To ensure your bounce rate is low and users are directed to your site, you need to make sure your menus are all easy to navigate and that you are providing opportunities for viewers to find more content on your site that they would be interested in.

5. Improve Your User’s Experience

Your website users should be able to navigate easily from one section of your website to another. That means making your menus robust. Try to create page titles that are highly accurate so that customers don’t have to dig for what they want.

Another good idea is to include a call to action at the end of any blog posts you write that sends your reader to a purchase point or another article. This will help to keep your bounce rate as low as possible. Learn more about web design that engages your customers here.

6. Avoid Duplicate Content

Before responsive website design was a thing, it used to be that companies would create multiple versions of their website – one meant to be viewed on a mobile device, and one meant for the desktop.

Often they would delineate between the two by putting “m.” at the start of their URL.

While this was the best strategy in the past, today having two websites is a major Google faux pa. Google crawls the web to see how often a piece of content has been published and if you maintain two websites then you are essentially copying yourself. That hurts the SEO of both your websites.

Instead of continuing to update and maintain two versions of your website, move to a responsive web design. You’ll save time and get a boost in your rankings.

7. Include Social Media Sharing Options

When people come to your website to read one of your blogs or purchase your product or service, they should be engaging with your content. That means that they are hooked in by your introductions, informed by your words, and directed by your call-to-action.

If readers are hooked, then they will want to share your content with their friends on social media. While copy-pasting the URL is one way to spread the content, adding mobile-friendly share buttons to your articles is a great way to help get the buzz out more easily.

Be sure that you include buttons to the social media sites that are most relevant for your business. For example, if you are a restaurant or bar, you will want to have share buttons for all the major social media networks such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, while ignoring more niche sharing sites like Pinterest and LinkedIn.

Wrapping Up Web Design Tips

Now that you’ve learned these helpful web design tips, you’re ready to draw in new customers.

For more helpful articles to boost your rankings, check out our blog today.

Technology

Web Design Tips and Tricks

Web Design Tips and Tricks


How to Improve a Website: Web Design Tips and Tricks

 

Your website isn’t just a place where people can go to get information about your business or services. It’s also an opportunity to draw in potential customers and create more sales.

If your website isn’t getting you more business, then it’s time to make some changes.

Wondering where to start? Don’t stress! You’re in the right place.

Make a Plan First

Once you’ve made the decision to amp up your webpage, it’s important to make a plan. This will help keep you focused and ensure that you’re optimizing your time and money.

To make the best plan possible, take the time to do some research. Check out website designing articles online and figure out what your website is missing.

Click around on your competitors’ websites, too. What’s working for them? By witnessing what makes a great website firsthand, you can make a clear plan to improve your web strategy.

What to Get Rid Of

Before adding any new elements to your website, trim the fat. This means clearing clutter, removing cheesy stock photos, and taking any unnecessary information off of each page.

Don’t be afraid to be ruthless. The more you can get rid of, the more space you will have for awesome new content.

Add Easily Accessible Social Media Buttons

Now that you have a nice, clean slate to work with, focus on introducing useful web design elements. A great place to start is with accessible social media buttons.

After all, there are over two billion social media users worldwide. So if you’re not tapping into this market, you’re missing out on a ton of potential sales. By including simple buttons that allow users to share and follow your pages, you’ll increase traffic and improve accessibility.

Tell Your Story

Including an “About Us” section of your website is a great opportunity to connect with potential clients on a personal level. What makes your business and the people who work there special?

Use this element to tell a story. Not only will this help clients get to know you better, it will also give you another way to market yourself and your products or services.

Incorporate Calls-to-Action

Think of a new visitor to your website as a lost little lamb. If you don’t herd them in the right direction, they won’t know which way to go!

A call-to-action is an element on your website that show users where to go next. They are important to incorporate throughout your webpage to increase clarity and a user-friendly experience.

Use CTA’s to show potential clients that you can solve their problems. If you can do that, you’ll gain their trust and their business.

How to Improve a Website with Pictures

Check out the photos on your webpage. What message are they conveying to your visitors?

If your site hosts boring, basic pictures, it’s time to do better. The goal here is to gain the trust of potential clients by showing them who you are.

Use personal photos of real employees to achieve this. And don’t be afraid to have fun with it!

Focus on Easy Navigation

Want to know the quickest way to lose a potential sale online? By having a webpage that is difficult to navigate.

After all, there are plenty of fish in the sea. If your website is clunky or confusing, people will move onto the next one without a thought.

To avoid confusion, focus on accessibility and smooth transitions when redesigning your website’s layout. At every turn, ask yourself, “Is there a way I can make this even easier for users?”

Embrace Empty Spaces

When it comes to web design, white space is a good thing! In fact, it’s an essential part of organization and readability for your website.

Although it may be tempting to cram as much information into your web pages as possible, this isn’t an effective way to communicate with the general public. Users need negative space around text and images for both clarity and to avoid visual over-stimulation.

If you review your website and you don’t see enough white space, it’s time to strip away some visual material. Leave only what is vital for communication.

Test Your Website on Real People

Even if you think that your website is picture perfect, others may have a different experience. And what better way to find out than to test your page on real people who you trust?

Enlist family, friends, or current customers for advice. Have them scroll and click around your website for various purposes, like learning about your services or contacting you. Listen to their feedback and let it guide you moving forward.

Mobile Optimization is a Must

These days, people use cell phones for everything. This includes learning about services through the web and shopping online.

Visit your website from a mobile browser. Is it easy to use and navigate?

If not, make fixing this issue your number one priority. You could be missing out on a lot of business if your website is not mobile-friendly.

You Don’t Need to Do It on Your Own

Website design is no easy task! And unless you’re an expert, you’re sure to run into some trouble while trying to optimize your web pages.

Remember, there are people out there who can help. Professional website design companies, like Finepoint Design, will ensure that your website is running at its full potential. Hiring a design company is a smart investment in your future.

Make Your Website Stand Out

As you can see, proper website design is a vital part of optimizing your business and harnessing potential sales. And when it comes to learning how to improve a website, all you need to do is use the tips above as a guide.

By making your website as clear and accessible as possible, you will encourage customer interaction, and increase user satisfaction. Focus on mobile optimization, visual organization, and social media accessibility for the best results.

Did you enjoy this website designing article? Click here for even more information to help you improve your site’s design.

Technology

9 Reasons Why You Need a Professional Web Designer

9 Reasons Why You Need a Professional Web Designer


9 Reasons Why You Need a Professional Web Designer

In this day and age, a business who doesn’t have a website is almost unheard of. Having a presence on the web is important to helping a business grow and maintaining visibility to potential customers. But if you’re just starting out or have never set up a website before, you may be wondering if it’s worth hiring a professional web designer.

Would a web designer be worth the money? Or would it be easier to simply create your website on your own?

Chances are there’s more benefits to hiring a professional than you may think. So before you spend too much time trying to set your site up on your own, let’s discuss 9 reasons why you need the help of a professional web designer.

1. Professional Experience and Resources

When you work with a professional web designer, you know that you’re getting someone with training and years of experience in the field. Not only that, they also have access to the latest resources which includes software, programs, and other web professionals.

It may be tempting to try to do it yourself or hire a grad student to design your page, but you could be wasting time and money by not getting a site that is optimized to its full potential.

A professional can create a powerful web design that can draw your audience in from the very first visit.

2. Custom Design

Your business is unique. Just like you, it has its own personality, its own purpose, and its own look, so it’s important that each of those come across clearly to your audience.

A web designer will sit down with you and learn about your brand, your products and services, and what you want people to be able to do on your site. Then they will design a page that is completely customized to your brand and your needs.

No cookie cutter websites allowed. This will ensure that your site stands out amongst your competition.

3. Saves You Valuable Time

Running a business takes a lot of time and work, time you likely don’t have available for designing your own website. Especially when you don’t know much about designing a site in the first place.

A professional web designer will already know the in’s and out’s of complete web design, which will save you an incredible amount of time trying to figure it out on your own. And when it’s done right the first time, you don’t have to worry about fixing any amateur mistakes later on, which also saves time.

Your attention and focus can stay on doing what you love, running and growing your business.

4. Webmaster Services

Just because your website is done doesn’t mean it’s complete. Just like many other aspects of your business, your website needs regular maintenance to run smoothly.

Technology is constantly changing. Things can malfunction. So using professional web design services gives you someone in your corner to help out when your site needs it. This can save you a lot of time and unneeded headaches.

5. Increases Web Traffic

The whole point of being on the web is to draw traffic to your site and to your business. That’s where SEO comes into play. A professional web designer will know how to get that job done right.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) enables your website to be ranked on search engines, such as Google and Bing. The more optimized your site is, the higher it will rank, which means people will be able to find your site easily. That will equal up to more traffic and more business for you!

A web designer who is knowledgeable in SEO techniques can optimize your website for search engine success.

6. Updated Technology

Web technology is changing and improving all the time. Having the resources and the know-how to keep up with it can be a daunting task.

Professional web designers will be able to create a site using the newest technology, the latest trends, and know when to update when newer technology is developed. This will give your site an advantage over your competitors while also giving your audience the best experience possible, ensuring return visits.

7. Improves Your Credibility and Reputation

Let’s face it, looks are everything when it comes to web design. A site that looks homemade is not going to get the same credibility and trust as a site that is professionally done.

You only get one chance to make a great first impression, so make sure visitors who come to your site feel that they are dealing with somebody who knows what they are talking about. That translates when your site is clean, easy to read, runs great, and looks polished.

And even if your company is a small one, a professionally designed site can make it look bigger than it actually is, putting you right up there with the big guys.

8. Ensures Your Site Is Mobile Friendly

Smartphones have made it easy for people to now have the internet available at their fingertips. So more and more people are browsing the web on their phones instead of a computer. Making your website mobile friendly is more important than ever.

A web designer will know how to ensure each and every aspect of your site is easily readable and user-friendly from a mobile device. That means keeping the format intact, making it easy to navigate from a smaller screen

9. It Will Increase Your Sales

When your site looks good and runs well, it will give your audience the confidence to buy your products and services.

Web designers know how to layout a products page or set up a services menu that will be easy for your customers to navigate and read. Product images and descriptions are properly displayed. Services are easily explained.

Plus, your site will be set up to correctly receive payments, which gives both you and your customers peace of mind.

Hiring a Professional Web Designer Is Good for Your Business

Your business’s website shouldn’t look like something that was an afterthought. By using the services of a professional web designer, you can properly show off your business to customers in a manner that will help your business grow.

Click here to find more tips about web design and development!