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How Much Information Should You Put On Your Website?

As a small or medium sized business there is absolutely no way that you should not have a website. A failure to have even the most basic of sites can lead to a major downturn in your turnover as searching for a company online, and then learning about them, has overtaken the age old method of looking in the telephone directory and talking to friends for advice. However, this has also led to there being another problem. What exactly do you put on your website? How much information is too much information? Is there such a thing as putting on too much?

The basics that need to be covered

Good Information PracticesThere are of course a number of basics that need to be covered with your website. Obviously you have to put up your contact details or else what is the point in having your website if nobody can email, call, or find your actual location? You may want to include things such as a Skype address, Instant messenger addresses, social media profiles, or any other means by which people can contact you. How many or how few is entirely up to you and at least at this point a number of people believe that the more ways to contact you the better it is.

There should also be a section whereby you tell the visitor all about your business. Tell them some of the history, but not too much, as well as what you do and really try to sell yourself to them. Look at this section as being your opportunity to let them know why they should use you and view it as being your 24/7 advertisement.

Another key section has to be your services or products as this gives you more space to be more specific about what you do. Depending on the type of business that you have, be careful about the level of details that you put on this section. Do not be too technical if you are providing a general service as this could put people off using you and clearly this is something that has to be avoided. Make life easier for your visitors and break it up into useful sections so they are not faced with just paragraph after paragraph of information.

Another basic area that needs to be covered has to be some images to support whatever it is that you do. If you offer a service, then show some of the work that you have previously carried out. Alternatively, if you sell products, then some snapshots of whatever it is that you have to offer should always be included. This just lets people get a better idea of what they should expect to get when they spend money with your business.

When information gets to be too much

So at what point can you give your visitor a touch of information overload? As was mentioned earlier, being too technical can be an issue unless you know that your visitor will actually understand what you are saying. Going over the top with your sales pitch can also be slightly annoying for some people, but this can be a fine line and is certainly something that you should get some advice on from experts. You should also look at trying to group together similar services rather than having your visitor seeing page after page of information because people do tend to have rather a short attention span when it comes to checking out a business website, so being straight to the point and concise is certainly advisable.

Why too much information can be bad

If you are seen to just keep going on and on, then people will switch off and simply not absorb the information and that is going to be bad for business. People expect to land on a business website and be presented with information that they can read in a short period of time and then determine if they can indeed go ahead and buy that product or use that service.

The last thing that they expect is to be presented with a book to read and the chances of them reading any part of your website will diminish by the second. Look at the websites of your competitors and see the kind of details that they have put on their website and then compare it to what you have. Do you see a difference? How do you think that difference is going to impact on your business? How will it change your turnover? There are so many questions that need to be asked and all of them just surround the amount of information that appears on your website.

The best course of action that you can take is to contact us here at Webfoot-Designs and get some expert advice on how your website should be set up and the information that we believe should be put on there. It is impossible to give strict guidelines as every business is unique, but that is why we deal with things on an individual basis and take into account what your potential clients need to know. Getting your business website perfect for your company is extremely important because in general it could really make or break your entire business.

Do You Need To Keep Up With Web Design Trends?

If you are a business owner and you have a website, then hopefully you will be quite content with the way it looks. Your site is like a permanent shop window for your business and the old adage that first impressions count really does apply even with here. The problem is that most business owners, no matter the size of the company, are unaware of the fact that there are actually trends when it comes to web design and it is actually quite easy for your own website to end up looking outdated without you even being aware of it.

Web Design TrendsTake 2014 for example. Industry experts talk about trends such as more creative fonts being used for the words on the pages and people moving away from simply having Times New Roman or any of the other regular fonts that you see everywhere. They also talk about having a large space at the top of the home page, referred to as the hero area, with creative graphics or something to really grab the attention of your visitor. A major improvement in the functionality of websites on mobile devices. Using videos to illustrate points in web pages rather than just a plain old image. There are so many things, so you can see how your website can start to look past its best can’t you?

What do you need to do?

We are not saying that you should change your website on a yearly basis in order to reflect these trends, but at the same time if your website has been left unattended to for a couple of years, then you are missing out in a big way. We should say that this is not only from a design point of view, but also limiting the way in which visitors can interact with your website and this will only lead to them being disappointed with what you have to offer as a company. Can you as a business afford to do that?

It is widely accepted that the best course of action for you to take is to first of all do some market research all on your own in order to identify problem areas with your website. Ask people to evaluate your site and even create a form that you can email to them in order to get some feedback on areas that they feel could be doing with being improved upon. We are all guilty of seeing things through rose tinted glasses and believing that everything is perfect, but in the business world it is important that this is avoided as much as possible.

By getting some feedback it is then easier for you to determine the changes that need to be made to your site and of course you then need to consult with a web designer to see how easy it is to implement the changes that have been suggested. It is not then simply a case of taking these suggestions and throwing them all onto your website, even if that is what you feel should be done, because there are still issues regarding how the different ideas can even just work together on a website.

From a technical point of view, never mind a design perspective, there are some things that just do not work even if you have read about different trends and want them all included. Just because something is a trend, and you feel that you need to keep up with them, does not mean that it will work for you. These web design trends tend to speak in general terms in order to cover as many different styles and types of websites as possible, so clearly you need some professional advice on how your website can be brought up to date, but in a functional way.

The difference it can make to your business.

So what does it do for your actual business if you have a website that is always relevant and provides your visitors with a wonderful experience? This in itself should be pretty self explanatory because it just means that people will have a better impression of your business and you will really be selling yourself to them. If they see a business that is providing them with all of the information that they need and does so in an easy to understand manner, then surely you can see how it then improves the chances of them then spending money with you? Your business will no longer come across as being stale and boring and that has to be a good thing.

It is a widely accepted fact that a website that has not kept up with the latest design trends and, therefore, looks tired and old will only lead to visitors clicking off that page almost immediately. By having a modern, clean design that works you will encourage people to explore your website more fully and with any website visitor retention is absolutely key. Quite simply, without it you may as well not even have a website.

The best advice to give to you is to have your current website assessed by a member of our team here at Webfoot Designs and see what modern changes should be made to it. You may be surprised at how little has to be done to then make a big impression and if that then leads to an increase in business, then surely you have nothing to lose?

Is Social Media Important For My Website?

The Internet has certainly evolved for business owners in the last decade. Indeed, it is not that long ago that even the idea of having a website was completely new with so many business owners feeling as if they were entering uncharted territory. They were often left feeling unsure as to whether or not this was something that their business wanted before finally accepting that not having a site left them at the mercy of their competitors.

Is Social Media ImportantFast forward a few years and you had the emergency of social networking websites with it all really starting off with MySpace. Sure, they then almost vanished without a trace after Facebook took control of that particular market followed by the likes of Twitter, LinkedIn, and now Pinterest, but the one thing that was clear from the outset was the role that these websites played for businesses.

Now, it is essential for the success of both your website and your business social media profile that the two of them are linked. Indeed, the recent changes to the search algorithm by Google, which means how they calculate where you appear on the search engine results, actually focuses on social media and your links on there. Quite simply, if you only have one, then you need to get the other and then have them interlinked in every possible way.

Why is this so important?

So do you want to know why this is so important? Quite simply it is because of the way in which people now view social media. There is such a level of trust being applied to profiles on these websites as well as people paying more attention to how a business or person interacts on there rather than anywhere else. In some ways, there are people that feel that having a social media profile gives extra credence to the business as if they would not trust them if they did not have a profile.

There is of course also the fact that sites such as Facebook are wonderful marketing opportunities for companies and indeed this is something that you simply cannot afford to miss out on. Studies have shown that people are now looking at social networking websites more than ever to not only learn about a company, but to also see what others are saying about it. If you are not on there, then the chances of them taking action when they read comments from customers and actively looking for you will be very slim indeed and you must not miss out on that opportunity.

What you need to do.

This does then beg the question as to what you as a business need to do. To be honest, you just need to make sure that you have both a profile on the relevant sites as well as a website and put links between the two. With your website, think about having updates to your Facebook or Twitter appearing on your site to encourage people to go there and join you as well as bookmarking your site. On the other hand, make sure that if you have a blog on your site that it is linked to your Facebook or Twitter account so it is announced on there when you have made a new post. It is amazing how much traffic this can generate and it is traffic that can be extremely useful to your business.

How it will change opinions of you.

People will automatically view you as being a business that keeps up to date with the latest marketing trends if you have both a website and a social media profile. However, it is important that you are active on both and do not allow accounts to just lie dormant. People love to see some action even if it is just updates on what is happening with your business or any special offers that you have available. People also enjoy seeing a business respond do its customers, or potential customers, and sites such as Facebook allow this to happen in the public domain whereas with a website it is all done via email and in private.

You also need to remember that social networking is free marketing, so there is really nothing to lose by setting it up and being active on these websites. Careful analysis of the visitors to your actual website can also show how many are clicking through from your profiles and you will be quite surprised as to the percentage of people in a very short period of time. The only problem is that it does depend on you to continue to use the profiles or all of the initial hard work will be undone.

So if you are lacking either a social media profile or a website, then it is important that you rectify this immediately for the sake of your business. Make your life as easy as possible by hiring a professional web designer to make sure that both aspects are working in conjunction with one another just the way they should. Your competitors are already doing this, and you may even see links on their website, so it would be madness from a business point of view to not also take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

Do yourself and your business a favor and contact Webfoot Designs today to see how we can help you take your website into the world of social media.

Is Your Website Viewable With Every Type Of Device?

In years gone by you only had to think about how your website was viewed from a desktop and Internet Explorer. However, things began to change when other browsers started to appear because then you had to make sure that it was suitable for Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and so many others, but compared to how your website has to be viewed today even that was relatively easy. Now, it is not just different browsers, but you also have to make sure that your website can be viewed from desktops, laptops, smartphones, and tablet computers and in some instances that can be an absolute headache.

Why things can be different.

There are several reasons as to why your website can be viewed differently depending on the device that is being used, but the main reasons include the size of screen altering the clarity as well as the power in the device and how it processes all of the information. When cell phones were first able to be connected to the Internet, remember the excitement of WAP, it took forever to download and view a website. This was because the processor in a cell phone was minuscule compared to that in a computer and that was why the mobile website extension was created and websites were stripped down to mainly include information and nothing else.

Even though the likes of smartphones and tablets are far more powerful today than ever before it is still important that the actual design of the website itself reflects the need for it to be displayed on different devices and not just a desktop or laptop. Failure to check this can have serious implications for your website and business.

What can go wrong?

A number of things can go wrong when your website is not compatible with different devices, but the main thing is that everything can be thrown out of order. Navigation bars can move, pages break, images move or vanish, and text can all be out of order. Your website can look completely chaotic and what kind of message are you then sending out to people that are faced with that when they land on your website? Surely it is pretty obvious as to why that just cannot be allowed to happen?

Why your website has to be viewable on these devices.

It should become immediately apparent as to why your website needs to be viewed on these devices. It is estimated that 1 in 3 people that have a mobile phone use it as their main way to search online and that is a huge market that just cannot be missed out. You will also be aware of the increase in popularity of tablet computers as you see people on them all over the place due to their portability as well as the increase in number of wi-fi hotspots.

This all adds up to a lot of people that you just cannot afford to ignore and you have to look at how they themselves would view you as a business if your website was not up to scratch. Quite simply, when they use their device to access your site they expect it to work smoothly and to provide them with the information that they are looking for. They understand that on cell phones the website is stripped back, but with advances in technology if your website does not work properly on these devices, then they are hardly going to spend any money with you are they?

Instead, they are going to view you as being lazy, not caring about your potential customers or clients, unable to keep up to date with technology, and there will be nothing positive about you as a business in their eyes. By simply not having your website working on every possible platform it can ultimately lead to you losing out on a lot of business and these people will just go to your competition allowing them to get stronger while you get weaker.

What you need to do.

If your website has not been updated for a number of years, then it is not going to be compatible for these different devices and you need to change it immediately. Modern designs are responsive, so they contain coding behind the scenes that change the site even just slightly in order to make sure that it can indeed be viewed on different devices without it having a negative impact on the viewing experience of the user.

The best thing that you can do is of course to check your website on a range of devices and see if it looks good or absolutely terrible. You are also best to get a professional web design company such as Webfoot Designs to take a look from a technical point of view and get a report as to what needs to be done to bring your website up to date. In some cases it only requires a series of slight changes to the design to make everything run more smoothly, but for some people a complete overhaul of their website is the only solution

Get some expert advice on what to do next and justify the cost by thinking about all of those people that do not use desktops or laptops to view your site and what they are thinking when they get there. Can you afford to potentially lose those customers?

Contact Webfoot Designs today to bring your website right up to date.

Why an outdated design can have a detrimental effect on your business

Think for a second about your reaction when you walk past a real life store and see that the outside is in a terrible state. The paintwork is peeling, it is dirty, it looks old and past its best. Do you feel drawn into spending some money there or do you feel as if you need to just walk on by and try somewhere that is clearly so much better?

Of course the vast majority of people would simply not bother dealing with that business and the same theory applies to websites. Studies have shown that you have a matter of just a few seconds to grab the attention of a potential client or customer with your website before they go elsewhere, so clearly it has to look fresh or your business is in trouble right from the outset.

Changes to websites.

If your website was designed more than five years ago it will be using techniques and coding that have now been surpassed by modern day equivalents. This latest coding makes websites load faster, work more smoothly, and they are also far more interactive than ever before and these are the things that people are looking for. Just think about the biggest websites out there and how they keep on updating their websites even just with small changes here and there. If they are doing it, why would you not follow them and do the same?

Bad design putting off customers.

One of the major things that will put people off your website is if it is not fully working or if the design looks old and has clearly not been updated for a good number of years. People automatically look for something that does not have to be slick, but at least is modern and clean looking unless the type of business dictates otherwise. They do not want to see graphics that were designed on programs that pre-date Photoshop, they do not want to see layouts that were more about the designer showing off than being effective, and nor do they want to see a website that just looks dead.

The impact it has on the visitor.

It is fine just saying that people will look at the website and not be impressed, but we should also think about the actual impact it has beyond that initial disappointment that they feel. Having an outdated website just makes people feel as if you simply do not care about your marketing or business because a website is your very own 24/7 marketing tool. People just get the impression that you are lazy, you care little about how people view your business, or that you are struggling and cannot afford to make changes that could potentially save your business.

The result of this is that people are more likely to want to go elsewhere and they will just never spend any money with you. You come across as being unprofessional and would you want to deal with a company where you felt that about them?

Think back to what was said earlier on about having just a matter of seconds to convince people to stay on your website. Would you be convinced by that real life store with it looking as if it has been abandoned?

How it can hit your business.

It should be very clear as to how it can have an impact on your business and there is no way that you can turn this into a positive experience. You will be losing turnover as a result of your website and the part that should concern you the most is that this turnover will be going to your competition, so they will be getting stronger as you get weaker. People will also not recommend you to others if your website is not up to scratch, so yet again you are missing out on potential income and no business is able to turn down extra business no matter how busy they may be.

The scary part is that there is no way of knowing just how much money you will have lost by your website, but surely it makes sense to stop the rot now and change things before it gets even worse?

What you must do to rectify the situation.

There is only one solution available to you in order to rectify this problem and that solution is to get your website re-designed and brought up to modern day standards. The best part is that so many of the individual components that are required when building a site are already there since the writing and even images can still be used once again. However, the structure of the website can be changed, the graphics brought up to date, and of course some vital SEO work can be carried out that meet modern day rules and your website can only benefit as a result.

The best course of action available to you right now is to contact us here at Webfoot Designs and allow a member of our team of designers to check out your website and come up with a plan. We can assess what your business needs, offer advice on what to do next and then put that plan into action with amazing results.

Bring your website into the modern world and stop being left behind by your competition and how times have changed.  Check out our design portfolio today!