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Can Your Design Actually Prevent You Making Sales?

Written by wfootD on . Posted in Branding, Business Strategy, Content, Uncategorized, Website Design, Websites (General).

webdesignWe are all used to hearing that the correct web design is going to really make or break your website and that is something that cannot be disputed. However, right now we are going to look at another point that should be taken into consideration, can your design actually prevent you from making sales?

This in itself is an interesting question as it is a point that is often overlooked and that in itself is wrong. To be fair, we are talking more about modern designs rather than things that were the norm a number of years ago and it is all linked to the ever increasing number of tools that are available to the average designer.

Perhaps the main issue is that design can, at times, get in the way of functionality and that is where the problem can develop. It is all fair and well having a nice looking website, but if people are unable to get to where they want to go, or do what they want to do, then is there any point to it in all honesty?

There is also this constant belief that you must have a website that is ‘cool’ and this is one thing that can often get in the way of producing a website that is actually capable of converting and leading to sales. Now, is that not a bit crazy for the focus to be on having something that looks nice rather than having something that actually makes you money?

So the question now is, what designs actually cause an issue?

Too Much Animation.

Using animation on a website is something that has become more popular, but our advice is certainly that less is more. The problem with animation is that it can slow down a page and also act as a distraction. You want people to be able to browse without having them sitting there wondering what is going to happen next and that is a major issue with using animation. We are not saying to avoid it completely, but just think carefully about what it actually does add to your website.

 

Trying To Be Too Clean.

Another issue is when the designer is trying to be too clean with the website. Now, the last thing that we want is to have a website that is all over the place and messy, but the problem with trying to be too clean is that it can often lead to things being hidden such as the navigation. People really do not mind seeing a menu bar on a website. In actual fact, it is expected to be there so hiding it away just to make something look more minimalist should not be high on your list of priorities.

 

Having No Actual Call To Action.

One part of the design that can often be missing, and this is the crazy part, is that there is no actual call to action on the website. This really is just madness because you want to have something up there that will tell people that they need to take some kind of action whether it be to contact you, make an appointment online, or to complete that sale. If this is missing, then your website becomes just an information portal and that is one major reason why it will not then convert.

 

Having A Website That Loads Too Slowly.

The final point we are going to make is that if your website loads too slowly, then you have a major problem. It has been shown that a one second delay in your website loading can result in a drop in conversions of 7%. The difficulty here is that you never know which browser or device the person is going to be using and you also have no idea how powerful their computer is. What this means is that you could be making life so much harder for yourself by trying to be too clever with your site making it very heavy and slow to load. Just look at it this way, if it is slow to load, then people will simply click off and go elsewhere and you then have absolutely no chance of converting them.

Basically, what we are saying is that there are several important factors that must be taken into account when you are designing a website and do not allow yourself to be drawn into some kind of competition where your visitors are always going to be the losers. Do yourself a favor and spend some time studying what others are doing and model yourself on their website as there is a fine line between being too boring and too over the top.

Finally, do not be afraid to voice your disapproval of something that your web designer has come up with as it is better doing that than being left with a website that you hate. Remember, if you hate it, then there is a good chance that your visitors will as well and that alone will have a major impact on your conversion rates.

Introducing Webfoot Guardian

Written by wfootD on . Posted in Blog, Hosting, Uncategorized.

A new and exciting development at Webfoot is our new managed hosting and security plan now being offered called Guardian. As just one of the many Webfoot Dynamic Solutions we offer our customers, Guardian has been specifically developed to battle against the ever growing threats posed by hackers and malicious code injections to sites that are not regularly monitored or updated. The Guardian managed hosting and security plan ensures that your website coding is up to date, secure and safe from compromising situations. Rest assured that using Guardian is a critical step in the right direction for your business and securing your online resources.

Guardian, includes all of the following services:

•             Monthly hosting on our dedicated secure servers

•             Monthly maintenance and security checks of the site

•             Automatic software updates and patches as they are released

•             Weekly backup of site files and your complete website

•             Webfoot will clean and restore your site at no charge, in the event of a successful attack

•             Rapid response to any downtime or issues with the site caused by an external threat

 

The Guardian service plan is available for yearly or monthly billing via credit card or ACH auto pay so that it’s easy to manage and budget for your business. I look forward to working with you and developing your web resources to benefit your business needs.

WordPress is Under Attack – Should you be Worried

Written by wfootD on . Posted in Uncategorized.

wordpress-logo-stacked-rgbIt seems that WordPress has been under attack for several weeks now and considering the vast number of websites that use their software to build their site it leaves open one question, should you be worried?

The attack issue is focused on just one thing, VisitorTracker malware. This particular type of code started off as something that people were not that concerned about as it was just seen as being a bit of a pest, but it appears that things have now changed somewhat.

Now, clearly anybody that is running a WordPress website should already be taking various steps when it comes to their security because there has always been various issues surrounding keeping your website safe, but this new attack appears to have caught people by surprise.

At first, the malware would change headers and footers and redirect people to a different site, annoying although at least it was able to be fixed. However, now it has evolved to the point where it is injecting code into javascript on every page making the job a lot bigger to repair and causing more fear that it could lead to websites having to be taken down or a lot of money spent in trying to repair them.

It is unknown how many websites have been infected by this particular malware, but the fact that it exists opens up a completely new point that has to be discussed, looking after your site security.

Keeping Yourself Safe.

The only real problem of using something such as WordPress is that it is so popular, and it is understandable why it is so popular, that it means those individuals with the desire to try to cause mayhem will clearly target it.

However, WordPress has taken notice of this as well as a team of developers that have taken steps to produce various plugins that can reduce the chances of your site being attacked and it is those plugins that we need to discuss at this point.

There are different ways in which your website can be attacked and clearly this means that you need to take the relevant steps to eliminate those danger areas as best you can. Now, we are not saying that every website is going to be 100% secure, but by reducing the ways in which people can attack you it should at least increase your chances of emerging from attacks such as this malware one relatively unscathed.

As web designers that specialize in WordPress, we recommend that you do various things in order to reduce the odds of you logging onto your website one day and finding that it has been defaced and hacked.

First, you must make sure that you have the latest version of WordPress because they will update the core code with new safety and security features that are designed to tackle issues such as this one. Failing to update, which you should do automatically, will only leave the door open to attacks and that is certainly something that you need to avoid.

Next, the same concept of updating things applies to all of those useful plugins and pieces of software that you use in order to run your website. If they are out of date, then there can easily be holes left in the code that can then be exploited and what you will tend to find with those people that are involved in this kind of activity is that they love trying to find gaps to exploit.

By not updating you are basically inviting them in, so if you thought that it was too much hassle to update things, then just think about it from this perspective. What takes the least amount of time to do? Click a few buttons to update or arrange meetings with your web designer who then has to remove all of the malicious code that has brought your website down and cost you money in the process?

It really is perhaps the easiest question that you will ever have to answer.

The problem with all of this is that the threats to websites are constantly evolving, so websites themselves have to evolve at the same pace. As technology changes and improves, so does those threats and it is absolutely essential that you keep on top of things or else you will only be making life harder for yourself.

Now, we are not saying that you need to be an expert in web design or the actual mechanics behind a website as that is really not the case. Instead, what we are saying is that you must trust your web designer who can advise you on what to do in order to reduce the chances of you being attacked.

Listen to advice on special plugins that should be included, and if you have any questions regarding this, then feel free to ask because they will only be happy to help. After all, if you are more than happy with your website and it is running smoothly without any problems, then that makes you happy and a happy customer is all that any service provider should ever hope for.

Clamping Down On False SEO Claims

Written by wfootD on . Posted in Uncategorized.

seo-picWhen it comes to Search Engine Optimization, everybody wants to be on the front page of Google as it does mean that your business will really take off in next to no time. However, as we all know, getting on that front page is not exactly that easy.

The reason why we are mentioning this is because of moves that Google have made recently against one company which claimed that by using their services you could dominate the front page. To Google, they claimed that the company in question was making various false claims and they felt that they had to take action against them as they were misleading their clients and making money from it.

Now, this is very admirable of Google to protect people in this way as there is no doubt that there are various companies out there that do indeed make false claims and such is the desperation of people to get on that front page that it is easy to see how they could be drawn in. However, the idea of dominating the front page of Google is something that is achievable, but it is how it is done that is the key.

In this instance, their main complaint with the company in question was also that they were claiming they were sub-contractors of Google, which clearly they were not happy about. For us, the part that does interest us is them claiming that it is impossible to guarantee getting on the front page and that is one thing that has to be explored further.

Getting On The Front Page.

It is perhaps slightly misleading by Google to make those claims because there are ways in which you can at least greatly increase your chances of getting onto that page for your desired search results. It is all a case of choosing your keywords carefully, doing the relevant work, and simply beating your competition. However, you do need to make sure that you also do this within the letter of the law in order to avoid being hit by the Google dance, but that is why you should only ever use a company that employs white-hate techniques.

The way that Google have worded their complaint makes it sound so difficult and it is hoped that this does not put people off using SEO companies that still state that they will provide you with a better chance of getting to those top 10 results. Clearly things such as budget constraints, competition for keywords, and even your location all play a part, but that is why you should always look at hiring a company that clearly knows what it is doing. You also want to know that they have the track record of getting fantastic results from SEO as this will give you confidence in their techniques and methods and start to believe that they can do the very same for you as well.

Should You Be Worried About Anything?

The fact that Google are asking for a jury trial for this SEO company based in California is seen by many in the industry as being a worrying turn of events, but should you personally be worried?

In all honesty, as long as you have used a company that has employed the correct tactics, then this is of no concern to you. However, something good may very well come from Google deciding to take action against a company because it will ultimately clean up an industry that is so aware of the money that can be made from companies that are desperate to get onto the front page that they will push the boundaries as to what is seen as being a reasonable way of acting.

However, as we said, Google may be correct in saying that nobody can guarantee getting on the front page, so it will also ultimately lead to people changing the wording to something very similar. Instead of guaranteeing, it will basically mean that people are told that their chances of getting on the front page can be greatly increased by using key services and as long as they do not then state that they are affiliated to Google everything should be absolutely fine.

The interesting thing from a business point of view is whether Google will go ahead and start to look at other companies that make the same claims as the one that they are in the process of tackling. To be honest, if that is something that they feel like doing, then they are going to be spending a lot of time in the courts around the world as the number of SEO companies seems to grow on a weekly basis and a quick search online reveals that a number of them all make that same claim about the front page.

As a potential customer, the advice that we give you is to be careful with who you use for SEO. Do your due diligence at all times and do not agree to anything until you have had detailed discussions. By doing this, you should at least then be using a company that is on the right side of Google and your website will not suffer as a result of your association with them.

How Ecommerce Websites Are Evolving

Written by wfootD on . Posted in Business Strategy, eCommerce, Uncategorized.

ecomm-holidayAs you are no doubt aware, there is a real increase in the number of people that are now purchasing items from the Internet all around the world. It seems that we have finally managed to rid ourselves of this fear about buying things online and, instead, have become used to the concept of going online, filling our virtual shopping basket, and then waiting for the items to be delivered to our door.

There is no doubt that the practicality of it all is impressive, but the one thing that you are perhaps not aware of is the need for owners of ecommerce websites to keep on top of the evolution of this type of website. Indeed, if you were able to go back in time just a few years you would see how far these websites have come in a relatively short period of time and you would probably be shocked at how basic they used to be in the not too distant past.

However, just as with other types of websites, things are still constantly evolving and it is always useful to refresh our memory as to what is expected from these sites in order to predict what the future is probably going to be like.

The All Important Homepage.

If we begin with that all important homepage, then it used to be the case that ecommerce websites would have a plethora of products blasted all over it and you could see the sense in this approach. They were clearly trying to catch the attention of each visitor by showing them as many products as possible in order to tempt them into buying.

However, it is different now as typically the number of products that appear on a homepage has been reduced by a considerable amount. Now, the top of the homepage tends to be taken up by what could only be described as a virtual billboard with large adverts for products that are for sale with the items themselves hidden inside the various links.

This shows a change in attitude and an increase in the belief that there is no longer the need to do the immediate sale with an ecommerce website. Owners are quite comfortable in the knowledge that people know how to navigate these websites and that the visitors will indeed do that if they want without being hit by product after product.

Large Category Lists.

One change that is rather interesting is how the website is structured when it comes to the list of categories. Some websites are now looking at initially providing the visitor with a shop button that then leads them to an in-depth category list all on the one page, but rather than being listed down one side it acts as the central content for that page.

What will tend to happen is that there will be a main image for a particular main category heading followed by sub-categories being listed below it. That page will then open up its own tab showing all of the products and it then means more space on the page can be dedicated to the items rather than constantly having a long list of categories down one side.

Dynamic Products.

If we now look at the most important part of the ecommerce website, the products.

It is fair to say that the layout and design of the product listings is one area that has really come on leaps and bounds in recent times as website owners have realized that potential buyers need as much information as possible to help them to make their decision as to whether or not they will buy the product.

Due to this, there is no doubt that each product listing becomes like its very own advertisement. Now, it is common for products to have a number of images to really sell it and, where possible, a short video clip in the product listing can also work wonders.

There is also a tendency to include far more details about the product in question and one interesting development is the realization that the cross sell is also important. That has led to the use of prompters at the bottom of the product page that show you other products that could go with what you are looking at or, in the case of Amazon, it will tell you other products people have been looking at when they have bought the initial item.

The one thing that we have to say about ecommerce websites is that they are now far more professional than ever before and getting around them is also easier with the knowledge that they need to take tablets and smartphones into consideration as well.

There is less a sense of them being disjointed as websites and the flow is far superior to earlier incarnations and perhaps it is the improved design of these websites that has also led to an increase in online sales.

The future of ecommerce websites is certainly secure and it is difficult to see how there can be any wholesale changes that can improve the experience that is had by visitors. Things are smooth, product listings are fantastic, and buying online is safe, so it is impossible to see how anything could go wrong.