Sometimes, when web designers are creating a website they may lose sight of the main reason for the site, which is for a user to either access services and products or gain information. The website may be all singing, all dancing but if it is not user friendly then visitors to the site will quickly leave.

So, what are the most important points for web designers to consider when designing a user friendly website?

Fast load times are really important for a website so that the website visitors do not have to wait for the page to load. Fast load times are not only critical for user experience, but they can also have a big impact on SEO.

One of the most important features of a user-friendly website is navigation that is effective and clear. It is vital that the navigation allows visitors to get where they want to be quickly and efficiently. User-friendly websites must have a clear call-to-action so that visitors can clearly identify the next steps. For example, a button that links to a contact form or a phone number to make a call.

As most people now access websites on a mobile device it is important for users that the site is mobile compatible so that all aspects of the page should be automatically compatible with a wide range of screen sizes.

When you are setting up a business website it will be necessary to have a hosting account where the data and information pertaining to your site is stored. This could be a single dedicated server or more commonly one that is shared with other website accounts. The term cloud hosting refers to data that is spread across a number of different servers in different places which are all connected together. There is a virtual server that accesses this data, but it only exists in the virtual environment or cloud as it is more commonly known.

The most attractive feature of cloud hosting as seen by businesses is the improved security that cloud hosting provides. Protecting a cloud network from cyber threats is much simpler as the data is held in a central location rather than a dedicated server. Another major benefit is that the data can quite simply be recovered should there be an outage in any devices accessing the cloud.

The way in which cloud hosting can be adapted to changes is seen as a plus point for new businesses because as the business develops and possibly increases the number of employees, the demand for server capacity may rise. Cloud hosting allows for fluctuating business needs without additional financial impact on the company. So, the advantages of cloud hosting can be seen to be worth pursuing this as an option.

At present online marketing is even more important than ever. Many retails still have not been able to open their doors since we went in to a second lock down and some shoppers are still shielding meaning that ll their shopping is now having to be done online. In order to get a piece of the pie you need to make sure that your website and products can easily be found on the search engines such as Google.

One way to instantly improve your rankings for some of you main keywords / phrases is to set up a PPC campaign.

PPC stands for Pay Per Click and is a form of online marketing. You essentially set up adverts online that people can click on to be taken through to a specific page on your site. You then pay a fee for each time the advert is clicked. This can increase your traffic in minutes and help you compete against some large businesses.

It can be relatively easy to set up a PPC campaign but making it affective can be a different matter. You do need to know a what you are doing when it comes to setting them up. If you are not going to be using an agency to help you then you need to have a good read through all of the information about the different settings for campaigns and ads/ ad groups.

A blog website can be used for a number of different reasons. You may have a website that sells goods or services or that gives out information. A blog can be a great way to share recent industry or internal news and updates. You can create a blog section within your site or even have it on its own domain. Sometimes people use blogs to help improve the SEO on their site as it gives them an easy and clean way to add fresh, relevant content to their site. They can often set it up to pull the latest few stories through to the home page so that it is always updated.

It may be that your website is just a blog and this is al you need. You may be someone that is recording their journey to somewhere whether that be a physical location or a life journey they are taking. You can then share this on social media pages or with friends etc to keep them updated. Some people create blog sites to allow them to review products and services other companies sell. They may quickly build up a loyal following which then gives them a lot of traffic to the site. They may even get paid to try new products and review them.

Many businesses had to turn to online marketing and sales during the Covid pandemic as their physical shop or business premises had to shut down. The businesses that were able to continue trading could only do so virtually so a website or social media accounts were vital.

As we see lockdown restrictions lifted and more and more people being able to resume more of a normal life, it may be that you feel your online business is not needed anymore, but there is always a need for online marketing. It may be that some of your customers are not local to you so would never of used you had it not been for your virtual presence. Often the biggest cost in time and money is the initial set u of a website or social media profiles. Once all this hard work has been done, it makes sense to keep them running. You want to give your customers and potential customers many different ways of communicating with you and making a purchase from you. Even after all social distancing measures have been removed, there may be some people that still do not feel confident going out in to shops yet, so it is important to offer them other options.  

At present online marketing is even more important than ever. Many retails still have not been able to open their doors since we went in to a second lock down and some shoppers are still shielding meaning that ll their shopping is now having to be done online. In order to get a piece of the pie you need to make sure that your website and products can easily be found on the search engines such as Google.

One way to instantly improve your rankings for some of you main keywords / phrases is to set up a PPC campaign. PPC stands for Pay Per Click and is a form of online marketing. You essentially set up adverts online that people can click on to be taken through to a specific page on your site. You then pay a fee for each time the advert is clicked. This can increase your traffic in minutes and help you compete against some large businesses.

It can be relatively easy to set up a PPC campaign but making it affective can be a different matter. You do need to know a what you are doing when it comes to setting them up. If you are not going to be using an agency to help you then you need to have a good read through all of the information about the different settings for campaigns and ads/ ad groups.

The recent Covid pandemic has pushed many businesses in to having to go online. It has made them have to adapt their businesses much more quickly and move fast if they want to keep up with the competition. The number of new domain names registered over the past 12 months has shot up as new businesses have started up and existing businesses that did not have a web presence has realised the importance of trading online.

With so many people being furloughed or working from home, many people have finally found the time to start looking into other business ventures. It may be that they have been making something as a hobby for some time now, but never really got to sell their products. Working from home has given people the perfect opportunity to try out these new ventures and get their ideas and products to market. A certain amount of these business unfortunately wont last or will close when working returns to normal, but for some it has been a life changing experience and allowed them to make a lot of money. For those businesses who are already established, trading online is likely to be here to stay now and they will be able to and another avenue to their marketing opportunities.

Planning ahead for your business has been harder than ever this year. It has been very unpredictable and there have been times when things seemed like they were starting to get back to some sort of normal and then we have had to go back in to a lockdown again. Trying to plan how and when to market has been tough and many businesses may not have made it through this year. It is vital that the ones that have survived continue to ensure that they stay ahead of the game and that there busy continues to thrive in 2021. You cannot plan exactly what to do next year as no one know what the situation is going to be but you do need to have ideas in mind which can be adapted if needed.

If you have been lucky enough to get some financial help from the government you need to decide what to do with it. In order to keep trading you will need to do a certain amount of advertising and marketing. It may be that change your marketing strategy to focus completely on the online aspect if your business has now moved online. If you have started trading online you will probably continue to do so even when things return back to normal.

Christmas is creeping up on us very fast the is year and businesses have already started flooding the market with their products. This year has been like no other and people are starting to buy Christmas presents a little bit earlier than usual, maybe because they are concerned that we may go in to another lock down.

If you haven’t already, you need to start to market your business and products to ensure you don’t miss out on potential sales. Social media is a great way for many businesses to start to market their products and reach people instantly.

Christmas marketing campaigns by the major retail brands have become more elaborate by the year, with social media now playing an integral part. Year upon year these companies compete for the best Christmas ad and often refer to social media to get their viewers exciting and discussing it. With much of social media free to use, you do not have to spend a fortune advertising on these platforms. Often all you need is a bit of creativity and time. Social media allows even the smaller businesses to compete as ads can go viral within a few minutes of going live and reach thousands of people.

A new website is a big step for any company, not least of all because a good quality website will not be the cheapest option. It always pays to carefully consider a new website for your company, so here are some of the major things you might need to think about:

• Load speed. This is an important one. Websites that load too slowly lose visitors, as they won’t have the attention span to stay. Prioritise load speed at all costs.
• Ease of use. People need to be able to find what they want and to understand your website. User experience is a primary concern.
• Ongoing maintenance. A new website isn’t the end of the process; it will need to be updated continually. See if you can continue to work with your agency to keep your website up to date – this might involve content changes, changes to individual pages, tweaking based on performance, and more.