Asking for patience is easier said than done. It’s a virtue that many of us just don’t have, especially when browsing the Internet. When it comes to the time it takes for a website to load, anything above two seconds will push anyone’s patience. A website that takes too long to load will turn visitors away. After all, it’s just as easy and fast to enter a new address in your browser’s address bar. If your website suffers from a slow load time, you could be missing out on potential leads or customers. Moreover, increasing your website’s load time helps you ...

Year by year, the number of smartphone users increases dramatically. Thanks to devices like Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android, Internet access on the go is becoming more sophisticated and user friendly. According to a recent ComScore report, smartphone users account for nearly 42% of all mobile users. As a business owner, understanding this trend and developing a mobile strategy is crucial for staying relevant and ahead of competitors. The first step, of course, is creating a mobile version of your website. When designing your mobile website, make sure you keep these tips in mind. Keep Your Design Simple Given the reduced screen space, ...

Just like cars, there are a variety of tests you can run to evaluate your site’s performance.  Although they may seem simple, they can provide a lot of useful information that may help you discover and fix problems with your website. Here are five crucial performance tests your website should pass. 1. Loading Speed Test High-speed internet connections and overall demand for faster connections make a fast loading speed a must.  If your website takes too long to load, visitors may abandon your site all together.  Don’t know your website’s loading time?  There are a variety of free web tools, such as pingdom.com, ...

E-newsletters have long replaced traditional print newsletters. Cost, ease of use, tracking capabilities and convenience are just a few of the reasons why business owners have turned to e-newsletters. Although there are many pros to using e-newsletters to stay connected with your customers and followers, your e-newsletters still need to be worthy enough to read.   Use the tips below to create an effective e-newsletter.   Think of Your Readers This may seem like a no-brainer, but we sometimes get too involved in what we want to say that we forget about what our readers want to hear. Understanding your readers means that you know ...

Your website is an essential marketing tool. Your business depends largely on its success, especially if you are running an eCommerce website. Making sure your website is an effective marketing and sales tool is essential to increasing your bottom line.   If you’re just getting ready to launch your website or have had a website for some years now, it’s always a good idea to double check that you aren’t making obvious mistakes. Here are 9 common website mistakes that can be easily fixed.   1) Unprofessional Look and Feel For many, your website is the first impression of your business. An unprofessional website that you ...

Your website is a very important part of your marketing plan and as such, should be created and designed with users in mind. This will ensure a positive user experience and effectiveness in getting your message across. If you don’t yet have a website and are just starting to create your master plan or feel that you have an ineffective website, make sure you consider these tips for a more engaging and effective website. 1. Less is More With so many technologies and tools available, it’s possible to have your website filled with features that might cloud your message. While this may ...

Long gone are the days of static websites that simply provided information to visitors. Today’s savvy customers demand more from a website than simple contact information. Visitors are looking for positive interactions that provide them with exactly what they need, whether that’s an in-depth explanation, a demonstration or a question answered real-time. Creating positive interactions on your website depends largely on what you have to offer your visitors. If you’re looking for ways to increase the time visitors spend on your website, you need to provide them with various options of interacting with your website. Below are ...

The Direct Marketing Association is the leading global trade association of businesses and nonprofit organizations using and supporting multichannel direct marketing tools and techniques. They will be releasing their new website design that complete revitalizes their company. Their old homepage was extremely cluttered with links, a lot of flashing banners, and a moving ticker at the bottom. There is no clear direction in which the DMA wants their visitors to go. With so many options and links, it can be confusing for visitors to figure out where they will go and lead to a low click-through rate and high bounce rate. Their ...

Including clear navigation and links for social shopping can help improve a shopper's experience on your eCommerce website. However, the basics are often what customers focus on when visiting your website. According to the “Revolutionizing Website Design” report from digital marketing agency Oneupweb, Web users tend to focus on the fundamentals that facilitate purchasing. Clear pricing and shipping information topped the important feature list, followed by a website that looks credible and trustworthy. More advanced features like links to social media and online customer service fell to the bottom of the list. Online retailers who are worried about conversion rates, failed transactions and ...

A key element of website design is having clear call-to-action buttons and links. A "call to action" refers to copy and images that compel a user to take a certain action. Typically the action is to purchase a product or take a step in the sales cycle that will hopefully lead to a sale, like sign up for a newsletter. A clear call to action tells your visitors what you expect them to do, and what they can expect when they do that. It will lead your visitors strategically on a path through your website. One example of a website with clear ...

Small businesses often times have a smaller marketing budget and need to be wise in how they spend that money. However, one area where they should not hold back money is in their website design. According to a recent survey, approximately 75 percent of web users admit to judging a website's creditability based on its website design. On average, visitors take only 50 milliseconds to make a decision on a website's visual design. Some basic web design aspects that businesses should be careful of are: Using unprofessional images and fonts Having complicated navigation Hiding important product/service information Not updating the information available on your website Bad language ...

A website is more than just a brochure. It is a 24-hour live sales person that is constantly promoting your company and its products and services. Among many things, your website serves as a tool that helps communicate the value that your business brings to the consumer. Let your website show why visitors should utilize your business and why you are different from your competition. As you may only get a few minutes of your potential customers' time, it is imperative that the information that you provide is conveyed easily, effectively and dynamically. Otherwise you risk the possibility of the individual leaving ...