Setting up the online side of your business is exciting, isn’t it? Well ok, it’s also nerve-wracking for most people. Unfortunately, it can be a confusing process, and sometimes a bit technical. For this reason, many business owners outsource part or all of the setup process, sometimes to a savvy family member or friend or, if they can afford it, a digital agency or marketing professional.
Vinefruit
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) vs Pay Per Click (PPC)
I received a question this week from a potential new client about SEO and PPC ads (Facebook and Google) and I realised many people are a little confused about the difference.
So briefly I thought I would share my 5c worth on the subject with you. Feel free to skip this if you know the difference already :-).
The importance of planning in the website design process
Everyone wants to be online in some way these days. Having a website is non-negotiable for your company or business, of that there is no doubt. But before you rush out and spend a bunch of cash on a new, or improved, online presence take a few minutes to think about why you want a website and what you hope to achieve. This article will explain the importance of planning in the website design process, and hopefully give you some idea of how to define your website goals before you start development. Taking the time to get this part right can save you money in the long run.
Time to change hosting companies? My 12 step guide
If you have a website you also have hosting. You may not know the specifics (I am constantly dismayed by how few people have this information to hand) but ultimately you are paying someone for the cyber-home for your website. In addition you might also have email hosting (although more and more people are using G Suite or similar for this, which costs more but can be a lot easier long term). And to be fair when everything is working as it should this is not probably something you spend any time thinking about. But occasionally you might find you need to change hosting companies, there are several possible reasons for this but in my experience the main ones are:
Why you can’t ignore Usability Testing for your Website
So often when we design and build our business websites (or prototypes or mobile apps) we build them to our own taste. We use the elements WE like, the colours we prefer and the layout that makes sense for us. After that, we MIGHT think about the people who will be using the thing we are creating and what might make sense to them. We may consider our existing clients or even the Average Web User at this point (although in my experience this happens about a quarter of the time). However, according to Steve Krug (in Don’t Make Me Think), this average user is a myth. We are all so very different.
8 reasons to choose managed hosting for your WordPress site
Today I thought I would shed some light on hosting – specifically managed WordPress hosting. Maybe you have seen this as an option when investigating hosting plans for your website, and aren’t sure what it means. And why it costs more, and whether you need it. Hopefully after reading this post you will be able to make this decision.
15 things your web developer will need from you
Today I thought I would jot down a high-level list of the content and info that is needed for pretty much any web development project.
The one place that these projects often seem to get stuck, and grind to a halt, is around content. Specifically, the content that is to appear on this new or revamped site. It’s a common complaint that I hear from both developers and clients. On the one hand the developer can’t understand what takes so long – if it’s your business you must have this info surely, and on the other hand the client can’t understand why the developer doesn’t just “come up” with this stuff on their own.
So in case you are thinking about developing or relaunching your own website here are the 15 items you will need to provide your developer.
Newsletter Case Study: technology lessons and expectations
In February I worked on a project for an artist in South Africa. With an upcoming exhibition she wanted to make sure that her invites were properly distributed this year, after a fiasco last year, which she did not want to repeat.
So what did we do?
Blogging for Business: how much and how often?
Blogging for business is, in (not only) my opinion, essential. Search engines, especially Google, love dynamic content. So if you ARE blogging you can deduce that Google will love you. Right?
Well, it depends really. Whilst it’s true that Google loves blogs you do need to be a little systematic about it. Before you start writing think a little bit about what you are trying to achieve with your website overall, and then more specifically about why you are writing this particular (blog)post.
The return of the newsletter?
In the 90s, and for the early part of the noughties, the email newsletter was king. I can well remember receiving these long long missives complete with red borders, yellow highlighting and (if you were lucky) animated flashing text and pictures that essentially went on and on about the same thing in different ways. They were awful and boring. Not to mention impossible to unsubscribe from.
I think we all collectively breathed a sigh of relief with the advent of Facebook and then Twitter and Pinterest. How much more fun to share things in a graphic and visually appealing way. What a great way to pick up loads of fans or followers with the simple click of a button. How easy to have your message seen by people straight away and shared in an instant.