With 75% of people judging your credibility based on how your website looks, good web design isn’t optional; it’s a necessity. Your website design helps set your site apart from others and serves as an important aspect of your company’s branding, and if you’re not keeping up with the latest web design trends in 2020, your site will quickly begin to look outdated. Web design trends in 2020 can be applied to many forms of design beyond just your website, such as graphics for your social media accounts, as all social media platforms become increasingly media-heavy. And although tools like Canva and Animoto allow you to create images and videos quickly and easily, if you don’t have someone on your team who specializes in graphic design, you might want to consider outsourcing the work to a freelancer or white label agency. Discover the 3 secrets to successful outsourcing in my free training video […]

Thinking about a website redesign to kick off the New Year with a new face for your business? Consumers have confirmed the importance of a well-designed B2B website time and time again. In fact, 75% of website users admit to making a judgement about the company’s credibility based on their website design. Image Source Having a well-designed, mobile-friendly, easy to navigate website is a must for business owners today. Discover 8 common reasons why you might need a website redesign below. Is your website causing you to lose potential clients? Find out if you’re making some of these common website mistakes by taking our free quiz today. 8 Reasons Your B2B Website Needs a Redesign: 1. Your website isn’t as responsive as it could be. People have certain expectations when arriving at your site. They want to navigate from page to page instantaneously. They want to find the information they’re looking for at […]

As a small business owner, you wear many different hats. You have to oversee every facet of your business, which can get a bit overwhelming. Arguably, one of the most important aspects of your business is your website. Your website is the face of your business and an effective tool for generating leads. It will help consumers discover your products and services, philosophy, and vision. A poorly designed website can result in a number of negative consequences, the most negative being a lack of business and sales. In fact, your website can actually make the difference between your customers converting and moving forward or seeking alternatives, like reaching out to your competition. With your website carrying so much importance, the mere thought of building a new website or re-designing your existing one can be intimidating. In addition to design considerations there are content needs and technical aspects that need to […]

It’s a great time to make an investment in your website. Shoppers are estimated to spend $327 billion online in 2016 — a 62 percent increase in less than five years! This coming year, e-retail will make up 9 percent of total sales. According to Forrester Research, this large increase in spending is related to “online retailers improving their web sites and services.” Focus on zoom, color swatching, broad payment options and subscription plans make it easier for customers to buy on the web. Of course, eCommerce is just one reason to maintain a good website. For most businesses, a website is a central part of a comprehensive online marketing strategy. All social media, content, PPC, SEO and email marketing work direct traffic back to more information presented on the business website. As Greg Shugar explains it in Entrepreneur: “Building a beautifully designed, fully capable website is no longer a luxury…. It’s a […]

Website performance matters now more than ever. Research shows the average online shoppers anticipate a 2-second-or-less page loading time (compared to 4 seconds in 2006). After three seconds, 40% of visitors will abandon your site if they don’t find the information they need. Worse yet, just a one-second delay in loading time reduces conversions 7%, so for a $100,000/day eCommerce site, that one second costs your company $2.5 million in lost revenues each year. Of course, IT issues like page load time aren’t the only reason your website may not be performing to your satisfaction. Fundamental problems with content and overall design are also often to blame. This 8-point checklist will help you diagnose and fix some common issues affecting website performance. 8 Ways To Boost Your Website’s Performance 1. Attract more search engine traffic. What good is having the best website ever if it’s not optimized for people to find […]

Modern marketing has lost its way. In recent years, the spotlight has focused on which new tools and technologies will yield business success. Executives are scrambling to find the latest automation software that will solve all their problems and deliver sales. Michael Karg, CEO of Razorfish, contends that “intelligence, rather than image” will shape the future of marketing. We would argue that the collection of data and technology makes a business more efficient, but doesn’t necessarily make the brand more likable to consumers and prospective clients. Data gathering is a tactic, not a strategy. Strategically, businesses still need to be asking themselves, “How does our image align with our core competencies and values? What do our customers expect to see from us? How can we convey professionalism through design?” Aesthetic considerations and web copy wording used to be the primary focus, but is now overlooked in pursuit of analytics, tech solutions and automation. Looks […]

Never start a new marketing campaign without a dedicated landing page. Landing pages are an essential marketing tool that helps you “warm up” and convert readers into buyers. You can create landing pages for downloads of reports, whitepapers, ebooks, newsletters and podcasts. You can create landing pages to subscribe to your blog, register for a webinar, request a consultation, or purchase a special offer. Unlike your homepage, a landing page is designed specifically with a single objective in mind, so it makes analytics reporting and testing a much easier task. There should also be no navigation or extraneous links included on the page — but, rather, a single easy action for visitors to take. Ideally, landing pages can be created quickly, tested and altered easily if need be to improve the efficiency of your conversions. [Tweet “”Never start a new #marketing campaign without a dedicated #landingpage.””] 1. LeadPages Who It’s For: Beginners […]

From time to time, it’s a good idea to update your site to reflect modern web design trends. Internet users come to expect certain aesthetics, responsiveness and themes. If your website was created 10 years ago, it’s probably looking pretty dated now. Everyone has different preferences and you can never please every visitor, but these 8 design aesthetics should give you a few cutting edge ideas if you’re looking for something different. One thing you must never forget is that the user experience needs to be the most important factor in your overall design. We didn’t include “responsiveness” as a trend solely for the reason that it’s been a trend for a while now and we feel that all NEW web development should be responsive. Having a mobile friendly website that looks awesome across all devices (mobile, tablet, desktop, etc) is crucial for digital branding in 2015 and beyond. Please keep that […]

Did you know that roughly 60% of graphic designers are women? So why is it we never hear about them? Well, it seems the design aspect is just one piece of the web design pie. It’s a rarer bird to find a woman who excels in back-end programming, as well as arts. Only 3% of computer programmers are women. Of course one doesn’t need to be an expert computer programmer to design a website, but basic knowledge of coding (HMTL, CSS, PHP, etc) is a must. It may be a relatively male-dominated industry, but here are 8 female web designers that rock! 1. Kate Bingaman-Burt We love Kate’s playful hand-drawn illustrations and emphasis on typography. It’s no wonder the Museum of Modern Art, NY Times, Etsy, Target, Microsoft and VH-1 have all tapped her expertise. In addition to freelancing, Kate also teaches design at Portland State University. Follow Kate on Twitter: @katebingburt […]

Not every small business has a monolithic budget to work with. Yet, creating an attractive, user-friendly website is the equivalent of having a birth certificate — you simply MUST have one if you want to exist! For some businesses, the website will be a place for web searchers to find the store location, hours, and basic information. For others, it will be a way of capturing leads, converting sales, and maintaining an audience. No matter what stage of the game you’re at, be sure you aren’t making these top 8 web design mistakes! 1. Your website was not developed with “SEO” in mind.  Every good website begins with keyword research. There is no excuse for skipping this step with tools like the Google Keyword Tracker available for free! You want to find words and phrases related to what you do or sell that are low in competition, but high in […]