At the end of every year we see a ton of hype around the design trends for the upcoming year. But is there anything to all the hype? Well, yes and no. Just because something is trendy with designers on creative platforms doesn’t mean it will work in a functional way or catch on in the mainstream. So… since it’s been almost an entire year since we’ve talked about web design trends (also, how did that happen so fast!?), we want to show you a few of the big design trends projected for 2018/2019 that actually made it out of the “idea” stage and into the wild. These are the trends that have held up and gotten picked up over and over again on actual, live websites!
Shall we?
1. More Illustration & Diverse Illustration Styles
This year, design doesn’t take itself too seriously, and the big trend in illustrations proves that. While illustration has been slowly and steadily replacing photography-only design for the past year and a half or so, this year we’ve seen a super fun turn in illustration style. Surreal Design and Abstract Design are very in. Designers are having tons of fun moving away from photography-heavy design and taking new liberties with elaborate illustrations. And the surprising thing about this trend is that we’re not just seeing it from businesses that are in the creative field, but we’ve seen brands that are professional and traditionally more “serious,” like the two seen below, use this design trend to stand out and take a more lighthearted, fun approach. And we can get on board with that.
2. Serifs & Vintage Type
At the beginning of 2018, we had a big debate over serif and sans serif fonts for a few months, and someone (we won’t say who) on our team wasn’t exactly on board at first with the return of serifs. Ahem *he* wasn’t convinced the trend had staying power, because sans serif fonts in all caps had been on-trend in recent years, and before that it was sans serif in all lower case.
Well, for over a year now we’ve seen that Serifs are officially back, they’re bold, and it looks like they’re staying around for a while. But it’s obvious that serifs are more than just a “projected” trend, but they’re being used regularly and by big players in both the creative and business worlds. (And we happen to think they pair quite nicely with the abstract and surreal illustration trend as well.)
3. A New Style of Hero
Last year we saw a bit of an evolution (if you will) if the standard hero section. If you don’t know, the “hero” is the first visual a visitor sees on a website, and its purpose is to quickly present the most important information— what defines the company or product in an eye-catching way. In recent years, the hero was basically always some sort of full screen image with text overlayed, and centered. It’s obvious that designers grew tired of the centered headline and CTA button on top of a beautiful photo.
So what’d they do instead? We’ve seen a huge trend in moving the headline and CTA to the left and setting the image to the right, and oftentimes replacing the image with a custom illustration! This puts the most important information to the left where the eye (in western culture) naturally goes first. Genius! But don’t count out those who go against the grain. We’ve also seen a lot of headlines and CTA moved to the right with the illustration on the left as well. *Scandalous!*
4. Large Bold Text/More Text/Full Screen Text
Remember how we mentioned images are out and illustrations are in? Well, we’ve even seen a lot of sites with jumbo-sized characters even replacing images AND illustrations. Large, full-screen letters in bold colors are very in, as well as juxtaposing sans serif and serif fonts to help create dynamic visuals.
5. All The Gradients & Bold Color Palettes
2019 is all about color. Apple has been using gradients in their iOS icons for years, but over the past year, we’ve seen gradients that are not just in icons, but dominating the design. Popular gradients in years past were more of an ombre (different shades of one color), but now we’re seeing gradients with 2 or more distinguishable colors. And we don’t hate it at all.
Bold and unexpected color pairings are probably our favorite current trends. Vibrant and even clashing colors can be useful for newer brands hoping to instantly attract their visitors’ attention. Colors you wouldn’t normally see paired together can be very eye-catching and keep you in your users’ minds long after they’ve left your site. We’re even seeing bold colors play a huge role in creating a great user experience, with designers using eye-catching colors placed where they want site visitors’ eyes to go.
Hey— don’t have the money for new professional photography? A simple gradient background mixed with a few strong design elements like bold typography can be a super trendy, yet practical solution to represent your brand message and make your website pop.
Conclusion
2019 is definitely a fun year in design around the web. And several of the sites we’ve shared have incorporated multiple, if not all of these at once. Here are some examples of that:
2019 isn’t stuffy. It’s creative. It’s fun to look at. We can’t wait to see how these evolve and how designers will the limits on these trends in the coming months and years. We’re also having a lot of fun incorporating some of these into our designs whenever we can, too!
We talk to a lot of people about websites—I mean, it’s what we do—and one trend that stands out to us is that many of our clients and potential clients have a lot of misconceptions about what makes for a good homepage. Many people believe a website homepage should be a simple, one- or two-section landing page with a navigation bar. We understand the desire for something like that (who doesn’t like simple?), but we tend to lead them in a different direction.
The fact is, your website’s homepage is often the first impression a prospective customer has of your business. A good homepage answers the questions your visitors are most likely to be asking: who you are, what you offer, and how they can engage with you. It’ll use eye catching visuals to tell your story, it will have a good amount of useful content for SEO, and it should hold the attention of visitors until they get to what they need. A good homepage doesn’t just focus on content or design or functionality singularly, but all of those things together.
What does that look like exactly? Let’s dig a little deeper.
1. Define the Basics
When we start on a new website project, we always begin with the most important questions. We first build the content around those answers, and then we move onto the design. So before ever writing a single word of content, you need to ask important questions that define the basics.
For example: Who is your audience? What are the main concepts you’re trying to communicate? What do you have to offer? What makes you different from your competition? What do you want visitors to do once they’re on your website?
Once you answer these questions, you’re on your way!
2. Prioritize Your Content Properly
After you ask the important questions, answer them in the different sections of your homepage. The content of your homepage serves a few important purposes. First, your homepage should introduce your service or product, answer the most important questions about your company and what you have to offer, and entice users to click further into the site.
Along the same lines, you should always format sections of the homepage so visitors will find and engage with the most important information first. It’s helpful to share the most pertinent content on the homepage because it saves users from potentially getting lost or disinterested before finding what they need. For example, the most important part of your homepage is what we call the “hero” section. It’s always first and it always has a header that answers the who, what, and where questions.
The secondary purpose for homepage content is SEO. The more information you share about what you do on the homepage, the more searchable your website is. You don’t have to input a book’s worth of content on your homepage (and you shouldn’t), but make sure you’re describing enough about your business so that search engines can get an idea of where to place you in their rankings.
3. Make Your Homepage Work For You
Your homepage should decrease your workload. Okay, now we have your attention. Yes, a decreased workload really is possible! But how?
You can position your homepage in such a way that it does a lot of the hard work for you. If your homepage answers questions that your customers normally ask in a clear and concise way, you save time by avoiding back-to-back-to-back phone calls and emails. Your prospective customers will be better informed when they contact you, and you’ll be able to better focus on running your business.
4. Use Clear Calls to Action
In our first step we asked what you ultimately want your visitors to do after reaching your site. Do you want them to email you? Fill out a form? Call you? Once you answer this, visually highlight the most important calls-to-action. One way to do this is to use eye-catching colors with enough contrast to help primary buttons stand out—and place them in prominent locations where users can’t miss them. It’s important to make the path to this action very clear using obvious, clickable buttons for a smooth user flow.
P.S. User flow is the path a user takes from landing on your site to the action you desire they make. It’s best to make this path as simple and obvious as possible. Need more info on the subject? Check out our blog on how to build a strong user flow!
5. Choose Eye Catching Visuals
We’ve covered how your calls-to-action need to stand out, but let’s talk about the page as a whole. Your entire homepage should be highly visual and catch the attention of consumers. A great way to do this is through professional and personal photography. If you have the budget, always say no to stock.
If you want to stand out from the crowd, a few other ways to utilize visuals other than photography are by using illustrations, videography, and other fun graphic elements. We spoke a lot about current design trends in a recent blog; if you’d like to get some good ideas in this area, go check it out!
6. Think About the Next Step First
We’ve talked about content and design, now let’s talk about how they can beautifully come together to make your homepage the complete package.
A great way to get your users to keep scrolling down the page to see all of the information you’d like them to know—and to get to that important call-to-action—is by pulling their eye from one content section to the next through your design. You want to be one step ahead of your viewer, thinking about how you’re going to invite them to continue their journey down the page from one section to the next.
There are a couple ways to do this, whether it be elements that overlap two sections or a fun button to the side that scrolls them down the page.
Conclusion
A good homepage is the best first impression you can give people of your business. Think of your homepage as your modern day storefront. The more visually appealing and eye-catching it is, the more it will cause visitors to pause and really look into what you’re offering.
If you know who you are, what you have to offer, what sets you apart, and who you’re going after, you’re on the way to building a great homepage. And as always, if these questions feel overwhelming, or if you just simply don’t know the answers and you’d like someone to hash it all out with, we’d love to do that with you.
If you’ve never heard the words “Accessibility” and “508 Compliance” in regards to web design, you’re not alone. As a business owner, it can be quite intimidating to learn how to run every single facet of your business, especially areas like finances (ugh) and design (fun, but quite a learning curve!). Now add on U.S. laws and codes your website must comply with, and things can get overwhelming… fast. (And don’t even get me started on all this GDPR stuff…) But seriously, follow after me…. Breathe in, now breathe out, and repeat as necessary.
That’s why we’re here! We’ve got your back. And we hope that by the end of this blog post, you feel as informed as possible about these extremely important aspects that should be implemented into your website design.
What Is Accessibility?
Simply put, accessibility is making sure that your website or app works for the physically disabled, whether they’re blind, a paraplegic, an amputee, or they have some other physical impairment that makes it difficult or impossible for them to use a keyboard or mouse in the usual way.
What Is 508 Compliance?
Section 508 of the U.S. Code is the law that enforces website accessibility. A good summary of this law is: “the use of text labels or descriptors for graphics and certain format elements. (HTML code already provides an “Alt Text” tag for graphics which can serve as a verbal descriptor for graphics). This section also addresses the usability of multimedia presentations, image maps, style sheets, scripting languages, applets and plug-ins, and electronic forms.”
If you have absolutely no idea what that last paragraph said and you’re thinking, “That’s all greek to me.” It’s okay. While all federal government departments and agencies—as well as any organization receiving federal funding—are required to have websites that are 508 compliant, not every business is required to be completely 508 compliant. (Whew!)
Why You Should Care
Even if your business isn’t *technically* required to be 508 compliant, we think you should still care deeply about your site’s accessibility for a few reasons. First, as we’ve already mentioned, it’s a good business practice to make yourself available to as many people as possible. It’s also good to show kindness and inclusivity to those with disabilities. Finally, just as a worst case scenario, you could get a fine from the government if you’re a business or organization that’s required to be 508 compliant. If you’re not in that category, there could still potentially be a lawsuit from web visitors with disabilities involved, as we’ve seen in the past with big companies like Target not having an accessible site.
Tim Berners Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, actually said, “The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.”
Think about it this way: almost all businesses, stores, and public venues have wheelchair access by ramps. This is mostly because they are required to, but it’s also because as a society we highly value equality and inclusiveness. Not to mention, it’s just plain bad business not to be accessible and get as many potential customers as possible.
So if brick and mortar businesses are placing high value on this, why are there so many websites with content that those with disabilities have trouble accessing? Unfortunately, there is still a chasm between people without and people with disabilities online, because of a lack of awareness about accessible online content. It’s like there are proverbial stairs and curbs in the way of disabled people accessing websites that others may visit often and even take for granted.
Maybe you didn’t realize that, because it’s not something you or anyone close to you has dealt with. No worries. We’ve all been there!
Think about it this way: have you ever been frustrated when your internet was EXTRA slow one day? Or if a site malfunctioned when you really needed it to work? Or even if the site had really bad user flow? Of course you haven’t. You’re an angel. ???? But for the rest of us, frustration often leads to a negative view of a brand, and that leads to bad business.
Take it from the famous Elle Woods, “Exercise leads to endorphins, and endorphins make you happy, and happy people just don’t kill their husbands. They just don’t!”
How does this apply to you? We thought it was obvious! Happy webpage visitors return more often and buy more, and happy customers don’t kill a business. They just don’t!
Heavy Hitters
Here are some of the most important aspects of accessibility that we think you should consider for your own website.
1. Color Contrast
Guideline 1.4.3 – Contrast (Minimum) – “The visual presentation of text and images of text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1”
The first is the color contrast between text and background, because those who are colorblind will have a hard time determining different colors. Your text must have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1. Here’s a really useful tool for figuring out your contrast ratio. So, thin light text and a light background would make the content hard to read for certain people. You may have to adjust your colors ever so slightly (or majorly), and maybe add a dark overlay and/or a drop shadow here and there when putting text over an image to achieve this. It’s okay, drop shadows are totally “in” right now!
2. Color As The Only Indicator
Guideline 1.4.1 – Use of Color – Color is not used as the only visual means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element.
Unless you’re a designer, you’ve probably never thought about how using color to indicate important information or to direct users to take action could be an issue. If color is the only indicator, those with colorblindness will never get the cue. For example, if a product or a service time is unavailable, don’t just make it in a red font, while making available times green. Yes, the red and green fonts would be an obvious indicator to users without vision impairments; however, someone who is colorblind wouldn’t be able to see the difference. A quick fix is simply adding an icon or some other text indicator of products or times that aren’t available. Easy peasy!
3. Flashing Lights (& Words)
Guideline 2.3 Seizures: Do not design content in a way that is known to cause seizures.
Guideline 1.2 Time-based Media: Provide alternatives for time-based media.
Guideline 2.2 Enough Time: Provide users enough time to read and use content.
One of the more well known design elements that affects accessibility is flashy and bright images that can cause epileptic episodes. It’s best to consider that when choosing design elements. Another thing is fades. They. Look. Awesome. But users with dyslexia, ADHD, short term memory problems, or cognitive delays that affect reading comprehension might find it hard to read headlines that fade out. Even if you think the fade is slow enough, it may not be to some people. Since “enough time” is very vague and impossible to calculate, a creative solution could be to include a control that allows users to stop and start the animation so they can read at their own pace.
4. ALT Text
Alt text is a good way to make your website more accessible. It was originally intended to serve as a placeholder for graphics that didn’t load properly, but it eventually caught on as a way for screen-reading software to pick up descriptive labels so blind people could have a description of website images. It’s best practice to provide descriptive text for every image on your website by using alt text. In HTML, you can provide alternative text for images by adding alt=”your description of the image” within the image tag.
5. Specific Link Titles
People with vision impairment often use screen readers to visit websites. If they know where they want to go within the site, it’s pretty common for them to quickly tab from link to link, skipping over explanatory body text, just like we all do. So, “Click Here” is way too vague for a link title because it gives them no indication where they’re headed. Instead of “Click Here,” use a description of the page they’ll visit such as, “Call Us Today!” or “Register Now.”
It’s also important that you try to avoid using images for links, which are hard for people with low vision to no vision to interpret. If you absolutely want to use an image as a link for aesthetics, you should definitely provide alt text to tell disabled users where they’re going.
Conclusion
To sum it up, accessibility matters. A lot. And it’s in your best interest as a business owner—and in the best interest of your clients and potential clients—for you to have a more accessible website. One serious misconception about accessibility is that it always compromises aesthetics. There isn’t anything about being accessible that necessarily makes a design look ugly. Anything that you can do with web standards and other best practices can be done in an accessible way, so don’t fear, you still have plenty of room for creativity and excellence in your design! Excellence + inclusion = ❤️
Okay, y’all. We’re excited about this blog. Mostly because we are ???? over the major design trends of 2018. They’re big. They’re bold. They’re everything.
Trends come and go, so don’t feel the need to automatically incorporate all of these—or even one—if they don’t fit your brand or direction. But if you see anything that speaks to you as much as they speak to us, why not go for it? No design is permanent, and it can be fun to switch things up from time to time to keep your brand fresh.
Alright, let’s get to it, shall we?
1. Gradients
Apple has been using gradients in their iOS icons for years, but now we’re seeing gradients that are big, loud, and even full screen. Popular gradients in years past were more of an ombre (different shades of one color), but now we’re seeing gradients with 2 or more distinguishable colors. And we don’t hate it at all. Don’t have the money for new professional photography? A simple gradient background mixed with a few strong design elements can be a super trendy, yet practical solution to represent your brand message and make your website pop.
2. Drop Shadows
Like gradients, drop shadows aren’t new, but they’re newly back on the up & up among designers. Flat design has been huge in recent years, and it isn’t necessarily going away, but it is morphing, adding in subtle depth by way of drop shadows.
This design trend isn’t JUST for aesthetics. It’s also great for user experience. Combining shadows with gradients is a fun and creative way to direct your users’ eyes to where you want them to look or click. Hello, good user flow. OH. And hello, conversions.
3. Bold Colors & Unexpected Color Pairings
2018 is all about color. Bold and unexpected color pairings are probably our favorite current trend, a la this recent Instagram graphic we created. (It was a really fun creative project to work on!) Vibrant and even clashing colors can be useful for newer brands hoping to instantly attract their visitors’ attention. Colors you wouldn’t normally see paired together can be very eye-catching and keep you in your users’ minds long after they’ve left your site. Like drop shadows, we’re seeing bold colors play a huge role in creating a great user experience. Anything eye-catching placed where you want your users’ eyes to go is a GO in 2018.
4. Custom Illustrations in Place of Photographs
Design this year doesn’t take itself too seriously, and illustrations prove that. They’re in. They’re fun. They’re lighthearted. Image-only design is out, and graphic designers are having a party creating custom icons and elaborate illustrations. This trend isn’t surprising from businesses that are creative and fun, but we’ve seen brands that are typically perceived as professional or serious, like the two examples below, use this design trend to stand out in their respective fields. And we like it.
5. Asymmetric & Broken Grid Layouts
This one won’t be for your everyday, run-of-the-mill professional or practice. But for those in a more creative field such as fashion, food, or even faith, we think asymmetrical layouts will be huge this year as brands create unique experiences to set themselves apart. One big change in 2017 was the introduction of asymmetrical and unconventional “broken” layouts, and this web trend has still been going strong in 2018. The appeal of the asymmetrical layout is that it is unique, distinctive, and sometimes experimental.
6. Animations
Motion catches a user’s attention faster than anything else. Complex animations are helpful for engaging visitors throughout their entire experience on the page. Animations can be simple scrolling effects, associated with various actions users might take, or serve as focal points on your website.
7. Microinteractions
While microinteractions are *technically* an animation, for our purposes they’re pretty different. They’re fun, like an animation, but they’re used for a much more practical purpose. Micro-interactions aren’t just for visual effect, but they can really help improve user experience, too. Here’s a great article about how microinteractions will help user flow. In case you don’t have time to read it, it basically explains that microinteractions are used to let the user know:
a) the button can be interacted with now, or
b) the button can be interacted with soon, or
c) the button is being interacted with already
And they do this in a subtle and tasteful way.
8. Big, Bold Typography
Remember how we mentioned images are out and illustrations and animations are in? Well, we’ve seen a lot of sites with jumbo-sized characters even replacing images. Large letters, lots of serif fonts, and unexpected font pairings as well as juxtaposing sans serif and serif fonts help create dynamic visuals.
With everything, there’s a cycle. Ahem, let me clear my throat. “In the ciiiirrccllleeeee, the ciiiiiirrrccllleeee of liiiiiiiiiiiffffeeeeeee.” (P.S. if you think we can’t reference the Brady Bunch one month and Lion King the next, you’re wrong.) The circle of life is the same for fonts. Sans serif fonts in all caps have been on-trend in recent years, and before that it was all lower case. I mean, I still remember the big reveal of the new Google sans serif logo in 2015. Well, this year we’re seeing a resurgence of serifs, and we’re seeing a lot more in Title Case or Sentence Case.
We’ve had a healthy debate over serif and sans serif for a few months, and we won’t say who on our team was and who wasn’t on board at first, but someone is coming around. (YAY!)
Conclusion
2018 is gearing up to be, IMHO, one of the most fun years in recent memory around the web. In case you didn’t notice, we said the words, “BIG” & “BOLD” several times. We can’t wait to see what designers are going to come up with and how they’re going to push the limits this year. We’re also having a lot of fun incorporating some of these into our designs whenever we can.
Are you BOLD enough to take on any of these trends?
Sometimes, it feels like Google is all we talk about. Like, Google is the new Marcia. (Oops, does that reference age us?)
Let’s be real, Google is king. Or, errr, queen. (Looking at you, feminists.) But you get it. As a business owner, you probably know that Google holds a large part of your fate online, and you might even spend a lot of time and money trying to please the Google SEO gods, just hoping to be one of the chosen websites worthy of that coveted first page search result.
Well, at the end of 2016, Google announced that they’d soon begin warning Chrome users by labeling sites without SSL Certificates as not secure. Late last year, Google even started sending emails to site owners warning them of the upcoming changes about SSL Certificates. Google said, “Beginning in October 2017, Chrome will show the ‘Not secure’ warning in two additional situations: when users enter data on an HTTP page, and on all HTTP pages visited in Incognito mode.”
The internet tech blogosphere has been going crazy over all of this for a while, but maybe you’re not techy, so you’re thinking, “What’s an SSL certificate?” We’re glad you asked.
What Is An SSL Certificate?
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Certificates make your website safe by doing background checks and encrypting any data entered on your site, and the term is often used interchangeably with the term TLS – Transport Layer Security. . And the most basic way we can explain it is that it’s what makes the difference between HTTP:// and HTTPS://. But does all this really matter?
Why Ppl Say You Should Care
Encrypts Sensitive Information
Encryption, in terms you can (hopefully) actually understand = making all communication/information entered on the site between the client and the server secure, so no one else (aka: the bad people) can read it. This is a key point for all websites with e-commerce, but it’s equally important to encrypt any data submitted using forms. So, if your website has a contact form, this applies to you!
Helps SEO Rankings
Some studies show that HTTPS websites have a higher advantage of ranking over HTTP links, so switching to HTTPS will benefit your website, even if you don’t have any forms. It’s important to note that there’s not a lot of significant evidence that supports this, and honestly, this specific element is probably not even in the top ten list of what Google prioritizes for SEO. But every bit helps!
Builds Brand Influence
Most visitors will choose not to browse a website if it isn’t secure. Would you? I mean, I’m sure you remember at least a couple of companies off the top of your head that have suffered cyber attacks that have damaged their reputation. Depending on the scale of the attack, a cyber security breach can have a short term effect (I vaguely remember the Target security breach a few years ago, but I online shop there quite often now). If the event becomes widespread in the media, or if it’s devastating to a lot of people, it can have a major impact on a brand long-term (Re: Equifax). All that to say, if you want people to trust you and your brand, get secure!
Why You Should Actually Care
Okay, let’s just pause for a second and address that thought that’s most likely going through your head: “These are all good reasons so far, but they don’t really apply to me… not really anyways.” We get it… So in case you’re not already convinced, here’s the kicker.
Users Will Receive Non-Secure Site Warning
Starting in July of this year, Google will actually begin penalizing ALL websites that don’t have an SSL certificate. Users will get a clear “non-secure” message when entering your website if you don’t have an SSL certificate. We aren’t talking a small, subtle warning. We’re talking a blatant, in-your-users’-faces warning, a la Kevin from The Office.
Chances are once a user sees that, they’ll immediately click off of your page. Goodbye sight traffic. Goodbye sales. So we’re here to tell you, Google has given a clear deadline and you have until July to make the switch.
What Will It Cost You?
In this case, the benefits FAR outweigh the cost. The cost of the SSL certificate will depend on your hosting company. We know that Blue Host offers free SSL certificates with all WordPress websites, GoDaddy has them for $120 a year, and HostGator’s price is $40 per year. The only other cost associated with it is a one time installation fee for your developer to make the switch for you. Like we said, this is affordable. (Yay!) So, start by checking with your hosting company to see their fee, and then get with your developer to start implementing it.
Conclusion
Basically, if you have a website and it’s the year 2018, you need an SSL certificate, preferably now, but definitely by July.
Procrastination is human. We get it. And listen, there are still big websites that haven’t addressed the warnings yet. But because we’re a small business, we know how hard you work as a small business owner. We’d hate to see your website lose traffic because your visitors get a big warning that your website isn’t secure.
It’s pretty inexpensive and your web developer will spend no time tackling it. So just do it! ????
Website or no website: the millennial question. When you are constantly creating content and trying to advertise for yourself and/or your business, there are so many ways to do it. Do you want people to follow and interact with your brand or do you want people to buy and share information about your brand? Both can be incorporated into websites, even if you already have a strong social media presence. Why not incorporate the information that you already share into a comprehensive web presence with a website? Here are some ways to use your creative content to fashion a website that makes you and your business proud.
1. Easy as 1, 2, 3
One thing to keep in mind is that in the world of social media, engagement is key. You can have hundreds of thousands of followers, but still only a small percentage of people interacting with your posts. If you have a website link in your bio, people can learn about your brand and purchase products or services that they might not normally see on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
There are many website platforms that are easy to use, even if you don’t have more advanced web design skills. If you can hire a web designer, that’s great too! Some reliable website platforms include Squarespace, Weebly, and WordPress (but the more comprehensive versions do have expenses associated with them).
2. Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Everyone is online. And nearly every successful business has some sort of presence, so you want to use this to its fullest potential. Whether you are an amateur artisan with a small business on Etsy, a small business that occupies a niche in the system, or a larger business that tries to attract corporate clientele, your audience is clicking and scrolling and communicating through websites and social media.
One of the greatest parts about having a website is the fact that you can use your website as your building block for your business. Think of your website as your online business card. You can design it the way you want and show people what you and your business bring to the table.
3. Money Matters
From the cheapest website platform to the most expensive logo designs, there are options for everyone in branding and website usage. With that in mind, you need to decide what will be most effective for your business. Are you going for a simplistic and natural look like Squarespace or are you trying to link and archive a bulk information like on WordPress? Websites provide avenues for all of these, so it’s up to you where you want to spend your money.
For businesses who are trying to attract a larger clientele, consider hiring a web or graphic designer to show off your brand in a more unique way. For businesses that rely on statistics and products, consider how you can portray those in an eye-catching way. If your website looks impressive, people will remember you. We say not to judge a book by its cover, but with websites and social media, we are absolutely evaluating the friendliness and aesthetics of the pages that we follow and use every day. And the same is true for websites. Consider evaluating your website occasionally with guiding questions to help you determine its efficiency.
4. Catch Your Customer
In an age driven by digital interactions, it can be difficult for users to find your website in the first place. But when they do, it’s your job to make sure they never forget it. Think about how to create content in a way that gets people talking. If a user sees value in your company, they will share that value with other people. Whether it’s a tag on social media, an email sent to a friend, or the topic of office conversation, any buzz your website creates is going to increase your brand awareness. And that’s an invaluable thing.
Think about it this way: if your website delivers a beautiful user experience, where information is easy to find and content is engaging, people are much more likely to want to keep browsing around. Your customers want to see you, your business, and your products/services in a way that encourages others to brag about you to their friends.
5. The Right Place at the Right Time
We know that website creation and management is a time-consuming and tiring job. Guess what we say to that? It’s worth it! Whether you’re coming up with a strategy for the immediate future or the long haul, the way you present yourself online is absolutely important. If you’d like to come in for a consultation (and you can be at any stage in the process), let us know because we’re happy to help!
Almost everybody has been there before (and if you haven’t, you probably know someone who has)—you’ve hired a web developer to build a site for your business, you’re three months into the project, and frustrations are running high. We hear stories like this all the time. Maybe your web developer has become unresponsive. Maybe they’ve promised to deliver a site by a specific date but haven’t followed through. Or maybe your site is already launched, but now it’s malfunctioning or causing security issues.
None of these situations are ideal, but the good news is you can avoid all of them by asking the right questions. We’ve put together a list of the top 11 questions you should always ask your web developer before signing that contract sitting in your inbox.
1. What is your process for building a website?
You web developer’s process can be one of the most telling pieces of information you receive before getting started. Not only is it great to know what each step of the process will be, but how your developer talks about their work method says a lot about the quality of service you’ll receive.
Look for a developer who provides a list of deliverables, each with their own due date. If the only deadline for the project is the site’s launch date, chances are that their communication and reliability are faulty.
2. What web standards do you follow?
This is a question that will quickly separate the professionals from the less reliable. Web standards most commonly refer to the best practices used for building websites. Whether your developer complies with the W3C standards, the WHATWG standards, or the Unicode standards, the overall intention of these organizations is to ensure that websites are compatible across browsers and devices. A web developer who stumbles at this question is one who likely won’t focus on creating a long-lasting website.
3. How easy will it be to integrate additional features/functionality in the future?
Even if you don’t plan to add additional features to your website, asking about the possibilities opens up an opportunity for you to get answers to other questions. If you don’t already know what platform they plan to use for building your website, this is a good time to ask your web developer. For most small business sites, WordPress is the best platform for a new website. More than 18% of all websites are WordPress websites, no doubt due in part to its expandability. Virtually any feature or functionality can be integrated into WordPress, which makes it a great place to build a stunning web presence, even if you want to start with a simple site.
Developers who build websites in other platforms such as Squarespace, Wix, or WebsiteBuilder are limited by constrained functionality. One of these platforms may be a great fit for you now, but as your business grows, you will most likely outgrow them. Starting in a flexible platform will ensure that adding additional features and functionality in the future is possible.
4. Will the site be mobile-friendly?
We know, we know, this seems like a question with such an obvious answer. It’s 2017, after all—who doesn’t build mobile-friendly sites? Unfortunately, an estimated 23% of websites in 2016 were not mobile friendly, and new non-mobile-friendly websites are built every day. Google even favors mobile-friendly websites, so it’s imperative that you assume your developer is keeping up with current trends. Ask your web developer just to be safe.
5. Are there any additional fees to build/maintain my website outside of your cost?
Many website platforms and third-party software (such as shopping cart plugins and advanced contact forms) require monthly or annual subscriptions that will be billed to you. In addition, all websites require an annual domain renewal and a cost for web hosting. It’s good to know what additional fees are not included in your developer’s budget.
6. Who will host the website/own the domain name?
Speaking of recurring costs, web hosting is a detail that developers commonly fail to discuss in their proposal. Many web developers sell managed hosting services directly to their clients at an overpriced monthly rate. Typically, this is an optional add-on to your website agreement, but many developers require that your site has to be hosted/managed by them. Seems backwards that someone else would own your site, right?
7. What search engine optimization (SEO) will be integrated?
Search engine optimization is undeniably something every website needs to have. Many developers will claim to optimize your website after development, but the definition of a fully optimized site is different for everybody. Ask your web developer for specific details regarding what SEO is being integrated. Is your developer adding appropriate HTML tags? Are they optimizing content for readability? Will they research the right keywords and use them appropriately? The more information you can get here, the better.
8. What security features will be included in the development?
With some of the largest cyber security attacks in history happening in 2016, the security of your website is more important than ever. More than 40% of cyber attacks target small businesses. While you may not be hosting sensitive information on your website, a cyber attack can cost you thousands of dollars in website repairs and recovery. Fortunately, simple security measures can prevent your business from falling susceptible to such attacks. So be sure to ask your web developer what they’re doing to secure your site.
9. How will my site analytics and traffic be tracked?
Website analytics are a powerful tool to measuring how people use your website and determining what content is most engaging. Site analytics are easily integrated into websites nowadays, so it’s something that should come as a standard with any newly built site.
10. Will you keep a backup of my site?
Very few web developers guarantee site backups without establishing a monthly service agreement. However, asking for a one-time backup of your site after it is launched is a great way to ensure that your investment is never lost. Regardless the cause, site loss is a risk every small business faces. Don’t allow the only copy of your website to be the one that’s live. If your site does go down, a backup can be restored within hours and get your online presence back to normal.
11. Do you offer technical support/training after the project is over, and how much does it cost?
One of the number one complaints we hear from small business owners regarding their website is that they don’t know how to make updates to it as their business changes. Many web developers now offer training, as an inclusion to website projects, on how to make minor changes. Ask about whether your developer plans to include this and how much ongoing support will cost in the future.
The Takeaway
Investing in a new website is a big undertaking. It’s a commitment on your part that affects your finances, your schedule, and the growth potential of your business. But going through the process of purchasing and building a new website does not have to be a headache. Taking the time to ask these simple questions can help ensure that your new website is a worthy investment that will last as long as possible.
Then again, maybe we’re biased in favor of beautiful websites that don’t break the bank. If you’re interested in a website redesign without a headache, we’re happy to answer any of these and other questions you may have. We’re a fan of small businesses, and yours is no different.