Many companies that understand the value of internet are using this key resource to leverage their sales. These companies are using internet to satisfy the needs of their customers. Marketers are also using internet to reach as many people as possible and then convert them into actual customers. Internet advertising has therefore become a very important tool for marketers to increase their customer base.
Thinking about getting a company website built? Where do you start?
The first thing to do when looking to start your own website is getting your domain name sorted, this is your website address and should ideally be your company name. The problem is that if that domain name is taken you may have to have an alternative website address which could be confusing for your customers. Some companies have been known to change their name to ensure that they get the domain name that they want so it’s worth considering. Choose a website designer and discuss ideas that you like perhaps showing them of examples of other people’s websites that you like and things you’d like to include. You can discuss cost options and should be able to agree on a suitable budget for the building of your website and maintenance costs. Lastly think about and write the content of your website, this is not usually done by a web developer but can be out sourced to a company if you are not confident in doing it yourself.
Above the fold web design
It always use to be said that a website should fit on one page so users do not have to scroll, but this isn’t often possible and rarely required. Due to people using multiple devices such as laptops, PC’s, mobiles and tablets to view sites, it would be almost impossible to ensure that it always fits on one page. People are used to having to scroll down the page as long as they are not too long. There are a few things that you should consider though about what is above the fold. Research shows that if a visitor doesn’t see find what they are looking for within the first 5 seconds they a high percentage of people will leave the site and go elsewhere. If you only have you navigation bar, logo and an image across the top of every page and the content is pushed below you may find people leaving the site before they have gotten to the information they need to.
Google to start ranking sites based on mobile compatibility
Google has recently released an update to their ranking algorithm that will come in to force at the end of April 2015. This update will see Google using mobile compatibility as a major factor when choosing where to rank websites on their search engine results pages. For a while Google Webmaster Tools has offered a tool that allows you to check if your website is mobile friendly and will even give you tips and advice on how to fix it if it currently isn’t. Many marketing companies already program websites with mobile users in mind making sure that the websites they build will work on such devices, but if your site is old or was particularly cheap you may find that this is not the case. If in doubt you could always view your site on a few mobile devices (ensuring you check it on multiple devices) or use the Webmaster tool software to confirm. If it is not compatible then now is the time to contact your website administrator for a quote to upgrade your site.
Things to consider when developing a mobile friendly website
Mobile phones and tablets are being used more and more to view websites and shop online. This makes it vital to have a website that works well on these platforms. There are a few options when it comes to designing mobile friendly websites: Create an app version of your site that is available for platforms such as Android and Apple store. This can be quite expensive, especially if you require in-depth functionality but can be the most user friendly for your visitors. Create a specific mobile version of your website – This will cost less but will mean that your website is properly optimised for use on these sorts of devices. This type of website often only shows the visitor the most commonly used sections of the site (which is easily accessible) with the option to view the full site if required. Program your website so it works on mobile devices – This is different to the option above as you will not have a mobile version as such just a website that is programmed with mobile users in mind. This may include using the em setting for fonts rather than pixels and also using percentages for widths and heights […]