Tag - WebsiteDesign

BuiltWith Trends - Web and Internet Technology Usage Statistics
14Feb

BuiltWith Trends – Web and Internet Technology Usage Statistics

BuiltWith is a tool that helps web developers "inspect" what technologies other websites are using (previously discussed in this post). Their simple interface allows you to enter a website URL and instantly reveal every piece of technology that's used to create the website. For example, if you ran a query for my website on BuiltWith you could see I use Wordpress as a CMS, host my website with InMotion Hosting and you could even see the individual Wordpress plugins I use.

BuiltWith Trends

BuiltWith Trends compiles information gathered on websites around the globe and provides some outstanding statistics on the most popular web and internet technology tools being utilized. Want to know what the most popular Content Management System is? That link will show you WordPress is by far the most used CMS on the internet. Want to know the most popular eCommerce platform? WooCommerce for the win with Shopify a close second. Personally I think WooCommerce is a far superior eCommerce platform, but I'm slowly learning Shopify since it's widely used. What's the most popular E-mail provider? You will see SPF (private hosting) is #1, but Google Apps for Business (GSuite) is the most popular privately hosted e-mail platform.

Make Informed Technology Decisions

This tool helps me make decisions on what technology to use and what technologies to recommend to my clients. It's no coincidence I recommend WordPress as a CMS, WooCommerce as an eCommerce platform and GSuite if you're looking for e-mail hosting (I also host mail on my server). While the "most popular" doesn't always mean "the best", it helps make informed decisions on technology usage. If you look at the most popular VPS Hosting Companies my preferred host, InMotion Hosting, comes in 6th place. For the price, speed, locations and support I believe InMotion is better than the 5 companies ahead of it.

Go check out your competitors' websites. Maybe you'll find a tool they're using that we can incorporate into your website. If you're looking for a new website, have an existing website, or just need some SEO improvement, please contact me today. I'd love the opportunity to help your business improve its web presence.

 

SEO, Website Design, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Happy New Year - Website Tips For 2020
31Dec

Happy New Year – Website Tips For 2020

I would like to wish you a Happy New Year. I'm so grateful for my loyal customers and look forward to continued growth in 2020. My clients vary tremendously by industry and location, but the basics of website design, advertising and SEO can be applied to any industry. A visually attractive, informative and SEO optimized website is the best investment you can make in your company.

Website Tips for 2020

Google has over 90% of the search market. The best thing you can do for your companies reputation on the web is to focus on what Google looks for in a company. Google is all about business reputation. First and foremost your business website should be optimized to target the keywords your customers are searching for. Once that is accomplished Google looks at many other factors. Your Google My Business profile should be fully optimized and reviewed on a regular basis. Also, make sure to optimize your Bing Places For Business profile.

Google loves fresh content on your website. The best way to accomplish this is with a consistently updated blog. Social Media interaction is also a huge ranking factor. You should have business profiles on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest. I typically connect my client's blogs with their social media profiles. Multi-platform posting tools like Buffer are essential. I also recommend following other companies in your industry for inspiration and additional followers.

Your business information should be in as many databases as possible. Google gives credit for backlinks, which are links to your website from credible sources. The best way to get your business information out there is to use a tool such as BrightLocal's Citation Builder. This ensures your business name, address, phone number, hours, website URL, description and images are consistent across the internet. I've seen clients rankings jump multiple positions after a BrightLocal campaign.

I can go on and on but the things I've listed above should a priority for your company in 2020. If you're looking for a new website, have an existing website, need some SEO improvement, graphic design, or advertising please contact me today. I'd love the opportunity to help your business improve its web presence.

General, Graphic Design, Marketing, SEO, Website Design, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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How Important is an SEO-Friendly Domain Name?
15Aug

How Important is an SEO-Friendly Domain Name?

Often times I'm asked by clients to help them choose a domain name. Google does give some weight to the keywords in domain names, although not as much as they used to. Nevertheless, having keywords in your domain name is still important because it can give you a small bump, possibly improving your search engine ranking. Let's say you have a roofing company that primarily serves the Chicagoland area and your business name is XYZ Roofing. Some good SEO-Friendly domain name options would be xyzroofingchicago.com or chicagolandxyzroofing.com. Whenever possible you want to combine your service (roofing), service area (Chicago or Chicagoland) and company name.

I have an existing domain name - Should I change it?

No. Another more important ranking factor is the age of your domain. A domain that has been in existence for 20 years with a company website on it gets a lot of credit from Google. If you already have a domain name with a website on it just keep it. I have moved existing websites to a new domain with 301 permanent redirects from all the old URL's to the new URL's. 100% of the time the ranking takes a hit. It will eventually rebound, but most companies can't afford to lose traffic.

Where can I see what domain names are available for purchase?

There are many domain registrars but my favorite is Namecheap. They charge $8.88/year to register a domain, which is one of the lowest prices you will find. Their website is easy to use and they've been around for a long time. Right on their homepage, there's a box to search available domain names.

Is a long URL going to be tough for customers to type in?

While SEO-Friendly domain names are great for SEO, a super long domain name can be annoying for customers. Try to limit your domain name to 20 characters or less. Another thing to consider is that most people will just do a Google search (ie XYZ Roofing) when they're looking for your company, so don't worry too much about the URL. One of my customers on Long Island, NY came to me with a URL he already had, which is longislandwindowwashingpowerwashing.com. While it's a really long and inconvenient URL to type in, his search rankings are really good because of it. Balance is key.

There's a lot more to SEO

While your domain name is a ranking factor, it's not a huge factor. Having a good title, description, headings and content is also crucial. Backlinks to your website and company information listings are also very important. If you're looking for a domain name, have an existing domain or just need some SEO improvement, please contact me today. I'd love the opportunity to help your business improve its web presence.

Marketing, SEO, Website Design, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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InstantCard - Great ID Cards and a Great Company
09Aug

InstantCard – Great ID Cards and a Great Company

When a customer asks me for ID cards I know just the place to go. InstantCard is a company I've worked with for a few years and I've always been very happy with their product, staff and turnaround time. You may think an ID card isn't anything fancy, but you would be surprised how fancy you can get. Aside from the design they also offer holograph's, QR codes, smart chips, mag stripes, barcodes and more.

Every order I have placed has been shipped out the day I ordered it or the next day. Their UI (user interface) is very well designed and easy to use. You can save ID card templates so when it's time to order you simply click a button. Their ID cards cost $7.80 per card (volume discounts available). If you need ID cards designed contact me today for an estimate.

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BuiltWith - A Great Tool to Figure Out What Technology a Website Uses
28Jun

BuiltWith – A Great Tool to Figure Out What Technology a Website Uses

Ever visit a website and think... that's pretty cool. It happens to me all the time and I always turn to the best tool out there to figure out what technology a website is using. BuiltWith is an unbelievable tool that can show you everything there is to know about a website. Not only can you figure out which CMS (Content Management System) they're using, but you can even figure out which plugins they're using (and the technology those plugins use sometimes). For example, if you look up my website you'll not only discover that I use WordPress as a CMS, but it also shows that I use the theme Porto. You can figure out every single plugin I have installed on my website very quickly.

I always tell clients if you've seen it on another website, you can have it on yours. BuiltWith is how I quickly determine what technology was used so I can recreate it and put my own twist on it. If you need a new website, need to improve your existing website or have a graphic design project, contact me today and I'd be happy to discuss how I can help.

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Adobe Color - A Great Color Palette Generator
21Jun

Adobe Color – A Great Color Palette Generator

Whenever I design a website one of the first considerations is the color palette that will be used. Colors are typically pulled from an existing logo or based on customer preference. Considering there are 16,777,216 hex colors to choose from, selecting colors can be extremely subjective. Occasionally a client will want a certain color, only to say "a bit lighter" or "a bit darker". The solution to this problem is a tool from Adobe called Adobe Color.

What I like about Adobe Color is the simple interface and the ability to easily create complimentary colors for the colors you select. The various options on the left give you a quick twist on the shade of the color you selected. Click on the Explore tab at the top, and see popular color pallets and randomly generated color palettes that may inspire your creativity. The hex code (looks like #ababab) is what web designers need to use the color within a design element. Whenever I lack natural creativity this tool help spark my creative flare.

If you're looking for a website or graphic designer, contact me today for a free estimate.

Website Design, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Uptime Robot - Know When Your Website Goes Down
13Jun

Uptime Robot – Know When Your Website Goes Down

Web servers are not perfect and they crash. I use InMotion Hosting for my web servers and they guarantee a 99.9% uptime... it's not 100%. Yesterday InMotion was having some data center issues and I knew about it within a minute of the servers going down because of a great tool from Uptime Robot. Their free plan will ping your website every 5 minutes and you can add up to 50 websites. If you need more monitors or want them to ping your website more often, they offer very competitive pricing.

If you have a website you should use Uptime Robot. Knowing there's a problem is step one to fixing it. If you need website, graphic design or marketing services, please contact me today.

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How to Login to Gmail Using Your Domain Email Address
07Jun

How to Login to Gmail Using Your Domain Email Address

I host email for the majority of my clients and forward their domain email (@yourdomain.com) to a Gmail address. The reason I do this is the convenience and functionality of Gmail. Also, most business clients have multiple email addresses and don't want to login multiple different places to check their email. Forwarding email to a Gmail address and using Gmail's 'Send Mail As' feature gives my clients the ability to send and receive their domain email from Gmail. I will write an article on that process in the future, but for now, see this article on how to do that.

Being able to sign into Gmail using your domain email address is another way to streamline the entire process. Follow these steps to allow that feature:

  1. Login to Gmail
  2. Click on your profile photo on the top right and select 'Google Account' below your name
  3. Click on the 'Personal Info' tab on the left
  4. Under 'Contact Info' click on 'Email'
  5. Click on the Advanced dropdown, then under 'Alternate Emails' select 'Add Alternate Email'
  6. Once you've added an 'Alternate Email' you will be able to sign into your Gmail account using the domain email address you entered in this field.

If you have the money to spend, another option is using GSuite, in which Google actually hosts your email and allows you to manage multiple users. GSuite costs $6/user/month for 30GB of Google Drive storage, or $12/user/month for unlimited storage. Many of my clients don't want to spend that money when they can forward their domain email to Gmail and use this login feature to get a very similar product for FREE. If you want to learn more about this topic contact me today and I'd be happy to walk you through everything.

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RemotePC - Remote Access From Anywhere
23May

RemotePC – Remote Access From Anywhere

RemotePC is a tool that is used to remotely access and control computers from anywhere 24/7. There are quite a few different tools that perform a similar function to RemotePC, but none better for the cost. You can use RemotePC for free, but you can only leave one computer in an 'always on' state for remote access. If you only need one then you're good to go! The most popular package that RemotePC sells is their 'Consumer/SOHO' plan which allows up to 10 computers to have unlimited remote access for $52.12 for one year or $104.25 for 2 years (pricing as of 5/23/2019).

I've been using RemotePC for a while now after switching from a MUCH more expensive competitor. Having the ability to remotely access home or business computers when you're not in your home or business is invaluable. The setup is really simple and their interface is easy to use. If you want to learn more about RemotePC be sure to contact me today.

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The Top Social Media Platforms For Your Business
10May

The Top Social Media Platforms For Your Business

Google has been giving more and more SEO weight to companies that actively use social media. I recommend that all of my clients post on social media as often as possible, ideally once per week. While I know that's a challenge, it's becoming increasingly important to help your search engine rankings. Buffer is a great tool that allows you to post to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest at the same time, from one place. I would currently consider those the top social media platforms for businesses ranked:

  1. Facebook - 2.23 billion monthly active users
  2. Instagram - 1 billion monthly active users
  3. Twitter - 335 million monthly active users
  4. LinkedIn - 294 million monthly active users
  5. Pinterest - 250 million monthly active users

In addition to these 5 social media platforms, I can't understate the importance of YouTube (1.9 billion monthly active users) and Google My Business posts. YouTube can be tough if you don't like being on camera, but even short videos carry weight. YouTube is a Google product... Google likes when you use their products. Speaking of which, within the last year Google has started allowing companies to post on their Google My Business listing. These posts show up on your Google business profile and show for one week... another indicator Google wants you to post every week. Unfortunately, there's no way to currently post to Google My Business through Buffer or similar tools, but I'm sure that will change.

Optimizing your use of hashtags and posting weekly on as many social media platforms as possible is the key to success. Posts can be as simple as a picture with a sentence, or an entire blog post. I integrate Wordpress with Buffer so you can create a blog post and automatically have it sent out to your social media platforms. That way you're getting SEO benefits from creating content on your website while also getting credit for the social media aspect.

If you would like to learn more about posting on social media, or are interested in getting pricing to have me post for you, contact me today.

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