Category: Web Content

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Responsive Websites in HTML5 Look Different

Home page of the new Heritage Pest Control website.
Home page of the new Heritage Pest Control website done in HTML5.

Technology marches on! What was popular in regards to website design is now passé today. What we used to think was fabulous and hi-tech two years ago, looks dated today.

Here’s what’s out and what’s in when it comes to website design styling:

What’s In

1. Large footer blogs that almost appear like a WordPress template that have full site navigation in lists typically three or four vertical spaces.

2. Social media icons in gray or muted colors to match the site and typically found in the footer on the right or left.

3. Top navigation and sometimes with drop downs but not always.

4. Smaller amount of content per page – keeping smartphone use in mind. There may be more pages but less content per page.

5. Wider banners that may nearly fill the whole screen on a desktop, but are resized to a smaller profile and size for smartphones.

What’s Out

1. Footer navigation separated by | like Home | About | Contact Us

2. Social media icons in color at the top right of every page in the header or banner.

3. Left sidebar static navigation and left menu flyouts.

4. Left and right side bars and a clutter of “ad-like” icons.

5. Pages that scroll on and on forever with tons of content.

Client feedback so far about HTML5 is mixed at this point. Many clients like the old graphics intense sites that they have used for years and see no problem with forcing site visitors to pinch and tap with smartphones, but those who are positioning themselves for the future are embracing the responsive designs and streamlined look and feel of responsive HTML5 sites as the way of the future.

Starting at $1,850 our responsive designs are built to go up fast, be SEO friendly and include 5 pages of custom content.

 

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New Responsive Website Launched

Inside page of Heritage Pest Control
Inside page of Heritage Pest Control

Just this past week I have launched one of our client websites completed in our Quick Launch responsive design styles. Heritage Pest Control is the newest customer to move from one of our old custom websites done about four years ago to a new responsive layout. You can check out the new site at www.HeritagePestControlNJ.com.

Here are some of the comments we are hearing from clients as they move to HTML 5 and responsive website designs:

1. The site has a very clean look – very different than my old site that had sidebars and all types of links and features right and left.

2. I love how the site re-sizes to fill the screen of my smart phone AND my tablet.

3. I like my mobile site using the new responsive design much better than my DudaMobile site that was auto-created from my old custom design.

4. I really like how my images in my content resize when I look at my site in my smartphone or tablet – how did you do that?

5. The load time of my site is fast and I am already getting feedback from customers that they love my new look.

If your website is older than four years, it is time to consider upgrading your website to HTML 5 and new technology. Starting at $1,850 these special responsive websites give you top quality unique content, design and integration completed by an SEO expert, and fast implementation or transition of your old content and site to a new look.

Find out more by visiting our responsive website design page.

 

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Budget Tight? Where Can You Cut Back without Hurting Your Web Visibility?

Sometimes It Is All about the Money
Sometimes It Is All about the Money

The month of July has been tough for a number of businesses and August is not looking too hot either. Your company President is asking all departments to start trimming. Where can you trim without seriously affecting online visibility?

1. Take a careful look at social media. You may be able to move from three updates a day to two or from two to one.

2. Look at where your customers are. If you are paying to post to LinkedIn but have never gotten a customer from LinkedIn, use HootSuite to auto feed your blog posts to LinkedIn and drop daily status updates there. How about Google+ can you drop your frequency back?

3. Consider trimming your AdWords pay per click budget back 10%. You may not suffer significantly from this action but don’t just do it automatically. If AdWords has really been a strong lead driver for you, it may be more beneficial to boost your budget there instead of cutting.

4. Consider asking your blog post supplier to move from three days a week to two or from two to one. I do not recommend less than one day a week posting as there are simply too many benefits you receive from great blog content, but it may be time to review your spend in this area.

Although not every business will want to cut back when times are tough you have options to help trim the budget by taking a careful look at what has been working to drive leads and what can simply be trimmed in service level for the time being to trim costs until things turn around financially.

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How Not to Use Blogging

What About Blogging?
Say What About Blogging?

So often a prospective clients approaches us for blog writing services as they have heard blogging is great for their website visitors; to provide value to readers and to build links for search engines. But, sometimes a prospective client may need a quick review on how not to use blogging. Here’s my short list to help demystify what blogging is and is not.

How Not to Use Blogging

1. Do not use blog posts as brochure content. Posts that are repetitive about your services or loaded with keywords about your services as seen by search engines as having no value and defeat the purpose of blogging which is to create slow natural link growth. Who will want to link to posts all about YOU when they may want to be selling their OWN services?

2. Blogging does not typically drive lead traffic. Read number one again. If a post is all about you and simply repeats content from your website, it is doubtful that a prospective client would have landed on your blog first or would find you in the search engine results and then convert from your blog. That client will typically first find your website and convert from there. If you are really looking for leads, blogging is really not the best fit for your investment rather Google AdWords would be a far better investment.

3. I do not recommend using blogging with the focus of picking up content from other sources and pasting that content into your blog post field. You unfortunately are not fooling search engines into thinking that your content is unique, of value, linkable, and for that matter index worthy. If you use Copyscape Premium and find your same content that you selected online for your blog post already at 20 or 30 sites you may actually damage your own organic placement. Blog post should be unique content created to provide value to your readers.

What Blogging Really Is

Blogging is great for building value for your readers, growing your website link numbers slowly and naturally, improving user time on your website, can lower your overall bounce rate, and to create authority as a subject matter expert for search engines. It is not really  a great lead generator and when used inappropriately may even hurt you with search engine placement.