I want to talk briefly about website hosting, as I get this question a lot and it can be a bit confusing. Most of my clients already have a website of some form when they come to me, but rarely understand how to access it or what info we will need in order to make changes to the existing site. Several of my clients were even overpaying for their hosting or paying for 2 hosting servers without even knowing what they were paying for!
Website Hosting
In order to be viewable on the internet, the files that make up your website have to live somewhere. Website hosting is space that you rent online to store the website. When someone types in your URL and attempts to visit your site, this hosting server will receive that request and send back the appropriate files. You can also house files, documents, databases, or even just use it as storage. Your email can also be hosted here, although you may download it to your computer via a mail client such as Apple Mail or Microsoft Outlook.
Domain Name
You will also need a domain name. Your domain name is your website URL or address. (www.yourwebsite.com). This domain is often registered elsewhere (with a domain registrar) and is different than the website hosting. In order to have a website, you need both a domain name and website hosting.
FTP and cPanel
If you are planning on doing some work on your website or building a website soon, you will need access to both of these. If you have a current web developer, you can request cPanel access and FTP access. cPanel is the backend to access all the services your web host offers you. You can install databases, create directories, install software such as WordPress and set up email accounts from here.
FTP stands for file transfer protocol. This accesses the actual server space where the files will be stored and allows KL Creative Design or your web developer to make changes to the files.
Email Hosting
Your email can be hosted with the domain or with the website hosting server and would have your url in the email address (yourname@yourwebsite.com). You can also have external email through a service such as yahoo or gmail, although these tend to be less professional and are more vulnerable to hacking. We don’t suggest keeping your important documents with an external free service because if something goes wrong, there is little that you can do about it.
Everyone seems to be talking about it but no one quite knows the difference. So I would like to break it down nice and easy.
Firstly, what is a mobile website? A mobile website is a website built specifically for the mobile platform. Usually this is a version of a normal website that a user is directed to if they are viewing on a mobile device such as a phone or a tablet. Not only do they have different content and a different layout, they often have a different url than the standard website, such as mobile.yourwebsite.com or yourwebsite.com/mobile.html.
Responsive web design differs from this in a few key points. Let’s define responsive web design. In short, responsive web design is a method of building websites wherein the website responds to the screen size it is viewed on. For example, a 3 column website might become a 2 column website for a tablet or a 1 column website for a mobile phone. It is the same website, but the content is rearranged to fit the screen size. Specific styles are applied to the site, per the screen size, but the content and the code is exactly the same.
The main difference that you need to keep in mind is that responsive websites have the same URL and most, if not all of the same content. This is essential for search engine optimization. Different URLs split the SEO ranking juice, which can lower your rankings in search engines. They can also confuse a user, or cause problems when linking or sharing the content. Responsive website design is the Google recommended method for building websites.
Google Authorship. Have you seen it before? It’s fairly new but occasionally you will see a small photo next to a google result. This is Google Authorship. Basically, this is a verified link between your website content and your Google+ profile.
If you have a blog, you may have heard about content scrapping. This is when another blog, unrelated to yours, will repost your content with, or occasionally without, your permission. Blogging takes work, no question of that. So likely you don’t want people stealing it. Verifying the true author of a post allows users to trust the content, while building up a brand name for yourself.
Not only does it give your blog posts a google stamp of approval, it will make your result stand out! Photos capture your eye in a way general text cannot. Why not have photo branding as well as text-based branding?
Google tells you exactly how to do it in an article here and when you have finished, you can preview it here. Keep in mind that it may take time to go into effect and they don’t guarantee they will show the photo.
As you may know, I am a huge proponent of WordPress. Not only do my clients love it and find it easy to use, it is almost limitless in functionality. With the right skills or custom templates, you can do almost anything.
I’m not the only one who thinks this. WordPress is one of the most popular open source systems around today. The dark side of using an open source system and one as popular as wordpress is that there are new security issues arising every day. It becomes a target. Hackers are developing new methods to bypass security and use your blog or website to serve up spam ware. This spam ware can wreck havoc on your web server, your computer as well as disrupt or ruin your website. If left unchecked, your website may be wrecked beyond repair.
WordPress’s security team is working around the clock to serve up fixes and block these constant attacks. But…you have to update to get them! Spammers specifically look for websites that haven’t been updated as they are easier to hack as well as they are more likely to be unattended.
Because of this, I always recommend regular updates to your WordPress site. For recent versions, this can be done with one click right from your dashboard. Or you could have a WordPress pro do it for you to ensure that nothing goes wrong and there are no incompatibilities. Either way, it’s crucial that you keep your website secure and WordPress updated.
You’ve probably heard it all before. I know I’m starting to feel like a broken record. MOBILE MOBILE MOBILE. The point of this post is not to convince you why you need mobile. Instead I’d like to talk about a few things to consider when looking at your site from a mobile perspective. What we are looking at here is “how does the user experience rate or in some cases, degrade when looking at your site on a mobile device?”
Function over flash. This is one fact that there is just no getting around. Mobile phones will have slower download speeds and with the data limits many people have on their phones, your mobile site must be quick to download and download gracefully. Do you have flashy image banners or animations? Lots of different colors and fonts. People don’t want that on a mobile site. One of the biggest pitfalls I see is when clients want to keep the desktop “wow factor.” Mobile users don’t want to be wowed. They want to get in, get what they want and get out.
Fat fingers. With the introduction of touch screens, the way we “do internet” has drastically changed. Instead of an easily navigable mouse on a large screen, we have fat fingers on small real estate. Are you buttons easy to find and click? How often do you “mispress” a link or button, only to have to refresh the page and wait all over for it to download? Nothing with frustrate a user more than being able to see what they want and not be able to get to it. Buttons should be at least 40px by 40px, with plenty of room so that you don’t accidentally hit another button.
Flow. Ask yourself what is absolutely necessary for a mobile user. What content are they more likely to be needing if they are on a mobile phone or tablet? If you have a restaurant or storefront, they are more likely to be looking for contact info or directions, instead of browsing your online store. Let’s feature this content and put it higher up on the page. Let’s get rid of zoom! Can you imagine it? A mobile world without zooming! One can dream.
So how did your site rate? Unless you have optimized your site for the mobile device, it is unlikely you were able to navigate your site frustration-free. Now imagine you had never seen your site before. How would your site rate for a first time user?
Mobile optimization is a method of building a website that not only works on a desktop with traditional screen sizes but also is specifically optimized or built to work well on a mobile device. Mobile device may be a smart phone or a tablet.
Why do you need mobile site?
The trends are going that more and more people are looking at your site on a mobile device, tablet smart phone, somewhere around 30%. The mobile device has a different real estate, unique technology and specifications that aren’t found on the desktop. Often times a desktop site either won’t work at all on the mobile device, or is difficult to use. For example, you are looking for a phone number and you have to have to zoom or go through a series of steps to find it. You don’t want to make your users hunt for the info they need.
Responsive web design.
Responsive Web design is a buzzword as of late within the web design community. What this means is that the website detects the screen size of the device you are using and offers a series of rules based on that screen size. The content of your website rearranges itself accordingly. Maybe three columns on a larger screen becomes 1 long column or the font size changes for smaller screens. Certain content can be highlighted or removed if you are on a device the size of a mobile phone or vice versa.
This week I’d like to talk briefly about how and why you should edit your own website. This post is not about DIY websites. (Read a good article about those here.) DIY websites often cause more hassle than they are worth. What I am talking about is hiring a professional to create your branding, website and then train you how to update it!
Here in Summit County, many of the local businesses do 2 for 1s during the off season. This is a way to generate business for themselves during a relatively dry period, as well as a time for the locals to enjoy the many perks of living in lovely Summit County. This past week, I wanted to go out to dinner. I looked at 5 separate restaurants to see who had 2 for 1s or what mud season deals they were running. Not a single website had any info! I am sure some of these restaurants had mud season deals but not one advertised on their website. I could have of course called up the companies. Did I? No, I went somewhere else.
So how do you edit your own website? WordPress. WordPress is a content management system that allows you to edit your website without any coding! We will build your website within WordPress’s internal structure (this part requires coding) and build it so all you have to do is log into wordpress to update posts, blog, change advertisement banners, add products, add images and galleries or news updates. The possibilities are limitless and will add immeasurable value to your website and its effectiveness!
But I’m not very good with computers you say? Do you use Facebook? Twitter? Google? It’s no more complicated than either of those and functions similarly and there are scores of online tutorials!
Secondly, we will train you how to use it. You will receive a word doc with step by step instructions on how to make any changes to your site. You will also receive a phone or in person 2 hour training session! Lastly, we provide support for you should you run into any problems or have any questions. We will make sure that you are comfortable editing your website. Here at KL Creative Design, we like happy clients!
Branding can be a daunting task for business owners, especially if you are less than design savvy. When deciding how to visually present your business, it usually seems to come down to “well I like the color green?” Here’s something you need to know when branding your business: Your website is not for you. It’s not about you or what you like.
Your website is for your clients.
Color can impact mood and behavior and is a form of communication onto its own. When branding your business, you will need to choose a color scheme that best represents your business, as well as appeals to your target market.
Here a few of the common colors and what concepts they represent.
Blue: trustworthy, success and security. Blue is most often used in banks and financial services.
Green: organic, natural, money, new
Red: love, passion, strength, aggression and danger
Every day it seems I see another commercial for a free or cheap do-it-yourself website. While I understand why small business owners would go this route, I often find the ads a bit misleading. In this post, I’d like to discuss the pros and cons of the free DIY website services.
Pros of free website services
The most obvious pro is the price tag. There is no getting around the fact that websites cost money and hiring a professional team to make it costs money. The DIY website service’s main marketing point is the price tag, or lack there of. It costs nothing but your time and effort.
Another tick in the pro column would come from your effort. You might learn a few things about websites as well as how to edit your own! Adding a new skill is never a bad thing, nor is being able to edit your own website.
For many small business owners, it can be difficult to acquire the budget they need for their website, so the two above pros are all they need to hear. But there are a few other things you should know before you dive on in.
The cons of free website services
It requires nothing but your time and effort, and a lot of it. If you are the type of person who likes learning new things and is somewhat tech savy, you have a fighting chance of getting a website together. While they advertise as being “just a few clicks” that is generally far from the truth. Expect there to be a steep learning curve and to put a lot of your own personal time into it. As a small business owner, your time is valuable and often limited. Keep in mind that you will need to invest a large chunk of that time into learning and building the website service.
Secondly, you are often limited on what you can do. Just a week ago, I had a meeting with a client using a free service who for whatever reason could not get a particular image to move to the center of the page. Couldn’t do it. You are often limited to a set of pre made templates and cannot stray from those. Along the same lines, your options for Search engine optimization are limited as well. There are going to be things, coding wise, you just can’t do. If you are the type that “wants it how you want it” this could be a frustrating process.
I’m sure all of you understand the basic idea of you get what you pay for. This proves true in this case. To sum it up, plan on a lot of time and some frustration if you choose this route. For some, it may be the only route, which is fine as well. Having a web presence is usually better than no presence at all.
In our previous post, we talked about a few questions to ask yourself before building a mobile app for your business. A mobile app takes lots of planning and marketing before, during and after. Now that you’ve committed to a mobile app and you still think it’s a good idea, I’d like to discuss some ways a mobile app can help your business.
Mobile apps are written in an entirely different language than websites, and released on their specific platforms. Google Play sells android apps. The App Store sells iPhone apps. This is an independent platform for marketing your business that unless you have a mobile app, you can’t get on.
Along those same lines, you can now advertise in the mobile market. People spend an average of 2 hours and 7 minutes on their smartphones, in apps, a day. 2 HOURS. Wouldn’t it be awesome if some of that time was spent on your business? With a mobile app, you can now capture some of that time.
But how do you capture that time?
Solve a problem or make it easier to interact with you
Pre-order your takeout. Reserve a table. Check in for your flight. All of these are ways that mobile apps make your life easier and allow customers to interact with the business in question digitally. They ease the transaction between client and business. What are some speed bumps to communicating with your clients? In what areas are clients distracted or lost along the way? Are you constantly answering the phone with the same question over and over? Perhaps a mobile app can help ease that transition and provide info to your clients at a quicker and more efficient rate.
What about building customer loyalty by offering deals on your mobile app only? Look up account info on the mobile app. These are just a few ways to keep people coming back to your mobile app, and not going to your competition.
Advertise directly to your client base
We all know it takes marketing to get downloads of your app. But once you have, that benefit is immeasurable. Now you have direct communication with your client base. You are literally at their fingertips. Using push notifications (you know those little message boxes telling you when you have a text message, missed call or reminder? Yes those), you can communicate with your users about upcoming sales, new products or features. The possibilities are endless. The bottom line is that you have a direct line to your clients, and with nearly 3 hours a day spent on their smartphones, you know they are receiving your messages!
You will also need a domain name. Your domain name is your website URL or address. (www.yourwebsite.com). This domain is often registered elsewhere (with a domain registrar) and is different than the website hosting. In order to have a website, you need both a domain name and website hosting. 
Firstly, what is a mobile website? A mobile website is a website built specifically for the mobile platform. Usually this is a version of a normal website that a user is directed to if they are viewing on a mobile device such as a phone or a tablet. Not only do they have different content and a different layout, they often have a different url than the standard website, such as mobile.yourwebsite.com or yourwebsite.com/mobile.html. 
The main difference that you need to keep in mind is that responsive websites have the same URL and most, if not all of the same content. This is essential for search engine optimization. Different URLs split the SEO ranking juice, which can lower your rankings in search engines. They can also confuse a user, or cause problems when linking or sharing the content. Responsive website design is the Google recommended method for building websites.
Here a few of the common colors and what concepts they represent. 
Mobile apps are written in an entirely different language than websites, and released on their specific platforms. Google Play sells android apps. The App Store sells iPhone apps. This is an independent platform for marketing your business that unless you have a mobile app, you can’t get on. 
