Cookie-cutter website builders made it easy and inexpensive for the novice to set-up their own websites. As the number of entrepreneurs and small businesses has increased, so has the demand for improved technology. This has created a competitive market for web hosting.
Ten years ago people stayed with the same hosting companies because it was too big of a burden to recreate their website. Also, some companies made it difficult for customers to switch their domain when they decided to change website host providers.
Today it is easier to make a switch but there are still things consumers should understand before choosing a new website host.
Are you thinking about switching to a new hosting service? Keep reading for 10 things you should understand before making a move.
What Does It Mean to Change Website Host?
Unless you hired a website developer to build your website from scratch using coding, you're probably using a web builder platform. This is a service that makes it easy for anyone to have a website for a fraction of the cost a developer would charge.
The companies use apps and software to create the sites and then rent the space for your site's placement on the World Wide Web. Most will offer an initial free website domain address, which you can later renew on your own. The website itself is parked on a platform and governed by the platform's rules and regulations.
Hosting sites offer much of the same but there are a few things that set some apart from the rest of the pack.
Here is how to select the best choice for a website hosting company.
1. Ease of Transition
The website host doesn't want you to leave. The competition is stiff, and they will try to convince you of all the evils that will happen if you move. The truth is you are not actually moving the website, you are moving your domain name.
It is best to follow the steps provided by the website host. If they tell you to go through your current provider that is a red flag. The new hosting service should want to help you with the transition.
The process can take up to a week to complete.
2. The Registration Process
Registration for the new hosting site should be relatively easy with no long contracts to sign. Providing your contact information and agreeing to the terms and services is really all there is. If someone requires you to sign long, lengthy documents, seek legal counseling or search for a new hosting service.
Services like Blue Host And Hostgator are good examples of simplistic registration.
3. Cost at Renewal
Most hosting companies offer attractive deals to get people to sign-up for their services. Choosing a new website host can be influenced by the introductory price. Be very careful A year of hosting at $99 sounds good.
When it is time to renew, your bill will be double that amount or more. Also, verify how often a hosting service increases its annual rates.
4. Level of Customer Service
Trying to speak to an actual person in customer service is difficult for some providers. More often than not, your standard means of communication is a Q & A search, followed by an option to send a message to support.
If having access to a live representative is important to you research their customer service before you change website host. Live reps may only be available to their higher tier enterprise customers.
5. Reliability and Stability
When determining which website hosting company is a good choice don't forget to research their performance record. If your website is constantly down that is not a good thing.
Your customers will not blame the hosting company. They will believe it is a failure on your part.
There are several websites that track outages on web hosting sites.
6. How Long Have They Been in Business
The time in business is not always a good measure of how well a company will perform. With so many hosting sites on the market, it may be a better choice to go with an established platform. There will be more information available including reviews and recommendations.
An excellent if you change website hosting company is HostPapa. Looking for HostPapa coupon promo codes? Look no further and take advantage of these exclusive offers to get started on HostPapa today.
7. Applications Available
The average cookie-cutter web hosting site has apps to help you build the website you desire. The best sites will offer templates that are easily customizable and provide step-by-step instructions.
Depending on what you need, choosing a new website host could come down to the following apps:
- Booking
- eCommerce
- Social Media Integration
- Video capabilities
You'll also want to understand the amount of space you'll have for images and videos.
8. Security
Cybersecurity is at the forefront of everyone's mind. Whether you are a website holder or user, you want to ensure your data is safe. Consumers want to be reassured their financial information is safe when making a purchase on your website.
A good hosting platform will be intentional about promoting their safeguards against hackers and data breaches.
9. Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization drives visitors to your website. When changing website hosts ask if they have SEO tools to help with your digital marketing campaigns. This tool is essential for today's competitive climate.
If SEO is not a feature being offered, you will need to hire an SEO firm or learn how to incorporate techniques on your own.
10. Analytical Reporting
The last thing on our list of changing website hosting companies, but definitely not the least important, is analytics. In anything that you do, there has to be a means to measure its effectiveness. Website analytics are key to ensuring your website is dependable and profitable.
Determining which website hosting company is a good choice needs to include what types of reporting and insights their websites offer. Like SEO, if it is not provided you will have to incorporate your own methods.
Hosting Help: It Is Time to Move Your Website!
Now you are better informed on what to look for when you decide to change website host platforms. This is an important decision for your business web hosting and you must cover all of your bases.
Websites are an integral part of any business marketing plan. Check out our marketing and tech sections to gain more useful tips to drive sales.
Forging ahead on your career path can fraught with bumps and challenges. This can be especially true for a career involving creativity.
For some careers, like a teacher, for example, you get out of high school. You go to college. You student teach and look for a full time teaching position.
Many careers follow a very linear path to get settled in them. Graphic design might not be quite like that.
Graphic designers are often creative souls who start by making some logos and getting experience. They know computers and help out some friends with branding.
There are great professional opportunities in graphic design with the right set of skills. If you're interested in graphic design and want to pursue a career what skills should you have to land a job in the field?
Read on to learn about graphic designer skills needed for this career.
1. Photoshop and Adobe Programs
Carpenters have a hammer and wood. Stylists have scissors and combs.
Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator are the same for graphic designers. Nearly every graphic design job in the field will need you to be well versed and skilled in using these programs.
If you don't feel confident and well-versed in the use of these programs, consider taking a class.
Spend some time working with them on your own. Learn the ins and outs of the program so you become a fluent user.
2. Other Print Programs, Microsoft Office
The more diverse your skills are with any available design programs, the more marketable you become.
Programs like Canva or Snapseed offer various platforms for graphic design. You won't know what programs your potential employer uses. The more you know about a variety of programs the better. It definitely helps to be a Canva pro though.
Also, be well acquainted with the suite of Microsoft Office programs, especially PowerPoint and Publisher.
3. Typography
This is at the core of what graphic designers do, especially in today's technology-driven world. Typography is the art of letters and fonts. It's taking words and creating them in a visually pleasing way or as an art form.
Graphic designers need to know the technical elements of typography. This broadens their ability to be hired.
With so many companies, online and as brick and mortar locations, looking for branding and logos, this is an important skill to promote yourself as a graphic designer.
4. Coding
Graphic designers do not need to have the same skills as a computer programmer. They don't even need to act as tech support.
Having said that, as a part of a team involved in website design, having some skills in HTML will be very helpful. As a graphic designer, it is likely that many, if not most, of your client base will have websites.
HTML is the coding used to run web browsers. This is good knowledge to have to support you as a graphics person.
Additionally, knowing some things about Java or C+++ may not be necessary but again, helpful.
5. Branding
As a graphic designer, one important thing you will do for your clients is to help them to visually create their brand. Branding helps a business do marketing and gain customers through brand recognition.
The designer's role is to help create a logo, decide on colors for the brand. They will help to take that logo and those colors and to use it different ways to support the brand.
The graphic designer can even help to show how printed color versus digital color will play out in branding and marketing campaigns.
6. Creativity
Many graphic designers end up in this career because they are creative souls who evolved to it. They have a creative brain or a passion for art. They are visual and can imagine a look and carry it out.
Creativity isn't necessarily something you can teach but it's significant for the job.
Graphic designers have the ability to use that creativity to transform ideas into graphics and brands that help their clients in ways they couldn't imagine.
All those who describe themselves as "creatives" have slumps or ups and downs with their creativity. It's important to do things to foster and fuel your creativity.
Watch closely what is happening in the field. Look around you all the time for inspiration.
7. Communication
While this is an ancillary skill, it is nonetheless an important one. As a graphic designer, you will not only have to create for clients but also communicate with them.
The ability to effectively communicate those visual ideas is key to guiding clients through the design process. While a client might not understand how the designer creates graphics, they want you to communicate how it will help them.
8. Goals of Design
Like creativity, this is somewhat intrinsic. As a graphic designer, you need to understand the purpose and goal of creating a graphic design.
Your role is to visually communicate ideas, messages, campaigns, slogans, etc. Your role is not only to draw things on the computer.
Understanding the "why" of design is key to successfully creating good design. Know your purpose and role as a designer.
9. Established Design Process
Along with the big overarching goals of design, you have to have a personal process for creating design.
As a graphic designer, you need to know the goal for the design. What objective are you trying to meet for your client?
What steps do you follow in creating the design? What goals do you have to help meet through the process of design?
Understand how you approach the process of design and have a plan for how you get information and achieve success for the client through the design process.
Graphic Designer Skills to Get You Hired
As a young graphic designer hoping to break into the field, it is smart to be aware of how you can best market yourself. Help yourself by creating a resume and portfolio that highlights these skills for potential employers.
Having these 9 graphic designer skills will surely put you on the path to success in the field of graphic design. Now it is time to design!
If you are new to NetSuite terminology or are starting to figure out how to improve your solution, it is a good idea to begin to understand the types of things certain roles do for your organization. There are two primary roles of support for an Oracle NetSuite ERP solution. One is a NetSuite developer and the other is a NetSuite consultant. Both play unique roles in optimizing your NetSuite performance and efficiency. There are a few other key roles including SuiteCommerce developers, but this article will primary focus on consultants and developers.
If you are not working with a NetSuite partner and still using NetSuite services, I would highly recommend trying one out. They are typically cheaper, more responsive, and have more flexibility to get projects completed using solutions that are specific to your organization.
What Is A NetSuite Developer?
When working in your NetSuite environment, you will want to take a look at customization since it can allow the software to form around your business rather than the other way around. NetSuite developers write SuiteScript to help automate processes that workflows can’t accomplish.
Functional NetSuite consultants can help build out other configuration pieces or workflows for you so that you only need to worry about your role entering specific data.
What Does A NetSuite Consultant Do?
A NetSuite consultant is classified as someone who knows more about business processes and how to configure all the NetSuite modules to make it work properly. The NetSuite consultant typically stays focused on helping clients identify ways to solve their pain points using native NetSuite processes. They might also work directly with a NetSuite developer to implement custom solutions that can’t be done using the user interface.
These consultants are often called functional consultants. If they also know some scripting as well, they might be called a NetSuite techno functional consultant. Techno Functional Consultants that have a good understanding of solution designing and business process often become a NetSuite architect. These solution architects understand the ins and outs of NetSuite to be able to take any business problem and build a unique solution that solves it.
Where To Find NetSuite Apps Or Pre Built Features?
There are some new initiatives by SuiteMarkets which is a 3rd party app platform that allows you to purchase SuiteCommerce and NetSuite ERP apps / features. It’s a great way to find existing solutions for NetSuite ERP or SuiteCommerce. It’s something to keep in mind as the platform continues to grow and more features get listed. Since it is free to list solutions, there are more smaller applications being listed such as order tracking, blogs, custom themes, customer center add-ons, in addition to software companies.
There is also NetSuite’s app platform which is primarily used to inform NetSuite customers of software that integrates into the platform. Shopify has something similar including applications that help them integrate into the NetSuite platform. More and more customers are utilizing NetSuite as an ecommerce platform in additional to its reporting, warehouse management, HR, and other ERP features. This expands beyond your traditional ecommerce website and includes integrations to popular ecommerce solutions including Amazon, eBay, and Overstock.
Tips About NetSuite Ecommerce?
If you have NetSuite or are planning to get NetSuite as your ERP, stay up to date with the latest SuiteCommerce features to see how it best fits into your business modal. If you want to get SuiteCommerce Standard to save more on your monthly licensing, then make sure to chat with a SuiteCommerce developer to help identify any areas that you may need SuiteCommerce Advanced in the future. Spending a little time and money identifying where SuiteCommerce Standard may be the better fit will help you cut costs and position yourself for the seamless upgrade to SuiteCommerce Advanced when you are ready.
If you are not quite convinced, check out this ecommerce comparison by Ecommerce Reviews, it compares both Shopify Plus and SuiteCommerce Advanced.
Ideally, you will be implementing SuiteCommerce at the same time as NetSuite ERP. However, certain elements of NetSuite ERP is required to be set up prior to starting the implementation for SuiteCommerce. You will need some basics like your item data in place. These items should have all the data you plan to have on the ecommerce website including any images, pricing, descriptions, and characteristics to filter by such as your item color. There are some companies like Business Health Options that are planning to implement NetSuite ERP first followed by SuiteCommerce six months later. This is because it is a startup that is still working out internal business processes and isn’t quite ready for any ecommerce solution for a period of time.
Having all your data managed in one place makes everyone's lives easier which is one reason why companies frequently choose SCA over other platforms since all the images, marketing data, files, and supporting data already lives in NetSuite.
Caleb Schmitz is a NetSuite developer and SuiteCommerce Specialist at Anchor Group. Anchor Group is a NetSuite implementation partner that focuses specifically on NetSuite training and NetSuite’s SuiteCommerce. Caleb started his ERP career in SAP and transitioned into Oracle NetSuite solutions after a couple years. He received his bachelors in Mechanical engineering, worked as a production supervisor, finished his MBA in management, implemented SAP to 3 business branches, and finally moved into NetSuite development.
Optimizing user experience design, also known as UX design, is vital to your online success.
User experience and user interface are sometimes confused, so it helps to think of them as two parts of one whole website design process.
The UI, or user interface, is the site itself. It's what visitors to the website see and interact with. UX design focuses on the actual experience of using the site or mobile application.
While UX and UI design vary per website, there are some common parts that go into all UX design. Here are four things to focus on when working on UX design.
1. Design for Both Mobile and Desktop
Even though it's the digital era and almost everybody has a smartphone, there are still websites lagging behind on mobile interfaces. A bad mobile site can turn would-be clients away in an instant.
Your goal is to attract visitors and keep them there. So, it's important that your site functions well on phones and personal computers alike.
2. Don't Downplay Color in UX Design
People sometimes consider UI design the creative part of website design and say that UX design is about science and logic. If you agree with that, you might be surprised to learn that there's a lot of science and logic behind color choices.
It's important that the UX design process doesn't forget creative ideas. UX design for high conversion rates always involves visual appeal.
3. People Love a Good Picture
Another part of visual appeal is using pictures. Images are part of UI design, but deciding how to use pictures to increase interaction is part of UX design.
There are lots of studies behind how images work psychologically. They prove you can't slap any old image down and expect it to do what you want it to. Any image is better than no image, but there are always options more ideal than others.
Do a lot of research before adding an image to a website. Professional help may be a good idea if you're not a UX designer yourself.
There's no hiding that this process isn't the easiest. Still, you can't take the easy road and skip it. You'll end up regretting it and an unsuccessful site and/or business will make your life harder still.
4. Consider Accessibility Needs
One part of the user experience website designers sometimes fail to consider is accessibility.
A common tip in the UX design field is to understand the website as your users do. This is good advice, but there's one big issue with this approach. If you don't have trouble seeing, sensory issues with bright colors, dyslexia, and other conditions that affect user experience, you probably won't understand those users' needs.
A good way to make sure that your website is fully accessible is to check it against a web accessibility style guide.
Hack Your Life and Budget with Great Tips
Now that you know the basics of website UX design, you can make sites that encourage customer engagement and lead to success. If you study UX design enough, you could monetize the skill and work for others. Remember that user experience is everything these days!
YouTube is the most popular purveyor of media on earth with its roughly 3 billion monthly users consuming millions of hours of content daily. Given how much people adore YouTube, it's no wonder why you might want to piggyback on the platform's success by including some of its videos on your website.
One of the most popular ways to achieve that end is by using the embed function.
But what does it mean to embed video? How does embedding differ from other methods from sharing? Is embedding the best way to go when rebroadcasting YouTube content?
Those questions and more are all answered below so if you'd like to learn about YouTube embed video strategies, keep reading!
What Does It Mean to Embed a Video?
When you embed YouTube video content, you take video content from YouTube and enable it to play on a third-party platform. This is accomplished by taking custom code provided by YouTube and placing it on a website or separate application.
Embedded videos will show up as video players on their destination sites. Those players can be clicked and viewers can watch content in full to help you increase social media views and subscribers with YouTube on any countless sites around the world!
Is There a Difference Between Link Sharing and Embedding?
Embedding and link sharing are two popular means of sharing video. While the ends they enable (getting people to watch a particular piece of content) are the same, how they achieve those ends differ.
As we mentioned, embedding video allows people to enjoy a full playback experience of YouTube hosted content on a separate platform. Link sharing, on the other hand, directs viewers to YouTube's website to watch content.
If you intend to get people to watch video on your platform rather than watching in YouTube's environment, embedding would be your preferred method of sharing.
What Restrictions Exist Around Embedding?
In general, videos on YouTube are available for embedding. This means of sharing, however, is more restricted than others.
When a YouTube video creator publishes content, they'll have to express permission via the video's settings that they're okay with users embedding. If they don't check that option, when you look at the video's embed settings, you'll notice that its embed code is missing.
The reason why embedding can be restricted is that video creators retain the right to dictate the environment where their content is viewed. For example, if a fitness video creator was not okay with a competing fitness company posting their workout videos on a competing website, the creator would prevent that by disallowing embed. That would make it so viewers would need to watch the content on the creator's YouTube channel as opposed to a platform that the creator has no control over.
Is Attribution Required?
Keeping with the example that we just shared about a competing fitness company embedding someone else's workout videos on their website, you might wonder if an organization could do that and insinuate that video content they didn't produce belonged to them. Believe it or not, some organizations do this and get away with it.
While the video content itself will show any branding elements the creator baked in, no rule says embedded video must make clear who content belongs to.
If you're concerned about people trying to take credit for your work by embedding your video content on their site, you have two options... You can include heavy branding in your video (intro, watermark, etc.) or disable embedding.
The Pros and Cons of Embedding
Now that you have an idea of what embedding is, should you use the feature? Here are a couple of advantages and disadvantages to embedding that will help you decide:
Pro - Video That Seamlessly Integrates Into Your Site
If you have visitors on your website that you'd like to share video content with, you'd probably prefer they watch it on your site as opposed to leaving to watch elsewhere. Embedding enables that which means you get more control over a prospective customer's experience.
Pro - YouTube Does the Heavy Lifting
Embedded video still use YouTube's resources to power their play. That means you don't need to add additional weight to your website or upgrade your hosting plan to feature several videos on your platform.
Con - Embeds May Pull Traffic Away
While YouTube lets you embed video, they'd prefer that watchers view content on their platform.
Consequently, you'll notice that at the end of embedded videos, YouTube will sometimes suggest other videos that may pull watchers to their site if clicked.
Con - The Playback Experience Doesn't Uplift Your Brand
If branding is important to you, YouTube embedding might not be your best bet. While there are custom options you can play with when embedding a YouTube player, the player will feature YouTube's branding. It may also promote videos that are not affiliated with your brand when playback is finished. And embedded YouTube videos can certainly slow down your website which hurts site SEO and user experience.
Platforms like Wistia allow business owners better control of how video playback looks on their site.
YouTube Is a Flexible Video Engine That Gives You Options
Whether you choose to embed video or share video links on your website, YouTube is a flexible video engine that gives you options. If you'd like to explore the breadth of those options, click the "share" button on a YouTube video. Then, look over what's offered.
You'll notice several customization choices that may help you get your message across in a way that suits your brand perfectly. Test a few of your choices to see what works best for embedding YouTube videos or other videos!
For more information on business, technology and videos, browse additional content on our blog today. Click on the Tech or Marketing sections of the Frugal Finance Blog right now to learn more about YouTube videos, video technology, website development, and coding.
Design is one of the most important aspects of building any website. Without a good, easy-to-navigate website a lot of people won't give you the time of day, meaning less traffic and fewer repeat visitors.
If you want your website to look great and drive traffic, it's important to stay with the trends and look to the future of web design. Here are five important web design styles and trends to pay attention to in in the modern era.
1. Big Lettering
It's all about big typography in today's day and age. The trend has been catching a lot of steam lately, with more websites opting for big, bold text that sometimes even takes up an entire page.
Large text instantly draws the visitors' attention to it and will stick in their heads better than small, insignificant text. The larger the text the larger the importance that will be placed on it. Don't be afraid of making your text large; chances are if you're going too small, your visitors will feel overwhelmed by the information or simply won't care.
2. Simplicity
Simplicity has been on-trend for web design for a while now, and it's only getting more popular.
Websites that keep it simple are easier to navigate and less overwhelming for the visitors. It's also easier to draw attention where you want it by using plenty of white space around images, text, video, or whatever you may want your visitors to see first.
Simplicity goes hand-in-hand with big typography. You don't always need a lot of words, images, etc. to convey your point. In fact, the less you use to get your point across the better.
3. Asymmetric Layouts
Following a grid has been the norm for websites since the beginning of the internet, but now that's going to the wayside. More and more often web designers are using asymmetrical layouts, where the navigable elements are scattered throughout the page following different angles.
Visual elements guide the eye where it needs to go, leaving guests with both an easy-to-use website and one that will stand out in the crowd. It may not be practical for all businesses or web designers, but if you're looking for an artsy flair this is probably for you.
4. AR Features
One of the cooler new web design trends is augmented reality. With AR, websites are allowing users to "try on" clothes and makeup virtually, view storefronts without ever leaving their chair, and more.
People and companies are still figuring out exactly what AR can do for them and how it can help, so getting on the trend and doing something cool with AR will help put you at the head of the game.
You can check out our other website design posts for tips on how to get your web design started, and how to best implement the above tactics into your website.
The Future of Web Design Styles
Like everything, the best websites change with the trends. Utilize even a few of the upcoming new web design styles listed above and you'll be on your way to having the best website in your industry.
For more on web design, check out the rest of the blog and feel free to contact us. Also visit our SEO section to learn how to drive more organic traffic to your new website!
Health and Fitness is a $30 billion industry is on the rise. on the rise. This is a great time to be in the business as you can find unique ways to optimize your website by adding easy-to-use widgets so your company stands out.
Not sure how to create one of the best gym websites? Here are the top 8 WordPress widgets to add to your site.
1. Premium BMI Calculator
Body Mass Index is an easy-to-calculate way to measure obesity based on the ratio of your weight and height. This is a handy widget to add to your gym website, which comes with built-in options for colors, fonts, and styles. It is also mobile responsive and easy to incorporate to your site.
This calculator features fields for height (in both meters or inches) and weight (in kilos or pounds) and tells you whether your results fall in the “underweight”, “normal” or “obese” category.
2. Meal Planner Pro Recipes Free Plugin
Enjoy publishing healthy recipes? Then use this widget so you can regularly publish new posts in an appealing way. You’ll also be giving readers nutritional value and the chance to print them.
This plugin is responsive and comes with built-in Scheme information so your recipes are automatically optimized for search engines. You can also add ingredients that can be bought from affiliate links, insert notes and photos within instructions.
3. WPGYM - WordPress Gym Management System
If you need help streamlining your gym admin, try WPGYM. First, create your own gym membership plans and accept payments via PayPal so your gym members can pay online instead.
This WordPress management system gives you stats on members so they can log in to track their own nutrition, body measurements, and workout schedules. You can also add trainers as WordPress users so you can message easily and they can add their own workout plans. Further, members can use this as a workout calendar tracker so customers can monitor their process.
Further, you can manage fitness class schedules and track attendance for each class so you know which ones need filling. This is the perfect plugin for those who are developing a gym website as it keeps you organized.
4. CF Whiteboard - Full Crossfit Workout Tracker Plugin
If you’re a hardcore Crossfit fan then CF Whiteboard is the best fitness gym widget for you. It lets you add social workout tracking to your site so athletes can monitor their workouts, attendance, and results before comparing PRs and Benchmarks.
It also comes with workouts and movements so you need not build exercises from scratch.
Further, you can track unlimited users and search for their results.
Before you sign-up though, remember that Whiteboard offers a 30-day free trial before you’re charged a monthly fee.
5. Gym Studio Membership Management
This widget is like WPGYM as you can manage member information and payments. You can also set up automatic recurring payments and track all transactions from your members.
Further, you can add a class schedule and newsletter to your site to keep your clients updated. The most unique feature is that the plugin generates a QR code for each member that signs up. Scan this QR code via an iPhone or Android app to check members in a quick and easy way.
Although this is the best fitness website widget, the default design is outdated so use CSS to customize the plugin so it stands out on your site.
6. Weight Loss Tracker
This weight loss widget lets members monitor their height and weight. You can track these changes over time so users can see their progress.
If you choose the Pro version of the plugin, you can also track the measurements of your:
You’ll also have access to community stats and extra shortcodes. If you run a fitness membership site, your customers can track their own stats and become part of your community.
7. Free Keto Calculator WordPress Plugin
The ketogenic diet (or keto diet) is a low-carb, high-fat diet that has many health benefits. Over 20 studies show that this diet can help you shed weight and improve your health.
Use one of these imperial plugins to measure your nutritional needs to reach your desired weight loss and performance goals. It’s easy-to-use by adding the shortcode to any post or page on your site.
Once you enter your details, you can create charts and tables and offer visitors a weight loss and weight gain diet plan. You can also generate PDF reports using this data.
8. Build A Meal - WordPress Nutrition Calculator Plugin
This is a nifty plugin as it lets you add nutrition functionality to your WordPress website. You can easily build a meal and calculate how many calories it contains and the nutritional value.
The plugin lets you add unlimited ingredients and sort them into categories. Also, the widget lets customers share their specific meals which is a great way to boost traffic.
You can also track and share your own nutrition information, great for your fitness diary or personal trainer website.
Now You Know How to Create Great Gym Websites
When you’re in the gym business, you must find engaging ways to communicate with your clients and try to boost website traffic. Gym websites are booming in popularity so keep yours updated with fitness-related widgets and WP plugins to help your website stand out. Good luck!
Did you find this article on the top WP plugins for gym websites to be helpful? Check us out for more fitness-related content and business-related content that you’ll love.
When deciding which hotel to book while traveling, most people start with an internet search. They will typically search for a city or general location in which they want to stay and will get a list of results for hotels that could accommodate them.
The number of results can be intimidating when you run one of the hotels. It’s difficult to stand out when there are so many unique options. Even if you do get a customer to click on your website, how do you get them to stay? How do you get them to come back if they go to another competing hotel or resort site?
There are a few different things that you can do to drive web traffic to your hotels and motels. Some of them are changes that need to be made directly to your website and some are strategies that you can implement to your marketing campaigns on other platforms. Whether on-site or off-site, they can all make a significant difference in the amount of web traffic that you get.
If you’re struggling to drive web traffic to your hotel website, here are five strategies that you can try out to get things moving:
1. Email Marketing
Email marketing?! Who reads emails any more! A ton of people, actually. Emails may seem like an outdated or overused way to contact your audience, but it’s still one of the best ways to create engagement. Email marketing is 40 times more effective than marketing on Facebook and Twitter combined. 91% of US consumers still check their email every day. If you’re like me, you delete dozens of emails every day without ever reading them. But, every once in a while, a sale catches your eye, you follow a link, and you complete a purchase you weren’t planning on just 10 minutes earlier.
Don’t toss out email marketing as an engagement strategy just yet. It can still be very effective if done right. One way to get the most out your email campaigns is by creating unique landing pages for the links in the email.
For instance, if the email talks about discounted rooms for a specific weekend, link to the booking page. If it leads to the home page and the user has to click around to find it, they may change their mind and decide not to make a purchase. But, unique landing pages can result in a 25% higher conversion rate.
2. Influencers
Influencers are great for drawing in a new audience. Recent data shows about 83% of consumers say they trust a peer recommendation over other advertisements. If you think of celebrity endorsements when you think about influencers, it’s time to broaden your horizons.
Influencers can be anyone with a trustworthy opinion. Your employees can be influencers or big names in your industry can be influencers. Even people who have only local influence can be incredibly valuable. Some businesses have started using teachers to sell to parents, students, and other members of the community.
Not only do influencers already have the trust of your audience, but they have a great return on investment. On average, businesses see a return of $6.50 for every $1 spent and some even see a return of $20 or more. That high ROI is right up there or surpassing email marketing and SEO. Think about the audience that you are trying to reach and start hiring some influencers that will attract them.
SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the best ways to get more traffic on your site. Many SEO tips are difficult to apply to hotel websites. For instance, popular suggestions include blogging about topics that your audience cares about or creating infographics that other websites will share.
As many hotel websites to do not host blogs, these tips do not apply. However, there are still things that you can do to boost the searchability of your site.
You will mainly want to create partnerships with bloggers or journalists so that they can link to your website in their posts and articles. Curious readers will click the link and go to your website. Search engines will also notice your website being referenced often and will take that as a good sign. This will help your website rank higher when people search for hotels in your area.
4. Mobile Sites
The majority of online traffic is now done on cell phones. If your website is not formatted to view easily on a mobile phone, you are going to miss out on a lot of business. Users don’t want to have to zoom in and out several times, clicking on buttons that are too small, to try and navigate your website.
When it comes to mobile sites, the simpler the better. Take a look at your existing web traffic and see what people are most likely to click on. If they’re navigating to the “Contact Us” page quickly, put your contact info right on the home page for the mobile version. Also, make phone numbers and emails clickable so that a phone call or email can be initiated right from the page.
5. Remarketing
Remarketing is the practice of sending ads or reminders to people who visited your site but did not book a visit. According to Digital Authority Partners, this is one of the greatest ways to get people back on your website after they’ve left.
You already know that the customer is probably planning a trip to your area and in need of a hotel. Targeting ads specifically to them is a great way to bring them back and close the deal.
Drawing traffic to your hotel website can be easy if you follow the right steps. It’s important to take advantage of multiple different kinds of content like social media posts, blogs, or email campaigns to boost your brand recognition. The more quality content you put out into the world, the larger your audience reach will be.
The typical audience interested in booking a hotel is very diverse. People of all ages and backgrounds stay in hotels. Your content creation strategy needs to be just as diverse if you want to boost your web traffic.
When it comes to small business branding and marketing, nothing is more important than a high quality website. For the relatively low price, there is nothing else that can be such a game-changer for your company. The challenging part is finding an experienced, innovative, and affordable web design company.
Find The Right Web Design Agency
Luckily for you there is Silky Ocean Studios, an award-winning web design agency that makes it their mission to build you an amazing website. Whether you just need a basic website or a huge custom-made site, they have the customized solution you need.
Exceptional Examples Of Wonderful Websites
Silky Ocean Studios has some great examples of high quality websites designed for their clients. Here are a few great sites that they have already built for satisfied clients:
Those are just a few though and you will find countless other inspirational examples on the Silky Ocean Studios portfolio page.
Features You Need
- Your Own Web Designers
- Free Unlimited Updates
- Professional Email Accounts
- Secure Web Hosting
- Mobile Friendly Design
- Search Engine Optimized
- Website Analytics
- 24/7 Online Customer Support
- No Contracts Required
Here is what you will need for your small business website and what you will get in more detail:
Fully Responsive & Optimized For Mobile
More than half of all searches and website traffic now take place on mobile devices over desktop computers. This staggering statistic became a reality over the past couple years and it has had a major impact on the web developer world. All websites need to be fully responsive for all smartphones, tablets, desktops and browsers or you will end up losing customers. Fully responsive blogs and websites are key because then you really only have to edit a single website for it to take effect on both desktop and mobile.
Search Engine Optimization
You can have the greatest website in the world, but it won't matter if nobody can find it. Aside from advertising options like social media marketing and email marketing, that is where search engine optimization (SEO) really comes into play. The growing number of blogger outreach services and SEO agencies is proof of the importance of search engine optimization for Google and other major search engines. You need to make sure that your website is designed with optimal Google search results in mind to generate substantial organic traffic. That means your site needs optimized keywords, text, images, videos, links, and user experience among countless other factors. There are hundreds of Google ranking factors so you need to try and be as compliant as possible. Paid traffic can be very expensive, so you want to ensure that your site can provide you with free traffic for years to come.
Easy To Update Site
A small business website can become a detriment if it takes a lot of time, money, or expertise to make updates. You need to be able to make edits or improvements in a matter of minutes or hours, not days or weeks. This applies to product sales, specials, holiday hours, blog posts, inventory or schedules just to name a few potential variables. Just imagine if you found a major typo on your website (a decimal point in the wrong place for example) or the wrong product listing and it ended up costing you thousands of dollars because you couldn't change it in time. Or maybe you worked for hours on a compelling blog post that you know will help thousands of readers (including marketing influencers) and convert hundreds of visitors into leads or customers. Your website needs to be able to make agile updates.
Secure Web Hosting
It is very important to have a secure host for your website to prevent it from getting hacked, and to back up all of your information if needed. You don't want to leave your website in the hands of just any host after putting in all of that time, effort, and money. Cyber-security and data protection are now a top priority after all of the highly publicized hacks at top corporations. You should also consider a high-quality internet service provider that provides additional speed and security.
There are a variety of top website hosting services available. Read this detailed Bluehost review, if you are looking for an established web hosting company.
Hire Silky Ocean Studios For Your Business Website
Building a business website and strengthening your online presence is a major factor in success these days. Don't try and do it yourself or just hire the cheapest option, you get what you pay for! If you want your website done right for an affordable price, make sure to hire Silky Ocean Studios!
