What Makes a Good Mobile Website?

Mobile websites are very important to complete a custom website design package in 2013. People use the internet on their mobile devices every day, sometimes more than they use them to make calls or send text messages. 50% of local searches come from a mobile device. Beyond Custom Websites has helped many customers create a mobile site as a compliment to their regular custom website. What makes a “good” mobile website—one that is successful?

Mobile websites should include essentials that are streamlined for the limited real estate. The content should be prioritized for the smaller screen, slightly slower connection speed than wired desktop connections, and keeping the navigation features front of mind. However, the mobile website should match the regular website in appearance--that way visitors will quickly recognize it. That applies to colors, logos, names of navigation tabs, and more.

Remember, when people are using their cell phones, most likely the screen is an arm’s length away or sitting on a table. The text should be large enough to read at that distance. It is also more difficult to select and type in text fields on a mobile device because of the small area, so it’s a good idea to only include the necessary fields and forms. The links should be large enough to easily click on and have enough space around them so the user’s fingers don’t accidentally click on the wrong element—that can be frustrating. Since users expect a fast speed, the site should avoid using too many images, which can slow the pages down. Finally, there should be mobile specific features, such as “Click here to call”. This feature allows people to connect to a call instantly without having to close their mobile browser, go into their phones settings, and dial, all while remembering your number.

Beyond Custom websites includes and encourage our mobile website as an option with every custom website design package. We use all the strategies talked about here and combine them with our creative website development skills to bring our small business website customers a mobile site product they can rely on. These sites help to improve search engine optimization for both versions of the website and increase the number of users who find and repeatedly visit the company website.

How Ecommerce Trends Affect Your Business and Your Website

People love to shop online. It’s convenient, fast, and you have access to endless brands and products without leaving your home. In fact, people love online shopping so much, ecommerce sales increased by 33 billion in 2012 from 2011. While travel arrangements make up more than one third, retail e-commerce sales aren’t far behind. Big names such as Amazon are a great source to find what you need on the World Wide Web, however, businesses can set up their own e-commerce integration. Online shopping occurs on mobile phones as well: over 37.6 million people in the U.S. are mobile buyers. So what are the benefits for small business to have their products available on their website? Is it worth the effort?

As you can imagine, online purchases reach their peak during the holiday season. With so much planning going on, it can save customers a lot of time if they can order online. They can ship gifts directly to family and friends who live far away, ensuring they receive it in time. Shopping online allows the customer to compare prices, styles, and features online without the pressure of sales associates persuading them to go one direction or the other. If your website has good product descriptions and photos, customers will be more likely purchase from you. E-commerce integration also enables painless, guilt free returns. When you build a custom website for your business, your web developer can easily include an ecommerce purchasing system that is easy to manage and cost-efficient to create. By making your products available to order directly from your website, you are opening up a whole new customer base which is sure to increase sales and create new opportunities.

Beyond Custom Websites has built e-commerce features for many small businesses from jewelers to clothing stores and more. In addition to other custom website components such as logo design, unique navigation, keyword rich content, and image galleries, BCW includes ecommerce with any website design per the customer’s request. Beyond Custom Websites professional web development team will work with you to include product information, pricing, and photos on your products page, making them available for purchase and customizing your ecommerce features to fit the needs of your business.  BCW’s experts perform quality control testing on each website before it is considered complete and our unlimited technical support can answer questions and provide solutions at any time. Contact us to find out more about how ecommerce integration will benefit your business.

Choosing a URL for your Business

When creating a custom small business website, choosing a URL is one of the first steps. Of course, it isn’t like choosing a car: you see five just like it on your way home, but your key only fits in yours. URLs have to be unique. They also have to be relatively short and easy to spell, descriptive, and memorable. With so many businesses like yours, an idea you have for a URL may already be taken.  How can you start your website off on the right foot with a successful Uniform Resource Locator?

First, the URL you choose for your custom website should be short and simple. It makes it easier for visitors to remember and avoids frustration of typing errors and mistaking your site for a broken link.  You should aim to use the minimum number of letters necessary. Acronyms and initials are a great strategy for simplifying your web address.  It also needs to be descriptive. The first thought that comes to mind is to name the site after the company name. This may or may not be the best choice. For example, if the business name is hard to spell or really long, you might want to try part of your name or something that describes your services. For example, American Auto Transportation called their site “shipcar.com”. You don’t want to make your URL too general.  A generic URL such as “purses.com” or “burgers.com” won’t build association with your brand and will have a tough time showing up in search engines. (If someone searches for “burgers in Boston”, company names are going to come up long before your burgers.com site, which means people aren’t going to find you). Finally, a URL needs to be memorable. Chances are, people won’t remember a person’s name or a very long company name after one visit. They will remember distinctive, humorous, and unique URLs: “businesscity.com” and “mrmagnolia.com” are a couple examples.

One thing to be careful not to do is create a URL that inadvertently creates words within words. Since there are no spaces in website addresses, letters run together and people automatically read these words. This can result in phrases that sound suggestive, don’t make sense, or simply don’t sound professional. The use of dashes can avoid this, but use them sparingly.

Beyond Custom Websites will help you choose a URL that gets your customer’s attention, fits your business, and is search engine friendly. We can also find out if the URL you would like for your custom small business website is available—if not, we’ll create one close to it that will work. Once we have a promising URL ready for you, we’ll get started on building your custom website. Our team of developers, graphic designers, copywriters, and marketing experts will work together to deliver a unique website for your company.

Updating Your Website: The What, When, and Why

Once you have a custom website that looks great and provides a wealth of information about your business, you’re done right?  You can sit back, relax, and let the world enjoy your site.  That may be true for a little while, but the work isn’t over. It’s important to update your custom website on a regular basis. What you should update on your site and when varies for each business, but the why is fairly universal.

When you change the prices of your products and that information is included on your website, you should update the prices right away. If a potential customer sees one price on the website, but is quoted a different price when you meet with them, they will feel mislead. When you get a new line in, you can showcase these products by updating the page with new information as soon as possible. Visitors to the site will feel excited that you keep them in-the-know. If your small business custom website has a staff page and you hire someone new, get their bio on the site as soon as you can. Other updates can include coupons, menu items, new portfolio photos, and new press release information. It’s also a good idea to periodically change up the wording in your content to keep it fresh in the eyes of search engines. A successful website requires some maintenance in the long run to continue to get the best results.

Updating your website is important because it keeps people coming back to see what’s new. Even if they don’t need your services right now, they will be reminded of your business for the near future. Search engines will find the new updates you made to your website and renew the high ranking in results—essential for new customers to find you. As technology and trends change, both the look of your website and the company information can adapt with them, maintaining your credibility and proving your company can grow and change to fit customer needs.

Beyond Custom Websites has ongoing relationships with all of our small business website customers. Some website design companies charge hundreds of dollars even for one small change. Beyond Custom Websites will make updates and changes to your website for free. They are unlimited for as long as you work with us. We’ll do all the work and you see the results. We know the importance of website management and we complete your changes quickly. Beyond Custom Websites gets things done right the first time and enjoy working with businesses long term. Contact us today to find out how we will give you a successful website that grows and evolves as you do.

Social Media and Your Website

Which comes first, the social media page or the website? Most small businesses create one and somewhere down the line, remember they should create the other. While a custom small business website can stand on its own, having a web presence both through a website design and a social media page creates the full package. How can you direct potential customers to your social media page from your website and what can you do to ensure you efforts on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks are effective?

In addition to intuitive navigation, industry specific content, graphic design, and more, Beyond Custom Websites includes buttons on your website that link to any of the social media pages you have: Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, etc. We also help you develop your social media pages by posting images, links, and updates on your page that promote your business, link back to your website, and other relevant sources for your company. By working with Beyond Custom Websites to create a unique website, you build the foundation for credibility and increased visibility not only on social media networks, but major search engines as well. Our expert web team will work with you from the consultation to the mock up to the completed site that goes live, gaining your approval at every step.

It’s important for small businesses who are managing their social media business pages to keep three areas in mind: sales and promotion, company info, and general info. These are the categories you want your posts to fall under and its best to have an even mix of these three types. If you are running a limited time in-store sale that would be something to post about— but the mistake some companies make is only writing posts that attempt to promote sales, which will cause people to lose interest in your page. They are also looking for general info: posts that provide resources for solving problems related to your industry, services, or products. When potential customers see you are willing to help them out through social media, they may contact you to use your business because you seem more credible. Company info doesn’t necessarily discuss marketing or sales, but can include when you hire new team members or open a new location, change your logo, start a new blog, and other news. These posts show visitors you want to keep them in-the-know.

Beyond Custom Websites can offer guidance on social media management in addition to our other expert services. In addition to your customized website, we offer entrepreneurial business expertise, search engine optimization, website usability, ongoing updates and changes, and more to meet your web design needs.