website development Archives - Page 3 of 3

Guest Post: Using WordPress for Your Business Website? Top Tips for a Professional Look

There are about 75,000,000 sites operating on WordPress. While starting a business website using that site and its resources can be very simple, it can be pretty difficult to make it look professional if you’re not too experienced with it. With a little practice and some trial and error, you’ll get the business website you need to attract customers and look professional. If you are struggling to make yours look great, then here are some things you may want to consider doing.

Create a Domain

Your business needs its own domain name to look professional. If you already have a domain name, then it is easy to map it to your WordPress site. Otherwise, you can choose a domain name in your WordPress settings. Choose one that will be easy for your customers to remember. Most businesses find that domains that are short work best.

Make It Easy to Scan & Read

You may find that you spend hours writing text for your website filled with useful information for your readers, but if they cannot read it because of your background and chosen text, then you have wasted your efforts. Instead, make sure to choose a font like Arial, Courier or Verdana. Use a font that is large enough to be read easily. Use subheadings to break content up into bite-size pieces. Limit your color choices so that your page does not look too busy.

Use Images

A picture can really help deliver your message to your targeted audience. Choose copyright-free images that deliver a bold message. Usually, you will want to use images that span your post’s entire width. Using photos throughout your posts may help hold your viewer’s attention. Look for photos that will cause your viewers to have an emotional reaction.

Work with a Team

You may have many different responsibilities, so designing your own website may not be at the top of your list. Hiring a creative team, like the one at Ballantine, can help you succeed in making a professional looking website. Whether you’re looking to vamp up your creative marketing in NJ or wherever your business may be located, you should be able to find a professional to help you. This is an important thing to consider as they will most likely be trained in many techniques that you aren’t skilled at but may want to utilize for professional effect. Know that creative marketing starts with understanding what is possible, so that you can convert lookers into buyers.

Create Permalinks

A permalink is a static permanent link to each page on your WordPress site, and it is important to go into your settings and use them each time you update your site. When you create them, others can link to your content, so it increases the number of people that see your great information. Permalinks also allow you to share your content on social media. You can use permalinks in direct marketing and email marketing

There are many successful businesses out there that use WordPress for their site platform. By using the above tips, you’ll be able to look professional and join their ranks.

Hannah Whittenly is a freelance writer and mother of two from Sacramento, CA. She enjoys kayaking and reading books by the lake..

Guest Post: How to Use Your Business Website’s Blog to Your Company’s Advantage

Most business owners are aware that maintaining blogs on their websites is one of the best ways to leverage the internet to draw in new potential customers. What many have a hard time with, though, is the actual use of a blog to its highest advantage. Here are four tips for using your site’s blog to bring new customers in and increase your reach.

Mix Information and Promotion

One of the first things you need to understand about a business blog is that it isn’t an advertising platform in the traditional sense. To lure and keep readers, you’ll need to provide real, useful information, rather than just promoting your products. Of course, product recommendations accompanying that information are perfectly acceptable. Just make sure that you’re giving the reader a reason to visit and stay on your site in the form of good information.

Focus on SEO

The greatest power of a business blog is its ability to draw visitors organically from search engines to your website. To make this happen, though, you’ll need to perform search engine optimization, or SEO. SEO is the process of making a post likely to rank highly in results for certain search terms. To perform basic SEO, you’ll need to identify a keyword you want your post to rank for, use that keyword in your post several times, include it in paragraph headers and place it in the post title. Though there are much more advanced methods, these are the raw basics of content SEO.

Post Frequently

If you’re going to have a business blog at all, it’s important that you write new posts frequently. Frequent posting will help your search engine rankings, give your audience new content to consume and help you build your brand more quickly. Evans Tire & Service Center’s blog is great example of posting frequency as it is updated with a new post roughly once per month. It’s very important to post on a regular basis. Don’t just post once and then three months later post three times in one month to catch up. Go for once a month at least. If you can, go for every week!

Use Infographics

A great way to set yourself apart from the crowd is to use infographics in your blog posts. Infographics can boil down the most important information in your post to a simple, easily understood visual. This can then be complemented with more detailed explanations in the text.

These are just four of the ways you can use your blog to help build your business’ online presence and reach more customers. By implementing these basic principles, you can make more sales and gain a larger audience of potential customers.

Hannah Whittenly is a freelance writer and mother of two from Sacramento, CA. She enjoys kayaking and reading books by the lake.