Inbound websites are the way of future marketing. Analytics surf your content for your businesses interests and funnel specific ads relative to those interests directly to your customers. It’s called Inbound Marketing. Instead of outbound marketing, that of casting a wide net, this method focuses on the conversion of a specific target audience.
Outbound marketing is becoming more ineffective as customers are showing signs of ‘banner blindness’. They want to know why the product is good for them, specifically. There are a number of things to consider to make your website an inbound traffic lane.
Your Website Sells
Whether it’s blogs, education, a portfolio, or physical products, your website is your first line of sales. Your sales team should be referencing your webpage daily for leads. Your webpage should strive to sell your product for you so that by the time a customer talks to a sales rep, the sale has already been made.
Your Website is all about the Customer
Customers want to know they can trust in their time and energy investment. To accomplish this you need to provide valuable content–answer questions, provide education, be up-front, honest, and direct.
Customers want clear, concise information to get them straight to the point. The best way to deliver that information is video. Customers want to connect and relate to others. They want normal people to review the product and explain to them, specifically, why that product is going to improve their lives.
Website SEO
You need to be findable on search engines, and that means understanding search engine optimization (SEO) and formatting. You need to consider how your website functions and make it an appealing search result for the analytics. This has a great deal to do with dwell time (how much time a customer is on your page), content freshness (updates of what is on the page as well as how it is presented), website load speed (refresh rates), mobile access (computer to ‘phone conversation), and SSL Certification (the security of your website).
Experience-Driven Websites
The business needs to express consideration for the customer experience. Your customer wants a personalized experience where information is clear and straightforward. Here questions can be answered quickly and easily, purchasing is a streamlined process, and the service is friendly and approachable.
Website Conversion Rate
Conversion rate is that of taking the unknown viewer and turning them into a known repeat customer which can be accomplished by adding a self-selection tool, such as a form, quiz, or chatbot on your website. This process will direct the customer to the desired information without forcing them to hunt through your content, generating data for the analytics to show that your site is providing value.
Your Business Website
At the end of the day, the biggest key to website success is you, the business owner. You need to be able to access and use your website with ease: to update content, track analytics, review sales, and provide excellent customer service.
Agency Partner can help you get there by building you a website with these points in mind. We’ll also include an easy to use content management system (CMS), ensuring that the back end work of maintaining and updating your website is a breeze.
Not big on reading? That’s okay. Watch “6 Steps to Creating a Successful Inbound Website” instead.
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Two of the biggest brands, Apple with iOS and Google with Android, are consistently upgrading and reaching new levels within the tech world. Whether they’re improving phone features or fixing bugs, the value by which these companies operate is obvious–to improve the end-user experience.
To keep users happy, certain aspects of the app development process need to be taken into account. Especially if developers intend to see a return on investment. Essentials such as programming languages, design principles, time constraints, budget, user spending, and location all need to be considered.
Programming Languages
The tools used to create an app need to be taken into account. Those with expertise in Java or Kotlin will find Android a viable choice for the development phase, as iOS apps are coded in Swift. When it comes to the building sites, or the Integrative Development Environments (IDE), Studio and Xcode cater to Android and iOS app design respectively.
Design Principles
Aesthetics play a crucial role in the success of an app. Visual elements have powerful impacts on users and their concentration or distraction levels. When these elements fit in with the intent of the application, users are inclined to continue using it, based on the ease and enjoyment it provides.
Costing Variations
If you are creating your own app, rather than hiring a specialist, there are no initial costs during the design and development phases. However, publishing your app on the Android and iOS stores will cost a small sum of money. Android has a one time fee of $25 USD, while Apple charges $99 USD annually.
App Store Verification
App Developers need to be aware of the potential damage that they could do to a brand if their product is not perfect. Android app creators need to be vigilant about potential bugs and errors within their designs, as the screening process prior to launch is carried out by a bot.
Unfortunately, bots are not perfect just yet, which sometimes leads to applications being launched onto stores with minor faults–users are very quick to criticize any faults or bugs that are found. Apple’s verification can take up to three weeks to complete as it undergoes in-house expert scrutiny which makes it possible for rejection.
Monetizing Applications
As a developer, armed with the knowledge that out of the two audience options, Android users are less likely to pay for apps, there is the chance to capitalize through in-app, optional purchases and the implementation of advertisement banners.
Android And iOS App Development
Developing an app for iOS may seem like a quicker process than doing so for Android, as the developer would only need to consider the Apple product lines released within 5 to 6 years. Whereas, when developing a mobile app for Android it must work on a wider variety of phones and tablets, which use varying Android operating systems. This explains why the app launches and updates are released earlier in iOS.
The end goal is to have the app available on both platforms., however, which can be costly to implement in the beginning. As is evident, when narrowed down to the skeleton, deciding between Android or iOS development systems is not an easy feat, however, the answer lies in the specs as well as the developer’s resources and intent.
With the help of our in-house experts, Agency Partner can assist with the design and development phases of both iOS and Android systems, curating your ideas and transforming them into innovative applications. From mobile versions of websites, restaurant applications, and games, Agency Partner can help you launch your app with ease.
We even provide industry-leading support post-launch, with a team of digital marketers who will make sure that your app is well-received by your target market.
Not big on reading? That’s okay. Watch “The Difference Between Android and iOS App Development” instead.
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Creating a custom application is no small feat and it sounds pretty terrifying to most people, especially if you have no experience. If you happen to need a complex custom application with several integrations to power its features and functionalities, you should opt to hire a professional to take care of the design and development for you.
At a super high level, here is a look at some of the components that go into this effort.
5 Things to Consider:
1. Choose a Hosting Platform
A web host is a location where you decide to set up shop for your custom application. It is your landlord to whom you pay rent to house all of your digital content. Each page within your application is a room with its own set of amenities and décor such as the images you display on the walls.
As you can imagine, some applications will have more detail than others depending on the level of attention given to keeping it clean and orderly.
Just like any lease contract, you will want to do your homework when choosing a provider to host your custom app. Read all the terms and conditions and be sure to consider scalability.
2. Choose a Brand and Domain Name
A domain name or URL is your location’s home address. A website will typically serve as the front door to your web application — once you’re there, you step right into the app after successfully logging in.
In cases where you are building a custom app for mobile, whether it by for iOS, Android, or a Hybrid app, your website serves to direct people to the app store for downloads and updates.
3. Map It Out
This step is a process of strategically mapping out the type of furniture and décor that will go in each room. As stated above, each page of your app is its own “room” and each will serve a specific purpose. Your Home Page, or Landing Page, will serve as your front door — the first visual people see upon arriving at your site.
Some people display big beautiful photos on their front door to entice people to enter while others may post their store hours and the services they provide and call it a day.
Before you start designing or building rooms, you should have a clear strategy for the furniture and décor (i.e. content) that those pages will contain. Whatever you do, at each step, be sure to put yourself in the customer or users’ shoes when making decisions.
4. Design Your Custom Application
The design step is easily the most complicated step for most people because it is the first technical step of building a custom app. People often hire a professional UI/UX designer. UI designers are experts at designing the User Interface, which is what app users interact with at face level. The UI is what you see.
Additionally, a UX designer is someone who is an expert at User Experience design. These designers are a little more technical in nature and they aim to bridge the gap between the User Interface, the end users’ wants and needs, and how all that pertains to the overall business goal of the application.
5. Keep Up With Maintenance
Once you are up and running, you will want to ensure everything stays running smoothly and in working order.
You’ll most likely need a maintenance repair person. If a light bulb goes out or the air conditioner breaks, who is meant to repair it? As often as not, hosting providers will offer this as an additional service or as part of a package deal. So it’s worth having a look at the ones that do — especially if you are not very tech-savvy.
As you can see, building a basic application can be simple if you want a simple app for your business. However, the more complexities you add to your application, the more you’ll have to consider as it pertains to scalability, design, and development needs.
Choosing the right web host platform for your business app can be a daunting first step. Although no two applications are the same, all great apps have one thing in common – a plan from start to finish and an ability to consistently improve. You could go it alone, but withAgency Partner, we’ll help you get past any learning curves to ensure that your project creates the most immediate value for your stakeholders.
Not big on reading? That’s okay. Watch “99 Problems But Custom Application Development Isn’t One” instead.
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Creating a website is no small feat and it sounds pretty terrifying to most people, especially if you have no experience. If you happen to need a complex website you could opt to Hire a Professional to take care of it for you; however, for a basic site, you may be able to DIY with a few simple steps, and not too many tools.
Here are five simple steps to get you started:
1. Choose a Hosting Platform
A web host is a location where you decide to set up shop. It is your landlord to whom you pay rent to house all your digital content.
Each web page is a room with its own set of amenities and decor such as the images you display on the walls. As you can imagine some websites will have more detail than others depending on the level of attention given to keeping it clean and orderly.
Just like any lease contract, you will want to do your homework when choosing a provider to host your website. Read all the terms and conditions.
2. Choose a Domain Name
A domain name or URL is your location’s home address. What’s cool about building a website is that you get to personalize it and choose your street name. You will want to put some thought into this as this is how people will remember how to find you on the web.
You will want to decide if you want a .com Address or one of the many other options. There is a fee to register a domain name and often you can find web hosting providers that will include a domain name registration as part of a Package Deal, which helps to streamline the process.
3. Map It Out
This step is primarily strategically mapping out the type of furniture and decor that will go in each room. As stated above, each page is its own room and will serve a specific purpose. Your Home Page, or Landing Page, will serve as your front door–the first visual people see upon arriving at your site.
Some people display big beautiful photos on their front door to entice people to enter while others may post their store hours and the services they provide and call it a day.
Before you start designing or building rooms, you should have a clear strategy for the furniture and decor (i.e. content) that those pages will contain.
4. Design Your Website
The design step is easily the most complicated step for most people because it is the first technical step of building a website. People often hire a professional even for the most basic websites at this phase after realizing, during the intense learning curve, how much work it can be.
There are, of course, cost-effective options when you Build a Website, but it would serve you well to learn some basic coding. That said, there are web hosting platforms that provide an easier approach to this phase with more drag-and-drop design options.
5. Keep Up With Maintenance
Once you are up and running and opened your doors for business, you will want to ensure everything stays running smoothly and in working order. You’ll most likely need a maintenance repair person. If a light bulb goes out or the air conditioner breaks, who is meant to repair it?
As often as not, web hosting providers will offer this as an additional service or as part of a package deal. So it’s worth having a look at the ones that do–especially if you are not very tech-savvy.
As you can see, building a basic website can be simple if you want a simple website. However, the more complexities you add to your home, the more work it requires. It can be the difference between a tiny minimalist home in the country to a big house atop a mountain. Both are fully functional and operational, yet one has more bells and whistles to implement and maintain.
Choosing the right Web Host Platform for your business can be a daunting first step. Although no two sites are the same, all great sites have one thing in common – a plan from start to finish. You could go it alone, but with Agency Partner Interactive, we’ll help you get started on the right foot and build a website that is best suited for you.
Not big on reading? That’s okay. Watch ” 5 Steps to Building a Website” instead.
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7 Web Design Basics to Consider When Making Your Website the Best it Can Be
Web design is fundamentally the same as print design. You’re aiming for something that grabs attention, catches the eye and flows smoothly. The web design basics are the elements of contrasting color, font styles, layout, and borders. All of this is what inspires a customer to explore your site and invest in your content.
Web Design Move-ability
Move-ability, or flow, is the design and navigation of your site. A crucial part of web design is concise web pages that are not too long with grammatical perfection and working links. That’s your message. We need to access your message with ease.
Web Design Page Layout
How is your foot traffic going to view this page? On a computer? A phone? A projector? Responsive Web Design (RWD) will Change the Perspective of your Web Page to device-appropriate dimensions so that no matter the platform, your website remains understandable and accessible. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is an accessible design option that will make creating web design layout a breeze. You can pick from templates or design from scratch. The benefits of CSS is that not only are the options vast, but they will impact every page of your site, saving both time and money as you implement updates to your design.
Font style is a major component of web design. We already know that print is typically easier to read and understand than cursive. Where wanting to stand out is excellent, some fonts out there come across with the wrong voice or attitude. Aim for a font that reflects the Content of your work.
Pastels or High Contrast in Web Design
The color Design of your site should reflect the nature of the content being sold. Consider your color wheel when you’re tweaking this Web Design. If I’m selling a yoga blog with classes, I’m going pastels. If I’m selling the Waldorf Astoria, it’s all non-gloss ivory and gold filigree.
A Web Design Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
In web design, an appropriate picture can convey what too many words will make confusing. Studies have shown that people have an incredibly short attention span. Ensuring that your website features short content with visuals to get the message across will be a better grab than a block of text that the customer has to scroll through endlessly.
Got the Map to This Web Design?
Navigation is one of the most important aspects of your web design. Links, subheaders, and menus should be visible, accessible and, of course, working. Try to make your pages loop back to each other instead of sending your foot traffic, offsite unless you absolutely have to. You want your foot traffic to engage with your site as long as Possible.
Agency Partner Web Design Software
Picking the right software for your web design can be a trying and annoying experience as so much information out there can be mean trail, error, and loss of time and money. With Agency Partner we’ll help you get on track to get your site up and running with concise information and clear web design.
Not big on reading? That’s okay. Watch ” Web Design Basics to Improve your Foot Traffic” instead.
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There is a fusion occurring in the web world. Developers and designers are often mistaken and casually interchanged when discussed. However, their CV’s boast skill sets that differ from the other. Job postings may also get them confused, especially as developers and designers are expanding their knowledge into each other’s fields.
While this gives them both more possibilities and understanding of a broader scope of web work, the two pools are flowing into one, and the water appears murky with confusion. These definitions, in layered order, should add a drop of clarity.
Their ability to communicate with the server is conducted through coded programming languages, which allows them to cultivate the external layout via the website’s back-end. Speed, responsiveness, and efficacy are all essential characteristics of a website, and as administrators of the unseen, the purpose of a back-end developer lies in foundation laying.
Front-end Web Development
With languages consisting of HTML, CSS, and Javascript, a front-end Web Developer’s task is to focus on the client’s perspective and build on what the back-end developer has put in place. They’ll fill in details such as drop-down menus, fonts, and sliders. When it comes to being aesthetically-minded, the front-end is the intermediate step between basic development and design.
They’re required to ensure a site or application’s attractiveness, ease of use, and SEO Ability, while a web designer plays purely with the user’s perspective. They employ a form of localization to ensure that the site platform translates across all web and browsing devices and ensure no errors or coding bugs exist.
Web Design
Web designers are the visual promoters and creatives of the web world who bring sites and applications to life. Their keen eyes and site-mapping expertise enables them to take an application or website and connect all its aspects for an attractive, harmonious feel and user experience.
They work their magic with balancing proportions of color, weight, texture, complexity, and other creative elements. Additionally, to make sure that the qualities don’t underwhelm or overstimulate the viewer to distraction, they determine the content that is spotlight-worthy.
Designers establish consistency and aesthetic balance for overall site acceptance and enjoyment. Their go-to tools are Adobe Photoshop, Sketch or Illustrator. It is also essential for Web Designers to have HTML, CSS, and Javascript dexterity.
Back-end, front-end web developers, and web designers each cater to an aspect of the website and application process. It is clear that there are overlaps. While having broad knowledge is empowering, focusing your skills and experience into the skill set of one title is potent.
Not big on reading? That’s okay. Watch “Design VS Development” instead.
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At our web design agency, we would like to believe that nothing happens by accident. Legendary doesn’t happen by birth and great doesn’t just come from good. Sure, some things happen by chance, but great web design is a very intentional, considerate effort. It requires a mixture of experience, artistry, a business case, and a really strong, tested web design process.
From web design to website development, the unveiling of a new website is almost always a moment for congratulations and celebration — but the weeks leading up to that event are methodical and fairly linear.
Similar to a basketball player such as the late Kobe Bryant, leading up to the big game, a great deal of planning and practice goes into being ready for showtime. Without adequate preparation, there is no way to know if the site is ready for high volumes of traffic, form submissions, calls from customers, and more.
To get to the point where a website can be deemed a brilliant, new piece of coded architecture, a coordinated effort among a project team of web designers, business analysts, and website developers is a must.
As a full service web design and development agency, we have been refining the full website design process for over 10 years. In that time, we have completed over 1800 digital projects, and from real-world experience we know that a successful website comes from a combination of excellent team players, trustworthy business data, considerate business analysis, and a touch of digital artistry.
So how does success become a reality? Measure twice, cut once… preparation. Great decision-making. Working with an experienced team that has a vision. There is so much that goes into this, but we’ll try and keep this as high level as possible. Keep reading as we dig deeper in the things that go into the website design process.
The Web Design Process is An Intentional, Linear Process
Unsure of where to start? No problem. Contact our award-winning team today and we’ll walk you through the process.
The steps of the website design and development process are:
Project Discovery Session
Project Planning
Design Phase
Development Phase
User Acceptance Testing and Launch
Website Maintenance (routine)
Step 1: Information Gathering and Discovery
The first part of the web design process is arguably the most important. A friend of ours is famous for saying “measure twice, cut once.” In the web discovery phase, this is where you work to ensure alignment among all stakeholders. The stakeholders for your website project may include the technical project team, business users, customers, and others that count on your website to be a successful, functional business tool.
Whether you are building a custom site, a WordPress site, or a Magento or e-commerce site, make sure to include your digital marketer in this planning effort. A website is a huge part of digital marketing. Without considering the needs and expectations of customers, your market, and even the competition, there is no context for your site.
Without context, your site lacks focus and purpose.
Step 2: Planning Your Website Project
Understanding the objectives of the new website is key. Following your project discovery phase, the project team is able to identify and plan for specific resources that will need to be called upon to address your website’s unique requirements.
By working with you to fully analyze the business goals, objectives, and considerations that were previously discussed, you are now able to set a project timeline. At a high level, this timeline will set expectations for how the project will advance moving forward. This should include a full understanding of milestones, deliverables, and a reiteration of payment schedules.
Step 3: Web Design – A Pixel Perfect User Interface (UI)
This design phase is a fun one because this is where you get to see your great ideas come to life in a more tangible way. In Step 3 your web design will work to create an impactful User Interface that is focused on facilitating a high quality, frictionless User Experience.
So while things are still light and without any code, you have an opportunity to focus on creating a fantastic web experience that is most likely to result in high conversions. Depending on your site’s purpose, your marketing team may tend to measure conversions as form submissions, product purchases, or phone calls.
Some things that come to play in this process are graphic design, user experience (UX), user interface (UI) design, sitemaps, page layouts, and wireframes.
Here is where the fun of throwing creativity into the ring happens — a knockout between Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock, in terms of concept, color, and web design process. Once the ideas have settled and the business logic takes over, style tiles prove to be a great method of ensuring consistency throughout the site. To wrap up the design phase, your project team will look to you for final approval before advancing to the development stage.
Step 4: Web Development and Integrations
This is where things get real. The nuts and bolts of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and HTML (HyperText Markup Language) coding mesh together here, raising the site from being just a static design to being a functional web page.
In this process, code is written to bring your design concepts and mock-ups to life. This is where you see the power of your color palettes, visuals and content come into play as a marketing tool. During the development phase, your marketing team should have ample time to focus on content creation and a full on-page SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategy for the new site.
As a note of advice, you should ensure that there is a road map for onward travel. After all, this site should not be considered a static project and a true website should always be a work in progress; to maintain your site’s health, it will need constant updates and adjustments to meet ongoing browser, device, security, and user needs. Similar to the latest software update that your smartphone mandated, your website requires at least that same frequency of attention (at a bare minimum).
Finally, once your software developers have finished programming your site, it is time to seek final approval before moving on to testing, delivery, and upload.
Step 5: Testing and Delivery
This is the final dress rehearsal before your site launches. All of the pieces of the coding will need a run-through, any link issues ironed out, and final tweaks made so that it is pixel perfect, and ready for the opening night. In this effort, make certain that every button clicks and functions as expected. Also be sure that the site is tested on mobile devices, desktop computers, and even big screens. In 2020, your site should be mobile optimized and responsive.
‘Creating a buzz’ might seem counter-intuitive for a website but consider fine-tuning your up-to-the-minute keyword and SEO strategy to be exactly this. Make certain to conduct a thorough and competitive keyword research before writing and placing your meta titles, meta tags, and meta descriptions on each webpage. Ongoing SEO costs can vary tremendously, and whether you are seeking local SEO visibility or you require a more national or global online presence, this step is crucial to ensuring that search engines are able to crawl and understand the subject matter of your site. Also, consider placing a Google Analytics tracking code so that you have a basic understanding of site traffic and user behavior. If your website is your company’s primary source of revenue, you might also consider adding some sort of heat mapping analytics tool and leveraging insights that come from Google Search Console.
Once your site has been fully tested, make sure everyone who is involved in the web design process understands how the whole site runs. And then you are ready… give your software developer or project manager a final approval and then your site is as good as live!
Step 6: Web Maintenance
Another essential part of this process is understanding that it will never be finished. As time moves on there will be a million little ways to tweak the setup, ensuring that it continues to be a market-leading website, rather than an old hat that has fallen off the shelf. Routine site speed optimizations are necessary and recurring site updates should be performed to be viewed favorably by search engines and your site’s users.
In order to keep the site fresh and enticing, keep on top of content, global color and image trends, as well as developments in your field. Most companies will create a monthly budget for website maintenance in order to keep overhead investments predictable and under control. Think of this as a visit to the Web Mechanic – a regular checkup to keep things running smoothly and routine adjustments will help avoid a major accident and drastic overhaul in the future.
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Not big on reading? That’s okay. Watch “Dazzling by Design: The Web Design Process” instead.
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