Tag: web developer

website-redesign

Why Your Website Needs a Redesign ASAP

Posted on | by devops
Expert Tips For Why Your Website Needs a Redesign ASAP

Think your website looks just fine the way it is? Those homepage sliders and flat color schemes might make you wanna think again…

If you’re not seeing the results you’d like in terms of traffic and conversions, it’s likely time for you to shake things up on your site. Here are Agency Partner’s top reasons why you need to redesign your website ASAP!

On Average…

As a general guideline, it’s recommended you redesign your website about once every two or three years. Quite simply, with the lightning-fast rate of change in the digital sphere, two to three years is all the time it takes for your site’s design to undoubtedly fall behind and look out of date. 

Your site doesn’t mirror your brand anymore
It’s beyond important for your website to match your brand, from aesthetic and identity to voice and messaging. From the second your home or landing page loads for a user, it should be crystal clear who and what exactly the company is. Maybe your site and brand matched when you first launched but you’ve gone through some evolutions into who your entity is today. Time to redesign for who you are now!

Your website is behind the current design trends
Sure, those designs were once fresh and current…but are they still? Take a detailed look at your site and then get to Googling the new ideas and standards in the web design world. This update will keep your company feeling current and savvy. 

Your website doesn’t respond well to all devices

If your site doesn’t automatically adjust and optimize to the device a user is accessing it from, odds are extremely high that the user will either get frustrated or lose interest (or both) in continuing to explore your site. This may be an iPhone, a Tablet, an Android, etc. Think of how it is also very likely negatively impacting your analytics like bounce rate and click-through rate. Don’t miss out on countless opportunities for conversion over a simple user experience issue!

Your website doesn’t give the user your entire service options
You’ve probably expanded your services as your business has grown. Does your sitemap reflect that? If a user isn’t readily aware that you meet their needs, they’re likely to move on to a competitor who they can be sure does meet their needs. It might be time for a redesign to make room for some new pages that cover the details of everything you offer, both old and new!

Your website is not search engine-friendly
The importance of SEO cannot be overstated, and if your site isn’t designed with it in mind, it’s definitely time to redo your website regardless of any other factor! If you aren’t already familiar, read up on best practices for site architecture optimization and even check out our blog post on Web Design Mistakes That Can Harm Your SEO. Ideally, every detail of your site’s coding should be made search engine friendly, from custom landing page URLs and meta descriptions to title tags and even image optimization.

Your website doesn’t maximize your content marketing plan
Site design and content marketing are synergistic for sure. Say you have a blog attached to your company’s site, but the design has the only direct access point buried at the bottom of the page? Because the design isn’t mindful of the user journey to the marketing tool, you’re both limiting your users’ ability to find your content and your own ability to drive lead generation and customer relations – an excellent reason to redo your website!

Your website is based on outdated tech
If your site isn’t current and relevant, why would a potential customer think your company as a whole is up to date? Old tech can weigh down your site processing speeds, dragging down its performance for the user. It also can be a big barrier to search engines and their ability to scan and assess your content for SEO visibility and ranking. Redesign your website for an update that makes it more efficient and supports a positive experience for your users.

Your website is missing important action drivers
Much like design supporting your content marketing, optimized placement of CTAs is so important to the success of your marketing strategies and ultimately your revenue. Make sure the CTA designs are cohesive and thoughtful across all site pages to maximize impact.

Your website is open to vulnerabilities
Using outdated tech can not only harm your credibility and competitive edge but also put the site itself at risk of security attacks. No matter the size of your business, data is always valuable in some way to the wrong set of malicious eyes. Updating your site can be the critical line of defense you need against hacking, viruses, and malware. 

If anything on this list sounds like it applies to your site and its current design, we highly recommend reaching out to our design team at Agency Partner for help. We can work with you to create a site that not only looks great but also reflects the latest digital trends and technologies. Your website is often the first impression potential customers have of your business – let it be one they remember for the right reasons!

web-redesign

When To Redesign Your Small Business Website

Posted on | by devops
Expert Tips For When To Redesign Your Small Business Website

Designs keep on changing. Website designs too. To cut it short, design matters a lot when it comes to any website, along with the functionality. Design elements are essential for small-business websites as they provide the necessary pull that a small business needs in the ever-growing digital world.

If any business website is off-color in terms of design or even design functionality, it can definitely hinder a business’s growth and impede the overall construct of the brand. If the website design is poor, a website redesign is an important step to building a successful enterprise! 

That being said, it is not an easy task. Website redesign service involves changing the overall look and feel of the pages on your site and how information flows, improving user experience, and optimizing site performance.

Website redesigns are like redesigning or renovating your home to create an everlasting impression and creating a great living space. Website redesigns help small businesses take the leap, improve performance, and bring more leads, sales, & better conversions.

Why is Website Design so important?

A website is essentially the identity of your business and requires you unprecedented attention, dedication, investment, time & important design updates to keep you ahead of the curve. When you redesign your website, it can result in massive benefits for your business, although it is not as simple as it seems. Redesigning includes the whole makeover of the website and small changes in functions that can help make the user experience better.

No website is perfect and therefore continuously requires improvement. It is your job to evaluate the performance of your website regularly and identify weak areas. No matter how high profile a business is, a dull online presence can be an obstacle to winning over more clients. The game is about engagement and essential functions and design elements that contribute towards that goal, especially when it comes to small businesses. 

Here are a few of the reasons to redesign your website.
Understanding you have a problem but not knowing where to start is standard. Because of this common challenge, we have created seven quick reasons why you should consider a redesign.

It’s outdated – Users expect websites to be clean, simple, and pleasing to the eye. With so many options to choose from, your website must be unique. If you haven’t updated your website in the last 24-months, chances are it is out of date. If you are unsure, ask your colleagues for an honest opinion. Build a beautiful site that you can be proud of.

NO CTA – Is it clear what you want website visitors to do once they are at your website? You need a call to action on each page of your website. A CTA could be about making a phone call, subscribing to an email list, downloading a document, and more.

No credibility development – Let’s face it, most websites are created to establish credibility. Are you showing customer testimonials? Are you sharing the logos of your clients? Do you explain the reasons people should trust your business? Any industry developers from healthcare and retail to body shop and law firm web design companies can attest to how critical this element can be.

SEO isn’t part of it – If you rank higher on the search engines, your website must be search engine optimized. You have to use the proper keyword phrases within your content. Optimize your images with the correct alt tags. Use the appropriate web page titles to include your target keywords.

You made it out of Flash – Similar to an outdated design, Flash ages your website. Flash is not compatible with all devices or search engines, and this can hurt your traffic. Because of these reasons, more website designers are moving away from Flash.

It’s slow – You don’t want a website that is frustrating to use. Due to the increasing internet speeds available, users have lower tolerances for wait times. This is crucial on mobile devices. People want sites that load quickly when they are on the move.

It’s not optimized – Review your site on multiple devices: laptops, large monitors, phones, tablets, etc. If your website does not run well on all of these devices, you miss out on traffic and customers.

It doesn’t sell your products – Focus on your return on investment (ROI). All the traffic in the world won’t help you if it doesn’t create money. Reconsider how you advertise your products and services. Make it easy for customers to make a purchase. If you do have a high number of views, consider additional advertising.

Your brand isn’t visible – Are visitors connecting with your company? Do some research to see if people walk away with your intended message.

It’s hard to maintain – Fresh content drives more traffic! If you don’t update your website, people won’t have a reason to come back. Frequent updates start with simple processes. If your site is hard to update, updates will take more time. Content Management Sites (CMS) such as WordPress have built-in solutions to make updating a website easier. If you have a complicated website with few updates, consider simplifying your process.

If some of these factors apply to your website, you have taken the first step to improve your business! But you’re not done yet. You will need to conduct additional research to find the root of your website’s problems. Website updates may seem challenging, but they are worth all the effort in the end.

Your Dallas Web Design Experts. 

Agency Partner Interactive (API) is the Best Custom Web Development and Design Agency in Dallas, TX providing the best-in-class web design solutions inclusive of design tips, insights, small business web development, web-redesigns, WordPress development, & customized redesign solutions. We can help your website be a true source of business intelligence, your sales machine that never sleeps. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s go the distance through unparalleled web design solutions from Agency Partner Interactive. 

Not big on reading? That’s okay. Watch “When To Redesign Your Small Business Website” instead. Using the power of Artificial Intelligence, we turned this blog into a video for you. Check it out below!

 

e-commerce

10 Best e-Commerce Platforms for Small Businesses

Posted on | by devops
Expert Tips For Small Businesses

E-commerce is a thriving industry.. this is a fact. If you are struggling to cope with this, then you should take a look at the following infographic from BigCommerce.

e_commerce_platforms

If you want to start an online store or simply wish to migrate to an existing content management system (CMS), there are fortunately numerous options for you to choose from. 

Here are 10 of the best e-Commerce platforms geared specifically toward small businesses. 

1. Shopify

Benefits: Overall functionality, convenient use
Price: $9-$300.
Transaction Fee: 2.9% + $0.30 – 2.4% + $0.30

Shopify is a preeminent e-commerce CMS. As one of the more cutting-edge options available, users can take advantage of how convenient it is to use this platform. Both beginners and veteran marketplace teams can excel on this platform with a wide variety of helpful features.

Shopify is also relatively inexpensive. Therefore, if you’re looking for a standard e-commerce platform you can grow with, choosing Shopify is a great selection.

2. BigCommerce

Benefits: Wide selection of themes and designs, broad payment options. 
Price: $29.95 – $249.95
Transaction Fee: 2.9% + $0.30 – 2.2% + $0.30

BigCommerce is a fierce competitor to Shopify as the e-Commerce industry’s top CMS. Both platforms offer similar features at an identical cost. You can’t really go wrong in choosing either platform.

However, BigCommerce does have some advantages, including a wider selection of themes, designs, and broader payment options. BigCommerce provides a visual store builder, supplying up to 80 different themes. 

Other features include 24/7 support, cloud-hosting, marketing services, conversion optimization tools, and so much more.

3. 3dcart

Benefits: Built-in features, payment options
Price: $19 – $229
Transaction Fee: Varies

3dcart is an ideal alternative to Shopify. Though, the platform has a strong reputation for providing more than 200 built-in features users can take advantage of. Users also have the option to choose an affordable plan and still receive incredible benefits, such as saved carts, real-time shipping rates, unlimited product variants, and one-page checkout.

Furthermore, 3dcart provides more than 100 different payment providers and offers a discount if you use payment gateways they are partnered with. 

4. Volusion

Benefits: Cheap processing rates
Price: $29 – $299
Transaction Fee: 2.15% + $0.30 with Volusion Payments

Volusion is similarly priced compared to Shopify, but it is perhaps more simple-to-use. Many themes on the platform are free, as well as inventory and customer management, sales analytics, and marketing tools. 

Volusion does have some disadvantages, which include an annual sales limit depending on the plan they choose.

There are also a limited number of payment options. While Volusion may not be as advanced as Shopify, it does offer users the opportunity to save money on processing orders. 

Depending on the model of your business, this may be an ideal choice. 

5. PrestaShop

Benefits: Open-source platform 
Price: Free to download
Transaction Fee: Varies

All of the entries on this list so far have been SaaS platforms. Though, depending on your marketplace, an open-source platform may be a better selection. If you are looking for an open-source platform, you should consider choosing PrestaShop.

This platform is completely free to download. This means you will only be responsible for paying for payment processor costs, web hosting, and other developmental resources. 

One underrated feature of PrestaShop is the ability to integrate and run numerous stores from one platform. If you have access to a skilled developer, possess proficient technical knowledge, or are willing to pay for the costs of setting up your marketplace, PrestaShop is a great option. 

6. WooCommerce:

Benefits: Free for WordPress users
Price: Free 
Transaction Fee: Varies

There isn’t much to say about WooCommerce that hasn’t already been stated previously. Compared to Shopify and BigCommerce, WooCommerce is a worthy alternative. This platform gives users the ability to upload an unlimited number of products and integrate with more than 400 applications.

What’s more, is that WooCommerce has been integrated with WordPress. If you are currently using WordPress, you can download WooCommerce for free and begin using it. 

7. Squarespace

Benefits: Ideal for very small retailers
Price: $26 – $40
Transaction Fee: 2.9% + $0.30

This list wouldn’t be complete if there wasn’t an option for very small retailers. If you run a shop by yourself or have a limited number of products, Squarespace is an excellent and affordable option.

Squarespace offers all of the features you need to run a successful marketplace. The platform is used mainly to build business websites, so you can expect the templates on there to be professional and clean. 

8. Square Online Store

Benefits: Free hosting
Price: $0 – $79
Transaction Fee: 2.9% + $0.30

Square Online Store is very similar to Squarespace. It’s also powered by Weebly, allowing users to create an online store within minutes. Before getting started, you can choose from a bunch of free themes, customize your theme, and start accepting payments instantly. 

Your completed website will come with a free SSL certificate, product options, unlimited products, and so much more. In fact, the most basic plan on this platform is completely free of charge.

If you desire to use a convenient platform with sufficient features for your marketplace, then Square Online Store is for you.

9. Sellfy

Benefits: Selling digital products
Price: $29 – $99
Transaction Fee: Varies

All of the platforms on this list are designed to sell digital products. However, if you are solely looking to sell your products and limit your spending, Sellfy is a great option. On this platform, you can quickly build your marketplace and start processing orders.

Sellfy is best for very small retailers that don’t have a preference of advanced features. 

10. AmeriCommerce

Benefits: High scalability
Price: $24.95 – $299
Transaction Fee: 2.9% + $0.30 – 2.4% + $0.30

AmericCommerce is similar to Sellfy, but this platform allows you to scale your business over time. Generally speaking, AmeriCommerce will grow as your business grows. You can choose more than 60 free themes and utilize dozens of payment gateways as you improve your marketplace.

Give Us a Call Today!

Do you need direction in choosing the right e-Commerce platform for your business? If so, give us a call at  (877) 682-2012 to speak to a member of our award-winning team. 

Not big on reading? That’s okay. Watch “10 Best e-Commerce Platforms for Small Businesses” instead.

Using the power of Artificial Intelligence, we turned this blog into a video for you. Check it out below!