Websites, Development and Advice

We can help local small businesses with advice about websites and online marketing. We are focused on helping 714 North Orange County and the 562 Long Beach/Gateway Cities area businesses.

What Kind Of Small Business website Do You Need?

First and foremost I think of websites as a form of communication. Therefore, it’s important that they’re easy to read and use. Ease of use is more important than being extra fancy. Research indicates that more noise and distractions equals less efficient communication. Websites should be hardy rather than decorative.

Your website will be the central point for your online presence. For this reason you really should have your own domain URL. The URL is usually the website name. It is the address one would type into the address bar to get to your site. It is also the hotlink you will share on your advertising as well as the link that can be shared on social media.

Basic Websites Design.

The three areas of web design to pay particular attention to – the user experience, a responsive mobile design, and SEO (Search Engine Optimization.) I am particularly cognizant about making the site user friendly for your older visitors. Mobile design flow is quite important because most website traffic is now coming from mobile devices. Making the site SEO friendly is now table stakes for a website. I do plan on having SEO experts as guests on the podcasts shows.

Example of profitable directory site of late1990s when websites were much different than today. — A Not Too Good Looking, But In It’s Day, A Very Profitable and Popular Directory Website From Late 1990s and Early 2000s.

Standard web design elements are the entry point for a business website.
Tune Into our podcast and learn how to build your website with all the standard elements of a modern website, such as making it responsive on mobile phones and tablets. As with most modern websites, basic on page Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is something every website owner should understand. Especially if you are going to hire someone to do this for you. In 2020 almost all sites now rank fairly well in SEO within Google webmaster tools. Where good on page SEO used to be a website differentiator, now it’s just the entry point for your Search Engine Marketing.

A big advantage of joining our network is the group can help you avoid making mistakes.
You will learn about elements of your website you didn’t even know you needed. Some website processes you may not have given much thought to are backup and recovery strategies, software updates, security, improving the user experience, and technical SEO. I am particularly interested in improving the user experience for older adults. If you have customers over 50 it may be useful and profitable to consider how your website is affecting this demographic. Sometimes in a website discovery/audit process it’s found that a website is actually breaking the law.

I am not here to do a hard sell, in fact I’m not here to do any sell, only to educate and help. Even if you choose to be out of compliance, you’ll at least be aware of what needs to be worked on.

One of the goals of this site is to help you avoid problems before they become problems

Post website deployment
Just getting a website up and running isn’t always enough.
After you get your website setup you’ll need a system for managing the site. You have a few options. The first is to hire someone to do the maintenance. Their job is to watch and monitor your site using the parameters agreed on, depending on your needs. You may also want to consider hiring someone to do monthly updates and improvements to keep your site fresh and relevant. By learning what needs to be done and different ways of doing it you’ll be better prepared to hire someone to help with these duties.

The second option is more of a do it yourself project. The good news is, we will help you learn how and what you need to do.

The third choice is more for sites that don’t change, and that is to automate everything. There are times when this is a bad choice, but for many people it will work just fine.

Business websites used for active marketing usually fall somewhere between automation and personal management. However, during the government ordered shutdown and when business is slow, many business owners had more time to work on their own sites. If you have the extra time you may want to opt for starting with a DIY solution.

Get your business online – Your website is the home base for a digital strategy.

All digital properties, networks, and media should be unified around a strong website. A website doesn’t need to be fancy, but it does need to offer relevant information in a way that is easy to find.

Something I have been hearing recently is the question, are websites still relevant?

Elsewhere in this site I have written about some companies that are moving away from their own site and becoming strictly social media accounts. That may work, but what happens when that social platform decides to shut down, shut you down, or cut off your supply of traffic? I found this out the hard way. I used to have over one million followers and group members on Google Plus. I could crash a website with a single post. When Google shut down Plus it eliminated most of my traffic and reach. This is why websites are still important for business. It is a lot more reliable to control your main base or home on the web and use social media as your outposts.

Many very small businesses who only need a one page site with their phone number and address don’t need a complicated website using a content management system (CMS) such as WordPress. I now recommend they use a free Google Sites website instead. The caveat is that Google has a nasty habit of getting rid of programs when they are no longer new, so have a backup plan for when it goes away or when they start charging for it.

How Many and What Kind Of Pages Do You Need?

Most sites should have a home page, and about us page, information pages telling what your business is all about, privacy policy with an accessibility policy, artists should have a portfolio, real estate professionals usually benefit from having a listings page, and it is recommended to have a contact page. Although for a lot of small businesses many of these pages can be combined.

Where websites are stored
Most websites live on a computer that is controlled and maintained by a hosting company. There are many hosting companies. Some are better than others and they usually cost a bit more. However, they are less prone to being hacked. The security of a website hosting company is quite a bit more important for those using WordPress as their content management system (CRN.)

The Best Way to get in touch with me is to connect on Linkedin

For more information about getting a new website go to the website design page.

We provide Small Business Websites for businesses and professionals in the local Long Beach, North Orange County, and Gateway Cities of California.

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562-606-1729

Andrew Ledford.
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