Category: Blog

3) Use your website data to your advantage.

By now you should have some way to get data from your website. Whether it be from your websites platform, Google Analytics or any other tool. If you are not doing this, then you need to start it now.

Without website data, you won’t be able to tell how well your website is performing. This is how we will find problems and strategise solutions. If you are using Google Analytics, we highly recommend you go a step further and set up Google Tag Manager. Especially if you plan for your eCommerce website to grow.

4) Improve your eCommerce website with trust.

Being online makes it easy for anyone to visit your store at any time. It also makes it easy to directly compare your store to your competitors. To be successful, you need to prove that you are more trustworthy than your competitors.

Reviews.

One of the first things we look at when buying something online is the reviews. We want to know if the product solved the problem we have for other people. So, your clients are going to want to see this too.

Trust Badges.

These are signs of trust and quality of your products. Visitors to your store want to see this information as it will assure them that your store is a place they can trust. These badges can include:

• Secure purchases
• Ethically sourced
• Locally produced
• Awards

Whatever your products and services have achieved, show them off on your website. This will help your clients choose you over your competitors.

5) Improve your eCommerce website by improving your UX.

The goal of your user experience (UX) design is to make purchasing as easy as possible. You want to make every step that a client takes smooth and understandable to increase your chances of making a conversion.

Have clear CTAs.

To improve your eCommerce Website, you need it to let clients know what they need to do to create the conversion. Clear paths on how to accomplish their goals on your website need to be laid out with strong CTAs guiding the client.

Each page on your website should keep CTAs to a minimum. The more different options you give will distract and ultimately lose conversions. This is especially true for your landing page where you should only have one single CTA.

Build up hype.

People want to feel like they are getting a good deal that they can be excited about. So, use emotional language that supports how you want your client to feel about purchasing your product or service.

Making your copy directly relate to these feelings will help increase your conversions. Here’s a great way to look at your writing when it comes to getting your clients to do something by Copywriting with Alex.

@cool.great.thanks

THIS is the true formula. ##copywriting ##marketing ##entrepreneur ##smallbusinessadvice ##learnontiktok ##digitalmarketingtips ##b2b ##inboundmarketing ##pr

? Say So (Instrumental Version) [Originally Performed by Doja Cat] – Elliot Van Coup

6) Don’t forget abandoned carts.

Abandoned carts will happen, but don’t just leave them there. Following up on them can, and should, be done. Set up friendly reminders about the incompleted purchase and get that customer back.

Abandoned carts can also be a sign that your checkout process is cumbersome or does not contain a way for that specific client to pay. That leads us to our last step.

7) Use several payment methods.

Favourite colours, foods and styles. We all have favourites. There is no exception when it comes to payment methods.

There are many different ways to pay. If a client cannot find a way that they are familiar with, they might not complete the purchase. So don’t stop at cards, offer alternatives on your website as well. Remember, the easier it is for your client, the better.

Set up a successful eCommerce website with all the tools you need with Web2Web.

If you need to improve your eCommerce website or start a new one, you need to cover all the steps we have mentioned and more.

For this, you’ll need to get UX and website designers to work together with website developers and copywriters to plan and publish the website. Alternatively, you can it all with Web2Web.

Our team covers every aspect from website design to managing and maintaining it. Put your website in the right hands and talk to us today.

While your website is going through development, you may become very familiar with the term “hard refresh your browser and clear your cache.”

Being told to do it and knowing what to do or understanding what you are doing are not the same. Fortunately, it’s all very simple. In this article, we are going to go over why you would need to do this and how you can do it on your computer.

Why would you hard refresh your browser and clear your cache?

While using the internet you may have noticed that when you return to a page that you have visited before, it loads faster. This happens because your browser stored a copy of that website on your computer. It does this to make your browsing experience faster and more enjoyable.

While saving a copy of a website does make your browsing experience faster, it also means that new changes won’t always load. If you have ever had your website go through redevelopment, this situation could be a familiar one. Usually what follows is the developer telling you to “hard refresh your browser and clear your cache.”

This happens a lot because the clients computer has saved a cashed version of the website and will load that instead of the new changes. So what the developers are saying would fix your problem. This process forces your computer to redownload the website and display the new features.

There are very simple commands to do this, but they do vary between browsers and operating systems. So to make make this process super simple, here is the list of commands you can use for each major browser and computer operating system.

How to hard refresh your browser and clear your cache with Google Chrome.

Google Chrome is the most used browser on the market and its good reputation keeps it there. According to W3Counter, 63.8% of internet traffic came from Chrome in October 2020. Thankfully, the process to hard refresh this browser is super simple.

Windows and Linux.
There are two commands that you can use to hard refresh Chrome on a computer that uses Windows or Linux:

1. Hold down Ctrl and click the reload button.
2. Hold down Ctrl and press F5.

Mac OS.
On a Mac pc, there are also two ways to hard refresh your browser, but they require a little more finger gymnastics.

1. Hold down Shift and click the Reload button.
2. Hold down Command, Shift and press R.

How to hard refresh your browser and clear your cache with Safari.

Just for fun, here are the stats. 17.9% of internet traffic came from the Safari browser. As an Apple only browser, there is only one command you need to know:

1. Hold down the option and command key then press E.

How to hard refresh your browser and clear your cache with Internet Explorer.

From this point on, the percentages are all below six. This comes as no surprise since Chrome and Safari are the most popular. Internet Explorer, despite the jokes, was used by 5.6% of people browsing the internet.

In contrast to Safari, no Apple products use Internet explorer. So, we only have to learn the shortcuts for Windows and Linux. In typical fashion for those operating systems, there are two different ways to do it.

1. Hold the Control key and click the Refresh button.
2. Hold the Control key and press F5.

How to hard refresh your browser and clear your cache with Firefox.

To continue with the stats from W3Counter for October 2020, Firefox was used by 4.6% of people browsing the internet. This browser can be used on both Apple and Windows, so they each have their own shortcuts.

Windows and Linux:

1. Hold down Ctrl, Shift and press R.
2. Hold down Ctrl and press F5.

Mac OS:

1. Hold down Shift and press the reload button.
2. Hold down Command, Shift and press R.

Make development on your website easy with Web2Web.

Your website is vital to your online success as a business. So when it comes to development, you need to make sure it’s in the hands of people that understand that.

At Web2Web, we don’t just make the changes required, we minimise downtime and support your website so that it can reach your goals. It’s our highly skilled team and over 10 years of experience that you can put your trust in when it comes to development.

Talk to us today if you want your website to perform its best and boost your business goals.

If you want more visibility on Google but don’t have a Google My Business (GMB) account yet, then you need one. Even if you have a Google Business Profile to appear on Google Maps and local SEO, GMB will boost that significantly. In this article, we are going to go over what a GMB account is and why your business needs it.

What is Google My Business?

Google my Business is a free tool that Google offers as an extension to your Business Profile. Your Business Profile is how you list your brand on Google Maps and local search. This alone is a huge boost to your local success and SEO.

With the Business Profile, your clients can now leave reviews, upload images and ask questions. You don’t need GMB for this, but your Business Profile is lacking one major thing. Management.

Google My Business lets you take control of your Business Profile. With it, you tell Google that you are the owner and Google gives you the keys to unlock its features. Now, you can customise, manage and optimise your profile on Google.

How to use your Google My Business account.

By using GMB, you gain the ability to:

• Show off more about your business.
• Interact with your clients.
• Gain useful insights.
• Boost your local SEO.

Show off more about your business.

Using your GMB account you can add more details about your website. Information like:

• Open hours,
• Website link,
• Products,
• Prices,
• And more.

With GMB, you can edit this information at any time. This is especially useful for holidays and other critical information. One recent example was when lockdown began and many companies had to temporarily close.

By completing your Google My Business account, you will make full use of the search engine results page (SERP).

Interact with your clients.

With just a Business Profile, your clients can leave reviews and ask questions. Now with GMB, Google trusts that you are the owner and lets you reply. This opens up a whole new way to engage with your clients and build trust.

From your GMB dashboard, you can also publish posts and articles. Similar to that of a social media page.

Gain useful insights.

GMB has an analytics tab that lets you access useful local search performance data. It will display the search queries that led clients to your company, actions that took them to your brand and the performance of your photos.

Boost your local SEO.

Google’s algorithm includes your Business Profile which contains everything you add with Google My Business. You can further assist Google by supplying GMB with keywords that you want to rank for. This will tell Google when to include you in local SERP and Google Maps.

For a new company, Google My Business is the perfect place to start your SEO efforts. This is boosted by the fact that searches that result in a local search are very close to sales. Think about searches like “Fast food near me” or “Car repair in Cape Town.” These come from people who are looking to make a purchase right now.

It goes further than just Maps, a fully fleshed out Business Profile is dynamic. Google will pick and choose the information you supply to best match the search. This is why it is very important to include every detail you can on GMB.

Furthermore, you can build trust with your clients through reviews. Google notices the interactions on Google reviews and will favour brands that respond often. This is your way of letting Google know that you are active and dedicated to giving the best service.

Use Google My Business on the go.

Since Google runs one of the biggest app stores, it makes sense for them to create apps for their products. Google My Business is no exception and it’s available on both iOS and Android. You can use it to update your account, post statuses and pictures and view the analytics tab.

Set your business up for SEO success with Web2Web.

Getting your business online is more than just getting a website online. To be successful online, that website needs to be targeting competitive keywords and have Google My Business set up. This includes all the steps that we have covered in this article.

You cant stop there, your brand should show up on relevant social media and interact with your customers regularly. There is a lot to do which is why Web2Web offers the full set up to you. Our team knows how to optimise every step to match your business goals.

Contact Web2Web to get your company moving in the right digital direction.

Learning how to embed social and video content on WordPress is a lot easier than it may initially seem. This is especially so if HTML doesn’t make any sense to you. Fortunately, you don’t actually have to know any HTML to embed social and video content on WordPress.

Using embeds can be very beneficial to your website. It can help optimise a consistent blog or draw more attention to your company’s social media accounts. Most importantly, it will help drive user engagement on your website.

Why you want to embed content on WordPress.

Most websites, especially those run on a Content Management System (CMS) will allow you to upload content directly to your website. WordPress allows you to do this in a very simple way via the media library. However, there are some cons and limitations to this process.

These issues are:

• Lack of upload space.
• Slow-loading website.
• You can’t upload social posts.

High-quality videos can be incredibly large and will weigh down your website. This will use up your server’s storage space and be a lot slower to load for your user’s.

Websites also cannot inherently show social media posts. Some companies try to get around this with screenshots. But that seriously limits the effectiveness of the post’s existence.

An embed is a perfect way to get around both of these issues for getting content on WordPress. When content is embedded on a website, it is visible to the reader but not stored on your website. Instead, it is linked to another source.

Increase user engagement on your website with embeds.

Using social media posts and videos can increase the engagement and time users have on your website. This is due to the inherent engagement that both videos and social media posts come with.

• Likes
• Shares
• Comments

Many embeds will allow all three of those types of engagements to happen on your website. Let’s find out how we can get all this on your website.

How to embed content on WordPress.

Almost every major video sharing and social media platform will allow you to embed its content on your website. The process is all similar with a few variations. So, we will go over a few of the most popular platforms.

Step 1: Find the embed HTML code.

Here is where video platforms like YouTube and Vimeo differ from social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

When looking for the embed HTML code on YouTube and Vimeo, you will want to find the share button. This is usually located just underneath or next to the title of the video.

On most social media platforms, you will be able to find the embed code through a menu attached to the post itself. It is usually a kebab or meatballs menu. The three dots next to each other either vertically or horizontally respectively.

Once you have clicked on the share or menu buttons, you are looking for this symbol:
</> Embed

Step 2: Copy the HTML embed code.

While this step is straight forward for most platforms, Facebook is unique. As one of the biggest social platforms, we can’t ignore it in this guide.

When you ask Facebook to give you the code, it will give you two sets of HTML. The first is JavaScript SDK that needs to appear on your page before the embed. We recommend you either use it right before the first embed or just after the opening body tag.

Step 3: Paste the embed into WordPress

Due to WordPress having two types of editors, block and classic, we will cover both. As you will see, they are both very similar. The block editor is just a lot easier to navigate.

Block Editor.

The advantage of blocks is that you can create a custom HTML block. Simply choose that as your next block and now you have a space to paste that embed code you just copied. This block even gives you a way to preview the embed to see if it worked.

Classic editor or classic block.

If you are into the old school way of using WordPress, the way to embed content is still just as easy. Thanks to the inclusion of the classic block, you can even get all the benefits of the block editor for embeds while still keeping the rest of the article the way you like it.

As with the older Classic Editor that WordPress used. You can very easily view the HTML of your page by clicking ‘Text’ at the top right of the page. The same as the block, you will then find the location you want to embed to appear and paste it.

Using a plugin to embed content on WordPress.

While embedding a video, image or social media post is simple, you can go even further. WordPress has loads of plugins for multiple different needs and simplifying embeds is one of them. A perfect example of this is a plugin called EmbedSocial.

What makes this plugin more useful than the manual way is that you can link it to your social media or YouTube channel. It will then update with each new post or upload your company makes directly to your website. You will still need to embed specific posts or posts from other sources.

Improve your website and social media engagement with Web2Web.

How your clients respond to your website and social media all comes down to your experience (UX). To get the best possible results, you need to design every step in your clients’ journey to perfectly cater to their needs.

When you work with Web2Web, you get a team that will take everything into account. From social media management to website design and development. We create the experience that your clients will love to interact with.

Start putting your digital marketing in the right place and contact us to find out how Web2Web can help you.

What is a splash page? As the first page that a client will see when visiting your website, it is like the welcome mat in front of a house. As a very unique website element, it can boost website engagement, email signups and a whole lot more.

In this article, we are going to give an in-depth answer to the question ‘what is a splash page?’, what goes into one and some tips on how to make your own a success.

What is a splash page?

A splash page acts as an introductory screen that your clients will see when they visit your brand’s website. Think about it like the lobby to your home page that will greet your clients and take their details. While it does add an extra step for your clients to get to your landing page, used correctly it can boost your branding and marketing. With good design, it can even impress your clients and encourage them to engage with your brand even more.

Most importantly, this page can get your clients to do something before they enter your home page. These goals can include:

• Sign-ups to an emailer.
• Collect contact details.
• Ask for age verification.
• Display a disclaimer.
• Promote your next event.
• Highlight a product.

These are just a handful of examples, the list can continue depending on what your company’s goals are.

What is the difference between a splash and a landing page?

We now know that a splash page is the first page a client will see when loading your website, but isn’t that what a landing page is?

The two can be easily confused because their purposes do have overlapping goals. However, they are two very different pages on your website with different functions.

A landing page is a standalone page created specifically with conversion in mind. The navigation is minimal and doesn’t want the viewer to leave until they have converted.

A splash page on the other hand is attached to your home page and has a clear exit link to take the viewer to the main site. With the goals that we have discussed in the previous section, you can see how these two types of pages are very different.

What goes on a splash page?

Before we even begin putting elements on the web page, we need to go back to the goals. What is the purpose of the splash page and what do you want to get from it? If you can’t answer that question, then your website probably doesn’t need a splash page. If you can answer the question, what you put on this page will vary depending on the goal.

There are still three basics that every splash page should have.

• Strong visuals
• Impactful copy
• Easy exit

Strong visuals.

There few better places to wow your clients than on your splash page. With the perfect image, you can achieve just that. This will catch their attention and create an impactful first impression on your website while representing your brand.

This image could be a background, product or even a video. Just be sure to also include your logo to avoid people from feeling lost.

Impactful copy.

Every splash page has a purpose and it’s vital that the viewer knows what that purpose is. Keep the copy short, impactful and action-oriented. With a concise message that tells the viewer what to do, your splash page will fulfil its goal perfectly.

This is also the perfect place to introduce the tone and personality of your brand. Keep the copy in line with your website and your clients will enjoy engaging with your splash page.

Easy exit.

No matter what you want to get from your clients on your splash page, its primary goal is to welcome them to your website. This means that the way to navigate away from this page to your home page must be incredibly obvious.

Sometimes, the goal you have for this page is the exit. Liquor stores are perfect examples of this. They need to confirm the age of the user before the home page can show, so submitting your age is what leads the user to the home page.

Tips to help you make your splash pages.

Visual hierarchy.

Visuals are a huge element to splash pages, so considering the size and placement of each element is important. Make sure that everything not only works together but that it is fluid and effective to support the goal.

Fast loading time.

We all know that the loading speed of your website is important, but it is especially so on your splash page. It is an extra step in between your client’s goal and as such, any amount of resistance needs to be removed. Fortunately, a splash page typically doesn’t contain loads of big elements. Make sure they are optimised and your splash page will have a good loading speed.

Social media accounts.

If your company has a social media account, and it should, the splash page is the perfect place to put them. This is a very modest way to remind your clients to follow you while informing them where they can get even more of your brand. These elements should not be very dominant on the page.

MAKE THE PERFECT FIRST IMPRESSION ON YOUR WEBSITE WITH WEB2WEB.

Your website is your company’s store font online and visitors, virtual customers. Even most of your physical store visits will have searched for your brand online before walking through your door. This is why it is so essential for your website to represent your brand accurately and make the best first impression. This is where Web2Web comes in. We can create, refresh or update your business website so that it can support your goals and boost your online success.

Make your website create the best first impression, contact us today.

Website hosting is a service that gives your website a place to live and people to visit. As the foundation for every website, it is important to understand what website hosting is and the options you have for your business.

If you are starting your very first website or looking for a new hosting solution, you will eventually come to a question of which hosting service do you choose?

The answer is not very simple and the wrong option could seriously hurt your business online. To avoid this problem, we are going to get into what website hosting is and what the options are for your business website.

What is website hosting?

For your website to exist online, it needs a hosting service. This service stores your website on a computer server that allows access to it on the internet. Without this service, you are simply not online.

When you pay for a hosting service, you are paying for the space that your website takes on the server. Each one is different either in its type or the features they offer you.

The most common features are:

• Email accounts
• FTP access
• Support and maintenance

Your website will come with a custom domain, for example, www.yourbrand.com. Many website hosts will offer email accounts under that same domain. This will allow you to have an email that looks a little like this: [email protected].

File transfer protocol (FTP) access lets you upload files from your own computer to your web server. Find out more about what FTP is here.

A website host that doesn’t offer support and maintenance is one that you can ignore. For your website to be in tip-top shape, its server needs to be looked after. This feature can include 24/7 server and network monitoring, network configurations, onsite backup power supply and regular backups of your website.

Thankfully real server support is not handled by the The IT Crowd.

Different types of website hosting.

When you look for a website hosting service, you are going to come across many different types. They each offer different features, prices and performance. Choosing the wrong one could either hurt your website’s performance or drain unnecessary funds.

Let’s take a look at the five main types of website hosts that you will come across.

• Web builder
• Shared hosting
• VPS hosting
• Cloud hosting
• Dedicated hosting

Web builder.

These come from website building services like WordPress. This is a popular option from small businesses and bloggers as it offers a cost-effective and simple website hosting solution.

Don’t get mixed up between the website hosting and website creating properties. WordPress is incredibly scalable and a website made with it can be hosted using any of the other options even enterprise-level websites.

Shared hosting.

As the name implies, you shared hosting means that you are sharing a server. Your website will be in the same location and share the same space as the other websites on the server.

This is the cheapest option but it does have one drawback. If someone eases website crashes the server, your website goes down with it. This is where your hosting service provider should come to the rescue and as fast as possible.

We recommend shared hosting for entry-level websites that don’t get a lot of traffic.

Virtual private server (VPS).

A VPS is a lot like shared host in the sense that you are sharing the same server with multiple websites. The big difference here is that it removes the drawback that we mentioned before. Your website will be given its own space within the server that is not connected to the other websites.

It’s like living in an apartment. All the websites in the same building have their own room. So, when one room stops working, all the other rooms can still function. Another benefit to using a VPS is that high traffic on someone else’s website will not slow your website down either.

This option is great for websites that have outgrown shared hosting or want to skip the negatives of shared hosting with a little extra cost.

Cloud hosting.

Similar to a VPS, cloud hosting is a more cost effective alternative. It comes with multiple remote servers that each have their own responsibility. A significant positive to cloud hosting is that when one server goes down, the other servers take up its responsibilities until the problem is solved.

The upshot of this is that your website will have less downtime due to server errors. There is also a lot of space for growth since you will pay for the exact space that you use and you can easily adjust that space with your service provider.

Cloud hosting is a great option for fast-growing websites that expect a lot of traffic.

Dedicated hosting.

The name says it all. A dedicated server belongs to your website and your website alone. While offering the best performance, it is also the most expensive option that is on offer.

Because of the amount of space a dedicated server offers and the price that comes with it, it is not recommended for websites that do not have huge amounts of traffic.

Dedicated hosting is for large enterprise-level websites that get loads of traffic. This amount of space is not needed for websites that are smaller or get less traffic.

Choose website hosting with speed in mind.

Website speed is a factor that finds its way into almost every topic about website creation, and for good reason. The speed at which your website loads is incredibly important to its success.

Websites that load longer than three seconds will chase away most of your potential customers. Some people will give up after two seconds. Keep those numbers in mind when it comes to every aspect of your website. From design to host.

Since Google wants to show websites that its own users will want to land on, it comes as no surprise that website speed is a factor to search engine optimisation (SEO). While it doesn’t carry as much weight as some other SEO factors, in this highly competitive scene, you need to take every advantage you can.

Get the best for your website from design to host with Web2Web.

You want your website to have the best chance it has for online success. This will include optimisation from the foundation up and that includes finding the right hosting provider. As digital experts, Web2Web can put you on that path. We design, develop and support websites of all levels and can help you make the perfect choice for which hosting provider to choose.

Put your website in the place it needs to be, contact us today.

When you curate content, it can ease your social media schedule. But how do you do it and what are it’s best practices? In this guide, we are going to answer those questions and get your audience even more engaged.

What is content curation?

Put simply, it’s finding and collecting content on the internet to share on your own social feed. As with all things marketing and social media for business, it goes a little deeper than that.

The content needs to be relevant to your brand and something that your audience will find useful. Content curation also requires your own input into why you are sharing it or your thoughts on what is being shared. You need it serve your business as well as your clients.

Why should you curate content for your brand’s social media?

Staying active in the minds of your social media audience requires lots of research and consistent updates. While your feed posts stay on your own page forever, its only on your readers feed for a few moments. To stay active in their minds, your posts need to match up with your audiences online time.

Curated content can help you keep up with that demand and stay on top of the algorithm. It does this by allowing you to:

• Keep your post schedule regular and consistent.
• Establish yourself as an industry leader.
• Show that your brand is an active member in your industry.

A byproduct of curating content for your social media page is that you keep yourself informed about the latest news and developments in your industry. It can also get the creators of the content you share to notice you, paving the way for a relationship to form. This can get them to share your content, boosting your online visibility.

How to curate content for social media.

The idea is great, you collect content to share so that you don’t need to create all the content yourself. But you can’t just simply post a link to any article and leave it at that.

There are four steps you should take for using curated content:

• Determine your topics.
• Locate your topic’s sources.
• Save and schedule the articles.
• Add your own message.

Determine your topics.

This is the first step you need to take for any content curation plan on social media. Determine the topics that are important to your brand and write them down. This step is not one that needs to be repeated every single time, but it’s good to have a list to go back to for review.

Locate your topic’s sources.

Finding where content for your topics exist can initially be intimidating. There’s a whole internet out there to explore. Fortunately, there are places you can go to make this easier. Some examples of these places are:

• Your email newsletters. If you have subscribed to industry news, then you already have a fantastic place to look.
• Your own social media platform (Twitter’s retweet function is fantastic for this).
• Google Alerts. It’s free and will send you emails that refer to your chosen keywords.
• Content curation tools. Some are free, others require a subscription. There are many that you can try out and see if they work for you.

However you choose to receive your content, it is important that you keep it highly relevant to your audience. It can be fun to curate memes and cat videos, but the content you share on your brand’s social media needs to stay focused. A relevant meme doesn’t hurt though.

Save and schedule the articles.

Now that you have your content, you need to save it and add it to your social media calendar. You don’t want to do all this work and lose it or not know when to post it. Creating a social media calendar is a whole topic on its own and Hootsuite explain it incredibly well and provide templates that you can follow.

Add your own message.

The last thing you need to do with the content you have curated is to write something about it. Your social media audience follows your brand because they want to hear from it, not to get spammed with links that don’t have context. Include an intro to the content that includes why your audience wants to read it or add commentary about it. Sharing your brands opinion is a fantastic way to reinforce your brand’s unique personality.

How to mix curated content with your original content on social media.

The ideal mix of curated content to original content can vary from brand to brand. It will take some testing and analysing the success of these posts to figure out exactly where you stand, but don’t shy away from curated content making up the majority of your own content. It can be normal for your posts of news, images and shares to take up 70% on your feed.

However much your curated content becomes on your feed, remember to keep it relevant and add your own message.

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Keep your clients engaged on social media with Web2Web.

Keeping your clients engaged on social media requires consistent, high-quality content that is on-brand and relevant to their needs. With Web2Web, you can get a team that will stay on top of your social media analytics and keep a schedule that will keep your clients engaged. If you want to move your social media forward, talk to us and we can make your social platforms a marketing success.

When a website is struggling to convert sales, signups or anything else, it’s possible that you will need to take measures to reduce your bounce rate. A high bounce rate can be detrimental to your brand’s online success as it is one of the most common conversions killers.

When your website is not performing as well as it should, it is important to discover why and then implement solutions to solve that. As one of the most common problems, bounce rate seriously hurts your business website’s conversions which in turn, hurts your online success.

Fortunately, there is something you can do about it. In this article, we will dive into what bounce rate is and the things we can do to reduce it on your website.

What is bounce rate?

When someone leaves your website after landing on it, without navigating to another page, we call that a bounce. The bounce rate is the percentage of people who have done that on your website. So, a high bounce rate indicates that someone who landed on your website and had the potential to convert, left.

What makes bounce rate an unreliable statistic is that this will include clicking on a link to a different website, clicking the back button, closing the tab, typing in a URL and session time outs. These are all very normal behaviours on the internet and don’t always mean that there is something wrong with your website.

If your business website has a blog that you link on your social media, a reader could read your whole post and love it, but if they close the tab, it counts as a bounce. So when judging the success of your website, it is important to look at more than one metric.

This doesn’t mean we can forget about bounce rate. It is still important to consider as it can be the result of a serious problem and a low bounce rate is definitely a sign of success.

The good bounce rate to keep and bad bounce rate to reduce.

What is a good bounce rate and what is a bad bounce rate? Well, the answer is not simple but there is a general rule. Every website has its own goals and needs to be looked at differently. The content and purpose of your website play a high factor in this.

That said, here is a good list to use to judge a website’s bounce rate by:

• 80% and above – very bad.
• 70% to 80% – poor.
• 50% to 70% – average.
• 30% to 50% – excellent.
• 20% and below – a sign of a tracking error.

How to reduce your bounce rate.

If your bounce rate is in the 70% and above category, it is too high and you need to reduce it. If your bounce rate is below that, then it is important to stay on top of it. You might even have a low rate and want to optimise it. Whatever situation your website is in, here are five ways to reduce your bounce rate.

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Speed up your websites load time.

It can be easy to assume that a high bounce rate is caused by the content, but the problem can start before your client has even seen your website. Slow loading landing pages are killers when it comes to bounce rate.

Most of your clients and readers will not want to wait any longer than three seconds to load. Some might even get frustrated after two seconds. This frustration will lead to them bouncing. So, the slower your page loads, the higher your bounce rate will be.

Before you look look at content being the cause for high bounce rates, look at the loading speed on your landing pages.

Google also looks at your website speed for search engine results page (SERP) ranking. If you want to find out more about that, read our article about tricks that you can use for better SEO.

Strong, readable and engaging content.

If a client can’t read your website, they won’t know what to do other than bounce. Your content needs to be easy to read and navigate for a low bounce rate especially if your content has a lot to say.

Pay close attention to how people read content on a website. They scan a page to look for something that stands out. This could be a heading, word or image. Large groups of plain text can slow this behaviour down. In some cases, this may be the desired result, like when you want your client to make a very serious decision. However, your landing pages should not be doing this.

Format your content for easy reading.

The less effort someone has to out in to get what they want from your website, the better. They are more likely to stay and continue navigating your website if it feels effortless. This is were formatting comes in.

To avoid overwhelming your clients when they land on your website, consider these formatting tips:

• Use headers appropriately so that a client knows where they are.
• Use subheadings frequently to break up content.
• Keep paragraphs short in both length and width.
• Use images that fit the content and amuse the reader.
• Break up steps with easy to read bullet points.
• Use white space.

Make powerful Calls to Action.

When a client lands, it is important for them to know what to do next and a weak call to action (CTA) can lose a lot of attention on your website. To begin with creating a strong CTA, consider what you want your clients to do on the landing page. With that goal in mind, craft one clear CTA. More than one will overwhelm your clients and distract from your message.

A well made CTA will effortlessly guide your clients to take the steps into getting what they want and what you want them to do.

Improve the user experience.

The user experience (UX) is a multifaceted part of reducing bounce rate. It’s a topic that is ever-changing and can take multiple articles to cover. For the purpose of bounce rate, we are going to discuss two things; popups and sidebars. If you want to find out more about improving your website’s UX, read our article about it.

Using and reducing popups.

Most people will always hate popups, especially ones that are irrelevant. They are distracting and will lead to bad UX. Some popups are well designed and convert clients into email subscribers or visitors into readers. This is why getting rid of popups if you already use them is not the immediate answer. What is important is to make them unobtrusive and less frustrating.

Free up the sidebar.

While sidebars might seem like “it’s free real estate” it’s not necessarily so. It can be easy to cram widgets, promotions, awards and ads in there, but this will cramp your website and chase away your clients.

What a sidebar is great for is displaying relevant, but minimal, information that expands on what your client is busy looking at on the page. This can include a related promotion or awards that come from well-known sources. Whatever it is you decide to put there, keep it minimal, relevant.

Aim for the right keywords.

Your content should be search engine optimised (SEO) for the best results, but it needs to be optimised for the relevant keywords. If your landing page is ranking for a search that it doesn’t answer, clients will bounce. If your Google Ads shows up on a search that it doesn’t supply an answer to, clients will bounce.

You want to show up on searches that your landing page answers and can promise additional information for. This isn’t the first bounce rate advice that will be about relevance and it will not be your last should you do additional research.

Keep your keywords relevant to the search queries you expect and your bounce rate will not increase because of irrelevance from a search result.

Have your business website set up for success with Web2Web.

What’s better than advice to reduce your website’s bounce rate? Having a website built or updated to succeed from the start. When you work with Web2Web for your brand’s website needs, you will get a team of designers and developers that take every UX and SEO metric into consideration. If you want your business to succeed online, contact us and we can discuss how to move your brand forward online.

Every professional website that wants to rank on search engines or increase conversions needs a personalized error 404 page. Whether it be from an update to the website or an incorrectly typed URL, the 404 page will show up which is why having one is so important.

A well designed 404 page can save your user experience (UX), help your SEO and can even be a lot of fun when combined with your brand personality. In this article, we are going to cover what a 404 page is and why having a personal one is important for your business website. If you want to learn how to solve 404 errors that are occurring on your WordPress website, read our blog post about WordPress HTTP error codes.

What a 404 page is and why your website needs one.

A 404 page is what shows up when a URL doesn’t lead to an existing web page. This could happen for any number of reasons from avoidable mistakes like deleting a web page without redirecting it to unavoidable human error like making a typo with the URL. If your website draws a lot of traffic, it’s because the causes are so varies that avoiding 404 error pages becomes almost impossible.

A tempting solution to this is simple redirecting all 404 errors back to your homepage. While getting rid of any chance of a client landing on a 404 page sounds good, it’s actually the opposite of what you should be doing.

Redirecting back to your home page can result in bad user experience (UX). Imagine you type a URL in expecting to learn about a product but you land on the home page of a company. You no longer know why you didn’t get what you want and are now forced to navigate the whole website to get to where you want to be. This situation is horrible for your business website’s bounce rate.

This doesn’t mean that all redirecting is bad. If you can redirect a known 404 error to a relevant page, your website will be all the better for it. Read our article on WordPress error pages to find out how to solve known 404 errors this way.

Here is why your website needs a 404 page of its own.

Landing on a 404 page is frustrating for users which leads to bad UX. If you don’t have one, your potential clients will likely get the browser’s default page which does you no service. So, what’s the solution to all this?

The purpose of your 404 page is to turn negative UX into a positive one. There are many ways in which we can do this and we have boiled them down into four categories.

Fix the bad UX with good UX.

This first step is the equivalent of fighting fire with fire. Your clients are having bad UX when landing on a 404 page, so replace the bad page with a 404 page that has good UX.

First and foremost, a 404 page that has good UX design needs to explain to the user why they have landed here and not on their desired page. This will end a lot of confusion.

So now that the user knows why they are here, we need to give them somewhere to go to get their desired result. We can use links and instructions to accomplish this. These should lead the user to a place that they can find helpful information or an easy way to navigate your website.

Some great places that you can direct and link to include the menu, blog, HTML sitemap, search bar and the home page. While redirecting to your homepage isn’t ideal, a link back to it is perfect. To help you out, adding a way for the user to report the 404 page can be very helpful in stopping this problem from happening again.

Add your brands personality.

A 404 page is the perfect place to reinforce your branding and personality. By turning the 404 page into something that speaks for your brand, your clients that land here can be reintroduced to your brand’s core message. Done right and your 404 page will help build brand trust and be a page that clients might even enjoy.

Allow search engines to continue crawling.

Search engines crawl your website by following links to all the different pages on your site. This in unfortunate if your business website doesn’t have 404 page that does that because then the search engine is forced to stop. It will get as lost as your users will which means your website won’t rank on the search engine result page (SERP).

When you have your own 404 page that includes links to assist your clients, search engines will be able to navigate away from them too. Avoiding negative search engine optimisation (SEO).

Keep it simple for the best results.

Even our busiest example from Behance’s 404 page keeps the page simple. Adding too much information and imagery distracts from the core purpose of your 404 page.

When your clients land, you want to tell them two things: why they are here and where they can go. Anything more than that will hurt your UX and the success of your website as a whole.

Get stunning UX that includes the perfect 404 page for your business with Web2Web.

From your home page to your 404 page, a successful business website needs to have every part of the UX performing at its best. This means fantastic design right from the beginning that has your future in mind so that it can scale with your brand. When you work with Web2Web, this is exactly what you will get. A team dedicated at making to making your UX work for your business. When it comes to creating or improving your website, chat to us and we can develop your digital future.

Every year there are more and more social and media platforms for us to connect to our clients with, but it never detracts from why your business website needs a blog. This tried and tested way of sharing company news and media is still as strong as ever for your business. Allowing you to stand out from the crowd and set yourself up as an industry expert.

Big or small, a blog can grow your brand online. This is why it is so important for your business website to have one right now. It’s very simple to set up too and can aid your marketing strategies up for long term success. In this blog post, we are going to cover five different ways that a business blog can boost your business and sales.

Share important updates with your clients.

When it comes to updating your audience about company changes, product information or service offerings, a blog can be a fantastic tool. Social media platforms are often limited in content length, both with character limits and audience patience. A blog, however, thrives on long-form content.

Your business website blog can provide in-depth information that your clients need to know. This flexibility is something you can’t get on any other platform.

Establish credibility and be the expert people turn to.

With longer and more in-depth content, you can easily set yourself up as an expert in your field. Sharing blog posts about the latest industry news, trends and how they effect your customers can increase your views on your website while simultaneously building brand trust.

It is important that the information you share here will genuinely help your clients. Sharing some industry secrets will actually put you above your competition in your customers’ minds. This will boost referrals and create more engagement on your website.

Get to know your audience better and interact with them.

A well-established blog will bring in new traffic to your business website. New readers are all potential clients that you can interact with and learn from. By replying to blog comments and studying the new source of demographic data, you can get to know more about your clients.

In addition to this increase in data, your relationships will grow stronger creating more loyal customers that are active with your brand online.

To get the most out of this tip, encourage your audience to comment on your blog and social media shares. This can take time but when it starts, engage in meaningful conversations with your audience. The more you interact with them, the more they will engage in future posts.

Boost your SEO and local rankings.

Search engines like Google want to show the most relevant pages when someone asks a question. Blogs are better tools for search engine optimisation (SEO) than you might initially think. They very effectively use these SEO tips in ways that your wain website cannot:

• Touch on long-tail keywords that would usually clutter your main website.
• Receive high authority backlinks to your website.
• Create a steady flow of audience traffic and engagements.

When you create blog content, create it for long-tail keywords that are related to your brand. This can get your website to rank for searches that your website would usually not show up on. Think of your main website at the place for your main service keywords while your blog can rank for tips, guides and lists.

When your content is helpful and you are sharing it effectively, other domains will notice. This is a fantastic chance to build relationships with them and get them to link to your content on their own blogs. Keep this up and your SEO ranking will go up.

Lastly, search engines view websites with more traffic as more trustworthy and helpful. When your blog has a consistent audience, Google will notice and rank you higher for it.

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Expand your Social Media and Emailer strategies.

Blog posts are the perfect addition to your social media and emailer calendar. Linking your posts to your social media platforms and emailer content will create a direct link to your website. This can even be used as a way to drive more sales if the blog post is product or service related.

It doesn’t have to stop at one share on social media. You can repurpose older blog posts by sharing quotes and pictures. This will create more consistent traffic to your website.

Email marketing is a very effective strategy, but it’s not always easy to get people to join. This is where your business website’s blog can step in. Consistent posts that offer value to your readers will create an audience that want to be notified on when the next post comes up.

Link your blog post to your emailer and supply a juicy snipped to lure the reader in. Don’t just copy-paste the whole blog post because that will stop the need to travel to your website.

Get the blog that your business website needs with Web2Web.

When it comes to setting up a blog that will scale with your brand and creating content that will last for year to come, you need to lay a strong foundation on your website. This includes UX design, website development and a consistent content strategy.

If you want to set your business website blog up for success, do it with Web2Web. Our skilled team of designers, developers and writers will put your website onto the next level and get your brand speaking to your clients.

Want to find out more? Contact us and we can walk you through everything you need to know.

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