Month: March 2021

From the front page to navigation and everything between, designing the perfect website can be a tumultuous affair without sufficient preparation. Considering the scope of the process, the details that require consideration, and the practicality aspect, simply knowing where to begin might offer up a challenge in itself.

One of the most important points to bear in mind is that the perfect website is not universal, as what works for one particular industry, product or service, may be far from ideal for another.

Here are some aspects to look out for when choosing the design that best suits your individual needs.

CMS

Your content management system is the hub of creation and maintenance, making choosing the right one an essential first step. Thankfully, it is not too difficult to change your CMS should the need arise, but it can be a largely time-consuming process and set you back a number of paces, so it is worth taking the time to research.

WordPress is still among the top contenders, which may suggest its endurance is a testament to its high-quality functionality and compatibility.

Furthermore, fantastic website management options are available through companies such as Pronto Marketing, which can provide a wide range of services such as maintenance and support using expert knowledge of WordPress.

Aesthetic

Creating a beautiful website is a must for businesses wishing to announce their presence and stand out from the competitors. A successful design choice is heavily reliant on the individual’s subjective taste, which is the very nature of the aesthetic in many regards.

There are fundamentals to look out for, however, such as functionality, accessibility, and clarity. For example, excessive use of images on a page, a clashing color scheme, or a wide range of font choices may detract from the important information you want to convey or become unpleasant to concentrate on.

Conversely, a lack of information and content may present a lack of authenticity or professionalism. While white space is a useful tool in the designer’s arsenal, its overuse can lead to a lack of innovation and creativity. 

It might be worth taking some time to think about what your favorite websites all have in common, how easy they are to use, and why you enjoy them in particular.

Who is Your Target Audience?

An immensely important question in many regards, keeping your target demographic in mind when designing your website can be vital to your success in both the short and long-term.

This may impact your design choices in many ways, including the tone of voice in which you write your copy, the images you might use, the placement of your product, and practically every aspect of your brand development process.

In finding your voice in relation to your target audience, you can start to create content on your site that fully engages with your customer and takes their demands as a consumer into account.

Like most endeavors worth pursuing, putting the time into market research and current trends can help you achieve the best possible results.

An effective growth strategy can enable you to expand your business, increase your market share and accumulate more wealth. However, successfully growing any business can be challenging. In a competitive marketplace, you’ll need to ensure you have a fool-proof growth strategy that will deliver an impressive return on your investment.

Fortunately, data gives you the opportunity to grow your business using accurate, verifiable insights and information. To learn more, take a look at how you can unleash the power of data to grow your business:

1. Acquire More Customers

Customer acquisition is an excellent way to grow your business and the right data will enable you to understand the market more effectively. With quantifiable and qualitative market research, for example, you can learn everything you need to know about your target audience. From this, you’ll have the knowledge required to implement successful marketing campaigns and prompt engagement before turning prospects into sales.

In addition to this, data can give you immediate access to members of your target audience. With data from Lead Lists, for example, you can use specific criteria to create a database of targeted prospects. This allows you to fast-track your marketing and engage directly with the people who are most likely to convert, thus increasing your customer acquisition rate.

2. Set Realistic Goals

When you’re expanding a business venture, it’s vital to set realistic and achievable goals. Going from a start-up straight to an enterprise level business might be an admirable objective, for example, but it’s going to be virtually impossible to achieve. By using the data your company generates, you can set SMART goals to fuel your expansion plans. When you set targets that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based, you give yourself the opportunity to achieve goals that will deliver genuine value and successfully grow your business.

3. Increase Personalisation

Personalisation has been a top trend over the past 12 months, and it’s not going anywhere. In fact, personalisation is likely to become even more important as new tech increases the accuracy and relevance of tailored content. Publishing personalised online content can drastically increase conversions and boost your customer retention rate, which makes it a great way to expand your business. However, to determine what is relevant to a user, you’ll need to analyse data and put the insights to good use.

When you can identify a user’s location, their previous purchase history and track the way they navigate your website, for example, you can use this data to identify the needs of this particular user. In response, you can release personalised content that will entice them to act, thus increasing sales and optimising their lifetime value.

Using Data to Achieve Commercial Success

As Big Data becomes more accessible and useable, all businesses can benefit from making data-driven decisions. By collating and analysing data in the right way, you can ensure that your growth strategies are destined to succeed and get your plans for expansion underway.

Keeping up with the vast array of IT complexities can prove to be a struggle for many businesses, especially for smaller operations that may feel the monetary burden of hiring full-time employees to consistently monitor the situation.

Thankfully, there are some fantastic IT solutions that can help your business to succeed and thrive among the competition.

In the digital realm of today’s business climate, a streamlined IT division can be an integral, essential part of an efficient business. Here are some great reasons why outsourcing your IT services could be the best way to move forward.

Saving Money

The aforementioned monetary concerns that a small business owner can often find themselves dwelling over is no small issue. Keeping a keen eye on finances can be an important part of the establishment process, so managing to save money wherever possible can be greatly rewarding in the long-term.

Outsourcing your IT solutions to a team of reliable experts can ensure that you save a huge amount of money on staffing costs, which, as many first-time hirers will know, can be the making or breaking of a company’s positive growth.

By saving on an entire IT department, you can direct your funds elsewhere, perhaps giving your company a chance to develop in other vital areas such as marketing and product manufacturing.

Furthermore, for the more established businesses looking to cut costs but save on quality, this could be the route to explore.

Safety and Security

If the threat of cyber-crime continues to rise throughout the next few years, an insufficiently protected network could cause major damage to your business in a multitude of forms. From digital assets such as documents and images to any sensitive data you might have accumulated over time, an insecure network can leave valuables open to malicious attacks.

Online security is vital, yet it can be difficult to keep up to date with on a regular basis, especially if you are constantly busy with the daily hardships of running a business. Outsourcing this aspect to reliable managers can ensure that your network stays secure and monitored, hopefully allowing you peace of mind in the digital era.

A Clear and Effective Strategy

IT experts can also be consulted on business propositions in regards to the digital side of the operation, helping you to create an effective strategy that can help realize your vision in the virtual world, alongside the material.

This makes it a great option for those of you with a clear goal who do not yet possess the means of making that milestone a reachable reality.

Saving Time

Time is perhaps one of the most valuable luxuries for a business owner, as having to maintain and grow a business in modern society can undoubtedly take a great deal of commitment.

Sometimes, finding a few spare hours to check out the digital imprint of the company can be impossible, and when there is so much to consider, having a reliable IT management solution to fall back on could save you that extra time you need.

With so many more businesses using cloud computing, no wonder safety has become a major trending issue and a hot discussion topic. Your data is being saved somewhere else by someone else; its safety must be one of your main concerns. Below are five tips that can save you a great deal of stress with regard to your business Cloud safety.

1. Have a Responsible Person

There should be one responsible person for your business Cloud computing and company or customer data that is stored in the cloud.  Data should be audited and checked regularly. Document what is stored in the cloud and be aware of the risks associated with its loss. This person must also be aware of the regulations and guidelines for storing customer and company data online. Lastly, this key person should also be the main point of contact for any managed IT services that the business has.

2. Choose your Host with Care

They must be trusted providers in the field, known by your business stakeholders and partners. There are a  plethora of choices, and rather than choosing based on a whim, have a professional advise you in this process. The host must be compatible with your business needs and supply chain stakeholders. Go with a firm that is flexible and possibly provides a full IT managed service. A great example of a fully managed IT service is USWired, #1 in the San Jose and greater Bay area.

3. Secure End-User Devices

With more and more people working from home, there will be a proliferation of devices accessing your shared drives, shared software, and data on the network. Firstly, make sure that only known devices supplied and checked by your company have access to the network. Secondly, these devices must have end-user security installed to protect the network from external threats. Lastly, all devices, smartphones, tablets, and laptops, must be taken into account. Mobile phones are the most porous surface of the company’s IT security, and to protect your cloud space, make sure that you pay attention and train staff on the safety requirements related to remote access. All company hardware must be protected to in turn safeguard your data in the cloud.

4. Passwords

It seems a simple thing, and most people make them as basic as they can to avoid forgetting them or use the same password for several applications and log ins. This is incredibly unsafe in an age where data fraud and theft are so rife. Insist on secure or long passwords and check with your provider to see if a password manager service is included in your contract, as this will prove safer than storing these on your web browser.

5. Back-Up Regularly

Make use of the storage and security in the cloud by ensuring that your company files are backed up on a regular basis both automatically throughout the day and then checked and audited regularly. Insist on having cloud storage and a Network Attached Storage (NAS)  device or external hard drive on-site.

The cloud is an endless opportunity for business growth, increasing reach, and improving communication; make sure your business is safe out there.