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Mobile Website Design Vs. Responsive Web Design

By Derek Robinson

Most people are unsure of which option to take when optimizing their websites for smaller screens. The truth is that while both will make sure your website is available to people using devices with small screens, they have their pros and cons. Mobile website designs have been used for a while but responsive design is slowly taking over. This is because this new age design concept comes with a number of benefits that are not present in traditional designs. We will look at mobile website design vs. responsive web design to find the differences between the two.

 

As you manage your website, the design you choose will have a significant impact which is why you need to choose carefully. The best way to make an informed decision is to understand what mobile design has to offer and what responsive web designing has in store for you.

Rendering Experience

In mobile web design, the mobile website is simply a copy of your website. The server handles all the work where it delivers a website that can be viewed and navigated smoothly using a mobile device with a small screen. This option is a great deal when you are only targeting mobile phone users. It is also a cheap option especially if you consider a responsive redesign to be expensive.

 

Unlike the mobile web design where the server does the work, the device will do the work in responsive design. Your device will do the work through adjusting the website according to the screen size. The device automatically switches between portrait or landscape orientation. This is a good solution because it is flexible and can be used across devices ranging from desktops, laptops, tablets and mobile phones.

Domain Protection

When running a mobile web design, you will need a different domain. In most cases, companies choose to use ‘m.domain.com’ to differentiate between the main and the mobile website. This can affect the domain by diluting it and compromising organic search traffic. With the two, you will have a harder time in management since you will be dealing with two different content silos.

 

With responsive design, you will keep the domain and nothing will be changed except the back-end code. According to Google, this is the best option because the website owner only gets to manage one site. The design also works positively towards the elimination of complex redirects and makes the sharing of web addresses simple.

Link Equity

A mobile search uses a separate domain. This means that the links shared from a mobile browser are not counted as search link equity towards the primary site. This is not good for search. On the other hand, responsive web design embeds new code on the web site’s back-end and this ensures that the company’s link equity is preserved. For search, this is a great option.

Future Ready

There are new mobile phones and related devices being manufactured every year. This means that you need to keep up with the new generation gadgets through reworking the mobile site. You cannot predict the type of gadgets that will hit the market tomorrow and this increases the maintenance cost.

 

Responsive web design is future ready. Once your website joins this concept, it will be ready for gadgets made next month and those made next year. This simply means that you will not need to keep reworking the site as the mobile phone generations change. The initial cost of responsive web design is high but you will get a good return on your investment since there will be no costly future reworks.

Design

We cannot complete the mobile website design vs. responsive web design without talking about the actual design. Since the mobile site is created for mobile devices, it allows for creativity and exceptional design for the full website. The subsite is what acts like the responsive site.

 

Responsive web design is limited when it comes to creativity. The more complicated the website gets, the more complex the adjustment should be. If you plan to have a responsive design, you will need to sacrifice a number of features to ensure that the layout is not compromised when displayed on different screens.

User Experience

In everything that you do to your website, user experience should be a priority. This is because though it is your website, you are making it for your target users. A mobile website is designed specifically for smartphones. This means it will load fast and display better. Designers working on the site will make sure they optimize it for mobile phones.

 

It might be a difficult task integrating some elements for desktops or mobiles phones and this means that you might have a website with limited abilities. Since the design will consider desktop users, the website might load slower on smaller devices. However, this design is a better solution since it will still work across devices.

Speed

When it comes to websites, speed is an important element. This is because most people will not wait for a website to load, they will just move on to the next site. Mobile web design has the advantage of fast loading if well coded. Speed matters for SEO and designers have to make sure that the site is not too big for mobile devices for faster loading speeds.

 

Responsive web design includes CSS media Query code and this slows down the site. There are many elements that are used for flexibility purposes and this is part of the slowing down of the site. Using this design concept is a great idea since businesses are shifting from a separate mobile website to the responsive design. This means that even your competitors will have sites that load with the same speed as yours. You will not have to worry about a thing.

Which is the Best Option?

If you are targeting mobile phone users alone, then you can go for a mobile web design that allows you to make changes. You will run two websites and this might be costly. If you would like a design that works across devices, responsive web design will work for you. You will, however, sacrifice some elements. It seems like the battle of mobile web design vs. responsive web design will go on as long as each option has advantages and disadvantages.

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Why Web Care is a Smart Investment to Protect Your Website and Business

By Derek Robinson

When they spend tens of thousands of dollars on a new car, no consumer bats an eye on buying insurance. It’s also well understood that staying on top of routine service and maintenance can significantly reduce major repairs and extend vehicle performance. The same philosophy holds true for buying a new home or major appliance. These same proactive care measures are needed with online marketing platforms and is known simply as Web Care.

 

Just like any other major expense, building a website is an investment of capital and sweat equity. For a business, a website is their primary means of communication with existing customers and attracting new business. As a new car requires frequent oil changes, and tune-ups to efficiently transport its owner across town, a website needs the same tender loving care.

Although many professional website designers develop their websites with top-notch security programs and SSL certificates, there are still threats. A compromised website that develops a bug or virus will develop symptoms like a car struggling with a mechanical problem. Some of the common symptoms of a compromised website include:

 

• Slower site access
• Increase page loading times
• Lower security and consumer identity theft concerns
• Reducing search engine ranking
• Possibility of site being hacked

 

To protect their business or personal websites from these threats, smart businesses employ a team of WebCare experts. These dedicated online professionals monitor, update and provide routine maintenance to websites. They also provide monthly reports, create client dashboards and communicate with clients on potential security threats. WebCare professionals stay on top of growing trends in cyber security and have access to the latest technology to keep the website running strong always.

 

There are several specific services that are included in most WebCare packages offered by professional online marketing companies including:

 

Priority Website Support: When a business hires a WebCare specialist to keep their sites running strong they receive priority and dedicated website support. This means that the company often employs multiple online security experts, that are alerted as soon as a threat is recognized. When the client has a question for the WebCare provider, they are available to answer quickly. Consider this as having a personal mechanic on call to keep the car running strong.

 

Software Updates: Website development is essentially software or series of web coded platforms that are strategically placed together to produce a visually stunning and easy to navigate website. However, like a car needs frequent oil and filter changes to extend engine life and efficiency, the website also needs frequent software updates. By updating the software to evolving security standards, the site stays one step ahead of the cyber thieves who live off finding weak websites and exploiting them.

 

Security Monitoring: If you wouldn’t leave your car unlocked in New York City, why would you leave your website unprotected when thousands of online hackers are looking to steal your private information? Security monitoring is the process of setting up multiple security protocols that will alert the WebCare team if a threat is recognized. This permits them to instantly shut down the threat to ensure the website is not compromised. Essentially, this is like having a home security system that not only instantly calls the police, but would also beam the police (like in Star Trek) to the house within a few minutes of the alarm being triggered to chase off the thieves.

 

Performance Optimization: As technology advances, so do the tools that allow a website to maintain optimization. Today’s cell phones are much smaller than the bricks of the 1980’s. The same thing applies to new website optimization tools. Software developers are continually upgrading their web-based tools to let WebCare experts update their client’s websites to keep them running quickly, strong and continue ranking well on search engines. Most WebCare packages include performance optimization programs.

 

Daily Site Backups: There is nothing worse than having a website crash. However, if you choose to host your own account, you can’t be 100 percent certain that your website is updated daily and saved to a redundant server or hard files that can be accessible in case of website crash. Most WebCare companies will offer daily, weekly and bi-monthly site backups that will keep up-to-date file information on your website so that it can be quickly uploaded if needed.

 

Detailed Monthly Reports: When you have a professional HVAC, contractor come to your home to tune-up your AC or heating system, or take the car in for a tune-up, you are often handed a report of what services were complete. This not only informs you as to how your money is being spent, but also lets you know what services were completed – so if something comes up, you have a record on file. Consider WebCare professionals as having your own IT department on call – that will provide you with monthly reports on your website performance, potential security threats, site visitation, and areas that could use improvement to improve website load time, or the customer experience.

 

Email Support & Consulting Calls: When you work with a professional online marketing company, they will take pride in helping you with those troublesome email support issues that tend to pop-up when you least expect or can afford. There is no denying the fact that every business depends on email to stay in contact with customers, suppliers, vendors and maintain company communication. By trusting a WebCare firm to help you with email support and provide consulting calls when needed, you’ll have peace of mind knowing your company’s online communication is protected.

 

A website is a major investment, that takes time to design, develop and continually add content. In many ways, building a website is no different than building a new car or home. But like those major purchases, investing a fraction of the cost of the website in routine service and maintenance; in this case called WebCare – is simply put – a common sense investment. A WebCare program that is effective is always customized to meet the needs of each customer. Although there are several companies that offer ‘packages’ to choose from, the best way to protect your online presence is to contact a WebCare specialist and inquire about all of the services they offer.

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How Do I Bring More Free Traffic To My E-Commerce Store?

By John Dion

You have an e-commerce store or thinking of opening one. And there is one big thing on your mind which makes you worry…

 

How do I bring in lots of high quality, free traffic to my e-commerce store?

After all, your goal is to sell your products. And there isn’t a better place than the internet on which to do that, with billions of people shelling out cash every single day for their favorite products.

 

But here’s the problem.

 

You’re not alone. There are probably hundreds of thousands of people just like you trying to get the attention of the same people you are, hoping to get them to make a purchase.

 

So how do you stand out?

 

How do you make sure people are paying attention to what you have to offer on your e-commerce store, rather than your competitions’?

 

Well, Here are 3 simple ways you can bring in free, high-quality traffic to your e-commerce store:

 

• Create Ridiculously Good Content Which Gets Shared And Ranks Well
• Leverage The Power of Email Marketing
• Do Giveaways And Exciting Offers

 

1. Create Ridiculously Good Content

How Good Content Increases E-Commerce Traffic

Nowadays, sleazy tactics of selling don’t work.

 

Customers are smarter and make much more informed decisions than before. Before they even come to your store to buy your product, there’s a big chance they have done their research and have their mind already made up as to whether to buy your product or not.

 

So how can you play a role in influencing their decision?

 

With your content, of course.

 

Your blog can become a place where they can be sure they can get useful, helpful advice that will help them make the best decision possible.

 

It will increase your authority and their trust in you and drive them to make a purchase. And more importantly, it will make them want to tell others about you as well.

 

Word of mouth can be an extremely powerful way of marketing, and this is exactly that. And best of all, it’s a free way to get high-quality traffic to your e-commerce store!

How To Create Content That Gets Shared

The best way to create valuable content your potential audience will be interested in is to browse popular websites and forums that are of the same topics you want to write about.

 

For example, if you sell musical instruments through your e-commerce store, visit popular blogs, forums, and websites where people get the latest news, discuss trends and talk about music and musical instruments.

 

You can easily find what your audience is interested in and what topics are popular. This will give you a solid start on what to write about.

 

And to make sure your content gets shared, ask your audience!

 

Tell them to share it on Facebook, Twitter and other social platforms like Pinterest and Instagram. Ask them to leave a comment. The more engagement your content has, the higher the chances of it ranking higher and getting found easier which means one thing: More traffic!

2. Leveraging Email Marketing

Email Marketing: Why Is It So Powerful?

You want traffic to your e-commerce store. But that’s not the end goal, is it?

 

The end goal is to get the people who visit your website to make a purchase.

 

While blog content can be a helpful way to get yourself discovered, it isn’t the best way to retain customers. At least not by itself.

 

This is because according to research, 70% people who visit your website through search engines, never visit again. That’s a lot of lost traffic.

 

There could be many reasons for this, maybe they found something better or just simply forgot.

 

This is where email marketing comes in.

 

Email marketing helps you retain these customers and bring them back, positively impacting the traffic you can get.

How To Convince Your Readers To Give You Their Emails

When people visit your e-commerce store or blog, there should be a prominent space dedicated to collecting the emails of your audience. Sumo Tools is a very good free option if you’re just starting out.

 

But be warned, unless your content or the products on your store is really that good, most people won’t easily give away emails.

 

An effective way to tackle this problem is to give them something in return.

 

For example, instead of just asking your readers to give you their emails, ask them to avail a flat 10% discount on their first purchase and then direct them to sign up with their email.

 

This is the best way to collect emails from your audience.

 

Now that you have personal emails of people interested in what you have to offer, all you have to do is create certain attractive campaigns and send them strategically to their email accounts (don’t spam them!).

 

This is sure to get you lots of high-quality traffic to your e-commerce store and consequently, lots of sales!

 

But remember, their emails are highly sensitive pieces of information you shouldn’t disclose to anyone. Assure them they will be treated with the utmost security and won’t be misused.

 

3. Increase Traffic With Giveaways

 

This is the another highly effective way to get free traffic to your e-commerce store.

 

People love free stuff and for that, they are willing to go a mile further than usual.

 

So what you can do is set up a giveaway of something in your store you are sure people will definitely like.

 

Services like Rafflecopter are extremely effective at helping e-commerce stores and other businesses gain high-quality traffic through giveaways.

 

The premise is this: To enter the giveaway lucky draw, your visitors have to perform two or three simple tasks like signing up to your email list or sharing your website on their Facebook or Twitter feed.

 

These are simple tasks which can be performed in minutes. And they will get your audience to effectively drive traffic to your e-commerce stores all through the simple act of giving away a few highly desirable products.

 

One helpful tip: If possible, increase the number of items you give away to at least 5 or 10 in quantity. This will make your audience more hopeful of winning something and will increase their chances of participating in the giveaway.

 

And this, in turn, is sure to exponentially increase the level of promotion – and traffic your e-commerce store will get.

 

All of the above tips are proven methods which have given powerful results. Be sure to give them a try to see what works for you best!

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