Why You Have the Wrong WordPress Theme for Your Website

Websites0 comments

I’ve been helping a few clients update their WordPress websites recently and as someone who has used WordPress to build their own website, I know how difficult it can be to find a suitable theme. There are so many options out there; you can spend days and weeks going through the websites looking for the perfect theme.  In the end, you pick one because you’ve lost patience and want to get your new website up and running.  However, the theme you have chosen may not be the right one for your business.

So if you’ve spent a lot of time and money on your website but you are still not happy, it could be because of your theme.

Here are some reasons why you have the wrong WordPress theme for your website.

You haven’t thought about your target market.  What do your customers or clients expect from a website like yours?  Are they expecting something that is traditional and has a lot of information on it, or are they looking for something more visual and interactive?  Depending on your industry, they may need assurance that you can do what you say so will want to see case studies and reports on what you have done.  Alternatively, they may be happy with just a broad overview as long as there are clear ways to contact you if they want further information.  If you’re not sure what your target market expects, then check out the websites of your top competitors to see what they are doing.

You haven’t thought about what you want from the website.  A website is no longer an online brochure.  It has to be interactive and responsive so that visitors are encouraged to do something once they land on your page. Whether you want people to call you, book a consultation, download a free report or buy a product, you have to choose a theme that will help you to achieve these goals.  So don’t just go with a theme because you like the design, choose one that will help you to deliver the results you want.

You haven’t planned ahead.  When choosing a theme for your website, you need to plan ahead.  So pick a theme that will adapt to your changing needs, eg you may want to showcase and sell products in the future, or use videos on your site, or set up a membership area.  Yes, you can use plugins to add functionality to your site but it can take time to find the right ones and some of them can slow down your site.  So it’s a good idea to choose a theme that already has this functionality built in and will easily expand to your future needs.  This means that you won’t have to keep hunting around for a new theme every time your business changes.

These are just 3 reasons why you have the wrong WordPress theme for your website.  If you are looking to update your website then keep them in mind as they will save you a lot of time and hassle in the future.

And if you do need help with updating your WordPress website, then check out our website management service.  We can edit and update your website so that you are always displaying the latest information to your visitors – helping you to attract more leads and improve SEO.  So click on the link to check out our website management service.

How to Maintain an Online Presence Even When You’re Away

How to, Online marketing, videos1 comment

If you run your own business then you’ll know that it’s essential to have an effective profile online, whether that’s via your website, newsletter, blog, and/or social media profiles. However, what happens when you decide to take a break from your business? Just because you’re on holiday, it doesn’t mean that your online presence has to take a holiday too. Let’s face it, you don’t want to lose that traffic to your website or damage your search engine ranking.

So here’s how to maintain an online presence even when you’re away from your business. Click the image to watch the video or read the blog below.

Schedule autoresponders. As I mentioned in my previous blog “3 Ways to Use Autoresponders for Your Business“, autoresponders are a great way of staying in touch with contacts. You can schedule a series of emails to go out while you’re away. Make sure that these emails contain links to your blog posts, article and special offers so that they help to drive traffic to your website.

Schedule blog posts. Don’t forget that you can schedule blog posts too. Just write them before you go and then set a date and time that you want them to be posted. If you’ve automatically linked your blogs to your Twitter profile and Facebook page, then your online contacts will be notified as soon as the blog is posted. You can also set up your email marketing program to send out an email to your contacts whenever you post a new blog.

Use guest bloggers. And if you don’t have the time to write blogs, then use guest bloggers. They not only save you the stress of having to write and schedule content before you go away, but they will share their blogs with their own online audience which will generate additional traffic back to your website.

Schedule your social media updates. Keep your social media profiles up to date by schedules updates using tools such as Hootsuite or Tweetdeck. However, keep an eye on your profiles in case anyone responds to one of your updates – you can easily do this on your smartphone or tablet device. Alternatively hire a virtual assistant to maintain and monitor your social media profiles while you’re away.

Maintain website. If you use your website to generate leads, communicate with prospects or sell products and services directly, then you will need someone to maintain it during your absence. Many virtual assistants nowadays have the skills to manage and update websites, whether they are ecommerce or membership sites. So hire someone before you go on holiday to ensure that your website users are being looked after.

So now you know how to maintain an online presence while you’re away with a bit of planning and thought. This means that you can continue to promote your business and keep the traffic flowing to your website, no matter where you are in the world.

If you want to maintain an online presence when you’re away from your business, then click on the arrow button to find out more about our online marketing services. We will help you to set up and manage your online marketing activities so that you can raise your profile and credibility with your network.
 

What does your website say about you?

Online marketing, Websites2 comments

I’ve just updated the design of my website and was therefore interested in reading this recent study which showed that 70% of people don’t trust badly designed websites.  In fact two thirds of business owners believe that the look of a website is more important than where the business is located. 

So what does your website say about you? Because it’s essential that your website is promoting your business professionally and effectively, especially as more and more people are looking online for products and services.

Like everything else, web design changes and what was fashionable 5 years ago now looks outdated.  So if your website hasn’t kept up with the times, it can look neglected and visitors may wonder if you’re still in business.  As I mentioned, I’ve recently reviewed my own website and it’s made me realise how designs have changed from when I first put my site together nearly 18 months ago.  Then most websites had all the information on the home page which people scrolled down to read. Now the layout is simpler, with boxes of text which summarise the key points and a link to a separate page if the visitor wants to read more.

So regularly review the layout of your website to keep it looking fresh and modern.  Keep the navigation simple and clear so visitors can quickly and easily find what they want.  Once you’ve updated the site, remember to check that all links are working and that the text and images are displaying properly in the various browsers.

Don’t change the design so much though that returning visitors don’t recognise that it’s you.  Your branding is an important part of the relationship between your business and your contacts, so it’s a good idea to keep the same colour scheme and images on your site as you had before.

Another important point is to make sure that your website doesn’t take too long to upload; otherwise people will bounce straight off it.  I significantly reduced my bounce rate after adding a plug-in to my WordPress site which helped to speed up the page load time.

When you refresh your website, you may also need to update your SEO, especially if you’re adding new services or products.  So check that your text, keywords and title tags etc still reflect what you want to be found for on the search engines.

As I’ve mentioned before in “To blog or not to blog?”, blogs are a good way to refresh your website content and if you have a WordPress website then you can integrate the blog into the site itself.  But make sure that you post regularly otherwise it’s a waste of time – an out of date blog is just as bad as an out of date website!

There are many virtual assistants who have the skills to either design a whole new website for you, or update an existing one.  So if you think your website is in need of a spring clean, then check out our website management services.