South Florida Web Design, Brand Management, SEO and Digital Marketing Agency

Designers A lot of web designers choose to build their websites using the format they use most often, Flash, without even considering other options such as HTML, CSS or JavaScript.

Flash is one of the most popular formats among web designers because they think it has fewer browser compatibility problems and more user interface options than other formats. But does it really?

Benefits of Flash

Flash is a very powerful tool that allows web designers to create colorful, impressive looking sites that push the boundaries of multimedia. It also has a huge base, so it tends to be more compatible with a broader range of browsers than sites created using CSS.

And let’s face it: Flash lets web designers show off their stuff, impressing clients with the “wow factor” that keeps them on board with your web design.

Choosing the Right Format – Drawbacks of Flash

Yet Flash also has its downside. For example, sites created using  Flash tend to rank lower on Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other search engines compared to sites built using HTML. Google’s algorithm still struggles when crawling through Flash sites.

Some web designers believe Flash sites also are less user-friendly than HTML or CSS sites. For example, Flash doesn’t let you highlight text for copy and pasting. You also can’t click the Back button to go back a page.

It’s also harder to increase font size and open links in new windows. So there’s often a price to pay in terms of navigation for the intuitive interface.

Mobility Is an Issue

But perhaps the biggest problem with Flash sites is that they are nearly unviewable on mobile devices such as smartphones. Unfortunately, this is the type of device most users today are using to access the content they want online.

So before you automatically choose Flash for your next web design, consider its drawbacks and benefits.

When visitors arrive at your web page, one of your primary goals should be to keep them there as long as possible.

The longer people stay on your web page, the more likely they are to buy your products, subscribe to your content, or share your pages with other people.

Here are a few things you can do right now to keep visitors on your web pages longer:

Logos Build Trust

People trust web pages they think are maintained by professional, competent organizations. If you don’t already have a professionally produced logo, hire a graphic artist to create one for you and feature it prominently on your web page.

A great-looking logo will make people more likely to trust your content and stay on your web page longer.

Make Navigation Intuitive 

Most people today visit dozens — if not hundreds — of web pages every day. So if your web page is difficult to navigate, visitors are more likely to click off more quickly.

Navigation on your web page should be intuitive. People don’t want to have to figure out which button they need to click to get where they want to go. Everything should be obvious. If it’s not, it’s probably time to redesign your page.

Make It Clutter-Free

Most people don’t like clutter — whether it’s in their homes or on the web pages they visit.

If your page is packed with unnecessary images or other non-essential content, it’s time to clean house. To keep people on your pages longer, strive to keep them as sleek and clutter-free as possible.

Use High-Quality Images

Given that practically every smartphone, tablet or other device today has a high-quality HD camera built into it, there’s no reason to include blurry, unappealing images on your web pages.

Make sure any image you include is professionally produced and appealing to your visitors.

Blogs are increasingly being used by businesses to build stronger brand loyalty in their customers.

The objective of your blog should be to attract and hold onto the largest possible readers. Yet many bloggers routinely turn away readers by making dumb mistakes that could easily be avoided.

Here are the top five ways many bloggers unwittingly destroy their credibility and turn off readers so they never return:

1. Talking Too Much about Yourself

Remember: The purpose of your business blog should be to provide readers with content that consistently informs and educates them on new and interesting topics.

Blogs should not be commercials for your products or business. When you only write about what your products and what your business is doing, readers won’t stick around very long. A better plan is to establish yourself as an industry authority and give readers high-value content they can use to increase loyalty bonds and keep them coming back for more.

2. Shamelessly Promoting Your Products

It’s okay occasionally mention your products or include links to your services, don’t hit readers over the head with your sales pitch. Educate first and sell with subtlety.

3. Not Selling Enough

Okay, this may sound like exactly the opposite of the item, but it’s actually not. While it’s important to provide your readers with high-value content and avoid barraging them with your sales pitch, you also should remember that your blog is there to increase interest in your company or subject.

Tie your valuable content back to your brand and include a soft sell to get the message across to your blog’s readers.

4. Not Letting People Leave Comments

Some businesses are so concerned about their online reputation that they try to manage the way they are portrayed on their own blog by shutting off the comments section.

Not allowing comments sends the message that you don’t care what they have to say, that you don’t value their opinions.

While there may be some minimal risk that somebody could post something critical about your business, if you properly maintain your comments section on a regular basis you can address any negativity quickly and effectively, and turn a negative into a positive.

5. Making It Too Long

People aren’t clicking on your blog because they want to read thousands of words of copy. Keep your blogs short and information-dense. Providing too much information can make reader weary and wary of future blogs posts.

Like they say in show business: Always leave them wanting more!

WordPress is the world’s most popular blogging platform and is used by web designers everywhere. One of the biggest reasons for this is that it supports templating and plugins, so it is simple to use to customize website

Great Functionality and Value

Because WordPress is an open source site, most of the plugins available are free for anybody to use. So that means the price is right as well!

Here, then, are some of the most helpful and popular WordPress plugins for web designers:

1. Google Analyticator — What the Google Analyticator does is add the JavaScript code to your blog or website that enables Google Analytics on your WP Dashboard. This is a helpful tool that tells you not just how many visitors are landing on your pages, but what keywords they are using to find them.

2. Shareaholic — Want to share options to your site? (Of course you do!) The Shareaholic plugin puts a social bookmarking menu on your posts, pages and index (or all three), plus adds related content if you want.

3. nrelate —  Speaking of related content, nrelate (all lower case) is a plugin that automatically generates content links for your pages. You can use the plugins shortcode to manually insert links to related posts that your visitors might find fun or interesting.

4. Viper’s Video Quicktags — Embedding videos into your pages can often be a real hassle. What this plugin does is simplify the proces by adding platform-specific buttons that let you past the URL of the video you want to embed. That’s it. Easy-peasy!

5. WordPress Calls to Action — If the purpose of your web page is to get visitors to do something (by a product, opt-in to your mailing list, etc.), this plugin provides a quick and easy way to create call to action (CTA) pop-ups. It also tracks conversion rates and enables split testing.

6. Events Calendar — This plugin lets you quickly create events and let you do things like have a calendar view, search events and even integrate maps. It’s ideal if you are hosting events, running a club, or doing event planning.

Web designers and other people who work with computers have a disadvantage when it comes to fitness. Because they are sitting in front of a screen for eight or more hours per day, they are more likely to gain weight, be less active and have related health issues.

There’s even a term for it: “Web Spread”.

This is a real problem because as more and more jobs become automated, a growing percentage of the work force will be spending an increasing amount of time sitting at a computer.

Ways to Beat ‘Web Spread’

One recent study that was widely reported in the media bombastically claims that “sitting is the new smoking”. In other words, the sedentary lifestyle a growing number of people are embracing is leading to as many health consequences as cigarette smoking.

So how can the average worker avoid web spread and the resulting health issues? Here’s a few tips:

• Stand More Often — If you spend most of your workday sitting down, make a point of taking regular breaks. Walk around the office for a few minutes every hour or two. Go outside during your lunch break and walk around the block or parking lot.

• Snack Better — There’s a tendency to eat mindlessly when working in front of a computer. Many people don’t even realize they are eating — or what they are eating — when they are engrossed in their work. Switch to healthier snacks, such as microwave popcorn, carrot sticks or celery stalks. Not only are these lower in fat, but they contain important vitamins and nutrients that will improve your immunity and overall health.

• Consider Getting a ‘Standing Desk’ — One of the newest trends in office furniture this year is the standing desk. This is an elevated surface that you can work on while standing up. Typically, these types of desks are adjustable, so they can be used when you are sitting down as well.

Working in front of a computer all day can be hazardous to your health. Add these healthy habits to your workday and you can avoid getting web spread.

Today more than ever before, consumers are turning to the Internet to find the products and services they want. Given the convenience of shopping online, that’s not surprising.

When you shop online, you don’t have to drive down to the shopping district or mall, you don’t have to deal with the crowds, and you don’t have to interact with ignorant or inattentive sales staff. All you need to do is perform a quick search for what you want, click on a button and it will be delivered to your home within a few days — or even a few hours, in some cases!

Web Design and Online Shopping

The rise of online shopping has been a boom for most web design firms. That’s because even the smallest brick and mortar businesses now need to have a website in order to compete for customers. Most businesses are now taking it a step further and asking for web pages that are optimized for use on mobile devices like smart phones and tablets.

The trend for online retail isn’t going away anytime soon. In fact, it’s only going to get bigger.

Shopping – Investing in the Future

In response, many big retailers are looking for ways to simplify and speed up the process so that it’s easier than ever for their customers to get the products and services they want. Free delivery and next-day delivery have become so commonplace that many consumers now take them for granted and may balk at retailers that don’t provide these services.

Other big online retailers, such as Amazon, are now working on providing same-day delivery, investing huge sums in warehouses, distribution centers and delivery systems. Amazon is even experimenting with pilot-less drones that can deliver your order to your doorstep within an hour of placing your order!

For web design firms that seek out innovative and effective ways to make it easier for businesses to connect with customers, the future is very bright indeed.