Effortless Sites

It's easy to set up a blog on your website these days so why not use it to your business's advantage? If your blogging page is collecting dust or you haven't started one yet, we give you a few reasons why you should start blogging regularly!

Tell People What's New About You!

Let people know about your what's happening with your business, new products and/or services you are launching on your blog. Perhaps you can keep people updated with the developments of a project or post snippets of information prior to launching new products to help build up buzz around your business.

You Need A Website!

One of the first places people will look at is your website. It should provide people the crucial information about your business, contact information and premises. Without a website for your business in this day and age, it can look unprofessional and less trustworthy.

Your homepage is your virtual shop window that needs to attract and retain the attention of visitors to find out what's so special about your business. Inside that shop, fully showcase your product and/or services to set you apart from competitors.

Edinburgh, 26 May 2014—Effortless Sites, one of the fastest growing web development companies in Scotland, offers social media management for businesses. This particular offering is part of their select line of complementary services that help businesses establish a stronger presence on the web.

The Response to Clients' Engagement Needs

Social media is an online marketing trend used to engage with customers. It's an indispensable and effective part of any marketing plan, as businesspeople can use them when sharing content and finding leads, which they can turn into customers.

So you've set up an online shop but is it running the way you're wanting it to? If you're not getting the results you were expecting, there may be an issue with your eCommerce system. We give you some top tips that will help improve your online shop for you and your customers!

1. Make Sure Your Online Shop is User Friendly!

The design is crucial in helping people navigate and find products easily on your website. The layout should be clean with concise text so its not cluttered and hard to see. Particularly for tangible products, there should be options for the consumer to zoom in or view the products in detail from different angles. A smooth running website with easy to use navigation will help your customers enjoy a stress-free online shopping experience.

When it comes to a modern layout, user experience reigns supreme. It is no longer about the flashy images you use on the screen, but rather, the focus shifts toward providing the best experience possible for your visitors. The sidebar can be in the way of providing a streamlined experience, which is why it is ideal to retire it now.

Content is what keeps any blog running, but there are cases when aesthetic elements of a site ruin the reading experience. This results in higher bounce rates instead of real readership. This is the reason web designers should think about getting rid of all those distractions, starting with the biggest one: the sidebar. Despite its navigation-related functions, it gives users unneeded elements when reading, thus decreasing the efficiency of content no matter how compelling the piece is.

Interacting with online users is a lot like interacting with them in real life. You also need to be courteous and thoughtful, particularly when you are running an online brand. With the cloak of anonymity the Internet offers, however, it can be quite a tricky task.

Good social media etiquette goes a long way. For your online marketing strategies to be successful, you need to engage with your audience in the best way possible. Take a look at some of the measures you can try:

With Facebook turning ten years old, social media has been around for a long time yet not all businesses are using it to its advantage. Everyone is using social media, from young teens to grandparents! With social media being the number 1 activity on the Internet, it's time to get involved.

Engage and Interact with Consumers

A lot of social media users prefer to interact with brands via these platforms to start conversations with businesses. By using these outlets, it can help you reach those consumers and converse with them, not at them. By engaging with them on social networks, you can start to build a good rapport with your followers.

When you're managing your business, it can be easy to forget about the little things in your working life. Microsoft recently ended their support for Windows XP, meaning that thousands of users will either have to upgrade to a newer Window's software or face the risk of major security issues. The UK government had to pay Microsoft millions of pounds just to extend support for their outdated XP computers. It is thought that many of the world's ATM machines are still running Windows XP, meaning that it is potentially vulnerable to security flaws and hacks from cyber criminals. And with the Internet's panic attack over Heartbleed, an OpenSSL bug that has left websites vulnerable to sensitive data being stolen, it is crucial that you are aware of updates to security fixes.

With many small businesses running their daily business activities from various devices, it is crucial to keep updated! 

As the next big trend in technology, wearable devices are fast becoming more mainstream.

We've already heard about devices such as Fitbit, Google Glass and Samsung Gear. While it is still early stages and the tech being a bit clunky, what impact will it have in the upcoming years?

So you've got your business and website all set up but once everything has settled, what's next? 

If you've ever thought about setting up your own online shop, here is why you should start immediately!