I love Pinterest – I use it all the time both for work (design trends & inspiration) as well as personal – home décor, recipes and ideas. I set up an account for Webby a few years ago but neglected it – did not even link to it from my site as I did not feel it will generate business.   Recently I did a Google search for my business name (as I often do) and to my surprise, my Pinterest account appeared very high on page 1…. This was great but my boards were so old with outdated folio that I had to quickly update and make my Pinterest account relevant and on brand. This got me thinking ..read more

Once you invested in your Instagram profile, have good following and engagement on the platform – how do you drive traffic to your main call to action sections on your website? Instagram profile allows for one link – you can link to your website home page, but this can be overwhelming for some of your followers and it is not targeted to your Instagram audience. You can use a third-party link site such as Linktree but this means you are not directing followers to your own domain which is better for SEO and your ranking. Creating your own welcome links page on your own domain will direct follow ..read more

Photos and graphics are extremely important for any website or blog - they support your brand, help communicate your message and create the look and feel you want from your website. Once you have a professional website developed you still need to be able to add images correctly to your site or blog not only to support the look but also to help with SEO and avoid loosing ranking from a few steps that you were not aware of. Here are a few tips and must dos for adding new images to your website. These tips are general and apply to any platform but in this blog post I’m using Squarespace & Sho ..read more

As the end of the year approaches and most business owners take a well-deserved time off it is also the best time to work on the business – plan for 2023 and one element is your website. I put together a list of items to review and update or plan for with your website leading to 2023.   Strategy Does your website represent your current business strategy? Perhaps you changed focus with a new service or target market? What are you short- and long-term goals for your business and is your website ready to implement these goals? (for example, you might need to move platform or upgrade your web ..read more

Online Enquiry form one of the most important elements of your website as it helps capture leads and starting a conversation with potential clients. It is not enough to include a form, it is important to follow best practice so once potential customer arrives to the form to enquire, they follow through and complete the form. Here are my tips for best practice online forms: The form Limit the number of form fields as too many fields can be overwhelming and can turn people away. Best practice is between 3-5 fields. Research shows that reducing the number of form fields to four or less can i ..read more

Spring is Finlay here! Before the busy holiday period, spend a bit of time on your website and give it a good spring clean. Your website spring clean checklist (not in particular order) Review pages - delete all old pages or hide them if you will need them in the future. Check your online form (self-test) and update if needed.  (More about contact forms in this blog post ) Check that all links are working and fix broken links Clear out clutter – look at photos and copy; ask yourself does it add value to my website visitor? If yes, keep if not delete! Update images – perhaps you ..read more

If you run a Shopify store you might have heard already that last year Shopify launched the new Shopify 2.0. After developing a few new websites on Shopify 2.0 and moving a few existing ones to the upgraded version I can say I’m loving it! So why move? What are the benefits? Here are my top reasons:  Flexibility in design: all free themes (and of course paid themes) now include a large range of sections including video, testimonials, banners. More flexibility with section styling. Now with 4 different options you can have a different colour scheme for different sections Pages – you ..read more

Eight seconds. A website user’s attention span is somewhere around eight seconds. I’ll be generous and make it ten. This means that your website has a lot of work to do in a short amount of time. Similar to an ‘Elevator Pitch’ - you won't get a second chance to make a good first impression. To understand if your website passes the ten seconds rule, ask yourself: Can a visitor see who you are clearly? This can be accomplished with: a clear brand (logo and company name) a well crafted tagline a professional branded hero image Can a visitor figure out what the website is about and what y ..read more

Case studies are excellent in showcasing how you helped a client as they clearly lay out how your services were used to solve a problem, and the results. Case studies are great for - Portfolio showcase for creatives: designers, photographers & copywriters. Problem solving with services for consultants and coachers. Project showcase for home improvement sector: Builders, landscape designers, architects, interior designers A good case study tells a full story - starting with the client: who they are (or industry if you need to keep it confidential) the problems they came to you w ..read more

Podcasts are becoming extremely popular especially with many personal brand type businesses. There are many podcasting platforms that you can use to host your podcast  - once you select a podcast platform, it is best to incorporate and integrate the podcast to your website - this is more than just a link to your podcast. Why it is important? It shows your visitors a glimpse of your podcast Encourages subscribers Showcases your content and establish your authority in your field Helps with site SEO with regular content added   The best way to set this up is in a blog forma ..read more