These signs indicate that it is time to hire development experts

It Looks like Your Website Belongs to a Different Era

Your website has a clunky design, pixelated graphics and Flash animations. Your website’s design looks like it is reminiscent of early 2000s.

A professional website development company can create a visually appealing, modern website that reflects the brand identity of your business and resonates well with your target audience. The company will use the latest design techniques and best practices in order to create a website that is not only visually appealing but also optimized for mobile devices and user-friendly.

You Website Lacks Easy Navigation

A website must be easy to use and intuitive. Visitors who get lost in the maze of menus and submenus or broken links are likely to abandon your website before they find what they need.

A website development firm will prioritize user experience (UX), by designing a site with logical navigation, clear information architecture, and an emphasis on user flow. It ensures that visitors are able to easily find the information they need, navigate your website smoothly, and convert into paying clients.

Your website is slow and unreliable

Your website will lose potential customers if it takes forever to load, crashes frequently, or displays error message. Slow websites are not only frustrating to visitors, they also affect your search engine rankings.

A website development firm will make sure that your website is built using a solid platform and optimized for speed. They will implement caching techniques and optimize images. They will also leverage content delivery networks to ensure that your website loads quickly on all devices.

Your website isn’t generating leads or sales

Your website can be a powerful tool for marketing. It should be designed so that it can capture leads, nurture potential customers, and convert them into paying clients. It’s time to revamp your website if it isn’t producing the results you want.

Website development companies will work closely with you to determine your goals and audience. The company will then create a website with conversion optimization strategies and clear calls to actions, as well as effective lead capture forms.

You don’t have the time or expertise to maintain your website

It can take a lot of time to keep your website updated with the latest security patches and address technical issues. A website development company is a great option if you don’t have time or the expertise to maintain your website.

Many web development companies offer packages of ongoing website maintenance that include content management, security updates, and technical assistance. You can focus on your business, while your website is kept secure, functional and optimized.

Conclusion

Your website is an asset that can play a key role in your marketing strategy. You can improve your website’s functionality, user-experience, and ability to generate sales by recognizing signs that it needs professional attention. A reputable web development company will provide you with the resources and expertise to build a website for your business.

Contact EBS to discuss your next project if you need an expert.

The post Signs That You Should Hire a Professional Web Development Company appeared first on Emerging Business Systems Ltd..

Every visitor search for something on the 1.8 billion websites that exist worldwide.You can provide the information your audience wants by creating content for your website.

Why is content on a website important?

Content is important because it can make or break your website’s profitability and usability. If visitors to your site are unable to use it for their intended purpose — such as finding information, buying products, or booking travel — they will bounce.You’ve lost business if they bounce.

Visitors to a site often expect a menu bar in the header of a website, for instance. You may lose visitors if you don’t include this content, or if you place it in an unexpected location. The users won’t be able to find the information they are looking for and will go to another website.

Most people choose well-known brands over products. To build familiarity, your website should include your brand story. This will help your visitors to connect with your mission. They can also recognize you on other platforms (such as social media or advertisements). Color schemes, slogans and logos help viewers recognize your message and express who you really are. This will lead them to choose your product or service.

Content on your website is important, as it communicates what you want to say to your readers. You want visitors to believe that your product or service will solve their problem, whether it’s a difficult trip plan or uncomfortable sneakers. How and what a website displays information will determine whether or not your content is resonant with viewers.

Search engines and content

Search Engine Optimization (SEO). is the process of improving content to make it appear higher on search engine result pages (SERPs). The SERP rankings will increase the visibility of your website, since most people look only at the top few links in a SERP. Your chances of attracting new customers are better if you have better content.

Google uses crawlers to download your entire site, including images, text and video. Then, it analyzes each element and stores them in its database. Google returns information that it deems most useful to users when they perform a search. This is done largely by matching keywords to your search queries.

Include common keywords in your content to rank higher.You’re creating a website for wedding planner services. The most relevant keyword to rank is “wedding guide”. If you include this keyword in your landing pages, page title, and blog post you will increase the chances of Google recognizing your content as a response to the keyword question. Google will then display your content nearer the top of SERPs in order to assist searchers.

Your bounce rate will increase if your content is stuffed with keywords but lacks relevant information. Searchers will move on to another website that offers better information. Don’t just use keywords to get ranked.  Instead, create useful content that is centered on what the searchers are looking for.

Keyword research can be used to inform your design decisions. You can use the keyword “book a venue” as the main wedding-related search term. Or, you could include the booking information in the homepage or your CTA buttons.

The mapping of content is a way to organize your content logically. This makes it easier for Google’s bots crawl and index your site, which increases the chances that you will appear in SERPs.

Prioritizing content for your website

Planning the content is the first step in designing a website. You need to know what type of content will be on your website to create the best layout, just as you would know your shoe size before ordering the correct pair. You might end up with a design that includes unnecessary elements, or leaves out essential information if you don’t have a clear idea of what your website will contain.

Content modeling is a powerful tool for CMS

Content Modeling describes the structure, hierarchy and relationships of a website’s different content types. For example, blog posts are different from buttons. Content modeling makes it much easier to convert a website into a CMS.A CMS is an application that manages and stores content.

The majority of CMSs assign fields to input content. These systems can recognize and display every element on your website, such as images, CTAs and text formatting, if your site is well-modeled.It’s easier to have your CMS and site “talk” with each other.  Content pushed by the CMS will upload correctly and content that interacts with the CMS will register properly.

Some CMSs allow you to track clicks on buttons, such as website links clicked from social media posts.This allows you to optimize your content and track conversions on all platforms.

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The same principle applies to website design. SquareSpace and Wix make it easy to create your own website.

Website design can be a bit more complicated than you might imagine. It might seem tempting to create a website using one of these platforms, but it is better to hire professionals.

Customization

Sites like Squarespace and Wix use the term “fully customizable” to market their products. However, if you’re not a web designer, these websites aren’t fully customizable. It takes time to create custom websites and requires a working knowledge of coding.

Web developers can do things that site builders cannot. They can receive your feedback and create the website you envision. They are skilled in creating photo galleries, header sliders that display images from your product, custom-built blogs, and custom-built websites. While they can customize your website, a site builder will only be able to modify pre-made templates.

SEO Optimization

SEO optimization is crucial to ensuring your website performs well. Although SEO tools for website builders are great, they don’t really understand SEO optimization. Website designers can help you find the best keywords to use and the right places for each keyword, making your site SEO-friendly in no time.

Digital Marketing: How to Do It

Did you know that your website’s appearance can have a significant impact on sales and ROI? Website designers are experts in digital marketing and can ensure that your website converts and brings you more clients and customers. Site builders don’t know how to tell you if the image of the deck you painted for a client will result in more clients.

Eye for Design

Website builders may tell you they can make your website look professional but they cannot tell you if the header text on each page is inconsistent with the body text.

Website developers understand what good digital design looks and feels like. They are familiar with colors, fonts, layout, and how they work together to promote your brand. This is something that a website designer can’t do. It’s always better to work with a professional creative than using a pre-built template.

Site optimization assistance

Are you aware of the dimensions that your photos must be to avoid Google deleting your website? Are you familiar with the code required to ensure that Square payments work properly? We bet that you don’t unless you’re a web developers, the answer is likely no.

A website designer is worth their weight in silver. They will be able to optimize your website for search engines, customers, and your clients. You can rely on their expertise for the best website performance.

The post Why hiring a web designer is better than DIY appeared first on Emerging Business Systems Ltd..

If you have been asking these or similar questions, it may be time to commission a redesign of your cherished website.

Here are some website redesign benefits.

Increase brand awareness

This is common sense. We are discussing design, functionality, and the user experience most importantly.

Your website is your storefront, your corporate identity, and your online digital presence, so it should look and function as well as possible.

Your website must accurately and consistently represent your brand across all channels. It typically dictates the aesthetic of your other channels, so if you get this right, the rest should fall into place.

Consumer trust is directly correlated to brand perception. If you have a clean, professional website that offers a concise user journey with clear messaging and calls-to-action, your visitors will not only have a better experience, but they will also respect and trust your brand more.

Enhance user experience

Visitors visit your site to find the answer to a question. Where can I purchase the most recent Converse All Star Ox in Sunset Red? is an explanation video? Alternatively, what is the connection between exercise and angiogenesis in racehorses? If your visitors cannot easily find the answer to their question, they will leave and you will lose the sale, client, or future grant.

Enhancing the User Experience decreases bounce rates and increases customer retention. Improving the UX includes highlighting important content, developing intuitive navigational structures, and providing visitors with clear calls to action.

Boost sales and conversion rates

A website redesign also affords you the chance to review and optimize your sales funnels in accordance with your digital marketing strategy. This will be a component of your UX redesign and will highlight areas where customers may be leaving, such as overly complicated forms, excessive clicks, and convoluted checkout procedures. You should see an increase in sales and conversions if you take the opportunity to address these issues.

 During a redesign, you should also refocus your website on new products and services.

Improve SEO & site performance

You can have the most beautiful and interactive website in the world, but if it is not optimized for search engines and people cannot find it, then all of your hard work is for naught.

 Search Engine Optimization is a continuous and ever-evolving process that requires constant attention and incremental steps, but your SEO efforts may be neglected in favor of more pressing business objectives.

Therefore, a redesign is an excellent opportunity to address any SEO deficiencies and bring your website up to date with the most recent SEO best practices.

Currently, this involves ensuring that your website is clean and quick; compressing your images, reducing HTTP calls (CSS and JavaScript references), minimizing render-blocking scripts, caching, and more.

The words, images, and other media on a webpage are what a search engine will read and index, so speed is not the only factor that matters. The more frequently you produce well-written, original, and informative content, the more likely it is that you will see positive results and a rise in your page positions on search engine results pages.

Enhance functionality and content administration

Redesigning your website affords you the chance to assess its current functionality, both for visitors and for the business (front-end/back-end), with the goal of making everyone’s lives easier. Changes in technology and fashion necessitate the provision of pertinent features to your site’s visitors.

For instance, your current e-commerce website may require all customers to create an account or login prior to making a purchase. However, adjusting this functionality to allow guest purchases may increase sales by facilitating a much quicker checkout process.

Alternately, you may be required to export your orders manually and import them into your financial software for reconciliation – perhaps not a difficult task, but one that requires 15 minutes per day. By improving the functionality and directly integrating your in-house finance platform with your website, this data can automatically synchronize, saving you 15 minutes per day; 75 minutes per week; 65 hours per year (not excluding holidays).

What would you do if you had an extra 65 hours?

Control over content is essential for a business because it reduces the need for a developer to be available for daily updates and support. This decreases your monthly operating expenses and increases your flexibility and lead time for important updates such as blog posts and the creation of campaign pages. Therefore, if you need to make regular updates or create new pages (which you should for SEO purposes), you will need a solid and dependable Content Management System such as WordPress.

If your current content management system is difficult to use, it may be time to consider alternatives; this is unquestionably one of our recommended website redesign benefits.

Better Safety

In a sense, proper security is a corollary to SEO, given that Google favors websites employing HTTPS with secure SSL Certification. However, it is more important to ensure that your site encrypts any data it processes, especially if it handles payment information.

Customers want to know that when they make a purchase on your e-commerce website, their credit card information is not being transmitted over an unsecured connection and made publicly accessible.

The focus then shifts to brand perception and trust.

Your current site may also be built on an open-source platform that receives regular updates to both its core codebase and plugins – WordPress comes to mind first. If you do not keep the core up-to-date with regular updates as they become available, your website’s vulnerability to malicious attack increases.

Ensure that your new website is secure and up-to-date for more than just security, but also for SEO and brand perception.

The takeaway

As you can see, the advantages of redesigning a website extend far beyond aesthetic updates and making it more visually appealing. Focus on the aforementioned key areas with a synergistic approach, and the overall effect will be a fundamental business boost.

The post Website Redesign Benefits appeared first on Emerging Business Systems Ltd..

It’s normal for a business website to go months without being updated, whereas a brick-and-mortar retailer will clean their store every day they come to work.

Your website should be mobile-friendly.

Checking if a website is mobile-friendly is one of the simplest ways to determine if it’s out of date. This involves evaluating the site’s display and functionality on tablet and smartphone screens.

Currently, mobile-friendly websites receive between 50 and 70% of their traffic from mobile devices. Therefore, if your website does not employ a mobile-responsive design, it could end up costing you a substantial amount of potential web traffic and, consequently, good business, as it will also frustrate your customers.

Does Your Website Require Maintenance?

Managing your website requires frequent page inspections. This is not a “set and forget” endeavor. As you would with a physical storefront, periodic maintenance checks are required to ensure that the website continues to function properly.

This will help you provide a satisfying customer journey for your customers. In the worst cases, a poorly maintained website will result in a site that loads extremely slowly or not at all.

Occasionally, these issues are caused by poor hard-coding in certain customized features or functionalities, or by outdated plugins. It could even be large images in a blog, but these issues are typically server-related, so you will need to contact your web hosting service provider.

What Is the Security Level of Your Website?

Evaluation of a website’s security will undoubtedly impact its overall performance. Sadly, this is yet another area of expertise that requires a skilled web developer.

Even if your website is performing well, it is prudent to conduct security audits several times per year. You must ensure that your website’s security systems are current. You must also confirm that your website is backed up, how frequently it is backed up, and that the server hosting your website is secure.

Your website is your online workplace. The smallest amount of security can cost your small business a great deal of money.

Is Your Website Working Correctly?

How often do we find a business owner with a website in denial about whether or not one of their most valuable assets is effectively serving their business needs and objectives?

Usually, the answer is complex because there is a great deal of room for “potential.” This evaluation necessitates the knowledge of a search engine optimization-savvy internet marketing expert (SEO).

Is the design of your website consistent with current trends?

It may come as a surprise, but this is not the last concern on our list by accident, and here’s why.

Firstly, if your website is not so dated and you began this list with updating the website’s aesthetics as the first point, you may not have made it to number five before realizing that your website requires urgent maintenance or a complete redesign.

Regarding websites, design should follow function. In light of the recent emphasis on mobile technologies, an effective website must be optimized for smaller displays. The characteristics of contemporary good design are navigability, clarity, and simplicity.

To evaluate the functionality, long-term dependability, and security of a particular theme, a web developer would have to perform a significant amount of work.

Therefore, you must first consider these five factors. You may discover that what is preventing you from advancing in the digital space has more to do with how your website functions than with how it appears.

The post When Does a Website Become Obsolete? appeared first on Emerging Business Systems Ltd..

How can you tell if an image is high quality?

An image’s quality depends on many factors, especially on the web. The quality of an image is determined by the camera’s resolution and sensor size in traditional photography. But everything changes with web photography. We will define “high quality” in this article as sharpness, relevance, and speed.

Sharpness

Blurred images and/or skewed images are not something anyone wants to see. Businesses that rely on their website to interact with consumers cannot understate the importance of having sharp, professional images.

Relevance

If an image has little to no relation to the surrounding content, then it is probably better to leave it out. Random images or ones that do not relate to the content only serve to distract the user.

Speed

What is the use of an image if the user clicks off the page before it loads? When placing images on your website, speed is an extremely important factor. Larger files take longer to load. In order to maintain a sharp image that loads quickly, you must find an appropriate balance between file size and resolution based on how large your website needs to be.

There is no doubt that images make everything easier to read, but why? A user is more likely to relate to an image than a paragraph of words, because they like to see something visual over a huge block of text.

Any type of reading material, including websites, falls into this category. Learn why we at Emerging Business Systems  use high quality images and why we think you should too.

Content with high-quality images is more interesting.

Imagery always makes content more interesting, and this is because you can tell a story and connect with users through it.

They have the power to enhance what the reading material is, this includes;

• Magazines
• Books
• Newspapers
• Websites

Moreover, it will aid the user in remembering the content, as they can match the image to the content they just read, making the visit to the site memorable.

SEO is enhanced by high-quality images.

Increasingly, people are using search engines like Google to find images online, which has necessitated the addition of images to a website.

If you add relevant and high quality images to your website, you will be able to get an organic ranking for your website. You will also be able to increase your online visibility.

You probably want to add high-quality images to your website now that you know all this, right? In order to do this, you will need to consider the following factors:

• Images should link to the content on your site.
• Write and include alt text descriptions and image title tags.
• Including some images are always better than no images at all.

A high-quality image makes a text easier to read.

There are times when users will be reading content on a website and have no idea what the content is about, and this can be both frustrating and time-consuming.

It is easier for the reader to understand what they are reading with high quality images.

A high-quality image helps you sell your product.

Your clients will be able to trust your business more when they see high quality images of your services. Ultimately converting a potential lead into a paying customer is the goal.

The better quality the image is the more likely customers will highly rate your products/services, which will have a big impact on their influence to buy. So, the higher the quality the better chance to convert.

Furthermore, higher quality images are ideal for a number of reasons, which include;

• They fit into modern web design.
• They boost the promotion of your brand.
• They bring continuity to your social media platforms.

Social media visibility increases when images are of high quality.

The use of social media can help boost your business’ visibility when you want it to be seen. Take advantage of social media platforms to promote your company’s website, products, and services.

In addition, high-quality images are more likely to be shared, liked, and commented on by visitors. As a result, make sure that what you are uploading is of the best quality in order to boost your business further on social media platforms.

Some social media platforms you can consider are;

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• LinkedIn
• Instagram

Images help to convert leads.

As we know, sites that contain high quality images in addition to unique and relevant content will get more views than those that only consist of text.

By creating more user engagement, high quality photography provides you with more visits.

Because of this, users are more likely to spend more time on your website, which means you have a longer period to sell your products or services through content and images.

By making information easy to scan, pictures help you tell a story about your business and the services you offer. Utilizing this form of visual communication can help you build credibility and recognition for your brand.

High quality images will help convert your leads by;

• Increasing user engagement
• Decreasing bounce rate
• Forming a link between your customers and your company
• Earning more views to your site

How to Get High Quality Images for Your Website.

It’s likely that you’re wondering what to do now if you don’t have high quality images for your site yet.

Well, you go out and either find some good high resolution images on stock websites like Shutterstock, Big Stock, I Stock, though stock images are not always best, this is because users like to see real life images of what your business does.

For example, you could hire a photographer to take some professional high quality images of your business, products, or services to add to your website to make the content clearer and more user-friendly.

The post The Importance of Having High Quality Images on Your Website appeared first on Emerging Business Systems Ltd..

Content that shines online relies heavily on images. Adding visuals to a blog post, webpage, ebook, or any other piece of content will improve its overall user experience. You cannot simply pull images from the internet – it’s your responsibility to determine if and how you can use the image without violating copyright. You need to know if you have legal rights to use any image, regardless of where you obtained it – whether from Google, social media, or a stock photo site. Violations of copyright (even accidentally) have serious consequences. Those found guilty of copyright violations could face up to $150,000 in fines. In the event of a trial, a party found guilty of copyright infringement is also responsible for all attorney fees and court costs. However, that’s not all – the court has the right to impounded any work containing a copyright violation, and in extreme cases, the copyright infringer may be jailed.

Discover the different types of images and how to use them online.

Use Public Domain Images (a.k.a. ‘No Copyright’ Images)

Public Domain images have no copyright because:

• The copyright has expired.
• The work never had copyright to begin with.
• The copyright holder released the work into the public domain.
• The image is a U.S. work published before January 1, 1924.

A copyright-free image will have the Public Domain Mark 1.0 or the CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Mark. Public domain images do not require any citation.

You can obtain public domain images on sites like Wikimedia Commons and Flickr Commons.

Use Creative Commons Images

The Creative Commons license is another great (and free) source of photos. Creative Commons licenses allow photographers to release their photos to the public while retaining some control over how they are used.

There are two categories of Creative Commons-licensed photos:

• Those that allow commercial use.
• Those that don’t.

Uses intended primarily for monetary compensation or commercial advantage are considered commercial.

• That compensation can be direct or indirect. For example, if you use an image in a blog post or website that is affiliated with a for-profit business, the use is commercial.

Use only Creative Commons photos that are allowed for commercial use. Please do not use Creative Commons photos where commercial use is not allowed if you are working for a for-profit company.

Use Stock Photos

A stock photo is a photo that creators license to anyone who is willing to pay a licensing fee. You can use a licensed image in any way that is described in the licensing agreement. A major benefit of stock photo sites is that they offer a broad range of relevant images relevant to almost any niche – and since stock photographers are professionals, the quality is usually high. However, it’s important to note that even stock photos come with some restrictions. Certain photographs are available only for editorial use – you can use such photos in publications such as newsletters and blogs, but not for advertising or social media. Licensing agreements should always be read carefully.

Use Your Own Images

It is also possible to take your own pictures. You are not in danger of violating any copyright if you are the photographer. Plus, the photos will be all original – fresh content for the win! You don’t have to buy a professional camera – most smartphones today have cameras that are on par with those in DSLRs. Light and background framing are important to making your pictures look professional. If you prefer, you can hire someone to take images for you – just make sure the contract specifies your exclusive rights to the pictures.

Use Social Media Images Only with Permission

A social media image is no different than any other image you’ll find online, in that you should act responsibly and ask for permission before posting it. People often regram or embed social media images into their own content, but that doesn’t make it legal. As an example, Instagram’s terms of service clearly state that the copyright of any Instagram image belongs to the poster. Use of social media content without permission can result in legal action – and legal fees and judgments could cripple a small business. Be cautious at all times. A simple direct message (or comment) asking for permission to use the image is quick and easy, and will protect you – and you’re likely to get the permission you need.

Avoid Using GIFs

Despite the fact that GIFs are ubiquitous throughout online content, their use is not legal. GIFs can be argued to fall under the doctrine of fair use. In certain cases, copyrighted works can be used according to fair use doctrine. You might use fair use when you see an image on a search engine that matches what you searched for. In addition, a teacher who distributes coursework that includes copyrighted material or news coverage of such material would also be considered fair use. The concept of fair use extends to works that are a “transformative” use of the original work – that is, a brief, looping clip from a movie is not representative of the entire work and so does not undermine its value. For you to operate completely at no risk, you’d need the permission of both the people who appear in the GIF and the copyright holder of the original work – and that sounds like a lot of effort for something that will probably end in failure.

The post A guide to using images online legally appeared first on Emerging Business Systems Ltd..

Let’s talk about something that could be extremely detrimental to your business should the date pass you by: your business domain name, also known as a URL.

Depending on the plan you chose when purchasing your business domain, the domain name has a time limit.

Domain names are an important piece of your business brand, from registration information to account login, and of course main point of contact.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you know when your domain name is due for renewal?
• Do you know where your domain name was purchased through, or is registered at?
• Do you have the account information on hand that is necessary to initiate the renewal?
• Do you know who the main contact within your organization has served as the main point of contact between your business and the domain registrar?

If the answer is no to any combination of the previous questions, we’re here to help.

By writing this blog post, we hope to educate businesses about the upcoming domain expiration, so that you may be prepared to renew and maintain your business website.

Who is my Domain Registrar?

Do you know who your domain registrar is, who purchased your domain name from?

Is it GoDaddy? Network Solutions? Or something else you just can’t remember?

Don’t stress—a helpful solution is to run a WHOIS search.

In a WHOIS search, you can input your domain name and view information regarding your domain such as who your registrar is, who the main contact was who created the account, and even what servers your website is hosted on.

Creating privacy settings upon registering your domain may prevent you from seeing all information, however, you can see your registrar information, which is absolutely invaluable if you forget where you purchased your domain.

Whenever you buy a domain for the first time, you’ll want to check that you’re buying from a reputable, trustworthy, authorized registrar.

In general, domains fall within the same price range, but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

If you need any assistance in the future (say, if you forgot where you purchased your domain), many domain registrars offer excellent customer service.

If a situation arises that requires a higher level of service, as with any investment, you want to be sure that you will be well taken care of.

What Happens When my Domain Expires?

A domain that has expired (and a potential penalty fee determined by the registrar) is nothing to laugh about.

As your website’s domain name is your business address, so is the name of your website.

The moment your website becomes inactive, it will be immediately withdrawn from the web, thus eliminating any chance for foot traffic to reach your site.

As soon as a domain expires, users of your site, new users, or even potential customers are unable to view your site – even if your site is still appearing directly in Google’s search engine results page (SERP).

This is detrimental to your website, your visitors, and your ranking on Google.

Furthermore, once your domain expires, it enters a grace period indicative of the reseller and their own terms and conditions—once this period ends, the domain is made available for sale to the general public or to companies.

If someone decides to buy a domain name one day, they can put it on backorder so when it becomes available, they are able to purchase it immediately.

Don’t let someone else, or even a competitor, grab your domain name.

After the domain itself is officially taken off the market, the integrity of your overall business brand is compromised.

Should your domain expire and be bought by someone else, are you willing to take the risk of having to rebrand?

How to Renew an Expired Domain

The first thing to do is to set the record straight. You’ve got time to renew your domain. Don’t lose hope.

 Many of our clients use GoDaddy for their domain names, so here are the steps you will need to take to renew your expired URL:

1. Log-in to your account. Navigate to godaddy.com, and sign in with your business account information. Forgot your account? Simply click “I forgot” and the customer service team will help you recover your account.
2. Click “My Products”
3. Click “Manage All”
4. Under the “Domains” menu, click “Expired Domains”
5. Select your expired business domain name.
6. Select the desired length of registration for your domain.
7. Click “Finish” to complete your renewal.

How to Avoid Having my Domain Expire

It is important that you have your own domain name. If your domain was set up by a previous web services provider, it’s possible that they are responsible for managing your URL and its renewal.  You should own and be able to control this integral part of your business, just like you do with other aspects of your company’s property. It is recommended that you transfer your domain name into your own registrar account if your domain is not within a controllable and accessible account.

Don’t worry about renewing your domain again by setting up auto-renewal with the registrar.

 Following are the steps you would take to renew your domain if you purchased it through GoDaddy:

 Navigate to “Account Settings,” click “Renewals & Billing,” and then click “Auto Renew.”

In the previous example, GoDaddy was the provider we used to demonstrate how you can find expired domains and easily renew them.

In the long run, keeping an employee within your organization responsible for domain management will help keep your business on track.

If your domain name is managed by someone within your company, having a plan should that individual leave the company can save you a lot of time and aggravation down the road. You will need to ensure your domain will not be compromised if the direct contact leaves your business.

It is recommended that business credentials are used when purchasing a domain name and setting up an account with the registrar so that access to the domain (particularly as it nears expiration) is hassle-free and eliminates the possibility of your business website going down.

Take Responsibility of Your Domain

You are responsible for renewing your domain name, not your website design company.

You should consider it an essential component of your business.

At Emerging Business Systems, we assist our clients in purchasing / taking ownership of their own domain names.

It is all too common for new customers to encounter problems obtaining control of their domain when transitioning to Emerging Business Systems for a new website. Fortunately, we’re here to help you!

Need help with taking control of your domain?

You can reach out to us if you need assistance with anything we’ve covered here, or if you want a fresh new website to showcase your business to the world.

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The fact is, technology is moving at a much faster pace than ever before. If your website is even a couple of years old, it may be in dire need of an update already. No matter how much money you spent on the original design or how reputable the website designer was, that’s the harsh reality of today’s dynamic marketplace.

After all, just think about how we used to listen to music in our vehicles or in our daily life. You will be hard-pressed to find a car that even has a built-in CD player at this point. Any car that has one is likely deemed ancient in today’s current marketplace.

So, what does it actually mean that your website isn’t being supported any longer? And what should you be doing about it?

What This Means For Your Website:

1. Hackers Are Going To Love Targeting Your Site

One of the most significant reasons its so important to keep your website fully updated and to be constantly improving it has to do with Cybersecurity. You want to keep your website as updated as possible to ensure that vulnerabilities are plugged and that you aren’t going to be low hanging fruit for hackers.

2. Things Will Stop Functioning

A lot of the features on your site may simply cease to work. This could be due to the plugin being no longer updated or even because there is no longer proper communication between the code/servers.

3. No More Patches

If your website isn’t being supported any longer, you are likely going to be dealing with a situation where the technical people behind it won’t be fixing any bugs or making any patches that address present issues in the current build. Instead, they will be working on the newer versions.

4. Help Is Difficult To Get

Effectively finding someone who is capable of using an older platform is going to get much more difficult. What was once a 5 to 10-minute fix will begin to require a lot more manpower and hours. After all, the demand simply isn’t there for people to focus on it.

What You Can Do About It:

1. Nothing Is An Option

Your website isn’t going to simply detonate overnight. There are even niche forums and clubs that you can tap into to try to keep your older platform alive. However, you need to realize that not only will it become risky, but the odds will be stacked against you at that point.

2. Upgrade Your Site

You could find that it is very affordable to downright expensive to upgrade your older site to the most current version available. This is primarily be determined by how significant the chance is from your current version to the new one. A lot of developers will provide a free upgrade if the change is being made within a certain range of time. However, it’s important to understand that the more significant the gap is between versions the more likely your code isn’t going to hold up and that something will break during the upgrade process.

3. Start From Scratch

You may find that your platform is completely abandoned. You will find it difficult to find a host, no one will actively work on it. At this point, it will be effectively dead. If you find yourself in this situation, you will have no other choice but to start from scratch. Luckily, there are newer and more sustainable platforms that can make your website exceptional and it can boost your performance both in terms of the end user’s experience and your SEO rankings.

If you’ve been told that your website is not going to be supported for much longer or at all, you can call us. We will be able to assist you in figuring out what the best way to proceed is. We look forward to hearing from you.

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Images are important because…

There are numerous studies that show people tend to remember around 80 percent of what they see and as little as 20 percent of what they read. There is even research that shows 65 percent of people learn visually. Researches at MIT were also able to find that the human brain is capable of processing images in as little as 13 milliseconds. As you can see, there is a lot of research showcasing the importance of images is one of the most powerful methods of communication. One of the most important things they can do in today’s increasingly global economy is their ability to remove language barriers as they are typically understood by the majority of people throughout the globe.

Over the Internet, images can be used for various things. They are regularly used to provide enhancements to websites, to purposefully illustrate stories, as social media posts, like advertisements, and even to present different products and services.

The Main Reasons To Use Images On Your Website

1. Offer A Better User Experience

For one, images matter because they can be used to get someone’s attention. They will be able to convey messages that would otherwise take you a long time to convey through written words. They will be able to showcase things much better than you could describe with words and because people tend to gravitate towards images, it is going to be much better at capturing their attention with them.

2. Relevancy

Another reason it’s important to use images has to do with the ability to deliver contextual information that is going to offer up information to the user. For instance, if someone is looking to choose a hotel, they are going to be seeking out information about the aesthetics and appeal of the hotel. Nothing is going to be able to deliver it quicker than posting a gallery full of optimized images showcasing the hotel and the various rooms.

3. Increasing Dwell Time

The total time a visitor spends on a website is a user engagement signal that is used as a ranking factor for Google and other search engines.

Images can be a very important part of the overall content strategy for a website. The most captivating images can be set above the fold which will serve as everything from attention grabbers to informative tools. They should be highly relevant to the text that exists on the page and they should be completely original. You want to avoid using stock images as they are not nearly as captivating or effective.

4. Improve On-Site SEO

As mentioned, the images will help boost the rankings of a website. As long as the image is relevant and it features high-quality and relevant tags, it is going to help get the website ranking higher.

SEO For Images

While Google already has developed image-recognition algorithms and while they already hold different patents for the various systems for recognizing images, you still want to engage in the optimization of your images in order to get your website ranking higher. You want to choose the right image that is highly relevant to the text on your website and you want to ensure that the image is unique as stock images won’t increase your rankings.

Using Smart File Names

It’s not enough to upload a custom image with a randomly generated file name. You want to ensure that you are naming the image properly so Google is capable of figuring out what it is about. It should be relevant to the text on your site and the image itself. For example, instead of having a file named “IMG_26254185_15478”, you want to name it “hotel-lobby.jpg.” or with a keyword specific to your business.

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