Sometimes an awesome WordPress theme ends up lacking one particular feature or having one particular defect that makes you have double mind; if you still want to use it or not. It is interesting however to know that many of such defects can be corrected and some features it lacks can be added with few lines of code. Thanks to the flexibility of WordPress. In this article, we are look at how to add an arrow that indicates a menu that has a sub menu. It works.

Step 1. Add the following code to the theme’s functions.php

<?php

// add arrows to menu parent
function oenology_add_menu_parent_class( $items ) {

$parents = array();
foreach ( $items as $item ) {
if ( $item->menu_item_parent && $item->menu_item_parent > 0 ) {
$parents[] = $item->menu_item_parent;
}
}

foreach ( $items as $item ) {
if ( in_array( $item->ID, $parents ) ) {
$item->classes[] = ‘has-children’;
}
}

return $items;
}
add_filter( ‘wp_nav_menu_objects’, ‘oenology_add_menu_parent_class’ );

 

Step 2. Add the following  to the (functional) css file

.main-navigation li.has-children > a:after {
color: #222;
content: ‘ ▼’;
font-size: 14px;
vertical-align: 1px;
}
.main-navigation li li.has-children > a:after {
color: #222;
content: ‘ ►’;
font-size: 14px;
vertical-align: 1px;
}

Note: that “main-navigation” must be same with the class name used for the menu on the css file.

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With numerous web development companies out here it is indeed difficult to choose the right one since everybody has vividly sugar-coated their portfolio page with impressive track record. So the decision making process is crucial.

It is essential to pay attention while making this crucial decision because websites improve your business’ credibility and enable you to reach out to potential customers. Availing the services of an expert website development company will help in enhancing the growth of your business. Make sure that you consider the 10 points given below before selecting the best website designing company.

1. Check their Credibility

It is important to make sure that the web developers you are going to work are reliable professionals. Search online for third party reviews and testimonials. Be sure they exist in the domain the claim

Also, check if they have the required authorization to carry out businesses in that niche.

2. Portfolio & Past Work

It is imperative to check the past work of the website development company to get an idea about the abilities of their expert team. Checking their portfolio would help you understand their areas of experience. However, as mentioned earlier everybody has sugar-coated portfolio section. So to not get deceived, go through their portfolio websites and have a look how it’s functioning in your pc, smart phone and tablet.

3. Workforce and Size

When having an initial discussion at the web development company, make sure that you inquire about the size of their web developers’ team. It will help you get an idea about how qualified they are, the number of available resources, and who will be your point of contact. Also, get to know the team who will be coordinating the web designing activities.

4. Check Core Services

The web design company you choose must have essential skill-set and the ability to meet different demands of your projects, such as marketing, development, and design to offer best results. Check if they are efficient enough to provide comprehensive development, design, and marketing services that on par with the industry standards.

Ensure that they have the expertise in dealing with customized web projects that demand latest technical exposure and sophisticated problem-solving skills.

5. Overall Cost

Before availing the services of a web design company, you must check the total costs involved in making your business website fully functional. If you are keen on developing a site for your e-commerce business with advanced features, then it is essential to know the total costs involved to get better ROI.

Do not choose a company that quotes the highest price assuming that they would offer top-notch services. Choose a company that provide best web development services at a very competitive price.

6. Acceptance of Fresh Ideas

Have a right level of understanding with your web development team before beginning the project. Don’t forget to ask the questions mentioned below before you choose a web design company.

• Are they open to the fresh ideas you have?
• How would they ensure that your business gets benefited by the website?
• How will they help you stand out from the crowd?
• How would they add value to your business site?

Finalizing the company that answers in affirmative to all the questions above will help you stay assured of having a website that delivers excellent competitive advantage and better customer orientation.

7. Commitment towards Time

Ask the web developing company the time they would need for completing your project before entering into a contract. The company you choose should understand your business activities before the project’s commencement.

Some companies would inform you the deadlines within which they will complete various aspects of your site, such as CMS, content and web design. Select the website development company that offers you clear-cut information about the delivery time, as it indicates that they have a structured working style.

8. Designing Style

While some web designers prefer to create sites with minimalist and clean look, some love using bold colors and bright looking templates for developing the sites. Few web design companies specialize in both these styles. Choose the company that stays updated with the latest website trends like agile development following scrum based approach.

9. Meeting Goals

Ensure that you discuss the goals of owning the website with the website development company before proceeding to avail their services. Choose the web developers who offer realistic ideas, inputs, and strategies that they think will help in achieving both long and short-term business goals.

10. Future Relationship

Even though launching your website is the last step of web designing, the web development company you choose should be ready to check the progress, create and publish fresh pages or provide some creative ideas in future.

They must be able to offer maintenance support for your site right from monitoring the design elements to employing effective digital marketing practices. Choose the web development company that has the record of maintaining a perfect relationship with their customers.

Ref: Probytes

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With a recent surge towards mobile browsing and cool new design options like parallax scrolling, the web has seen millions of websites receive facelifts over the past few years. It has also led to a lot of poor web design choices that prevent consumers from fully connecting with brands. From unattractive homepages to weak content, poor navigation, and countless errors, there are a number of things that the average website can improve on.

Below, you’ll find the top ten most common web design mistakes and how to keep them from hurting your site’s overall engagement.

1. FAILING TO USE RESPONSIVE DESIGN

Since over forty percent of modern searches are conducted on smartphones and tablets, having a website that can display properly on those devices is of paramount importance for businesses. However, recent estimates show that less than seventeen percent of the world’s 876 million websites have been created with responsive web design. Since Google introduced a search update that penalizes non-responsive sites in mobile searches, this is a major problem for those who generate leads online.

2. Relying On a Free “Website Builder”

Numerous companies offer “drag-and-drop” website building apps that claim to allow users to launch a new website in minutes. The problem with these types of services is that each design facet adds dozens of lines to the back-end code and makes the site load slower. Over time, this can lead to serious performance issues and countless errors.

If budget restrictions are a problem, then consider purchasing a premium theme that already has the look and style of your ideal website. There are thousands of talented developers on Upwork that can lightly and cost-effectively customize a theme.

3. FORGETTING ABOUT ACTUAL DESIGN ELEMENTS

Some businesses are also guilty of either going completely overboard or flat-out ignoring the design elements of their website. Too many customizations can lead to the same issues talked about in the previous topic, plus it can distract the reader from the actual content. Minimalist websites with very few design features can also be a turn-off to visitors though, so finding a balance is essential.

This same concept applies to photos, videos, banners, and other types of graphics as well. For most websites, the entire page should be designed to lead the consumer’s eye towards making a favorable action (opting in, requesting information, making a purchase, etc.).

4. POOR USE OF HEADERS, SIDEBARS, AND FOOTERS

People often assume that heading areas, footers, and sidebars are designed exclusively for advertisements. However, it’s a big red flag when a webpage displays a high number of ads and banners, especially when there’s little content to go along with it. These areas can be much better utilized for additional navigation within the site.

Now, that’s not to say that it’s wrong to place a banner across the top of the page advertising a special promotion. This only means to remember the importance of design and balance throughout the site.

5. NOT CAPTURING CUSTOMER INFORMATION

While some sites may have too many ad placements, other domains might spend countless hours and advertising dollars driving customers to their site, only to fail at capturing a sale or even a lead. The odds are strongly against that missed customer returning on their own, which means that even more revenue needs to be invested in retargeting campaigns or other strategies to win back the customer. Some corporations waste millions per year trapped in this vicious cycle without ever actually capturing the consumer’s information.

This problem can be largely eliminated by creating a homepage opt-in offer that will appeal to your visitors. It can be something as simple as an instant discount or free shipping on retail sites, while others may want to offer an appealing freebie or a contest giveaway.

6. LACKING TOP-QUALITY CONTENT THROUGHOUT

The number one ranking criteria for the search engines has always been the quality of the content displayed on websites. Yet, domain owners frequently spend thousands of dollars to build a sleek, beautiful site and then treat the actual writing as an afterthought. This affects far more than search results though, because it is also the number one way to engage visitors and increase conversion rates.

To determine if your content is high enough in quality, look no further than your bounce and click through rates for visitors. This will clearly show if people are viewing multiple pages and taking actions on-site or leaving quickly. Bottom line: When designing a website, give just as much consideration to your content.

7. MAKING CORE INFORMATION HARD TO FIND

Another common web design mistake is making core information hard to locate. The homepage should have links to things like store hours, return policies, directions, FAQs, and shipping details. Other frequently viewed content like blogs and product descriptions should also have their own sub-menus in the sidebar once a visitor reaches that particular section. A search bar is also a very handy tool to place in the header of your site.

When creating the navigational layout for a website, it’s essential to focus on the consumer’s most frequent questions/needs and make those pages the easiest to find. On huge websites, it makes sense to create major category pages for quick navigation, which would give the user a brief description with a link to seek additional information.

8. NOT KEEPING A WEBSITE UPDATED

While the digital era has brought us amazing new technological advances, it has also opened up cybersecurity risks. That’s why keeping themes and plugins fully updated is essential in modern times; it ensures that every possible entry point is protected on your domain. The good news is that WordPress and many other popular website choices can auto-update—as long as it’s properly configured to do so.

Another tip for solid website security is to install a real-time protection like Wordfence or iThemes Security, plus a CAPTCHA option to thwart automated attacks. Also, insist that users with administrative access use secure passwords and change them periodically.

9. DEALING WITH BROKEN & POORLY OPTIMIZED PAGES

There’s nothing worse than clicking a link and seeing “Page Not Found,” especially when it comes to a product or landing page. In other cases, the page may still exist but not display properly due to a site conflict or a broken plugin. Some websites also lose potential conversions by neglecting their product descriptions and failing to provide enough information. Any of these mistakes can have a huge impact on a business’s bottom line.

The only way to avoid these issues is to actively have eyes on your website—whether it’s an engineer, a QA specialist, or through direct feedback from customers. There are tools that can assist in locating and solving some of these issues, but it still requires a hands-on approach with a system in place for diligent bug reporting and eliminating problems.

10. NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO ANALYTICS

Finally, a critical mistake in website design is not properly setting up the site’s analytics through Google Webmaster Tools or a similar program, or not using the analytics once it’s properly installed. The only way to accurately measure a website’s success is by digging down into the data and seeing how visitors are navigating the website.

This enables you to quickly leverage tools that identify poorly performing pages, analyze important conversion flows, and test banners and promotions in order to improve the weaker facets and find the best option. The most popular websites in the modern world are constantly testing, measuring results, and optimizing some more. That’s the only way to constantly improve and increase customer loyalty.

Culled from Upwork

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A business’s launch of a new website is always met with anticipation, excitement, and even a little bit of relief. The process takes time, but when it’s complete, you have a shiny new site that (hopefully) improves upon the previous iteration. Pizza is ordered, champagne corks are popped, and the celebration begins: The new website is live!

And then, time zips by, and that shiny new website you seemed to have just launched now looks old because…you actually launched it two years ago. So much work is put into a site redesign that no one is in a hurry to do it again. Yet, both aesthetically and functionally, your homepage looks too 2014 for its own good.

Of course, your website might still be effective for users—if it’s not broke, don’t fix it, right? The challenge is determining if your site does meet both your needs and the needs of visitors. You are aware that you must keep up with competitors and show customers that you care about the value of your products and services. A website that doesn’t reflect that will leave visitors unimpressed. The longer you wait, the more unimpressed they might become…

Redesign or Stand Pat?

Although there might be some obvious signs your website needs updating (that link to your company’s MySpace page is a no-brainer), not every indicator is so clear. After all, everything might be working fine, thus suggesting you stand pat. A redesign should be purpose-driven. There isn’t any right or wrong timeline; realistically, the decision to revamp your website depends on a number of factors:

• Have your services or products changed?
• Are you presenting content as effectively as you can? Is the content getting old?
• Are competitors outranking you in search results?
• Have your users’ needs changed since the last redesign?
• Did the company go through a rebrand?
• Does your current site work and display correctly on all devices?
• Do you need to improve usability? Are visitors not finding what they are looking for?
• Is your site load slow?

Your answers to these questions should give you a good idea whether or not a redesign is in order. There are several ways to tackle a redesign based on urgency and severity, but basically you likely will take one of two paths: incremental changes or a complete overhaul.

Incremental Changes

Tackling a website redesign in baby steps might be necessary in order to make the process as seamless and non-jarring as possible. Consider these two perspectives on why incremental changes might work best:

• The process doesn’t drain your time and resources: A typical overhaul of a site could take at least two months (starting from scratch all the way to launch). If you don’t have an unlimited amount of time, manpower, and budget to devote to the redesign, strive to make small enhancements to the user experience, perhaps adding new pages. You or your creative resources then can focus on other projects that help the business while making those small, incremental changes.
• Users won’t be scared off: People tend to hate change; they are used to certain patterns and intuitive experiences. When updating incrementally, you aren’t abandoning your current design—just gradually adjusting it.

Incremental changes offer other advantages as well. You can run A/B tests, keep track of traffic, and get customer feedback and data to make sure you are achieving user-centric goals.

If you need a visual refresh (or a reskin), there are small ways that you can update elements without hurting the website’s structure:

• Replace old textures, drop shadows, and old-school gradients with a flatter, modern look while keeping the main focus the same.
• Change the font to something more modern.
• Swap out stock images for more natural situations.
• Take inspiration from brands that you and your audience engage with regularly.

Because you’re just changing the CSS and applying new elements, this approach is definitely more of a money-saver. However, if you have tried incremental changes but discover that your issues go beyond aesthetics and don’t remedy low conversions and bad search rankings, you likely will need a complete overhaul of your website.

Complete Site Overhaul

A massive redesign may seem extreme but might be necessary if your site isn’t delivering the way it should. And if your website isn’t delivering, your bottom line will suffer. Here are some advantages of a complete overhaul:

• Fix any messes: Is the site architecture a mess? Do you have SEO problems? Is it not responsive? A freshly built website can fix all of these.
• Updating the look: An overhaul is a good opportunity to include new functionality, incorporate any rebranding elements, or add those fun background videos. Just make sure those videos have a purpose; don’t add them just because “they look cool.”
• Reorganization: A redesign gives you another chance to get it right—better content strategy, intuitive navigation, and an array of conversion opportunities.

The Right Time

Unfortunately, revamping your website isn’t like changing the oil in your car: There is no magic number on how long you should go between website redesigns and overhauls. As explained, many factors go into the decision—some sites can stay fresh for years; others seem dated several months in. That said, I would recommend a good redesign every two to three years, mostly because of the constant changes in your industry, as well as changes in design and technology.

Keep in mind the considerations detailed in this post to help you determine whether you should apply incremental changes or proceed with a complete overhaul. Strive to continually improve your website between redesigns so that task isn’t so monumental and, perhaps more important, so you don’t fall behind your competition. And when you do relaunch, be sure to celebrate! But if you can’t make it to the party, don’t worry—another site launch will be only a few years away….

How long has it been since your last website redesign?

Src: Amanda Singleton, SmartBug

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Web hosting can seem like a commodity these days. You just choose the amount of disk space and bandwidth you need, and you’re up and running. Whereas before there were all sorts of limitations imposed on you, nowadays you are spoiled with choices, and hosting costs have become almost inconsequential for most businesses.

But thinking that web hosting is a commodity like electricity or gas is a big mistake. The simple fact is that web hosting has a lot of moving parts, and they all need to work in harmony to deliver a high quality, uninterrupted service. Choosing a low cost host might seem like a rational choice but in fact it could be a false economy due to the harm that it can cause your business.

So let’s look at five factors you need to take into consideration to help you understand if your web hosting is in fact helping your business or holding it back.

1. What are your website load times?

Load speed is the speed at which your website loads. There are a number of sites where you can measure your PageSpeed. Load speed is important for a number of reasons. Primarily, because faster loading websites offer a better user experience than slow ones. Put simply, people hate waiting for a page to load.

But it’s not just desktop users. We have reached the tipping point where mobile browsing has overtaken desktop and laptop browsing – 51 percent over 42 percent in the US in 2015. And if there’s one thing that mobile users demand it’s fast websites.

Google understands this, and that’s why it specifically state that site speed is one of the variables that it measures as part of its overall search algorithm. It won’t tell us how much of a ranking factor load speed represents, but it doesn’t often shed light on its algorithm so when it does it’s worth taking note.

Now, without getting into too much detail about what makes up load speed, there are dozens of factors involved, many of them design related. These are the tweaks that an experienced, and usually expensive, web developer needs to make to the code of your website.

The bottom line? Speeding up your website can get expensive and takes time. But one area where you can get fast results is the type of web hosting you choose. By upgrading to either Solid State Drive (SSD) hosting or switching to a Virtual Private Server (VPS) you can dramatically improve your loadspeed at a fraction of the cost of overhauling your site’s code.

2. Do you have noisy neighbors?

Nobody likes noisy neighbors. They’re anti-social, noisy and tend to bring the tone of the neighborhood down.

The same is true in web hosting. The thing is that if your host is offering as much diskspace and bandwidth as you need for just a couple of bucks a month then guess what? You’re not alone on that server.

This is a real problem. Your host isn’t going to publicize it, but there will always be people on that type of offer who will still be pushing the envelope as far as they can. They’ll be the ones trying to eek out every last ounce of processing power from their $2 per month hosting. Maybe they’re using the server to blast out emails to their list or maybe they’re running dozens of RAM hungry scripts for their multiple affiliate sites.

Whatever they’re doing, one thing is for sure. A small minority of noisy neighbors will be hogging the server’s key resources and often having a detrimental impact on the server’s performance.

Sure, there are tools like CloudLinux, which acts as a limiter on the power that individual clients can access, but you need to know that your host has these types of mitigators in place.

3. What’s the IP reputation?

If the server you are hosted on is detected sending spam or hosting malware then the chances are that it’s IP address is going to get blacklisted. That’s bad news for you because that can affect a range of factors from email deliverability to your search ranking.

There are various software you can use to monitor your server’s IP reputation so you can see if it gets blacklisted.

One of the primary reasons for getting blacklisted is that other clients on the same server as you may be running insecure applications or out-of-date software. This isn’t necessarily done with malicious intent on their part. It’s usually just an oversight or a lack of understanding.

Let’s take an example. Hackers aren’t going to publish their modus operandi but usually they are just looking for insecurities that they can exploit. The classic example is an out-of-date contact form, which can be exploited to send spam.

Another example is out-of-date content management system (CMS), like WordPress or Joomla. These are increasingly popular these days, and the problem is that once the design phase is over the unsuspecting business owner doesn’t realize that they need to keep their software up-to-date. These updates are for a reason, and the main reason is to plug any security issues.

One way to address these proactively on the part of the host is to constantly monitor the software on a server and to monitor outgoing emails, using a tool like SpamExperts, to monitor for known fingerprints of spam, phishing and malware related emails.

Again, these tools come at a cost and some hosts might balk at the extra cost involved in protecting their IP reputation. On the other hand, responsible hosts will use them to get ahead of the problems to ensure that their clients do not suffer from blacklisting.

4. Do you have sluggish performance during peaks?

If you’re hosted on a shared server, and you’ve got a busy ecommerce website then maybe you’re starting to notice sluggish performance at peak times or during busy seasonal periods.

If so the chances are that your RAM hungry shopping cart application is just running out of juice. The thing is that shared hosting is intended to meet the needs of the majority. That means that key server resources, such as CPU and RAM, are shared evenly amongst all the websites on that server. As a result you just have to wait in the queue to get the power you need.

The net result? Sluggish performance that annoys your visitors and ultimately costs you in lost sales.

For a few dollars more each month, you can wave goodbye to these types of performance related issues. With a VPS you have the ability to scale up or down as needed. You can control the amount of CPU or RAM allocated to you, and you are guaranteed that level of power.

Think about that. Instead of having to fight for processing power and memory with hundreds, and possibly thousands, of other businesses you have it all for yourself with the ability to scale up on the fly as your needs dictate.

Sure, there are some extra monthly costs, like a control panel license and maybe a managed server service, if you don’t have a systems’ administrator on your team, but this is a wise investment for your business.

5. Is non-standard software permitted?

Sometimes you may need to run software or versions of software that aren’t supported on a shared hosting service. For example, let’s say that the shopping cart software you need requires the latest version of PHP, but your host is not yet offering this version.

Or maybe your host offers standard software that is slower than some of the alternatives. A couple of examples may be the web server where they use Apache instead of LiteSpeed or MySQL instead of Percona. That’s not to say that the slower options don’t have their advantages (e.g. Apache is strong on security), but if you wanted to run more exotic tools then a shared hosting environment may not be the best for you.

Web hosting is not a commodity like electricity or fuel. There are a range of reasons why you should make an informed choice for your web hosting service.

Whether it’s LoadSpeed, noisy neighbours, poor IP reputation, peak times or non-standard requirements you need to understand the cost versus benefits balance for your business, and plan your hosting accordingly.

culled from entrepreneur.com

The Web is full of horrendous sites, and we’re not just talking about bad design. There are many other elements besides how your website looks that go into making it customer-friendly — not to mention something that inspires them to actually do business with you.

From a survey conducted by Entrepreneur, Business Insider, from thorough contact information to customer testimonials, here are the essentials as reported by Experts and Professionals that every business website should have for it to effectively help you do business.

1. A clear description of who you are
Someone who stumbles upon your website shouldn’t have to do investigative work to figure out what, exactly, it is that you do. That means clearly stating your name and summing up your products or services right on the homepage.

“Tell people this is the right website that they have been searching for,” he says. “[A clear description] will attract the visitor’s attention immediately within 2-3 seconds, and encourage them to stay on your website longer.”

2. A simple, sensible Web address
Don’t make things complicated.

“Your domain name is like your brand. It should be easy for a user to type it into a Web browser or an e-mail address,” says Ron Wright, an icon in Web Design and Digital Marketing.

He adds: “I always recommend the .com domain as users are conditioned to type that extension when they enter a Web address. For non-profits or organizations, I usually recommend using a .org domain for branding purposes, but also recommend having a .com version of the domain in case a user accidentally types the .com address.”

Wright also suggests avoiding dashes (which can cause SEO headaches) and numbers (which can cause confusion for customers).

3. An easily-navigated site map
Clear links to the most important pages, and a site map, are crucial for guiding visitors to the information they’re looking for.

“Be sure your navigation is clearly laid out. I always recommend using dropdowns in the navigation menu so the visitor can see the content under every heading from virtually any page. You want to make it very easy for your visitors to find what they are looking for, or what you want them to know,” Wright suggests.

4. Easy-to-find contact information
You wouldn’t want to lose a customer to a competitor just because you made it difficult for them to get in touch with you.

“Not every online visitor has the patience to click through every page on your website to find the contact information,” says Zhuang.

“The best place for the contact information is the top left or top right corner of the home page,” he recommends. “It is also a good practice to include contact information in every page of the website in the footer or side bar or even in top right corner, which helps the visitors to find it more easily.”

You should also be sure to include several ways for them to contact you — phone, e-mail, and a standard contact form, are all good options. Forbes also suggests including your address, and even a link to your location in Google maps.

“One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is to force only one way to reach them,” says Wright. “The point is to make it very easy for users to communicate with you on their terms.”

5. Customer testimonials
Honest words from others help make your products or services more tangible to customers who are visiting you online.

“They help your potential customers to build trust in you, especially if you are new,” Zhuang says. “[And they] help shoppers to confirm whether the product [or] services meet their needs.”

“People love to hear stories from real people,” he adds. “They help people [find out] other things you haven’t said [on] your website.”

6. An obvious call to action
“Tell the online visitors literally what you want them to do with clear tones of commend,” says Zhuang. “For instance, you may want them to call you now for free quote, or sign up to your exclusively online coupons, or add products to the online shopping cart, etc.”

And, he adds, call attention to your suggestion — by using special buttons or highlighting the text, for example.

7. Good SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
Your website won’t do you as much good if no one can stumble upon it. Become familiar with the SEO basics to make it more accessible by search engine.

“You don’t need to employ mysterious, ninja, black hat SEO types to rank well on the search engines. Simply make sure your website is coded correctly,” Wright says.

That means using the correct keywords throughout your text, putting in plenty of links, naming your page titles and URLs correctly, and employing the magic of images and videos.

8. Fresh, quality content
For many businesses, your website is your first impression on a customer. You want to give them what they’re looking for, and perhaps even give them a reason to keep coming back.

Wright says, “The user is looking for something. Make sure you give it to them…. [and be] sure your content is original, well written and valuable.”

Fresh content is a goldmine for SEO, as well. You can keep your content from getting stale (and give your company some personality, too) by incorporating a regularly-updated blog or connecting in your social media feeds.

9. A secure hosting platform
Having your online information hijacked is a nightmare, and, should it happen to your business, it could cost you customers.

“It is imperative that you have a secure, trustworthy hosting company to keep the bad guys out and your content up and running,” says Wright. “It is also very important to keep your content management system updated in order to stay one step ahead of the hackers.”

10. A design and style that’s friendly to online readers
As Forbes puts it, “Web surfers have the attention spans of drunken gnats.”

Zhuang describes it in more detail: “Online visitors often scan through a Web page to sample the content first when they open a new Web page. If they feel like they are on the right page, they will slow down to read the full story. To enhance user’s experience on your small business website, you need to organize the content for scanning.”

He recommends three style points for online writing to keep in mind:

• Break things down into short paragraphs, with headers if necessary
• Use bullet points
• Highlight important words or phrases.

Wright adds, “In the end, simplicity and basic colors are the best bet. Again, the content is the focus, not dancing clowns at the top of the page.”

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It is not surprising that some persons still ask why they should have a website for their business or brand. This questions sometimes arise due to the presence of several social and professional networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Twitter etc, offering great services which help businesses and organisations to have a place on the internet, even for free. They are very useful even to a completely new business.

However, there are several other reasons you need your own website. Some of these you may not find in the social and professional network services. Listed below are some of them.

1. Inexpensive but effective brand property (online office): Owning a great website today does not cost a fortune. There are several packages available for small businesses to own world-class websites at very affordable rates. Click here to get exact figures.

2. Be able to use other advert channels: To use most advertising channels such Google ads, Email Marketing, and even some social media adverting services, you need a website to serve as a landing page for your leads.

3. Service Automation: Set your business on autopilot using a functional website. Share information, receive messages, sale products and services and many more with just customers interfacing with your functional website.

4. Accessibility and Visibility: Get seen and display your selling points to the world. Also provide more user-friendly options for customers to communicate with u.

5. Lead generation through SEO: The rate of search engine usage is rapidly growing, reaching 6,586,013,574 searches per day worldwide (smartinsights). Search Engine Optimization helps you leverage on this teaming search engine usage to reach new leads.

6. Increased sales: You sell more products and services to distant buyers via a user-friendly website.

7. Increased confidence from prospective clients: Your website speaks a lot about your business. Gain the confidence of new leads through a great website.

8. Be alive: Be where others are. Do what others do and then do your own in a different way.

9. Always active even during holidays: Your website is active 24/7 as long as there is no server breakdown. You keep attending to those looking for you via your website even in the night, during weekends and holidays.

10. A must-have for every business in the 21 century: Yes every business of the 21st century needs a website. Get your own now.

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