WebHornet Blog http://webhornet.com/ <p>Read posts about WebHornet Website Editor Software, new WebHornet Features, Web Design and Development, Tips and Tricks using WebHornet, Website Marketing and more.</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/51/utilizing-your-webhornet-tools-adding-pages http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/51/utilizing-your-webhornet-tools-adding-pages Wendy Utilizing Your WebHornet Tools - Adding Pages <p>WebHornet allows users to add unlimited pages to each website. At one time or another, your company may find that they need to promote a new product, advertise a special or simply add something to their website that was forgotten. Your WebHornet Website tools make this easy to do! Your company has the option of choosing the page name, adding slide shows, adding images, include a signup form and adding in content. Remember, our support team is always here to help!</p> <p>Follow the below instructions to get started -OR- View our <span style="color: #008000;"><strong>YouTube Video</strong></span> on how to <a href="http://youtu.be/GUdZMar_7iQ?list=PLGiWn1enxjnGJTsZLEXqavsPHvPrTcPim" target="_blank">Add a Page</a>.</p> <div>After you have loged into your WebHornet Website, located the Control Panel.</div> <div><br /> 1 - Click on the Add Page icon located in the upper right corner of the Control Panel.<br /> <br /> 2 - Fill out the Create Page form with details about your Page.</div> <ul> <li><strong>Title</strong>: The Title of Your Page</li> <li><strong>Browser Page Title</strong>: Enter the Page Title that will appear in the Web Browser. For more information on Meta Tags.</li> <li><strong>Meta Keywords</strong>: Enter specific keywords and phrases that you would like the search engines to see.&nbsp; Separate these by commas.</li> <li><strong>Meta Description</strong>: Enter a short description of your page that you would like the search engines to see.&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Permission View</strong>: Select whether&nbsp;the page is Public, Private or Hidden. Private pages can only be viewed by Users whom have logged in.</li> <li><strong>Template</strong>: Choose a template.&nbsp; When you create a new Page, the page inherits the Template default modules, content and general settings.</li> </ul> <div>3 - Click on the Save&nbsp;button to add the new Page.&nbsp; The Page is added to your website and will be displayed in the Control Panel.<br /> <br /> 4 - The new page appears in your Control Panel - Page Tree.<br /> <br /> 5 - You may find that you would like to tweak or edit the settings on this page at a later time.&nbsp; The Page Settings icon found in the upper left corner of the Control Panel.&nbsp; <br /> <br /><br /></div> Fri, 02 Feb 2018 00:00:00 -0600 2018-02-02T00:00:00-06:00 <p>WebHornet allows users to add unlimited pages to each website. At one time or another, your company may find that they need to promote a new product, advertise a special or simply add something to their website that was forgotten. Your WebHornet Website tools make this easy to do! Your company has the option of choosing the page name, adding slide shows, adding images, include a signup form and adding in content. Remember, our support team is always here to help!</p> <p>Follow the below instructions to get started -OR- View our <span style="color: #008000;"><strong>YouTube Video</strong></span> on how to <a href="http://youtu.be/GUdZMar_7iQ?list=PLGiWn1enxjnGJTsZLEXqavsPHvPrTcPim" target="_blank">Add a Page</a>.</p> <div>After you have loged into your WebHornet Website, located the Control Panel.</div> <div><br /> 1 - Click on the Add Page icon located in the upper right corner of the Control Panel.<br /> <br /> 2 - Fill out the Create Page form with details about your Page.</div> <ul> <li><strong>Title</strong>: The Title of Your Page</li> <li><strong>Browser Page Title</strong>: Enter the Page Title that will appear in the Web Browser. For more information on Meta Tags.</li> <li><strong>Meta Keywords</strong>: Enter specific keywords and phrases that you would like the search engines to see.&nbsp; Separate these by commas.</li> <li><strong>Meta Description</strong>: Enter a short description of your page that you would like the search engines to see.&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Permission View</strong>: Select whether&nbsp;the page is Public, Private or Hidden. Private pages can only be viewed by Users whom have logged in.</li> <li><strong>Template</strong>: Choose a template.&nbsp; When you create a new Page, the page inherits the Template default modules, content and general settings.</li> </ul> <div>3 - Click on the Save&nbsp;button to add the new Page.&nbsp; The Page is added to your website and will be displayed in the Control Panel.<br /> <br /> 4 - The new page appears in your Control Panel - Page Tree.<br /> <br /> 5 - You may find that you would like to tweak or edit the settings on this page at a later time.&nbsp; The Page Settings icon found in the upper left corner of the Control Panel.&nbsp; <br /> <br /><br /></div> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/68/how-to-speed-up-your-website-and-get-more-traffic http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/68/how-to-speed-up-your-website-and-get-more-traffic Michelle How to Speed Up Your Website and Get More Traffic <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: right; margin: 5px;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/Get_More_Traffic.jpg" alt="Get More Traffic" width="300" height="246" />When building a website for your business, slow load times can be a killer. Research shows that when a page takes too long to load customers are more likely to bounce. This can lead to lower traffic, lower conversions, and, ultimately, lower revenue. Luckily, small businesses don't need to settle for slow-loading web pages. If you want to learn how to speed up your <a href="/website-services">business's website</a> and get more traffic, then keep reading. These tips will help you get your site running smoothly.</p> <h3>Why Website Speed is Important</h3> <p>Most businesses would agree that a good page load time is essential to creating a great user experience. But what they may not know is that a slow-loading homepage can also affect their website's search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is essential to any strategy to get more traffic.</p> <h3>SEO and Website Speed</h3> <p>Part of what drives your page's ranking on search engines is your page's authority. For instance, <a href="https://www.google.com/search/howsearchworks/algorithms/" target="_blank">Google's algorithm</a> prefers pages that have a lot of sites linking back to them, as these pages are seen as more trustworthy. But if your page has a slow load time, it will be harder to earn high-quality links from other sites. Additionally, algorithms also tend to prefer websites where users spend more time. Users are less likely to spend more time on a page that takes too long to load.</p> <h3>Don't Drive Traffic to Competitors</h3> <p>When it comes to the internet, there are hundreds of options available to users, no matter what they're interested in. So if your website takes too long to load, the user will have plenty of alternatives they can turn to instead of waiting for your page. Don't lose traffic to your competitors because your site is slow.</p> <h3>Determining Your Load Time</h3> <p>To fix your site's load speed, you first need to find out what your baseline is. How quickly is your site loading now, and how does that relate to the industry standard?</p> <h3>What's a Good Load Time?</h3> <p>The ideal load time for your website will vary depending on what kind of content you have on your page. For instance, if your page has a lot of images, video, or interactive content, it will take longer to load than a page with just text. But as a general rule, businesses should aim for their webpage to have a load time of 6 seconds or less. 3 seconds would be considered an excellent load time, while 5-6 seconds would be a good load time.</p> <h3>What's Your Current Load Time?</h3> <p>Many businesses assume they can tell what their website's load time is simply by loading the webpage on their personal computer. The problem with this strategy is that it will deliver subjective results. Depending on the particular specifications of your computer, the website might load differently. Luckily, there are free tools available to help you evaluate your website. Tools like <a href="https://gtmetrix.com/" target="_blank">GTmetrix</a> will not only report your loading time but will also give you specific information about what features could be causing slow load times.</p> <h3>Ways to Speed Up Your Site</h3> <p>Once you've figured out what your website speed is, you can start taking steps to improve the load time. There are a few key strategies that can boost your speed quickly so you can get more traffic.</p> <h3>Choose a New Host</h3> <p>The host you use for your website is typically one of the biggest factors in determining your page's load time. Not to mention, a good host is also important for ensuring your website's security and uptime. When you choose a host, you can also choose between dedicated and shared hosting. Many websites have shared hosting, which means that you will share your bandwidth with other websites. While this can be a good option if you have a relatively low traffic site, high traffic sites will need a dedicated server.</p> <h3>Optimize Images</h3> <p>Media content like large images can have a huge impact on your website's load time. Bigger images will slow down your site, so it is best to optimize image size if you want to speed up load times. To find out what size an image should be, open up your website, right click on the image, and choose "inspect." This will open a window displaying what size the image is displaying at on the site. To optimize, make sure the image you upload is the same time.</p> <h3>Minimize HTTP Requests</h3> <p>Much of the time your page spends loading is used to make HTTP requests for items on your page. These items include stylesheets, scripts, and flash. The more requests your page needs to make, the longer it will take to load. The more simplified your web design, the more quickly your page will be able to load. By removing additional components from your page, you will be able to speed up your page. You can speed up your pages even more by compressing them. Compressing large web pages into a zip file will reduce the HTTP response time, leading to faster loading.</p> <h3>Enable Browser Caching</h3> <p>When you visit a website, your browser "caches" or saves certain elements on the page. This will make it easier for the browser to open the page the next time, leading to faster load times for repeat users.</p> <h3>Prioritize Above the Fold Content</h3> <p>While certain elements can make your page load more slowly, there are times where you will still need to include these elements on the page. In these cases, it's best to keep this content "below the fold." What this means is putting slow-loading content further down on the page. This way, when the fast-loading content at the top of the page loads, visitors will be able to engage with that right away.</p> <h3>Get More Traffic Today</h3> <p>With these tips in hand, you will soon be able to speed up your website and get more traffic. With the right targeting strategy, this increased traffic will help your website achieve higher conversion rates and become more profitable. If you would like more help designing and optimizing your business's website, <a href="/contact">contact us</a>. Our expert designers will work with your team to build the unique solutions your company needs.</p> Wed, 24 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0600 2018-01-24T00:00:00-06:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: right; margin: 5px;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/Get_More_Traffic.jpg" alt="Get More Traffic" width="300" height="246" />When building a website for your business, slow load times can be a killer. Research shows that when a page takes too long to load customers are more likely to bounce. This can lead to lower traffic, lower conversions, and, ultimately, lower revenue. Luckily, small businesses don't need to settle for slow-loading web pages. If you want to learn how to speed up your <a href="http://webhornet.com/website-services">business's website</a> and get more traffic, then keep reading. These tips will help you get your site running smoothly.</p> <h3>Why Website Speed is Important</h3> <p>Most businesses would agree that a good page load time is essential to creating a great user experience. But what they may not know is that a slow-loading homepage can also affect their website's search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is essential to any strategy to get more traffic.</p> <h3>SEO and Website Speed</h3> <p>Part of what drives your page's ranking on search engines is your page's authority. For instance, <a href="https://www.google.com/search/howsearchworks/algorithms/" target="_blank">Google's algorithm</a> prefers pages that have a lot of sites linking back to them, as these pages are seen as more trustworthy. But if your page has a slow load time, it will be harder to earn high-quality links from other sites. Additionally, algorithms also tend to prefer websites where users spend more time. Users are less likely to spend more time on a page that takes too long to load.</p> <h3>Don't Drive Traffic to Competitors</h3> <p>When it comes to the internet, there are hundreds of options available to users, no matter what they're interested in. So if your website takes too long to load, the user will have plenty of alternatives they can turn to instead of waiting for your page. Don't lose traffic to your competitors because your site is slow.</p> <h3>Determining Your Load Time</h3> <p>To fix your site's load speed, you first need to find out what your baseline is. How quickly is your site loading now, and how does that relate to the industry standard?</p> <h3>What's a Good Load Time?</h3> <p>The ideal load time for your website will vary depending on what kind of content you have on your page. For instance, if your page has a lot of images, video, or interactive content, it will take longer to load than a page with just text. But as a general rule, businesses should aim for their webpage to have a load time of 6 seconds or less. 3 seconds would be considered an excellent load time, while 5-6 seconds would be a good load time.</p> <h3>What's Your Current Load Time?</h3> <p>Many businesses assume they can tell what their website's load time is simply by loading the webpage on their personal computer. The problem with this strategy is that it will deliver subjective results. Depending on the particular specifications of your computer, the website might load differently. Luckily, there are free tools available to help you evaluate your website. Tools like <a href="https://gtmetrix.com/" target="_blank">GTmetrix</a> will not only report your loading time but will also give you specific information about what features could be causing slow load times.</p> <h3>Ways to Speed Up Your Site</h3> <p>Once you've figured out what your website speed is, you can start taking steps to improve the load time. There are a few key strategies that can boost your speed quickly so you can get more traffic.</p> <h3>Choose a New Host</h3> <p>The host you use for your website is typically one of the biggest factors in determining your page's load time. Not to mention, a good host is also important for ensuring your website's security and uptime. When you choose a host, you can also choose between dedicated and shared hosting. Many websites have shared hosting, which means that you will share your bandwidth with other websites. While this can be a good option if you have a relatively low traffic site, high traffic sites will need a dedicated server.</p> <h3>Optimize Images</h3> <p>Media content like large images can have a huge impact on your website's load time. Bigger images will slow down your site, so it is best to optimize image size if you want to speed up load times. To find out what size an image should be, open up your website, right click on the image, and choose "inspect." This will open a window displaying what size the image is displaying at on the site. To optimize, make sure the image you upload is the same time.</p> <h3>Minimize HTTP Requests</h3> <p>Much of the time your page spends loading is used to make HTTP requests for items on your page. These items include stylesheets, scripts, and flash. The more requests your page needs to make, the longer it will take to load. The more simplified your web design, the more quickly your page will be able to load. By removing additional components from your page, you will be able to speed up your page. You can speed up your pages even more by compressing them. Compressing large web pages into a zip file will reduce the HTTP response time, leading to faster loading.</p> <h3>Enable Browser Caching</h3> <p>When you visit a website, your browser "caches" or saves certain elements on the page. This will make it easier for the browser to open the page the next time, leading to faster load times for repeat users.</p> <h3>Prioritize Above the Fold Content</h3> <p>While certain elements can make your page load more slowly, there are times where you will still need to include these elements on the page. In these cases, it's best to keep this content "below the fold." What this means is putting slow-loading content further down on the page. This way, when the fast-loading content at the top of the page loads, visitors will be able to engage with that right away.</p> <h3>Get More Traffic Today</h3> <p>With these tips in hand, you will soon be able to speed up your website and get more traffic. With the right targeting strategy, this increased traffic will help your website achieve higher conversion rates and become more profitable. If you would like more help designing and optimizing your business's website, <a href="http://webhornet.com/contact">contact us</a>. Our expert designers will work with your team to build the unique solutions your company needs.</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/67/9-reasons-to-hire-a-professional-web-designer http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/67/9-reasons-to-hire-a-professional-web-designer Michelle 9 Reasons to Hire a Professional Web Designer <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: left; margin: 5px;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/Hire_a_Professional_Web_Designer.jpg" alt="Hire a Professional Web Designer" width="300" height="200" />For any small to medium-sized business today, your web presence is essential in maintaining your current client base and reaching new customers. This means a website with a modern design and great functionality. People have much higher standards when browsing the internet than they did fifteen years ago. There are now a number of reasons why internet users decide to <a href="https://www.websitemagazine.com/blog/5-reasons-visitors-leave-your-website" target="_blank">leave a website</a>. You can't afford to have this happen. An easy solution is to hire a web designer who has the experience and is knowledgeable with regard to <a href="/blg/webhornet-blog/60/9-trends-in-graphic-design-you-need-to-be-aware-of">current web trends</a>. Yet many business owners still try to build a website themselves or rely on an employee to do it. If you're still on the fence about it, let's look at nine reasons you should hire a professional to do the job.</p> <h3>1. Knowledge and Experience</h3> <p>When you hire a web designer, you're working with someone who does that for a living. You're paying for their knowledge and experience in the design business. Web trends come and go rapidly and a professional's job is to keep up with those trends. If you try to do it yourself, you'll be playing a guessing game the entire time. Instead, leave the job up to a professional designer and you'll wash your hands of a lot of stress. Like you, a web developer is doing what they do best. Hiring them will allow you to do the same with your own business.</p> <h3>2. The Right Tools</h3> <p>A quality website has many moving parts. A web designer works with all the right tools and has access to additional resources in order to make all these parts work together. If you were to try to get all these resources, it would cost a fortune. Plus, these aren't programs that you just open and start working on. They require know-how. When a web designer needs help with other aspects of the site like SEO or content, they work with experts in those fields. Whether in-house or outsourced, a professional has the connections to get everything done right.</p> <h3>3. Saves Time and Money</h3> <p>Time and money - two critically important recourses for a small business. You may think that by trying to build a website yourself, you're saving money. Unfortunately, you'll be making a costly mistake and wasting tons of time. When you hire a web designer, they have a refined process in place that allows them to get the job done quickly and correctly. You'll also be surprised at how much you end up saving in the long run. Spending a little up-front to get it done means you'll benefit from higher conversion rates down the road.</p> <h3>4. Better User Experience</h3> <p>An experienced web designer knows what needs to be done to make your site as functional as possible for the user. This means fast load times, logical navigation and intuitive design, amongst many other things. All these elements help keep visitors on your site and provide them with a quality user experience. This is a reflection of your business. If a user has a good experience once, they're likely to come back again and again.</p> <h3>5. Optimized for Search</h3> <p><a href="/blg/webhornet-blog/61/seo-basics-for-businesses-in-omaha">Search engine optimization</a> is one of the most important elements of a successful web presence. It's also a very complicated and mysterious process. The way your website ranks in search engines has a lot to do with how well it's built. As a business owner, you already know how important this is. Aside from content and keyword optimization, there are a number of SEO guidelines a developer has to follow to ensure a site performs well in search engines. A professional knows the importance of this and ensures that every site gets optimized for search effectively.</p> <h3>6. A More Attractive Website</h3> <p>If you try to build a site yourself, you'll be very limited as far as how good the end result looks. Even when using a DIY development service, you have limited design options. On the other hand, if you hire a designer, you have the ability to achieve the exact design your business needs. This is important when trying to stand out from the competition. Having a professionally designed site also shows potential customers that you're a stable and credible business that understands the necessity of a good site.</p> <h3>7. You Need Responsive Design</h3> <p>As a business, you can't afford for your website to lack mobile functionality. Mobile search is now more prominent than desktop. This means your site must be functional on all smartphones and tablets. Mobile optimization is referred to as <a href="https://smallbiztrends.com/2013/05/what-is-responsive-web-design.html" target="_blank">responsive design</a>. If you decide to try to build a website on your own, you likely won't be able to achieve this. You'll end up spending money to have it fixed for mobile use. Professional web designers are well aware of the importance of responsive design and will create your site with quality mobile functionality in mind.</p> <h3>8. Credibility</h3> <p>As we mentioned earlier, people now have high web standards. When someone is searching the web and comes to a site that's outdated or has poor functionality, the business loses credibility. When you hire a web designer to give your site a professional look, you're able to compete with larger companies. A great web design can actually make a very small company seem huge. This reinforces credibility and establishes trust in potential customers.</p> <h3>9. Effectively Deliver Your Brand</h3> <p>Not only do professional designers know how to build a site, they know how to effectively market your business. Things like font sizes, imagery and a good call to action are implemented when you use a professional designer. They know how to convert web traffic into customers and get your brand in front of the right eyes.</p> <h3>Hire a Web Designer Today</h3> <p>Online competition is fast-paced. If you need a quality web presence for your business, you need to get started right away. Instead of trying to build a site yourself, turn to a professional designer to put their experience to work for you. WebHornet provides web development and SEO services in Nebraska. <a href="/contact">Contact us today</a> to learn more.</p> Thu, 18 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0600 2018-01-18T00:00:00-06:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: left; margin: 5px;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/Hire_a_Professional_Web_Designer.jpg" alt="Hire a Professional Web Designer" width="300" height="200" />For any small to medium-sized business today, your web presence is essential in maintaining your current client base and reaching new customers. This means a website with a modern design and great functionality. People have much higher standards when browsing the internet than they did fifteen years ago. There are now a number of reasons why internet users decide to <a href="https://www.websitemagazine.com/blog/5-reasons-visitors-leave-your-website" target="_blank">leave a website</a>. You can't afford to have this happen. An easy solution is to hire a web designer who has the experience and is knowledgeable with regard to <a href="http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/60/9-trends-in-graphic-design-you-need-to-be-aware-of">current web trends</a>. Yet many business owners still try to build a website themselves or rely on an employee to do it. If you're still on the fence about it, let's look at nine reasons you should hire a professional to do the job.</p> <h3>1. Knowledge and Experience</h3> <p>When you hire a web designer, you're working with someone who does that for a living. You're paying for their knowledge and experience in the design business. Web trends come and go rapidly and a professional's job is to keep up with those trends. If you try to do it yourself, you'll be playing a guessing game the entire time. Instead, leave the job up to a professional designer and you'll wash your hands of a lot of stress. Like you, a web developer is doing what they do best. Hiring them will allow you to do the same with your own business.</p> <h3>2. The Right Tools</h3> <p>A quality website has many moving parts. A web designer works with all the right tools and has access to additional resources in order to make all these parts work together. If you were to try to get all these resources, it would cost a fortune. Plus, these aren't programs that you just open and start working on. They require know-how. When a web designer needs help with other aspects of the site like SEO or content, they work with experts in those fields. Whether in-house or outsourced, a professional has the connections to get everything done right.</p> <h3>3. Saves Time and Money</h3> <p>Time and money - two critically important recourses for a small business. You may think that by trying to build a website yourself, you're saving money. Unfortunately, you'll be making a costly mistake and wasting tons of time. When you hire a web designer, they have a refined process in place that allows them to get the job done quickly and correctly. You'll also be surprised at how much you end up saving in the long run. Spending a little up-front to get it done means you'll benefit from higher conversion rates down the road.</p> <h3>4. Better User Experience</h3> <p>An experienced web designer knows what needs to be done to make your site as functional as possible for the user. This means fast load times, logical navigation and intuitive design, amongst many other things. All these elements help keep visitors on your site and provide them with a quality user experience. This is a reflection of your business. If a user has a good experience once, they're likely to come back again and again.</p> <h3>5. Optimized for Search</h3> <p><a href="http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/61/seo-basics-for-businesses-in-omaha">Search engine optimization</a> is one of the most important elements of a successful web presence. It's also a very complicated and mysterious process. The way your website ranks in search engines has a lot to do with how well it's built. As a business owner, you already know how important this is. Aside from content and keyword optimization, there are a number of SEO guidelines a developer has to follow to ensure a site performs well in search engines. A professional knows the importance of this and ensures that every site gets optimized for search effectively.</p> <h3>6. A More Attractive Website</h3> <p>If you try to build a site yourself, you'll be very limited as far as how good the end result looks. Even when using a DIY development service, you have limited design options. On the other hand, if you hire a designer, you have the ability to achieve the exact design your business needs. This is important when trying to stand out from the competition. Having a professionally designed site also shows potential customers that you're a stable and credible business that understands the necessity of a good site.</p> <h3>7. You Need Responsive Design</h3> <p>As a business, you can't afford for your website to lack mobile functionality. Mobile search is now more prominent than desktop. This means your site must be functional on all smartphones and tablets. Mobile optimization is referred to as <a href="https://smallbiztrends.com/2013/05/what-is-responsive-web-design.html" target="_blank">responsive design</a>. If you decide to try to build a website on your own, you likely won't be able to achieve this. You'll end up spending money to have it fixed for mobile use. Professional web designers are well aware of the importance of responsive design and will create your site with quality mobile functionality in mind.</p> <h3>8. Credibility</h3> <p>As we mentioned earlier, people now have high web standards. When someone is searching the web and comes to a site that's outdated or has poor functionality, the business loses credibility. When you hire a web designer to give your site a professional look, you're able to compete with larger companies. A great web design can actually make a very small company seem huge. This reinforces credibility and establishes trust in potential customers.</p> <h3>9. Effectively Deliver Your Brand</h3> <p>Not only do professional designers know how to build a site, they know how to effectively market your business. Things like font sizes, imagery and a good call to action are implemented when you use a professional designer. They know how to convert web traffic into customers and get your brand in front of the right eyes.</p> <h3>Hire a Web Designer Today</h3> <p>Online competition is fast-paced. If you need a quality web presence for your business, you need to get started right away. Instead of trying to build a site yourself, turn to a professional designer to put their experience to work for you. WebHornet provides web development and SEO services in Nebraska. <a href="http://webhornet.com/contact">Contact us today</a> to learn more.</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/66/7-reasons-why-you-need-a-mobile-optimized-website http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/66/7-reasons-why-you-need-a-mobile-optimized-website Michelle 7 Reasons Why You Need a Mobile Optimized Website <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: left; margin: 5px;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/Mobile_Optimized_Website.jpg" alt="Mobile Optimized Website" width="300" height="200" />Ready to officially take on the mobile age? When it comes to digital marketing, it's key to cater to mobile users. With people spending an average of <a href="http://www.geomarketing.com/us-mobile-usage-in-2017-stats-you-need-to-know" target="_blank">3.25 hours a day</a> on a mobile device such as a tablet or cell phone, your largest audience is your mobile audience. In order to take advantage of your customer potential, it's important to implement a solid mobile marketing strategy. This includes optimizing your website for mobile use. Read on to learn why a <a href="/mobile-friendly-responsive-websites">mobile optimized website</a> is absolutely critical to your marketing success.</p> <h3>1. Mobile Optimization Lowers Bounce Rates</h3> <p>Every business owner hates bouncers. And we're not talking about the guys wearing sunglasses standing outside of nightclubs. Your bounce rate is essentially the amount of people who navigate to your site and then immediately leave. A high bounce rate can come about for a variety of reasons, including slow loading speeds, poorly formatted homepages, and disinterest. But bounce rates can also skyrocket if your site is not optimized for mobile use. Think about the last time you tapped a link to a website that wasn't configured to fit your mobile screen. Did you have the patience to linger? Probably not. A mobile optimized website means one that thinks about the user and maximizes visitor experience. It will keep users on your site longer because it frees up navigation. It presents content that adapts to whatever screen accesses it. A reduced bounce rate means higher potential for conversions.</p> <h3>2. People Will Keep Using Mobile Devices</h3> <p>The data says it all: mobile isn't just a passing fad. People are going to keep using mobile devices to access social media, communicate with friends and family, and access information. What's more, mobile users aren't just going to linger longer on social media sites. With every passing year and advance in technology, it's becoming more and more possible to do anything through a mobile device. Users manage finances, order food, coordinate their wardrobes, and educate themselves through mobile devices. And this is just the beginning. A mobile optimized website means keeping pace with a growing customer base. And keeping pace means keeping competitive.</p> <h3>3. It Works With Local SEO</h3> <p>A mobile optimized website goes hand in hand with local optimization. Local search engine optimization (SEO) means optimizing content on your website so that it can appear in local searches. A locally optimized site means that people searching for "dog walkers in Naples Florida" will be more likely to find your site in search listings. Local searches are conducted more on mobile devices than desktops. This is because local searches mean immediate and local needs. Maybe you're out with friends and you want to see if there's live music near you. Perhaps on your commute, you want to see if that bagel place is open for lunch. The local searches you perform are on the go. A mobile optimized website works in tandem with a local SEO strategy, helping you <a href="/improve-website-search-rank">dominate search listings</a> and retain the visitors you get through local searches.</p> <h3>4. Mobile Users Pay Attention To Different Things</h3> <p>Think about how you use your mobile devices throughout a typical day. How do you engage with these devices versus your desktop? Typically, mobile users will be performing local searches, browsing social media, or accessing quick snippets of information. They are less likely to spend hours on end staring at the same device (unless reading an e-book or news article). In this sense, mobile users have shorter attention spans and will be attracted to video content, infographics, and other accessible visuals. A mobile optimized website is one that keeps this in mind and presents visual and relevant content. With visual and relevant content, you'll be able to cater to shorter attention spans and access users across multiple channels.</p> <h3>5. A Mobile Optimized Website Means More Conversions</h3> <p>A website that adapts to the user's screen and experience is much more likely to keep that customer online than one that isn't optimized for mobile use. When you optimize your site for mobile use, your website becomes easy to navigate. Mobile users will be able to clearly identify a purchase or checkout button. They will be able to buy a product or sign up for a newsletter in seconds. You will likely lose leads if the opposite is the case. A mobile optimized website means more conversions and increased profit margins.</p> <h3>6. Get Google Authority</h3> <p>It's important to be clear on Google's <a href="https://developers.google.com/search/mobile-sites/" target="_blank">mobile-friendly website guidelines</a> before you implement SEO and other optimization strategies. But in general, Google prefers sites that are optimized for mobile devices. If your site isn't configured for mobile use, it's going to dip in ranking. This means that all of that hard work you've put into an SEO strategy will go down the drain. You'll get Google authority when you optimize your website for mobile use and as a result, maximize your SEO efforts. This can lead to higher traffic and higher conversions.</p> <h3>7. Boost Content Marketing</h3> <p>Crafting a digital platform with mobile users in mind involves paying particular attention to content. Mobile users require effective and concise content, with an emphasis on visuals. When you configure your website for mobile use, you automatically hone your content. You'll write relevant and direct content that is useful to every user. You'll see this carry across your content marketing campaigns on social media as well. Mobile optimization will enable your content marketers to breathe easy and really hone what you're presenting to the digital world. This can also boost SEO and lead to higher Google authority.</p> <h3>Why You Need a Mobile Optimized Website</h3> <p>We're approaching the mobile age and it's important to keep pace with this as a business. A mobile optimized website is a competitive one. Configuring your site for mobile use will boost your marketing strategies, specifically your SEO and content campaigns. As a result, you'll end up with more conversions than previously, lower bounce rates, and higher Google authority. At the end of the day, mobile optimization keeps your customer happy--which should be the ultimate aim. At WebHornet, we love everything about mobile optimization and can ensure that your website is working hard for your business. Let us help you improve your search ranking and more. <a href="/contact">Reach out to us today</a> to ensure your mobile-friendly site!</p> Wed, 10 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0600 2018-01-10T00:00:00-06:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: left; margin: 5px;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/Mobile_Optimized_Website.jpg" alt="Mobile Optimized Website" width="300" height="200" />Ready to officially take on the mobile age? When it comes to digital marketing, it's key to cater to mobile users. With people spending an average of <a href="http://www.geomarketing.com/us-mobile-usage-in-2017-stats-you-need-to-know" target="_blank">3.25 hours a day</a> on a mobile device such as a tablet or cell phone, your largest audience is your mobile audience. In order to take advantage of your customer potential, it's important to implement a solid mobile marketing strategy. This includes optimizing your website for mobile use. Read on to learn why a <a href="http://webhornet.com/mobile-friendly-responsive-websites">mobile optimized website</a> is absolutely critical to your marketing success.</p> <h3>1. Mobile Optimization Lowers Bounce Rates</h3> <p>Every business owner hates bouncers. And we're not talking about the guys wearing sunglasses standing outside of nightclubs. Your bounce rate is essentially the amount of people who navigate to your site and then immediately leave. A high bounce rate can come about for a variety of reasons, including slow loading speeds, poorly formatted homepages, and disinterest. But bounce rates can also skyrocket if your site is not optimized for mobile use. Think about the last time you tapped a link to a website that wasn't configured to fit your mobile screen. Did you have the patience to linger? Probably not. A mobile optimized website means one that thinks about the user and maximizes visitor experience. It will keep users on your site longer because it frees up navigation. It presents content that adapts to whatever screen accesses it. A reduced bounce rate means higher potential for conversions.</p> <h3>2. People Will Keep Using Mobile Devices</h3> <p>The data says it all: mobile isn't just a passing fad. People are going to keep using mobile devices to access social media, communicate with friends and family, and access information. What's more, mobile users aren't just going to linger longer on social media sites. With every passing year and advance in technology, it's becoming more and more possible to do anything through a mobile device. Users manage finances, order food, coordinate their wardrobes, and educate themselves through mobile devices. And this is just the beginning. A mobile optimized website means keeping pace with a growing customer base. And keeping pace means keeping competitive.</p> <h3>3. It Works With Local SEO</h3> <p>A mobile optimized website goes hand in hand with local optimization. Local search engine optimization (SEO) means optimizing content on your website so that it can appear in local searches. A locally optimized site means that people searching for "dog walkers in Naples Florida" will be more likely to find your site in search listings. Local searches are conducted more on mobile devices than desktops. This is because local searches mean immediate and local needs. Maybe you're out with friends and you want to see if there's live music near you. Perhaps on your commute, you want to see if that bagel place is open for lunch. The local searches you perform are on the go. A mobile optimized website works in tandem with a local SEO strategy, helping you <a href="http://webhornet.com/improve-website-search-rank">dominate search listings</a> and retain the visitors you get through local searches.</p> <h3>4. Mobile Users Pay Attention To Different Things</h3> <p>Think about how you use your mobile devices throughout a typical day. How do you engage with these devices versus your desktop? Typically, mobile users will be performing local searches, browsing social media, or accessing quick snippets of information. They are less likely to spend hours on end staring at the same device (unless reading an e-book or news article). In this sense, mobile users have shorter attention spans and will be attracted to video content, infographics, and other accessible visuals. A mobile optimized website is one that keeps this in mind and presents visual and relevant content. With visual and relevant content, you'll be able to cater to shorter attention spans and access users across multiple channels.</p> <h3>5. A Mobile Optimized Website Means More Conversions</h3> <p>A website that adapts to the user's screen and experience is much more likely to keep that customer online than one that isn't optimized for mobile use. When you optimize your site for mobile use, your website becomes easy to navigate. Mobile users will be able to clearly identify a purchase or checkout button. They will be able to buy a product or sign up for a newsletter in seconds. You will likely lose leads if the opposite is the case. A mobile optimized website means more conversions and increased profit margins.</p> <h3>6. Get Google Authority</h3> <p>It's important to be clear on Google's <a href="https://developers.google.com/search/mobile-sites/" target="_blank">mobile-friendly website guidelines</a> before you implement SEO and other optimization strategies. But in general, Google prefers sites that are optimized for mobile devices. If your site isn't configured for mobile use, it's going to dip in ranking. This means that all of that hard work you've put into an SEO strategy will go down the drain. You'll get Google authority when you optimize your website for mobile use and as a result, maximize your SEO efforts. This can lead to higher traffic and higher conversions.</p> <h3>7. Boost Content Marketing</h3> <p>Crafting a digital platform with mobile users in mind involves paying particular attention to content. Mobile users require effective and concise content, with an emphasis on visuals. When you configure your website for mobile use, you automatically hone your content. You'll write relevant and direct content that is useful to every user. You'll see this carry across your content marketing campaigns on social media as well. Mobile optimization will enable your content marketers to breathe easy and really hone what you're presenting to the digital world. This can also boost SEO and lead to higher Google authority.</p> <h3>Why You Need a Mobile Optimized Website</h3> <p>We're approaching the mobile age and it's important to keep pace with this as a business. A mobile optimized website is a competitive one. Configuring your site for mobile use will boost your marketing strategies, specifically your SEO and content campaigns. As a result, you'll end up with more conversions than previously, lower bounce rates, and higher Google authority. At the end of the day, mobile optimization keeps your customer happy--which should be the ultimate aim. At WebHornet, we love everything about mobile optimization and can ensure that your website is working hard for your business. Let us help you improve your search ranking and more. <a href="http://webhornet.com/contact">Reach out to us today</a> to ensure your mobile-friendly site!</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/65/10-local-seo-tips-for-omaha-business-owners http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/65/10-local-seo-tips-for-omaha-business-owners Michelle 10 Local SEO Tips for Omaha Business Owners <p style="text-align: left;">How do you promote your local business? Do you attend meetings and events? What about your online presence? Nowadays, going digital is a must. Regardless of your type of business, it's essential to connect with prospects online. This will increase brand awareness and help you reach a wider audience. About <a href="https://think.storage.googleapis.com/docs/how-advertisers-can-extend-their-relevance-with-search_research-studies.pdf" target="_blank">half of people</a> who conduct local <img class="img-responsive" style="float: right; margin: 5px;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/SEO_Tips.jpg" alt="Local SEO Tips Omaha" width="300" height="133" />searches on their smartphones visit a store within 24 hours. The same goes for 34 percent who search on their tablets or computers. Contrary to popular belief, setting up a website isn't enough to drive sales. You must grow and promote your site to attract customers. Think of it as an online version of your business. Eager to learn more? Check out these local SEO tips for Omaha business owners:</p> <h3>List Your Business on Google Maps</h3> <p>Have you noticed that every time you search for a local business online, you get several listings with contact information? For instance, if you type "Omaha hairdresser" in Google, the first results will include local beauty salons. You can see their exact location, opening hours, and phone numbers. Before even setting up a website, <a href="https://support.google.com/business/answer/2911778?hl=en" target="_blank">add your business listing</a> to Google. All you need to do is to provide a few details about your company. This way, it will appear in Google Search, Google Maps, and other Google properties.</p> <h3>Be Consistent Across All Social Platforms</h3> <p>Keep your brand consistent across all social platforms. Use the same business name and contact information on Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other networks. This will attract search engine love and strengthen your brand. Better yet, use similar colors and layouts across all platforms. Make your image stand out in customers' minds. Apply the same strategy to your content. Whenever you're sharing posts on Facebook or sending out newsletters, use a similar tone.</p> <h3>Harness the Power of Local Directories</h3> <p>Next, list your business on Yellow Pages, Bing, Yelp, Angie's List, and more. <a href="https://moz.com/learn/seo/local-business-listings" target="_blank">Local directories</a> and review sites can drive massive traffic to your site. On top of that, they boost your online exposure and SEO efforts. Most local directories allow customers to leave feedback. Clients who are pleased with your services are more likely to write positive reviews. This will attract more prospects and grow your business.</p> <h3>Get Links from Local Businesses</h3> <p>Link building is an integral of search engine optimization. Quality backlinks can boost your rankings in search results and increase traffic. This leads to more sales and higher conversion rates. Search for non-competing local businesses and try to get relevant links. For instance, you can join local business groups, such as the Rotary Club. Once you become a member, they will link back to your site. Always choose quality over quantity. It's better to have 10 relevant backlinks from trusted sources than 100 links from suspicious websites. This is one of the most important local SEO tips you'll ever get.</p> <h3>Get Local Coverage</h3> <p>Contact magazines and newspapers in your area. Offer to publish content related to your Omaha business. For example, if you're offering catering services, write a post on how to plan a wedding without breaking the wallet. Build relationships with journalists and send out press releases. Every time your articles go live, you'll get a link back to your site or blog.</p> <h3>Do Keyword Research</h3> <p>Keyword research can make or break your marketing efforts. When customers search for local products and services, they use specific terms. For instance, someone looking for laptops in Omaha will use "Omaha laptops" or "Omaha laptop store" in search queries. Optimize your website for the targeted keywords. <a href="https://adwords.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner/" target="_blank">Google's Keyword Planner</a> can help with that. This tool is free and easy-to-use, so don't ignore it. Once you gather the most relevant keywords, include them in your content, page URLs, and metadata. Use them in social media posts and press releases too.</p> <h3>Optimize Your Social Media Pages</h3> <p>The search engines use <a href="https://www.searchmetrics.com/knowledge-base/ranking-factors/" target="_blank">social media signals</a> as a ranking factor. The more popular your social media pages are, the more traffic and links you'll get to your site. Focus on building a strong online presence. Connect with local clients on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Engage in conversations with other business owners too. Make sure your social pages include a compelling description of your brand and values. Include relevant keywords and contact information. Share industry-related news, exciting factors, and blog posts.</p> <h3>Create Quality Content</h3> <p>Still searching for <a href="/blg/webhornet-blog/61/seo-basics-for-businesses-in-omaha">local SEO tips</a>? In this case, take the time to write quality content. Add a blog to your site and update it several times a week. Don't post content just for the sake of writing something. Be relevant and provide value to your audience. Address any concerns they may have. Use different types of content other than text. Images, videos, and infographics can improve your SEO. On top of that, they're more likely to go viral and drive traffic.</p> <h3>Build Internal Links</h3> <p>Internal links and good SEO go hand in hand. A strong internal linking structure can boost your rankings and improve website navigation. This will result in a better user experience. When you're linking from one page on your site to a different page on the same domain, you get an internal link. This helps <a href="https://moz.com/learn/seo/internal-link" target="_blank">spread ranking power</a> and allows users to find the information they're searching for more easily.</p> <h3>Use Schema Markup</h3> <p>When it comes to local SEO tips, using <a href="https://moz.com/learn/seo/schema-structured-data" target="_blank">schema markup</a> is a must. Basically, you need to add a specific code to your HTML to help the search bots understand and index your content. This leads to higher rankings and increased traffic Schema markup usually provides more information about a business, its address, and its services. Depending on your skills, you can either insert the code yourself or <a href="/improve-website-search-rank">hire an SEO expert</a>.</p> <h3>Get the Best Local SEO Tips from Pros</h3> <p>Local search engine optimization can take your business to the next level. When done right, it leads to massive traffic and brand exposure. This results in more customers and sales. For the best local SEO tips, check out <a href="/blog">our blog</a>. We provide everything you need to grow your online business and reach customers who are ready to buy!</p> Fri, 05 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0600 2018-01-05T00:00:00-06:00 <p style="text-align: left;">How do you promote your local business? Do you attend meetings and events? What about your online presence? Nowadays, going digital is a must. Regardless of your type of business, it's essential to connect with prospects online. This will increase brand awareness and help you reach a wider audience. About <a href="https://think.storage.googleapis.com/docs/how-advertisers-can-extend-their-relevance-with-search_research-studies.pdf" target="_blank">half of people</a> who conduct local <img class="img-responsive" style="float: right; margin: 5px;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/SEO_Tips.jpg" alt="Local SEO Tips Omaha" width="300" height="133" />searches on their smartphones visit a store within 24 hours. The same goes for 34 percent who search on their tablets or computers. Contrary to popular belief, setting up a website isn't enough to drive sales. You must grow and promote your site to attract customers. Think of it as an online version of your business. Eager to learn more? Check out these local SEO tips for Omaha business owners:</p> <h3>List Your Business on Google Maps</h3> <p>Have you noticed that every time you search for a local business online, you get several listings with contact information? For instance, if you type "Omaha hairdresser" in Google, the first results will include local beauty salons. You can see their exact location, opening hours, and phone numbers. Before even setting up a website, <a href="https://support.google.com/business/answer/2911778?hl=en" target="_blank">add your business listing</a> to Google. All you need to do is to provide a few details about your company. This way, it will appear in Google Search, Google Maps, and other Google properties.</p> <h3>Be Consistent Across All Social Platforms</h3> <p>Keep your brand consistent across all social platforms. Use the same business name and contact information on Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other networks. This will attract search engine love and strengthen your brand. Better yet, use similar colors and layouts across all platforms. Make your image stand out in customers' minds. Apply the same strategy to your content. Whenever you're sharing posts on Facebook or sending out newsletters, use a similar tone.</p> <h3>Harness the Power of Local Directories</h3> <p>Next, list your business on Yellow Pages, Bing, Yelp, Angie's List, and more. <a href="https://moz.com/learn/seo/local-business-listings" target="_blank">Local directories</a> and review sites can drive massive traffic to your site. On top of that, they boost your online exposure and SEO efforts. Most local directories allow customers to leave feedback. Clients who are pleased with your services are more likely to write positive reviews. This will attract more prospects and grow your business.</p> <h3>Get Links from Local Businesses</h3> <p>Link building is an integral of search engine optimization. Quality backlinks can boost your rankings in search results and increase traffic. This leads to more sales and higher conversion rates. Search for non-competing local businesses and try to get relevant links. For instance, you can join local business groups, such as the Rotary Club. Once you become a member, they will link back to your site. Always choose quality over quantity. It's better to have 10 relevant backlinks from trusted sources than 100 links from suspicious websites. This is one of the most important local SEO tips you'll ever get.</p> <h3>Get Local Coverage</h3> <p>Contact magazines and newspapers in your area. Offer to publish content related to your Omaha business. For example, if you're offering catering services, write a post on how to plan a wedding without breaking the wallet. Build relationships with journalists and send out press releases. Every time your articles go live, you'll get a link back to your site or blog.</p> <h3>Do Keyword Research</h3> <p>Keyword research can make or break your marketing efforts. When customers search for local products and services, they use specific terms. For instance, someone looking for laptops in Omaha will use "Omaha laptops" or "Omaha laptop store" in search queries. Optimize your website for the targeted keywords. <a href="https://adwords.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner/" target="_blank">Google's Keyword Planner</a> can help with that. This tool is free and easy-to-use, so don't ignore it. Once you gather the most relevant keywords, include them in your content, page URLs, and metadata. Use them in social media posts and press releases too.</p> <h3>Optimize Your Social Media Pages</h3> <p>The search engines use <a href="https://www.searchmetrics.com/knowledge-base/ranking-factors/" target="_blank">social media signals</a> as a ranking factor. The more popular your social media pages are, the more traffic and links you'll get to your site. Focus on building a strong online presence. Connect with local clients on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Engage in conversations with other business owners too. Make sure your social pages include a compelling description of your brand and values. Include relevant keywords and contact information. Share industry-related news, exciting factors, and blog posts.</p> <h3>Create Quality Content</h3> <p>Still searching for <a href="http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/61/seo-basics-for-businesses-in-omaha">local SEO tips</a>? In this case, take the time to write quality content. Add a blog to your site and update it several times a week. Don't post content just for the sake of writing something. Be relevant and provide value to your audience. Address any concerns they may have. Use different types of content other than text. Images, videos, and infographics can improve your SEO. On top of that, they're more likely to go viral and drive traffic.</p> <h3>Build Internal Links</h3> <p>Internal links and good SEO go hand in hand. A strong internal linking structure can boost your rankings and improve website navigation. This will result in a better user experience. When you're linking from one page on your site to a different page on the same domain, you get an internal link. This helps <a href="https://moz.com/learn/seo/internal-link" target="_blank">spread ranking power</a> and allows users to find the information they're searching for more easily.</p> <h3>Use Schema Markup</h3> <p>When it comes to local SEO tips, using <a href="https://moz.com/learn/seo/schema-structured-data" target="_blank">schema markup</a> is a must. Basically, you need to add a specific code to your HTML to help the search bots understand and index your content. This leads to higher rankings and increased traffic Schema markup usually provides more information about a business, its address, and its services. Depending on your skills, you can either insert the code yourself or <a href="http://webhornet.com/improve-website-search-rank">hire an SEO expert</a>.</p> <h3>Get the Best Local SEO Tips from Pros</h3> <p>Local search engine optimization can take your business to the next level. When done right, it leads to massive traffic and brand exposure. This results in more customers and sales. For the best local SEO tips, check out <a href="http://webhornet.com/blog">our blog</a>. We provide everything you need to grow your online business and reach customers who are ready to buy!</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/48/adding-custom-fonts-to-your-website http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/48/adding-custom-fonts-to-your-website Wendy Adding Custom Fonts to Your Website <p><img class="img-responsive" style="margin: 5px; float: right;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/fonts.jpg" alt="" />For years, the font rules of websites have been simple. Website developers advised clients to only use <a title="web safe fonts" href="https://www.w3schools.com/cssref/css_websafe_fonts.asp">web safe fonts</a>, giving your website a generic look. Fonts such as Arial, Courier, Times New Roman, or Verdana were common on most every website. As technology changes, web fonts are no exception. You can add a custom font to your website as your brand identity. This creates an experience for visitors coming to your website.&nbsp; A font can create a tone similar to a voice, it shows your visitors who is behind the website and what you are about.</p> <p>Custom fonts allow you to utilize different fonts in your website design. Google offers a great variety that can be used for free. The fonts are hosted on web-based servers and load into a computer&rsquo;s web browser. You may be asking, "What does this exactly mean?" Visitors that come to your website do not need to have the font installed on their computer! Google has that taken care of.&nbsp;</p> <p>There can be downfalls to using custom fonts, just like with any product. It can take a long time for a website to load if the font serving site is slow. If visitors are having to wait too long to see products or services that your company has to offer, they will just move on to the next site. If you can purchase the font file and you want to avoid these types of issues, custom fonts can also be installed within your website file system and your developer can write CSS to call upon these custom fonts.&nbsp; Remember to <a title="speak with the WebHornet Website Support team" href="/contact">speak with the WebHornet Website Support team</a> for recommendations on your favorite fonts.</p> <p><img class="img-responsive" style="margin: 5px; float: left;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/icons-vectors.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="299" /></p> <p>Along with adding custom fonts, you also have the option of adding <a title="Top 5 resources for vector icons" href="https://pixabay.com/en/blog/posts/top-5-resources-for-free-vector-icons-17/">vector icons</a> to your site that can easily be customized! Finding the perfect set of icon graphics takes time that most of us simply don't have, not to mention they can be costly. You may invest in icon graphics and discover that after a few months you are looking for something new. Vector icons have made it simple - change color, size and drop shadows in a matter of seconds. New icons are always being added!</p> <p>If you are looking to add custom fonts or vector icons to your website, <a title="contact the WebHornet Support team" href="/contact">contact the WebHornet Support team</a> today!</p> <p></p> Wed, 03 Jan 2018 00:00:00 -0600 2018-01-03T00:00:00-06:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="margin: 5px; float: right;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/fonts.jpg" alt="" />For years, the font rules of websites have been simple. Website developers advised clients to only use <a title="web safe fonts" href="https://www.w3schools.com/cssref/css_websafe_fonts.asp">web safe fonts</a>, giving your website a generic look. Fonts such as Arial, Courier, Times New Roman, or Verdana were common on most every website. As technology changes, web fonts are no exception. You can add a custom font to your website as your brand identity. This creates an experience for visitors coming to your website.&nbsp; A font can create a tone similar to a voice, it shows your visitors who is behind the website and what you are about.</p> <p>Custom fonts allow you to utilize different fonts in your website design. Google offers a great variety that can be used for free. The fonts are hosted on web-based servers and load into a computer&rsquo;s web browser. You may be asking, "What does this exactly mean?" Visitors that come to your website do not need to have the font installed on their computer! Google has that taken care of.&nbsp;</p> <p>There can be downfalls to using custom fonts, just like with any product. It can take a long time for a website to load if the font serving site is slow. If visitors are having to wait too long to see products or services that your company has to offer, they will just move on to the next site. If you can purchase the font file and you want to avoid these types of issues, custom fonts can also be installed within your website file system and your developer can write CSS to call upon these custom fonts.&nbsp; Remember to <a title="speak with the WebHornet Website Support team" href="http://webhornet.com/contact">speak with the WebHornet Website Support team</a> for recommendations on your favorite fonts.</p> <p><img class="img-responsive" style="margin: 5px; float: left;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/icons-vectors.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="299" /></p> <p>Along with adding custom fonts, you also have the option of adding <a title="Top 5 resources for vector icons" href="https://pixabay.com/en/blog/posts/top-5-resources-for-free-vector-icons-17/">vector icons</a> to your site that can easily be customized! Finding the perfect set of icon graphics takes time that most of us simply don't have, not to mention they can be costly. You may invest in icon graphics and discover that after a few months you are looking for something new. Vector icons have made it simple - change color, size and drop shadows in a matter of seconds. New icons are always being added!</p> <p>If you are looking to add custom fonts or vector icons to your website, <a title="contact the WebHornet Support team" href="http://webhornet.com/contact">contact the WebHornet Support team</a> today!</p> <p /> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/64/7-seo-tips-you-need-in-your-marketing-strategy http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/64/7-seo-tips-you-need-in-your-marketing-strategy Michelle 7 SEO Tips You Need In Your Marketing Strategy <p><img class="img-responsive" style="margin: 5px; float: right;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/SEO_Marketing_Strategy.jpg" alt="SEO_Marketing_Strategy" width="300" height="199" />Much of the $65 Billion spent on SEO will be wasted, according to an article in <a title="Entrepreneur" href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/275720">Entrepreneur</a>. Digital marketing companies often overpromise and underdeliver. Look for professional SEO services like Omaha SEO Companies who aim to do those things that will gain the best return. You want to draw people to your site and you want to do this with the least effort and cost. Great content, products or services are useless unless somebody sees them.</p> <p>High Google rankings are the key to achieving high numbers of visits to your website. You need to understand SEO even if you are investing in professional SEO services. This article gives you 7 SEO tips you need in your Marketing Strategy but first, you need to know what SEO is.</p> <p><strong>What is Search Engine Optimization?</strong></p> <p>When you type a word into Google search and press enter Google provides you with a list of results. These websites have been researched by the Google "spiders" that crawl all over the web looking for sites with certain characteristics. They love new content, links, and traffic amongst other things. If they like what they find the search result appears high in the search result list. If they don't then the search result appears so low you'll never see it. SEO is about making your website attractive to the Google "spiders" and getting your website to appear near the top of the rankings in search results. So what are the 7 SEO tips you need in your marketing strategy to get high Google rankings?</p> <p><strong>1. Be useful</strong></p> <p>If you have unique and useful content that people like then Google will like you too. This content can take many forms.</p> <ul> <li>User guides</li> <li>Lists of tips</li> <li>Photos and videos</li> <li>Tools and plug-ins</li> <li>Blogs and reader comments</li> </ul> <p>Being a trusted source of information is rewarded with visits and by a higher ranking in the Google search results.</p> <p><strong>2. Own Your Domain</strong></p> <p>If you want Google to take you seriously then you need to look like a serious player. Free websites are fine for a bit of fun but purchasing your own website domain tells Google that you have confidence in yourself and your brand. They are more likely to believe in you too. Think about it as Google recommending you to its users. This is about their reputation as a useful search engine for their users. Does Google want to recommend someone who looks half-hearted or someone who looks committed?</p> <p><strong>3. Connect to Other Sites</strong></p> <p>Backlinks are the way in which you connect other people's sites to yours. Google likes backlinks so you need to too. Connecting to sites that are already high in Google's search rankings will boost your rankings too. Linking to your friends' sites is nice to do but will deliver little SEO. Link to the most visited sites on the internet and you can ride on their coattails to success.</p> <p><strong>4. Keywords Are Key</strong></p> <p>SEO Keywords are the words and phrases on your website that possible visitors to your site might put in a search engine. They make it possible for them to find your site. You need to speak the same language as your potential visitor otherwise they won't find you. Time and research put into identifying the right keywords are important. Without the right words or phrases, your site will be a rarely visited drain on your marketing budget. Some help with this research may be a <a title="Improve website search rank" href="/improve-website-search-rank">good investment</a>.</p> <p><strong>5. Be Sociable</strong></p> <p>Google is interested in your social media activity. You can increase your traffic with a social media strategy. Google will notice if you have an article tweeted. If it is tweeted multiple times and retweeted Google will recognize this as indicating your authority and profile. Your reward will be a higher ranking. How do you get readers sharing your articles and other content? Sharing other people's content will get reciprocal responses. You need to be a participant in the social media "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" game. Give readers a reason for visiting your content on social media sites. This means providing content that is not available on your website. Just as linking to other high ranking sites helps your ranking, so interacting with the big fish in the social media pond is good for you. Find out who the key players are in your niche and re-tweet their content. You won't want to promote your competitors but you might find a useful link to a local news site or thought leader.</p> <p><strong>6. Make It Work for the User</strong></p> <p>Make your website and SEO a good experience for your website visitor. Broken links to other sites are a fail for both your SEO and for the reader of your content. Users hate to wait, so keep your website's speed up. Users and Google love a fast working website. Make the user experience of your website a pleasurable one. Intuitive navigation, attractive presentation, and user-friendly design will encourage users to explore, stay and link with you. All great for you, them and Google will love it too.</p> <p><strong>7. It's Not All About Google</strong></p> <p>Of course, Google is the search engine of choice for most people but there are others too. You might find that YouTube is important for your marketing strategy. Perhaps you use video content or video blogging. YouTube is owned by Google but SEO on YouTube may need to get special attention. Your local SEO professional services such as <a href="/contact">Omaha SEO Company</a> can help you with this.</p> <p></p> <p><strong>Omaha SEO Company</strong></p> <p>Working with a professional SEO service, like a local Omaha SEO Company makes sense.&nbsp; They know SEO trends They have knowledge, skills, and experience. They understand social media, can help with content and theyunderstand users.&nbsp; When you outsource SEO services you can combine your understanding of your business and customers with their SEO expertise to achieve great results. If you want to learn more about a company that consistently delivers great SEO then <a title="click here to talk to WebHornet an Omaha SEO company" href="/contact">click here to talk to WebHornet an Omaha SEO Company</a>.</p> Tue, 26 Dec 2017 00:00:00 -0600 2017-12-26T00:00:00-06:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="margin: 5px; float: right;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/SEO_Marketing_Strategy.jpg" alt="SEO_Marketing_Strategy" width="300" height="199" />Much of the $65 Billion spent on SEO will be wasted, according to an article in <a title="Entrepreneur" href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/275720">Entrepreneur</a>. Digital marketing companies often overpromise and underdeliver. Look for professional SEO services like Omaha SEO Companies who aim to do those things that will gain the best return. You want to draw people to your site and you want to do this with the least effort and cost. Great content, products or services are useless unless somebody sees them.</p> <p>High Google rankings are the key to achieving high numbers of visits to your website. You need to understand SEO even if you are investing in professional SEO services. This article gives you 7 SEO tips you need in your Marketing Strategy but first, you need to know what SEO is.</p> <p><strong>What is Search Engine Optimization?</strong></p> <p>When you type a word into Google search and press enter Google provides you with a list of results. These websites have been researched by the Google "spiders" that crawl all over the web looking for sites with certain characteristics. They love new content, links, and traffic amongst other things. If they like what they find the search result appears high in the search result list. If they don't then the search result appears so low you'll never see it. SEO is about making your website attractive to the Google "spiders" and getting your website to appear near the top of the rankings in search results. So what are the 7 SEO tips you need in your marketing strategy to get high Google rankings?</p> <p><strong>1. Be useful</strong></p> <p>If you have unique and useful content that people like then Google will like you too. This content can take many forms.</p> <ul> <li>User guides</li> <li>Lists of tips</li> <li>Photos and videos</li> <li>Tools and plug-ins</li> <li>Blogs and reader comments</li> </ul> <p>Being a trusted source of information is rewarded with visits and by a higher ranking in the Google search results.</p> <p><strong>2. Own Your Domain</strong></p> <p>If you want Google to take you seriously then you need to look like a serious player. Free websites are fine for a bit of fun but purchasing your own website domain tells Google that you have confidence in yourself and your brand. They are more likely to believe in you too. Think about it as Google recommending you to its users. This is about their reputation as a useful search engine for their users. Does Google want to recommend someone who looks half-hearted or someone who looks committed?</p> <p><strong>3. Connect to Other Sites</strong></p> <p>Backlinks are the way in which you connect other people's sites to yours. Google likes backlinks so you need to too. Connecting to sites that are already high in Google's search rankings will boost your rankings too. Linking to your friends' sites is nice to do but will deliver little SEO. Link to the most visited sites on the internet and you can ride on their coattails to success.</p> <p><strong>4. Keywords Are Key</strong></p> <p>SEO Keywords are the words and phrases on your website that possible visitors to your site might put in a search engine. They make it possible for them to find your site. You need to speak the same language as your potential visitor otherwise they won't find you. Time and research put into identifying the right keywords are important. Without the right words or phrases, your site will be a rarely visited drain on your marketing budget. Some help with this research may be a <a title="Improve website search rank" href="http://webhornet.com/improve-website-search-rank">good investment</a>.</p> <p><strong>5. Be Sociable</strong></p> <p>Google is interested in your social media activity. You can increase your traffic with a social media strategy. Google will notice if you have an article tweeted. If it is tweeted multiple times and retweeted Google will recognize this as indicating your authority and profile. Your reward will be a higher ranking. How do you get readers sharing your articles and other content? Sharing other people's content will get reciprocal responses. You need to be a participant in the social media "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" game. Give readers a reason for visiting your content on social media sites. This means providing content that is not available on your website. Just as linking to other high ranking sites helps your ranking, so interacting with the big fish in the social media pond is good for you. Find out who the key players are in your niche and re-tweet their content. You won't want to promote your competitors but you might find a useful link to a local news site or thought leader.</p> <p><strong>6. Make It Work for the User</strong></p> <p>Make your website and SEO a good experience for your website visitor. Broken links to other sites are a fail for both your SEO and for the reader of your content. Users hate to wait, so keep your website's speed up. Users and Google love a fast working website. Make the user experience of your website a pleasurable one. Intuitive navigation, attractive presentation, and user-friendly design will encourage users to explore, stay and link with you. All great for you, them and Google will love it too.</p> <p><strong>7. It's Not All About Google</strong></p> <p>Of course, Google is the search engine of choice for most people but there are others too. You might find that YouTube is important for your marketing strategy. Perhaps you use video content or video blogging. YouTube is owned by Google but SEO on YouTube may need to get special attention. Your local SEO professional services such as <a href="http://webhornet.com/contact">Omaha SEO Company</a> can help you with this.</p> <p /> <p><strong>Omaha SEO Company</strong></p> <p>Working with a professional SEO service, like a local Omaha SEO Company makes sense.&nbsp; They know SEO trends They have knowledge, skills, and experience. They understand social media, can help with content and theyunderstand users.&nbsp; When you outsource SEO services you can combine your understanding of your business and customers with their SEO expertise to achieve great results. If you want to learn more about a company that consistently delivers great SEO then <a title="click here to talk to WebHornet an Omaha SEO company" href="http://webhornet.com/contact">click here to talk to WebHornet an Omaha SEO Company</a>.</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/63/tips-for-creating-a-website-you-and-your-customers-will-love http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/63/tips-for-creating-a-website-you-and-your-customers-will-love Michelle Tips for Creating a Website You and Your Customers Will Love <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: right;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/Create_a_Website_Omaha.jpg" alt="Creating a Website Omaha" width="300" height="225" />Every 30 seconds, <a href="http://www.adweek.com/digital/real-time-ecommerce/">more than $1.2 million dollars</a> are made online. Impressive, right? But if you want a chance of pocketing some of that dough yourself, you need to create a website that your customers will love. It should be easy to navigate, pleasant to look at, and designed to drive conversions. You don't need loads of web design experience to make an awesome site. You just need the right knowledge--and that's what we're here to share. Keep reading for everything you need to know about good website design Omaha NE.</p> <p><strong>1. Make It Easy to Navigate</strong></p> <p>How long would you spend on a website if you couldn't get to the page you were looking for? Not long. And your customers are no different. A good website should include a clear navigation bar at the top of the page. It should also have an image of your company name or logo that links back to your homepage. Instead of vague text saying things like "click here," your links should tell customers exactly what they do. For example: "Shop T-Shirts." Not only does this make your site more user-friendly, it also <a href="http://www.adweek.com/digital/real-time-ecommerce/">boosts your SEO</a>. If you're not sure how easy your site is to navigate, invest in user testing. You'll be able to view a regular person browsing your site and make changes to any areas they find confusing. If you focus on only one major aspect of web design, make it navigation.</p> <p><strong>2. Use Action Colors for Important Links</strong></p> <p>How do your customers know which areas of your site are the most important? You might be tempted to make links bright red, crank the font size to 100, and add flashing effects for good measure. However, that's not a smart move. It's easy to keep your site looking professional while also highlighting important links like special offers or sales. Create a color hierarchy for your site. Use neutral colors for regular links and elements. Then choose a bold "action" color for important elements you're encouraging users to click on. This could be something as simple as light green for standard links and dark green for important links. Hiring a company that specializes in website design Omaha NE is a great step towards creating an effective color scheme. Another important note: Use your action color sparingly or it won't have as much impact.</p> <p><strong>3. Include Plenty of Whitespace</strong></p> <p>It doesn't matter what kind of site you're creating or how you want it to look. Make sure your design includes plenty of whitespace. Sites that are too cluttered immediately look unprofessional. Most customers won't stick around long. The main elements of your site should be evenly spaced. There should be plenty of empty space to stop readers from getting distracted. They also shouldn't have to struggle to read properly. You can use whitespace to:</p> <ul> <li>Separate distinct elements</li> <li>Draw attention to your call-to-action</li> <li>Encourage interaction</li> </ul> <p>Adding whitespace between paragraphs and in margins <a href="http://www.humanfactors.com/newsletters/yeah_but_can_you_give_me_a_reference.asp">increases comprehension by 20%</a>. It's one of the best ways to make your site as clear and easy to use as possible. Whitespace isn't dead space. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.</p> <p><strong>4. Add a Search Function</strong></p> <p>What do you do when you want to find something online? You search, of course. Nobody wants to spend hours navigating a site with a complex link hierarchy. This is especially true when they already know what they're looking for. Imagine having to click through five different links just to find a specific type of shoe. Now imagine if you could simply type "military boots" into a search bar and get to the right page immediately. Customers won't be impressed with a site that doesn't have a search function, so make sure you include one. Include your search bar at the top of the page where it's easy to access. Ensure that it works as expected, giving sensible, relevant results. If you don't have a search bar, you could lose a significant number of sales.</p> <p><strong>5. Include Reviews and Testimonials</strong></p> <p>Social proof is huge when it comes to buying online. Most customers won't buy from an unknown site that has zero reviews. Adding testimonials to your site is one of the best ways to build trust and increase sales. If you're selling physical products, you could add a function that allows customers to rate and review anything they've purchased. Emailing customers to ask for reviews is a great way to get this part of your site up and running quickly. If you're selling a service, ask customers to give you testimonials and display these on a dedicated page. To build instant trust, include a few reviews or testimonials in a prominent spot on your homepage. Adding a name and image to each review further increases credibility. For bonus points, you could even ask customers for video reviews and testimonials. If building trust online has been a major barrier for your business, this is definitely a worthwhile investment.</p> <p><strong>6. Optimize Your Site for Mobile</strong></p> <p>Is there anything worse than finding the perfect site and realizing it's almost unusable on mobile? With so many online sales taking place on mobile devices, having a site that isn't mobile-optimized is business suicide. Make sure that the site theme you're using is compatible with mobile. Most modern themes automatically resize images, alter navigation, and make other changes to ensure your site is mobile-ready. Enabling accelerated mobile pages is another good move which increases your site speed on mobile phones.</p> <p><strong>Reasons to Invest in Website Design Omaha NE</strong></p> <p>If you're not experienced in web design or don't have the time to dedicate to your website, it makes sense to call in the experts. Investing in website design Omaha NE is a great way to create a site that's easy to use. It will also be optimized for mobile and desktop and designed to encourage customers to buy from you. You'll quickly make back your investment in website design Omaha NE via increased conversions and more sales. Want more handy web design tips and tricks? Check out <a href="/blog">our blog</a>.</p> Wed, 20 Dec 2017 00:00:00 -0600 2017-12-20T00:00:00-06:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: right;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/Create_a_Website_Omaha.jpg" alt="Creating a Website Omaha" width="300" height="225" />Every 30 seconds, <a href="http://www.adweek.com/digital/real-time-ecommerce/">more than $1.2 million dollars</a> are made online. Impressive, right? But if you want a chance of pocketing some of that dough yourself, you need to create a website that your customers will love. It should be easy to navigate, pleasant to look at, and designed to drive conversions. You don't need loads of web design experience to make an awesome site. You just need the right knowledge--and that's what we're here to share. Keep reading for everything you need to know about good website design Omaha NE.</p> <p><strong>1. Make It Easy to Navigate</strong></p> <p>How long would you spend on a website if you couldn't get to the page you were looking for? Not long. And your customers are no different. A good website should include a clear navigation bar at the top of the page. It should also have an image of your company name or logo that links back to your homepage. Instead of vague text saying things like "click here," your links should tell customers exactly what they do. For example: "Shop T-Shirts." Not only does this make your site more user-friendly, it also <a href="http://www.adweek.com/digital/real-time-ecommerce/">boosts your SEO</a>. If you're not sure how easy your site is to navigate, invest in user testing. You'll be able to view a regular person browsing your site and make changes to any areas they find confusing. If you focus on only one major aspect of web design, make it navigation.</p> <p><strong>2. Use Action Colors for Important Links</strong></p> <p>How do your customers know which areas of your site are the most important? You might be tempted to make links bright red, crank the font size to 100, and add flashing effects for good measure. However, that's not a smart move. It's easy to keep your site looking professional while also highlighting important links like special offers or sales. Create a color hierarchy for your site. Use neutral colors for regular links and elements. Then choose a bold "action" color for important elements you're encouraging users to click on. This could be something as simple as light green for standard links and dark green for important links. Hiring a company that specializes in website design Omaha NE is a great step towards creating an effective color scheme. Another important note: Use your action color sparingly or it won't have as much impact.</p> <p><strong>3. Include Plenty of Whitespace</strong></p> <p>It doesn't matter what kind of site you're creating or how you want it to look. Make sure your design includes plenty of whitespace. Sites that are too cluttered immediately look unprofessional. Most customers won't stick around long. The main elements of your site should be evenly spaced. There should be plenty of empty space to stop readers from getting distracted. They also shouldn't have to struggle to read properly. You can use whitespace to:</p> <ul> <li>Separate distinct elements</li> <li>Draw attention to your call-to-action</li> <li>Encourage interaction</li> </ul> <p>Adding whitespace between paragraphs and in margins <a href="http://www.humanfactors.com/newsletters/yeah_but_can_you_give_me_a_reference.asp">increases comprehension by 20%</a>. It's one of the best ways to make your site as clear and easy to use as possible. Whitespace isn't dead space. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.</p> <p><strong>4. Add a Search Function</strong></p> <p>What do you do when you want to find something online? You search, of course. Nobody wants to spend hours navigating a site with a complex link hierarchy. This is especially true when they already know what they're looking for. Imagine having to click through five different links just to find a specific type of shoe. Now imagine if you could simply type "military boots" into a search bar and get to the right page immediately. Customers won't be impressed with a site that doesn't have a search function, so make sure you include one. Include your search bar at the top of the page where it's easy to access. Ensure that it works as expected, giving sensible, relevant results. If you don't have a search bar, you could lose a significant number of sales.</p> <p><strong>5. Include Reviews and Testimonials</strong></p> <p>Social proof is huge when it comes to buying online. Most customers won't buy from an unknown site that has zero reviews. Adding testimonials to your site is one of the best ways to build trust and increase sales. If you're selling physical products, you could add a function that allows customers to rate and review anything they've purchased. Emailing customers to ask for reviews is a great way to get this part of your site up and running quickly. If you're selling a service, ask customers to give you testimonials and display these on a dedicated page. To build instant trust, include a few reviews or testimonials in a prominent spot on your homepage. Adding a name and image to each review further increases credibility. For bonus points, you could even ask customers for video reviews and testimonials. If building trust online has been a major barrier for your business, this is definitely a worthwhile investment.</p> <p><strong>6. Optimize Your Site for Mobile</strong></p> <p>Is there anything worse than finding the perfect site and realizing it's almost unusable on mobile? With so many online sales taking place on mobile devices, having a site that isn't mobile-optimized is business suicide. Make sure that the site theme you're using is compatible with mobile. Most modern themes automatically resize images, alter navigation, and make other changes to ensure your site is mobile-ready. Enabling accelerated mobile pages is another good move which increases your site speed on mobile phones.</p> <p><strong>Reasons to Invest in Website Design Omaha NE</strong></p> <p>If you're not experienced in web design or don't have the time to dedicate to your website, it makes sense to call in the experts. Investing in website design Omaha NE is a great way to create a site that's easy to use. It will also be optimized for mobile and desktop and designed to encourage customers to buy from you. You'll quickly make back your investment in website design Omaha NE via increased conversions and more sales. Want more handy web design tips and tricks? Check out <a href="http://webhornet.com/blog">our blog</a>.</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/49/website-trends-call-to-action-buttons http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/49/website-trends-call-to-action-buttons Wendy Website Trends - Call To Action Buttons <p><img class="img-responsive" style="margin: 5px; float: right;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/web_buttons.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="278" />We have all been to a website on our mobile device or tablet and need to contact the business or organization ASAP!&nbsp; We click on the phone number or email address and nothing happens. We don't have a pen and paper available and can't seem to remember the phone number. This can be so frustrating! However, there is a solution - <strong>Call To Action Buttons</strong>!</p> <p>As business owners, we want our site visitors to have a good experience when they find our website.&nbsp; They should be able to reach out to us in a quick and easy manner and not be frustrated trying to find us. We want our visitors to purchase our product and not be directed to page after page, causing them to leave our site.</p> <p>Here are some types of Call To Action Buttons you should consider adding to your website:</p> <ul> <li>Contact Us</li> <li>Email Us</li> <li>Add to Cart</li> <li>Buy Now</li> <li>Signup Today</li> <li>Download our Newsletter</li> </ul> <p>Call to action buttons come in all shapes and sizes and can be added anywhere in your website.&nbsp; Most importantly, these buttons are a website design trend that keeps visitors happy by giving them an easy way to get to what they want/need! Button text should be short and to the point, 1 to 3 words so they know at a glance exactly what they&rsquo;ll get when the click on a button.</p> <p><a title="Contact WebHornet" href="/contact">Contact us</a> today to add some Call to Action buttons to your website!</p> <p class="text-center"><a class="btn btn-primary btn-lg" href="/contact">Contact WebHornet</a></p> Thu, 14 Dec 2017 00:00:00 -0600 2017-12-14T00:00:00-06:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="margin: 5px; float: right;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/web_buttons.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="278" />We have all been to a website on our mobile device or tablet and need to contact the business or organization ASAP!&nbsp; We click on the phone number or email address and nothing happens. We don't have a pen and paper available and can't seem to remember the phone number. This can be so frustrating! However, there is a solution - <strong>Call To Action Buttons</strong>!</p> <p>As business owners, we want our site visitors to have a good experience when they find our website.&nbsp; They should be able to reach out to us in a quick and easy manner and not be frustrated trying to find us. We want our visitors to purchase our product and not be directed to page after page, causing them to leave our site.</p> <p>Here are some types of Call To Action Buttons you should consider adding to your website:</p> <ul> <li>Contact Us</li> <li>Email Us</li> <li>Add to Cart</li> <li>Buy Now</li> <li>Signup Today</li> <li>Download our Newsletter</li> </ul> <p>Call to action buttons come in all shapes and sizes and can be added anywhere in your website.&nbsp; Most importantly, these buttons are a website design trend that keeps visitors happy by giving them an easy way to get to what they want/need! Button text should be short and to the point, 1 to 3 words so they know at a glance exactly what they&rsquo;ll get when the click on a button.</p> <p><a title="Contact WebHornet" href="http://webhornet.com/contact">Contact us</a> today to add some Call to Action buttons to your website!</p> <p class="text-center"><a class="btn btn-primary btn-lg" href="http://webhornet.com/contact">Contact WebHornet</a></p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/62/how-web-design-can-make-your-business-successful http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/62/how-web-design-can-make-your-business-successful Wendy How Web Design Can Make Your Business Successful <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: right; margin: 5px;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/web_design.jpg" alt="Website Design Omaha" width="350" height="117" /></p> <p>Having a well-designed website is about more than just physical aesthetics. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/drewhendricks/2015/02/11/understanding-the-full-impact-of-web-design-on-seo-branding-and-more/&amp;refURL=&amp;referrer=#46a06bcb64fe">Web design</a> can impact the success of your SEO strategy, your branding initiatives and more. You want a website that will be user-friendly, and that accurately represents your business. Content is important, but if potential consumers don't find the site easy to look at or simple to navigate, they'll never make it as far as reading your content anyway. Becuase so many consumers go online to shop and find information, your website could be the first impression you get to make. You want to represent your business in a professional manner, but also communicate your unique business personality and brand. Below, we're reviewing tips for website design Omaha businesses can benefit from. Read on to learn more about what to do, what not to do, and how great website design can make a significant difference in your company's success.</p> <h2>1. What Makes Great Website Design?</h2> <p>Website design and marketing success are intertwined. Website design Omaha businesses will benefit from is that which allows them to reach their target audience. But what does that look like? Let us explain a few principles of effective design.</p> <p><strong>Visual Hierarchy</strong></p> <p>Visual hierarchy refers to the order in which a consumer will register something on a web page. For example, we all tend to notice the largest item on a page first because our eye is naturally drawn there. This can be used in web design to direct your consumer's attention to the message or image you most want them to see. If you give it a stand-out spot on the page by making it larger or placing it near the top, the consumer will notice it.</p> <p><strong>Eliminate Choices</strong></p> <p>You've heard it said that "<a href="https://usabilitygeek.com/less-is-more-importance-minimalist-web-design/">less is more</a>," and that is definitely true when it comes to website design. It might be tempting to present consumers with all their choice right from your homepage, and that's understandable. You want them to know about all the services or products you can provide. In terms of design, however, that can lead to a page looking cluttered. Make use of sidebars or navigation dropdowns instead. It will give your consumer a clean first view of your website, but they'll still be able to click through the site to learn all the information about your business.</p> <p><strong>Group Similar Items Together</strong></p> <p>You want your web design to create an intuitive experience for anyone who visits your site. Grouping similar items together -- such as products, services, location information, etc. -- will help the consumer. The easier it is for them to find the specific information they're looking for, the more likely they are to stay on your site and complete a transaction.</p> <h2>2. What Mistakes Should You Avoid?</h2> <p>Website design is not "one size fits all." The website design Omaha companies will want to adopt will vary from one business to the next. There are certain mistakes that all companies should look out for, though, no matter what your business goals are.</p> <p><strong>Don't Rush It</strong></p> <p>If you're creating a new website or undertaking a major redesign, you may feel pressure to get it done as quickly as possible. But web design is not meant to be a quick process. Take time to think about who your target audience is and what design aesthetic will appeal to them. Work with a design professional to create the best version of your website possible. When you do launch your site, you want it to be as complete as possible. It's better to take your time in the beginning than to constantly be interrupting the site with updates later.</p> <p><strong>Don't Miss Opportunities</strong></p> <p>If you don't include a clear call to action on your website, you're missing an opportunity to engage with your consumer. Your website design should always point the visitor towards what they can do, such as buy a product or subscribe to a newsletter or contact your company. Those moments of engagement are crucial to company success, so build them directly into your website design.</p> <p><strong>Don't DIY Your Design</strong></p> <p>The website design Omaha companies should share with their target audience needs to be professional in nature. If you don't have design experience, don't try to do it yourself. There's a difference between a <a href="/customize-your-website">customized website</a> that was built using professional tools and one that was put together haphazardly.</p> <h2>3. What Can You Get out of Web Design?</h2> <p>If you're going to spend the time and resources creating good web design, it's important to understand how it will help you.</p> <p><strong>Get More Consumers to Your Page</strong></p> <p>Website design is a factor in SEO and the more user-friendly your web design is, the higher your SEO ranking has the potential to be. The majority of users never scroll beyond the first several returned search results, so if your ranking is lower than that, you're missing an opportunity to reach consumers.</p> <p><strong>Create More Customer Interactions</strong></p> <p>Once potential customers are on your page, good web design will keep them there. An intuitive experience will encourage consumers to explore more pages and spend more time on those pages. That can lead to the customer interactions that your business needs to survive. They'll easily be able to shop and complete purchases, explore published content or reach out to customer service for more information.</p> <p><strong>Generate Positive Word of Mouth</strong></p> <p>The better the experience a customer has on your website, the more likely they'll be to tell others about it. Creating a website that customers will want to talk about could potentially expand your consumer base even further.</p> <p><strong>Want to Know More about the Website Design Omaha Companies Need?</strong></p> <p>When you have a great product or service to sell, the last thing you want is for poor website design to get in your way. Creating a professional, well-designed, and easy to navigate website is the best way to take your business to the next level. For more information on how to create a custom website for your company, please feel free to <a href="/contact">contact us</a> at any time.</p> Tue, 12 Dec 2017 00:00:00 -0600 2017-12-12T00:00:00-06:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: right; margin: 5px;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/web_design.jpg" alt="Website Design Omaha" width="350" height="117" /></p> <p>Having a well-designed website is about more than just physical aesthetics. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/drewhendricks/2015/02/11/understanding-the-full-impact-of-web-design-on-seo-branding-and-more/&amp;refURL=&amp;referrer=#46a06bcb64fe">Web design</a> can impact the success of your SEO strategy, your branding initiatives and more. You want a website that will be user-friendly, and that accurately represents your business. Content is important, but if potential consumers don't find the site easy to look at or simple to navigate, they'll never make it as far as reading your content anyway. Becuase so many consumers go online to shop and find information, your website could be the first impression you get to make. You want to represent your business in a professional manner, but also communicate your unique business personality and brand. Below, we're reviewing tips for website design Omaha businesses can benefit from. Read on to learn more about what to do, what not to do, and how great website design can make a significant difference in your company's success.</p> <h2>1. What Makes Great Website Design?</h2> <p>Website design and marketing success are intertwined. Website design Omaha businesses will benefit from is that which allows them to reach their target audience. But what does that look like? Let us explain a few principles of effective design.</p> <p><strong>Visual Hierarchy</strong></p> <p>Visual hierarchy refers to the order in which a consumer will register something on a web page. For example, we all tend to notice the largest item on a page first because our eye is naturally drawn there. This can be used in web design to direct your consumer's attention to the message or image you most want them to see. If you give it a stand-out spot on the page by making it larger or placing it near the top, the consumer will notice it.</p> <p><strong>Eliminate Choices</strong></p> <p>You've heard it said that "<a href="https://usabilitygeek.com/less-is-more-importance-minimalist-web-design/">less is more</a>," and that is definitely true when it comes to website design. It might be tempting to present consumers with all their choice right from your homepage, and that's understandable. You want them to know about all the services or products you can provide. In terms of design, however, that can lead to a page looking cluttered. Make use of sidebars or navigation dropdowns instead. It will give your consumer a clean first view of your website, but they'll still be able to click through the site to learn all the information about your business.</p> <p><strong>Group Similar Items Together</strong></p> <p>You want your web design to create an intuitive experience for anyone who visits your site. Grouping similar items together -- such as products, services, location information, etc. -- will help the consumer. The easier it is for them to find the specific information they're looking for, the more likely they are to stay on your site and complete a transaction.</p> <h2>2. What Mistakes Should You Avoid?</h2> <p>Website design is not "one size fits all." The website design Omaha companies will want to adopt will vary from one business to the next. There are certain mistakes that all companies should look out for, though, no matter what your business goals are.</p> <p><strong>Don't Rush It</strong></p> <p>If you're creating a new website or undertaking a major redesign, you may feel pressure to get it done as quickly as possible. But web design is not meant to be a quick process. Take time to think about who your target audience is and what design aesthetic will appeal to them. Work with a design professional to create the best version of your website possible. When you do launch your site, you want it to be as complete as possible. It's better to take your time in the beginning than to constantly be interrupting the site with updates later.</p> <p><strong>Don't Miss Opportunities</strong></p> <p>If you don't include a clear call to action on your website, you're missing an opportunity to engage with your consumer. Your website design should always point the visitor towards what they can do, such as buy a product or subscribe to a newsletter or contact your company. Those moments of engagement are crucial to company success, so build them directly into your website design.</p> <p><strong>Don't DIY Your Design</strong></p> <p>The website design Omaha companies should share with their target audience needs to be professional in nature. If you don't have design experience, don't try to do it yourself. There's a difference between a <a href="http://webhornet.com/customize-your-website">customized website</a> that was built using professional tools and one that was put together haphazardly.</p> <h2>3. What Can You Get out of Web Design?</h2> <p>If you're going to spend the time and resources creating good web design, it's important to understand how it will help you.</p> <p><strong>Get More Consumers to Your Page</strong></p> <p>Website design is a factor in SEO and the more user-friendly your web design is, the higher your SEO ranking has the potential to be. The majority of users never scroll beyond the first several returned search results, so if your ranking is lower than that, you're missing an opportunity to reach consumers.</p> <p><strong>Create More Customer Interactions</strong></p> <p>Once potential customers are on your page, good web design will keep them there. An intuitive experience will encourage consumers to explore more pages and spend more time on those pages. That can lead to the customer interactions that your business needs to survive. They'll easily be able to shop and complete purchases, explore published content or reach out to customer service for more information.</p> <p><strong>Generate Positive Word of Mouth</strong></p> <p>The better the experience a customer has on your website, the more likely they'll be to tell others about it. Creating a website that customers will want to talk about could potentially expand your consumer base even further.</p> <p><strong>Want to Know More about the Website Design Omaha Companies Need?</strong></p> <p>When you have a great product or service to sell, the last thing you want is for poor website design to get in your way. Creating a professional, well-designed, and easy to navigate website is the best way to take your business to the next level. For more information on how to create a custom website for your company, please feel free to <a href="http://webhornet.com/contact">contact us</a> at any time.</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/61/seo-basics-for-businesses-in-omaha http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/61/seo-basics-for-businesses-in-omaha Michelle SEO Basics for Businesses in Omaha <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: left; margin: 5px;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/SEOTips.jpg" alt="SEO Omaha" width="250" height="213" />Are you an Omaha-based company, concerned about your abilities with search engine optimization (SEO)? Mastering SEO for your site to rank locally takes time and planning. SEO is the techniques businesses use to improve their rankings in search engines. Quite simply, SEO helps your website rise to the top of search results. Search engine optimization is ultimately about increasing your website's visibility on search engines. Here is an easy essential <strong>SEO Omaha</strong> guide for beginners.</p> <p><strong>What Should I Know About SEO?</strong></p> <p>Google's algorithms are designed to find sites that are both relevant and authoritative for searchers. Smart use of keywords can help, for example. Links to and from your website using authoritative websites improves your SEO as well. Google sees past websites that try to trick their algorithms. Writing a keyword too many times on a website is transparent. There is some finesse required in getting SEO right. But if you don't have a technical background, you can still master the important techniques of SEO. That's because much of it is intuitive. We'll review the basics and the techniques that will bring you SEO perfection.</p> <p><strong>What Makes My Site Relevant and Authoritative?</strong></p> <p>You can make your site more relevant by using keywords. Your keywords should relate to the subjects of your pages. You should also look into the common search terms used by customers looking for services like yours. You can find relevant search terms using the <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/?geo=AU" target="_blank">Google Trends</a> tool. The ultimate rule on authority is link juice. Sites with link juice have more relevancy to searches. You get more link juice when you link to authoritative websites. These are called external links. It helps to link to your own relevant pages using internal links as well.</p> <p><strong>What Should I Know About the SEO Omaha Companies Use Successfully?</strong></p> <p>According to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2014/04/03/6-local-seo-strategies-for-small-businesses/&amp;refURL=&amp;referrer=#1e3383fa7c57" target="_blank">Forbes</a>, "Local search doesn't have to be complicated, and you just need to have a well-rounded local strategy." There are specific SEO techniques that can increase your search ranking for local searchers. Aside from basic SEO, local techniques involve link juice from local organizations. You want big community figures linking to your website. This sort of acknowledgment is called a citation. It adds to your credibility as a local asset. Google recognizes citations, which increases your rankings. In a moment, we'll review the five essential steps of local SEO. We'll include details about the SEO Omaha businesses already use to attract visitors. Even with the basics, you can drive lasting success for your business--both online and with your bottom line.</p> <p><strong>Five Essential Steps for SEO Omaha Companies Should Use</strong></p> <p>You don't need a technical background to complete the following steps for local search success. Apply some time and effort and you'll have potential customers finding your site in no time.</p> <p><strong>Optimize Your Site for Local Searches</strong></p> <p>Basic site optimization is very intuitive. You should include clear listings of your products and services with keywords in the descriptions. Generally, should use at least five instances of each page's most important keyword. You should include the most important information about your business on a single page. This includes a short executive summary, address, and hours of operation. Be sure your data is consistent across all of your listings. This includes your name, address, and phone number. Consistency is intuitive and search-friendly.</p> <p><strong>Dedicate Pages to Local Content</strong></p> <p>You can dedicate pages to targeted subjects that will drive super-relevant searchers to each of them. Include local keywords to increase your chances of reaching local customers. If you have a blog, write content that is specific to your area. Targeted content on each of your pages boosts traffic. If you're writing about another company or institution, reach out to them for connections that will pay off down the road. If you have citations from companies you've written about it will improve your SEO. The five minutes you spend optimizing each page is the most important part of your writing process.</p> <p><strong>Provide a Way for Clients to Leave Reviews on Your Website</strong></p> <p>There is nothing more compelling for your potential customers than <a href="/reviews">seeing reviews</a>. Sure enough, reviews are compelling for search engines as well. The first step is to add a page to your website formatted to receive and publish reviews in places they will be noticed. Then, you should drive existing customers to your reviews. You can:</p> <ul> <li>Include a 'Write a Review' button in a noticeable place on your website</li> <li>Include a call to action in a document to your customer that confirms completion of a project</li> <li>Reach out to satisfied customers directly and ask</li> </ul> <p>Reviews with a URL field enable you to easily add external links to your clients as well.</p> <p><strong>Use Relevant and Engaging Photos</strong></p> <p>The images on your website should not be an afterthought. In fact, internet searchers engage with images more than text. The way you publish images can help your SEO as well. Your company logo is important. But it might not be compelling out of context. What's important to your customers in Omaha? Visualizing the companies they will do business with. Take photos of your personnel, facilities, products, and events. Post as many as you can on relevant pages. Post until you're just shy of going overboard. Naming your photos matter. Use keywords to name the image files and their metadata. Google cares about these words, too.</p> <p><strong>Get Key Citations</strong></p> <p>We've reviewed several factors for the best SEO Omaha companies can achieve. Most of these you can perform yourself. But links--and especially citations--are the most important. Citations add legitimacy to your website that you did not create yourself. If you're an intuitive person, you know this is the best way to qualify a business, online or offline. So, how can you get other websites to link to yours? There isn't a universal strategy for getting citations. There are a few methods you can try that might work for you. These include:</p> <ul> <li>Ensure you're linked on formal government, industry, and news references</li> <li>Ask your professional contacts to add citations to their websites</li> <li>Search for good websites online and reach out directly</li> <li>Distribute a press release (at cost) that will be published on dozens of websites</li> </ul> <p><strong>The SEO Omaha Businesses Trust</strong></p> <p>Even small companies can transform their businesses with organic search traffic. You've learned the basics. Now, <a href="/contact">team up with WebHornet</a> for professional SEO services proven to deliver business success.</p> Fri, 08 Dec 2017 00:00:00 -0600 2017-12-08T00:00:00-06:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: left; margin: 5px;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/SEOTips.jpg" alt="SEO Omaha" width="250" height="213" />Are you an Omaha-based company, concerned about your abilities with search engine optimization (SEO)? Mastering SEO for your site to rank locally takes time and planning. SEO is the techniques businesses use to improve their rankings in search engines. Quite simply, SEO helps your website rise to the top of search results. Search engine optimization is ultimately about increasing your website's visibility on search engines. Here is an easy essential <strong>SEO Omaha</strong> guide for beginners.</p> <p><strong>What Should I Know About SEO?</strong></p> <p>Google's algorithms are designed to find sites that are both relevant and authoritative for searchers. Smart use of keywords can help, for example. Links to and from your website using authoritative websites improves your SEO as well. Google sees past websites that try to trick their algorithms. Writing a keyword too many times on a website is transparent. There is some finesse required in getting SEO right. But if you don't have a technical background, you can still master the important techniques of SEO. That's because much of it is intuitive. We'll review the basics and the techniques that will bring you SEO perfection.</p> <p><strong>What Makes My Site Relevant and Authoritative?</strong></p> <p>You can make your site more relevant by using keywords. Your keywords should relate to the subjects of your pages. You should also look into the common search terms used by customers looking for services like yours. You can find relevant search terms using the <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/?geo=AU" target="_blank">Google Trends</a> tool. The ultimate rule on authority is link juice. Sites with link juice have more relevancy to searches. You get more link juice when you link to authoritative websites. These are called external links. It helps to link to your own relevant pages using internal links as well.</p> <p><strong>What Should I Know About the SEO Omaha Companies Use Successfully?</strong></p> <p>According to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2014/04/03/6-local-seo-strategies-for-small-businesses/&amp;refURL=&amp;referrer=#1e3383fa7c57" target="_blank">Forbes</a>, "Local search doesn't have to be complicated, and you just need to have a well-rounded local strategy." There are specific SEO techniques that can increase your search ranking for local searchers. Aside from basic SEO, local techniques involve link juice from local organizations. You want big community figures linking to your website. This sort of acknowledgment is called a citation. It adds to your credibility as a local asset. Google recognizes citations, which increases your rankings. In a moment, we'll review the five essential steps of local SEO. We'll include details about the SEO Omaha businesses already use to attract visitors. Even with the basics, you can drive lasting success for your business--both online and with your bottom line.</p> <p><strong>Five Essential Steps for SEO Omaha Companies Should Use</strong></p> <p>You don't need a technical background to complete the following steps for local search success. Apply some time and effort and you'll have potential customers finding your site in no time.</p> <p><strong>Optimize Your Site for Local Searches</strong></p> <p>Basic site optimization is very intuitive. You should include clear listings of your products and services with keywords in the descriptions. Generally, should use at least five instances of each page's most important keyword. You should include the most important information about your business on a single page. This includes a short executive summary, address, and hours of operation. Be sure your data is consistent across all of your listings. This includes your name, address, and phone number. Consistency is intuitive and search-friendly.</p> <p><strong>Dedicate Pages to Local Content</strong></p> <p>You can dedicate pages to targeted subjects that will drive super-relevant searchers to each of them. Include local keywords to increase your chances of reaching local customers. If you have a blog, write content that is specific to your area. Targeted content on each of your pages boosts traffic. If you're writing about another company or institution, reach out to them for connections that will pay off down the road. If you have citations from companies you've written about it will improve your SEO. The five minutes you spend optimizing each page is the most important part of your writing process.</p> <p><strong>Provide a Way for Clients to Leave Reviews on Your Website</strong></p> <p>There is nothing more compelling for your potential customers than <a href="http://webhornet.com/reviews">seeing reviews</a>. Sure enough, reviews are compelling for search engines as well. The first step is to add a page to your website formatted to receive and publish reviews in places they will be noticed. Then, you should drive existing customers to your reviews. You can:</p> <ul> <li>Include a 'Write a Review' button in a noticeable place on your website</li> <li>Include a call to action in a document to your customer that confirms completion of a project</li> <li>Reach out to satisfied customers directly and ask</li> </ul> <p>Reviews with a URL field enable you to easily add external links to your clients as well.</p> <p><strong>Use Relevant and Engaging Photos</strong></p> <p>The images on your website should not be an afterthought. In fact, internet searchers engage with images more than text. The way you publish images can help your SEO as well. Your company logo is important. But it might not be compelling out of context. What's important to your customers in Omaha? Visualizing the companies they will do business with. Take photos of your personnel, facilities, products, and events. Post as many as you can on relevant pages. Post until you're just shy of going overboard. Naming your photos matter. Use keywords to name the image files and their metadata. Google cares about these words, too.</p> <p><strong>Get Key Citations</strong></p> <p>We've reviewed several factors for the best SEO Omaha companies can achieve. Most of these you can perform yourself. But links--and especially citations--are the most important. Citations add legitimacy to your website that you did not create yourself. If you're an intuitive person, you know this is the best way to qualify a business, online or offline. So, how can you get other websites to link to yours? There isn't a universal strategy for getting citations. There are a few methods you can try that might work for you. These include:</p> <ul> <li>Ensure you're linked on formal government, industry, and news references</li> <li>Ask your professional contacts to add citations to their websites</li> <li>Search for good websites online and reach out directly</li> <li>Distribute a press release (at cost) that will be published on dozens of websites</li> </ul> <p><strong>The SEO Omaha Businesses Trust</strong></p> <p>Even small companies can transform their businesses with organic search traffic. You've learned the basics. Now, <a href="http://webhornet.com/contact">team up with WebHornet</a> for professional SEO services proven to deliver business success.</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/60/9-trends-in-graphic-design-you-need-to-be-aware-of http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/60/9-trends-in-graphic-design-you-need-to-be-aware-of Wendy 9 Trends in Graphic Design You Need to be Aware Of <p><img class="img-responsive" style="margin: 5px; float: right;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/GraphicTrends.jpg" alt="trends in graphic design" width="250" height="178" />Trends in graphic design are constantly changing, especially as companies struggle to differentiate themselves. With such rapid revolution of design elements, some even becoming outdated in as little as a year, marketers often wonder, is staying on trend even worth it? Truthfully, it is. A good design can go a long way in boosting brand recognition. It keeps pace with your audience's expectations. In the end, your success is about connecting to your target market. Mirroring current visual trends can help bridge the gap. Take a look at these nine current trends in graphic design and decide which ones you can put to work for your business website:</p> <p><strong>Greenery</strong><br /> Pantone started the year's design expectations with its Color of the Year, <a href="https://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year-2017" target="_blank">Greenery</a>. This new hue represents environmentalism, freshness, and reinvigoration. Pantone's annual color palette typically leads the charge every year in fashion, home decor, and trends in graphic design. Expect to see plenty of "green" themes on websites and collateral. These might include elements like natural images and earthy textures</p> <p><strong>Bold Transitional Color Trends in Graphic Design</strong><br /> It's a big year for color, and not just green tones. Ombre and color gradients continue their popularity points. Colors that transition from flat to blended hues will likely be found in logos, picture overlays, and buttons, such as the Instagram logo. Many of these color transitions will rely on bold and bright hues. Design is moving away from neutrals like blacks, whites, and grays. Instead, expect louder and prouder color schemes. Other formats may include the highly visual <a title="duotone technique examples" href="https://speckyboy.com/duo-toned-color-schemes-web-design/">duotone technique</a>. This technique combines two bright colors into a heavily contrasted image. The final effect is hard to ignore. However, be prepared to inject a little extra design work into doing this one right.</p> <p><strong>Mixed Fonts</strong><br /> Mixing font combinations isn't a new trend for 2017, but it's one you can count on seeing more of. Combining bold typography with feminine italics will be a mainstay for a while. Google fonts will rise in popularity, given their universality across all platforms. Designers emphasizing a consistent UX should note the 800+ Google fonts available. Many of these come with a zero-dollar price tag.</p> <p><strong>Original, Real-Life Photos</strong><br /> Stock photos and illustrations may be on hiatus as users are leaning more toward genuine images. Companies are beginning to invest more in photography. Their goal is to capture one-of-a-kind photos that document their authenticity. It may take more creativity and potentially cost more than a $5 stock photo. However, this move gives brands a way to truly capture their essence. Plus, it's a surefire way to guarantee your competitors won't be showcasing the same tired images on their own website.</p> <p><strong>Minimalism</strong><br /> Unless you're still living in the 80s and 90s, less is going to be much more for quite a while. Everything from <a href="/blg/webhornet-blog/34/the-importance-of-simple-web-design" target="_blank">simple web design</a> to product packaging demonstrates this theme. This is to ensure that messages don't become lost since there's only one message to look for. Websites are making better use of white space, thus reducing viewer fatigue by creating fewer focal points. Though not entirely new for this year, the look and feel still gives a fresh, elegant vibe that simply can't lose.</p> <p><strong>GIFs &amp; Cinemagraphs</strong><br /> GIFs are those quirky little video clips that play in short loops, usually with accompanying text to support an idea. Similar to the meme phenomenon of the past couple years, GIFs often stem from pop culture icons, movies, or other recognizable sources. As video continues to dominate digital communications, GIFs will ramp up their popularity. People crave their short, sporadic content and ability to capture immediate attention. Cinemagraphs are similar to GIFs, but are typically higher quality and don't carry the same familiarity. Rather, a cinemagraph represents a still image with only one small animated portion. For instance, you might see an image of a woman pouring milk into cereal, with the milk actually moving in the image. The emergence of cinemagraphs solves an age-old marketing problem of grabbing attention quickly in a short amount of time. By bringing ordinary photos to life, you stand a higher chance of highlighting the most important part of that image.</p> <p><strong>Polygons and Geometry</strong><br /> Low-poly designs are becoming a graphic design mainstay, thanks to video games. It adds dimension to otherwise flat images, along with additional color shades to further its allure. <a title="Low-poly design examples" href="https://www.sessions.edu/notes-on-design/whats-the-deal-with-low-poly-art/">Low-poly design</a> can be combined with other trends in graphic design, such as duotones or bold colors, to create an entire look of 2017 centricity. Aside from polygons, geometric figures as a whole remain rooted in 2017. Clean edges add classiness, plus they pair easily with just about any modern typeface and color palette.</p> <p><strong>Custom Illustrations &amp; Graphics</strong><br /> Stock photos seem to be going the way of the buffalo in favor of original images, including the hand-drawn kind. Tacking on to the Snapchat fever, handmade doodles are ever popular. In addition, more sophisticated <a href="/blg/webhornet-blog/35/adding-high-quality-graphics-to-your-website" target="_blank">illustrations and graphics</a> are pushing creative limitations. As a result, marketers and designers can bask in having one-of-a-kind images, much like the original photo trend. Even if you don't have any artistic abilities yourself, you can hire a freelance artist to create an original, copyrighted image for you.</p> <p><strong>Modular Layout Design</strong><br /> Boxing texts and images into bite-sized ideas can help manage your content like never before. Again, this trend in graphic design isn't new by any means, but it's not going away this year. The better you can separate ideas in your design, the better the user can interact with them. It helps eliminate long, boring blocks of text, opting instead to pair it with relevant images to create a cohesive story. In doing so, you get clean, crisp lines that look both professional and effortless.</p> <p><strong>Wrap Up</strong><br /> Learning about trends in graphic design is just the beginning. It takes practice to master these trends and put them to good use. By that time, there's probably plenty of new trends for you to explore. If you need help perfecting your design, <a href="/contact" target="_blank">give us a shout</a> today and together we'll create a website worth visiting again and again.</p> Mon, 27 Nov 2017 00:00:00 -0600 2017-11-27T00:00:00-06:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="margin: 5px; float: right;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/GraphicTrends.jpg" alt="trends in graphic design" width="250" height="178" />Trends in graphic design are constantly changing, especially as companies struggle to differentiate themselves. With such rapid revolution of design elements, some even becoming outdated in as little as a year, marketers often wonder, is staying on trend even worth it? Truthfully, it is. A good design can go a long way in boosting brand recognition. It keeps pace with your audience's expectations. In the end, your success is about connecting to your target market. Mirroring current visual trends can help bridge the gap. Take a look at these nine current trends in graphic design and decide which ones you can put to work for your business website:</p> <p><strong>Greenery</strong><br /> Pantone started the year's design expectations with its Color of the Year, <a href="https://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year-2017" target="_blank">Greenery</a>. This new hue represents environmentalism, freshness, and reinvigoration. Pantone's annual color palette typically leads the charge every year in fashion, home decor, and trends in graphic design. Expect to see plenty of "green" themes on websites and collateral. These might include elements like natural images and earthy textures</p> <p><strong>Bold Transitional Color Trends in Graphic Design</strong><br /> It's a big year for color, and not just green tones. Ombre and color gradients continue their popularity points. Colors that transition from flat to blended hues will likely be found in logos, picture overlays, and buttons, such as the Instagram logo. Many of these color transitions will rely on bold and bright hues. Design is moving away from neutrals like blacks, whites, and grays. Instead, expect louder and prouder color schemes. Other formats may include the highly visual <a title="duotone technique examples" href="https://speckyboy.com/duo-toned-color-schemes-web-design/">duotone technique</a>. This technique combines two bright colors into a heavily contrasted image. The final effect is hard to ignore. However, be prepared to inject a little extra design work into doing this one right.</p> <p><strong>Mixed Fonts</strong><br /> Mixing font combinations isn't a new trend for 2017, but it's one you can count on seeing more of. Combining bold typography with feminine italics will be a mainstay for a while. Google fonts will rise in popularity, given their universality across all platforms. Designers emphasizing a consistent UX should note the 800+ Google fonts available. Many of these come with a zero-dollar price tag.</p> <p><strong>Original, Real-Life Photos</strong><br /> Stock photos and illustrations may be on hiatus as users are leaning more toward genuine images. Companies are beginning to invest more in photography. Their goal is to capture one-of-a-kind photos that document their authenticity. It may take more creativity and potentially cost more than a $5 stock photo. However, this move gives brands a way to truly capture their essence. Plus, it's a surefire way to guarantee your competitors won't be showcasing the same tired images on their own website.</p> <p><strong>Minimalism</strong><br /> Unless you're still living in the 80s and 90s, less is going to be much more for quite a while. Everything from <a href="http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/34/the-importance-of-simple-web-design" target="_blank">simple web design</a> to product packaging demonstrates this theme. This is to ensure that messages don't become lost since there's only one message to look for. Websites are making better use of white space, thus reducing viewer fatigue by creating fewer focal points. Though not entirely new for this year, the look and feel still gives a fresh, elegant vibe that simply can't lose.</p> <p><strong>GIFs &amp; Cinemagraphs</strong><br /> GIFs are those quirky little video clips that play in short loops, usually with accompanying text to support an idea. Similar to the meme phenomenon of the past couple years, GIFs often stem from pop culture icons, movies, or other recognizable sources. As video continues to dominate digital communications, GIFs will ramp up their popularity. People crave their short, sporadic content and ability to capture immediate attention. Cinemagraphs are similar to GIFs, but are typically higher quality and don't carry the same familiarity. Rather, a cinemagraph represents a still image with only one small animated portion. For instance, you might see an image of a woman pouring milk into cereal, with the milk actually moving in the image. The emergence of cinemagraphs solves an age-old marketing problem of grabbing attention quickly in a short amount of time. By bringing ordinary photos to life, you stand a higher chance of highlighting the most important part of that image.</p> <p><strong>Polygons and Geometry</strong><br /> Low-poly designs are becoming a graphic design mainstay, thanks to video games. It adds dimension to otherwise flat images, along with additional color shades to further its allure. <a title="Low-poly design examples" href="https://www.sessions.edu/notes-on-design/whats-the-deal-with-low-poly-art/">Low-poly design</a> can be combined with other trends in graphic design, such as duotones or bold colors, to create an entire look of 2017 centricity. Aside from polygons, geometric figures as a whole remain rooted in 2017. Clean edges add classiness, plus they pair easily with just about any modern typeface and color palette.</p> <p><strong>Custom Illustrations &amp; Graphics</strong><br /> Stock photos seem to be going the way of the buffalo in favor of original images, including the hand-drawn kind. Tacking on to the Snapchat fever, handmade doodles are ever popular. In addition, more sophisticated <a href="http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/35/adding-high-quality-graphics-to-your-website" target="_blank">illustrations and graphics</a> are pushing creative limitations. As a result, marketers and designers can bask in having one-of-a-kind images, much like the original photo trend. Even if you don't have any artistic abilities yourself, you can hire a freelance artist to create an original, copyrighted image for you.</p> <p><strong>Modular Layout Design</strong><br /> Boxing texts and images into bite-sized ideas can help manage your content like never before. Again, this trend in graphic design isn't new by any means, but it's not going away this year. The better you can separate ideas in your design, the better the user can interact with them. It helps eliminate long, boring blocks of text, opting instead to pair it with relevant images to create a cohesive story. In doing so, you get clean, crisp lines that look both professional and effortless.</p> <p><strong>Wrap Up</strong><br /> Learning about trends in graphic design is just the beginning. It takes practice to master these trends and put them to good use. By that time, there's probably plenty of new trends for you to explore. If you need help perfecting your design, <a href="http://webhornet.com/contact" target="_blank">give us a shout</a> today and together we'll create a website worth visiting again and again.</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/59/10-reasons-to-invest-in-professional-seo-services http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/59/10-reasons-to-invest-in-professional-seo-services Michelle 10 Reasons to Invest in Professional SEO Services <p><img class="img-responsive" style="margin: 5px; float: right;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/SEO.jpg" alt="Professional SEO Services" width="250" height="167" />SEO is essential if you want your business website to be found on the internet. The age of digital marketing is exciting and it is easier now than ever to increase brand awareness. Customers can find your company more easily than ever before using search engines but digital marketing is also more difficult than it looks. When you factor in competition and ever-changing SEO strategies, it's best to call in an expert. You may think you have what it takes to create your own content and post on social media. However, hiring an expert improves your performance in search results and increases brand awareness. Here are 10 reasons why you should invest in professional SEO services.</p> <p><strong>1. They Know SEO Trends</strong><br /> SEO isn't a one-time training ordeal. You can't receive a degree in SEO and instantly become an expert. Professional SEO services understand the world of SEO is always changing. Therefore, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2016/11/09/7-seo-trends-that-will-dominate-2017/#6375dc7f7409" target="_blank">they keep up with trends</a> and are always ahead of the game. SEO professionals understand they need to stay on point with SEO facts and how the industry is changing. They have the tools to research and the skills to understand what works and what doesn't. Other professionals won't have the time or knowledge to stay updated on the SEO game.</p> <p><strong>2. They Have Extensive Training</strong><br />Professional SEO services zero in on the points of 'skills' and 'training.' They have extensive knowledge in optimizing a brand's value and improving their search engine performance. What is SEO training? It involves using keywords and UI/UX (for web and mobile). It also includes utilizing writing, images, video, and other tools like link building. How do they receive training? It's usually from experience in the workforce or being self-taught. However, universities recently started offering courses and training on SEO.</p> <p><strong>3. They Understand SEO Isn't Used Only by Google</strong><br />If you use the internet, you know that Google is the Mecca of search engines. But there are <a href="https://searchengineland.com/googles-seo-advice-not-always-best-interest-270702" target="_blank">many search engines</a> that people also use, as well as popular social platforms. In addition, Google owns other companies such as YouTube. If your company has a video blog on YouTube, professional SEO services will be able to optimize SEO on your videos. This means your video content will appear higher in YouTube search results. SEO experts also use different services to research search engine trends. An SEO professional will use Google's Adwords and another keyword service to compare trends.</p> <p><strong>4. They Also Use SEO Strategies on Social Media</strong> <br />Chances are, a large portion of your customers will find you on social media. So it's obvious why <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2015/01/27/6-social-media-practices-that-boost-seo/#9d6a38b3d171" target="_blank">social media marketing</a> incorporates SEO. Aside from this, social media has a different SEO strategy than what you'd use on Google. For example, social media users aren't searching keywords as much as they do on Google. They find shares and likes and search for your company by name. What makes social media SEO effective is increasing popularity with organic and inorganic (paid advertising) promotion. An SEO expert will be able to increase your followers while maintaining SEO-rich scripts and media.</p> <p><strong>5. Your Company Receives Quality Content</strong><br /> One of the biggest factors of effective SEO marketing is using quality content. This is usually used with a combination of professional writing, high-def images, and <a href="/blg/webhornet-blog/36/adding-video-to-your-website" target="_blank">professional video</a>. To be sure a company is utilizing the best content, it's best to outsource professional SEO services. SEO experts are trained to use factors such as keywords and link building to maximize search engine performance. Experts also understand a major SEO factor is producing great content. Therefore, SEO experts are trained to create quality content. This is usually in the form of writing, but can also include photography and videography.</p> <p><strong>6. SEO Services Include an All-In-One Package</strong><br /> If you hire professional SEO services, you're not just receiving one benefit. You're receiving a wide variety of specialists who can increase awareness for your company from different angles. While SEO is one term, it's a complex practice that reaches all areas of digital marketing and web promotion. When you outsource SEO services, you receive these benefits:</p> <ul> <li>SEO audits (identifying issues and other bugs)</li> <li>Professional writing/copywriting</li> <li>Keyword research and use</li> <li>SEO strategies, planning and mapping</li> <li>Website design</li> <li>Link building services</li> <li>CMS development</li> </ul> <p><strong>7. SEO Experts Understand Relevancy is Key</strong><br /> Whether it's the content or the keywords, an SEO expert understands the tactics used. They need to be relevant to your company and your niche customers or audience. To make your brand a leader in your industry, you need to have legitimacy on the web. An SEO expert will research your audience and will tailor their strategies to any relevant trends. This includes using relevant keywords and creating content for your specific audience. Other link building tools can also be used, including guest posting on your blog.</p> <p><strong>8. SEO Experts Know What Your Customers Want</strong><br /> In addition to trends and keyword-use, SEO experts will research what your customers and audience want to see. This is done by paying attention to their comments and feedback. It also involves knowing what's popular in the niche market. For this reason, it helps to find a company that has expertise and knowledge in your market.</p> <p><strong>9. SEO Experts Use Metadata</strong><br /> What is metadata? Metadata is data that describes other data. When you search terms or search your company name, what Google and other search engines store is metadata. You're technically speaking the language of search engines when you use metadata. SEO experts use metadata in the titles, keywords and the body of the content. They'll also use it in the website design and your content description. They can even automatically pull metadata from your content to use on the webpage.</p> <p><strong>10. SEO Experts Know How to Use Keywords</strong><br /> We already know keywords are vital when appearing in search results, but how exactly do you use them? SEO experts know where to place keywords in content. They'll use them in image alt tags, metadata and spread throughout your content for natural reading along with many other techniques.</p> <p><strong>Start Looking for Professional SEO Services</strong><br /> When you outsource a professional SEO service, you're receiving industry experts who know how to increase brand awareness on the web. SEO experts use a combination of search engines and social media platforms to increase your traffic and customers. When you outsource a professional SEO service, you'll receive nothing but great results. If you need SEO and website experts, <a href="/contact" target="_blank">we can help</a> improve your search engine performance. <a title="Contact us" href="/contact">Contact us today</a>!</p> Fri, 17 Nov 2017 00:00:00 -0600 2017-11-17T00:00:00-06:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="margin: 5px; float: right;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/SEO.jpg" alt="Professional SEO Services" width="250" height="167" />SEO is essential if you want your business website to be found on the internet. The age of digital marketing is exciting and it is easier now than ever to increase brand awareness. Customers can find your company more easily than ever before using search engines but digital marketing is also more difficult than it looks. When you factor in competition and ever-changing SEO strategies, it's best to call in an expert. You may think you have what it takes to create your own content and post on social media. However, hiring an expert improves your performance in search results and increases brand awareness. Here are 10 reasons why you should invest in professional SEO services.</p> <p><strong>1. They Know SEO Trends</strong><br /> SEO isn't a one-time training ordeal. You can't receive a degree in SEO and instantly become an expert. Professional SEO services understand the world of SEO is always changing. Therefore, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2016/11/09/7-seo-trends-that-will-dominate-2017/#6375dc7f7409" target="_blank">they keep up with trends</a> and are always ahead of the game. SEO professionals understand they need to stay on point with SEO facts and how the industry is changing. They have the tools to research and the skills to understand what works and what doesn't. Other professionals won't have the time or knowledge to stay updated on the SEO game.</p> <p><strong>2. They Have Extensive Training</strong><br />Professional SEO services zero in on the points of 'skills' and 'training.' They have extensive knowledge in optimizing a brand's value and improving their search engine performance. What is SEO training? It involves using keywords and UI/UX (for web and mobile). It also includes utilizing writing, images, video, and other tools like link building. How do they receive training? It's usually from experience in the workforce or being self-taught. However, universities recently started offering courses and training on SEO.</p> <p><strong>3. They Understand SEO Isn't Used Only by Google</strong><br />If you use the internet, you know that Google is the Mecca of search engines. But there are <a href="https://searchengineland.com/googles-seo-advice-not-always-best-interest-270702" target="_blank">many search engines</a> that people also use, as well as popular social platforms. In addition, Google owns other companies such as YouTube. If your company has a video blog on YouTube, professional SEO services will be able to optimize SEO on your videos. This means your video content will appear higher in YouTube search results. SEO experts also use different services to research search engine trends. An SEO professional will use Google's Adwords and another keyword service to compare trends.</p> <p><strong>4. They Also Use SEO Strategies on Social Media</strong> <br />Chances are, a large portion of your customers will find you on social media. So it's obvious why <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2015/01/27/6-social-media-practices-that-boost-seo/#9d6a38b3d171" target="_blank">social media marketing</a> incorporates SEO. Aside from this, social media has a different SEO strategy than what you'd use on Google. For example, social media users aren't searching keywords as much as they do on Google. They find shares and likes and search for your company by name. What makes social media SEO effective is increasing popularity with organic and inorganic (paid advertising) promotion. An SEO expert will be able to increase your followers while maintaining SEO-rich scripts and media.</p> <p><strong>5. Your Company Receives Quality Content</strong><br /> One of the biggest factors of effective SEO marketing is using quality content. This is usually used with a combination of professional writing, high-def images, and <a href="http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/36/adding-video-to-your-website" target="_blank">professional video</a>. To be sure a company is utilizing the best content, it's best to outsource professional SEO services. SEO experts are trained to use factors such as keywords and link building to maximize search engine performance. Experts also understand a major SEO factor is producing great content. Therefore, SEO experts are trained to create quality content. This is usually in the form of writing, but can also include photography and videography.</p> <p><strong>6. SEO Services Include an All-In-One Package</strong><br /> If you hire professional SEO services, you're not just receiving one benefit. You're receiving a wide variety of specialists who can increase awareness for your company from different angles. While SEO is one term, it's a complex practice that reaches all areas of digital marketing and web promotion. When you outsource SEO services, you receive these benefits:</p> <ul> <li>SEO audits (identifying issues and other bugs)</li> <li>Professional writing/copywriting</li> <li>Keyword research and use</li> <li>SEO strategies, planning and mapping</li> <li>Website design</li> <li>Link building services</li> <li>CMS development</li> </ul> <p><strong>7. SEO Experts Understand Relevancy is Key</strong><br /> Whether it's the content or the keywords, an SEO expert understands the tactics used. They need to be relevant to your company and your niche customers or audience. To make your brand a leader in your industry, you need to have legitimacy on the web. An SEO expert will research your audience and will tailor their strategies to any relevant trends. This includes using relevant keywords and creating content for your specific audience. Other link building tools can also be used, including guest posting on your blog.</p> <p><strong>8. SEO Experts Know What Your Customers Want</strong><br /> In addition to trends and keyword-use, SEO experts will research what your customers and audience want to see. This is done by paying attention to their comments and feedback. It also involves knowing what's popular in the niche market. For this reason, it helps to find a company that has expertise and knowledge in your market.</p> <p><strong>9. SEO Experts Use Metadata</strong><br /> What is metadata? Metadata is data that describes other data. When you search terms or search your company name, what Google and other search engines store is metadata. You're technically speaking the language of search engines when you use metadata. SEO experts use metadata in the titles, keywords and the body of the content. They'll also use it in the website design and your content description. They can even automatically pull metadata from your content to use on the webpage.</p> <p><strong>10. SEO Experts Know How to Use Keywords</strong><br /> We already know keywords are vital when appearing in search results, but how exactly do you use them? SEO experts know where to place keywords in content. They'll use them in image alt tags, metadata and spread throughout your content for natural reading along with many other techniques.</p> <p><strong>Start Looking for Professional SEO Services</strong><br /> When you outsource a professional SEO service, you're receiving industry experts who know how to increase brand awareness on the web. SEO experts use a combination of search engines and social media platforms to increase your traffic and customers. When you outsource a professional SEO service, you'll receive nothing but great results. If you need SEO and website experts, <a href="http://webhornet.com/contact" target="_blank">we can help</a> improve your search engine performance. <a title="Contact us" href="http://webhornet.com/contact">Contact us today</a>!</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/45/posting-events-on-your-website http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/45/posting-events-on-your-website Michelle Posting Events on your Website <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: right;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/events-calendar.png" alt="Event Calendar" width="220" height="161" />If your organization hosts multiple events every year, the WebHornet <a title="WebHornet's Event Calendar" href="/event-calendar">Event Calendar</a> will be a great add-on module for your website. Whether you are running a business or organization, it is beneficial for customers and members to have easy access to events. The WebHornet Event Calendar allows you to feature events such as open-houses, tradeshows or workshops right on your website. The calendar is easy to read and has two display options, a full calendar or a list of events. The WebHornet calendar is also mobile-friendly, so it can be accessed from any device.</p> <p>Having a calendar on your website keeps customers returning to check for new events.&nbsp; In addition, WebHornet makes it easy to manage and update your calendar so visitors will always be able to view current events. We also allow you to integrate video and 3rd Party reservation tools to add more flexibility to your calendar. <a title="WebHornet's Event Calendar" href="/event-calendar">Read more about WebHornet's calendar module features</a>.</p> <p><a title="Contact WebHornet Support" href="/contact">Contact support@webhornet.com</a> to add an event calendar to your site today. Once you have added the calendar, you can simply enter the event details and your events will be displayed. Come back at any time to make quick changes or updates.&nbsp; If you don&rsquo;t have the time to keep it updated, WebHornet has a great support team that is more than willing to help. One of the best things about WebHornet is our <a title="WebHornet Website Support" href="/website-support">website support team</a>, because they are extremely flexible. They can update your site for you or provide one-on-one training.</p> <p>If you do not have a website with us yet, just email us at <a title="Contact WebHornet" href="/contact">support@webhornet.com</a>. We can answer any questions and get you set up with a website today!</p> Tue, 14 Nov 2017 00:00:00 -0600 2017-11-14T00:00:00-06:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: right;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/events-calendar.png" alt="Event Calendar" width="220" height="161" />If your organization hosts multiple events every year, the WebHornet <a title="WebHornet's Event Calendar" href="http://webhornet.com/event-calendar">Event Calendar</a> will be a great add-on module for your website. Whether you are running a business or organization, it is beneficial for customers and members to have easy access to events. The WebHornet Event Calendar allows you to feature events such as open-houses, tradeshows or workshops right on your website. The calendar is easy to read and has two display options, a full calendar or a list of events. The WebHornet calendar is also mobile-friendly, so it can be accessed from any device.</p> <p>Having a calendar on your website keeps customers returning to check for new events.&nbsp; In addition, WebHornet makes it easy to manage and update your calendar so visitors will always be able to view current events. We also allow you to integrate video and 3rd Party reservation tools to add more flexibility to your calendar. <a title="WebHornet's Event Calendar" href="http://webhornet.com/event-calendar">Read more about WebHornet's calendar module features</a>.</p> <p><a title="Contact WebHornet Support" href="http://webhornet.com/contact">Contact support@webhornet.com</a> to add an event calendar to your site today. Once you have added the calendar, you can simply enter the event details and your events will be displayed. Come back at any time to make quick changes or updates.&nbsp; If you don&rsquo;t have the time to keep it updated, WebHornet has a great support team that is more than willing to help. One of the best things about WebHornet is our <a title="WebHornet Website Support" href="http://webhornet.com/website-support">website support team</a>, because they are extremely flexible. They can update your site for you or provide one-on-one training.</p> <p>If you do not have a website with us yet, just email us at <a title="Contact WebHornet" href="http://webhornet.com/contact">support@webhornet.com</a>. We can answer any questions and get you set up with a website today!</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/58/7-small-business-web-design-trends-you-can-t-ignore http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/58/7-small-business-web-design-trends-you-can-t-ignore Michelle 7 Small Business Web Design Trends You Can't Ignore <p><img style="float: right;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/small-business-web-design-trends.png" alt="7 Small Business Web Design Trends You Can't Ignore" width="300" height="201" />In the modern technological age, small business web design is absolutely vital.</p> <p>Need proof? A March 2017 study showed that <a href="https://www.emarketer.com/Article/Most-Internet-Users-Prefer-Search-Engines-Find-Local-Products/1015737">around 87% of consumers</a> use the internet to find local businesses. This means that, for many, your business's website will be the first impression they ever get of you.</p> <p>For this reason, it needs to look as neat and professional as possible.</p> <p>But how do you design your small business website so that it appeals to the many internet surfers who stop by and check it out daily?</p> <p>Here are 7 small business web design trends you can't ignore.</p> <h3>1. Mobile Compatibility</h3> <p>The days of optimizing your website simply for laptops and PCs are long over. <a href="http://bgr.com/2016/11/02/internet-usage-desktop-vs-mobile/">Smartphones have taken over the scene</a>, and are here to stay. For this reason, it's necessary to design a website that is compatible with mobile devices.</p> <p>This involves sizing the website so that it can be easily read and organized on a smartphone screen. It also involves designing the website in such a way that it loads as quickly as possible.</p> <p>If an online user has to wait a substantial amount of time for your website to load, he or she will likely just move on to the next business.</p> <p>If you haven't yet, it's time to optimize that website for mobile so that you can keep potential customers from leaving you.</p> <h3>2. Minimalism</h3> <p>Visually speaking, less is more. Throwing too much color, too much geometry, and too much imagery up on one single website can be distracting to the user. It can ultimately result in him or her getting frustrated and leaving the site.</p> <p>In the realm of small business web design, <a href="/blg/webhornet-blog/34/the-importance-of-simple-web-design">you should be prioritizing minimalism. </a>This means making use of space and white area so that the user's mind doesn't become distracted.</p> <p>Increasing white area and space will not only allow online users to better mentally process your website, it will also allow for more rapid load times.</p> <p>In essence, this is not just an aesthetic design tip, but a functional design tip as well.</p> <h3>3. Skeleton Screens</h3> <p>Regardless of how fast your website loads, it's still going to run into processing problems every now and again. The problem is that online users hate waiting for pages to load.</p> <p>To help keep online users around your website during long page loads, it might be wise to make use of skeleton screens. Skeleton screens are essentially popups which appear on a user's screen in the time taken for the rest of the website to open up.</p> <p>These screens give off the illusion that the screen has already loaded, and that the user is already using the website.</p> <p>While they add no real functional benefit, they do make users feel as if the page is loading faster. And sometimes, the feeling of the page being loaded is all that's needed.</p> <h3>4. Videos on the Home Page</h3> <p>Another small business web design trend is to use <a href="/blg/webhornet-blog/36/adding-video-to-your-website">video on the site's homepage.</a> There are a number of benefits that come with using video on the home page, from longer user stay time, to faster loading, and more.</p> <p>Putting video on your site's homepage allows users to get acquainted with the general identity of your company in a very quick manner. Text, for the most part, does not have the same effect.</p> <p>There are many different types of videos you could post on your homepage, from intro greeting videos to tutorials, to news, to a variety of other types of videos.</p> <p>Using video on your homepage will give your company a more modern aesthetic, and will make users think that you're on the cutting edge.</p> <h3>5. Subdued Color Scheme</h3> <p>While bright and vibrant colors have been popular over the last few years, neutral and subdued colors are finally starting to get their moment in the sun. These colors include everything from black, to white, to gray, and dark shades of blue, green, and purple.</p> <p>When you use these colors, you give your website a more polished and professional look.</p> <p>Bright colors have a whimsical feel about them. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's not necessarily what you're going for when your website is representing a serious business.</p> <p>Bright colors create contrast. Subdued colors create integrity, uniformity, and a feeling of cohesiveness.</p> <h3>6. Chat Bots</h3> <p>A great way for users to feel welcome upon entering your website is to be greeted by a chat bot. A chat bot is essentially an instant messenger box which pops up and asks your visitors whether or not there's anything they can be helped with.</p> <p>These bots help your users to feel comfortable asking questions, allowing for greater dialogue. Chat bots can be used to direct your users to different parts of your website, or enabling seamless and intuitive customer service.</p> <p>In addition, they also make your website's users feel as though they're talking to a real person from your company. They're great for establishing trust with the customer.</p> <h3>7. Personalized Font</h3> <p>The last small business design trend we'll discuss is a personalized font. While it's not true of every company, some companies are using customized fonts which they've created themselves in order to differentiate themselves from other companies in their industry.</p> <p>There are a number of different <a href="http://www.creativebloq.com/typography/design-your-own-typeface-8133919">ways to create your own font</a>, but perhaps the easiest way is by making use of the services of a graphic designer.</p> <p>Graphic designers will be able to take your customized font and turn it into something that's both readable and aesthetically pleasing.</p> <p>It's just a good idea to run your font under the eyes of a professional designer first to ensure that it actually looks as good as you think it does.</p> <h3>Web Hornet Knows Small Business Web Design</h3> <p>Do you lack web design ability? Do you need help designing your small business's website so that it's as appealing to customers as possible? If so, we here at Web Hornet can help.</p> <p>We offer web services of all kinds, from small business web design to SEO services, and more.</p> <p>Set yourself on the path to a great website by <a href="/contact">contacting us today!</a></p> Wed, 08 Nov 2017 00:00:00 -0600 2017-11-08T00:00:00-06:00 <p><img style="float: right;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/small-business-web-design-trends.png" alt="7 Small Business Web Design Trends You Can't Ignore" width="300" height="201" />In the modern technological age, small business web design is absolutely vital.</p> <p>Need proof? A March 2017 study showed that <a href="https://www.emarketer.com/Article/Most-Internet-Users-Prefer-Search-Engines-Find-Local-Products/1015737">around 87% of consumers</a> use the internet to find local businesses. This means that, for many, your business's website will be the first impression they ever get of you.</p> <p>For this reason, it needs to look as neat and professional as possible.</p> <p>But how do you design your small business website so that it appeals to the many internet surfers who stop by and check it out daily?</p> <p>Here are 7 small business web design trends you can't ignore.</p> <h3>1. Mobile Compatibility</h3> <p>The days of optimizing your website simply for laptops and PCs are long over. <a href="http://bgr.com/2016/11/02/internet-usage-desktop-vs-mobile/">Smartphones have taken over the scene</a>, and are here to stay. For this reason, it's necessary to design a website that is compatible with mobile devices.</p> <p>This involves sizing the website so that it can be easily read and organized on a smartphone screen. It also involves designing the website in such a way that it loads as quickly as possible.</p> <p>If an online user has to wait a substantial amount of time for your website to load, he or she will likely just move on to the next business.</p> <p>If you haven't yet, it's time to optimize that website for mobile so that you can keep potential customers from leaving you.</p> <h3>2. Minimalism</h3> <p>Visually speaking, less is more. Throwing too much color, too much geometry, and too much imagery up on one single website can be distracting to the user. It can ultimately result in him or her getting frustrated and leaving the site.</p> <p>In the realm of small business web design, <a href="http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/34/the-importance-of-simple-web-design">you should be prioritizing minimalism. </a>This means making use of space and white area so that the user's mind doesn't become distracted.</p> <p>Increasing white area and space will not only allow online users to better mentally process your website, it will also allow for more rapid load times.</p> <p>In essence, this is not just an aesthetic design tip, but a functional design tip as well.</p> <h3>3. Skeleton Screens</h3> <p>Regardless of how fast your website loads, it's still going to run into processing problems every now and again. The problem is that online users hate waiting for pages to load.</p> <p>To help keep online users around your website during long page loads, it might be wise to make use of skeleton screens. Skeleton screens are essentially popups which appear on a user's screen in the time taken for the rest of the website to open up.</p> <p>These screens give off the illusion that the screen has already loaded, and that the user is already using the website.</p> <p>While they add no real functional benefit, they do make users feel as if the page is loading faster. And sometimes, the feeling of the page being loaded is all that's needed.</p> <h3>4. Videos on the Home Page</h3> <p>Another small business web design trend is to use <a href="http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/36/adding-video-to-your-website">video on the site's homepage.</a> There are a number of benefits that come with using video on the home page, from longer user stay time, to faster loading, and more.</p> <p>Putting video on your site's homepage allows users to get acquainted with the general identity of your company in a very quick manner. Text, for the most part, does not have the same effect.</p> <p>There are many different types of videos you could post on your homepage, from intro greeting videos to tutorials, to news, to a variety of other types of videos.</p> <p>Using video on your homepage will give your company a more modern aesthetic, and will make users think that you're on the cutting edge.</p> <h3>5. Subdued Color Scheme</h3> <p>While bright and vibrant colors have been popular over the last few years, neutral and subdued colors are finally starting to get their moment in the sun. These colors include everything from black, to white, to gray, and dark shades of blue, green, and purple.</p> <p>When you use these colors, you give your website a more polished and professional look.</p> <p>Bright colors have a whimsical feel about them. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's not necessarily what you're going for when your website is representing a serious business.</p> <p>Bright colors create contrast. Subdued colors create integrity, uniformity, and a feeling of cohesiveness.</p> <h3>6. Chat Bots</h3> <p>A great way for users to feel welcome upon entering your website is to be greeted by a chat bot. A chat bot is essentially an instant messenger box which pops up and asks your visitors whether or not there's anything they can be helped with.</p> <p>These bots help your users to feel comfortable asking questions, allowing for greater dialogue. Chat bots can be used to direct your users to different parts of your website, or enabling seamless and intuitive customer service.</p> <p>In addition, they also make your website's users feel as though they're talking to a real person from your company. They're great for establishing trust with the customer.</p> <h3>7. Personalized Font</h3> <p>The last small business design trend we'll discuss is a personalized font. While it's not true of every company, some companies are using customized fonts which they've created themselves in order to differentiate themselves from other companies in their industry.</p> <p>There are a number of different <a href="http://www.creativebloq.com/typography/design-your-own-typeface-8133919">ways to create your own font</a>, but perhaps the easiest way is by making use of the services of a graphic designer.</p> <p>Graphic designers will be able to take your customized font and turn it into something that's both readable and aesthetically pleasing.</p> <p>It's just a good idea to run your font under the eyes of a professional designer first to ensure that it actually looks as good as you think it does.</p> <h3>Web Hornet Knows Small Business Web Design</h3> <p>Do you lack web design ability? Do you need help designing your small business's website so that it's as appealing to customers as possible? If so, we here at Web Hornet can help.</p> <p>We offer web services of all kinds, from small business web design to SEO services, and more.</p> <p>Set yourself on the path to a great website by <a href="http://webhornet.com/contact">contacting us today!</a></p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/57/seo-web-design-the-importance-of-a-responsive-web-design http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/57/seo-web-design-the-importance-of-a-responsive-web-design Michelle SEO Web Design: The Importance of a Responsive Web Design <p><img style="float: right;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/responsive-design.png" alt="Responsive Web Design" width="300" height="199" />Let's face it - we're all addicted to our smartphones and mobile devices. Maybe you're reading this on your device right now.</p> <p>More users now access the internet <a href="http://gs.statcounter.com/platform-market-share/desktop-mobile-tablet">from mobile devices</a> than desktop computers. That trend isn't likely to change anytime soon. That's why it's more important than ever to make sure you're using a responsive design for your website.</p> <p>What exactly is a responsive website? Why does SEO web design matter? And how can you make your site more responsive?</p> <p>Read on to learn more about the importance of a responsive SEO web design.</p> <h3>Responsive vs. Other Designs</h3> <p>Before we discuss why a responsive site is important, let's define what it is.</p> <p>There are three types of mobile website designs (or configurations):</p> <h4>Responsive Design</h4> <p>Often called RWD, these sites shrink or expand according to the device screen. The designs feature fluid grids and flexible images to ensure excellent user experience on any device.</p> <h4>Adaptive Design</h4> <p>Also called dynamic serving, this design generates different versions of the site's HTML based on the device. In adaptive design, the website has multiple versions served through common URLs.</p> <h4>Separate Mobile Site</h4> <p>Also known as mDot, this design delivers different HTML on separate URLs for mobile devices. The mobile-friendly pages are usually located on the "m." subdomain.</p> <p>Of these three options, Google favors responsive SEO web design. If you're hanging onto an adaptive or separate mobile site, it's time to consider making the switch to responsive design.</p> <h3>Why Does Responsive Design Matter?</h3> <p>If you think SEO web design isn't that important, think again.</p> <p>94% of users trust a website based solely on its design, rather than specific content. You can create the world's best content, but no one will read it if your site doesn't perform well.</p> <p>The whole goal of SEO is to <a href="/improve-website-search-rank">optimize your site for search engines</a>, right? Google places high importance on responsive design, so the rest of your SEO efforts are in vain if your site isn't responsive.</p> <p>Think about it. If your website is slow to load, why should Google recommend it? If it looks terrible or is difficult to navigate on a mobile device, why would Google reward you with higher rankings?</p> <h3>5 Reasons to Use Responsive Web Design</h3> <p>Still not convinced? Here are five specific reasons to choose responsive SEO web design.</p> <h4>1. Eliminates Duplicate Content</h4> <p>Having both a desktop version and a mobile version of your site sounds like a good idea. The problem is it can create an SEO nightmare.</p> <p>If you use a separate mobile site, you'll likely encounter issues with duplicate content. The mobile site creates its own URL, which is different than the desktop site's URL.</p> <p>Even though the URLs are different, the content is the same. This can seriously harm your rankings because Google doesn't know which content to view as most important.</p> <p>The result? Google will "punish" your website with a lower search result ranking. A responsive website with one URL eliminates this potential problem.</p> <h4>2. Speeds Up Page Load Time</h4> <p>Page loading times are another crucial factor in improving SEO. The faster your home page loads, the higher Google will rank it.</p> <p>Responsive SEO web design ensures your site gets favored in the search results.</p> <p>Mobile responsive designs almost always load faster than non-responsive ones. This is especially true for smartphones and tablets. Not only does this offer better user experience, but it will also boost your ranking.</p> <h4>3. Lower Bounce Rate</h4> <p>Science has proved that the average person now has a <a href="http://time.com/3858309/attention-spans-goldfish/">shorter attention span</a> than a goldfish. This means you have only a few seconds to capture a visitor's interest.</p> <p>Google pays close attention to how long visitors linger on your site - and how quickly they leave it. If users consistently "bounce" out of your site after the first few seconds, Google may decide that your site isn't relevant.</p> <p>Responsive SEO web design ensures visitors will spend more time on your site. It provides a clean, crisp website that's easy to navigate.</p> <p>The longer users spend perusing your site, the higher Google will rank it.</p> <h4>4. Improved Usability</h4> <p>Along with a reduced bounce rate, responsive design offers improved usability. If your site is easy to use and navigate, your customers will have a positive experience.</p> <p>The result? Better reviews, increased traffic, and more branded searches - all of which help your rankings, too.</p> <p>Customer journey and experience are what make online businesses succeed. Their satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) has a direct impact on your conversion rates.</p> <p>Boost your chances of making a sale by choosing a responsive design with improved usability.</p> <h4>5. More Social Sharing</h4> <p>Another benefit of responsive web design is that it's designed with the mobile user in mind. This makes sharing content on social media channels easier for the largest percentage of users.</p> <p>True, the number of shares doesn't directly impact SEO. However, it will help you to grow your audience.</p> <p>The larger your audience, the more traffic and engagement your site will receive. As more people search for your brand, Google will sit up and take notice.</p> <p>If your website design is solely for desktop users, you may miss out on this valuable opportunity to increase brand awareness. A responsive site makes finding and using those "share" buttons easy.</p> <h3>How to Make Your Site Responsive</h3> <p>Now that you know why responsive SEO web design is so important, let's briefly look how to do it.</p> <ul> <li>Use a mobile responsive website design or theme.</li> <li>Use fluid layout for enhanced user experience.</li> <li>Use mobile-friendly technology that works across all platforms.</li> </ul> <p>If you need assistance with any of these, you can always enlist the help of a <a href="/website-services">professional web design agency</a>.</p> <h3>Final Thoughts on SEO Web Design</h3> <p>SEO is a tricky world to navigate. The rules are always changing, too, which makes it even more confusing.</p> <p>One thing is for certain, though: Responsive SEO web design is here to stay.</p> <p>Are you designing a new website from scratch or making changes to your current one? Please <a href="/contact">contact us at WebHornet</a> to discuss your needs and our website services.</p> Wed, 25 Oct 2017 00:00:00 -0500 2017-10-25T00:00:00-05:00 <p><img style="float: right;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/responsive-design.png" alt="Responsive Web Design" width="300" height="199" />Let's face it - we're all addicted to our smartphones and mobile devices. Maybe you're reading this on your device right now.</p> <p>More users now access the internet <a href="http://gs.statcounter.com/platform-market-share/desktop-mobile-tablet">from mobile devices</a> than desktop computers. That trend isn't likely to change anytime soon. That's why it's more important than ever to make sure you're using a responsive design for your website.</p> <p>What exactly is a responsive website? Why does SEO web design matter? And how can you make your site more responsive?</p> <p>Read on to learn more about the importance of a responsive SEO web design.</p> <h3>Responsive vs. Other Designs</h3> <p>Before we discuss why a responsive site is important, let's define what it is.</p> <p>There are three types of mobile website designs (or configurations):</p> <h4>Responsive Design</h4> <p>Often called RWD, these sites shrink or expand according to the device screen. The designs feature fluid grids and flexible images to ensure excellent user experience on any device.</p> <h4>Adaptive Design</h4> <p>Also called dynamic serving, this design generates different versions of the site's HTML based on the device. In adaptive design, the website has multiple versions served through common URLs.</p> <h4>Separate Mobile Site</h4> <p>Also known as mDot, this design delivers different HTML on separate URLs for mobile devices. The mobile-friendly pages are usually located on the "m." subdomain.</p> <p>Of these three options, Google favors responsive SEO web design. If you're hanging onto an adaptive or separate mobile site, it's time to consider making the switch to responsive design.</p> <h3>Why Does Responsive Design Matter?</h3> <p>If you think SEO web design isn't that important, think again.</p> <p>94% of users trust a website based solely on its design, rather than specific content. You can create the world's best content, but no one will read it if your site doesn't perform well.</p> <p>The whole goal of SEO is to <a href="http://webhornet.com/improve-website-search-rank">optimize your site for search engines</a>, right? Google places high importance on responsive design, so the rest of your SEO efforts are in vain if your site isn't responsive.</p> <p>Think about it. If your website is slow to load, why should Google recommend it? If it looks terrible or is difficult to navigate on a mobile device, why would Google reward you with higher rankings?</p> <h3>5 Reasons to Use Responsive Web Design</h3> <p>Still not convinced? Here are five specific reasons to choose responsive SEO web design.</p> <h4>1. Eliminates Duplicate Content</h4> <p>Having both a desktop version and a mobile version of your site sounds like a good idea. The problem is it can create an SEO nightmare.</p> <p>If you use a separate mobile site, you'll likely encounter issues with duplicate content. The mobile site creates its own URL, which is different than the desktop site's URL.</p> <p>Even though the URLs are different, the content is the same. This can seriously harm your rankings because Google doesn't know which content to view as most important.</p> <p>The result? Google will "punish" your website with a lower search result ranking. A responsive website with one URL eliminates this potential problem.</p> <h4>2. Speeds Up Page Load Time</h4> <p>Page loading times are another crucial factor in improving SEO. The faster your home page loads, the higher Google will rank it.</p> <p>Responsive SEO web design ensures your site gets favored in the search results.</p> <p>Mobile responsive designs almost always load faster than non-responsive ones. This is especially true for smartphones and tablets. Not only does this offer better user experience, but it will also boost your ranking.</p> <h4>3. Lower Bounce Rate</h4> <p>Science has proved that the average person now has a <a href="http://time.com/3858309/attention-spans-goldfish/">shorter attention span</a> than a goldfish. This means you have only a few seconds to capture a visitor's interest.</p> <p>Google pays close attention to how long visitors linger on your site - and how quickly they leave it. If users consistently "bounce" out of your site after the first few seconds, Google may decide that your site isn't relevant.</p> <p>Responsive SEO web design ensures visitors will spend more time on your site. It provides a clean, crisp website that's easy to navigate.</p> <p>The longer users spend perusing your site, the higher Google will rank it.</p> <h4>4. Improved Usability</h4> <p>Along with a reduced bounce rate, responsive design offers improved usability. If your site is easy to use and navigate, your customers will have a positive experience.</p> <p>The result? Better reviews, increased traffic, and more branded searches - all of which help your rankings, too.</p> <p>Customer journey and experience are what make online businesses succeed. Their satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) has a direct impact on your conversion rates.</p> <p>Boost your chances of making a sale by choosing a responsive design with improved usability.</p> <h4>5. More Social Sharing</h4> <p>Another benefit of responsive web design is that it's designed with the mobile user in mind. This makes sharing content on social media channels easier for the largest percentage of users.</p> <p>True, the number of shares doesn't directly impact SEO. However, it will help you to grow your audience.</p> <p>The larger your audience, the more traffic and engagement your site will receive. As more people search for your brand, Google will sit up and take notice.</p> <p>If your website design is solely for desktop users, you may miss out on this valuable opportunity to increase brand awareness. A responsive site makes finding and using those "share" buttons easy.</p> <h3>How to Make Your Site Responsive</h3> <p>Now that you know why responsive SEO web design is so important, let's briefly look how to do it.</p> <ul> <li>Use a mobile responsive website design or theme.</li> <li>Use fluid layout for enhanced user experience.</li> <li>Use mobile-friendly technology that works across all platforms.</li> </ul> <p>If you need assistance with any of these, you can always enlist the help of a <a href="http://webhornet.com/website-services">professional web design agency</a>.</p> <h3>Final Thoughts on SEO Web Design</h3> <p>SEO is a tricky world to navigate. The rules are always changing, too, which makes it even more confusing.</p> <p>One thing is for certain, though: Responsive SEO web design is here to stay.</p> <p>Are you designing a new website from scratch or making changes to your current one? Please <a href="http://webhornet.com/contact">contact us at WebHornet</a> to discuss your needs and our website services.</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/36/adding-video-to-your-website http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/36/adding-video-to-your-website Wendy Adding Video to your Website <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: right;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/play-video.png" alt="Video" width="220" height="174" />If you&rsquo;re a small business owner, you&rsquo;ve likely heard the motto &ldquo;content is king&rdquo; to describe the importance of content on your website. And while written content is effective for many audiences, visual marketing is an even more powerful tool to increase customer interaction.<br /><br />In today&rsquo;s digital world, more and more people shop, work, and communicate online. While this is convenient, it means that we do not interact on a personal level. The use of video to connect to your audience can be the closest thing to a face-to-face interaction. Keep the attention of visitors coming to your site with short videos (30 seconds - 1:30 min).&nbsp; A short video promo or video clip on a topic of interest is a great way to get the users attention before they move on to a different website. With an effective video message, the user might even stay on your site a little longer or be called to action... "Buy now!", "Register now!".&nbsp; Using a video to showcase your brand&rsquo;s personality helps visitors on your website get a better sense of who you are and what you stand for, emotionally connecting with your customer and keeping them coming back.<br /><br />There&rsquo;s no doubt about it, video is an important part of content marketing and it&rsquo;s only going to become more essential. Consider these tips for utilizing video to promote your product/industry:</p> <ul> <li>Testimonials of Real Customers</li> <li>Demonstrate your Product</li> <li>Introduce your Employees</li> <li>Tour your place of business</li> <li>Promote a Sales Event</li> <li>Video Tutorials - How To use Products</li> </ul> <p>Check out these tutorials to add Video to your website:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://support.webhornet.com/KB/a63/add-video-to-your-web-hornet-website.aspx" target="_blank">Add Video to your WebHornet Website</a></li> <li><a href="http://support.webhornet.com/KB/a137/locating-youtube-html-embed-code.aspx" target="_blank">Locating Your YouTube Video HTML Code Snippet</a></li> </ul> <p>Here is an example of one of our WebHornet Video tutorials embedded into this page:</p> <div class="responsive-video"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XMpDMZabos0?list=PLGiWn1enxjnG5t6Bwkz5tXCFptRd4r5rB" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> Wed, 11 Oct 2017 00:00:00 -0500 2017-10-11T00:00:00-05:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: right;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/play-video.png" alt="Video" width="220" height="174" />If you&rsquo;re a small business owner, you&rsquo;ve likely heard the motto &ldquo;content is king&rdquo; to describe the importance of content on your website. And while written content is effective for many audiences, visual marketing is an even more powerful tool to increase customer interaction.<br /><br />In today&rsquo;s digital world, more and more people shop, work, and communicate online. While this is convenient, it means that we do not interact on a personal level. The use of video to connect to your audience can be the closest thing to a face-to-face interaction. Keep the attention of visitors coming to your site with short videos (30 seconds - 1:30 min).&nbsp; A short video promo or video clip on a topic of interest is a great way to get the users attention before they move on to a different website. With an effective video message, the user might even stay on your site a little longer or be called to action... "Buy now!", "Register now!".&nbsp; Using a video to showcase your brand&rsquo;s personality helps visitors on your website get a better sense of who you are and what you stand for, emotionally connecting with your customer and keeping them coming back.<br /><br />There&rsquo;s no doubt about it, video is an important part of content marketing and it&rsquo;s only going to become more essential. Consider these tips for utilizing video to promote your product/industry:</p> <ul> <li>Testimonials of Real Customers</li> <li>Demonstrate your Product</li> <li>Introduce your Employees</li> <li>Tour your place of business</li> <li>Promote a Sales Event</li> <li>Video Tutorials - How To use Products</li> </ul> <p>Check out these tutorials to add Video to your website:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://support.webhornet.com/KB/a63/add-video-to-your-web-hornet-website.aspx" target="_blank">Add Video to your WebHornet Website</a></li> <li><a href="http://support.webhornet.com/KB/a137/locating-youtube-html-embed-code.aspx" target="_blank">Locating Your YouTube Video HTML Code Snippet</a></li> </ul> <p>Here is an example of one of our WebHornet Video tutorials embedded into this page:</p> <div class="responsive-video"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XMpDMZabos0?list=PLGiWn1enxjnG5t6Bwkz5tXCFptRd4r5rB" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/35/adding-high-quality-graphics-to-your-website http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/35/adding-high-quality-graphics-to-your-website Wendy Adding High Quality Graphics to your Website <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: right;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/photos.png" alt="High Quality graphics" width="300" height="200" />The web design industry evolves every year to stay inspiring and relevant. The days of tiny pictures and dated backgrounds are over. If your site has not been revamped for several years, you may need to rethink both your website design and content.&nbsp; Graphics are a great place to start!&nbsp; High-quality imagery can make an emotional connection with your customer!<br /><br />According to a recent <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomaslaurinavicius/2016/03/07/free-stock-photos/#703def783624" target="_blank">Forbes Magazine article</a>, "No matter how good your product is, you must present it in a clean, professional and most important natural way. Imagery is one of the strongest element in any form of design making an emotional connection with your customer so you should pay incredible attention to what imagery you use to represent your brand."<br /><br />Before investing a large amount of money on high-quality graphics that you may never add to your website, it is important to do research and compare different companies that offer authentic licensed graphics. Stock Photo is affordable and easy to purchase with lots of variety of imagery and sizes. A few great resources to begin your search are listed below:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><a href="https://www.pexels.com/" target="_blank">https://www.pexels.com/</a><br /><a href="https://stocksnap.io/" target="_blank">https://stocksnap.io/</a><br /><a href="https://unsplash.com/" target="_blank">https://unsplash.com/</a><br /><a href="https://crestock.com" target="_blank">https://crestock.com</a><br /><a href="https://istockphoto.com" target="_blank">https://istockphoto.com</a></p> <p>Another option is to take your own photos or hire a professional photographer to take pictures of your place of business, staff, products or service offering.</p> <p>After you have found the perfect images, it is important to make sure you have photos that match the content of your pages. Remember, quality photos help enhance a website and "bring your site to life".</p> Tue, 19 Sep 2017 00:00:00 -0500 2017-09-19T00:00:00-05:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: right;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/photos.png" alt="High Quality graphics" width="300" height="200" />The web design industry evolves every year to stay inspiring and relevant. The days of tiny pictures and dated backgrounds are over. If your site has not been revamped for several years, you may need to rethink both your website design and content.&nbsp; Graphics are a great place to start!&nbsp; High-quality imagery can make an emotional connection with your customer!<br /><br />According to a recent <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomaslaurinavicius/2016/03/07/free-stock-photos/#703def783624" target="_blank">Forbes Magazine article</a>, "No matter how good your product is, you must present it in a clean, professional and most important natural way. Imagery is one of the strongest element in any form of design making an emotional connection with your customer so you should pay incredible attention to what imagery you use to represent your brand."<br /><br />Before investing a large amount of money on high-quality graphics that you may never add to your website, it is important to do research and compare different companies that offer authentic licensed graphics. Stock Photo is affordable and easy to purchase with lots of variety of imagery and sizes. A few great resources to begin your search are listed below:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><a href="https://www.pexels.com/" target="_blank">https://www.pexels.com/</a><br /><a href="https://stocksnap.io/" target="_blank">https://stocksnap.io/</a><br /><a href="https://unsplash.com/" target="_blank">https://unsplash.com/</a><br /><a href="https://crestock.com" target="_blank">https://crestock.com</a><br /><a href="https://istockphoto.com" target="_blank">https://istockphoto.com</a></p> <p>Another option is to take your own photos or hire a professional photographer to take pictures of your place of business, staff, products or service offering.</p> <p>After you have found the perfect images, it is important to make sure you have photos that match the content of your pages. Remember, quality photos help enhance a website and "bring your site to life".</p> <p><img class="img-responsive" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/inside-store.png" alt="High Quality graphics" width="800" height="487" /></p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/44/personal-customer-support-for-your-website http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/44/personal-customer-support-for-your-website Michelle Personal Customer Support for Your Website <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: right;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/website-support.png" alt="Website Support" width="320" height="162" />In the process of putting together a website, whether your a beginner or an expert, questions always come up. WebHornet knows this, which is why we have made it easy for you to reach out to us. Our support is fast, reliable and if you are in Omaha - local.</p> <p>In addition to answering any questions, WebHornet also provides Hornet Helper Hours, a next-level type of support. Hornet Helper Hours are an affordable way to get updates made on your website. We are here to help your site get found on the internet, add pages, update content, add blog posts, create new website designs, and so much more. The best part is, our turnaround is fast! Most requests are completed within 24 hours of your initial request.</p> <p>WebHornet&rsquo;s support is great for businesses or individuals who...</p> <ul> <li>...do not have time to run a website</li> <li>...do not know much about the technology</li> <li>...need ideas or suggestions to improve their site</li> </ul> <p>It can be hard to find time to regularly update your website, but regular updates are important. Keeping content up-to-date will bring in more frequent visitors. Search engines such as Google favor active websites, so consistent updates will ultimately help your search results.</p> <p>WebHornet wants to see your website succeed. We love what we do and we want you to love your website experience!</p> <p>Getting started is easy. First, add hours to your account. You can email us at <a title="Contact WebHornet" href="/contact">support@webhornet.com</a> or login to WebHornet.com to purchase affordable support hours. Then send your changes to our support department and we update your site!</p> <p>If you do not have an account with us yet, just let us know and <a title="Contact WebHornet" href="/contact">we will set up a time to visit</a>. WebHornet has the website support team that is willing to go above and beyond for our customers.</p> Thu, 03 Aug 2017 00:00:00 -0500 2017-08-03T00:00:00-05:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: right;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/website-support.png" alt="Website Support" width="320" height="162" />In the process of putting together a website, whether your a beginner or an expert, questions always come up. WebHornet knows this, which is why we have made it easy for you to reach out to us. Our support is fast, reliable and if you are in Omaha - local.</p> <p>In addition to answering any questions, WebHornet also provides Hornet Helper Hours, a next-level type of support. Hornet Helper Hours are an affordable way to get updates made on your website. We are here to help your site get found on the internet, add pages, update content, add blog posts, create new website designs, and so much more. The best part is, our turnaround is fast! Most requests are completed within 24 hours of your initial request.</p> <p>WebHornet&rsquo;s support is great for businesses or individuals who...</p> <ul> <li>...do not have time to run a website</li> <li>...do not know much about the technology</li> <li>...need ideas or suggestions to improve their site</li> </ul> <p>It can be hard to find time to regularly update your website, but regular updates are important. Keeping content up-to-date will bring in more frequent visitors. Search engines such as Google favor active websites, so consistent updates will ultimately help your search results.</p> <p>WebHornet wants to see your website succeed. We love what we do and we want you to love your website experience!</p> <p>Getting started is easy. First, add hours to your account. You can email us at support@webhornet.com or login to WebHornet.com to purchase affordable support hours. Then send your changes to our support department and we update your site!</p> <p>If you do not have an account with us yet, just let us know and we will set up a time to visit. WebHornet has the website support team that is willing to go above and beyond for our customers.</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/34/the-importance-of-simple-web-design http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/34/the-importance-of-simple-web-design Michelle The Importance of Simple Web Design <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: right;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/simple-web-design.png" alt="simple web design" width="300" height="200" />When you are in the process of designing your website, it is easy to put too much information on the home or other pages of the site. Simple web design is important so your visitors do not get overwhelmed or distracted from the main goal of your site.&nbsp; Here are a few points to consider when building or redesigning a website:</p> <ul> <li>Simple web design makes for a better User Experience (UX)</li> <li>Clutter is not attractive to the human eye - use white space</li> <li>Give visitors enough information to entice them to &ldquo;click&rdquo; / to &ldquo;buy&rdquo; / to &ldquo;act&rdquo; / to &ldquo;read more&rdquo; - keeping the user on task.</li> <li>Content is important for visitors and search engines, BUT you don't have to clutter the home page of your site with too much text.&nbsp; Create links to more information about a topic.</li> <li>Visitors will dig in (click) to read more about products and services if your site is appealing.</li> <li>The Power of 3 - come up with 3 value propositions such as a service, feature or innovation that will be attractive to customers and important to your organization or business.&nbsp; Highlight these 3 value props throughout your site.</li> <li>Well designed navigation allow visitors to rapidly access products, services and information about your company&nbsp; - making it easy for visitors to find what they are looking for.</li> </ul> <p>Need help working these simple design concepts into your next website build or redesign?&nbsp; <a title="Contact WebHornet" href="/contact">Give us a call to discuss how WebHornet can help</a>!</p> Wed, 19 Jul 2017 00:00:00 -0500 2017-07-19T00:00:00-05:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: right;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/simple-web-design.png" alt="simple web design" width="300" height="200" />When you are in the process of designing your website, it is easy to put too much information on the home or other pages of the site. Simple web design is important so your visitors do not get overwhelmed or distracted from the main goal of your site.&nbsp; Here are a few points to consider when building or redesigning a website:</p> <ul> <li>Simple web design makes for a better User Experience (UX)</li> <li>Clutter is not attractive to the human eye - use white space</li> <li>Give visitors enough information to entice them to &ldquo;click&rdquo; / to &ldquo;buy&rdquo; / to &ldquo;act&rdquo; / to &ldquo;read more&rdquo; - keeping the user on task.</li> <li>Content is important for visitors and search engines, BUT you don't have to clutter the home page of your site with too much text.&nbsp; Create links to more information about a topic.</li> <li>Visitors will dig in (click) to read more about products and services if your site is appealing.</li> <li>The Power of 3 - come up with 3 value propositions such as a service, feature or innovation that will be attractive to customers and important to your organization or business.&nbsp; Highlight these 3 value props throughout your site.</li> <li>Well designed navigation allow visitors to rapidly access products, services and information about your company&nbsp; - making it easy for visitors to find what they are looking for.</li> </ul> <p>Need help working these simple design concepts into your next website build or redesign?&nbsp; Just <a title="Contact WebHornet" href="http://webhornet.com/contact">give us a call to discuss how WebHornet can help</a>!</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/18/build-a-restaurant-website http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/18/build-a-restaurant-website Wendy Build a Restaurant Website <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: right; margin: 5px;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/blog.jpg" alt="Restaurant Website" width="300" height="188" />Are you ready to build your restaurant website? Here are some tips for a great restaurant website.&nbsp;</p> <p>Your website should be the centerpiece of your restaurant&rsquo;s marketing strategy. It can be vital to your success, and it can be what convinces diners to visit your locations.&nbsp; As a restaurant owner, you can be sure your customers are searching the web to find where they will eat next.&nbsp; A good website should be the center of all your marketing efforts and the driver of traffic to your restaurant.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> Fri, 12 May 2017 00:00:00 -0500 2017-05-12T00:00:00-05:00 <p>Are you ready to build your restaurant website? Here are some tips for a great restaurant website.&nbsp;</p> <p>Your website should be the centerpiece of your restaurant&rsquo;s marketing strategy. It can be vital to your success, and it can be what convinces diners to visit your locations.&nbsp; As a restaurant owner, you can be sure your customers are searching the web to find where they will eat next.&nbsp; A good website should be the center of all your marketing efforts and the driver of traffic to your restaurant.</p> <p><strong>Have a Responsive Website</strong> <br />To use your website to grow your business, it must be responsive to screen size. In other words, it must be mobile-friendly. With Google demanding mobile-friendly websites in Google search, you can&rsquo;t afford to neglect this any longer. If you want to grow your business, you&rsquo;ve got to have a mobile-friendly site in 2017.</p> <p><strong>Get Reviews</strong> <br />Use your website to showcase your reviews. Then, when potential customers visit your website, they&rsquo;ll see the reviews which, in turn, makes them want to dine with you as well. Reviews are the best way to build credibility with your website audience and gain new restaurant customers.</p> <p><strong><img class="img-responsive" style="float: right; margin: 5px;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/blog.jpg" alt="Entice visitors with quality graphics" width="300" height="188" />Blog Often</strong> <br />Do you have a blog? If so, are you actively posting to your blog to reach customers? We recommend blogging at least twice a week about things that interest your customers. When blogging, consistency is key along with providing valuable and relevant content for your diners and potential customers. It&rsquo;s also a good idea to share your blog posts on social media and through your email marketing to increase their reach. Through blogging, you can create a relationship with your customers. Whether you&rsquo;re featuring your latest specials or writing an article featuring a cooking how-to video, you&rsquo;re sure to establish a personal connection.</p> <p><strong>Showcase Image<br /></strong>Having high quality graphics draws in hungry visitors!&nbsp; Take professional looking photos that make people want to stop what they&rsquo;re doing and head to your restaurant. Pay attention to lighting &ndash; natural light is best for food. Taking photos by a window is a good option. When it comes to staging your photos, look at not only the plate but what&rsquo;s around it. The background matters, and you want it to match the theme of your restaurant. Above all, make sure the background area is clean. Simple shots are often best to highlight the food. Take photos of everything:</p> <ul> <li>Appetizers</li> <li>Entrees</li> <li>Desserts</li> <li>Your Dining Room</li> <li>Happy Staff Members</li> <li>Events (before and after)</li> <li>Videos</li> </ul> <p><img class="img-responsive center-block" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/restaurant.png" alt="Build a Restaurant Website" /></p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/3/4-things-to-freshen-up-your-website-this-fall http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/3/4-things-to-freshen-up-your-website-this-fall Michelle 4 Things to Freshen Up Your Website This Fall <p><img class="img-responsive" style="width: 128px; height: 125px; float: left;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/leaf.png" alt="Freshen Up Your Website this Fall" width="128" height="125" />Fall is a great time to freshen up your website and with WebHornet, you can make changes easily!&nbsp; <a href="/blg/webhornet-blog/3/4-things-to-freshen-up-your-website-this-fall">Keep reading for 4 things you can do to your website this month to keep visitors and search engines coming back to your site.</a></p> Sun, 04 Sep 2016 00:00:00 -0500 2016-09-04T00:00:00-05:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="width: 128px; height: 125px; float: left;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/leaf.png" alt="Freshen Up Your Website this Fall" width="128" height="125" /> Fall is a great time to freshen up your website and with WebHornet, you can make changes easily!</p> <p>Here are 4 things you can do to your website this month to keep visitors and search engines coming back to your site.</p> <p>1 - <strong>ADD A WEB PAGE</strong> - Add a new page to your website highlighting a new service or product.&nbsp; Feature this new page in your navigation or link to it from your home page.<br /> <br /> 2 - <strong>SHOWCASE A VIDEO ON YOUR WEBSITE</strong> - Use your phone or other device to take a video.&nbsp; Upload the video to YouTube and embed it into your website.&nbsp; Your customers want to see you, your products and a store front if you have one.&nbsp; Don't miss out on this traffic.&nbsp; "Globally, Internet video traffic will be 55 percent of all consumer Internet traffic in 2016, up from 51 percent in 2011." -source Cisco.com<br /> <br /> 3 - <strong>GET SOCIAL</strong> - Link to social media sites from your website.&nbsp; AND don't forget to drive traffic back to your website by linking to your website on your facebook and twitter pages. &nbsp;<br /> <br /> 4 - <strong>CHANGE UP YOUR CONTENT</strong> - Change content on your home page or other pages of your website.&nbsp; With WebHornet it is easy to change the content of any page of your site.&nbsp; If you work in good keywords and phrases, you will entice the search engines to relook at these pages for better search ranking.&nbsp; P.S. don't forget to change your Meta Page Title and Meta tags with keywords and phrases that are in&nbsp; your content!<br /> <br /> The best thing is you can do all of these things to your website using WebHornet!&nbsp; If you need help, just work with the WebHornet Professionals to freshen up your site this fall!</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/38/facts-about-mobile-friendly-websites http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/38/facts-about-mobile-friendly-websites Wendy Facts About Mobile Friendly Websites <p>A mobile-friendly website is a website that displays correctly on hand-held devices such as smartphones, iPhones, iPads, and tablets. It also has these features:</p> <ol> <li>Your website will load fast on hand-held devices</li> <li>Your website will be easy to read</li> <li>Your website will be easy to navigate</li> <li>Avoids scrolling, not just vertically but also horizontally</li> <li>Avoids using Flash &ndash; because Apple products do not support Flash</li> </ol> <p>We have put together a few great facts that everyone who has a website should know! <a title="Contact WebHornet to convert your website to responsive" href="/contact">Contact WebHornet</a> today to convert your website to mobile-friendly!</p> Tue, 15 Dec 2015 00:00:00 -0600 2015-12-15T00:00:00-06:00 <p>A mobile-friendly website is a website that displays correctly on hand-held devices such as smartphones, iPhones, iPads, and tablets. It also has these features:</p> <ol> <li>Your website will load fast on hand-held devices</li> <li>Your website will be easy to read</li> <li>Your website will be easy to navigate</li> <li>Avoids scrolling, not just vertically but also horizontally</li> <li>Avoids using Flash &ndash; because Apple products do not support Flash</li> </ol> <p>We have put together a few great facts that everyone who has a website should know! <a title="Contact WebHornet" href="http://webhornet.com/contact">Contact WebHornet</a> today to convert your website to mobile-friendly!</p> <h3>What is a mobile-friendly website?</h3> <p>A mobile friendly website design has a specific layout and content based on the size of the viewing device. If you are using an iPhone the site will look different than on a desktop or tablet device. &nbsp;With a mobile friendly design, you will make sure that visitors are always getting the best user experience, no matter what device they are using.</p> <h3>But my website already works on a mobile screen!</h3> <p>Does it look the same on a Smartphone as on a desktop? Do you have to zoom to read text? Are links close together? Google will soon be cracking down if your website is not mobile-friendly. Remember that your user is most likely using his or hers thumb to navigate the website and not a cursor, which can in turn cause frustration resulting in the user leaving your website.</p> <h3>Google will penalize you!</h3> <p>Apart from potentially frustrating your customers and new users, Google is starting to punish website that aren&rsquo;t user friendly. As time goes on, more and more website will be mobile friendly. If your website doesn&rsquo;t keep up with other mobile friendly competitors, Google will start to rank them higher. If you want to discuss a <strong>Responsive Website</strong> for your business or organization, we are here to help!&nbsp; Contact us today to order your <strong>Responsive Website</strong> at <a href="http://webhornet.com/mailto:support@methoddev.com">support@webhornet.com</a> or call us to discuss 402.391.1713. &nbsp;</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/17/google-s-mobile-friendly-requirement http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/17/google-s-mobile-friendly-requirement Michelle Google's Mobile Friendly Requirement <p><img class="img-responsive" style="width: 270px; height: 130px; margin: 4px; float: right;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/mobile-websites.png" alt="Mobile Websites" />Google has announced they are rolling out an algorithm update that will greatly affect mobile results for websites that are not optimized for mobile devices.&nbsp; This algorithm update is scheduled for April 21st 2015, so if you have not already, it is time to consider getting a <strong>mobile friendly website</strong>.&nbsp; <a href="/contact">Contact us today to add-on a mobile friendly website or talk to us about responsive website option.</a></p> Mon, 09 Mar 2015 00:00:00 -0500 2015-03-09T00:00:00-05:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="width: 270px; height: 130px; margin: 4px; float: right;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/mobile-websites.png" alt="Mobile Websites" /> Google has announced they are rolling out an algorithm update that will greatly affect mobile results for websites that are not optimized for mobile devices.&nbsp; This algorithm update is scheduled for April 21st 2015, so if you have not already, it is time to consider getting a <strong>mobile friendly website</strong>. Google has a tool to allow you to quickly see if your site is displaying properly on mobile devices. You can check that out at: <a href="https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/" target="_blank">https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/</a> If your site does not pass, we are here to help!&nbsp; <a href="http://webhornet.com/contact">Contact us today to add-on a mobile friendly website or talk to us about responsive website option.</a></p> <h3>How do I get a Mobile Friendly website?</h3> <p>If a Mobile site if of interest for your business or organization, <a href="http://webhornet.com/mailto:support@webhornet.com">contact support@webhornet.com</a>.&nbsp; Our WebHornet Support team offers design, development and ongoing maintenance for mobile sites and responsive websites.&nbsp; Pricing will vary on the complexity of your site.</p> <h3>What is Responsive Design?</h3> <p>Responsive design is when your website layout will adjust to fit the screen.&nbsp; Objects of the website will readjust themselves depending on the device width.&nbsp; While there are some advantages to these types of sites, keep in mind that responsive sites take a longer time to design and build because the web designer/developer needs to plan for different widths - and in some cases can be more costly. &nbsp; We are in the process of developing WebHornet Version 3.0 <strong>Responsive Website Design with Bootstap</strong> layouts.&nbsp; If you want to discuss a <strong>Responsive Website</strong> for your business or organization, we are here to help!&nbsp; Contact us today to order your <strong>Responsive Website</strong>, contact us at <a href="http://webhornet.com/mailto:support@methoddev.com">support@webhornet.com</a> or call us to discuss 402.391.1713. &nbsp; Well, we hope this article gives you more info on <strong>Mobile Websites</strong>.&nbsp; As always, if you need assistance with your WebHornet Website, contact <a href="http://webhornet.com/mailto:support@webhornet.com">support@webhornet.com</a>! &nbsp;</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/43/4-reasons-to-start-blogging-today http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/43/4-reasons-to-start-blogging-today Michelle 4 Reasons to Start Blogging Today! <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: right;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/blog-benefits.png" alt="Benefits of blogging" width="270" height="130" />I keep hearing people talk about website blogs.&nbsp; Seems like a lot of work without much value.&nbsp; So... why should I blog on my business website?&nbsp; <strong><a title="Add a Blog to your website" href="/blg/webhornet-blog/43/4-reasons-to-start-blogging-today">Read on to hear some of the reasons we highly recommend you add a blog to your website today!</a></strong></p> Mon, 17 Feb 2014 00:00:00 -0600 2014-02-17T00:00:00-06:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="float: right;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/blog-benefits.png" alt="Benefits of blogging" />Here are 4 reasons to start blogging on your website today!</p> <h3>1 - Brand Yourself or Your Organization as the Expert</h3> <p>You are an expert in your field, so talk about your expertise.&nbsp; Write about topics that you are passionate about and do so in a clear, yet fun way!&nbsp; Don't be scared to personalize your blog and show website visitors that you are an authority on the given topic.&nbsp; By providing quality information about topics in your industry, you are branding yourself as an expert in your field.</p> <h3>2 - Search Engine Value</h3> <p>Search engines <strong>LOVE </strong>new, original content!&nbsp; By adding a blog to your website and doing the work of posting to your blog each month or more frequently, you are adding content for search engines to crawl and index.&nbsp;&nbsp; Remember, a search engine will stop coming back to your site if you never add or update content.&nbsp; A blog within your website is a great place for you to add new, original content!</p> <h3>3 - Keeping your Website Fresh</h3> <p>When a visitor comes to your website, you want them to know that your site is <strong>ALIVE </strong>and updated on a regular basis.&nbsp; Give your visitors a reason to drill further into your website.&nbsp; Blog posts show the timestamp of your entry, so by blogging once a month or more often, you are showing visitors that your company is alive and well!</p> <h3>4 - Showcase your Business</h3> <p>Your blog can be an area to showcase things going on in your business.&nbsp; Talk about changes that are happening in your organization, highlight awards you may have received, or maybe mention community involvement.&nbsp; Sometimes it feels strange to talk about yourself -- but a blog is a great place to showcase your business! Don't have a blog, <a href="http://webhornet.com/mailto:support@webhornet.com">contact WebHornet</a> today to get started!</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/47/steps-to-get-your-website-found-on-search-engines http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/47/steps-to-get-your-website-found-on-search-engines Michelle Steps to get your Website found on Search Engines <p><img style="width: 270px; height: 130px; margin: 4px; float: right;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/search.jpg" alt="Steps to Get Your Website Found on Search Engines" /> Last month, I wrote about <a title="Improve website search rank" href="/blg/webhornet-blog/46/improve-your-website-s-search-engine-ranking">Improving your Website's Search Engine Ranking</a> to provide an introduction to Search Engine Optimization.&nbsp; In this article we will go into more detail about how you can increase your ranking on the major search engines.</p> Wed, 16 Oct 2013 00:00:00 -0500 2013-10-16T00:00:00-05:00 <p><img style="width: 270px; height: 130px; margin: 4px; float: right;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/search.jpg" alt="Steps to Get Your Website Found on Search Engines" /> Last month, I wrote about <a href="http://webhornet.com/blg/hornet-buzz/439/improve-your-website-s-search-engine-ranking">Improving your Website's Search Engine Ranking</a> to provide an introduction to Search Engine Optimization.&nbsp; In this article, we will go into detail about how you can increase your ranking on the major search engines.</p> <p><strong>Step 1 - Selecting Search Term Keywords or Phrases</strong><br /> Pick 10 keyword phrases that you would like to rank on the search engine for.&nbsp; By searching google for the keyword phrase you would like to target, you can see a results count.&nbsp; The result count is your competition if you choose to target this keyword.&nbsp; Let's take the example keyword: "wedding dresses".&nbsp; On google over 150 million results are returned - on bing over 70 million results.</p> <p>It is difficult to rank high with this much competition, so we recommend to focus on local search.&nbsp; Most people searching will want to shop locally.&nbsp;So we encourage you to include city and/or state in your search terms.&nbsp; "wedding dresses omaha" returns 347,000 results compared to the 150 million. Remember when selecting your keywords, you will have a better chance of ranking if you target local search so include your city and/or state in the keyword phrase.</p> <p>Another strategy is to come up with a search phrase such as "wedding dresses for sale" that is more specific than just "wedding dresses".&nbsp; Again you will notice less competition for this search term.</p> <p>There are more advanced tools to do keyword research, but this is a good way to get started.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Step 2 - Add Content to your Website Supporting your Keywords</strong></p> <p>Ask yourself, when was the last time you updated pages of your website?&nbsp; Or added a new page to your website?</p> <p>More and more we continue to hear that Google and the other search engines rank websites based on content... relevant content is king!&nbsp; Search engine spiders crawl the web looking for content so make sure your site has pages for the search engines to crawl.&nbsp; Work in keyword phrases you want to target (selected in step 1) into your content so the content makes sense to both the human reader and the search engine.</p> <p>Get started this month by:</p> <ul> <li>Adding 2 new pages to your website with new original content</li> <li>Updating existing pages of your website with fresh content</li> <li>Setup a blog within your website and create a blog posts</li> </ul> <p>As you are doing content updates, make sure to work keyword phrases into your content!</p> <p><a href="http://webhornet.com/contact">Contact WebHornet about our SEO Package</a></p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/46/improve-your-website-s-search-engine-ranking http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/46/improve-your-website-s-search-engine-ranking Michelle Improve your Website's Search Engine Ranking <p>WebHornet makes it easy to optimize pages for Search Engines so your organization can add a layer of keywords and alt tags for search engines to easily find your site and clearly understand its purpose. WebHornet auto-generates a search engine friendly sitemap.xml file used by the search engines.</p> Wed, 18 Sep 2013 00:00:00 -0500 2013-09-18T00:00:00-05:00 <p>WebHornet makes it easy to optimize pages for Search Engines so your organization can add a layer of keywords and alt tags for search engines to easily find your site and clearly understand its purpose. WebHornet auto-generates a search engine friendly sitemap.xml file used by the search engines.</p> <h2><strong>What is SEO?</strong></h2> <p>SEO is Search Engine Optimization.&nbsp; Basically, this means manipulating your website and possibly other websites to increase your rank on search engines.&nbsp; WebHornet gives you tools for the job, and you can control all of the following:</p> <ul> <li>Browser Page Titles</li> <li>Meta Keywords</li> <li>Meta Descriptions</li> <li>Alt tags on Images</li> <li>Title tags on links</li> <li>Page Content</li> <li>Emphasize Keywords using HTML editor bolding, using Heading 1 and Heading 2 tags</li> <li>Create links to other pages within your website using HTML editor link manager</li> <li>Need help in this area - ask about our <strong>Search Engine Optimization Package</strong></li> </ul> <p><a href="http://support.webhornet.com/KB/a111/browser-page-title-and-meta-data.aspx" target="_blank">View this Knowledge Base article to learn how to edit your Browser Page Title, Meta Keywords and Meta Description using your WebHornet website builder.</a></p> <h2><strong>Benefits of Using WebHornet for SEO</strong></h2> <p>WebHornet automates the following items so you don't have to think about the them.</p> <ul> <li>Updated Sitemap.xml file - tells search engines about last updated page info</li> <li>Provides robot.txt file - tells search engines where to find the sitemap.xml</li> <li>Browser Page Titles - auto filled if you do not provide</li> <li>Blog Detail Pages - Meta keywords and description are extracted from blog posts</li> <li>RSS Feed - generated from blog module&nbsp;</li> </ul> <p>SEO will continue to be a critical part of any website, small or large, and WebHornet <strong>web site builder</strong> will be along for the ride.&nbsp; SEO is an ever changing target.&nbsp; This is one of the many reason's why we emphasize the free upgrades for the life of the product, as the landscape for SEO optimisation changes we will change the product to match.</p> <p><a href="http://webhornet.com/contact">Want help with Search Engine Optimization on your WebHornet Website? Contact WebHornet today and ask about our Search Engine Optimization Package</a></p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/14/add-search-to-your-webhornet-website http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/14/add-search-to-your-webhornet-website Wendy Add Search to your WebHornet Website <p><img class="img-responsive" style="width: 270px; height: 130px; margin: 4px; float: right;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/search.jpg" alt="Add Search to your WebHornet Website" />If you website has a lot of pages and you would like to add a Search feature, WebHornet recommends Google Custom Search.&nbsp; Google has both a free and paid solution that might be right for your organization and it can be easily integrated into your WebHornet Website!</p> <p><a href="/blg/live-from-the-hornet-hive/14/add-search-to-your-webhornet-website">Read on to review the Google Custom Search tutorial &gt;&gt;</a></p> Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500 2013-04-03T00:00:00-05:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="width: 270px; height: 130px; margin: 4px; float: right;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/search.jpg" alt="Add Search to your WebHornet Website" /> If you website has a lot of pages and you would like to add a Search feature, WebHornet recommends Google Custom Search.&nbsp; Google has both a free and paid solution that might be right for your organization and it can be easily integrated into your WebHornet Website!</p> <p>Google is the leading search engine used today so instead of reinventing search technology - WebHornet recommends to use the Google Site Search feature on your website.&nbsp; By adding Google search to your website, Google will search the pages of your website and provide results inside your website page.&nbsp;&nbsp; Let's take a look at Google Custom Search options:</p> <p><strong>Standard (Free):</strong> Google offers a free site search.&nbsp; Advertisements will appear on the right column of the search.</p> <p><strong>Site Search (Paid):</strong> Google offers a paid model of the site search where there are no advertisements.&nbsp; Packages start at $100.00 per year.</p> <p><strong>Video Tutorial:</strong> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUB04YCUQ7k" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUB04YCUQ7k</a></p> <p>Once you have created your account with Google and set-up your site search, copy the HTML code provided and paste it into any editor within your <strong>WebHornet Website Editor.</strong>&nbsp; Need assistance, <a href="http://webhornet.com/contact">contact the WebHornet team of experts</a>!</p> <p><span style="font-size: 11px;">Please Note: Google Custom Search requires your organization to start a Google Account and maintain this account.&nbsp; WebHornet can provide direction, but your organization is responsible for your Google Account and any fees associated with this account.</span></p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/11/free-website-builder http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/11/free-website-builder Wendy Free Website Builder <p><img class="img-responsive" style="width: 270px; height: 130px; float: right; margin: 5px;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/warning.png" alt="Free Website Builder" width="270" height="130" />Websites used to cost a fortune to build and launch. This, as with so many other things, has changed thanks to the evolution of technology. Thousands of new start-up companies are taking the cheapest possible option and setting up a website using a <strong>free website builder</strong>.</p> <p><strong>Online website builders</strong> can save you a lot of time, as it can take months to have a custom website built. With most <strong>free website builders</strong>, a great advantage is that all your files are stored online, if you have a connection to the internet you can make changes to your site from anywhere. However, for many people who have little to no experience of how the web design process works, they could be doing their business more harm than good.&nbsp; Let's explore more about <strong>free website builders</strong>:</p> Wed, 27 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0500 2013-03-27T00:00:00-05:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="width: 270px; height: 130px; float: right; margin: 5px;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/warning.png" alt="Free Website Builder" width="270" height="130" />Websites used to cost a fortune to build and launch. This, as with so many other things, has changed thanks to the evolution of technology. Thousands of new start-up companies are taking the cheapest possible option and setting up a website using a <strong>free website builder</strong>.</p> <p>With most <strong>free website builders</strong>, a great advantage is that all your files are stored online, if you have a connection to the internet you can make changes to your site from anywhere. However, for many people who have little to no experience of how the web design process works, they could be doing their business more harm than good.&nbsp; Let's explore more about <strong>free website builders</strong>:</p> <p><strong>Free Website Hosting:</strong><br /> Everyone who has a website needs a website host. Many <strong>free website builders</strong> include website hosting service. If the host is free, your website may be placed on the same server as thousands of others. What this means is the server your website resides on may be running overcapacity resulting in extremely slow speeds with limited memory storage capacity. Servers running overcapacity are subject to high server downtime. Many free website builders do not offer customer support to assist if your site is running slow.<br /> <br /> Hosting support is a vital part when running a business website. Experienced technicians can deal with your problems quickly and effectively. Another consequence comes in the form of a higher website bounce rate with customers clicking off your website due to the slow speeds. If your website is too slow, your customers will look elsewhere on the web, giving your competitors more sales.</p> <p><strong>Poor Website Designs:</strong><br /> <strong>Free website builders</strong> offer a select range of templates with limited capability to customize. Each business using the <strong>online website builder</strong> may have a similar looking website as yours because they selected the exact same design. Templates are designed specifically for a general market, meaning colors and images will be the same for every category. Thousands of other people could have the same website design as you.</p> <p><strong>Advertising Banners:</strong><br /> Have you ever been at a website and noticed advertisements scattered on the home page not pertaining to the product or business site you are looking at? It can be very annoying and turn visitors away. <strong>Free website builders</strong> need a way to make profit and some turn to selling advertising space on your site! These ads will appear on your website and you have no control over the banners shown which may have a negative impact on your business.</p> <p><strong>Hidden Fees:</strong><br /> We all know that nothing in life is free. A few questions to ask yourself before selecting a website vendor:</p> <ul> <li>Is there potential for your company to grow and will you need to add more pages to your site?</li> <li>Will your website need extra storage at a later time?&nbsp;</li> <li>Will you need some enhanced features such as a photo gallery, event calendar or blog tool later down the road?</li> <li>Will you want customers or employees to login to your website to view private pages?</li> </ul> <p>Many website builders start off as free but charge to add pages or charge for enhancements.&nbsp; Make sure to understand the costs of the website builder or vendor before you invest time in using the product.&nbsp; Make sure there is a number you can reach customer service directly.</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/15/what-is-a-web-site-builder http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/15/what-is-a-web-site-builder Michelle What is a Web Site Builder? <p><img class="img-responsive" style="width: 270px; height: 130px; margin: 5px; float: right;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/create.png" alt="WebHornet Web Site Builder" />You may have heard the term <strong>"Web Site Builder"</strong>, but may not truly understand what this means and how it can benefit your business. Simply put, a <strong>web site builder</strong> is a set of tools which allow you to <strong>design your own website</strong> without the knowledge of HTML, CSS or programming language. You can create a page without having to learn how to write code. Instead, templates and other premade tools are used to setup a basic look for your website. With dozens of providers out there, learn how a <strong>web site builder</strong> will benefit you today!</p> Mon, 18 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0500 2013-03-18T00:00:00-05:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="width: 270px; height: 130px; margin: 5px; float: right;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/create.png" alt="WebHornet Web Site Builder" />You may have heard the term <strong>"Web Site Builder"</strong>, but may not truly understand what this means and how it can benefit your business. Simply put, a <strong>web site builder</strong> is a set of tools which allow you to <strong>design your own website</strong> without the knowledge of HTML, CSS or programming language. You can create a page without having to learn how to write code. Instead, templates and other premade tools are used to setup a basic look for your website. With dozens of providers out there, learn how a <strong>web site builder</strong> will benefit you today!</p> <p>A <strong>web site builder</strong> uses premade tools, some drag and drop interfaces, so a non-technical person can build a feature rich website without learning a programming language.&nbsp; A business should use a <strong>web site builder</strong> if they want to add pages and change content often without paying the expensive fees of custom programming.&nbsp; Another useful feature that a <strong>web site builder</strong> offers is design flexibility.&nbsp; If your business has had the same website design for a number of years and you are looking for something fresh and new, you may want to <strong>design your own website</strong>.&nbsp; Paying for a custom design can be expensive.&nbsp;</p> <p>A <strong>web site builder</strong> will give you a great option to custom design for the fraction of the cost allowing you to select a design template and customize the template to match your brand. Building a website takes time and some technical knowledge.&nbsp; If you would prefer to have somone build your business website and manage the site for you, <a href="http://webhornet.com/contact">contact WebHornet</a> to learn more about our services.&nbsp; Our WebHornet&nbsp;<strong>website editor</strong> is great for users who want some control over website editing and general management of their site.</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/9/using-the-twitter-widget http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/9/using-the-twitter-widget Michelle Using the Twitter Widget <p><img class="img-responsive" style="width: 270px; height: 130px; float: right;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/tweet.png" alt="Bring tweets into your WebHornet Website with Twitter Widget" />Back in October we talked about ways to Drive Traffic to your WebHornet Website.&nbsp; One of our recommendations was to use Social Media.&nbsp; Well some of you have been asking the reverse, how to show your tweets on Your WebHornet Website.&nbsp; Read on to learn how to use the <a href="/blg/webhornet-blog/9/using-the-twitter-widget">Twitter Widget to bring tweets into your WebHornet website</a>.</p> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0600 2013-02-01T00:00:00-06:00 <p>Back in October we talked about ways to Drive Traffic to your WebHornet Website.&nbsp; One of our recommendations was to use Social Media.&nbsp; Well some of you have been asking the reverse, how to show your tweets on Your WebHornet Website.&nbsp; Follow these steps to create and use the Twitter Widget:</p> <p>1 - Login to your Twitter Account</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>2 - Go to: <a href="https://support.twitter.com/articles/20170071" target="_blank">https://support.twitter.com</a><br />Here you can see a list of existing widgets and create new widgets.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>3 &ndash; To Create a New Widget, click on Create New button.&nbsp; Here you can select the type of Widget you would like to create and embed into your website.&nbsp; To bring your tweets into your website pick the User Timeline tab.&nbsp; Fill in the form.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On the right side you will see a Preview of how the Tweets will look on your website.&nbsp; Click the Create Widget button when you are ready.&nbsp;</p> <p>FYI: I had to add MYDOMAIN.com, www.MYDOMAIN.com, MYDOMAIN.whhive.com to the list of domains.&nbsp; See my sample screen shot below.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img class="img-responsive" style="width: 500px; height: 483px;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/twitter-widget-1.jpg" alt="Twitter Widget" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>4 &ndash; Once you have created the widget, Twitter will provide you an HTML code snippet.&nbsp; Grab this code and go to your WebHornet Website.&nbsp; Create a new page or pick an existing page.&nbsp; In any HTML editor, click on the Source option and paste in the Widget HTML code.&nbsp; After you save you should see the widget embedded into your website.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Here is how it looks on my Twirlzone.com site:</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img class="img-responsive" style="width: 500px; height: 386px;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/twitter-widget-2.jpg" alt="Twitter Widget on my WebHornet Website" /></p> <p>Want help setting up your Twitter Widget? Contact <a href="http://webhornet.com/mailto:support@webhornet.com">support@webhornet.com</a> today!</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/5/how-much-does-it-cost-to-set-up-a-website http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/5/how-much-does-it-cost-to-set-up-a-website Michelle How much does it cost to set up a website? <p>A question most businesses ask, <em>"<strong>How much does it cost to set up a website</strong>?"</em>&nbsp; This article provides a basic cost breakdown and steps you will need to take to <strong>set up a website</strong>.&nbsp; Pricing is based on research in January of 2013.</p> Wed, 16 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0600 2013-01-16T00:00:00-06:00 <p>A question most businesses ask, <em>"<strong>How much does it cost to set up a website</strong>?"</em>&nbsp; This article provides a basic cost breakdown and steps you will need to take to <strong>set up a website</strong>.&nbsp; Pricing is based on reserach in January of 2013.</p> <ol> <li><strong>Domain Name</strong><br /> <br /> A basic must in <strong>creating a business website</strong> is purchasing a domain name.&nbsp; The price for domains can range from $10.00 on up.&nbsp; If the domain name is already taken but for sale, you may be looking at a much higher price.&nbsp; Most businesses trying to <strong>set up a website</strong> can find a domain that fits their needs very affordable.<br /> <br /> <strong>WebHornet</strong> offers a domain name for your website (yourcompany.whhive.com).&nbsp; However, we recommend a company branded custom domain and can assist you in <a href="http://support.webhornet.com/KB/a56/launching-your-website-instructions-domain-name-server.aspx" target="_blank">launching your WebHornet Website on your custom domain name</a>.<br /> &nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Web Hosting</strong><br /> <br /> Web Hosting pricing can vary from company to company.&nbsp; If you are using a commercial web host, you will need to factor in this cost.&nbsp; Some hosting companies offer discounts if you pay a year in advance or more.&nbsp; Prices will vary but you will be looking at $20.00 per month on up.&nbsp; If you need a large amount of storage or a database, pricing increases.<br /> <br /> There are companies that offer <strong>free website hosting</strong>.&nbsp; When deciding on hosting vendors, make sure to understand what comes with your website hosting.&nbsp; Many times with FREE website hosting, ads will be placed on your site or you may be limited to the number of pages or capability of your site.&nbsp; Also, free hosting can be risky as these companies are known to have frequent "down" times, times when your site is inaccessible.<br /> <br /> If you are using a Website Editor, such as <strong>WebHornet</strong>, <a href="http://webhornet.com/website-hosting-monitoring">website hosting</a> and website monitoring is included in your monthly price.&nbsp; From small business website host to large international franchise hosting solutions, <strong>WebHornet</strong> is an all-in-one website and hosting solution for your business, nonprofit or personal use. Many website products offer you software without a hosting solution. With <strong>WebHornet</strong>, "where to host my website" is no longer a question. ($29.99 per month)<br /> &nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Software</strong><br /> <br /> The exact software you need for your website depends on the type of website you would like to set up.&nbsp; This will play in the biggest factor of <strong>how much does it cost to set up a website</strong>?<br /> <br /> If your goal in <strong>creating a business website</strong> is to set up a few pages, graphics and content, one can get by fairly inexpensive.&nbsp; Using a website editor can be an affordable way to go - allowing you to edit your website when you need changes anytime of the day or night.&nbsp; Keep in mind, some systems require the user to install software.&nbsp; <strong>WebHornet</strong> offers a <strong>better solution, requiring <u>NO</u> software instillation</strong>.&nbsp; You can update your website with a simple internet connection.<br /> <br /> If you are wanting a more advanced system, specific design, slide shows, forms, blogs, event calendars and private pages, most businesses will look into custom software.&nbsp; Custom software pricing can range from $5,000.00 on up, plus a monthly fee for hosting and updates.&nbsp; <strong>WebHornet</strong> offers all of these features and more for an affordable price.&nbsp; Creating a business website with advanced features is easy and cost effective using WebHornet.<br /> &nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Website Design and Site Development</strong><br /> <br /> You want your site to look great, get noticed and keep the attention of visitors, so website design is important.&nbsp; Hiring a designer can cost anywhere from $2000 for a basic design on up the more complex the design gets.&nbsp; At WebHornet, we know the importance of a great looking site.&nbsp; Our expert staff of designers can get your site design put together typically for around $200.00 - $400.00.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Once the design is approved, you need pages of your website set up, forms to collect data, photos placed and pages linking together.&nbsp; Development of the website will cost another $2000 on up depending on the complexity of the website. Again, we offer very affordale packages.&nbsp; Many WebHornet customers have sites set-up under $500.00 using Hornet Helper Hours ($35.00 per hour).<br /> &nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Updating your Website</strong><br /> <br /> Updating your website must be factored into <strong>how much does it cost to set up a website.&nbsp;</strong> If your business needs content, images and documents updates charges will apply.&nbsp; With a website editor like WebHornet, you can do the changes yourself or use our website experts for only $35.00 per hour.<br /> &nbsp;</li> </ol> <p><strong>Conclusion</strong><br /> <br /> The above gives an average <strong>cost to set up a website</strong>.&nbsp; WebHornet offers a more affordable solution for many small and mid-sized businesses.&nbsp; Once you are ready to begin <strong>creating a business website</strong>, ask us about any promotions we have running for even more savings.&nbsp;</p> <p>*Prices of various components change from time-to-time.&nbsp; Information provided in this article are average cost of what the market is currently charging as of January 2013.<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><br /> &nbsp;</p> <div style="background-color: #efefef;"> <div style="font-size: 24px; text-align: center; padding: 10px; background-color: #efefef; clear: both;">Learn More about WebHornet</div> <div style="margin: 10px; text-align: center; background-color: #efefef;"><nav class="article-nav"><a class="interface-btn2" href="http://webhornet.com/contact">Get Started for $9.99 &gt;&gt;</a></nav></div> </div> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/8/how-to-make-a-good-website http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/8/how-to-make-a-good-website Wendy How to Make a Good Website <p><img class="img-responsive" style="width: 128px; height: 128px; float: left; margin: 5px;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/idea.png" alt="How to Make a Good Website" width="128" height="128" />What determines if a website is good or bad?&nbsp; We form an opinion about all of the websites we visit and this determines if we come back several times or never return.&nbsp; Although each of us have our own opinions, most of us will base our feeling on similar factors.</p> <p>WebHornet has put together 7 tips that influence if our audience will be back several times.&nbsp; These tips will teach a business owner <strong>how to make a good website</strong>.&nbsp;</p> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 00:00:00 -0600 2012-12-05T00:00:00-06:00 <p>What determines if a website is good or bad?&nbsp; We form an opinion about all of the websites we visit and this determines if we come back several times or never return.&nbsp; Although each of us have our own opinions, most of us will base our feeling on similar factors.</p> <p>WebHornet has put together 7 tips that influence if our audience will be back several times.&nbsp; These tips will teach a business owner <strong>how to make a good website</strong>.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>1 - Purpose</strong></p> <p><strong>Building a website</strong> can be a complex task.&nbsp; What sort of message do you want to communicate to your audience, do you intend to sell a product or service, advertise or provide information to your customers and prospects? Being clear about your intentions will help you establish a clear road map towards a successful website.</p> <p>With this in mind, your web designer will be able to understand what you need, how the site will be managed, what functionality will improve the user experience, and what messages to communicate.&nbsp; If you are managing your website on your own, this will be very helpful on <strong>how to make a good website</strong>.&nbsp; Look at your purpose often and make sure you are following this map.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>2 - Appearance</strong></p> <p>Trends in websites are constantly changing.&nbsp; If your website has not been changed since the 90's, you may want to consider a new design.&nbsp; Your general audience will detect this right away.&nbsp; Most business owners freshen up their design or completely change it every couple of years.</p> <p>Not every website needs to be award-winning, but it should appeal to a specific audience.&nbsp; Professional images are a positive way to show your product/business showcase.&nbsp; The design should match the message and the purpose of the site.&nbsp; Make sure not to overload each page with images, it will sway your audience away.</p> <p>Not sure how to design a website?&nbsp; <strong>WebHornet</strong> can assist.&nbsp; Our design team makes it affordable to have the design you are looking for, will train you on <strong>how to make a good website</strong>.&nbsp; WebHornet offers website design for your organization or business.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>3 - Navigation</strong></p> <p>When developing the navigation for your website, think about what pages are most likely to be wanted by visitors, how visitors will want to move from one page to the next, which pages are most critical for the purposes of your website, and how many clicks it will take visitors to get from your homepage to any other specific page. Navigation should be a primary concern.</p> <p>Although navigation provides designers with the opportunity to improve the look of the site, attractiveness should not be your main concern.&nbsp; The flexibility to change your navigation around is also important.&nbsp; Adding a page to your Navigation should be a simple step.&nbsp; The more complex the design, the harder it will be to do this.&nbsp; Flexibility with navigation is key on <strong>how to make a good website</strong>.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>4 - Content</strong></p> <p>Content ranges from what you want the end-user to see, to what you want the search engines to index. Getting content correct is possibly the hardest part of designing your website, and getting the right mix of content and keywords is even harder.</p> <p>You must remember to add relevant keywords, meta tags and meta descriptions to your text, but not too many, as search engines may mark you down in the search engines for spamming keywords. Images should have alt and title tags defined, so search engines can read the links.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>5 - Reliable Web Hosting </strong></p> <p>A good web hosting company will not only provide a safe place to store your website but also a reliable place where your website will be viewed by your audience without interruptions.&nbsp; If your website is not up and running at all times, business can be lost and visitors may never try coming back again.&nbsp; Reliable hosting is critical part of owning a website.</p> <p>With so many to chose from, it can be hard to decide who is reliable and who is not. Try WebHornet today for managing your website and hosting, efficient and secure services at affordable prices!</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>6 - Testimonials </strong></p> <p>A testimonial page is nice if you offer any type of product or service to your visitors. It will help to prove your credibility and guarantee the quality of the goods you provide.</p> <p>Satisfied customers are typically more than willing to supply you with a short testimonial, simply by asking for one.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>7 - Contact Information </strong></p> <p>Keep your contact information current on your website. Potential visitors will be much more inclined to buy, if they know there is some way to contact you in the event of a problem. Other visitors will simply want to ask a question or leave a comment.</p> <p>A way for customers to fill out a Contact Form is also very helpful. If your business is not open on the weekends and a visitor wants to inquire about your company, a Contact Form will allow you to receive the information via email and contact the visitor at any time of the day or night.</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/6/keep-the-attention-of-website-visitors http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/6/keep-the-attention-of-website-visitors Michelle Keep the Attention of Website Visitors <p><img class="img-responsive" style="width: 180px; height: 179px; float: left; margin: 4px 10px;" src="/Content/Media/Image/blog/clock-big.jpg" alt="Keep attention of website visitors" />The average website visitor's attention span is 8-10 seconds.&nbsp; Now that a user is at your site, you have just a short window to capture their attention and get them to read further.&nbsp; Read on for ways to keep the <a href="/blg/live-from-the-hornet-hive/6/keep-the-attention-of-website-visitors">attention of website visitors using graphics and icons</a>.</p> Mon, 05 Nov 2012 00:00:00 -0600 2012-11-05T00:00:00-06:00 <p><img class="img-responsive" style="width: 347px; height: 346px; float: right; margin: 4px;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/clock-big.jpg" alt="Keep attention of website visitors" /> The average website visitor's attention span is 8-10 seconds. In my last blog post, I wrote about ways to drive traffic to your site.&nbsp; Now that a user is at your site, you have just a short window to capture their attention and get them to read further.&nbsp; Remember most people are visual, so high quality graphics and video can help convey your message quickly and bring your website to life.</p> <p>When I first started building websites, good graphics were hard to come by.&nbsp; You had to spend big dollars to purchase great stock photos.&nbsp; Well today, there are many stock photo sites that license high quality photos for your website at VERY reasonable rates.&nbsp; We recommend trying some of our favorite sites to find stock photography:&nbsp; <a href="http://crestock.com" target="_blank">crestock.com</a>,&nbsp; <a href="http://istockphoto.com" target="_blank">istockphoto.com</a>, <a href="http://bigstockphoto.com" target="_blank">bigstockphoto.com</a></p> <p>These stock photo sites also sell icons.&nbsp; Icons are a simple and effective way to draw users into the content of your website.&nbsp; Many web designers use icons to visually break up content, serving the same purpose as paragraph breaks.&nbsp; This makes your content less intimidating, visually interesting and easily readable.</p> <p>Other icon sites: <a href="http://iconfinder.com" target="_blank">iconfinder.com</a>, <a href="http://iconarchive.com" target="_blank">iconarchive.com</a>, <a href="http://freeiconsweb.com" target="_blank">freeiconsweb.com</a></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><br /> <a href="http://freeiconsweb.com" target="_blank"><img class="img-responsive" style="width: 390px; height: 260px;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/icons-390.jpg" alt="Website icons" /></a><br /> &nbsp;</p> <p>Many sites offer royalty FREE graphics, icons, and clipart.&nbsp; Remember to view the license information to make sure you have rights to use the graphic and give credit to those who require it if you use their graphics.</p> <p>If you are looking for pictures more specific to your work projects, products or services, we recommend hiring a professional photographer.&nbsp; Interview a couple and ask to see their portfolios.&nbsp; Today many photographs will allow you to have copyrights to the photos to use on your website, social media and print as you wish.</p> <p>One other important tip, make sure to use photos on your blog posts and in your social media posts when possible.&nbsp; Users on social media sites are more likely to read and share your post if you have an interesting graphic to go with it.&nbsp; When driving social media traffic back to your website (which should be almost always!), use the same photo in the post for consistency.</p> <p>If you need help finding graphics or icons for your WebHornet Website, <a href="http://webhornet.com/contact">contact WebHornet today</a>! The WebHornet Experts can&nbsp; search for graphics and work these into a professional website design for your organization or business.</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/7/what-do-you-need-to-build-a-website http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/7/what-do-you-need-to-build-a-website Wendy What do you need to build a website? <p>Building or revamping a website can be very overwhelming.&nbsp; The thought of doing so much work to build a website while operating the day-to-day work schedule can be too much for a small business to handle. Read on to see a list of items you need to build a website.</p> Tue, 11 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0500 2012-09-11T00:00:00-05:00 <p>Building or revamping a website can be very overwhelming.&nbsp; The thought of doing so much work to build a website while operating the day-to-day work schedule can be too much for a small business to handle. Read on to see a list of items you need to build a website.</p> <p><strong>Step 1:</strong> Are there specific websites that draw your attention?&nbsp; Maybe a site that you love to visit and share with your friends and colleagues.&nbsp; A site that you wished you had?&nbsp; Gather up all of these sites and put together a list of likes and dislikes from your favorites!&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Step 2:</strong> Do you have a domain?&nbsp; A domain is a place to direct people to visit your website - your address on the internet.&nbsp; You can also create email addresses with your domain name, making your business look more professional.&nbsp; Domains are very affordable.&nbsp; Pick a domain that is easy to remember such as your business name and easy to type.&nbsp;<br /> If you are not ready to purchase a domain, see Step 3.</p> <p><strong>Step 3:</strong> Determine if you will need to use a developer, web designer or do it yourself.&nbsp; Web design firms helps you though the process of desiging and building your website.&nbsp; If you would like to make minor edits to your website, make sure your site comes with a website editor.&nbsp; If you don't have time to build or update your own website, check that your website vendor offers these services.</p> <p><strong>Step 4:</strong> Logo &amp; Coloring - What are your business colors?&nbsp; Do you have a logo?&nbsp; Most businesses have the colors in mind but just need a logo.</p> <p><strong>Step 5:</strong> Create a Site Map which is a list of all of the pages of your website.&nbsp; What message do you want to get across to your visitors?&nbsp; For starters, most businesses have Home or Intro page, Contact Us Page, Services Page, About Us Page &amp; Testimonials Page.&nbsp; These pages will allow your customers to get to know your company.&nbsp; Remember, you can always add more pages as you go.</p> <p><strong>Step 6:</strong> Content is King.&nbsp; There is no better way to get your message out to your visitors then content.&nbsp; Explain your company and services with valuable content.&nbsp; Need help?&nbsp; There are many services on the web or through your hosting company that will get your started at affordable prices.</p> <p><strong>Step 7:</strong> Engage your audience with graphics and video.&nbsp; Visitors LOVE images and videos. Maybe you do not have images of your company?&nbsp; There are many websites that offer affordable stock photo.&nbsp; One of our favorite is <a href="http://crestock.com" target="_blank">crestock.com</a>. &nbsp; Most people are visual and there is no better way to showcase your business by displaying images and video clips that match your products or services. &nbsp;</p> <p>With these simple 7 steps you will be on your way to creating a great website.&nbsp; Just do one step at a time.&nbsp; <a href="http://webhornet.com/contact">Contact WebHornet</a> for help setting up your website!</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/2/success-with-local-search-ranking http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/2/success-with-local-search-ranking Michelle Success with Local Search Ranking <p>WebHornet customers have been experiencing great success with local search!&nbsp;</p> <p>While good keyword rich content and relevant links to your site are critical, we have found that WebHornet websites are ranking high on local and national search terms with even less.&nbsp; The base of all WebHornet Websites include an advanced search engine architecture not found in other website systems.&nbsp; This is what sets WebHornet apart.&nbsp;&nbsp; Our development team has built a system that automatically informs Google, Bing and other search engines that your site has been changed when you update a page or create a blog post.&nbsp; Other websites do not include this type of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) service unless you invest top dollar on SEO services.</p> <p>Read more on <a href="/blg/live-from-the-hornet-hive/2/success-with-local-search-ranking">success with local search rank</a>.</p> Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0500 2012-06-01T00:00:00-05:00 <p>WebHornet customers have been experiencing great success with local search!&nbsp;</p> <p>While good keyword rich content and relevant links to your site are critical, we have found that WebHornet websites are ranking high on local and national search terms with even less.&nbsp; The base of all WebHornet Websites include an advanced search engine architecture not found in other website systems.&nbsp; This is what sets WebHornet apart.&nbsp;&nbsp; Our development team has built a system that automatically informs Google, Bing and other search engines that your site has been changed when you update a page or create a blog post.&nbsp; Other websites do not include this type of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) service unless you invest top dollar on SEO services.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Below are some case studies we would like to share:</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Case Study: Sinnotts&rsquo;s Sand Bar</strong></span><br /> <strong>Website:</strong> <a href="http://sinnottssandbar.com" target="_blank">sinnottssandbar.com</a><br /> <strong>Co-Owner:</strong> Jen Sinnott<br /> <strong>Industry:</strong> Sports Bar &amp; Sand Volleyball<br /> <strong>Location:</strong> Papillion, Nebraska</p> <p>One month ago, Sinnott's Sand Bar contacted WebHornet for help with their website.&nbsp; Their website developer was nowhere to be found and they were in desperate need to make updates to their website!&nbsp; WebHornet launched Sinnott's site in less than 1 week and gave them access to update their site as needed using the WebHornet Website Editor.&nbsp;</p> <p>In addition, the WebHornet Team provided Sinnott's with instruction on how to add valuable local keywords into the content and Meta Data of their website to help them rank.&nbsp; In less than a few weeks, Google was already ranking them on page 1 of local searches.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;We are very proud of the work we do to help our customers and their businesses.&nbsp; We wanted to share this exciting news!!!</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/29/spruce-up-your-website-for-spring-part-3 http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/29/spruce-up-your-website-for-spring-part-3 Michelle Spruce up your Website for Spring! - Part 3 <p>Spring is just about over, but you can still use these tips to make your site stand out from the competition!&nbsp; This post covers <strong>Using Icons</strong>, <strong>Change Up Your Design Template</strong>, and <strong>Using the Blog Gadget</strong>.&nbsp;</p> Thu, 02 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0500 2011-06-02T00:00:00-05:00 <p>Spring is just about over, but you can still use these tips to make your site stand out from the competition!&nbsp; This post covers <strong>Using Icons</strong>, <strong>Change Up Your Design Template</strong>, and <strong>Using the Blog Gadget</strong>.<br /> <br /> To read Tips 1-3, visit <a href="http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/26/spruce-up-your-website-for-spring-part-1">Spruce up your Site for Spring - Part 1</a><br /> To read Tips 4-6, visit <a href="http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/28/spruce-up-your-website-for-spring-part-2">Spruce up your Site for Spring - Part 2</a><br /> <br /> <br /> <strong>Tip 7 - Using Icons</strong><br /> Icons give visitors graphical representation of what you are trying to communicate on your website.&nbsp; We have all seen the popular Facebook, Twitter and RSS icons.&nbsp; To add icons to your site, first search the web icons (remember to view the license information to make sure you have rights to use the icon, if you are looking for free icons) or create your own!&nbsp; <br /> <br /> <strong>Tip 8 - Using the Blog Gadget</strong><br /> If you are using the Blog Enhanced Module, you can also use the Blog Gadget to feature a Tag Cloud.&nbsp; In the Module to the right of our blog, we set-up the Blog Gadget.&nbsp; Visitors can click on the keywords and phrases in the Blog Tag Cloud to filter articles they are most interested in!&nbsp; Read more about how to set-up the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBz8w81RxTs&amp;index=3&amp;list=PLGiWn1enxjnG58Bj9qU92vSVZgsv9N8PM" target="_blank">Blog</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI8a6-1i7jI&amp;list=PLGiWn1enxjnHKqbsMtb_D6WEpkrBUQojE&amp;index=2" target="_blank">Blog Gadget</a>.<br /> <br /> <strong>Reminder: Hornet Helper assistance is available!</strong> If you would prefer WebHornet to do the sprucing work for you, purchase Hornet Helper hours from your WebHornet Account (<a href="http://webhornet.com/login">webhornet.com/login</a>) and contact us via the <a href="http://webhornet.com/contact">support form</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> This concludes our 3 part series on Sprucing up Your website for Spring!&nbsp; If you enjoyed these blog posts, please drop us a line at <a title="Contact WebHornet" href="http://webhornet.com/contact">support@webhornet.com</a></p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/28/spruce-up-your-website-for-spring-part-2 http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/28/spruce-up-your-website-for-spring-part-2 Michelle Spruce up your Website for Spring! - Part 2 <p>Here are more tips for giving your WebHornet website that extra splash this spring!&nbsp; This post covers <strong>Slicer and Resizing Photos</strong>, <strong>Navigation Styling</strong>, and <strong>Don't Forget About Your Website Footer</strong>.</p> Tue, 24 May 2011 00:00:00 -0500 2011-05-24T00:00:00-05:00 <p>Here are more tips for giving your website that extra splash this spring!&nbsp; This post covers <strong>Slicer and Resizing Photos</strong>, <strong>Navigation Styling</strong>, and <strong>Don't Forget About Your Website Footer</strong>.<br /> <br /> To read Tips 1-3, visit <a href="http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/26/spruce-up-your-website-for-spring-part-1">Spruce up your Site for Spring - Part 1</a>!<br /> <br /> <strong>Tip 4 - Resizing Photos</strong><br />In order to keep image resolution of the highest quality, WebHornet does NOT resize your photos. Try one of these free image editing software programs to resize photos before loading into WebHornet: <a href="http://www.getpaint.net/" target="_blank">paint.net</a> (Windows), <a href="http://www.gimp.org/" target="_blank">Gimp</a> (Windows, MAC)<br /> <br /> <strong>Tip 5 - Navigation Styling</strong><br /> Change up your navigation with font color, background color and hover mouse over effects.&nbsp; Modify your navigation CSS or ask WebHornet Support for help.<br /> <br /> <strong>Tip 6 - </strong><strong>Don't Forget About Your Website Footer</strong><br /> A popular trend today is to add links, social media and company logo to the footer area of your website.&nbsp; Not only does the make your site look modern, the links with keywords are great for Search Engines!&nbsp; Use a table or advanced CSS to create the right layout for your organization.&nbsp; <br /> <br /> <strong>Reminder: Hornet Helper assistance is available!</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; If you would prefer WebHornet to do the sprucing work for you, purchase Hornet Helper hours from your WebHornet Account (<a href="http://webhornet.com/login">webhornet.com/login</a>) and contact us via the <a href="http://webhornet.com/contact">support form</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> Stay tuned for our next post with more Website styling tips!</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/26/spruce-up-your-website-for-spring-part-1 http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/26/spruce-up-your-website-for-spring-part-1 Wendy Spruce up your Website for Spring! - Part 1 <p>WebHornet users have been asking for ideas to jazz up their websites.&nbsp; So over the next couple of weeks we will be provding some tips on sprucing up your site!&nbsp; This post covers <strong>Picking Website Colors</strong>, <strong>Template Styling</strong>, and <strong>Bringing your site to life with Great Photos</strong>!</p> Tue, 03 May 2011 00:00:00 -0500 2011-05-03T00:00:00-05:00 <p>WebHornet users have been asking for ideas to jazz up their websites.&nbsp; So over the next couple of weeks we will be providing some tips on sprucing up your site!&nbsp; This post covers <strong>Picking Website Colors</strong>, <strong>Template Styling</strong>, and <strong>Bringing your site to life with Great Photos</strong>!<br /> <br /> <strong>Tip 1 - Picking Website Colors</strong><br /> If you need color inspiration for your website, we recommend visiting Colour Lovers (<a href="http://colourlovers.com/" target="_blank">http://colourlovers.com/</a>).&nbsp; This is a community of people sharing color ideas.&nbsp; Their search tools allow you to search color palettes.&nbsp; If you find a palette you like, copy the HEX colors and use this in your WebHornet <strong>Template Styling</strong>.<br /> <br /> <strong>Tip 2 - Template Styling</strong><br /> After selecting your color palette, use the Template Styling tools to implement your background colors and font colors. Watch this useful video for step-by-step instructions on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMFL08bIYSE&amp;list=PLGiWn1enxjnErikHWuo0QYsLzI2RmlWCG&amp;index=1" target="_blank">Template Styling - Style Regions</a>.<br /> <br /> <strong>Tip 3 - Bring your Website to Life with Great Pictures</strong><br /> A picture is worth a 1000 words!&nbsp; Great photos help bring your website to life.&nbsp; When we first started building websites, good graphics were hard to come by.&nbsp; You had to spend big dollars to purchase great stock photos.&nbsp; Well today, there are stock photo sites that license high quality photos for your website at VERY reasonable rates.&nbsp; Try some of these sites to find photos:&nbsp; <a href="http://istockphoto.com" target="_blank">istockphoto.com</a>, <a href="http://bigstockphoto.com" target="_blank">bigstockphoto.com</a><br /> <br /> <br /> <strong>Reminder: Hornet Helper assistance is available!</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; If you would prefer WebHornet to do the sprucing work for you, purchase Hornet Helper hours from your WebHornet Account (<a href="http://webhornet.com/login">webhornet.com/login</a>) and contact us via the <a href="http://webhornet.com/contact">support form</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> Stay tuned for our next post with more Website styling tips!</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/10/importance-of-website-title-and-meta-data http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/10/importance-of-website-title-and-meta-data Michelle Importance of Website Title and Meta Data <p>I was just doing a review of a friend's website.&nbsp; I searched for her company name on Google.&nbsp; Google found her site, but I noticed a description of her website was missing... so this leads me into a discussion of the importance of<strong> Page Title </strong>and <strong>Meta Data</strong>.&nbsp; <a href="/blg/webhornet-blog/10/importance-of-website-title-and-meta-data">Read on for the importance of your Website Title and Meta Data.</a></p> Mon, 25 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0500 2011-04-25T00:00:00-05:00 <p>I was just doing a review of a friend's website.&nbsp; I searched for her company name on Google.&nbsp; Google found her site, but I noticed a description of her website was missing... so this leads me into a discussion of the importance of<strong> Page Title </strong>and <strong>Meta Data</strong>.&nbsp; Let's dive in!<br /> <br /> <strong>Title</strong> and <strong>Meta Data</strong> are HTML tags found in the HTML source of your website.&nbsp; This information is not displayed in web browsers to visitors accessing your site, however, you can locate these tags by <strong>Viewing the Source</strong> of your website pages. Search Engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo have programs that crawl the web.&nbsp; These programs are called spiders and/or bots.&nbsp; The Search Engines index your website and they use the Title and Meta Data information to learn more about your website.<br /> <br /> <u><strong>INSTRUCTIONS TO VIEW TITLE AND META TAGS</strong></u><br />The HTML for the website page you are viewing will appear.&nbsp; To most of you this will look like a mess of tags that are unreadable, but if you look closely, usually in the first couple of lines of the HTML, you will see <strong>Title</strong> and <strong>MetaTags </strong>.<br /> <br /> <br /> <u><strong>TITLE AND META DATA DEFINED</strong></u><br /> Here are some of the tags that we recommend you set-up for each page of your website:<br /> <br /> <strong>Title:</strong> The title tag defines the title of the document.</p> <ul> <li>defines a title in the browser toolbar</li> <li>displays a title for the page in search-engine results (See Google screen shot below.)</li> <li>provides a title for the page when it is added to favorites</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Meta Keywords</strong> : Informs search engines what your site is about.&nbsp; Use a list of comma separated words or phrases.&nbsp; The words and phrases should appear in the content of your website as well to get better search results.<br /> <br /> <strong>Meta Description</strong> : Search engines use the description to show with the results of searches. See Google screen shot below.<br /> <br /> <br /> Below Google Screen capture shows Title Tag and Meta Description Tags:<br /> <img class="img-responsive" style="width: 500px; height: 200px; border-width: 0px; border-style: solid; margin: 4px;" src="http://webhornet.com/Content/Media/Image/blog/title-meta-description2.jpg" alt="Example Google Title and Meta Description" /><br /> <br /> <br /> <u><strong>SET-UP TITLE AND META DATA IN WEBHORNET</strong></u><br /> WebHornet provides you page setting tools to EASILY set-up page Title, Meta Keywords and Meta Description.&nbsp; We recommend doing this for each page of your website to get best results.<br /> <br /> 1 - Via the <strong>WebHornet </strong><strong>Control Panel</strong>, click on the page that you would like to edit page settings for.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> 2 - Click on the <strong>Page Settings</strong> icon&nbsp; located in the top left corner.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> 3 - <strong>Page Settings Edit Page </strong>forms appears.&nbsp; Modify the following fields to make your Title and Meta Data begin working for you!</p> <ul> <li><strong>Browser Page Title</strong></li> <li><strong>Meta Keywords</strong></li> <li><strong>Meta Description</strong></li> </ul> <p><br /> <br /> Hope you enjoyed this article on Title and Meta Data.&nbsp;</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/21/is-your-site-optimized-for-search-engines http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/21/is-your-site-optimized-for-search-engines Michelle Is your site Optimized for Search Engines? <p>Do you have a <strong>Search Engine friendly website</strong>?&nbsp; When you have a website, you want it to rank at the top of all searches, who wouldn&rsquo;t? This process can be time consuming, cost large amounts of money and worst of all, it can be confusing. No need to read the huge text books and do countless hours of research. The team at <strong>WebHornet</strong> provides [SEO] Search Engine Optimization tools. Easily add Page Titles and Meta Data (Keywords and Description) to your site or work with WebHornet Support to assist.</p> Fri, 08 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0500 2010-10-08T00:00:00-05:00 <p>Do you have a <strong>Search Engine friendly website</strong>?&nbsp; When you have a website, you want it to rank at the top of all searches, who wouldn&rsquo;t? This process can be time consuming, cost large amounts of money and worst of all, it can be confusing. No need to read the huge text books and do countless hours of research. The team at <strong>WebHornet</strong> provides [SEO] Search Engine Optimization tools. Easily add Page Titles and Meta Data (Keywords and Description) to your site or work with WebHornet Support to assist. <strong>Follow these easy steps:</strong><br /> <br /> 1.&nbsp; From the <strong>Control Panel</strong>, highlight the page you would like to add <strong>Page Title</strong>, <strong>Keywords</strong> &amp; <strong>Descriptions</strong><br /> <br /> 2.&nbsp; Locate the <strong>Setting Icon </strong>(located on the left side)<br /> <br /> 3.&nbsp; Enter your <strong>Page Title</strong>, <strong>Keywords</strong> &amp; <strong>Descriptions</strong> in the approprate boxes.<br /> <br /> After clicking Save, you have completed hours of work in just minutes!SEO,<br /> <br /> Read more about <a href="http://webhornet.com/improve-website-search-rank">improving your search rank using WebHornet</a>.</p> http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/12/it-s-official-webhornet-has-launched http://webhornet.com/blg/webhornet-blog/12/it-s-official-webhornet-has-launched Michelle It's Official WebHornet has Launched <p>Method Development (formerly WhettStone Business Solutions) is excited to announce the launch of a new product <strong>WebHornet</strong>.&nbsp; If your organization or business is looking for a professional website that allows you to easily make changes to content, style and manage users, Web Hornet is the product for you.&nbsp; Contact us today for assistance building a website!</p> Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0500 2010-09-08T00:00:00-05:00 <p>Method Development (formerly WhettStone Business Solutions) is excited to announce the launch of a new product <strong>WebHornet</strong>.&nbsp; If your organization or business is looking for a professional website that allows you to easily make changes to content, style and manage users, Web Hornet is the product for you.&nbsp; Contact us today for assistance building a website!</p> <p>Site features include: <a href="http://webhornet.com/website-blog">Blog</a>, Social Media Links, <a href="http://webhornet.com/event-calendar">Event Calendar,</a> <a href="http://webhornet.com/photo-gallery">Photo Gallery</a>, Slide Show and Account Manager wrapped in a <strong>Website Editor </strong>allowing you to add and edit page content! All tools are extremely user friendly with a support portal of FAQs and training documents.</p> <p><strong>WebHornet</strong> is ideal for organizations that need control over their website without learning a programming language, hiring a developer or depending on a friend/relative to keep your site updated. <strong>WebHornet</strong> offers an upgrade path so you can rest easy your website will withstand updates to internet browsers, flash and other software that may affect your site.</p> <p><strong>Build a website</strong> with <strong>WebHornet</strong>! Get started today!</p>