I have been creating small websites since the late 1990s. Over the years, I used several website design tools. In 2014 I started to use Weebly and I am still convinced it is the best small business website design tool. Here is why.

Note: I am a Weebly reseller and I receive a small commission when referring a new customer. But similar commission systems are available from their competitors. I did not get paid by Weebly to write this article.

By Alain Houle, Alco Web Design LLC

​No doubt, WordPress is the most popular and most powerful tool to create websites. WordPress is an open system that everybody can modify. Experts abound and offer thousands of options and plugins that allow web designers to do about anything. You name it, it is there. This is the bright side of WordPress.

But with abundance and flexibility comes complexity. At the end, all the WordPress bells and whistles end up living inside your website and there is no guarantee that they will all play well together. Since WordPress is an open system, there no owner and no support desk. I had the pleasure to help customers with totally hosed up WordPress websites that nobody seems to be able to fix. This is the dark side of WordPress.

​Weebly is more or less a locked down version of WordPress, offering far less, but enough options and plugins to meet the needs of most small business owners. The source code and the plugins all come from Weebly and this guarantees their quality and compatibility. Tech support is available from Weebly and, if needed, HTML blocks are available to support special functions. Weebly powers more than 40 million websites: It is not a toy. After using Weebly on hundreds of websites, I am still convinced Weebly is the best website design tool when creating small business websites.

Here is something we don't hear about often: Another advantage over WordPress is that Weebly is a hosted system. This means that all the Weebly websites physically reside on Weebly servers. This also means that your setup is not unique and that Weebly is responsible for the configuration, functionality, and security issues that small business owners have no desire to deal with.

Even though I am a big Weebly fan, I don’t really like their templates that are, well, boring. This can easily be overcome by using a premium Weebly template from companies like Webfire Themes and Baamboo Studios. Those companies offer several exciting templates that will make your website look professional and stand out of the crowd. All Weebly premium templates come in with several customization options (colors, add/remove, fonts, custom code, etc.) to make your small business website unique. Some premium templates are very business specific (restaurants, photographers, etc.). Below are my preferred generic premium templates that do a nice job for most small business websites.

Alco Web Design provides website design services to small business owners interested by a professional and cost-effective presence on the web. Impress your potential customers with a stunning website from Alco Web Design! Contact us today to discuss your small business website design needs. You might be surprised by our methods and our prices.

Staying In-Sync with Customer Needs

While consumer focus may have changed a little bit, there is still a requirement for various services and products. This is why it is even more important today than before to focus on updating your website.

While this will give you some amount of business today, it will also help you come out ahead of the game down the track. Most businesses indeed have experienced some amount of downtime on regularly scheduled programming at the moment. However, you can make a shift in your marketing strategy, and your website is one of its most essential aspects.

It is in crucial to understand that just building a website and forgetting it does not work. It needs to provide value to your users in a meaningful and easy way. You need to maintain the website and update it so that it is in line with the current needs of the customers.

Enhance Your Online Presence

The need of the hour today is to ensure that you are providing even more value to your customers and understanding their needs during the pandemic. Due to social distancing norms and trends in place, an increasing number of people are staying at home.

It also means that they have more time to surf various websites and are relying on the internet to shop online, more than ever before. Even people that would typically head to brick and mortar stores are now choosing to shop online, and this trend is not going to change anytime soon.

As a smart marketer, you need to take this opportunity to update your website and bring it up to the mark so that it can meet these latest requirements. If you do not have a website at all, consider investing in one so that you have a presence in the online space where a large number of customers now are.

Keep Your Website Updated
 
If you already have a website, there are various aspects you need to focus on, including:

• Make sure your website has detailed information about all the services or products that you offer.
• Ensure that it is functioning well and that it loads quickly.
• The website needs to be professional, inviting, and easy-to-use.
• Visitors should feel that they can trust you, and it will encourage them to do business with you.
• Make sure your website is secure if you expect customers to trust it with their credit card information.
• A mobile-friendly website is crucial in this day and age, where a large number of people are accessing the internet via mobile devices.
• It is also necessary to have the right on-page SEO.
• Update your business directory information.

For more information about how you can design a website that caters to customers’ needs today, contact Alco Web Design LLC. The number to call is 920 850-4642. You can also fill in this contact us form and we will get back to you promptly.

​During the Corona crisis, many small business owners were forced to improve their remote order taking and delivery capabilities. In time, the market will recover, but the world has changed. More than ever, a strong online presence is the only way to move forward for many small business owners. Is your website up to the challenge?

Below are multiple recommendations small business owners should consider to increase their remote sales now, and when the economy finally recovers. Many of those recommendations are easy and free to implement. If money is tight, start with the low-cost options first.

By Alain Houle, Alco Web Design LLC

Make sure your website content is up to date. The Corona crisis might have forced you to modify the products and services you offer, delivery methods, operating hours, etc. Up to date content will let your visitors know that you are open for business and can be trusted.

• Your PRODUCTS & SERVICES pages should provide detailed information about each product and service you offer, the benefits to your customers, and why potential customers should do business with your company vs your competitors. In addition to inform your visitors, the natural presence of your keywords and search terms on those pages will increase your Google rankings and traffic. These are the most important pages of your website.
• Your ABOUT US page should convince your visitors that you know what you do, are trustworthy, and bring value. Be personal, be human, be humble, but don’t be bashful. Including local references about your company and your customers helps Google understand your area of operation. Include your name, address, picture. Don’t hesitate to talk about the community activities you are involved with, honors you received, your expertise, your company, and what you bring to the table.
• Your HOME page should summarize the products and services you offer, who are your typical customers, and what kind of company you are. Save time by reusing material from your ABOUT US and PRODUCTS & SERVICES pages.
• Your TESTIMONIALS, GUARANTEE, and FAQ pages should support the message of expertise, honesty, and value that will convince visitors to contact you. Take the opportunity to display your expertise and add local content while answering common questions from your potential customers.
• Your CONTACT US page should let your visitors know your operating hours, where your business is located, and how to contact you.
• Your BLOG is an easy way to periodically get in touch with potential customers and convince them to come back to your website. You offer new products or services? You expanded your territory? You have new staff? Let the world know about what is new and exciting about your small business. Search engines love fresh content and blogging is an easy way to remind Google that your small business is alive and kicking.
• Websites with original content rank higher on the Google search results. Do not copy from your competitors and come up with your own text so you do better than they do.
• Coming up with the right text for your web pages is easier said than done. Most small business owners I work with are better at running their business than at writing about it. Record yourself when telling a friend or relative about your business. Work with your spouse, kids, friends, business partners and take advantage of their writing skills.
• Typos and spelling mistakes immediately label you as sloppy and not worthy to do business with. Make sure everything is perfect before going live.

Having a website is pointless if nobody finds it. SEO is the art of bringing your website on top of the Google search results, so it can easily be found by potential customers.

• On-page SEO is the art of optimizing your web pages, so they are easy to understand and categorize by Google. It involves taking advantage of the invisible portions of your web pages with your keywords and search terms. It also involves making sure your keywords and search terms are present in the textual content of your web pages. Here is a little-known secret: Website content is the most critical step of a successful SEO effort.
• Off-page SEO are promotional activities designed to tell the world about an existing website and have little to do with the website itself. Examples of those activities are getting your business listed by internet directories, getting customer reviews, creating YouTube videos, participating in social medias, as well as purchasing online and conventional ads on TV, radio, and newspapers.

Many small businesses are running slow right now. When is the last time you had time to think? Take advantage of this idle time to review your business priorities, your website, and your online marketing strategies so your business is stronger than ever when the market reopens. Alco Web Design specializes in small business website design and SEO. Don’t hesitate to contact us, we are always happy to help.

Things change all the time on the internet. If you don’t update your website regularly and your competitors do, your website will quickly become nowhere to be found. To stay on top of the search engines results, websites need to be periodically touched up by an SEO expert. Let’s take a detailed look at why you should have your website checked and updated periodically:

Website Security Matters
Website security is a big deal, regardless of whether you’re a small business or a larger one. It is common to hear about hackers attacking business website and stealing customer information (this week it was Facebook, again). Those breaches negatively impact your customers, but it is not all. The day your existing and prospective customers lose trust in your ability to protect their personal information, you will lose their business.

Be careful when collecting personal information from your customers and make sure your website is safe and secure. Hackers are creative and discover new vulnerabilities every day. Work with experts and periodically ask your Web Designer to make sure your website security is up-to-date.

Fresh Content Matters
Search engines reward websites with fresh content by increasing their rankings on the search results. This makes them easier to be found by prospective customers. Websites with older content slowly disappear from the top of the search results and eventually do not get found.

Nobody wants to visit a website that has outdated content. In addition to please the search engines, fresh content will let your visitors know that you are serious about your business and that the products and services you offer can be trusted.

Periodic SEO Touch Ups Matters
Make sure to ask your SEO expert to periodically touch up your website at least twice a year. Search engines change their ranking algorithms hundreds of times per year. Periodically reviewing the relevancy of your keywords and how they are being used throughout your website is a good idea. If done frequently, small and inexpensive changes are usually enough to keep your website fresh and crisp.

Updated Design Matters
A visually appealing and easy to use website will convince potential customers about the seriousness of your small business. Make sure things look good, and that everything is fully functional. These days, more and more people use phones or tablets when browsing the web. Think about your mobile visitors and don’t overlook the mobile version of your website that is a must for small businesses.

​As you can see, there are many distinct advantages to updating your site on a regular basis and getting this work done by an SEO expert. At Alco Web Design LLC, we provide customized solutions to our clients and make sure that their website gets the visibility it needs. 

You can always get in touch with us if you want more information or consider touching up or modernizing your small business website. Just give us a call at (920) 850-4642 or fill up the contact us form and we will get back to you promptly. 

​How does Google Mobile-First Indexing affect my small business website?
Google is the king of the search engines and they do not have any intention to lose their leadership position. This means that this transition to Mobile-First Indexing will be progressive and coordinated. Google already announced that the transition will be done by waves with the websites that follow the best mobile practices going first. Website owners will be notified via email when their website gets migrated.

What if I do not have a mobile website?
According to Google, they will continue to have one single index for serving search results. Historically, the desktop version was indexed, but increasingly, the mobile version will be used. If you only have desktop content, your website will continue to be indexed, at least for now…

Are non-mobile compliant websites being penalized?
According to Google, content gathered by Mobile-First Indexing has no ranking advantage over mobile content that’s not yet gathered this way or desktop content, at least for now…

What should I do next?
For some time, Google has been encouraging webmasters to make their content mobile-friendly. The Google Mobile-First Indexing initiative is a strong signal that the future of the web is mobile.

In addition to your mobile visitors that could use a website that displays well and is easy to use on a wide variety of screen sizes, Google is about ready to slap your fingers for not having a mobile compliant website. 

At Alco Web Design, we have the expertise to create or analyze a mobile version of your website. For help or more information, call us at (920) 850-4642 or fill in this contact us form, we would be happy to help. 

BLOG POST CONTENT
​You heard it before, content is king. There is not point to write a blog post that nobody wants to read.

• Keep things simple: Most small business blog posts are 400-500 characters in length. Think SEO and make sure your most important keyword comes at least 3 times throughout the write up.
• Take it easy on the sales pitch: The primary objective of your blog post is to connect with potential customers, not to make a sale. Connect, establish relationship, demonstrate expertise, build trust, open the door. If you do a good job, the sale will come later.
• Use small paragraphs and short sentences: People don’t read on the internet, they skim. Use 5th grade vocabulary and grammar to make sure your visitors can quickly and easily understand your message.
• Work and rework the text of your blog post: Limit the distractions and use your favorite text editor to make sure your write up is perfect before you even think about publishing it.
• Post title: The post title will also be displayed on the Google search results. Use a catchy title that will get the reader’s attention and convince them to go to your post. Make sure your title contains your most important keyword.
• Post Highlights: On top, use bold characters to create a summary that tells your readers what the post is all about and convince them to read more. Include a reference about the author and a link to your website (Google likes incoming links).
• Use of picture(s): Appropriate visual elements will make your blog post look good and help reinforce the concepts you are trying to drive. Don’t copy pictures from the internet. This is illegal and some unscrupulous companies make a business at finding and fining violators. Use your own picture or purchase a stock photo.
• Post wrap up: At the end, summarize your blog post and politely inviting the readers to contact you for more details, information, or help.
• Mobile considerations: Mobile devices can only display a few characters per line. Remove un-necessary spaces after paragraphs and use a single space after sentences to minimize unnecessary line changes in the mobile version of your post.

CREATE WEEBLY BLOG POST
Weebly is the perfect small business website design tool. Here is how to create a blog post with Weebly.
 
Web browser consideration: When working with Weebly, I use Google Chrome because it includes a default “Paste as plain text” option that removes the original formatting when cutting and pasting. This feature eliminates double text formatting errors that are sometimes difficult to detect.
 
Create new post: Go to your blog page and click the “New Post” at the bottom right.
 
Build your post: Enter your post title, text, and picture(s) as described earlier.
 
Google optimize your picture:

• Google likes links so create a link from your picture to a page of your website.
• Reuse some elements of your post title and take advantage of the picture CAPTION and ALT TEXT tools to help Google understand what your post is all about. Make sure the CAPTION and ALT TEXT contain your most important keyword.

 
Google optimize your post:

• At the bottom left, click POST OPTIONS
• Assign one or more category to your post. Use categories that contain your most important keyword.
• Reuse some elements of your post title and create a permalink (URL) that contains your most important keyword. Separate words with a dash (-) character to make the URL easy to read. “Blog-post-cost-effective-small-business-website-promotion-technique” is an example.
• Reuse some elements of your post title and create a SEO post title that contains your most important keyword. (65 characters max)
• Reuse some elements of your post highlights and create a SEO post description that contains your most important keyword. (155 characters max)

 

• Publish your blog post:
• As part of the publishing process, Weebly offers the option to automatically include a note on your Facebook and Twitter accounts so your followers know about your new post are invited to read it. This is an awesome feature, take advantage of it.
• Once published, verify that your blog post looks good on a computer and on a mobile device.
• Make sure there are no errors and that all links are functional.
• Bingo you are done

​Periodically publishing a blog post is an easy and cost-effective way to promote a small business website. Writing for the web is a delicate balance between creating persuasive content that is also easy for Google to categorize. Our experienced blog post writers know how to craft a message that will impress Google and your visitors. For help or more information, call us at (920) 850-4642 or fill in this contact us form, we would be happy to help.​

​Gone are the days where having a website was the only thing small business owners had to do to drive customers to their doorsteps. Every business has a website these days and competition is fierce for the top of the Google search results. Here is what you and your Web Master should focus on:

1 - Google My Business Signals (Proximity, categories, keyword in business title, etc.) 19%
In addition to be the most important search ranking factor, your Google My Business (GMB) listing is an excellent way to connect online with potential customers. Setting up GMB is free and easy. Once your GMB account is setup, take advantage of the GMB posts to advertise for special events and promotions.

2 - Link Signals (Inbound anchor text, linking domain authority, linking domain quantity, etc.) 17%
For Google, links are like votes at a popularity contest. Websites that get many links, especially from important websites, must be good and deserve to rank high on the Google search results. Trade reciprocal links with your supplier, customers, or other noncompetitive businesses. Get links from your local chamber of commerce or local organizations you sponsor or are part of. Participate to blogs or publish newsletter with a link back to your website. Tell the world about your website and get linked!

3 - On-Page Signals (Presence of NAP, keywords in titles, domain authority, etc.) 14%
Writing for the web is a delicate balance between creating persuasive content that is also easy for Google to categorize. Give Google a chance to understand what goods and services you offer, who are your customers, where is your business located and how to contact you. Your webmaster does not know your business. Work and rework the text of your pages, then let your webmaster take care of the technical details.

4 - Citation Signals (IYP/aggregator NAP consistency, citation volume, etc.) 13%
Before the Internet, people used printed directories like the Yellow Pages to find information about a business. Citations are the modern equivalents of the Yellow pages. They are electronic directories that publish your business name, address, phone number, etc. Many citations directories will list your business for free but manual submitting is a tedious and time-consuming process.

5 - Review Signals (Review quantity, review velocity, review diversity, etc.) 13%
Google uses online reviews to determine the reputation of a business. Reputable businesses rank higher on the Google search results. Getting positive reviews from satisfied customers is easier said than done. Convincing an unhappy customer to change a negative review is even harder. Get help from specialized consultants. Focus on the top review sites that are Google My Business, Facebook, Amazon, Yelp, trip Advisor, Yellow Pages, BBB, Manta, Angie’s List, and Foursquare.

6 - Behavioral Signals (Click-through rate, mobile clicks to call, check-ins, etc.) 10%
Google uses statistical info about your visitors to determine how well your website meets their needs. Websites that get attention from visitors rank higher on the Google search results. Make sure your content is interesting and well organized, so your visitors quickly find what they look for and come back to your website. Having fresh content, creating periodic promotions or creating a blog are good ways to convince visitors to come back to your website.

7 - Personalization 10%
Websites with original content rank higher on the Google search results. Do not copy from you’re your competitors. Come up with your own text and do better. Writing for the web is not easy for most small business owners that are business people, not writers. Consider professional writing services.

8 - Social Signals (Google engagement, Facebook engagement, Twitter engagement, etc.) 4%
Interestingly, participation to the social medias ranks last on the top Google ranking factors. This means that, for most small businesses, social medias should be used with moderation and after work on other factors has been completed.

Alco Web Design LLC
Having a website is pointless if nobody finds it. We take SEO seriously and strive to deliver consistent and sustainable traffic to your virtual doorsteps. Let our web designers and SEO experts turn your website into a cost-effective marketing tool. For more information call us at (920) 850-4642 or fill in this contact us from and we will get back to you promptly.

Alco Web Design provides web redesign services to small business owners from different industries. We focus on analyzing your website and recommending the changes that will ensure it does its job of converting traffic into emails, phone calls, or walk-ins.  We have the expertise to look at every aspect of your website to identify what does or doesn’t work.

​User Experience
It is important to ensure your website looks good and is easy to use on various mobile platforms. Our websites are Google friendly, mobile ready, and they look great. 

Engaging and Relevant Content
Writing for the web is a delicate balance between creating persuasive content that is also easy for Google to categorize. Our experienced website content writers know how to craft a message that will impress Google and your visitors.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Having a website is pointless if nobody finds it. SEO is the art of bringing your website on top of the Google search results, so it can be found by potential customers. We take SEO seriously and strive to deliver consistent and sustainable traffic to your virtual doorsteps.

Local Business Listings - Citations Building
Before the Internet, people used printed directories like the Yellow Pages to find information about a business. Citations are electronic directories that include your business name, address, phone number, etc. They are one of the most important ranking factors for local search results.

Website Authority
The authority of your website plays a big part in how high your business ranks in search engine results. We analyze how well you do compared to your competitors and give you tips about increasing your website authority.

Social Reviews and Ratings
These days it is important to 'socialize' your business and get good reviews on the social medias. We examine your use of and popularity across different social medias and recommend changes that will convince Google and your visitors about the seriousness of your business.

We at Alco Web Design LLC can provide excellent web redesign services and turn your website in a cost-effective marketing tool. For more information call us at (920) 850-4642 or fill in this contact us from and we will get back to you promptly.

Regardless of the size of your business and industry you operate in, it is important to have a solid online presence; and one of the most important components of this online presence is your company website.

Contact information should feature on every page
Studies have proved that a large percentage of visitors that look for your website do so to find your address and contact number. This makes it important to include your contact details on every page. Not only will it become easier for visitors to locate this information, but it will improve your local ranking too.

Include geographically-targeted keywords (including geographical info)
If you want to rank higher on the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), you will need to conduct some research on what the targeted local keywords are. These long-tailed keywords should be included in all your on-page content, blog content as well as service descriptions. 

Ensure your site has customer testimonials and that there are online reviews
Almost 80% of customers read online reviews before they purchase a product or service. This makes it important for you to have plenty of online reviews and testimonials. While you can’t compel customers to write these, you can always encourage them and request them to write a review if they are happy with your services. This gives prospective customers the assurance that they are dealing with a credible company and they will be keener to do business with you.

Keep your blog updated
Just as it is important to have a blog on your website, it is crucial that you keep the content fresh and updated. When you post relevant and engaging content online, it tells customers they are dealing with a knowledgeable company that is serious about its business and that helps increase sales. Aside from this, blogging also helps boost your ranking on the SERPs. All your blogs are pages that will be indexed by Google; over a period of time this becomes a large amount of content on your website and is something Google takes into consideration.

Include images and other visuals
Make sure that you mix the content on your website with good quality, relevant and interesting visuals. These could be in the form of images, videos, and infographics etc. Not only does this break the monotony of reading text, but improves the appearance of your website as well. 

You need a knowledgeable and experienced web designing company to handle small business website design. We at Alco Web Design LLC can provide custom Local SEO solutions for your small business; please call us on 920 8504642 or fill in this contact us from and we will get back to you promptly.

Successful websites also need very good web content to support them.  Once you have an effective SEO strategy in place that brings traffic to your site, you also need to have the right kind of content to hold the attention of your visitors. If they don’t find the information to be relevant or of value to them, they will simply move onto competitor sites; which means you end up losing business. 

If you want to increase sales you also need to focus on ensuring that all the content on your website, the articles and blogs that you post (off site as well) are engaging, interesting and relevant to the services or products you offer. The one way to get this right is to hire professional content writer for the job. 

Aspects to consider
There are a number of ways in which a skilled and experienced content writer can help you attract customers and increase sales:

• They would be able to provide all-round services such as - well-written web copy, effective SEO pages, articles, blog posts as well as other digital content. If you want your site to stay at the top of the SERPs, you need to ensure that all this content is updated regularly; and a good content writer would be able to handle this aspect of your online presence expertly.
• The fact is that online users have a very short attention span and you have only three second to make an impact; this means you need to have a very effective headline. A great content writer will ensure the content has head-turning headlines and sub-headings that grab the attention of the reader.
• The content will be formatted well and will have good fonts etc. which improves the readability factor.
• They will ensure that all your business-related keywords are woven expertly into the text, which improves your visibility. 
• They will use bullet points where necessary - this improves the content structure and helps highlight the important points on the page.
• They will conduct research on your industry, and the products and services you deal in and ensure the content is relevant to those.
• A professional content writer will write in a unique and engaging tone which appeals to your target audience. 

Effective content writing is crucial in turning your website visitors into customers. Search engines crawl site content and also reward ones that have well-written articles as they rank them higher in the search results. For content that helps in conversions and increasing sales, call Alco Web Design LLC on 920 8504642. You can also fill in this contact us form and we will get back to you promptly. 

Website Footer
Your business name, address, and phone number should appear on the footer of each of your pages. In addition to tell Google about your physical location, it makes it easy for potential customers to contact you. If you serve multiple cities, you could identify the top 3-4 cities in a statement like “Proudly serving the Green Bay, Oshkosh, Appleton, and surrounding communities”.

About Us Page
The main purpose of the About Us page is to tell your visitors about yourself and your business. It is also a great place to add physical locations you’re trying to rank for. For instance, “I create websites for small-business owners in the Appleton Fox Valley”.

Testimonials Page
The main purpose of the Testimonials page is to help build trust with potential customers. But including the customer’s physical location also tells Google about your operating area. Use the same concept for your Facebook, Yelp, and Google My Business pages.

Multiple Location Pages
If your business operates from multiple locations, create separate pages for each location and include localized content on those pages such as address, phone numbers, hours of operation, etc.. But also take the time to include references to community involvement activities, support for local non-profit organization, local events or partnerships you might be part of.

FAQ Page
Creating FAQ pages on your site is also a great opportunity to add local content and references while answering questions from your potential customers. Where are you located, who are your customers, etc.

Contact Us Page
Having a Google Map on your contact us page makes it easy for Google to verify your physical location.
 
Summary
If you expect your website to be found by local customers, it must include pointers about your physical location and the area you operate in. Don’t overdo it but sprinkle geographical pointers throughout your website wherever it makes sense for your visitors.

You got a website that brings little or no business? Alco Web Design specializes in SEO services for small business owners of the Appleton Fox Valley area. We are there to help, contact us or call us at (920) 850-4642. We will get back to you promptly.

DO THE HARD WORK FIRST

• Identify the potential Google search terms for your business. Don’t think only about the goods and services you are offering but also about your customer’s needs. If you are chiropractor, sport injuries might be a good search term. There are free keywords generator tools on the internet, use them.
• Rank the potential search terms based on the relevancy to your business, how often they are used on Google, and how many websites you compete against. There are free keywords ranking tools on the internet, use them.
• Group your best potential search terms by themes and come up with the 2-4 top themes you want to target with your website. Your website will have one GOODS & SERVICES page for each of those themes.

TEXT FOR THE IMPORTANT PAGES

• Websites don’t get Google’s attention, web pages do. You heard it before, content is king and Google looks for pages with original, meaningful, and well organized content. This content is usually found in the GOODS & SERVICES pages of your website.
• Write the textual content for each GOODS & SERVICES page, one page for each theme. The purpose of these pages is to describe the goods and service you offer and to convince the readers that you offer the best value proposal.
• Take it easy on the text, you are not writing a book. Use simple words, short sentences, and short paragraphs. 5th grade English will do the trick.
• The text of your GOODS & SERVICES pages will make or break the success of your website. The text should be user friendly, interesting, and inviting.
• Make sure the top search terms for each theme come naturally throughout the text. If paragraphs don’t contain your top search terms they probably don’t belong to that page. 
• Coming up with the right text for your GOODS & SERVICES pages is easier said than done. Work and rework the text of those pages. Getting help from a professional writer might be a smart investment.
• No matter how good they are, your webmaster or website writer knows very little about your business. Get involved with this critical step of the process.

TEXT FOR THE OTHER PAGES

• Your ABOUT US page should convince your visitors that you know what you do, are trustworthy, and bring value. Be personal, be human, be humble, but don’t be bashful. Include your name, address, picture. Talk about the community activities you are involved with, honors you received, your expertise, your company, and what you bring to the table.
• Your HOME page should summarize the goods and services you offer, who are your typical customers, and what kind of company you are. Save some time by reusing some of the text on the ABOUT US and GOODS & SERVICES pages.
• Your CONTACT US page should let your visitors know your operating hours, where is your business, and how to contact you.
• Your TESTIMONIALS, GUARANTEE and other pages should support the message of expertise, honesty, and value that will convince your visitors to contact you.

CREATE YOUR WEBPAGES

• Create your web pages. Use a modern Google friendly and mobile compliant programming tool. I strongly recommend Weebly that is very easy to use and powerful enough to meet the needs of most small business owners. Keep things simple but be creative. Use images and logos to stand out but be careful not take your visitors away from your content.
• Create the sitemap, install the Google Analytics tracking code and setup the Google WebMaster tools. Publish your website and submit it to the major search engines. This is specialized work, seek professional web design help as needed.

OPTIMIZE EACH OF YOUR WEB PAGES (ON-PAGE SEO)

• Google will look for the presence of your keywords in specific visible and invisible areas of your web pages that have to be individually optimized. Optimize each page individually. Textual content and layout changes are to be expected during this step. There are lots of things to look at and specialized tools to facilitate this process. Seek professional on-page SEO help as needed.

MARKET YOUR WEBSITE (OFF-PAGE SEO)

• Internet marketing are promotional activities designed to convince the search engines about the seriousness of an existing website. Since it does not involve modifying your website, internet marketing is often called off-page SEO. There are lots of things to look at and specialized tools to facilitate this process. Seek professional off-page SEO help as needed.
• Setup a Google Local and Bing local account for your business and get reviews from your satisfied customers.
• Exchange links with complementary non-competitive businesses.
• Get listed in key local directories such as yellow pages, Yelp, and others. There are hundreds of them and some of them are specialized by sector (dentists is an example).
• Create Facebook and Twitter accounts and be active in the social medias community, especially if your customers are social media addicted.
• Invest on pay-per-click ad campaigns such as Google AdWords and Facebook.
• Create and post YouTube videos.

WORK AND RE-WORK YOUR WEBSITE

• Your competitors always tweak their websites, especially if they see your website on top of theirs on the google search results. If you don’t get ahead of them you will get behind. Don’t think you will ever be done working and re-working yours.

WALK TO THE BANK WITH A SMILE

• There is no magic trick, it is all about knowledge, dedication, and hard work.
• There is no doubt in my mind that if you follow these steps seriously your website will bring customers and will become a cost-effective marketing tool for your business.

We are there to help, contact us or call us at (920) 850-4642. We will get back to you promptly. 

At Alco Web Design LLC, our designers believe there are some steps you can take before the redesign process that would minimize the risks and they’re listed below.

Understand What Works
Have you ever heard the phrase ‘why fix if it ain’t broke?’. It applies perfectly to website redesign. While a regular update is necessary to keep the website looking fresh and current, you don’t need to sacrifice familiarity to achieve that result. One of the best examples of this is the Amazon.com website. 

The design concept and colors have changed very little over time, but the company regularly upgrades the look and polish of the platform. It’s important to study your existing website keenly and understand what works in this. 

For example, if the color scheme appeals to your audience, don’t change it. If you understand the best aspects of your website, you can come up with a solid plan to redesign your website around them. 

Always Focus on The User
Everyone has different preferences and sometimes they can clash. At times business owners have their own design preferences that their target audiences might not appreciate. In such cases, you need to find a middle ground where your design aesthetic meets the demands of your target audience. You need to keep in mind that the customer always wins. You need to create something that’s user-centric and would provide them with the best experience with your company. 

Evolution Instead of Revolution
It might be more convenient to overhaul the entire website at one stretch rather than add improvements and updates regularly, but the results are usually very disturbing to website users and customers. Sudden and drastic design overhauls almost always lead to disaster. 

It’s a better idea to study the website carefully, monitor visitor behavior, and create a redesign plan based on that information. You can make small updates to your website regularly and make sure the change us steady and gradual. 

You can always get in touch with us if you want more information on website redesign or our services here at Alco Web Design LLC. Just give us a call on 920 8504642. You can also fill in this contact us from and we will get back to you promptly. 

If you deeply modify your website all the time, you might ruin your brand presence and see a drop in conversions rates. Website redesign is always a step you should take carefully and this information might help you make that decision. 

Why Optimize?
Sometimes all you need to do is change small aspects of your website to see a great improvement in conversion rates. At Alco Web Design LLC, we’ve seen minor changes in layout, color, headline, and even background images lead to an increase in conversion rates. Experts believe that companies should change and update their website every 4 to 5 years. 

Now, this doesn’t have to be a big redesign because subtle changes and small accents can do wonders. This is often called evolutionary design where the looks of the website grows with the time and market. A good example of this would be the Amazon website. The company website’s overall look and feel hasn’t changed much but subtle alterations make it look current, modern, and interesting. 

That website has never needed a major design overhaul and if they attempt to do it, they might lose considerable amount of customers. It’s important to recognize that people prefer familiarity and comfort when it comes to user experience and design. 

Why Redesign?
Optimization and evolutionary design might be a safe step to take, but sometimes you need a redesign. You should approach an experienced designer when:

• Your company direction changes and you have new products and services that won’t be benefited by the previous design.
• Your website looks old, clumsy, and completely outdated. That would chase your prospects away and reduce your conversion rates.
• You’ve done hundreds of optimizations with A/B testing and still haven’t seen any positive results in conversion rates and sale.
• There are too many problems and very little traffic. In such cases, it would take ages to test and iron out the design flaws so a complete redesign is a wiser, more affordable option.
• Your website uses old technology that doesn’t perform well with modern devices and browsers. 

If you want more information on optimization, redesign, and our services; don’t hesitate to contact us at Alco Web Design LLC. Just give us a call on 920 850-4642. You can also fill in this contact us from and we will get back to you promptly. 

The redesign will have to be planned well if you want it to be effective. At Alco Web Design, LLC, we suggest you consider the points listed below. 

Mobile Compatibility -That’s the first thing you need to focus on. If your website is very old, it might not load easily or well on mobile devices. There are many online tools that allow you to check your website’s mobile compatibility. You should look at the results of the analysis carefully and take note of the problems. Modern websites need to be responsive. These websites can scale easy to any screen size and won’t compromise the design or content. 

User Experience-User experience is one of the most important factors in website design. After all, if your visitors have a bad experience on your website, they won’t return. They might even leave behind a review with details about their bad experience, which will discourage other prospects. Your website should be easy to navigate, well-structured, and informative. You need to make user experience your goal during the redesign process and ask your designer to create a streamlined portal for your business. 

Design -Looks matter in website design. Outdated designs often lead to high bounce rates and low conversions. If your website looks like it belongs on a Windows 98 OS browser, you need to immediately get it redesigned. Here are a few things you should keep in mind:

• The design should be current and fresh
• It should represent your brand and company message well
• The site should appeal to your target audience and visitors
• The screen shouldn’t be too crowded with content or clickable links. Clickable elements on the page should have enough white space to accommodate touch screens 

During the redesign process, you should make sure your website lives up to modern design standards. You should also make sure that your website is search engine friendly and quick to load on all kinds of platforms. 

You can always get in touch with us if you want more information on website redesign or our here at Alco Web Design LLC. Just contact us and we will get back to you promptly.

A few years ago, the process of creating a website was harrowing, expensive, and cumbersome. Most people were relieved when it was created and assumed that they wouldn’t need an update for several years to come. Unfortunately, technology evolves at a rapid rate and websites need to keep up with the times. But, when is the right time? Does your site really need a redesign? At Alco Web Design LLC, we’ve put together a list of signs that would clearly tell you whether your website needs an update. 

• Slow to Load - Did you know that about 50% of Interest users want websites to load in 2 seconds? And they would completely abandon the website and never return to it if it doesn’t load in 3 seconds? That’s how important speed is in the grand scheme of things. If your website takes ages to load, you need to rectify the problem immediately. That requires a website redesign. 
• High Bounce Rates - When people click on your link, glance at your website, and immediately leave, it is called bounce. Every website, no matter how well-designed, will see some bounce rate and that’s normal. Some visitors accidentally click on links, or are distracted by something else. However, high bounce rates are an indication of a problem in your website content or design. If a large number of your clicks leave your website almost immediately, you need to take a serious look at the design, and consider an upgrade. 
• Low Conversions - Your website must convince people to buy your products or hire your services. The website replaces an actual store or office while the content replaces a sales person. If these two aspects aren’t compelling and impressive, people will not purchase your products. That leads to low conversions and diminished revenue. If you have this problem, your website doesn’t serve a purpose. After all, it exists because you want to increase your reach and revenue. If it doesn’t help you achieve those goals, it’s of no use.

You need to upgrade/redesign your website when you see these signs. You can always get in touch with us if you want more information on website upgrade or our services here at Alco Web Design LLC. Just contact us and we will get back to you promptly. 

​Regardless of the industry you operate in, competition is on the rise. More than likely there are a large number of businesses online that provide products and services that are similar to yours. What many business owners fail to realize is that internet shoppers are very interested to know who they do business with.

By Alain Houle, Alco Web Design LLC

That’s exactly why they check the “About Us” page on your website. If you have just a smattering on information there and haven’t really cared to write anything substantial about your background etc, they may be more inclined to leave the website and take their business somewhere else.

Here are some pointers about what you can add to the “About Us” page:

• Don’t be afraid to speak about your background. If you started off small, mention it; this approach will help you focus on giving a human face to your business. The one way to set your business apart from the competition is to give it a personal touch and that is exactly what the “About Us” page does. 
• Don’t ramble. Speak with clarity and mention everything in brief and stay away from mentioning trivial things. It’s important to be truthful and maintain brevity.
• Strike the right balance between promoting yourself and just giving customers a peek into what your company is all about.
• Consider the use of photos, videos and relevant infographics. But don’t use it to such an extent that it takes away from the content on the page.
• Make mention of your company’s vision, mission statement and values. Again, it’s important not to make it too flowery or too lofty. 
• Include a Call To Action at the end. Here too, it’s important not to get too aggressive as that can sometimes be a put off. In addition to your contact details, add a subtle line that encourages readers to delve deeper into your website or contact you via the number or email listed there. A successful marketing strategy at this point would be to offer a sign-up discount or some other offer. 

As you can see, the “About Us” page on your website isn’t as inconsequential as it may look like. It’s a great way to connect with readers, tell them more about your company and encourage them to stay on your site. For more online marketing tips and for comprehensive web design solutions, spend some time on this blog or contact us, we will respond promptly.

Writing is writing isn’t it? So why making such a fuss about writing for the web? Simple: On the web people do not really read, they skim through. This makes a world of difference! 

​By Alain Houle, Alco Web Design LLC

On the web people scan through a lot of content within a short period of time simply because they have so much information easily available at their fingertips. If they are unable to find what they are looking for at a glance, they will simply move to another site. Unless they are interested, market research has shown that on an average, a viewer will stay on a site only for 5-20 seconds before they leave.​

Tips to create the best Web content
Knowing that you have just a few seconds to make an impact and hold the attention of a visitor, here are a few tips to create engaging Web content:

• Ensure that the content you post is relevant. The information that is displayed on your site has to be updated and relevant to the service or product you are offering.
• The information should be precise and to the point. Keep in mind that visitors to your website are skimmers and they want to be able to judge at a glance whether your site has what they need. 
• Be topic specific with what you are posting. Break down the content and have dedicated sections or pages for specific topics. Don’t confuse your visitors with too much content- that will only send them away. If you feel that you want to add some more relevant information to a particular page, you can insert hyperlinks in the text.
• Proofread your text and ensure there are no spelling or grammar errors. If your content has too many errors, visitors will only perceive that you are unprofessional and that you run your business in the same manner.
• Most Web content professionals use the Inverted Pyramid Method to create content. It means you should place your conclusions at the start of the page and then work your way down from there. 
• Write assertively and for your audience, not just for SEO and Google. Use short sentences and intersperse the content with relevant images and videos.

For any question or for some help with writing content for your website, visit our website or simply contact us, we can help!

We all know how the appearance of a site is important to grab the attention of visitors. However, after the first impression, it’s the Web content that keeps your visitors browsing your web pages. The longer visitors stay on your site, the greater the chances are that you will get a sale or an inquiry.

Aspects to Focus On 
Therefore, it makes a lot of business sense to have relevant, credibly written and compelling content on your business website. Here are some aspects to keep in mind: 

• Visitors to your site will want to know 2 simple things. Do you have the products/services they are looking for and what it is exactly? Keep your website simple, clear, and easy to navigate
• Keep the content on your site effective yet simple. If there is too much jargon or the writing is too complex, you will just be driving your visitors away 
• Position the content right; the most important information should be placed first. Categorize the products and services you offer so they are easy to find.
• Give clear and precise information about what you offer. Once visitors have understood what you offer, ensure they also have all the other relevant information required to make a well-informed buying decision 
• Use catchy headlines but don’t use too much sales talk while writing Web content
• Add relevant and interesting images and graphics. Hire a graphic artist if you have to, make every page nice and professional looking
• Use bullet points where applicable- you will find that a lot of visitors are “scanners”. They go to a website and just scan the content. If  you have bullet points at the right places, providing the right information, it will help them decide whether they want to delve deeper into your Web pages 

Keep in mind that Web design and Web content have to work together to create an outstanding impact on the visitor. This also makes it important for you to hire the services of a company like Alco Web Design that can handle both - Design and Content - in an expert manner. For more details, contact us or visit our website at www.alcowebdesign.com.

Aspects to Focus On
Creating a new small business website can be complex and seem a little intimidating at times, but proper planning and a methodical approach will help you launch your business website with the least amount of hassle. 

• The Objective - Even before you get into the details, you will have to lay down a strong foundation. Understand what you want to achieve from your site.  Are you selling any products or services or are you just trying to attract people to your offline business? Once you have this before you, it becomes the central theme of the entire project.
• Clear Picture - Sit down and visualize how you would like your website to look. Check online and look at some other sites, try to see how they work and identify which sections, tabs and pages your site will have. Though the Web designer will be handling the actual designing, you can always give your inputs and have them work on that concept. Don't copy others, do better!
• The Content - Even as the website is getting designed, start working on the content early. Make extra effort to see that you have credible and relevant content that has no grammatical errors or typos. This will help attract and hold the attention of your visitors. Regardless of how great a website you have, if the content isn’t engaging, you will eventually lose business.
• Click To Action - Customers look for convenience and when they are reading a particular page, they just may not want to go hunting for your contact information all around your site. Give them the shortcut they need to go where you want them to be. 
• Blog - This is an important part of your website. Publish interesting and useful blog posts. This will help create a following and will encourage any potential customers to contact you or even sign up for your newsletter. Add fresh content to it regularly, this will help attract traffic.

Focus on creating a user-friendly & seamless website experience for your visitors; keep the content updated and you will find that steadily there is an increase in the amount of traffic that reaches your site. For more information, you can contact us or visit our website at www.alcowebdesign.com.

Topping Search Engine Results
Another important fact about website content is that it should be updated on a regular basis- that is the only way your site will be able to hold the interest of repeat visitors; it will help increase conversion rates and ROI. When you have a business website, you want to be sure that it stays at the top of web searches and having the right content helps in that. There are a few important things related to web content: 

• The content  should  be sales oriented but care has to be taken to ensure that this aspect is not overdone
• The information should be relevant to the service or product you are selling
• Avoid using jargon as visitors will simply move away from your website
• The content should have “share” buttons to your social media pages. This helps in SEO and in reaching a larger audience
• It should have appropriate calls-to-action (buy this, call us, learn more, etc.) which helps  in increasing sales
• All the pages should be updated on a regular basis- it helps in Search Engine Optimization and  holds the interest of repeat visitors

The Interest Factor
Another important fact to consider is that even if web content is largely text, it should be made interesting with the addition of videos, info-graphics, etc. This holds the attention of the reader. If you are a small business owner, it is crucial that you focus on having outstanding content on your site. An easy way to have up to date content is to periodically write informative blogs and articles related to the product and services you are selling.

Content marketing is a very effective online marketing strategy. Not everybody is a prolific writer and Alco Web Design can help you with the content of your web pages. We have access to professional content writers who are able to write your blog posts and even your web pages in a format that will interest your visitors and the search engines. For more details contact us or visit our website, www.alcowebdesign.com.

​So your website has been designed and launched and you breathe a sigh of relief and think you can just wait for business to start flowing in and profitability to increase. But the truth is that launching a website is only the start. In order for it to keep attracting traffic, you will have to ensure that is properly maintained. 

Website Maintenance Tips 
Your website it is a reflection of the condition of your company and everything has to be crisp and fresh. Keeping your site updated is about ensuring that the content is current as well as the graphics, videos, and everything else too. Things change quickly with computers and your SEO strategy will also have to be periodically tweaked. The different things that you have to do watch for are: 

• The pages should have fresh content 
• Ensure that the contact information is updated
• Make sure that all the press release and news items are current 
• The text  should be completely  reviewed  for editing 
• Price of products in the shopping cart should be  reviewed and updated
• Remove  the old products from the shopping cart & add specials
• The images  should be tagged  properly and should be relevant 
• All business information and changes to staffing etc should be updated  

An Extensive List 
As you can see, this is quite an extensive list, but having a site with old and irrelevant information hurts more than it helps. As a business owner, you may not have the time or the knowledge to deal with those updates.This is exactly why you should have your Web design company handle your updates.  

Cost-Effective Solutions 
Most Web Design and Development companies offer periodic maintenance options to ensure that your site stays crisp and fresh and that it continues attracting traffic. For more information about maintenance options for your website, contact us or visit our website at www.alcowebdesign.com.  We will provide you with very cost-effective solutions that will ensure your website continues to generate business year after year.

​There are a number of things that business owners can do on a regular basis to get better results from their websites. Here is our guide that will give you an idea about the things you can do

By Alain Houle, Alco Web Design LLC

Relevant Content- Google keeps updating its algorithms on a regular basis and the focus now is on having quality content on your website. What’s important is that the content that is on your site has to be updated, changed and added to, with regularity and at frequent intervals.  Fresh content keeps your site at the top of search results, keeps visitors engaged and interested and ensures that repeat visitors have something new to look at when they visit your website

Customer Feedback- It’s important to get some objective feedback about your website design and its contents. Connect with customers and ask them questions such as:

• Could you find our contact details easily?
• Do you like the look and layout of our website?
• Could you subscribe easily to our newsletter?

These are the kind of questions that reflect all the goals of your business website.  For instance, if you want people to subscribe to your newsletter, the subscription process should be easy and have as few clicks as possible.

Blog- When you update your blog on a regular basis and keep adding relevant   content to your site, visitors are encouraged to add comments and feedback. This helps you improve the way your site is structured and creates a positive impact.

Sourcing Appropriate Images- It’s best that you use your own images- it’s not really nice to see the same image that you have on your site on a competitor’s site. There is also the question of copyright issues and when you have your own images, it solves both these problems.

Navigation- Once your site is up and running, make it a point to analyze the hits. You are also able to see the duration for which a particular customer was on your site and the links they clicked on.  The key pages must be placed strategically & your contact form should not be more than just a couple of clicks away.

There are a number of other aspects that have to be looked into while designing and developing a business website. The one way to get it right is to hire the services of a competent Web Developer. You can contact Alco Web Design or visit our website, www.alcowebdesign.com.

If you want the search engines to continue acknowledging your presence and want to be sure that customers will keep finding something interesting on it every time they visit, you will have to evaluate and update your website on a regular basis. 

The Latest Technology
There is a constant influx of new technologies and when you hire the services of a competent Web Design & Development company, you are assured that your website will get the change it needs. Web development professionals are always up-to-date with the latest technology launches in the field and these can be incorporated into your website to ensure that you are getting the traffic you should. 

Mobile Compatible Sites
If your business site is 3/more years old there is also a possibility that it is not mobile compatible. Today many people prefer to view sites via mobile devices and if your site does not show up in an optimal manner on these devices, you are losing out on business and your profitability will be affected.  Apart from this, there is a lot of new functionality that can be incorporated, such as RSS, social media integration, blogging,. video presentations, games, and others.

Regular Review 
All of these go a long way in allowing you to connect with your customer base and help in driving traffic to your site. The objective is to drive sales as this is the main reason for having site in the first place. It helps in improving your online visibility and in building a strong online community and reinforcing your branding. 

Web professionals can ensure that all your contact information is up to date and that customers have no trouble in connecting with you.  The internet is on round the clock; this also means prospective customers may look at your site at any point of time for the information they need. It makes good business sense to have a site that is updated and spruced-up. That is what maintaining a fresh look is all about. You can contact us or visit our website, www.alcowebdesign.com.