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Our President, John Enright, shared on Entreprenuer.com last month why he thinks the changing tides of the online landscape present a perfect opportunity to start a new business.

To read the full piece on Entreprenuer.com, click here.

Here’s a few highlights from the piece!

Regarding the impact of today’s online tools:

Today’s entrepreneur has access to a wider variety of tools and technologies than ever before —typically more cost effective and easier to use than they’ve ever been. Previously, people with a marketable idea often faced a lockout based on a lack of access to technological knowledge. Because, of course, getting a business rolling often requires basic programming knowledge, setting up a website, an email system, a mailing list, sales integration software and more. If you did not have that know-how, you had to invest in hired services, which is a significant investment. 

Today, the tables have turned. Mobile web, social media, instant ecommerce solutions and automation technology have emerged in ways that put previously unheard-of power in the hands of a single individual or small group. Now, you can launch a basic site in an afternoon, and have the broad strokes of ecommerce and shipping logistics figured out in a day. You can launch a page on Facebook and begin running ads to bring in customers in under an hour, and go to Google to get a simple ad campaign going in the same amount of time. You can even farm out logo design, hire an app builder, order business cards, set up virtual phone systems and enlist workers from the comfort of a living room couch, at a price that was impossible just five years ago. It’s an environment in which dreamers can create rapid, cycled experiments, and to try, fix, and iterate elements like price, message, model, feature, etc… developing solutions and adaptations faster than ever.

Questions to ask yourself if you’re not sure if the time is right to start a new business:

When epochal changes crash over markets and societies, such as the Covid pandemic, it’s vital to recognize that you can be in a unique position to provide new-company solutions, keeping in mind the following questions:

-Is there a value that needs repairing?
-Can we do this cheaper, easier or faster?
-Are there customers that are not getting the message?
-Is there a solution to a problem that has not really found its way out there? 

If you have affirmative answers to any of those, you are on the right track.

To read the rest of the piece on Entreprenuer.com, click here.

Have a new business idea and need a website?

We now offer Website Design Services. With this service, you can now get a professional, modern, and elegant website for your business – all created for you.

There are many reasons why a potential customer won’t convert. You could be missing out on countless conversions due to seemingly insignificant oversights on your website. 

Little hiccups on your website can add up to big untapped revenue for your business. A few fixes can improve your bounce rates (the rate at which users leave your website) and facilitate more conversions. Read on to find out about our top 7 tips to easily generate more leads and grow your business by optimizing your website. 

1. Make it easy to contact you

Think about how your customer can reach you. Making your phone number visible worked for print ads in the past, but now not so much. A customer browsing your website from their computer will have to go to another device, their phone, to call you.

If they are browsing from their phone, is your phone number clickable to dial on your website? Do they have to copy and paste your phone number to call you? Are you always available to answer their call? Adding a simple contact form to your website lets customers reach you outside of business hours from any device, and lets you spend less time on unnecessary phone calls. 

2. Make it appealing and modern

Is your website eye-catching? Is content visible against your brand colors? Is it easy to navigate through your website? If your website isn’t easy to use and appealing to the eye, it can deter around 38% of your visitors. That’s 38% of your customer base lost to your competitors with more modern websites. Make sure the graphics and visuals on your website are accessible and attractive so you can capture the attention of users within seconds.

3. Make it faster

1 in 4 visitors will abandon your website if it takes longer than four seconds to load. If it takes more than 10 seconds, visitors are unlikely to return to the webpage again. The ideal pace at which your website should load is within two to three seconds. A fast-loading website builds customer trust and increases the likelihood of repeat customers. Optimize your website content and file sizes so that they can load quickly and open the door to more conversions. 

4. Make it mobile-friendly

62% of visitors are less likely to purchase from a website in the future after an unpleasant mobile experience. The internet is no longer confined to the desktop PC. Now we can access a whole host of services and information from the palm of our hands, which is why ensuring your website is mobile-friendly will boost your sales and customer loyalty. A mobile-friendly website allows users to seamlessly visit your website, browse your products and services, and convert in a cinch. 

5. Make it actionable

Visitors need a nudge here and there to inspire action. There’s a fine balance between too few and too many calls-to-action on a page. Too few and customers won’t know how, when, or where to convert. Too many and you risk irritating your customers. Make sure the buttons on your website are clearly visible and point to the correct page where visitors can take the next course of action in the conversion funnel.

A website without conversion rate optimization is like a car with no wheels — it will take you nowhere.

– Jeremy Abel

6. Make your content relevant

When was the last time you wrote a blog article? Are all the pages on your website relevant? Can customers easily glean why they should purchase from you over your competitors? Optimizing the content on your pages can improve your overall SEO, making your website easier to find on search engines, and ultimately bringing in more leads. Establishing what sets your products and services apart on your website will further encourage users to convert. Industry-relevant website content adds another layer of trust that will have customers coming back for more.

7. Make opportunities for microconversions

You don’t have to be restricted to the Contact Us page to capture leads. If you’re offering visitors downloadable content such as whitepapers, video content, or instruction sheets, you can sprinkle smaller forms on other pages across your website to gather leads. Sometimes all you’ll need from these forms are a name and email address to be able to slot these leads into your marketing and sales flows.

These extra content-driven forms are microconversions, or opportunities to gather leads outside of the main Contact Us form. Requests for contact information in exchange for valuable content present more beneficial website experiences for visitors.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is your website needs to be in tip-top shape to stay competitive and to guide users through the sales funnel with as little friction as possible. These adjustments are make-or-break for businesses looking to stay ahead of the curve. 

If you’re looking to streamline your website upgrades and transform your website into a lead-generating hub for your business without any of the fuss of building it yourself, explore our custom Website Design Services. A dedicated Account Manager and Web Designer will help you take your website to the next level so you can reap the rewards of more leads and conversions for your business.

There are many reasons why a potential customer won’t convert. You could be missing out on countless conversions due to seemingly insignificant oversights on your website. 

Little hiccups on your website can add up to big untapped revenue for your business. A few fixes can improve your bounce rates (the rate at which users leave your website) and facilitate more conversions. Read on to find out about our top 7 tips to easily generate more leads and grow your business by optimizing your website. 

1. Make it easy to contact you

Think about how your customer can reach you. Making your phone number visible worked for print ads in the past, but now not so much. A customer browsing your website from their computer will have to go to another device, their phone, to call you.

If they are browsing from their phone, is your phone number clickable to dial on your website? Do they have to copy and paste your phone number to call you? Are you always available to answer their call? Adding a simple contact form to your website lets customers reach you outside of business hours from any device, and lets you spend less time on unnecessary phone calls. 

2. Make it appealing and modern

Is your website eye-catching? Is content visible against your brand colors? Is it easy to navigate through your website? If your website isn’t easy to use and appealing to the eye, it can deter around 38% of your visitors. That’s 38% of your customer base lost to your competitors with more modern websites. Make sure the graphics and visuals on your website are accessible and attractive so you can capture the attention of users within seconds.

3. Make it faster

1 in 4 visitors will abandon your website if it takes longer than four seconds to load. If it takes more than 10 seconds, visitors are unlikely to return to the webpage again. The ideal pace at which your website should load is within two to three seconds. A fast-loading website builds customer trust and increases the likelihood of repeat customers. Optimize your website content and file sizes so that they can load quickly and open the door to more conversions. 

4. Make it mobile-friendly

62% of visitors are less likely to purchase from a website in the future after an unpleasant mobile experience. The internet is no longer confined to the desktop PC. Now we can access a whole host of services and information from the palm of our hands, which is why ensuring your website is mobile-friendly will boost your sales and customer loyalty. A mobile-friendly website allows users to seamlessly visit your website, browse your products and services, and convert in a cinch. 

5. Make it actionable

Visitors need a nudge here and there to inspire action. There’s a fine balance between too few and too many calls-to-action on a page. Too few and customers won’t know how, when, or where to convert. Too many and you risk irritating your customers. Make sure the buttons on your website are clearly visible and point to the correct page where visitors can take the next course of action in the conversion funnel.

A website without conversion rate optimization is like a car with no wheels — it will take you nowhere.

– Jeremy Abel

6. Make your content relevant

When was the last time you wrote a blog article? Are all the pages on your website relevant? Can customers easily glean why they should purchase from you over your competitors? Optimizing the content on your pages can improve your overall SEO, making your website easier to find on search engines, and ultimately bringing in more leads. Establishing what sets your products and services apart on your website will further encourage users to convert. Industry-relevant website content adds another layer of trust that will have customers coming back for more.

7. Make opportunities for microconversions

You don’t have to be restricted to the Contact Us page to capture leads. If you’re offering visitors downloadable content such as whitepapers, video content, or instruction sheets, you can sprinkle smaller forms on other pages across your website to gather leads. Sometimes all you’ll need from these forms are a name and email address to be able to slot these leads into your marketing and sales flows.

These extra content-driven forms are microconversions, or opportunities to gather leads outside of the main Contact Us form. Requests for contact information in exchange for valuable content present more beneficial website experiences for visitors.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is your website needs to be in tip-top shape to stay competitive and to guide users through the sales funnel with as little friction as possible. These adjustments are make-or-break for businesses looking to stay ahead of the curve. 

If you’re looking to streamline your website upgrades and transform your website into a lead-generating hub for your business without any of the fuss of building it yourself, explore our custom Website Design Services. A dedicated Account Manager and Web Designer will help you take your website to the next level so you can reap the rewards of more leads and conversions for your business.

Discover the freedom of Website Design Services here or schedule a Website Redesign Consultation below:

Schedule Website Redesign Consultation

The basics never grow old. Things like Levi’s Jeans, a classic watch, or a leather jacket – you can always count on them to fit right into the times.

The same can’t be said for website design. When it comes to online, new tools, technologies, and customer expectations are constantly transforming what constitutes “good design.”

As we look forward to the rest of 2021, we fully expect this definition to evolve as new technologies and best practices emerge.

An Immersive Web 

First, let’s talk about web users. We’re at a moment in time where the user experience is defined by an amazing set of circumstances.

• A Remote Workforce – Due to the COVID pandemic, most of the U.S. white collar workforce is now working from home.
• Mobile More Than Ever Before – According to consumer research center Statista, total global smartphone users will be at 3.8 billion users by the end of 2021.
• The Arrival of 5G – Super-fast 5G technology arrived in 2020 and is expected to takeover completely in 2021.

These factors indicate we’re suddenly at an era of immersive web experiences – we must build with this destiny in mind.

Look for these trends to drive web design in 2021.

2021 Web Design Trends to Expect

Mobile First 

The days of sitting at a computer, wandering around the web, and discovering things are coming to an end.

Most people are reaching for their phones first. Looking at the phone is the first thing many people do each morning, the first thing students do when they leave class, and the first thing employees do when they arrive at work. People are on their phones all day and night long.

In addition, billions of searches each day occur on mobile devices and in result, major search engines are now ranking sites with mobile experiences higher than those that do not. 

Minimal Design

The increase in mobile traffic impacts users’ attention spans.

This means, websites need to deliver their call-to-actions fast (whether that be to sign-up, make a purchase, subscribe, find out more, or to book an appointment).

There’s no better way to get your point across fast than with a simple, clean, minimalistic design.

More Story-Telling

Driving customers to take action on your page is a challenge. While, yes, a minimal design helps, there has to be room for authenticity, story-telling, and the communication of valuable, unique selling points. 

Achieving this, while keeping users’ attention, is a challenge, and can be supplemented with engaging story-telling devices like short videos, social media posts, and animations.

The Need for Speed

Website speed is more important than ever.

You don’t want visitors to leave because they were forced to wait too long. Having fast web hosting is important, but site design is a huge piece. Great web design allows for pages to render and stabilize quickly, smooth page loading, and rapid response time to user interactions.

One-Page Designs

It may not be for everyone, but for some industries, the one-page design is becoming more and more in-vogue. Essentially it places all of the traditional structured pages, like “Contact,” “About,” and “Services,” and so forth, on one page, in a concise, intuitive, user-driven experience.

In many cases, this type of design creates is more engaging and more mobile friendly. 

Take It and Run – Web Design with NetNation

Design trends evolve over time, but this latest wave of technology is a significant leap that should drive you toward getting a new site. One of the most flexible and easiest ways to do this is for us to do it for you! 

NetNation’s Website Design Service can create a custom WordPress-based site geared toward your needs, integrating all of the above best practices described above.

If you’re interest in the service, just reach out to us by completing the form on the Website Design page. We’ll get in touch with you and talk through if this service can be a fit for you.

Change is a constant force in nature and a natural law of the universe. The world of web design is no different. 

As tech evolves and the impossible becomes “possible,” the standard of what constitutes “good” web design evolves.

Giving your website a refresh to match with modern standards is not a matter of preference, but rather, a must-have (if you hope to keep up with competitors and meet consumers’ expectations).

Just think about your favorite restaurant – there’s a really good chance its interior looked a whole lot different in the year 2011, and an almost certainty it looked extremely different in 2001. Times change and consumers’ expectations evolve – it’s no different online.

Today we’re going to look at a few different design qualities all modern websites should have. Look through these and ask yourself if your website has these or if it falls a little short.

A Modern Design

Today’s consumers’ interact with apps like Facebook, Amazon, and Netflix all-the-time, almost 24/7. Consumers’ are trained to expect, and demand, a simple, intuitive design interface that makes navigation easy.

If your website is out-of-touch, hard to navigate, and out-of-date, consumers will notice and look elsewhere. Web users (especially millennials and younger) are savvy and quick to recognize and harshly critique dated online presences. 

Mobile Optimized

Many users regularly or exclusively use smart phones to get online. This means your website must be mobile-friendly and responsive.

What’s more, Google heavily favors websites that are mobile web optimized in its search rankings and penalizes websites that aren’t.  

A Simple, Clutter-Free Interface

Less is more in 2021. 

Minimalistic designs showcase information where users can find it – delivering a far better user experience than cluttered interfaces with distracting elements.

This means it may be time to consider retiring those shadows, reflections, 3D renderings and other elements that defined websites of yesteryear.

Websites shouldn’t complicate things and leave your visitors thinking if they should contact your business at all. 

Rapid Loading Time

This one’s simple enough – long load times are a bad thing. You don’t like it, your site visitors don’t like it, and search engines don’t like it either (Google penalizes slow-loading sites).

A lot of load time issues are due to dated site design principles baked into old websites. 

In  a world where instant-gratification is everywhere, a slow website is an instant turnoff.

Leveraging NetNation for a New Website

We live in a world where a website is the first impression most customers have of a business. Whether it’s fair or not, first impressions matter.

Fear not if you’re feeling that your website may need a refresh. We’re here to help.

NetNation now offers Website Design Services. With this service, you can now get a professional, modern, and elegant website for your business – all created for you.

Visit our Website Design Services page and schedule a free consultation with us to see if our design service makes sense for you.