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Website design, what matters most

Website design, what matters most

When many people think of web design, they think of the actual physical design of a site – how it looks, it’s visual appeal. While this is one important aspect, there is much more to designing an effective website. Users want an overall enjoyable experience; a website that’s not only sleek and easy on the eyes, but simple to navigate with engaging, informative content. While some may not realize it, effective web design can also play an important role in Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

 

In having your website designed (or redesigned), what should it accomplish?

 

  1. It must make a good impression in an instant. Searchers are looking for specific products, services, or information – and they’re usually in a rush. Because your website is likely the first impression someone will get of your company and it may be the last place they land before making a decision, you have precious few seconds to capture their attention – otherwise, they’re gone off to your competitors.

 

  1. It should communicate your company’s value within seconds. Suppose your website gets the search click and manages to make a positive first impression; does it then immediately and clearly communicate what your company does? People want instant solutions – they do not want to (and usually will not) spend a significant amount of time searching your site in order to determine if you’ve got the solution they’re looking for.

 

  1. Should communicate professionalism. Nothing looks worse to a potential customer than a website that looks as though it was designed by an amateur. Today’s most effective websites are dynamic, sleek, easy to navigate, and perhaps most importantly, simple. Pages filled with banners, ads, every bell and whistle available simply look confusing, cluttered – and unprofessional. Your website should reflect the professional approach your company takes just as a physical location would.

 

  1. Your website should convey trust to your visitor. The internet is filled with scams, and nobody knows this better than consumers and potential customers. Does your website convey trust? This can be accomplished through client testimonials, compelling content that is communicated in an intelligent, honest manner, having your contact information prominently displayed, etc.

 

  1. Pleasing your potential customer, but the search engines as well. Website design encompasses much more than pleasing visuals; what’s in the background that you don’t see, search engines like Google do see. Proper coding and SEO is essential.

 

  1. Search engine friendly layout. How much content, how it is positioned and its quality are important in web design. Google loves content-rich sites; additionally, key search terms should be positioned so that search engine “crawlers” see those terms early in the text. You website code and other structural element that are under the hood, such as an xml sitmap system, is critical for search engine optimization.

 

  1. Easy navigation is essential. Your visitor should be able to find what he or she is looking for immediately, whether it is facts about your product/service, contact information, client testimonials, etc. When visitors have to dig and click through several pages to find pertinent information, they aren’t going to hang around. Keep it simple and avoid confusion.

 

  1. Should calibrate your corporate identity and brand with your actual brick and mortar business. Your online presence should convey the same professionalism, level of trust and message that your physical business conveys. Visitors should instantly recognize your brand and even connect it with your physical company. No mixed messages!

Designing a website that is effective, reflects and company’s brand and sends the right message entails much more than throwing a color scheme together and adding some graphics! If you’re going to compete in a fiercely competitive landscape, the design of your website should incorporate all of the above.

 

Over the past 10 years, we have learnt, unlearned and re-learned, to gain practical insight on how to help businesses succeed online.

Let’s talk soon.

 

10 Reasons Why You Have Not Made Sales From Your Website

10 Reasons Why You Have Not Made Sales From Your Website

1. You Don’t Take Your Website Seriously Enough
You spend thousands of naira on advertisement such as trade shows, print media, signage, vehicle wraps, bulksms, television and radio, but when it comes to your website, you spend very little time or money on making it the best it can be, even though you know that every single person that ever considers buying from your company will visit your website before making a final decision or compare your product or price online. In other words, you view your website as an expense – or a necessary evil – rather than a revenue-generating asset, and you’re losing  money to your competitors because of it.

2. You Don’ Have a Compelling Call To Action
You are spending a ton of money on marketing and advertising to drive traffic to your site, but can’t figure out why it’s not converting into more sales. It’s because you’re not directing visitors to a compelling call to action on your website in a way that converts those visits into a sale or at least draws them into your sales funnel. Your website should be able to catch the visitors attention within 10 seconds.

3. You Don’t Manage Your Online Reputation
Your customers love you. You could easily have dozens of great online reviews. You know reviews are super important because you read customer reviews yourself! But when it comes to managing your own online reputation, you haven’t worked a review strategy into your process.

4. You Don’t Blog
You don’t spend any time creating blog content for your website. Don’t worry, you are not alone on this one. The problem is that blogging is a very important search engine ranking factor. In other words, weekly blog posts (or more) will improve your chances on popping up on the first page of Google. Furthermore, active website blogs are proven to help increase web traffic conversion rates by 150% or more.

5. Your Site Is Not Mobile Friendly
Your site is not compatible with iPhone, iPad and other mobile devices. You lose way more customers than you think because of this. Additionally, Google is making mobile friendliness a major ranking factor this year. If you have great Google rankings now and your site is not fully mobile optimized, you might be kissing those rankings goodbye soon.

6. You Are Not Active In Social Media
You’re not active in social media because “you don’t have the time” even though you know that’s not true. An active social media channel helps create demand for your products, helps your company establish a relationship with the community, and contributes to your search engine rankings.

7. You Don’t Have Any Web Videos
You don’t have any intro videos or testimonial videos on your website. You are losing a great opportunity to warm up leads by establishing trust and credibility on your website. As such, your conversion rates are not as high as they should be.

8. You’re Not Popping Up On Google Searches
You don’t have any organic search engine visibility. When you type in your product or service in your city, you are nowhere to be found. You are not making any effort at search engine optimization (SEO), or you’ve been burned by an SEO agency, or you are currently working with an SEO firm that is not getting you results.

9. You’re Not Running An Effective PPC Campaign
You already have a gut feeling that your Google AdWords campaign is not generating the amount of leads it should be. You’ve never seen the reports and don’t know how much the company you hired is spending on your campaigns or and how much of that budget they are keeping in their pocket. In fact, you’re probably paying for clicks on keywords that are irrelevant to your business, yet you’re not sure because you’ve never seen a click through report.

10. You Hired The Wrong Agency (or Web Designer)
You weren’t sure what questions to ask, so you went ahead and hired a creative agency and they gave you a great new design. Everybody you showed it to loves it. The problem is, nobody else can find it! Those web designers you hired had no idea about search engine optimization or creating a search engine friendly website. Your new site is a disaster under-the-hood and a Google knows it.

@datalexltd we can help you fix your website problems and turn it into a money making machine you need it to be.

Call or WhatsApp: 07030097972, 08125312182
Visit our website www.datalex.com.ng
Email: info@datalex.com.ng

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Why Isn’t Anyone Coming To My Website in 2021?

Why Isn’t Anyone Coming To My Website in 2021?

 This is such a common question that carries huge importance. You have just created your brand new company website and expected to be inundated with emails, phone calls and messages on social media asking for your service. However, this isn’t the case. You are not alone.

Firstly, your competitors are likely to have been building their website’s magnetism for customers for some time and have progressed to an extent that they are taking most of the clients available. You cannot expect success over night with a new website, it takes time and financial investment. Here are a few reasons why your site could be lacking the high number of visitors you expected:

  1. Your Website Is Slow

Speed is of huge importance nowadays when we speak about the internet in general. ‘We know what we want and we want it now’ is the general tone from the public. If your site takes time to load, your visitors aren’t going to hang around to wait. This means you have lost a potential customer before they have even gained access to your website. There are several reasons why your website could be slow, but the main ones are likely to be un-optimised images and coding. At Datalex Media we make sure your images are compressed. This will make the file size of the image smaller, so the image will load faster on the browser. Compressing all your images on your website can save you valuable seconds on your loading time. If your site is on WordPress, a popular plugin called Autoptimise can be used to compress HTML, CSS and Javascript. We also ensure that the browser loads the ‘above the fold’ content first. This is the part of the page that fills the screen first. This means that while the lower half and footer may still be downloading, your screen is presented with the top section straight away.

You may also have heard people say, “Do you use a CDN on your website?”. This is a Content Delivery Network which can save bandwidth and boost performance by hosting all your static resources such as images, videos, audio clips and even coding like CSS and Javascript. Also, if you use the Google CDN there’s a good chance someone has already visited a site using one and therefore the files will be cached by your browser and won’t need to be downloaded again.

  1. Your Website Is Boring

You want your website to grab the user’s attention in order to retain their interest and make sure they continue browsing your site. If the site is full of small text with poor use of imagery, this isn’t likely to grab anyone’s attention. Using imagery or catchy headlines is a great way to attract interest from the word go.

  1. Bad Design

Maybe you haven’t checked what your website looks like on all devices and the mobile version of your site looks like a disaster. If your site looks great on desktop, this only accounts for around 40% of devices currently used to connect to the internet. This would mean you are losing 60% of your visitors due to poor design on mobiles, tablets, e-readers etc. Poor use of colour can also cause users to leave a site. Maybe the colours used in the design make text difficult to read with limited or no contrast with the background. I personally think you shouldn’t need more than 3 colours in the design of your site.

  1. Bad Navigation

At Datalex Media we always try to stick to a rule of thumb that each page on a website can be reachable within 3 clicks. If a user has to dig deeper into your site to find what they’re looking for, you might find them using the browser back button to help navigate or exiting the site completely. There should be consistency when positioning your navigational menu. The user should be familiar with how to navigate the site within the first 5 seconds. Make sure to offer back buttons when necessary and ensure the logo will always take the user back to the home page.

  1. You Haven’t Promoted Your Site

So, you have managed to make your site interesting, it’s fast, it’s easily navigable and the design is superb. Yet people still aren’t coming. You can’t expect people to find your site unless you tell them about it. Advertise, Advertise, Advertise! Create a social media presence with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and start posting. Use Google ad words to help users find you from the Google search engine. Tell your family and friends about it. Get business cards and hand them out when you mention your site to potential customers. Share your link underneath posts on blogs and forums and ask politely if customers you have worked with can include link to your site.

  1. Your Site Isn’t SEO Friendly

An easy way to begin with SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is to ensure you think about keyword placement. Think about what people would be searching for in search engines to find your service. Use at least 5 key words or phrases and try to include them in titles, headings, main content and alt tags. You should also think about your meta tag title and description. This is the title and description users will see when they see your page in search engines. Make it catchy, obvious what kind of site/business you have and ensure it isn’t too long, so it fits on the placement properly without cutting the end off. If you are using WordPress, the Yoast SEO plugin is a great way to begin with SEO on your site. This plugin helps with keyword placement, creates an XML sitemap you can submit to search engines and helps plan social media sharing.

To Conclude

Be aware that success doesn’t happen overnight and will mean hard work and financial backing. You can choose to spend as much or as little as you like promoting your site, but if you advertise to the right people via social media and use Google adwords, you will begin to see a noticeable rise in interest and visitors to your site. At Datalex we offer all the services mentioned above and guarantee return on investment. Visit our website today at www.datalex.com.ng

 

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18 Advantages of Building A Mobile App for Business

18 Advantages of Building A Mobile App for Business

Having a mobile app for your business brings about a huge number of benefits for you and your business. Let’s take a look at the different ways in which you can benefit from a mobile app.

1. Little to No Waiting Time for The Customers
Using a mobile app is a lot faster than having to use a mobile website and browsing on it. Web browsing whether on the mobile or on the computer entails you opening the web browser, then remembering and entering the URL, and then wait for the site to load before you finally have the content displayed in front of you. The speed of the entire process depends on the kind of network available in the area. However, when the customer launches the app, it merely takes a second as most of the content is stored within the app itself, which is why it is possible to make use of the app even when you are offline.

2. Apps Consistently Remind the Customers of Your Business
‘What you see is what you covet?’ this phrase might have been coined for an entirely different subject, but a truer sentence has never been uttered. It is only natural to be reminded only of things that are in front of you and hence the inclination of using, buying, interacting with these things is higher. An app on a smartphone definitely has more visibility or value for the customer as it is right there, in comparison to a web bookmark that can only be explored after opening the browser, hence has lower visibility and value. A mobile app is in front of the customer’s eyes all the time on their phones.

3. Apps Keep the Customers or The Users Hooked
It would only be apt to say that today the smartphones have the users hooked to them. Customers too are asking for more apps that would connect them to the businesses that they want to reach out to with ease and promptness. Apps have a better record and opportunity of engaging the customers in a stronger way. Whether they are on the move, at home, their workplace, in the gym, or out shopping, a mobile app for your business would always be in their pockets and they can engage with it at will, which makes them stay on your app for longer.

4. Apps Tend to Bring Down the Cost of Marketing
Consider the scenario when you do not have an app, you would probably send out marketing information through SMSs or other traditional media, which are a lot more expensive than reaching out to your customers through inobtrusive yet effective push notifications. Mobile apps simplify your communications while making it possible for you to reach and message your customers in a safe, instant, and cost-effective manner. Also, apps have been known to reduce the workload of information requests and phone calls by supplying all relevant information from within the app.

5. Apps Offer More Value to The Customers
The premise of your business is barter, right? This is where you offer a product and the customers dig in to their pockets to compensate you for it. As a business owner there would have been plenty of situations where you might have reached sat down with the rest of your team and tried to figure out ways to make these customers dig deeper and more often into their pockets. One thing that you may or may not have come up with is to provide value for your customers that they wouldn’t find anywhere else. This value can come from offering the customers a special loyalty bonus or points, a subscribers-only deal, and some such, which would help you keep bringing the customers back to you for more!

6. Apps Help Strengthen the Brand
This is probably one of the most important things that a mobile app can do for your business. It not only increases brand awareness among consumers but also helps them communicate or interact with your brand. Once you establish a relationship through this regular interaction you are also fostering a trust among them. As the trust they have in you increases, the chances of them listening to you in your future sales pitch are higher and who knows they might even commit to your brand! A mobile app lets you show to your customers the reason why they should trust you, instead of you just telling them they should.

7. Apps Help You Connect Better with The Customers
Customer service or interactions are of great value for any business. In the past, this was best accomplished by face to face communications and resolving the customer’s concerns through a team of professionals who were trained just for that. However, mobile devices which make your app available to the users with just one tap, have turned out to be the biggest game-changer yet, when it comes to customer service. A solid mobile presence for your business means that you are presenting a consistent face to the customers everywhere. The time differences wouldn’t matter with a mobile app. If a customer or a potential customer wants information or any other kind of interaction with your app at 2 in the morning, they can do it without having to wait till business hours. This, in the long run would help you raise customer satisfaction all across the board.

8. Apps Help You Push Your Profits Up
It is no hidden fact that a mobile app can help you raise customer satisfaction. But it has also been proven that when customer satisfaction is raised, it is often followed by an increase in sales too. As more and more customers find the interactions with your app fruitful and pleasant, the demand for your services and products will increase too! You might have an awesome website which has the ability to adapt to the multitude of devices available in the market which might eliminate the need for a secondary mobile website, but nothing beats the experience that an app can provide. It is this experience that brings you the much-needed boost as well in your profits and who doesn’t want that? One of the glowing examples here is that of Domino’s Pizza who witnessed a rise of 28% in half pre-tax profits in UK alone. It is humbling and encouraging to know that 52% of their online orders are completed through a mobile app.

9. Apps Help You Set Yourself Apart from The Crowd
With thousands of businesses vying for attention what are you doing that sets you apart from the rest of the crowd? Mobile app for your business can accomplish this with ease. It is still rare to use a mobile app for communication and marketing, and the sooner you get into it, the more you stand to gain from it.

10. Apps Increase Customer Loyalty
How many times do your customers come back to you after they have made their first purchase? This is an important aspect for the growth of your business and you must pay it due attention. It is easier to cultivate customer loyalty when you constantly remind your customers of your existence and your offerings. Advertising is a crowded space which is constantly bombarding the users with visual imagery consisting of hundreds of thousands of brands and products. A mobile app forges a truthful and honest relationship between your business and your customers. The mere fact that your app is at their fingertips makes the customers feel more connected and loyal to you.

11. Your App Can Be Turned into A Social Platform
Integrating as many social channels as you can, into your app can bring you an unexpected popularity. It has been established through studies that most of the people log on to the social media to see what their friends are saying. If people are talking about you or your products and sharing it on the social media, then their friends would know about you, be reminded of you, and interact with you. Additionally, incorporating features like in-app messaging, comments, likes, sharing, and logins through popular social media channels like Facebook or Instagram can effectively increase customer engagement and retention while ensuring repeat sales from your app.

12. Apps Add Value to The Websites
You might be questioning yourself at this time “With the shoestring budget that I have, should I build an app when I already have a functioning website?” Well, yes you do! The fact is that a mobile app would add further value to your website, by creating loyalty among the customers who were probably attracted to your brand by the website. Websites are, in general great for providing information, an app however, is extremely effective in offering two-way communication.

13. An Easy Way to Promote your Offerings
When you have a mobile app to strengthen your digital identity, the overall impression exerted by you and the brand is enhanced. Not only does it help you stand out and give you a reserved space on the mobile device carried at all times by your customer, but also makes it a lot easier to reach out to them in a strategic, timely fashion and place your products and services right in front of them, probably with attractive offers to entice the audience into making a purchase. Not only does it bring you better returns than the more traditional modes of advertising like billboards, TV, print media and more, but it also helps you save a lot of money in reaching just the right kind of audience.

14. Gets Genuine Feedback from the Customers
Your customers who are using your products and the app are a rich source of feedback when it comes to improving your product and the experience you are offering them. The feedback may be in the form of a review, a suggestion, may even be a grievance, or a compliment. Any business that hopes to achieve any measure of success would not simply put the customer relationship to end as soon as the purchase is made, or the targeted conversion is complete. It is important that you lend them an ear, listen to what they have to say about your business, your product or services, and the overall experience you are extending. Through a mobile app of your own, you are opening up a dialogue and an avenue for the customers to speak with you and help you understand where you have scope for improvement.

15. Improvisation is Easier with an App
Since the feedback you receive is in real time and genuine, there is a lot more value to it. The timelines are beautifully aligned with the actionable steps and you have the freedom and the opportunity to make changes as you receive these insights. With the feedback pouring in from genuine customers you would be able to tell what’s working for your business and what’s not. This way, you can make improvements to the experience immediately (where possible) and leverage the features or things that people are enjoying about your business, brand, or other offerings. This is also a great way to do some market research and understand what is it that your customers want, particularly when you are planning to launch a new product line or area of service.

16. You get to Sell Faster
In the world of small businesses, timing is of great essence. It is only natural that you would have some products that absolutely must be sold off before a particular time period is over. Using the push notification or in-app notification feature, you can prompt your app users and customers to buy these products as you declare a “limited period only” sale or discount coupon that can be redeemed on the app! These promotions invoke a sense of urgency and excitement among customers, encouraging them to make a purchase, helping you sell out the items you do not want to be stuck with. An additional advantage here is the ensuing publicity that comes your way putting your brand and business on the map and in your customers’ minds.

17. Easy Access to Business Analytics
As we are getting more comfortable with technology, the aspect of record keeping has become a breeze and even though the setup may take a little while, after that all your record keeping and collecting woes are smoothened out. The mobile app will come with a set of analytics and you can customize it to get more. You can track downloads, keep an eye on user engagement levels and the kind of products that the users show interest in. Having access to analytics and metrics can give you great insight in helping you determine how to make your products more suited to the customers.

18. A positive Image for your Business
In the business world, your stocks and their value depend to a great extent on the kind of image you have managed to create for yourself. When you have a mobile app to add to the whole digital presence, you are essentially contributing to a positive image for your business telling the world that you are abreast of the latest technology. Having a mobile app of your own today is not a fancy ad on, it has, in fact, turned into a necessity that the modern-day user has come to expect from a good brand irrespective of their scale, scope, and size.

The Common Business Website Mistakes You Should Avoid for Your Business in 2020

The Common Business Website Mistakes You Should Avoid for Your Business in 2020

The internet has become a new driving force for business, however, in other to make it very functional and help the business to attract, engage and eventually convert prospect as well as build confidence and loyalty of existing customer – a corporate web presence (website) must be optimized to enhance interaction and engagement. An optimized website also helps to increase your visibility online as well as search engine ranking – all of this means one thing, increase sales lead generation and of course business.

So the million naira question is: What are the common business website mistakes you should avoid In 2020? We’re glad you asked!
Below are info on the common business site mistakes you should avoid in 2020 – and how you can use them to keep your website looking fresh.

NO CALL TO ACTION
Without a main call to action, customers won’t know why they are visiting your website or what your company has to offer.
93% of small business websites do not display contact email addresses.
49% lack any phone numbers on their home page.

POOR DESIGN
By taking design into your own hands, a business can cause itself headaches and risk having poorly designed sites.
41% of small business owners who plan to improve their websites say design/aesthetics is the top choice of action.

TIME-CONSUMING UPDATES
When you maintain your site yourself, you run the risk of wasting time you could be using to cultivate your business.
64% of businesses find the time necessary to update the website a major challenge.
25% say the cost of maintaining the site is a big hurdle.

NO METRICS
Without metrics, businesses are unable to track their progress, their reach or their customers’ habits and needs.
75% did not use analytics tools to measure their websites or email marketing performance.
60% do not feel they have the tools needed to make sense of their site analytics or take to resolve issues.

POOR SEO
Discoverability is important, helping potential customers find your company.
26% of small-business sites cannot be found in online searches because their website earns a Google Page Rank of zero or have no Google Page Rank.

NO ONLINE MARKETING CAMPAIGN
Reaching out to customers on a regular base with product information is important to your cash flow.
90% of small-business sites do not have any structured online marketing campaign.

NO SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
By allowing your customers to share their experience with your brand via social channels, you’re enabling information about your business to reach people you might not have otherwise targeted.
91% lack facebook widgets.
94% lack twitter widgets.

NO MOBILE OPTIMIZATION
Most people today look at websites on their mobile devices, Without the technology to engage this group, small businesses are missing out on key consumers.
60% do not have mobile websites or know if their website is mobile-capable.

NO DESIGNATED I.T PERSON
Without designated IT help, small businesses risk security breaches or costly mistakes. By going with Success Drives Limited, IT help is included with your website package.
44% of small business have been cyber attacked.

This 2020 give your clients and customers the tools they need to interact with your business and ensure you don’t make these same website mistakes.

Reap the true potential of owning a Professional website, including the biggest Return-On-Investment, by having real experts standing by to build/re-build for you.

Request a free quote on our topnotch website development/digital marketing services at an economical price

Call or WhatsApp 07030097972, 08125312182
Website: www.datalex.com.ng

10 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Website

10 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Website

Most of your competitors have websites. So you thought of having one too but you’re not sure how it would benefit your business. Should you just get a website because your competitors already have theirs? If that’s your sole reason for having a website, then you’re just about to make a bad business decision.

Read on as we present 10 solid reasons why you need a website for your business:

1. Expand your potential customer base to the entire nation and the world.

Gone are the days when you’re limited to selling your product and services to people within your locality. Gone are the days when all you can have as customers were people who read your adverts in the newspaper. Today, anyone with Internet access is a potential customer whether he lives in Lagos or New York.

2. You website is your 24/7 customer care agent.

With a professional website, you can answer questions and explain the benefits of your products and services 24 hours of the day, 7 days a week. Your website is always on, so your potential customers don’t have to wait until office hours to call you. By browsing through your website, they can find out exactly what services and products you offer them. They can get answers to their questions from the FAQ section of your website. They can email you or get access to your phone numbers so they can call you for more information. With a professional website, potential customers can take a ‘complete’ tour of your business in your absence.

3. Present a professional image and become the expert.

If you run a small business that competes with larger businesses, having a website is probably one of the best business decisions you can ever make. A well-designed website is one way to instil confidence in your potential customers and make your small business look bigger than it actually is. A professional website increases your credibility. And your credibility, in turn, makes you the expert. People go online to seek out businesses that know their onions. A professional website positions you and your business as such.

4. Create an interactive environment for your customers.

Everybody wants to have a say. Your customers want to share ideas on how to get the best out of your products and services. They want to ask questions and get response. Your site can have a place for such comments and questions or even a feedback forum where you ask your customers what feature they would like to see added to your products and services. Your business would grow when you provide just what your customers want.

5. Keep your information up-to-date.

How does it feel spending thousands of naira to print full-color brochures that become obsolete even before you finish distributing them? Awful, isn’t it? That’s because once you print and publish, you can’t easily update. A professional website is different. You can update content whenever you want and give your potential customers information that is up-to-date.

6. Sell your products and services while you sleep.

How good is that? You can make sales and have people order your products and services even while you gently snore away at night. Get a professional website and accept and process orders online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Nothing feels as good as getting up in the morning to find out you made sales or received orders while you were sleeping.

7. Kill competition.

Business in today’s world is a civilized version of war. No matter your industry or company, there is always a battle-ready competitor who is busy strategizing how to kill beat you. In your life-or-death quest to keep your business on top of the competition, you must make an informed decision and take timely action. One such decision is to get a website. However, you don’t kill competition with just about any website. A targeted, good-looking and well optimized website is a competition killer.

8. Show you understand and use technology.

Would you rather do business with a bank that still operates like it’s in the 19th century or with a bank that’s 21st century compliant? Yes, I know you would say you’re not operating a bank. But the truth is, to remain competitive, you must show your potential customers that you understand and make use of technology. A website not only brings your company up to speed with other companies, but it shows that you’re not afraid of using technology to improve the quality of your service.

9. Reach out to those who normally wouldn’t reach out to you.

In today’s world, many first contacts are made online. Think about it, you probably first heard of Alternative Adverts Medium on the Internet. And that’s because we reached out to you. In the same vein, people like you scan the web, and if your website is set up properly and optimized with the right content, you can pull in customers who weren’t even aware they needed your service. So get a professional website today and explain to them why they need you!

10. Learn more about your customer and make even more sales.

Do you know your ideal customer very well? I know you would be inclined to say something in the lines of, “Oh, I know them well. They’re mostly females between the ages of 25 and 40.” Honestly, that’s not a bad answer (but sadly, it’s also not a good one). You see, you actually need a little more detail about your potential customers. Details like why they purchase from you and what keeps them buying from you rather than from your competitors. With details such as these, you’re poised to serve them better and keep them coming back to you. No medium is better in capturing these details than with a survey or a feedback form on a professional website.

In conclusion, it doesn’t matter how big your business is. Whether you’re a one-man show or a 100,000-staff corporate company, you’re losing business to your competitors if you don’t have a website.

However, there’s one exception to this rule. It is better to have no website at all than to have one that makes your business look bad. Remember, your website is your 24/7 customer care agent. It is your online image. If it looks bad, it is like telling your potential customers, “Look, our cleaner designed this awful site. May God help you find anything on it!”

IS YOUR WEBSITE PROTECTED?

IS YOUR WEBSITE PROTECTED?

What is an SSL certificate and why do I need it?

If you have a website small or large, you must have read about website security and data security. Thinking about website security brings up multiple questions.
▪ What is an SSL certificate?
▪ How do I know if my site is secure?
▪ My website is small, why do I need an SSL certificate?
▪ Do I need an SSL if we don’t collect any data from visitors?
▪ What if my website is a personal blog?

How do I check if my website is secure or not?
A website is secure when the browser address bar has green padlock. Another way to check if a website is secure is to see if the website URL uses https rather than http. The “S” at the end of HTTPS stands for “Secure”. This means all communications between your browser and the website are encrypted.
A green padlock plus the name of the company or organization, also in green, means website has an Extended Validation (EV) certificate which assures you that the website is under the control of the company it claims to be.

Did you know: More than 50% of the web pages is now encrypted?

What does SSL and HTTPS stand for and what makes them secure?
SSL stands for “secure sockets layer” and is a form of security for sites that handle sensitive information such as visitor’s personal information and credit card numbers. It creates a secure connection between a visitor’s web browser and the server of the company they’re interacting with.
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is the secure version of HTTP, the protocol over which data is sent between your browser and the website that you are connected to. Using HTTPS, the computers agree on a “code” between them, and then they scramble the messages using that “code” so that no one in between can read them. This keeps your information safe from hackers.

How do I know if a site is not secure?
In the modern age, secure websites are preferred over non-secured sites. Both Chrome and Firefox browsers alert you when you are on a non-secure web page which may collect some form of personal information. Just because a site lacks an SSL Certificate doesn’t mean it is a bad site, but it should cause you to pause before inputting any personal information.

What are the benefits of secure website?
▪ Secure connection between the browser and the server of the website they are visiting.
▪ Visitors trust when website is secured. HTTPS site with green padlock and company or organization name increase the credibility and trust of a website and company.
▪ Protects visitor information
▪ Google ranks secured sites higher in search results compared to an unsecured site.

What are the different types of SSL certificates?
* Standard – Domain Validation(DV) for blogs and personal websites
* Organization Validation(OV) for business and non-profits
* Extended Validation (EV) for eCommerce websites.

A DV SSL certificate is the easiest and least expensive to maintain, and is great for personal blogs and websites. An OV SSL certificate is the type that we recommend to all businesses and organizations, as it provides more protection and security than a DV SSL. An EV SSL certificate is a top-tier, special type of site certificate that requires a significantly more rigorous identity verification process than other types of certificates, which in turn, provides the highest level of assurance to your visitors.

To make your website secure with an SSL Certificate contact us
Email: info@datalexnetwork.com
Call: 7030097972, 08125312182

8 reasons why your business NEEDS a professional website!

8 reasons why your business NEEDS a professional website!

Like many small business owners, you may believe your business cannot benefit from having a website or that a website is not within your budget. Or maybe you think because you don’t use a computer, neither do your potential customers. These are misconceptions. These 8 reasons show why your company NEEDS a professional website, no matter what size your business.

Today, more and more consumers use the internet to search for the products or services they need. Your small business will gain credibility by having a website. Without one, potential customers will go to your competitors that do. If you already have a website but it is “home-made”, having it professionally redesigned will provide your business with a professional image which will inspire even greater confidence. For home-based businesses, this is particularly beneficial since you do not have a store front to promote your products or services.

2. A WEBSITE SAVES YOU MONEY

As a small business owner you probably think you can’t afford a professional website, but you can’t afford NOT to. Although the cost of designing a website varies, once it’s up and running, a website for a small business generally costs under $100 a month and, in some cases, as little as $20. Compared with the cost of a newspaper ad, when you consider the potential market you can reach with a website, it is a very cost effective way to promote your business.

3. IT WILL ENABLE YOU TO KEEP YOUR CUSTOMERS INFORMED

Think of your website as being your online brochure or catalogue. It is much easier and quicker to update information about your products and services on your website than in print material, making it an effective way of letting your customers know about the arrival of new products, upcoming events, special promotions, or any new services you now offer. Unlike print ads which quickly become outdated, your website can provide current information and news.

4. IT IS ALWAYS ACCESSIBLE

A website is available to both your regular and potential customers 24/7/365 providing them with the convenience of reviewing your products and services when your store or office is closed. With today’s busy lifestyles, this is a great selling point when making a purchase decision.

5. A WEBSITE MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO TARGET A WIDER MARKET

Whether you provide products or services, your website will provide an alternative location to sell them. As a retailer, a website (eCommerce) is a great place to sell your products to a wider market; even services can be made available globally. Don’t think you’ll be able to sell your products or services online? Don’t forget, even cars and houses sell online!

6. IT PROVIDES A MEDIUM ON WHICH TO SHOWCASE YOUR WORK

No matter what type of business you’re in, a website is a great place to showcase your work. By including a portfolio or image gallery, as well as testimonials about your work, you can demonstrate what makes your business unique.

7. A WEBSITE SAVES YOU TIME

Providing information to your customers takes time, whether it’s on the phone, face-to-face, in a brochure, or in emails. With an online catalogue you can provide lots of information about your products and services. Once your website is up and running, it is available to your customers indefinitely, saving you time. And what is time? Time is money!

8. IT IMPROVES CUSTOMER SERVICE

Maybe you sell environmentally friendly products and would like to share tips on how to recycle, or perhaps you’re an accountant and want to give your clients advice on how to simplify their bookkeeping practices. By including a FAQ page, adding articles or uploading newsletters to answer all your customers’ questions you can keep them up-to-date. What better way to provide them with value added service than by sharing information on your website.