Web Design

Having a secure website is essential for any business. One of the best ways to do this is to use a website security plugin for WordPress. With a website security plugin, you can protect your site from malicious attacks, keep user data safe, and prevent any unauthorized access. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the top website security plugins for WordPress and how they can help keep your site secure. Wordfence One of the most popular and highly rated website security plugins for WordPress is Wordfence. This plugin offers a comprehensive suite of security features designed to protect your website from all kinds of threats, including malware, hacking attempts, and other types of malicious attacks. Wordfence is incredibly easy to use and install, even for those without any technical expertise. The plugin offers real-time monitoring and alerts for any potential security threats, including attempts to break into your website or spamming attacks.In addition to its advanced security features, Wordfence also offers a powerful firewall that can block malicious traffic and IP addresses, as well as limit the number of login attempts allowed. The plugin also includes a two-factor authentication feature to further enhance the security of your website. One of the best things about Wordfence is that it constantly updates its security protocols to stay one step ahead of hackers and other online threats. The plugin also provides detailed reports on any security incidents or vulnerabilities, which can help you quickly take action to protect your website. Overall, Wordfence is an essential website security plugin for any WordPress site. With its advanced features and user-friendly interface, you can rest assured that your website is always protected from any potential threats. Jetpack Jetpack is another popular security plugin for WordPress, offering a range of features to keep your site safe. It provides protection against brute-force attacks and offers a firewall to prevent unauthorized access. In addition to this, Jetpack comes with automatic backups, so you never lose your data in the event of a security breach. One of the unique features of Jetpack is its uptime monitoring, which sends notifications to you if your site goes down, allowing you to quickly address any issues. Additionally, Jetpack provides malware scanning, ensuring that your site is free from harmful code. Overall, Jetpack is a great all-in-one solution for website security and management. It provides a range of features to help protect your site, as well as other useful tools such as performance optimization and social media integration. If you’re looking for a comprehensive security solution for your WordPress site, Jetpack is definitely worth considering. VaultPress Another popular website security plugin for WordPress is VaultPress. Developed by Automatic, the same team behind WordPress, VaultPress provides real-time backup and security scanning services for your website. With VaultPress, you can easily back up your website’s database, files, and even your theme and plugin settings to their secure cloud storage. In case of any disaster, you can quickly restore your website to its previous state with a single click. Moreover, VaultPress performs daily security scans on your website and alerts you of any vulnerabilities that may put your site at risk. You can also receive regular reports on the overall health and performance of your website. VaultPress also offers site cleaning services if your site is infected with malware. They can scan your site and remove any malicious code, ensuring your website is free from any security threats. One of the best things about VaultPress is its easy-to-use interface that makes it simple for anyone to manage their website’s backups and security. It is also compatible with popular WordPress hosting providers like Bluehost, DreamHost, and SiteGround. Overall, if you’re looking for a comprehensive security and backup solution for your WordPress site, VaultPress is definitely worth considering. With its reliable and robust features, it can give you the peace of mind you need to run your online business with confidence. Sucuri Sucuri is a popular website security plugin for WordPress that offers both a free and a paid version. The free version includes features such as malware scanning and blacklist monitoring. The paid version, on the other hand, offers more advanced features such as malware removal and a website firewall. One of the standout features of Sucuri is its website firewall. It acts as a shield between your website and any potential security threats. The firewall blocks malicious traffic, such as hackers and bots, from accessing your site. It also provides a content delivery network (CDN) which improves your website’s speed and performance. In addition, Sucuri offers real-time alerts for any potential security threats. It sends an email notification when it detects any suspicious activity, allowing you to take action immediately. Sucuri is also known for its exceptional customer support. Its support team is available 24/7 to assist with any security issues or concerns. Overall, Sucuri is a great option for WordPress website security. Its website firewall, malware scanning, and real-time alerts provide solid protection against any potential security threats. Bulletproof Security Another popular website security plugin for WordPress is Bulletproof Security. As the name suggests, this plugin offers an extra layer of security to protect your website from hackers and cyberattacks. Bulletproof Security is known for its easy-to-use interface, making it accessible for both novice and experienced users. Some of its features include malware scanners, login security, database backup, and firewall protection. One of the unique features of this plugin is the automatic quarantine of suspected hackers, preventing them from accessing your site and causing damage. Additionally, it also provides a one-click setup for adding security to your site. However, some users have reported issues with compatibility and support, so it’s important to do your research and make sure it’s the right fit for your website’s needs before installing it. Overall, Bulletproof Security is a solid choice for those looking to enhance the security of their WordPress site. Its features and user-friendly interface make it a great option for users of all levels of experience. Got

Website Backup A website backup is a snapshot of all your website’s important components.  Therefore, making backups of your website is an important part of regular site maintenance. You don’t want to be left without a backup of your site should something happen. Website Down Have you ever visited a website to find an error message or find it in maintenance mode?  How did your view of the website and company change upon finding that?  Many visitors will hit the back button and move on to a different search result for their source of information. Causes of Website Crashes Websites can be down for a variety of reasons.  They can be caused by outside individuals as well as individuals associated directly with the website itself. Here are some reasons why websites go down: The developer makes some mistakes while creating or updating a site The website is broken The server hosting your website crashes Viruses infect your site and take it down Theme and plugin updates are completed incorrectly Is Your Website Down? If it is your website that is showing the error message, maintenance mode, or worse yet down completely, this can create a huge problem for you and your customers.  If someone does land on your site and finds it in this mode, statistics show that they might never return to your website again.  Therefore, it is vital that you can remedy the website problem quickly and efficiently to keep it fluid for your users. The Need for a Backup A backup for your website is the main guarantee that your site can be restored after any problems or crashes.  These problems can arise from the inadvertent deletion of important elements, a theme issue, a plugin not working properly, or your website getting hacked.  A website backup is necessary!  Having a backup provides safety for you as well as it gives you a fluid means to restore the site for limited downtime.  Websites go down daily for a variety of reasons.  Everyone is concerned about hackers getting into their sites and causing havoc.  But statistics show that most owners and developers are the ones that cause sites to go down. If you don’t currently has a backup system in place for your website, please reach out to me so I can help you get that established. Got a Project in Mind? GET IN TOUCH I collaborate with innovative brands to create cutting-edge digital experiences.Let’s connect!

Your mobile version of your website now matters more than your desktop version.  In 2018, Google made a major shift in how they SEO rank your website.  They moved to a mobile-first indexing.  This means that they use your mobile version of your website to rank it in your search results.  This change makes sense because more than 50% of traffic worldwide is from mobile devices. What does this mean for SEO? With this move by Google, it puts emphasis on having a website that has a responsive design.  This means that the design of your website looks good and loads quickly on any type of device that it is viewed on. What should I do with my Current Website? If your website is already setup as a responsive site, you may not need to do anything.  Something you will want to check however is your website’s load time and speed.  A great free resource for doing that is PageSpeed Insights.  You will also want to ensure that your images are properly sized to ensure their load speed is efficient also.  If you are just setting up your website, it would be advantageous to use a theme that is mobile friendly.  This will assist you in getting your website ready for the mobile user as well as assist in your SEO ranking. If you are unsure what to do or need assistance, but sure to get in touch with me and I would be pleased to assist you. Got a Project in Mind? GET IN TOUCH I collaborate with innovative brands to create cutting-edge digital experiences.Let’s connect!

What is Meta Data? Meta data matters as it consists of the meta title and meta description of a web page link.  This is the page title and lines of text that appears under the page title when you do a search in a search engine. A meta title specifies the main title of the webpage.  Meta titles help search engines match your content to search queries.  Meta description appears below the meta title.  It is a snippet of data which summarizes the content of the webpage.  For example, if you Google “why have a website,” the metadata you will see is shown to the left. Meta data tells the user what they can expect to find if they click on the page.   Five Metadata Must Haves Keep it concise.  Meta titles need to be short and sweet, typically 50-60 characters.  Your meta description should describe your content in less than 160 characters. Use keywords.  Having your keywords in your meta title is a must have!  The closer to the beginning the better.  It is common practice to use those keywords in your meta description as well.   Have a call-to-action.  Your metadata is essentially an organic ad in the SERP.  Therefore, it is your opportunity to use it to sell your content to the user.  This will also increase your click-through figures. Match metadata to content.  If you are using your metadata to trick searching to come see your website, you will potentially lose them forever.  In doing so, you will be doing more harm than good for your brand. Uniqueness is key.  The internet is full of content these days.  Your best chance to be chosen by a searcher is as much about how you portray and present your information than anything else.  One way to get their attention is to use unique metadata.  This will draw them in and lead them to your website. Although some might overlook the importance of metadata for your website, it is potentially the first interaction a lead might have with your brand.  Making sure you provide them with an accurate picture of the content that lies behind the link gives you a better chance to get them to click-through to your website.  If you need assistant understanding or creating your meta data, get in touch with me and I would be pleased to assist you along this path. Got a Project in Mind? GET IN TOUCH I collaborate with innovative brands to create cutting-edge digital experiences.Let’s connect!

Seach Engine Optimization (SEO) has been around since the early 2000s.  The components that effect results have individually changed over time, but the main focus has remained the same. Quality Content Wins Every Time SEO does contain technical aspects that effect search results.  Those can include your site’s structure, anchor text, URL structure, and much more.  However, those are not the only components that determine your placement in search results.  The true backbone of SEO continues to be high-quality, relevant content.  If that is in place, the components listed above provide icing on the cake.  If relevant content is key, what does that include?  Below are some considerations for establishing content: Keywords play a role, but the context of those keywords is more important. Search engine crawlers still come visit your website, but they are a little smarter today.  They are capable of analyzing your context now and find secondary keywords that are related to your keyword. Keyword-rich titles, meta descriptions, alt attributes, H1 tags, and URLs play an important role. These components help search engines identify that your website is relevant, which helps with their ranking of it. Length of content is important, but not as important as relevance. It isn’t as much about the amount of words and length of information today as it is about the context of that information.  Length and number of words still play a role, but it’s not as important as providing relevant information for the page visitor. In a nutshell, your content needs to be created for humans first, Google second.  People will be searching, finding, and reading the information on your website.  Therefore, it needs to be organized in a manner that helps them gain an understanding.  With that said, search engines will also be visiting your web pages.  In doing so, information and keywords need to be placed strategically to get them to rank you for the terms you deem important.

Four Reasons to Choose WooCommerce as Your Ecommerce Platform Choosing an eCommerce platform can be a very stressful process.  You know you want the best platform that makes the shopping experience smooth and easy for your customers to use.  On top of that, you also want one that offers the best security and support to ensure you and your customer’s data is safe and secure. There are many different platforms to choose from.  While there are many opinions about which platform to go with, my platform of choice is WooCommerce, which is an open source eCommerce plugin from WordPress. FREE! Most eCommerce platforms will cost you extra money.  It might be perceived that because WooCommerce is free that it is a basic platform with limited options.  However, that is quite far from the truth!  It offers detailed options that help make the management of transactions smooth and efficient.  These options include order tracking, customer engagement tools, changing delivery statuses, use of discounts, tax settings, inventory management, multiple shipping options, and coupon coding.  It basically has everything one would want from an eCommerce store option. Ease of Use WooCommerce is an extremely friendly and easy to use platform.  Beings it is a WordPress, which is known for it’s ease of use, plugin, it is also easy to use itself.  Since 53% of all websites are designed on the WordPress platform, using WooCommerce is natural choice since it functions and operates like WordPress. Customizable Not only is WooCommerce free, but it can be extremely customizable with additional FREE plugins to add functionality to your store.  The extensions can include applications and services to enhance your accounting system, different payment options to accept, enhanced marketing to your customers, different reports, and so much more.  With all the WooCommerce extensions and plugins available, the combination and options are endless for customizing your eCommerce store.  Having customizable options, the web design of the website can then be consistent with the brand image that is desired.  Great Reputation WooCommerce has been around since 2011.  Over this time, they have enhanced and expanded their functionality.  It has become very well known for being super reliable and user friendly.  If you have any questions on how to complete any tasks associated with the platform, their customer service support is very user friendly as well.  To date, WooCommerce is the platform of choice on 29% of eCommerce sites.  Of all WordPress eCommerce websites, 94% of those use WooCommerce.  These facts alone show it is trusted, reliable, and the best option. So if you are looking to make a decision on which platform to use to build your eCommerce store, look no further than the user-friendly, easily customizable platform in WooCommerce. Got a Project in Mind? GET IN TOUCH I collaborate with innovative brands to create cutting-edge digital experiences.Let’s connect!

As you consider redesigning your website, you might be wondering why the design of your website is so important.  Specifically, how does it impact your audience and ultimately your business?  Here we will take a look at five reasons web design is important. First Impressions When your audience visits your website, it provides them with their first impression of your business. Based on what they see, they will judge your business within seconds. Therefore, in these first few seconds that you get, you want to make a positive impact on your audience. If the website appears to be unappealing or outdated, your audience will instantly have a negative perception of your business. Due to this perception, they won’t find your website appealing, which will deter them from staying on your page. This will cause you to miss out on leads due to visitors leaving and buying on a competitor’s page. Web design is vitally important as it impacts how your audience perceives your brand. The perception you create on them can either get them to stay on your page and learn more or leave and turn to a competitor.  A good designed website helps you keep your leads on your page. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Many web design elements influence how you publish content on your website.  In doing so, it affects how search engines crawl through and index your website. This is one thing you do not want to mess up. If you don’t have a well thought out SEO strategy, you’ll be continually fighting for visibility in search engines. The best way to ensure proper web design practices that lead to search engine visibility is to partner up with a web designer that knows what they’re doing. Customer Service People can judge how they will be treated by looking at your website. Your design gives them insight as to how you view your audience. If you don’t put much effort into your website’s design, your audience knows that you won’t put effort into helping them. As a small business, your website serves as a customer service representative. If your website is bright, modern, and inviting, your audience will feel more welcomed on your page. It’ll give them the impression that you are open and welcoming to new people who visit your site. On the other hand, an outdated or unappealing website makes your business appear cold and disconnected. Statistics show that site visitors don’t want to check out a business that doesn’t value them enough to make a good first impression. View the design of your site as the digital face of your business. If someone walked into your physical location, wouldn’t you want a friendly face to greet them and make them feel welcome? An updated and modernized web design is the equivalent to a friendly face greeting your new visitors. Builds Trust Hands down, people don’t trust poorly designed websites. If the design is unappealing or the information appears to be outdated, visitors won’t trust your website. They may view your website as unreliable or shady because you don’t have an updated web design. On the other hand, a professional site signals trust with your audience. They will trust your business and feel comfortable checking it out further. Building trust with your audience from the get-go is very important for them to remain on your site. The longer visitors remain on your website, the greater the opportunities for your business to capture those leads and sales. Your Competition One of the biggest reasons for why web design is important for your business is that your competitors are already utilizing it. If you want to stay competitive with them, you must use web design for your site. Your website needs to stand out from the competition. If you have an old, outdated, and low-quality website, your competitor’s will outrank you every day of the week.  This means you’ll lose leads to your competitors. They’ll attract more leads to their page because their page is more appealing. How your website is designed is an opportunity for you to set your business apart from the competition. Because your products/services and pricing are usually very similar, you need that one thing that will make your business stand out from the rest.  Web design can be that separating piece. Got a Project in Mind? GET IN TOUCH I collaborate with innovative brands to create cutting-edge digital experiences.Let’s connect!