Are you locked out of your own website?

Over the years we have helped many clients gain access to their own website that was being controlled by their current or past web designer. Sometimes we get little to no cooperation from that web designer, which is unfortunate. We have been very fortunate to host and maintain most of the websites we have ever built for our clients. Every so often we get a call from a client who wishes to have someone else manage their website for them. This is no problem at all. We know that situations change and businesses evolve in different ways. When this does happen, we make sure their new web developer has access to anything and everything they need to be able to do their job. We not only owe that to our client, we owe that to the next web developer. It is the right thing to do and it is what being a professional is.

We just had one of these such transitions happen with one of our long time clients. We helped the new developer with whatever he needed. We were very happen to get this email from him.

I wanted to thank you for making this process as easy as you have. When the shoe is on the other foot I always do the same. However, there are some people I’ve dealt with during a transition that make it such a difficult process. Dragging their feet and doing anything they can to make it harder on me. You’re a testament to our profession.
Thanks again
A few things to consider when you have a website developed. You will be putting both time and money into not only developing your new website but also to advertise your website.
The last thing you want is be “locked out” of your website.
When having a website developed, there are 3 main items related to the website itself.
Your domain name: Example www.wallfrog.com
Your email address: Example [email protected]
Your website hosting: Your new website needs to “live” somewhere so that it can be viewed on the internet. When you purchase hosting for your website, you are paying for server space for your website to reside.
These three services can be all in one place or they can be provided by three different companies.
Typically you would either purchase these items directly from a company such as GoDaddy or from your web development company. Either way, you want to make sure that you ultimately “own” these services so to insure you don’t get locked out of them in the future.
Typically you would get “locked out” for three different reasons.
1. The person or company you originally hired to develop a website for you handled these services for you. They may have had good intentions but for whatever reason they are no longer around or they are out of business.
2. The person or company you originally hired to develop your website never informed you that you were actually “renting” these services from them. This is the case often where the web developer technically owns your domain name and controls your email system and website hosting. As long as you keep paying the monthly fee, it is yours but the day you want to make a switch, you find out that nothing you have can be taken with you.
3. You may have hired a non professional, non ethical company that wants to control everything to hold you ransom and make sure that you always need to come back to them for service.
How does Wallfrog handle these services?
We realize that every business is different and every owner wants to have a different involvement in their internet presence. We do offer a package where we register our clients domain name on their behalf, host their website and set up their business email. These clients are typically not involved in managing these services as they are the type that does not want to be involved. The hire us to handle this for them. We do however, make sure that they know they own their own domain name, their own website and their email system. If they ever need or want to make a change to another provider, we will work with that provider to ensure  a smooth transition.
For those who may be a little uncomfortable with giving another company control , we help our clients set up their own domain and hosting accounts through GoDaddy.
In this case they pay directly to GoDaddy, the account is in their name, they have access to it and they control it. We just help them set it up properly and make sure we get their new website working in their own godaddy account. For email, we recommend Google’s G Suite. We have set this up for over 250 businesses and also use it for Wallfrog. Not only is it a great email system, it is not tied to the company that either hosts the website or registers the domain name. I have seen too many companies need to switch hosting providers and then have to set up a whole new email system again.
Just to review….
When having a website developed or redesigned, make sure that you…..
Own your own domain name, know where it is registered and how to access it.
Own your own website, the images on that website along with any graphics or content. Be sure to know where it is hosted and how to access it.
Control your own email system, be sure that it is in your name and you know how to access it.
If you ever need help answering any of questions related to your current websites, we can help.
 Website Access

 

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Website Design for Salon and Spa in CT

Catherine and Company Salon and Day Spa in Meriden, CT, has been a long time client of Wallfrog. We designed their first website 8 years ago. It was a great website for the times, but 8 years later a lot has changed with websites. Obviously one of the biggest changes has been the explosion of mobile devices. Most people these days are ditching their desktop computers in favor of a tablet, laptop or smart phone. Websites need to perform across all these devices, giving the website user the best viewing experience.

Wallfrog designed their new website to be mobile responsive. The website will automatically respond to what ever screen size or device it is being viewed from.

 

website design hair salon ct

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Website Design for Day Care Center in CT

Wallfrog recently designed and launched a new website for Building Blocks Learning Center located in Wallingford, CT. After 28 years in business, this is their very first website. Like most businesses that started before the internet was part of the conversation, they got most of their business by referrals from their happy clients. They will continue to do just that. This website will however, make them more referable. As clients recommend businesses to their friends, those friends, although trusting the referral, like to go on-line to visit the website of the company just to confirm or find out additional information. In the past, Building Blocks did not have a presence on-line. The new website will not only help them be found, but become a selling tool, and a timesavers for Building Blocks, as it will answer some of the common questions about their services and what they offer.

website design ct - daycare center

 

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Is Your Website “Modern”?

 

Update Your Website

This may be the perfect time to invest in a new website.

Eventually you need to buy a new car instead of repainting it again and replacing the transmission and tires.

It is the same with websites. You shouldn’t need a new one every year, but after a while all the new goodies and gadgets come out that makes you question that maybe it is time buy a new one.

Here are some of the highlights to the biggest changes in recent years with websites. This list could be a mile long with more detail in each section but here is an overview for now.

 

  1. Past websites were an extension of your printed brochure. The basics of who you are, what you do and how to contact you. Modern websites look to “solve a problem” for a potential client. They speak to their challenges. They are less about explaining your services in detail but rather more about how your services can help that client.

 

  1. Call To Action. All modern websites have calls to action. More thought goes into sites these days, on what purpose they serve, how they flow, how to engage the visitor and how to ultimately get the visitor to act or react before leaving the site. You have their attention now. Proper calls to action with help convert the website visitor into a paying customer.

 

  1. Visual. More graphics, photos and videos drive modern websites. Much more use of graphics to cross promote website pages and get people to where they need to quickly and effectively.

 

  1. Responsive. SEO or search engine optimization has evolved tremendously. One of the biggest factors lately has been responsive sites. If it is a great visual experience, (and mobile friendly) Google will rank your site more favorably. This is just one element of search but it is also a smart choice to have a responsive site to give your clients the best experience. A responsive site will automatically adjust itself or re-stack/re-organize itself for the best viewing experience whether it is being viewed from a mobile device or desktop computer.

 

  1. SEO. This is a topic I can go on about forever. Bottom line is most of us have “optimized” our website (or not) for google search at one time or another. Most people feel that they are now set forever. Truth is Google is forever evolving what it deems important when choosing which sites to list before others. A re-design is the perfect time to take a look at your current rankings and apply new techniques to get your website found.

 

Things move fast these days and there is no stopping the evolution of the web and web marketing. What worked yesterday may not work today. Most businesses don’t put the proper investment toward their website based on the success or lack or success of their current website.

“I don’t get anything from it” Chances are if the site keeps up with the times you will get new business from it. It is a big mistake to not evolve your website along with the evolving habits of website users and the evolution of the available technology.

Done right, your website is an investment that will pay you back, save you time and make your connections to your clients more profitable and enjoyable.

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Why Your Website Needs to be Mobile Friendly Yesterday

People Using Mobile Phones to Search for Things

Is It Too Late to Make Your Site Mobile Friendly?

If you are even reading this post it may be too late. If you can compare it to when this post was written the Google update for the improvement of search happened two days ago on April 21st, 2015. We have been preaching to those who were proactive about getting their website up to date but now it is time to preach to those who are falling behind. Sometimes you need a kick in the wallet to understand that you can’t continue down the same path grieving why you are not getting business from your website. If you are continually behind the times how can you ever expect to catch up?

Don’t Lose the Mobile Battle!

This is not a rant, this is a wake up call. We have seen hundreds of businesses over time try to follow the yellow brick road or try to find the end of the rainbow only to discover someone else was there first. Second place is the first loser.

You Are Spending Too Much on the Wrong Things

Way back when, if you didn’t have a pigeon you wouldn’t get your message out. Some business owners still think it is ok to spend $15,000 a year “or more” on placing their ad in that big phone book. When is change going to happen? As of today more than half of searches on the internet are done with a mobile device. Google had every reason in the world to adapt and change their algorithm to create the best experience possible for their users. Some business owners think it is ok to spend $400 for their ad to show up in the Sunday paper “once”. That is outrageous! Do it every Sunday and that is another $20,800! Now to spend $35,800 on two mediums that give mediocre results you can hire a full time person to market your business online where all the action is. People are not searching for your business anymore, they are searching for what you offer. In retrospect, even businesses used to name their companies A-1 Plumbing or Aardvark Painting just so that when someone picked up that big paperweight of a book they would see your business first under that particular category. It does not work like that anymore. Google does not give alphabetical results it gives the most relevant result. So if you are not mobile friendly, socially active and optimized for your products or services you are out of luck!

Never Stop Evolving your Website!

Forward progress. We are not telling you this to make you feel bad or scold you, we are telling you this to make you aware that change is needed to puff up your wallet again. If you are experiencing a downfall in revenue and a decrease in customers, take the hint. Something is wrong. Every business can streamline their processes, work faster, study harder to make up the difference but if you do not stop for a second and realize you have to continually re-invent yourself as a person and as a business owner you will proceed in the wrong direction. We are in the business and it is hard to keep up with everything changing, especially mobile friendly websites. Looking back at all the change that has occurred over the last 10 years is baffling. The businesses who are succeeding are embracing the fact that it is always evolving and jumping in on all the latest trends and tools. Not all of them are a perfect fit for every business but depending on what you do, one of these tools can be the ticket to reaching your goals and making your dreams come true.

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SEO Website Design Checklist for an Effective Conversion

Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich Representing How Well SEO Goes with Website Design

Google is the Key

Through the years as Google evolved and continued to dial in its algorithm, it became even more important to provide the search engine with high quality content that was engaging and useful. Writing content that is from the heart and through the eyes of the consumer is the best method for capturing the attention of the reader and increasing the probability of them taking action. By this we mean picking up the phone, clicking a button to be taken to a landing page or filling out a form. This is what we call a calculated conversion. From the moment a person enters in a search term to the point of contact with your business is the reason why SEO coupled with a few website design elements is the key to gaining more customers effectively.

Business Owners Need to Understand You Get Out What You Put In

SEO and Website Design are like peanut butter and jelly, they just go together. One without the other just doesn’t seem to work as well. For instance you can have 1000’s of visitors to your website but if you have no path for them to help them complete their decision you lost. On the flip side if you have an awesome graphic of your products or services along with a clean appetizing form to fill out and no website traffic you lost again. By creating the synergy your customers are searching for, your business has a better chance of increasing its leads and ultimately its sales. It does take time and money to continually build your SEO and website design elements to be able to accomplish this but once you have the recipe for success you can crank up the heat and amplify your results very easily. The trick is to predetermine what your customers are thinking about your products or services. As a business owner you may have a false understanding on how your customers are perceiving you. By discussing problems and recommending solutions on your seo website design that your customers can relate to will launch your results up the ladder.

What Every Website Needs to Attract Visitors

1. Search Engine Optimization

2. Social Media Marketing

3. Press Releases

4. Creative Content

5. Blog

What Every Website Needs to Convert Visitors to Leads

1. Mobile Friendly

2. Responsive Website Design

3. Creative Graphics

4. Calls to Action

5. Engaging Content

6. Simple Forms

7. Social Media Integration

8. Website Tracking

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The method behind applying all of these tasks in conjunction is required to get the opportunity to close a lead into a customer. That is what we all want but there is a price just like anything else. If you are a business owner who is reluctant to do what it takes and spend what it costs to do it right you can’t expect quality results. Those business owners spending a portion of their marketing budget to advance their web pages up the Google search ladder are experiencing extraordinary results which generates more revenue for the company by utilizing seo website design. With this new revenue the business owners have more money to continue creating that online presence that solidifies their authority in their industry online.

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Taking Out Trash – A Web Designers View of Successful Businesses

Web Designer Insight on the Internet Throughout the Years

Business Man Frustrated Throwing Computer

One thing we can say for sure as a company that started back in 2006 is we embraced change.  The internet back then was just gaining momentum and becoming a place where you can find information.  As it grew, businesses began to learn that the old brick and mortar method of thinking was starting to go out of the window.  Internet companies were slowly taking away the business of small mom and pop shops and also many small businesses.  In retrospect what was really happening is that companies were centralizing and consolidating their products and services and offering them online cheaper and faster than you can get them locally.  The reason is because the local companies would have to carry so much inventory that it stressed out their overhead and they were finding out that they couldn’t carry all of the options the people wanted all under one roof.  With that said, these businesses were beginning to battle a bigger hurdle with those companies using the Internet to broadcast a variety of products and services without having to carry any inventory.  What companies were doing was making connections with distributors and becoming a hub for sales that was much easier for the online consumer.  There was a time where people needed to touch and feel what they are buying.  Another phenomenon that was happening is that people would go to the local stores, figure out what they want and then hunt around online for the best price.  In most cases they can save on tax and those companies can pass on the savings to the customer due to their low operating costs, not to mention free shipping, customer satisfaction and returns with no questions asked.

What We Learned by Interviewing Businesses

Now why are we as web designers mentioning all of this.  The reason is that we have dealt with several hundred businesses and had meetings with over a thousand.  During these discussions we have heard all the horror stories, success stories and struggles that business owners have.  We have also discussed financials and client base.  We have seen businesses fail, we have seen businesses succeed, we have seen businesses go from small to large and large to small and we have seen start-ups become million dollar companies.  This is precious information that a web designer can use to help business owners willing to beat the odds and flourish on the Internet.  In our experience those business owners that resisted change or were not willing to listen or learn to the reality that was unfolding before their eyes are continuing to struggle.  Brick and mortar thinking is not how businesses are succeeding.  We don’t mean the ones that have an actual building, we mean the ones that are not thinking outside of their building.  Opening themselves up to a larger market by embracing the Internet is what separates them from failure.  If you think about it, when a family of 4 is driving to a broadway show in their city, 3/4 of them have their heads in their mobile devices.  That means all the billboards you invested in are probably being missed most of the time except by the driver if they are paying attention.  That type of marketing is the opposite of what really brings in the bacon.  When someone wants a product or service the first thing they do is hop on the internet.  9 times out of 10 they are not searching Google for the name of your company because they may have saw it on a billboard or a newspaper.  They are searching Google for the product or service you may offer.  Now if your business is not embracing the Internet how on earth do you expect to succeed.  Again, old school marketing is not working anymore.  It is intrusive and not in front of your audience when it needs to be.

How to Anticipate What Your Clients Want

As a web design company, it is our job to align your market with your customers so when they are good and ready to search for the products and services you offer you better rank high on Google wether it is natural search through SEO or paid search using Pay per Click.  On top of that you need to be broadcasting your message on Social Media such as Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In and others that compliment your industry.  When we design websites we take all of these avenues into consideration when we anticipate a potential customer arriving at your website.  We think of everything possible to get inside their head to make sure we answer their question before they ask it., solve their problem before they know it and guide them towards what they are looking for gracefully.  Knowing your visitors mindset prior to them landing on your site is the key to converting those visitors to potential clients.

Does Your Website Have a Pulse?

The bottom line is that people are sick and tired of being interrupted by traditional marketing methods that they learned how to tune marketers out.  People are information maniacs and they scour the Internet for solutions to their problems or answers to their questions.  Once their sights are set on what it is they want, the next logical thing to do is purchase or inquire about the product or service they seek.  Now as web designers, we have adapted to these changes and new trends so that we can get our customers in the spotlight of their audience.  Does your website have a pulse?  Our job is to build your website to be an affective tool that speaks volumes to your visitors and makes their mouth water for more.  If your site is built where your customers enjoy your culture and story they will share and broadcast their experience with others and the inertia is exponential.  Having this power and knowledge is crucial to the success of your business.

Why Business Owners are Struggling, We Have Heard It All!

One of the main reasons Wallfrog has free consultations with our clients is to learn about their business, pain points, struggles and challenges they may have.  Our number one problem business owners are having is that they are jealous of their competitors.  Now why is that?  Because they are probably all over the Internet, Social Media and in normal conversation.  They are shouting their success with a megaphone and the people we often speak with want to be them.  In order to do that they have suck it up and start to talk about their business through content on the Internet.  We keep saying, embrace the Internet.  The next issue is the money it takes to do what their competitors are doing.  They get frustrated when they hear the cost of what it takes to do the right thing in order to keep up with their competition let alone pass them out.  The reason they don’t have any money is because their competitors took their business away from them overnight and they keep spending money on old marketing methods.  We are still not sure why businesses decide to take the wrong path or continue to resist change.  What we do know is that those businesses who listen to a web designer who is in the trenches watching and taking notes of the successful companies and amplifying the results tenfold are winning the rat race.

Web Designers Know What Works and What Doesn’t, We Are In The Trenches

The reality of most sites is this.  Your parents think it’s nice and after a few months of it you get board of looking at the same colors, fonts and menus.  At some point you start thinking that maybe the look and feel is not as good as another site.  There are a ton of reasons why business owners think that new design 9 months ago needs a face lift.  The truth is that most of the problem is the content and the message.  You go on your website every day looking at it through the eyes of a business owner.  Your customers on the other hand look at the website through the eyes of a buyer.  Two completely different views of what a website should be.  We as web designers time and time again see business owners pointing out the reason why their business is tanking but the real reason is that they are not engaging.  Your visitors are looking for information, plain and simple.  In most cases your website looks perfectly fine.  What you should really do is rethink the concept of your website.  With 60% of Internet search being mobile if your website is not responsive, people are simply going to skip to the website that is.  You lose once again.  Here are some things to consider or take away from all of this.

If You DO Anything at All, Do These Simple Things

Make Your Website Responsive

Add a Blog

Create Compelling Content

Integrate Calls-to-Action

Focus on Where the Action Is (Google & Social Media)

Track Your Progress

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