3 Steps to better SEO and content

3 Steps to make your website count in Canberra and beyond! 

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a big part of what we do here at CanberraWeb. So we thought we would take a moment to outline the broad strokes of how to achieve better rankings on search engines, and appear higher on the lists, becoming more likely to be visited.

Step 1: Create trusted material

With Google's updates to their algorithms, the importance of trust cannot be understated. To improve how trusted your site is, develop content that is relevant to your site's purpose, and embed links naturally and when necessary, as any excessive or unnatural links will be picked up and punished by Penguin. Focus on what you want to share with your reader, rather than on collecting more views.

Step 2: Create unique material

You have something to share that is valuable and unique. If you want to draw positive attention from web browsers and the good graces of Panda and Penguin, rely on your knowledge and skills. Rather than using unnatural links, keywords and duplicated text from your own site or other sites, be original.

Step 3: Create quality material

Quality over quantity in all things. Though Panda assesses hundreds of factors, its primary purpose is to establish a sense of the quality of your site. How it judges this is up to debate, but it is generally accepted that it looks down on excessive keywords and anchor text (words with a hyperlink attached), and large numbers of pages with thin content rather than in-depth material. Try to focus your web pages on sharing valuable information with your viewers. Hold their attention with the quality of your work. If you do, you will get them coming back for more and they will naturally link to your site, creating more trust in your website as a result. More quality leads to more trust, which leads to more views!

If this article has helped, or if you have any questions, contact us or leave a comment.

If you are interested in SEO and want more information on how to improve your web traffic, contact us for all your web design needs and web hosting in Canberra on (02) 6223 2222.

Our address is: 5/47-49 Vicars St, Mitchell ACT 2911

Canberra Web is a group of Canberra web designers specialising in small to medium sized businesses. Being Canberra based web designers allows us to give you personalised service by means of onsite meetings, local call cost and quick service, being... around the corner from you. We are committed to giving you the service, and back up service you need that you can't get from interstate and overseas alternative web designers.

Our Canberra web designers can handle all your graphic design, copywriting and web hosting needs in house. We also have a photography service available for location and product shots if needed and we use a network of great local Canberra based businesses to facilitate additional services that you may require such as Printing, TV Advertising and marketing...

We specialise in getting your new website search engine optimised so that websites like Google can easily read your site and position your website under the right searches. A lot of existing websites don't work in this area - deeming them useless to be found by people searching for products. The only way those websites work is by manually entering the URL or searching by exact business name. With your new Canberra Web website design we will be able to individually tag each page with its own set of dedicated search parameters. This enables each web page to increase your ranking on Google by means of density - we will explain this further during the processes.

It's important that your website evolves and grows with your business. All of our sites have the option to be either maintained by our Canberra web designers, or by you. We offer full training packages and back up support. This way your site doesn't get outdated and is injected with fresh, new web content on a regular basis.

Are you after a Website Canberra?

Canberra web are the go to guys if you have works to be done or need a new website Canberra.

With many years’ experience managing, building and developing websites Canberra sees as trend setting, Canberra web has become the leader in all service aspects of a website Canberra has come to demand from a website service. We are a well-regarded and recognised developer of premium Canberra websites across Canberra's ever changing digital landscape.

A website Canberra uses must meet specific criteria to be regarded highly in an ever evolving consumer and digital market place when competing with other websites Canberra produces.

A website Canberra regards as up with the times must be Aesthetically pleasing, functional, convey a custom commercial message (or sales pitch), be visible online (searchable) and be of a design which encourages a viewer to explore your business with the end goal to convey your business's services in detail and your points of difference.

Canberra web provides you with an experienced Canberra website service and works quality admired by the competition all at highly competitive rates.

We combine multiple website services to produce a Canberra website tailored to your specific needs and wants from a website. With our expert insight from years of experience we provide you with nurturing guidance regarding what works and does not in an ever evolving “digital stall” market place. Our aim is to make your website Canberra's benchmark for a chosen field online.

We recognise a Canberra website is generally the first point of contact for local industries where a consumer work force is in large proportion affiliated with administration and government duties. We recognise this workforce has easy access to Internet and will research services and potentially your Canberra website when looking for a service during work, lunch or at other key times.

Looking through a Canberra website during lunch or work hours may be frowned upon however it is generally accepted as a norm if a true need arises in the form of a personal service requirement, being local we have all heard the phrase coined "work life balance".

Canberra web makes websites Canberra residents who are considered a busy, time poor workforce will keep coming back to. With this in mind Canberra web ensures your website traffic is provided a premium experience when using your website with key information easily accessible to the viewer and additional points of interest prominently displayed for ease of access.

A website Canberra will look at and act upon, needs to convert a view into a call and this is generally encouraged by calls to action coupled with the look, feel and functionality of the website Canberra is viewing at any one time. Canberra Web tailors these requirements on all of its Canberra websites and produces premium websites Canberra loves.

Of course a Canberra website that doesn’t appear on a search engine may as well not have been built so we aim to rank you as high as possible according to your budget from the outset.

For a website Canberra loves, uses, follows through on and comes back to call Canberra web on (02) 6223 2222 and please feel free to perouse our site for examples of our Canberra website Portfolio.

Our address is: 5/47-49 Vicars St, Mitchell ACT 2911

4 ways content is the key to your website

When it comes to getting your website built, there are many important elements to consider. There's the actual platform and design, the functionality and navigation, the host, the content management system, an online shop, a social media strategy - and more.

But do you want to know what the most underrated but absolutely crucial element of that entire website design is? One word: content.

That's right, so many Canberra Web clients come to us asking for slick, modern and above all simple website designs - and there's certainly nothing wrong than that. But we're consistently blown away by how clients will often want to sacrifice content to achieve a minimal but visually stunning site.

But here's what we tell them about the incredible importance of content:

1. Information
   
   Above all else, 'content' is just another way to say 'information' - and that's pretty much why your website visitor is trying to find you in the first place. Remember - they want your details and they want to know about your product or service, and the most direct way to transmit that information is through simple, easy-to-find, high quality and easy-to-understand content. Not just that, the all-important 'Call To Action' - where you actually ask your visitors to stop just reading and actually do something - is only possible within content.
   
   
2. Search engines
   
   But before that visitor even gets to your site, they need to find it - and that's where the trusty search engine comes in. One of the best ways websites communicate with search engines is through content. So bear in mind that your content is being written not just for your customers eyes, but specifically for the search engine - so make sure it's on-point and accurately describing what your website is all about, so the search engine knows what to do with that information.
   
   
3. Keywords
   
   To this end, your content should also bear in mind the sort of keywords that search engine users might be typing into their browsers. This is all part of your search engine optimisation strategy, and content plays a huge role. A page of content with targeted keywords is the clearest and easiest way for a search engine to match your website with its search results and the best possible potential visitor.
   
   
4. Internal links
   
   You'll also notice that website content often includes internal links - a hyperlinked gateway to other pages within a site. This is an easy way for your users to navigate through the most important parts of your website, easily finding what they are looking for. Internal links are also liked by search engines, helping the ever more sophisticated technology to understand what your site is about and how it should be presented in listings.

Finally, great content is quite simply one of the easiest ways to attract, entertain and keep visitors to your site, demonstrating its high quality and value. The team at Canberra Web knows all about how important content is as we do the web design Canberra clients have trusted for years, so get in touch today to find out more.

5 reasons to skip Wix for your new website

Just as there are many ways to skin a cat, there are actually thousands of ways to build a website.

So if you're doing some 'How to build a website' research, you may have come across a three-letter solution that sounds tempting: Wix.

Actually, Wix is pretty popular when it comes to 'drag and drop' websites. But it's not all beer and skittles.

On the face of it, Wix seems pretty tempting. It's a turn-key website solution, you use all of their tools to build your site, it then sits on the Wix servers and you handle everything from the admin controls.

So what's the issue? Looks look at what's wrong with Wix:

1. Lack of control
   
   If you want to be able to fully control every aspect of your site and use advanced features as they become available, Wix will let you down. Yes, it's easy and convenient, but Wix websites are a bit of a straight-jacket.
   
   
2. Cost
   
   Wix is pricier than comparable others in the market, like Squarespace and Weebly. And when you think about the cost of hosting your own WordPress site, then Wix really is costly, without even offering a lot of bandwidth or storage.
   
   
3. Design
   
   So even with the easy 'drag and drop' format, you'll still get frustrated when designing with Wix. That's because it will actually let you drop anywhere, even if it's a really silly place. This means it can take ages to get a design that actually looks professional.
   
   
4. The apps
   
   If you want to go beyond the standard features, you'll need to use the Wix app store. But you may be disappointed: are they really great apps or simply Iframes - a 'window' that is not really your site at all?
   
   
5. SEO
   
   To get people on your site, you need to appear in Google results. But the Google 'bots' don't seem to like Wix due to the way it presents content with the technology that is called Ajax. In short, a normal HTML site is more Google-friendly.

Of course, everyone has their opinion, but here at Canberra Web, we think there are far better options. If you're looking for quality web design in Canberra, get in touch with the professionals today.

Being involved in a business, it's very easy to look at your website differently than if you were a customer. So, let's not think about your own company, but instead go on a journey that you might frequently take when, as a potential customer, you are undertaking a web search for a product or service you require.

How often does this happen to you?

You input the key terms that you think are relevant to that search. Up comes the possibilities for you to visit. When you make a selection, you are hoping to quickly find yourself aligned with exactly what you require, be it a product for your home or a service for your business. Yet, your optimism is quickly dimmed when you arrive at a fairly bland homepage. Yes, you are politely welcomed to the company, but there is no quick reference to the terms of your search. You might try to find your way to what you are looking for - but why should it be you who makes that effort? Often, you are likely to become frustrated; the easiest course of action is then to return to your search and try elsewhere. The business whose website you visited has lost a potential customer - and without even being aware of your existence!

Providing an instant connection to a searcher's needs

To avoid this happening to your business, an effective answer is to use specifically crafted landing pages; ones utterly relevant to the search criteria. When clicking through after that search, your potential customer immediately finds information relevant to their needs. The previously described situation could be said to be like fishing without baiting your hook! Here, the customer is quickly reeled in.

Therefore, these pages can substantially increase your conversion rates and build a loyal customer base. A single link establishes genuine contact and encourages them to take the action you want. They are less likely to be distracted by being told what they don't want or need to know; this is often a real danger when arriving at a non-specific homepage.

When undertaking web design at Canberra Web, we can work with you to craft specifically targeted landing pages, making sure that your hook is baited with the best lures to catch those vital customer connections. To find out more, please call us now on 02 6223 2222.

A website is often the public's first interaction with your business. It cannot succeed simply through an engaging design or thoughtful content. Your website needs to have a style that feeds into your customer's user experience while being easy to understand at a first glance. Just with a client or customer meeting you in person, or walking into your office, first appearances and experiences are important.

Value proposition

Make sure your mission statement clearly states the purpose of your website and calls out to prospective customers what you do, and why they need you. Ensure this is on your homepage, in your blogs and on your ‘about’ page.

Website navigation

The way in which visitors get around your website is vital in that it helps the user find what they need to know, but also helps your search engine rankings. Navigation should be intuitive and human, utilising words prospective clients are searching for directly, meaning fewer clicks to get to the content, which again helps search engines identify your relevance in the search.

Tip: avoid using jargon or lingo. Often businesses try to be clever instead of being intuitive for their visitors. Customers won’t know what “Our Buzz” means. Is that your blog? Say “Blog”, keep it simple and common.

A clear call to action

One of the most important things when engaging with clients or prospective customers is the call to action. Once you’ve got visitors, and you’ve got their attention, you then need to tell them what you want them to do. You might consider click buttons like “get a quote” or “go to check out”. The click button should always be the description of an action or next step.

It can also be helpful to add colour to your call to action, a colour with accents and contrasts with the primary scheme of your website.

Mobile friendly

This is a must-have for web design as most people view websites on their phone more frequently than their computer. Additionally, on April 21st, Google updated their search rankings algorithm to ensure web pages that are mobile optimised will now rank higher in mobile search results compared with non-mobile friendly sites.

For more information in improving your digital marketing Canberra wide, get in touch.

7 things to exclude from your web design

Your website can be great for a thousand other reasons, but if there is something about it that is instantly annoying, that could be a crucial lost customer.

You put in a lot of effort so that your site is opened up in a new tab, so here are some fundamental reasons to consider why visitors may decide to press that little 'x' within that all-important first 30 seconds:

1. Sound
   In short, if your website loads with automatically playing music - disable it immediately. You may love it, but millions of your potential customers don't. And if it's not actually built in to your design, ensure that the ads on your site aren't doing the annoying on your behalf with infuriating music, sounds and babbling.
   
   
2. Popups
   The enormous success of popup ad blockers shows just how much internet dwellers hate them.
   
   
3. Interstitials
   If you haven't heard of them, then you at least know what they are. Interstitials are an intermediate page between the link you clicked, and where you actually want to go. So again, why risk infuriating and frustrating your customer when all they want to do is see your site?
   
   
4. Pagination
   Another unfamiliar term, but you undoubtedly know what it is when you see it. This is the sort of web feature that forces browsers to keep clicking 'next' in content to increase page impressions, but it also tempts busy users to give up before they find what they really want.
   
   
5. Load times
   In this world of ever improving internet speeds, web users are unforgiving if your site is slow and unwieldy when it comes to loading. If a big chunk of your browsers could leave within 30 seconds, why waste a precious few by leaving them staring frustratingly at a blank screen?
   
   
6. Navigation
   It's not just that your customers want to find what they want quickly and easily, they're simply unforgiving if you make them look too hard. So never make your navigation dependant on something that is usually complex and unreliable, like Flash.
   
   
7. Missing information
   Arguably even worse than poor navigation is missing information. For example, if all a potential customer wants to know is price, and you've decided to leave that crucial information out for whatever reason, that could be a potential customer who is diligently doing their homework lost forever.

Canberra Web guarantee excellent web design clients in Canberra and beyond will love, with none of the turnoffs that send your customers packing. Get in touch today.

The top 4 basics of web design for today

We don't need to convince you that you need a website. But here at Canberra Web, we can't stress enough how important the actual nuts and bolts of your website are.

To make it clearer, think about a really great website. It looks and works great, it's easy to use, everything you go to do works quickly and - best of all from a seller's point of view - the process of buying is attractive and fun.

Now think of a terrible website - which is harder, because you may have clicked away before you even took in the woeful details.

We've been doing web design Canberra clients and clickers love for years, so it's with that experience that we want to pass on the top four basics of a website build that works!

1. Click into today
   
   You may have some ideas about web design, and that's great. Now forget all of it. If you know a lot about web design, then you already know how quickly this world changes. What worked in the past is now too expensive, it takes too long to do, and it won't deliver what you need for 2017 and beyond.
   
   
2. A design for growth
   
   You want your new site to do lots of things, but a really big one that is too often forgotten is growth. As we suggested, web design, the internet and the habits of consumers are changing rapidly, and you don't want to be changing the fundamentals of your website constantly. Instead, you need one designed to evolve.
   
   
3. Have a vision
   
   Too many people start building a website with too little in mind. Perhaps they want it to 'look good', or 'sell lots', but your targets, goals and ambitions actually have to be more specific. Have targets that can be achieved in actual numbers or other measurable stats, and then a clear path to making tweaks along the way so that it can be meaningfully improved.
   
   
4. Build a buyer
   
   Website design will come together a lot easier if you have a clear idea of what your typical buyer looks like. Of course, you need to cast a wide net, but it's a fact that you really need to be giving your target audience exactly what they want, need and expect. And this design should be based on research and data, not just a hunch.

Believe us when we say that the list above could go on and on and on. To find out how we can help you get your web design basics spot on, get in touch today.

The how and why, where and when, of your website

Our web design team here in Canberra like to talk to our clients about these four areas. Each has a degree of importance in how a web presence should be presented, and these may vary both for different businesses and organisations, or throughout the year. It's worth thinking about each for your own web design...

How?

Your potential customers are likely to use different hardware to access your site. Apart from the traditional laptop or desktop, you can now add smart TVs, tablets, and mobile phones. It's important that, for each option, your website looks and operates in a friendly and welcoming way. There are still too many around that are OK for computers but simply fail to function adequately across the more recent access options.

Why?

Each person who accesses your site is doing so for their own specific reason. It's important that they quickly realise that such reasons will be dealt with - whether these concern products or services, making purchases or receiving information. Effective web design should always pay attention to the range of needs or wants that the business will be meeting for customers, and constantly talk to these in both design and content.

Where?

Some web design projects we undertake are for businesses who operate solely in Canberra and nearby; others can range across the country and beyond. Knowing the area your customers are to be found allows you to talk to them in relevant terms. For example, providing garden maintenance services for Canberra can invite content about specific districts and suburbs; this would make little sense to most site visitors if you were selling furniture online to customers right across Australia.

When?

Your services might be appropriate only to specific times of any day or week, month or season. Your products might have clear seasonal sales peaks, or parts of your range could be appropriate at different times. It's important to make sure your web presence is up-to-date. It's still possible to find some sites offering season's greetings in February, or still talking about Valentine's Day in April!

Appreciating the how, why, where and when reasons for your web presence helps keep it of-its-time and fully responsive. If you'd like to talk to our Canberra Web team about any of these areas and its affect on your website responsiveness, please call us now on 02 6223 2222.

In the period of time since you either first set up your company or created an initial website for it, how much has changed? It's likely that your business has grown faster than you originally imagined. It may have diversified into new geographical, demographic, or product or service areas that you weren't originally contemplating. It might even have become more specialised or niche than you intended it to. The one thing that is certain is that it won't have remained exactly the same!

Matching your web presence to those, and other, changes

When considering that original web design, Canberra businesses would have an initial idea about who they were talking to and what they wanted to say to them. Time and experience often means that these messages now need to be amended to reflect changing public tastes or perceptions, as well as to cover the points raised earlier in this blog. You may well have found that your clients make different uses of either your products or services than you originally imagined would be the case.

Managing your eCommerce site as circumstances change

As well as the information areas already mentioned, if you have an online store, it's worth considering whether it has changed as your product ranges have. For example, one category of items might originally only have offered a few options. Over time this may have increased substantially. Therefore, will it now be wise to separate these out into some sub-categories? This would help visitors quickly find exactly what they are looking for, rather than them having to wade through a range of possibilities.

Making the most of those FAQs

Another area where greater information will have become available over time is through the questions prospective customers ask when they contact you. While these can be handled in a FAQ section, how much of the information would be better placed elsewhere on your website? Adding requested content to specific product or service areas makes your site more user-friendly and responsive.

More than simply content amendments

As well as these key information areas, websites also need to change to reflect how they are accessed across an increasing range of different devices.

If you'd like to discuss all options for improving your digital marketing Canberra-wide, please talk to our experienced team by calling 02 6223 2222 now.

You have an awesome idea to start an online business that can provide you with enough income to leave the daily grind and work for yourself from anywhere in the world.

Sounds easy, and it is. Thousands of entrepreneurs all over the world are successfully doing business online. They’re choosing their own hours, making good money, and living the dream.

Where do you start?

Establishing an online business starts with a website. It’s possible to start a WordPress website very cheaply and with minimal skills and expertise. You can have your website set up in under an hour.

Many people take this option because they have a limited budget and are in a hurry to get started. And many do so successfully.

For others, however, it’s a false economy. In cutting corners, costly mistakes are made. The dream becomes a nightmare. The business doesn’t take off.

What can go wrong?

Prior to the internet, anyone starting out in business would have undoubtedly undertaken considerable research and sought advice from experts before even taking the first step.

But all that has changed in the online world and for many there is now a backward approach. There is a tendency to just jump in and build an out of the box website first and then try to make it work for their business.

Why it is often cheaper to seek professional help?

You can have the best business idea in the world, but if your website is clunky, confusing and provides a very poor user experience, you may be setting yourself up for failure.

Your website needs to be responsive, consistent in quality, attractive, and provide an intuitive visitor experience. It needs to attract visitors and then easily convert those visitors to buyers.

How can we help?

You are the expert in your field. We are an expert in ours. When you engage us for advice on web design, graphic design, web hosting and digital marketing, you can be assured that we don’t miss any steps.

We will work with you in creating a unique blueprint for your website that satisfies your objectives, target audience, features, keyword integration, development, testing, deployment and monitoring.

Check out our portfolio (https://www.canberraweb.com.au/index.php/portfolio) of customers who chose to invest in success rather than risk failure.

Whether a billboard or website design, the desired impact is similar. They have to engage the target audience. With the average attention span of humans at only 8.25s, a good design is critical. So, what's the link between a Google AdWords campaign and your website design?

A good campaign drives traffic to your website. Once there, your website's 'job' is to convert that traffic into at least enquirers, if not customers. However, poor user experience may lead to visitors leaving your website prematurely. For example, Google has reported over 7 in 10 will leave a website if it isn't mobile-friendly.

How to design a user experience to drive growth, traffic and engagement?

1. Develop customer intimacy

Know your customers well. Make it a point to understand their needs, motivators and online behaviour early in the design phase. This depth of understanding can be applied in your Google AdWords campaign too.

2. Buyer's journey

You've got a very short window to nurture engagement. When prospects see what they're looking for in the first instance, there is a chance they'll hang around a while longer. Both your website and Google AdWords must reflect where prospects are in the buyer's journey when they go online.

3. Map their journey into your brand

With technology today, just about every format and design can be done from the comfort of your mobile device or desktop. And they are pretty intuitive too, requiring hardly any knowledge of web design. But remember, the website is for your target audience. Map the journey of exploration they are likely to take. You may not get it 100% right, but rest assured it will be close enough.

4. Test

It's a small investment to make relative to the potential return. After all, you've got to make sure it works. Test your website design like you would your Google AdWords campaign. You'll gain invaluable insights into their web search behaviour.

To gain attention, let alone conversion is challenging. However, good user experience and targeted Google AdWords campaign can lead to success. Connect here to learn how you can make work well together.

Whilst a beautiful and intuitive website represents a great asset for any business, it will be worthless unless web users are able to find it. Newly created websites are very unlikely to show up in search results thanks to the sheer number of established sites they are competing against. In this way, it is imperative that businesses start promoting new sites as soon as they are built.

Social media is a great way to promote a new site thanks to its widespread use and low cost. If you’re new to the world of social media promotion, here are a few tips to help your website attract the attention it deserves:

1. Establish a social media presence

If your business is new to social media, you will need to start building an online presence before promoting your new site. Firstly, consider which platforms will work for the company. B2B companies, for example, may not work particularly well on Instagram, whilst B2C operations may not suit LinkedIn. Twitter and Facebook, however, are pretty essential for all businesses.

Once you have created your profiles, you should fill out relevant information about your company and start building a network of followers. You can do this by inviting friends, employees and regular customers to like your page, as well as posting engaging and relevant links to attract prospective customers.

2. Make the most of hashtags

Keeping track of trending hashtags is a great way to attract new customers to your brand. If your website features a recent blog post about a trending topic, for example, try posting a tweet featuring the relevant hashtag and a link to the post. If the topic is popular enough, thousands of people could potentially engage with your post and be tempted to visit your website.

3. Post teasers

Before your site has even gone live, it may be worth posting teasers across social media. Indeed, posting relevant and engaging branded imagery on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook can help generate a buzz around your new website.

4. Invest in a social media ad

Investing in a social media ad is a great way to reach target demographics quickly and easily. What’s more, it does not have to be expensive as you can set budget restrictions for each advert.

If you're interested in website design or digital marketing in Canberra, get in touch with us today.

 This data should not be surprising: we read only 28% of the text on a web page. Outside of the digital arena, research by 3M reported that presenters using visual aids are 43% more effective in delivering their points across. Prior to running your next Google AdWords campaign, think about integrating visuals in your communication. In this post, we will discuss the various types of visual elements you can consider.

1. Emotional cues of colours

Colours are used not only for aesthetic reasons. They can evoke emotional responses in consumers and complement the use of text to deliver a message. Blue, for example, communicates trustworthiness. One of the world's leading cloud-based accounting software, XERO, paints its digital presence in primarily blue colours.

2. Real people

A 2006 study published by Georgetown University Medical Center revealed that the human brain is wired to recognize and remember faces. So it makes sense to have images of real people in your digital marketing Canberra campaign to create impact and aid memorability. Images of real people will also make your marketing more personable and will subconsciously communicate feelings of empathy. The impact multiplies when real people are shown using your product or service.

3. Visualizing data and information

When data and information are visualized, they are more digestible and are easier to understand and remember. Be they complex or simple facts, with the help of visuals - images or sketches - they are likely to hit home faster and more succinctly. If the big idea behind the message is relevant, it can trigger interest and purchase intent.

4. Use videos

You can easily create a video with excellent sound and picture quality from anywhere, anytime - thanks to the latest smartphone technology. Videos are the ultimate visual aid to drive engagement, which explains their rising popularity amongst marketers.

A picture paints a thousand words. After all, humans are visual creatures. Well used, visuals can make the winning difference to your digital marketing strategy. To learn more about the application of visuals, connect with us here.

Being fenced in by your own website

See the bigger picture, work outside the box.

There was a true story told on TV a while back about a farmer in the Midwest of America. He decided that he needed to build a fenced compound to corral his cattle when necessary. He drove his truck to the chosen spot, and spent the whole day carefully constructing the fence. It only had a small entrance and exit to help deal with the cattle one at a time. At the end of the day, he took a break and examined his superb new fence. That was when he discovered he'd built it around his truck!

You might wonder what this has to do with effective web design for your Canberra area business. The truth is that it proves how difficult it can be to see the bigger picture when working inside a company. If you were to write all your own web content, there is a real danger that it would be at your level of expertise, rather than that of your potential customers. This might be through the inadvertent use of too much jargon - the insider language and verbal shortcuts that every business employs.

It's also possible that, from inside the business, it can be difficult to appreciate the journey a stranger has to make through your website to the point of taking action. Just like driving to a well-known destination, you may end up taking shortcuts that someone new to the area simply wouldn't know about.

The third problem of insider working in web creation is that you can end up telling the world what you think they'd like to know; or worse, what you most want to tell them. You are rightly proud of your products or services. This can make it so easy to forget that new visitors to your website are there for their own needs and wants.

Identifying these people and their key reasons, clearly attracting them through proven SEO techniques, and then providing the content that tells them what they want to know and the action to take means it's vital to have an outsider's eye rather than simply an insider's knowledge.

If you'd like to talk to our helpful and professional team here at Canberra Web about the needs of your business website, please talk to us now on (02) 6223 2222.

4 hot web design trends of 2018-19

No, trends are not just for the fashion world and catwalk - they're important in any industry. Put simply, keeping up with current trends is like surfing: stay on top of them, and you're riding a great wave with your customers. Lag behind, and business races ahead while you're bobbing aimlessly in the water.

Here at Canberra Web, we are right on the cutting edge of the hottest web design Canberra can offer - so let's tell you about four web development trends we've identified in 2018 that you can't afford to not know as we head towards the new year:

1. Responsive designs
   There was a time when a website was a website and you could get away with marking it as optimised for a certain platform. But those days are over; your customers are spread across a huge number of platforms, including desktop, phone, tablet and all the different iterations of them. This is what a responsive web design is all about: making your site work with what users are using today, and getting it ready for the platforms of the next generation.
   
   
2. Hamburger menus
   No, our stomachs are not grumbling: the hamburger menu is that now-familiar three-line symbol that allows you to simplify your pages by packing away the menu, avoid clutter in your navigation and clear screen space for your content. Particularly useful in the small-screen world of mobile browsing, the hamburger menu is also being seen in desktop versions as users become more familiar with how this sleek feature works - just make sure it's obvious enough to spot so that your users don't miss your site's all-important navigation.
   
   
3. Ghost buttons
   "Who you gonna call?" That's right: the ghost button is that transparent, normally rectangular button that, while subtle, really grabs the user's attention and looks great particularly when layered on a high-quality photo background.
   
   
4. Hero images
   Put simply, a beautiful and prominent HD hero image can make your site design look professional and really encapsulate the essence of your brand. It's basically a big header image or photo, but designers are also getting more creative by making those heroes vector backgrounds, illustrated artworks and even video. But it's important that the hero image does not come at a great cost to site loading time.

The pitfalls of using free website builders for boutique businesses

The pitfalls of using free website builders for any business are numerous, but of particular consequence is their use in boutique businesses. Sites made from uninspired templates lack customisation and, dare we say it, soul. If you've ever looked at a site and thought, "Gee, I feel like I have seen this exact style and layout a dozen times or more", you're not alone.

While not always bad aesthetically speaking, the overuse of generic themes and templates in free website builders is particularly bad for boutique businesses trying to make their mark. If you've ever tried a free website builder (or something similar), you might find that there is not the same level of engagement that you were expecting from your customers. These free sites can make it difficult to imprint your unique brand onto your website, meaning you end up making concessions to your identity and marketing in favour of economy. They can also be bland, formulaic and uninspired, so there's nothing about them that stands out and is tailored to your particular customers and making your site interesting to visit time and time again.

A boutique business should be daring and bold, with a level of class and sophistication that matches the finesse and personalisation that you offer your clients. Canberra Web consists of a specialised team of Canberra-based web designers, whose sole aim is to provide excellent customer satisfaction by building and maintaining high-quality websites. But more than this, we want to provide a unique web experience that is carefully tailored to your business's every need – right down to the very last pixel. Additionally, the level of SEO and digital marketing that we offer is unbeatable. Plus, we develop our eCommerce sites in Magento, Open Cart, Mojo Shop, and Woo Commerce, which means you will be getting a premium web store that will give your clients a breezy checkout that is safe, efficient, and enjoyable.

Aside from the aforementioned services that we offer, we also have a stellar graphic design team as well as content-creation team, which means we can ensure that your entire company's website is superbly designed from the ground up – without the hassle of dealing with remote designers from overseas (or worse: inflexible templates). If you're looking for bespoke web design in Canberra where you can actually meet your designers face-to-face, contact us at Canberra Web today.

Using Open Cart E-commerce Platform

We specialise in designing and building Open Cart websites for all types of e-commerce requirements in Canberra and Sydney. Whether you prefer to utilise Open Cart as a stand alone e-commerce platform or have it integrated into your Joomla website using applications such as E-Shop or Mijo, our Open Cart developer has the expertise to seamlessly deliver this service. We can also integrate Open Cart into your existing WordPress website.

Some of the many reasons why you should have our developer design and build you an Open Cart system are outlined below.

Simplicity of use

Open Cart is a simple and easily accessible e-commerce platform with a user-friendly administrative dashboard. The menus are straightforward so that beginners through to more technically savvy operators can use them with ease. With Open Cart 2 you are also able to use your administration panel on mobile devices such as a tablet or smartphone via the mobile-first interface.

Easy for development

With Open Cart, additional functionality can be incorporated by developing extensions or through customising, either during the initial build or later. This is an easy development process with background knowledge of PHP or MySQL.

Heaps of extensions and modules available

As Open Cart has thousands of different extensions and modules available, such as marketing tools and modifications, it's a versatile e-commerce platform. The benefit of using Open Carts extensions and modules is it enables the platform to evolve with your online business.

Multi-language functionality

One of the many benefits of Open Cart is you can set it to whatever language you prefer as the platform has a language-neutral CMS. This means that selling your products or services internationally is easy using an Open Cart platform.

Open Cart is SEO friendly

Open Cart can be optimised for SEO too, helping you place higher in the search results. It has Google Analytics as a dashboard extension in the administration panel, along with several other features that will increase your website's visibility to online consumers.

Multi-store Mode

With Open Cart, you can manage several different online stores from a single administration panel, saving you from having to access multiple sites singularly. The time and money you'll save from having this functionality make it a smart choice for e-commerce platforms.

To find out more about our wide range of Open Cart services, contact our team today. We offer all-inclusive packages for Open Cart integration, from existing websites through to fully customised Open Cart website design and development.

The onward march to a fully mobilised digital age continues, as 2018 finally sees mobile phones edge out in front of desktop systems, now responsible for 52.4% of website traffic according to statista.com. Whilst this upward trend has long been predicted, the rapid rise of mobile-geared e-commerce has left some businesses racing to catch up to their fully mobile optimised competitors.

Mobile responsive website or mobile app?

Today's market is saturated with apps, with over 5 million currently within the Google Play and App Store combined according to statista.com. Many small businesses are feeling the pressure to develop mobile apps in order to compete, however, in a lot of cases this may not be necessary. Statistics from Localytics (https://www.localytics.com/lp/cheat-sheet-overall-app-benchmarks-h2-2016/) suggest that 80% of apps are no longer being launched 3 months after installation, and small business may not be getting the return on investment they are hoping for.

On the other hand, developing a personalised app can offer some businesses the perfect solution for streamlining services and keeping customers happy. According to a survey by Clutch (https://clutch.co/app-developers/resources/small-business-apps-survey-2018) the most valuable features of mobile apps for small businesses are mobile payment, social media integration, enhanced customer communication and customer loyalty programs. Canberra Web can also help to create unique app designs with innovative functionality to ensure businesses stand out in this flooded app market.

The impact that website functionality can have on a company’s bottom line cannot be underestimated. Google recently reported that 61% of users who had an unsatisfactory experience on their first time trying to access a mobile website did not return to that website again. However, before investing time and energy in mobile app development it is worth reviewing your current desktop website and its performance on a mobile web platform.

In many cases, responsive web design can offer the mobile-friendly online experience that users are looking for, without the need to download new apps. Responsive web design optimises a desktop site by adapting it to suit the smaller screens and software capabilities of smartphones and tablets. Reduced text size and streamlined content help users to navigate sites more easily and without compromising on speed by trying to load a full desktop site on a portable device.

The Canberra Web experts can work with you to determine the best way to represent your business online. If you would like to get in touch to further chat about the services we offer, please feel free to contact the team.