Being mobile-friendly in this modern age

make your website mobile-friendly

The first smartphone was released in 1992, though things didn’t really kick off until the launch of the iPhone 15 years later. Since then, mobile devices have become increasingly more innovative, growing in popularity with each new feature and tailor-made function added.

Mobile devices enable us to do so much more than simple communication. With them, we have the power to record and schedule our lives, watch tv, read books, learn new skills, do our work and access the furthest reaches of the internet.

Smartphones and mobile devices are taking over the world, and your website has no other option but to keep up and adapt to these new technological ways.

The benefits of having a mobile-friendly website

By the end of 2019, 52.6% of global website traffic came from mobile devices. That means over half of the visitors to your site are likely to make the virtual trip from their phone.

With so many potential customers being directed to your site via their mobile devices, it is important that you make their experience a worthwhile one.

Be accessible

Your website needs to be easily accessible to your target audience, who are likely to visit from their phone or tablet – and not their computer – at some point or other.

When browsing through the information on their phones, users want to find what they need as quickly as possible. Make sure your website is clearly labelled and easy to navigate so that visitors to your site will be more inclined to stick around and utilise the information you provide.

Build trust

Having a mobile-friendly website with a clearly labelled menu, fast loading times and easily accessible information will build trust with your target audience.

By providing a positive and simple user experience, you can minimise your site’s bounce rate and keep users engaged on each and every page.

Increase your visibility

When your site has a mobile-friendly design that keeps users engaged and attracts more traffic to your site, search engines like Google will notice – and once Google sees you, your visibility on the search engine results pages will skyrocket.

Utilise responsive design

Responsive web design is where the appearance of your website – the general layout and placement of visual elements – will change depending on the screen size. As the width of the browser window is expanded or reduced, the design will readjust itself to fit the new ratio.

This design technique enables users to access your website from any device including desktop, tablet and mobile. Implementing responsive web design from the very beginning of your website build will ensure that your site will be friendly to both desktop and mobile users alike.

Google uses a mobile-first indexing algorithm

Google cares about your mobile website. So much so, in fact, that the mega search engine now ranks and indexes websites based on the mobile version of the site.

This means that if your website isn’t mobile-friendly, you can kiss goodbye any chance of a high ranking on the results pages.

Stay relevant with a mobile-friendly website

The future is ever-changing, but one thing is for sure – technology is here to stay. As a business owner, the best you can do is to embrace it now and reap the benefits as users come to trust your mobile-friendly website.

Make the move to a mobile-friendly website today >

Defining the difference

When it comes to starting a new business or revamping your website the question to ask yourself is this: should I opt for a custom web design or use a website template?

While there are pros and cons to both options, in the end, your decision will likely come down to a willingness to invest and stand out (custom web design) versus affordability and time saved (website template).

What is custom web design?

Custom-built websites involve a team of designers and developers whose role is to design, code, and develop your website, bringing it to life from designs made for you.

Upon understanding what your business offers and what you want to achieve with your website, the first step of the process begins, which is the design phase.

In order to best capture your company’s look and feel, you will be asked specific questions that will help the team design your new site.

Such questions might include:

custom web design

Unique to your business

Because custom web design is solely focused on who you are as a business, employing this option for your site will enable you to create a visual aesthetic that’s unique to you.

Maintained by a professional team of designers and developers

With the full support of an expert team, you can rest assured knowing that your website will be kept up to date, with technical issues solved if and when they arise.

Having a professional team on hand also means that their watchful eyes will look out for changes to search engine algorithms (namely Google), and update your site accordingly.

What is a website template?

A website template is a premade webpage, or group of webpages, for which the visual elements and layout have already been designed.

All you need to do is purchase your template (though some are free, depending on the platform you use), edit the content, maybe change some colours and images, and voila! Just like that, you’ve got your very own website.

More affordable

Website templates are certainly much more cost-effective than custom web design and website builds. Because the page(s) have already been designed and are open to everyone, there isn’t any design or development work requiring an additional fee.

Prepare to be ordinary

With very little room to move, alter or enhance the design (in fact, none at all), your site will look just like everyone else’s who has chosen to use the same template as you. Be prepared, as one day you may just stumble across another business’ site looking suspiciously identical to yours.

Which should you choose?

When it comes to building (or rebuilding) your website, we recommend opting for a custom-based design and build. Though it may be the more costly option, choosing a custom web design is a worthy investment that will make your company stand out from the crowd.

With custom web design – and therefore, a custom-built website – you will have the flexibility to move elements around, change font styles and headings, and alter the design wherever you see fit.

While a website template might be okay for a personal blog or creative project, designing a site for your business will require more of a tailored aesthetic – and a custom web design will give you just that.

Ready for a custom web design? Talk to our team >

Web design can be complex

The complexities of building a website are seemingly endless. Who knew there were so many different routes to take and choices to make?

Choosing between responsive and adaptive web design is just one of the many decisions you’ll be faced with when building your website from scratch.

While adaptive and responsive web designs are very similar, they do have their differences – and, as with anything, it is their differences that set them apart.

What is responsive web design?

If your website is made using a responsive design, the appearance will change depending on the size of the screen or window that you are viewing it from.

As you extend and reduce the width of the browser, your website will seamlessly reconfigure itself, rearranging the placement of visual elements on the page to optimise the viewing experience.

With a responsive web design, users will be able to access your website from any device – smartphones, tablets, desktops and more. Because this design technique is fluid, it responds to any change in browser size without taking away from the original design.

Adaptive Vs. Responsive Web Design

What is adaptive web design?

Adaptive web design is similar to responsive design in that both techniques will reposition the layout of your web page depending on the width of the browser.

However, where responsive design is fluid, adaptive web design uses a series of static templates to accommodate changes in screen size. As the screen size shrinks, the design will change to a different template. Once it expands again, it will revert back to the original.

These static templates are created for the most popular screen and device sizes, but because technology today is so varied, they won’t necessarily accommodate all browser widths.

Which technique is better?

If you are redesigning your website or building it from scratch, we recommend opting for responsive web design. It’s better suited to today’s technological climate and will allow users to access your business online with ease – no matter their device or screen size.

Most Content Management Systems (CMS), like WordPress and Hubspot, include responsive web design as an automated feature in their templates. This means that yes, you should be using it, too.

Adaptive web design might be the better option if you are touching up your site or targeting an audience who predominantly use the same device. In all other cases, however, we think responsive web design is the way to go.

Make mobile-first indexing your priority

Mobile-first indexing is all the rage these days since search engines like Google have made it their priority to rank and index your site based on the mobile version of it.

More and more users are now accessing websites from their mobile devices. In order to keep up with them, you need to make sure that your website is mobile-friendly.

Search engines aren’t bothered so much by the design technique you use, so long as it’s in line with their algorithm and their mobile-first indexing.

Your website, your choice

Ultimately, when it comes to deciding between adaptive and responsive web design, the choice is yours. If you’re unsure about what the better option might be for your website, talk to an expert in the field for guidance.

Talk to the friendly team at Ven about web design technique for you >

A website build is a straightforward thing

When our clients first come on board, many of them don’t understand the process of building a website – so we break it down for them. We simplify the website building process by separating it out into smaller, simpler steps.

A new website build starts with a spark, and that spark comes from the client. Once you have the idea, we bring it to life. There are three main phases to a website build, under which are certain ‘substeps’. We explain in more detail below.

1. Conception

Step one: Conception. This is the very first phase of the website build, where the client (you) comes to us with their idea and we draw out a plan to make their concept a reality.

Proposal

The very first step of a website build is the initial consultation – one that should usually be free of charge and come without strings attached. This is a conversation where you can outline exactly what it is that you need, and we (your website builders) can figure out how best to help you.

Following the conversation, we will draw up a proposal for you (again, free of charge) that outlines pricing for your website build in its entirety, including design, development, functionality, user experience, and more.

Planning

Once you’ve giVen us the go-ahead, we get started on planning the project. During this stage, you sit tight while we outline what the expected timeline for the project might look like. We plan out each step, from design through to development and testing, and then we send it all through to you.

2. Creation

Step two: Creation. This phase is the one where we build your website and bring it to life. By the end of this phase, you will have a real, functioning website!

Design

Our design team takes your original idea and creates a customised look for your website. In order to do so, we use your web questionnaire (which you fill out during the planning phase) to get a better understanding of your business, what it is that you offer, and how we can best visually represent it.

During the design phase, you will have the opportunity to review the designs we draw up for you and make any requested changes (up to as many as 2 major redesigns) until the design has been approved.

Development

Upon your approval of the design, the development stage can begin! This is where our development team takes the approved design and turns it into a fully functioning website. There’s a lot of coding done during this time, and we fix any unexpected bugs as they come up.

Client review and approval

Before we move onto the final phase, we give you time to review the website as a whole and identify any changes that need to be made prior to launch. This also gives you the opportunity to upload your content if you are writing it yourself.

3. Completion

Step three: Completion. The final phase of your project is all about getting it live and making it available for your target audience.

Launch!

When you have completed your review and the approval process has been finalised, we move forward to the final step of your website build – the launch!

Launching your website means transitioning it over from a staging site (this is only visible to us – you and the agency you’re working with) to the live site, which is visible and accessible to everyone.

Ongoing maintenance

Once the website is up and running, the most important thing is to have an ongoing maintenance plan to cover any unexpected bumps that might pop up.

An ongoing maintenance plan will also allow you to update your website as necessary. Whether it’s fixing a bug, adding in a new feature or adjusting a function, we’ll be here to get it done for you.

Understanding the website process is easy

The website building process shouldn’t be a confusing one, and we hope that we’ve helped you to better understand it. As with anything, building a website starts with the spark of an idea and ends with having brought that idea to life.

Building a website is easy. We’ll help you do it >

You’ll reap the rewards of investing in your website

Upon first glance, building a custom website might feel a little far-fetched. Though it may seem like an exorbitant undertaking, having a custom-built website does, in reality, become an invaluable investment for your business.

While the monetary gains from your custom built website may take time to materialise, the benefits will come. We’ve listed just a few ways that having a custom-built website can save you money in the long run.

Hold onto your leads

A properly designed website developed specifically for your business – and for your target audience – will put you in the best possible position to capture new leads when they land on your site.

With an expert on board to help with user experience, user flow and overall navigation, the layout of your site will be easy for visitors to use and interact with. The easier the experience, the more likely it is for you to capture new leads.

Easily answer customer queries

Customers often have a lot of questions. When you don’t have the answers for them, they’ll be pretty quick to move on to another business or website that does.

With a page or specific section dedicated to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), you will be able to better manage customer concerns without having to spend your time answering queries in real life.

A custom-built website will allow you to integrate simple functions to help with customer queries – like a live chat – that will enable users to contact your business and find their answers quickly.

Built-in functionality

A custom-built website allows you to be in control of every element, including one of the most important (and confusing) ones – the functionality of your site.

With an expert team on your side, you won’t have to worry about ongoing functionality costs. A crew of professional designers and developers will be able to get your site’s functions working as they should, and cover any potential future issues with an ongoing maintenance plan.

Have potential employees come to you

Feature a Careers page on your website, and rather than seeking out potential new employees, you’ll have them come to you.

Having a Careers page will also help to build credibility and trust with your audience. When users land on your site and see that you have a section specifically dedicated to the recruitment, they will feel that yours is a growing business and as such, one they can trust.

Your business’ proverbial doors are always open

Because a website is up and running 24/7, your business will be visible to online visitors at all hours of the day and night.

When you have the day off, your website doesn’t. It will be there for your customers no matter where you are or what time it is. A professionally built website will have fast loading times and be available on any size screen – a feature that your customers will very much appreciate.

Rest easy knowing that your dream website can save you money

Having a website custom built especially for your business is a dream come true, and in more ways than one. With a properly functioning, well-designed and easy to navigate website, you will ensure a positive user experience and a lot of money saved in the long run.

Save money with a custom built website. Talk to Ven today >

Website not working for you?

An irregularly updated (or incorrectly built) website can result in an array of issues that lead to a negative user experience. When your website isn’t doing what it’s supposed to, both you and visitors to your site will suffer.

Whether it’s down to delayed loading times, an unclear layout, or content that isn’t useful (or all of the above!), there will be a reason why your website isn’t performing well. The good news is that we can help you identify why.

Slow speed

When pages take too long to load, the number of visitors to your site will drop off. Why? Because people don’t like waiting. When users are browsing their phones, they want fast, snappy responses to their searches.

If your website doesn’t serve up these answers quickly, your potential customers will move onto a site that does. The cause for slow loading times could be anything from large image files to a bug in the code or bad hosting.

Confusing navigation

Any site riddled with an overabundance of pages is confusing. When those pages prove too complicated to navigate across, you’ll be left with frustrated visitors who will likely not return to your site.

With too many links, people don’t know where they’re going, how they got there, or how to get back from whence they came. Website navigation should be clear and effortless, and users should be able to replicate their journey with ease.

Poor quality content

Is the content on your website useful? Is it interesting and engaging? Does it educate the user in a positive, beneficial way? If the answer is no, then you will need to take a good, hard look at your content to see how it can be improved.

When content is not engaging or poorly written, you can kiss potential visitors to your site goodbye. SEO-focused content will get you found on search engines like Google, but well-written and captivating content is what will keep users on your site.

Lack of lead generation

While the above factors can each contribute to zero leads coming through your website, there are some other elements that could be causing your lack of lead generation.

Without a clear Call To Action (CTA), a social media presence for credibility, or any displayed offerings, your site will scare away potential customers. Building trust with your audience is a key part of gaining leads, and a properly functioning website can help you to do just that.

Identify and improve upon your website pain points

With your website working for – rather than against – you, you’ll see an increase in traffic to your site, longer session times, and more leads. Overall, resolving your website pain points will help your business grow.

Building a website is like doing a puzzle: everything has its place

But it’s only a very small puzzle, because web design, web development and SEO are the only pieces. And it’s also a very complex puzzle because after separating the three, you realise that each piece is a puzzle within itself.

It’s like the movie Inception. Dreams within dreams within dreams.

The point is that when executed correctly, web design, web development and SEO all fit together in a very smart and strategic way. To get your website working properly, you have to put the pieces in the right place.

The relationship between web design, development and SEO

A functioning website that delivers a positive user experience requires expert integration of web design, development and SEO.

Popular websites are most often the ones that don’t require any effort to use. If a user can arrive on a page and start interacting with it immediately and without difficulty, they are much more likely to stay on your site – and much more likely to convert to a sale.

Make sure it’s mobile friendly

Every person and their dog has a mobile these days, and it’s important that you cater to their digital needs.

Making your website mobile-friendly means being able to reach people when they’re out and about – and not only when they’re on their computers at home.

Optimise your content

All of the content on your website must be optimised. Not only that, but it must also be clear, coherent and easy for users to read and digest.

Optimising content means writing informative, attention-grabbing articles and general web page copy that is sprinkled with strategically placed keywords.

Is it easy to navigate?

Web design enables you to create a user flow that is easy for potential customers to follow when they land on your site.

Developing the functionality is what allows them to move from page to page with ease. If your website offers a simple user experience, it is more likely to have increased session times and lower bounce rates.

Loading times

In this age of instant gratification and short attention spans, website speed is everything. You will have approximately 2 seconds to capture users – any more than 3, and half of your visitors will abandon ship.

To speed up loading times, image, audio and video files need to be condensed. Code must be written correctly as well. Page speed doesn’t just affect users; it affects Google, too.

If your site speed is slow, Google will crawl and index fewer pages, which means that you’ll end up with less visibility in the search engine’s page results.

Web design, development and SEO go hand-in-hand

To build a website that functions smoothly offers an enjoyable user experience and shows up on Google (or other search engines), your web design, development and SEO need to be effectively integrated.

The team at Ven can build your site from scratch >

Understanding web development: it’s not as complicated as you might think

Unless you’re trying to be a web developer, in which case – yeah, it’s pretty complicated. But simply understanding what web development is? That’s a task any non-techy person can handle.

First comes web design, then comes web development

Web design is the step that comes before web development, and you can’t build a website from scratch without it. It focuses on the look and layout of the site, which is what users see when they scroll through each page.

Web development is the next step in the process, where your trusty developer brings the design to life and makes it ‘clickable’ and ‘navigable’ for users.

The 3 components of web development

When you get down to the bare bones of it, web development comes in 3 separate parts. Front-end, back-end and CMS.

1. Front-end

Also referred to as ‘client-side’, front-end development manages everything that the user sees. It’s all about the visuals and turning the original design into an actual website.

This form of development is responsible for the fonts, layout, colours and overall content that you see when you land on a website.

While it is possible to create a static website using only front-end development, there is a catch. A static website only allows users to navigate from page to page – it doesn’t give them the option to fill out contact forms or purchase products.

And that’s where back-end development comes in.

2. Back-end

Think about internet hackers you’ve seen on TV and in movies. You know how they’re either super grungy or super cool, and they type really fast, and their computer is usually just a black screen packed with letters, numbers, symbols and not really any English?

Yeah, that’s the backend of your website. The back-end is where all of the technical stuff happens, allowing users to interact with the site.

It’s the part of the website you don’t see and it focuses on making functionality work. Everything from filling out a contact form, making a purchase or booking a class uses back-end development.

3. CMS

A Content Management System (CMS) is your best friend. It does exactly what it says it does – allows you to manage (update, change, delete etc) content on the site.

Want to add a new blog post? Awesome, you can do that from your CMS! Ready to swap out the old images on your site for new ones? That’s CMS all the way, baby.

A CMS allows you to take ownership of your site once it’s up and running and enables you to add any additional pages, posts or general information without having to run to your design and development team for help.

The internet isn’t going anywhere, and neither should you

Jumping aboard the you-need-a-website-for-your-business train is an absolute must. With an online portal, you will have the opportunity to showcase your product or service in the digital world, giving you access to new users and current customers – and vice versa.

The power of the internet is growing every day as society continues to pour more of its time and resources into it. It isn’t going anywhere, and it’s time you used its influence to your small business’ advantage.

Work with us to develop your website from scratch >

The coronavirus outbreak will affect Australia in more ways than one

With the global tragedy of the coronavirus taking its toll on many people, it also has much further reaching repercussions.

As a result of the coronavirus, Australia is seeing a significant drop in international travel as well as the scaling back of outsourced manufacturing in Chinese-based factories.

This impacts Australia – and the world – in more ways than one. And finding our footing during this time means turning to local businesses to help support our larger Australian brands.

As Australia’s dollar drops, the country turns its gaze inwards

The Australian dollar is the weakest it has been in 11 years. Having tumbled to the lowest level since the global financial crisis of 2007-2009, it is currently sitting at 66.50 US cents.

While this drop was not caused by the coronavirus, the infectious disease is affecting the Australian market in other ways – and it could cost the country $12 billion in exports.

This is where your small business comes in

EVen though the dollar is dropping, it’s not all doom and gloom! As history has shown, some of the most powerful businesses in the world began during times of hardship.

Burger King started out following the end of the Korean War. During a time when everyone else was busy worrying about inflation, founders Kieth J. Kramer and Matthew Burns decided to sell some good old American fast food instead.

Walt Disney began right in the middle of the Great Depression – and look at them now! One of the world’s largest media conglomerates, it beat the financial crisis odds and stuck around to tell the tale.

So now is not the time to sit quietly, but rather to take action. As Mark Zuckerberg famously said, “The biggest risk is not taking any risk.”

Because what if your small business becomes the next cutting-edge conglomerate?

The dollar may be falling, but the potential boom for local business is rising

Amid warnings of a recession and the prediction that billions of dollars will be lost in exports due to the coronavirus outbreak, local businesses now have the potential to step up and provide for consumers where larger businesses no longer can.

As the dollar continues to drop, big brands will be turning towards small, local businesses for help. And as an alternative to American-sourced goods, small businesses will have the capacity to deliver food, clothes and general goods at a cost more affordable to all.

It’s time to take a stand

As Australia navigates this turbulent time, large businesses that once outsourced their manufacturing to other countries will now be looking to local businesses for help.

And here’s looking at you, pal! With everyone from big brands through to neighbourhood locals knocking on your storefront door, you’ll have the opportunity to provide for people in a way that you might not have been able to before.

The Australian economy is unbalanced, yes. But all hope is not lost! Because your business could very well be the one to recentre it.

From Black Friday to Boxing Day and everything in between

Huge sales eVents come around multiple times a year and it’s important for your small business to be ready for them.

Whether you operate a brick and mortar store, offer a service or have an online-based business, preparing for these major sales eVents will turn a hectic shopping season into a stress-free success.

We’ve compiled a list of top tips to help get your small business ready for when the next big sales day rolls around.

5 ways to get your business sales-day ready

1. Listen to what your customers want

The product you’re selling, or the service you offer, is for your customers. And because it’s for your customers, it’s crucial that you listen to what they have to say.

What are they talking about? How do they feel about your product? Do they want a pricier alternative that works or a cheaper one that only semi-does?

Research everything that you can about your target audience to better market your product, prepare your business and give the people what they want.

And as you’re doing all that, be sure to engage with your customers. Whether they’re loyal clients or potential newbies, they’re much more likely to come back to your site, socials or store if you connect with them on a genuine level.

2. Make your business mobile-friendly

Mobiles are all the rage these days, with cellphones being a must-have accessory as much as they are an interactive tool.

The average smartphone user spends upwards of 3 hours on their mobile every day. Whether they’re commuting, scrolling through socials on the couch or ignoring their dinner date, people use their phones for all manner of reasons at all hours of the day.

If your business is online (which it should be), it needs to be accessible on mobile. Capturing new leads and gaining new customers means having an online presence that is aesthetically pleasing, digestible and easy to access across desktop and mobile.

3. Personalise the customer experience

The beauty of being a small business is that you have the ability to meet customers on a personal level.

You have an advantage here over big brands and businesses who don’t have the time, the capacity or (in some cases) the care required to truly look after their customers.

Get creative and brainstorm unique ways to add a personal touch to all interactions that you have with your customers, whether regular, new or just passing by.

People who have a positive experience with your business online or in-store are much more likely to come back for a second (or third, or tenth) visit.

4. Build hype in advance

In preparation for a big sales day, get on social media, promote upcoming sales in-store and offer special extras to email subscribers.

You can work with influencers to share any upcoming promotions across socials and engage with everyone who shows interest.

Sending out sales-day emails will remind subscribers who you are, what you offer and the stellar deals you can give them on sales day.

Put up flyers or banners in-store, have your staff promote upcoming sales to guests and make it known on your website that your business will be 100% participating in the next major sales eVent.

5. Make sure your store – whether online or in the real world – is ready

Is your store ready for a whole load of people to browse through it? Have you streamlined the checkout process? Do you need to feng shui the layout a little?

Whether your business is an online or brick and mortar store, you need to prepare it for sales day. If either crashes just as customers are gearing up to spend some serious cash, you could lose out on sales – big time.

Keep a countdown so you know exactly when the sales are upon you. Be sure to have all of your sales organised in advance, too – know what’s being discounted, where discounted items will be located and why customers should buy your goods.

When it comes to raking in sales during big spending times, your online presence is key

Your website and social media platforms need to be easy to access, entertaining to view or navigate around, and valuable to your customer.

Having an influential online presence is crucial to reaching potential customers prior to sales day.

Drive traffic to your site in advance and direct customers to your store in time for major sales eVents.

Need help getting your website sales-ready? Talk to our team >