It could cost you anywhere between £500–£5000+ depending on who you choose and what you need.

For example, when we build websites we charge between £3,500 – £5,000. That being said, we usually work with established businesses who are already making money. For more info check our web design pricing visit this page.

But what if you’re just starting out in business? You might not have a big budget and every penny counts.

This is why I wrote this article; I wanted to give you five ways to get a cheap website and talk about the pros and cons of each.

My advice for anyone when starting a business for the first time is to set up a cheap website so you can test your idea and see what works.

1. Free website builders (Free – £20 per month)

Head over to Google and type in “free website” and hit enter. You’ll be presented with lots of companies that allow you to sign up for free and create a website DIY style.

Companies like Wix, Weebly and 1and1 allow you to pick from pre-made templates and get your website online fast.

You can even create your website from scratch if you’re brave enough. You can use their drag and drop software to move your images and text around the page until you’re happy.

Pros of using cheap web builders

• It’s free or very cheap to get started
• Most of these platforms are user-friendly
• Because they’re bigger companies, they usually have support departments to help you if you get stuck
• Hosting and domain fees are usually included

Cons of using cheap web builders

• The cost can increase with every additional feature
• If you do stay on the cheapest plan, they will usually advertise themselves on your website
• The added software that comes with drag and drop can sometimes slow down your website
• Some of these platforms don’t have search engine friendly system which means you could have lower rankings
• You don’t get any 1-2-1 advice about how to build and grow your website like you would if you were working with an agency

2. Use a cheap WordPress template
(Free – £30+ plus hosting)

WordPress (.org) is the most widely used system of its kind. This is the system that I use to build all our clients websites, and I love it.

As long as you have paid for hosting with a company like Siteground, you can install WordPress for free and add a cheap pre-made template for around £30. You can then customise the template and add your content.

WordPress also allows you to add lots of additional add-ons (plugins) for things like image galleries, social media sharing buttons, emails signup forms and lots more.

WordPress websites are also set up for blogging too, which means you can keep your website up-to-date with new content all the time.

Pros of using a WordPress template

• You have a huge library of FREE and paid templates to choose from. Just Google “WordPress templates”
• There are 50,000+ FREE add-ons (plugins) available for all your extra functionality. There are thousands of websites online that help with WordPress problems so you’ll always have help if you need it. Including the WordPress forum which is free.
• WordPress is widely recognised as one of the most search engines friendly platforms

Cons of using a WordPress template

• WordPress comes with a learning curve. Although you don’t have to know code, this can take more time than the DIY option.
• Most templates are built differently, which means if you change it in the future you might have to spend some time learning the new framework
• Like the DIY option above, you don’t have advice along the way. Yes, you can ask questions online, but you don’t have someone guiding you like you would if you hire a company

3. Find a cheap web designer (£100–£300 plus hosting)

If you really don’t want to do it yourself, you can hire a very cheap web designer. There companies online who will build you a website for around £100-£300.

This means you don’t need to spend your time building a site and have the headaches of trying to make it look how you want it to.

These companies can vary from freelancers just starting out or big companies who sell hundreds of these websites a month.

This could be an option for you if you really hate technology, but you only have a very small budget.

Pros of hiring a cheap web designer

• You don’t have to do anything yourself
• It’s cheap; there are many web designers who charge between £100–£300

Cons of hiring a cheap web designer

• The quality of your website will vary dramatically depending on who you choose
• The level of support you will get will be limited. You can’t possibly get much support for such a low price
• You might not have access to update the website once it’s been built
• They might charge you for additional changes which will cost more
• These companies probably won’t take the time to make your website search engine friendly
• For the price you’re paying, they will usually use a pre-made template

4. Ask for favours from friends and family (Free–? plus hosting)

Another option you have when trying to keep costs low is to ask a friend or family member to help design your website.

Everyone knows a “techie”; it’s usually someone’s cousin, niece or nephew. You might think that because someone uses technology more than you, they’re able to design a website for your business. You might get lucky and end up with a half decent website saving yourself hundreds of pounds in the process.

On the other hand, it might take you a lot longer if you’re asking for favours, and you might not get a website that isn’t of the highest standard.

Pros of asking for favours

• It’s free or at least very cheap

Cons of asking for favours

• Your “techie” friend probably doesn’t know how to build websites properly which means there might be lots of website errors
• They probably won’t understand SEO either, so your rankings might suffer
• They might not understand the basic principles of design which will impact your user experience
• If anything goes wrong, they probably won’t know how to fix it.

5. Outsource your website overseas (£50 – £100 plus hosting)

Over the past few years, businesses have become more open to outsourcing certain jobs overseas.

If you’re looking to save money on a website, you can hire a web designer at a fraction of the price of one back home.

Companies like Fiverr and Odesk allow you to browse through hundreds of freelance web designers who are all eager to work with you.

Pros of outsourcing abroad

• It can be a lot cheaper than working with someone in the UK
• You have “some” protection if you use a marketplace like Fiverr

Cons of outsourcing abroad

• The quality of the freelancers work can vary dramatically
• There could be a language barrier which makes communication difficult
• It can be difficult to vet the freelancer or company
• Freelancers will generally do what you ask but won’t usually offer advice or suggestions
• It can be risky if you hire the wrong freelancer and they don’t complete the job
• All round, it can be a bit of a minefield if you don’t know what you’re doing

My thoughts on the cheap web design options above

So there you have it, five ways to save money on your new website.

None of these options are ideal, but if you’re just starting out and budget is an issue, they can be a great starter platform until you start making money.

It depends on your circumstances, but my advice is to use option 2. Use WordPress and install a cheap template.

Spend some time playing around and learning the system; it will allow you to grow your business at your pace.

If you do decide to hire an agency in the future, chances are they will also use WordPress, so you don’t need to learn a brand new system all over again.

My clients have seen great results simply from switching from a DIY website to a WordPress website.

Over to you

Have you tried any of the options above, how did you find the process? I’d love to get your opinion so please leave a comment below.

Martin Huntbach

Web designer & marketer for small businesses. Martin is an experienced search engine and web design specialist, with over a decade of experience working with large corporations to small businesses.

jammydigital.com

The post 5 Ways to get a CHEAP website designed appeared first on Content Marketing & SEO Agency | Get More Sales From Your Website.

If you’ve ever said that to yourself, you’re not alone.

For most people, search engines drive a majority of the traffic to our websites. And with Google being the number one website on the internet, it’s no surprise we all obsess over our rankings.

This is why I wrote this post. I wanted to give you a few tips on how to track your keyword rankings along with a few tools to help you get started.

What do you want to rank for?

Before we start looking at tools it’s important you know what your goals are.

When I hear people saying “I want to rank on the first page of Google” my reply is always…

“For what?”

What I mean by this is, what search terms do you want to rank for?

It’s all well and good having the tools but you need to make sure you’d doing it the right way and not wasting your time.

Different Types of Keywords

There are a few different kinds of keywords and it’s best that you know the difference so you can get a more accurate picture of where you rank.

Branded keywords

Branded keywords are words and phrases that are based around your business such as:

• Your business name
• Your name
• The name of your own physical products
• The name of your online course
• The name of your membership community
• The name of your event

You should keep a close eye on your branded keywords and where you rank in search engines. You might not think it’s important but it really is. If you’re NOT ranking highly when someone types in the name of your business then it’s a sign that something could be wrong. There might be a technical reason you’re not appearing highly which is why it’s important to track your branded keywords.

This can happen a lot with a brand new website as they usually take time to get listed but if your website has been live for a few months and you still aren’t showing up for your branded keywords, there could be a problem.

Service-based keywords

Service-based keywords are the most sought after. These are words and phrases that your ideal customer might search for online such as:

• Web design companies
• Car finance deals
• Cheap flights
• Vegan recipes
• Driving instructor

These types of keywords are often the most difficult to rank for, as you’re competing with everyone who has a website in your particular industry.

For most small business owners, it’s simply not realistic to think you can rank on the first page of Google for these types of keywords without a huge budget.

It’s still a good thing however, to keep track of these phrases, but don’t be disheartened when your brand new travel blog isn’t appearing above Ryanair in Google for the keyword “cheap flights”.

Product-based keywords

If you sell products on your website, the likelihood is you won’t rank for the industry you’re in. Say for example, you sell coats, unless you’re ASOS or Debenhams, the likelihood of you coming close to page one for the word ‘coats’ without a huge budget is slim!

What you need to do is rank for your individual products. So you’d have more chance of ranking on Google for these search terms, instead:

This is actually good news, because, as research suggests, users aren’t just typing in the word coats, they’re more specific with what they need.

So, if you do sell physical products on your website then you’ll want to track where your pages are ranking for relevant keywords.

Location-specific keywords

If your business services customers in a specific location then you’ll want to track “location specific keywords” such as:

• Locksmith Manchester
• Hotels in York
• Restaurants in Edinburgh
• Funeral directors Liverpool

These types of keywords are extremely valuable to local businesses and are often the number one source of traffic.

Think about the service you offer and track [your keywords] plus [your location].

Long-tail keywords

Another option when choosing certain keywords to track is to think about any longer, more specific phrases someone might type into Google.

What would your ideal customer type into the search field that you could be ranking for?

• Best red coat for winter
• Cheap WordPress web designers
• Best locksmith in Manchester UK

As you would expect, these types of keywords are less popular when searched for individually but long tails keywords make up a majority of the overall searches on Google. i.e More people type in specific keywords (3 words or longer) rather broad (1-2 word) searches.

This is why it’s a good idea to track long-tail keywords.

Ways to check your website rankings

Now that you have a better idea of which keywords to target, you’ll need to find out where you are ranking on search engines.

I’ve put together a list of 5 different ways you can track your keyword rankings online.

1. Manually – Free (Not recommended)

The most common way for you to check your rankings is to head over to Google and type in your keyword and check the first few pages to see if you can find your website.

However, this is NOT the best solution. Searching from your own computer will show inaccurate results. Your browser will remember the websites you’ve been on before and show a different set of results to what your potential customer might see.

It’s also very time consuming, if you have 10 keywords you want to check and you have to search manually every time, it’s going to take you far too long.

2. The Hoth Rankings Checker (Free)

You can check your rankings The Hoth’s website for free. It will give you the top 100 rankings for your website.

The Hoth Rankings Checker is free to use. You just have to submit your email address and name. You’ll probably receive emails but they explain that you can unsubscribe anytime.

Check out The Hoth

3. Chrome Extension Fat Rank – 100% FREE

I’ve been using this chrome extension for about 2 years and it’s a really cool little tool.

Fatrank is a free rank tracker by Fatjoe. It works a little differently from other tools, but it’s nice to have around when checking rankings quickly.

Once you’ve installed the extension, you can click the icon on the toolbar at the top.

You then type in a keyword and hit “check”

It will show you where you’re ranked as long as you’re ranked within 100 listings (first 10 pages of Google)

It seems pretty accurate and reliable and I’d recommend you install it.

Check out FATRANK

4. Serpfox – From Free – $10 per month for a basic account

Serpfox is my go-to ranking tool. It’s clean, simple and is easy to use.

One of the features that I really like about this tool is that you can see a graph that goes up and down based on your rankings for the day. You can look back to see how your website has performed over a set period of time.

It’s really quick too. Once you add your website URL and keywords to the dashboard, you’ll see your rankings come through within seconds.

You can create a free account and add up to 10 keywords straight away. If you need more than 10, you can upgrade to the $10 per month plan and track up to 100 keywords.

Check Out Serpfox to create a free account

5. SEMRush – From FREE – $99 per month for a basic account.

SEMRush is an industry leader when it comes to SEO software. Although it’s mainly used for competitor analysis and keyword research, I still wanted to include it in the list, and for good reason.

It comes with a specific feature that allows you to discover hidden keywords that you didn’t even know you were ranking for. How cool is that?

You can input your website URL and SEMRush will automatically tell you which keywords are ranking on the first 10 pages of Google.

As you can see in the image below, they’ll show a list of keywords that have more than 20 monthly searches that ALSO rank within the first 10 pages.

You can obviously enter and track your own keywords but this feature makes it different from most of the other tools on the market and it’s the main reason I’m happy to pay the higher monthly fee.

You can test out this tool for free and get a limited list of keywords.

Check out SEMrush here

Over to you

There you have it, 5 ways to check your website rankings and what type of keywords to look for. Now that you have some tips you’ll be able to keep track of your rankings easier. I didn’t want to bombard you with tools but at least now you have some tips to keep you on the right path. And if you’re interested in blogging for SEO, check out these best blogging tools you can use in your business, which include plenty of SEO tools too.

One of the best ways to increase your rankings is by increasing backlinks to your website. And one of the most unique ways of doing this is through appearing on podcasts (when the podcaster links back to you). If you want to learn more about how to do this, check out this article on how to get on a podcast as a guest.

And if you want to learn more about SEO, then check out our SEO Starter Pack. It’s aimed at non-techie business owners, and gives you everything you need to get better search engine rankings.

Martin Huntbach

Web designer & marketer for small businesses. Martin is an experienced search engine and web design specialist, with over a decade of experience working with large corporations to small businesses.

jammydigital.com

The post 5 FREE ways to check keyword rankings in Google appeared first on Content Marketing & SEO Agency | Get More Sales From Your Website.

And I don’t blame you. Getting a new website is expensive.

After all, you might be pretty IT savvy. How hard can it possibly be?

I just want to make one thing clear.

Creating a good website is NOT about technical skills.

It’s about much more.

There are many experienced IT companies out there that have terrible websites. IT skills alone won’t deliver a profitable website.

So if you’re thinking about creating your own website, please take a few minutes to read this post. It could be the most important article you’ll read all year.

Drag and drop web design

For those who have limited technical skills, it may be tempting to design your website using drag-and-drop software via companies like WIX, Weebly or Squarespace.

These companies would have you believe that you can knock up a quick website within a day, sit back and let the money roll in.

It might seem easy enough to get started but you’ll quickly realise that there is a LOT more to it. Especially if you want to add or change anything which is outside of their restrictive templates.

Even if you do spend a few weeks or months getting it to look exactly as you want, chances are the final design is not what you’d get from an experienced web designer.

This is why I wrote this article. I wanted you to be fully aware of the complications before you waste time and money trying to build your own website.

Here are the 7 main reasons why you should avoid building your own website without any help and support.

1. Design limitations

Design is not something you can simply pick up in an afternoon. You can’t learn how to design a website without years of experience.

• It’s about how it looks
• It’s about how it makes people feel
• It’s about how it makes people act
• It’s about user experience
• It’s about the character of your business
• It’s about your message to the world

Above all else, website design is about building TRUST.

Without a solid understanding of design, you’ll almost certainly get it wrong. Your competitors on the other hand, might choose to hire a professional web designer and avoid any mistakes.

If you feel like your design skills are limited, then it’s best to stick within the confines of a theme or template. Most people go ahead and try to change a lot about the theme, but this is where you can look amateur.

And if you can, get feedback on your website from a professional website designer, even if that means paying for something like a website critique.

And if all that scares you, then hire somebody to help. You’ll save yourself a lot of time and get something that looks professional.

2. Lack of SEO knowledge

SEO or search engine optimisation is an ever-changing landscape. Search engines change their rules all the time and what worked last month might not work this month.

I’ve been helping clients with SEO for years and I’m still constantly listening, watching and testing to see what’s changed with Google and the other search engines.

I need to have my ear to the ground to be able to keep up to date and build search engine friendly websites. Not only that, if you build your own website, you’re going to have to have an understanding of:

• 301 redirects
• Backlinks
• 404 error pages
• Schema markup
• DA and PA
• Anchor Text

If you don’t feel comfortable with SEO, you could be making some critical mistakes with your website. Mistakes that could cost you 100’s or 1000’s of monthly visitors to your website. We at least recommend you get to know the basics of SEO if you’re designing your own website, such as investing in our SEO Starter Pack.

3. You are NOT your customer

Nobody knows your customers better than you. You live and breathe your business every day and it’s fair to say you know your stuff. We like to think we’re exactly the same.

However, when you’re so involved with running the business, it’s sometimes difficult to see things from your customers’ perspective. It’s difficult to imagine what it might look like seeing your website for the first time by a prospect. This is known as “the curse of knowledge”.

That’s where we can help. We run a membership community where we help and support people building their own websites (and our own plugin page templates to help!) We give regular feedback to our members on their websites. Here are just a few of the common errors we see on websites, just within the first third of your homepage!

• No prominent contact details
• No clear call to action
• No statement explaining succinctly what it is you do

4. You might need help along the way

Like anything technical, building a website is not easy and there will be hurdles along the way. You might be able to pull something basic together with some tutorials and the odd YouTube video, but what happens if something goes wrong?

How will you be able to fix it?

You could try to figure it out yourself by digging through lots of forums and using trial and error, but this could take days. You could hire a techie and pay for a 1hr consultation but this can cost hundreds of pounds.

It’s worth either using a web designer or joining our membership where you get help and support along the way.

We’ve spent years educating ourselves on the technicalities of designing websites and have come across plenty of problems and solutions over that time.

There’s no need for you to do the same.

5. You won’t have the right tools for the job

Designing websites is a specialist skill. Like any creative skill, it requires a number of tools to ensure the job is done correctly.

Here is a list of tools we use to build highly successful websites;

• Adobe Photoshop
• Adobe Illustrator
• WordPress
• FTP
• Premium Plugins
• Technical Audit Tools
• Rank Tracking Software
• Competitor analysis software
• Email Marketing tools
• Landing page software
• Cross Browser Software

Most of these tools are expensive but they are necessary. Especially if I want to create high impact websites for my clients that perform well in search engines.

If you don’t have these tools and/or know how to use them, then you might not get the result you’re hoping for.

It took me a good few years to learn how to use these tools and even longer to use them effectively.

Hiring a web designer or joining our membership will help. A web designer will already have such tools and in our membership, we give you access to tools and templates which make your life so much easier.

6. It will take you much longer than it needs to

Learning to build a website from scratch can take a long time, especially if you aren’t very technical. Even if you’re using drag and drop tools you may need to do a lot of tweaking to get it right. Not to mention all the image editing and resizing to make it look good and load quickly.

As you know, time IS money and whilst you’re learning how to build a website, you’re not managing or marketing the business.

In our membership, it takes our members around 2-3 weeks to build their website and that is because they have our support. A web designer will probably take longer but your time isn’t taken up with building the site yourself.

7. Your competitors

Even if you do have the time to create your own website, chances are your competitors’ websites will look superior. I’m not trying to be mean, but if they have paid for a professional website to be designed and you haven’t, the likelihood is that theirs will work better.

Many businesses understand the importance of quality, which is why they choose to pay a web design company instead of doing it themselves.

If you are trying to stand out then you’ll want a high-quality website then looks better than your competition.

When you should build your website yourself?

Now it’s not all doom and gloom. Not every business owner should go to a website design agency or freelancer to build their website. Some can and should build it themselves. These are business owners who are just starting out, or who aren’t clear on their audience, products or services just yet.

Also, remember, it doesn’t have to cost thousands for a new website. You can get a website at £1000 or even £500.

For those who are wanting to learn and don’t want to spend thousands on a website, our membership is a great option.

And for those who do have the funds, we recommend using a good web designer to help you.

My biggest frustration

This may appear like a shamelessly unbiased blog post. And it is! But the reason I’m writing it is that I’ve had client after client tell me their frustrations when trying to build their own website completely on their own with zero support.

Believe me, at some point you’re going to have to pay a professional (even if it’s just a small amount) if you want your website to be a success and not a time-suck!

Over to you?

Remember, the next step once your website is live (whether you build it yourself or get someone else to do it) is to drive traffic to that website! And you can do this through something like our SEO content writing service.

Martin Huntbach

Web designer & marketer for small businesses. Martin is an experienced search engine and web design specialist, with over a decade of experience working with large corporations to small businesses.

jammydigital.com

The post 7 reasons you SHOULDN’T design your own website appeared first on Content Marketing & SEO Agency | Get More Sales From Your Website.

Common misconceptions about WordPress

• “WordPress is that crappy blogging thing isn’t it?”
• “Why would I pay a web designer when I can get WordPress for free?”
• “WordPress is drag and drop, I need a proper web designer who knows code.”

I’ve heard these concerns plenty of times before. Usually from first time business owners who are just starting out or old fashioned web developers who are too stubborn to change their ways. Either way it’s time to set the record straight.

WordPress.org vs WordPress.com

Before I go on, I just wanted to clear something up. We use WordPress.ORG to build your website and everything we talk about in this article is in reference to that. WordPress.COM is different. This is a separate product all together and is usually used as a DIY blogging tool and it tends to be very restrictive. I wouldn’t recommend it for a business website.

Below I’ve outlined 9 reasons why wordpress.org is the only platform you’ll ever need.

1. You can make changes yourself easily

First and foremost, this is why I love WordPress. You, as the client have control over the website which means you don’t have to pay your web designer for every little change. WordPress is a content management system (CMS) which means that once the site has been built you can add, edit and delete things yourself.

It comes with a basic editor that looks like this…

As you can see, it’s very similar to the formatting palette on Microsoft Word or any email provider such as Outlook or Gmail.

If you’re still worried about the learning curve then please don’t be. We send all our clients helpful training videos on how to use WordPress. We’ll teach you how to make changes and keep the site up to date. There are also plenty of resources on the web that teach you how to use it, some of which I’ve included further down the page.

2. Complete control over the design

Some people think WordPress is a basic platform and doesn’t allow for much customisation. This is simply not the case. WordPress allows us to build completely bespoke websites that are tailored around your business.

Some platforms don’t allow for advanced customisation which make it’s difficult to create truly awesome websites. They only have basic options that deliver basic results. It is important to have complete control and you might not have this option with other platforms.

We design your website using Adobe programmes such as Photoshop and Illustrator. We make it look exactly how we want it to before we touch a line of code. We then build your site on WordPress by transferring each design element over one at a time. Your business is unique and your website deserves to be too.

3. Free & paid plugins

Another huge benefit of using WordPress is that you can install extra “add ons” to your website. These are called plugins and they will make your life so much easier.

Let’s just say you want to add an image gallery to your website, this can be achieved very easily by searching the WordPress plugin library for “image gallery”. You can then browse the extensive list of free and paid plugins, most of which can be installed in less than a minute and you can start adding your images.

There are over 45,000 plugins in the WordPress library and most things can be accomplished if your know what you’re trying to do. Below I’ve added a list features you might want to have on your website. I’ve also included a link to a FREE plugin so that you can achieve it.

• An online shop facility – Woocommerce
• Social media sharing buttons – Sharaholic
• Image Gallery – Envira Gallery
• Email signup form – Email Subscribers
• Display your testimonials – Strong Testimonials

We will obviously install what you need whilst we are building your website, however you may want to add additional features once you’ve gone live and plugins are a great option.

There are great benefits to using plugins. Imagine having to build everything from scratch – gallery, calendar, contact form etc. All that costs money, and it could send your web costs spiralling. Most of the time a free plugin will give you what you need for a fraction of the cost.

4. Free and paid Templates

WordPress allows you to quickly install pre-made templates very easily. Much like plugins, there are 1000’s of free and paid themes to choose from, each with their own own style and layout.

If we are building your website, you don’t have to worry about this as everything is built from scratch. However, it’s nice to know that if you wanted to change the style of your website in the future you can do so using a 3rd party template.

WordPress have their own template library you can browse to see if anything takes your fancy.

5. Free Online help

Obviously, if we build your website we are always happy to help where possible, but most of our clients end up learning a lot themselves too.

WordPress is the most popular CMS of its kind. This means that if you get stuck along the way, chances are you’ll be able to find articles and videos online to help you.

WordPress Support

WordPress do have their own support forum which is free to join and very useful.

Google

Google is the first place most people go to if they have a problem. A simple Google search for “how to install an image gallery on WordPress” will give you more than enough information.

YouTube

Youtube is a great resource for WordPress help. If you’re like me and you’re more visual, watching a few Youtube videos will save you some time.

Udemy

Udemy is another great resource. Technically Udemy is a paid service but they do have free WordPress courses from time to time. Here’s a cheeky link from me to you.

Udemy WordPress Training (free)

6. Paid support

Sometimes, free WordPress support just doesn’t cut it. If you need more urgent assistance and advice, then there’s no shortage of companies who can help.

If you’re looking for an in-depth WordPress course that walks you through the A-Z of what you need to know, then WP101 is a great option. They also have a very helpful community where you can ask additional questions and get support from a dedicated team member. For me, the WP101 community is the real benefit of this service. It’s also very cheap with prices starting at $19 per annum.

If you are a technophobe and you need (done for you) tech support then you might want to consider something like Go WP who offer dedicated monthly support for around $79 per month. They’ll make small changes for you and will keep your site running smoothly.

You can also find an abundance of WordPress experts on Upwork who are available for you to hire on an hourly basis. You can post your job and have people reach out to you or you can simply search the Upwork database for freelancers and approach them individually based on their skills, reviews, price per hour etc.

7. WordPress works with (almost) anything

This is another reason why we love using WordPress. We never have to worry about integrating 3rd party software with your website.

Due to it’s massive popularity, companies tend to bend over backwards for WordPress. Whether it’s an email services provider like Mailchimp or industry leading payment processor like Stripe, it has to be COMPATIBLE with WordPress.

Many software companies create their own WordPress plugins because they know how important it is. They also understand that if they didn’t make it easy for people they would lose a lot of customers. It’s in everyone interest to create WordPress friendly software.

8. Search engines love WordPress

In my experience, WordPress websites ALWAYS rank better in search engines than other platforms such as Joomla, Wix and Squarespace.

Why is this?

Clean URL structure

Your page URL’s are extremely important in how Google rank your website. They look at the keywords within your URL to determine what you should rank for. WordPress is great as it allows you to create unique URL’s for each page very easily and doesn’t add any messy gibberish like so many others do.

Website Speed

Some of the other content management systems and website builders are built with a lot of unnecessary code. This extra code can cause the site to feel heavy and load slowly. WordPress on the other hand is fairly lightweight and most themes and plugins are built with this in mind. There ARE some exceptions but generally speaking WordPress websites are quicker.

SEO plugins that allow you to optimise your pages easily

Every page on your website will need to be optimised for search engines. That way you have more chance of ranking on the first page of Google.

There are hundreds of different plugins that you can use to improve your on-page SEO in different ways but perhaps the most widely used plugin is Yoast.

Yoast SEO Plugin

The Yoast SEO plugin is free and you can use it on multiple websites. It comes with an extensive number of features that you can use to make your website more search engine friendly.

9. Mobile Friendly

Having a mobile friendly website is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity. And if you want to keep Google and your users happy you’ll need to make sure your website passes the mobile friendly test.

When we build your website we make it responsive. This means it looks great when viewed on a mobile device or tablet. This is nothing new and should happen anyway but with WordPress it makes the whole process so much easier.

Responsive Plugins

Most plugins are built to be responsive. This means they look great on smaller screens and we don’t have to customise them manually which saves us a lot of time.

Responsive Templates

Again, because we are building your website for you. you won’t really need a template but it’s good to know that if you did in the future it would likely be responsive.

You can make your website responsive

WordPress have a number of tools that can actually turn your website from non-responsive to responsive. That means, if Google change their guidelines in the future you can use the tools to stay inline.

All round, WordPress will make it easier for us to deliver a fully responsive website.

Summary

So there you have it, 9 reasons why we only use WordPress to build your website. As you can probably tell, I’m pretty fond of WordPress and hopefully after reading this article you now understand why. I need to be able to trust the tools I use 100% so I can continue to build the best possible websites.

Over to you

Have you tried using WordPress in the past? How did you find it? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Martin Huntbach

Web designer & marketer for small businesses. Martin is an experienced search engine and web design specialist, with over a decade of experience working with large corporations to small businesses.

jammydigital.com

The post Why Do We ONLY Use WordPress To Build Your Website? appeared first on Content Marketing & SEO Agency | Get More Sales From Your Website.

Below, I wanted to outline the main reasons why we think you shouldn’t work with us.

1. You can’t afford it

Website design prices can vary. The average website can cost anything from £500 to £10,000+. Our web design prices range from £2997 – £4997. This can be off putting to some business owners. We get it. Our websites are a significant investment, but they’re exactly that, an investment.

The reason we charge this amount is based on the time it takes and research that’s involved. We create a design concept that is tailored around your specific goals, whether that’s getting your users to sign up to your email list or to fill out a contact form on your website. We have to understand your business fully to be able to build you an effective website.

Some business owners don’t want that. They just want an online billboard. If that’s what you want, we’re probably not right for you.

We want to deliver you a healthy return on investment. For a more detailed idea of what you can get for your money, read our recent post, How Much Does It Cost For A Website?

2. You don’t want to do any work

To able to create the best possible website, we need some help from you. If you were hoping that we’ll do 100% of the work and that you won’t have to lift a finger then things are going to be difficult.

Before we begin building your website we’ll have a meeting, usually via Skype. We’ll spend an hour or so talking about your business and finding out more about your products and services and overall business goals. We’ll need to ask you a few questions to try and understand as much as possible before we move forward.

We’ll then send you a questionnaire to fill out, where we ask you more detailed questions. It’s a worthwhile process, but it does take some effort on your part. We really want to understand your audience, the benefits of your products or services and why someone would choose you over your competitors. All of this valuable information will add to the final design which makes it extremely important. It takes some time but it’s worth it.

3. You want a website fast

If you’re looking for a rush job, then we are not the agency for you.

Our websites take 6-10 weeks on average to complete and for good reason. Your website is the most important tool in growing your business online.

Below, I’ve detailed our process and why it takes longer than you might think.

Research (1-2 weeks)

To be able to design a website that’s right for you, we need to spend a certain amount of time researching you, your market and your competitors. Along with doing our own research we’ll be gathering information from you via our initial Skype call and your questionnaire. We’ll also send you a few emails if we need any more clarification.

Planning (1-2)

After we have enough information from the research, we can start planning out your website. This will include lots of sketches on a whiteboard, post-it notes and lots of coffee. After all, we want to be wide awake when we’re getting the blueprints together for your new site.

Mockup (1-2 weeks)

Once we are happy with the plan of attack, we then move onto the design stage. This is where we bring together all of the research and planning to create a mockup of your new website. We will design you a homepage layout on photoshop that shows you how the website will look before we build it. We’ll also send a helpful video explaining why we designed it the way we did.

Build (3-4 weeks)

After you’ve seen the mockup and are happy, we then get to work designing your new website. This includes all the geeky stuff such as; coding your website, adding plugins, creating search engine friendly URLs and all the other stuff that comes with creating a high performance website.

Factoring all these things in, the whole process can take 2-3 months and believe it or not we see that as a good thing. I think we’d be doing you a serious disservice if we could get your website up quickly, which is why we just don’t work that way.

4. You don’t have time to provide us with information

We understand, you’re busy and you have a business to run. We will need around 5 -10 hours of your time if you choose to hire us to build your website. If you can’t find this time, we might not be the right fit for you.

Below, I’ve included a breakdown of how much time you will need to set aside.

• Initial chat – 1hr
• Filling out your questionnaire – 1hr
• Reviewing the mockup and giving feedback – 1hr
• Emails conversations and phone calls – 1hr
• Creating content* – 5 hrs
• Sending us images and text – 1hr

*Some of our packages include content writing so you should consider using this if you’re short on time.

Let’s face it, you know your business more than us, and we treat you as the expert.

Yes, we will research, plan, design and build your website. However, for it to work effectively, we need your help. The more information we have, the better the website will be.

5. You want a Yes Man (or woman)

Some people know exactly what they want their website to look like. They’ll have the exact design in their heads. The colours, the layout, the font…everything. They just need a web designer to do it for them. Unfortunately, we are not that kind of agency.

Unless you’re a digital marketing specialist with years of experience, it’s likely that your ideas need some improvement. It’s ok to have a vague idea of how you want the website to look, however, you need to trust that we know what we’re doing. That’s why you’re hiring us, after all.

We have years of experience in building high performance websites that look great, convert visitors and work well on search engines, why would you not want to use our expertise?

We view the relationship with our clients as a partnership, where we invest ourselves into your business and it’s success. Sometimes, that might mean we come up with new ideas, or make suggested changes. Plus, if I’m being honest, I’d struggle to keep my mouth shut if I thought something wouldn’t work. It’s in my nature.

6. You want to sit back and let the money roll in

Build it and they will come, right? Not exactly.

It would be great if you could just pay a web designer to build you a website and then you sit back and let the money roll in. This is rarely the case. If this is you, then you may have to go back to the drawing board.

Once your website is live, it will require some work from you to promote it or you could always pay someone to do it for you. Either way, you would have a plan of action in place to attract visitors to your website such as;

• A Content marketing strategy
• Facebook advertising campaign
• SEO strategy
• Google AdWords campaign
• Email marketing strategy

If you do understand that marketing is important and you’re prepared to do the work then we have some good news. After we build your website you get a free 1 hr digital marketing coaching session via Skype or a personalised marketing plan as a PDF. That means you’ll have a marketing strategy to go along with your brand new website.

We want you to have every possible chance to succeed and if you’re prepared to do the work, we’ll be right there with you.

7. You want the next Facebook

Unfortunately, we’re not Zuckerberg, making the next Facebook, Google or Amazon is going to be difficult. If you wanted the next big social media thing, you’ll need a team of developers available 24/7 to keep the site going. We just don’t have the capacity nor would we want to.

Summary

So there you have it. The 7 reasons you shouldn’t work with us.

We pride ourselves on being upfront and transparent, which is one of the reasons for this particular post. We would hate for any business owner to hire us for the wrong reasons.

If you’re still here and excited, then great! We’d love to hear more about your ideas, your business and what you want to achieve.

If you’re interested in getting a website, call us on 0161 410 1990

Martin Huntbach

Web designer & marketer for small businesses. Martin is an experienced search engine and web design specialist, with over a decade of experience working with large corporations to small businesses.

jammydigital.com

The post 7 Reasons You Shouldn’t Work With Us appeared first on Content Marketing & SEO Agency | Get More Sales From Your Website.

Why use a 301 redirect?

1. Changed your company domain name

One of the main reasons you would use a 301 is because you have changed your business name. The likelihood is, you’ll need to change the domain name too.

Example

KFC used to be known as Kentucky Fried Chicken. When they changed their name to KFC, they needed to add a 301 redirect to their new domain name.

So now, when you visit kentuckyfriedchicken.com you will notice that page redirects to kfc.com. They are doing this with a 301 redirect.

If they didn’t have a 301 setup, then they would technically have two separate websites on two different domains, which can cause massive confusion to users and search engines.

Moved or deleted a page on your website

Another common reason for using a 301 is if you want to change the URL on one of your pages.

The reasons for doing this include; deleting pages, changing categories, changing menu items or amending anything to do with your overall website structure. Ordinarily, you would lose all of the link power going to the old URL but by using a 301 redirect search engines will allow you to keep most this power.

Example

Let’s just say you have an online shop, and you were changing a URL for one of your products to make it easier for search engines. *Hint the shorter the URL the better.

Old URL – myshop.com/products/mens/shoes/black-leather-shoes

Change to

New URL – myshop.com/mens/shoes/black-leather-shoes

The problem is that search engines still have a record of the old URL. That means that they will still continue to list it in search results for the some time and if you’ve changed the URL path, your user will probably land on a 404 error page which is bad, especially if you want to continue selling shoes. This is why you need to use a 301 redirect when you amend pages.

It will tell search engines that the old page is no longer available, and they need to send all the traffic to the new page.

Duplicate page content

Another reason you might need to use a 301 redirect is because of duplicate content issues.

Search engines need your content to be unique, and they may penalise you if you have too many pages on your website with similar content.

On the face of it, you might think your website is OK, but this issue is more common that you’d think. And it needs fixing asap.

You can check Google Webmaster tools for any duplicate pages or use a free online tool such as www.siteliner.com to see if any of your pages have this issue.

www. vs. non www. – Canonical URLs

This leads on nicely from the last section, but I delve deeper, I want to clarify what we mean by canonical URLs.

Another reason duplicate pages arise is because you haven’t chosen a preferred URL.

As you’re probably aware, some websites come with (www.) in front of the domain and others are seen as a “naked URL” without the (www.)

According to Google; there is no real SEO benefit to choosing one over the other, it’s personal preference. However, if you don’t pick one, it WILL affect your SEO.

Once you’ve decided, you will need to setup a 301 redirect to fix it.

How to add 301 redirects

Adding 301 redirects can be very simple, but it all depends on how your website was built. If you have access to your content management system, then you may be able to make changes without messing around with any code. WordPress is the most popular CMS, so I’ll walk you through the different steps below on how to set them up.

Simple 301 redirects with WordPress

If you use WordPress as your CMS, then you’re in luck. Just follow the simple instructions below and add the 301 redirects via your dashboard.

Step 1. Once you’ve logged into the WordPress dashboard, hover your mouse over the plugins tab on the left and click ‘add new’ from the drop-down menu.

Step 2. Using the search bar on the top left of the screen, search for “simple 301 redirect” and press enter.

Step 3. Install the plugin and click “Activate Plugin” on the next page.

Step 4. Hover you mouse over the settings tab, and you will see “301 redirect” on the drop down menu. Click to open.

Step 5. Using the plugin, you can assign which pages you want to redirect and where you want to redirect them to.

Step 6. Click Save Changes, and you’re done.

Setting up 301 redirects without WordPress

If your website is not built using WordPress or any other CMS, then you will need to add the code manually or send the information to you web developer.

Step 1. Head over to this website https://www.rapidtables.com/web/tools/redirect-generator.htm

Step 2. Enter the URL for your old page and your new page.

Step 3. Select the type of redirect, in other words, how do you want to add the code to your website.

Step 4. Select generate code and then paste that code onto your website.

There are many different ways to add 301 redirects to your website, and hopefully, this post should make things a lot easier in the future.

Martin Huntbach

Web designer & marketer for small businesses. Martin is an experienced search engine and web design specialist, with over a decade of experience working with large corporations to small businesses.

jammydigital.com

The post What is a 301 redirect and why should you care? appeared first on Content Marketing & SEO Agency | Get More Sales From Your Website.

We’ve all been there. Creating content is hard. But coming up with content ideas? That can be a killer.

It’s best to create content when you follow a proper strategy, because that’s the best way of using content to reach your business goals. However, we get that sometimes you just need inspiration!

So here are some of the best ways to find brilliant content ideas…

1. Write Down Every Question a Customer or Client Has Ever Asked You

Go do it now.

Done?

Good.

Now answer them!

And yep, even those awkward ones like, ‘how much do you charge?’ or ‘why are you more expensive than your competitors‘?

It doesn’t matter how you answer them. On your blog, video, vlogging from your bubble bath (if that’s your thing). Just answer them.

And there you have it, lots of lovely new content marketing ideas. Ones that users will search for and find informative and helpful.

2. Involve your team

Great things happen when you get people in a room and talking. You come up with the most brilliant ideas.

Make sure you regularly make time with your team to think of content ideas – your team could’ve been asked an interesting question from a customer, or come across an insightful article, or even spotted a trend on social media.

Remember, every team member, whether they’re in sales, tech support, or design, offers a unique perspective that can add immense value to your content strategy.

3. Keep a Pen and Paper Handy

Did you know J.K. thought of her amazing, beyond amazing idea about a boy wizard on the train when she didn’t have a pen and paper? Avoid that mistake. Ideas hit us at the most inconvenient of times. So, make sure you have something with you in order to jot them down.

4. Jump on the Trend Horse

Create content based on what’s happening in the news and or trends. If you have expertise in a domain that’s making the rounds, it’s your cue to weigh in and share insights!

Stay relevant. Stay vocal.

5. Join Forums and Groups

Hang out where your audience hangs out and watch out for the questions they ask – this is a treasure trove of content ideas. Also, make sure you keep an eye on the language they use too – this can tell you how to word your content so it reflects exactly what your audience is asking and needs help with.

6. Quora

Quora is an addictive Q&A site that gives you an idea of what information people are after. So type in the kinds of questions your audience might be asking, and away you go! In a short space of time, you’ll know what topics people are interested in surrounding your business.

7. Explore Analytics

The data doesn’t lie! Look into your website or social media analytics to see what posts or topics have gained the most traction. This can give you an indication of what your audience likes and wants more of.

8. Podcasts and Webinars

Tune in to popular podcasts or webinars in your industry. They’re a goldmine for relevant topics and discussions. Plus, they might inspire a different angle or a deeper dive into subjects that are merely brushed upon.

9. Conduct Surveys

Your audience is your best source of information. Send out surveys or polls asking them directly what they’d like to read or learn about. Their feedback can be the birthplace of your next big content piece.

10. Bookshelf and Magazines

Don’t just stick to online. The old-school route of scanning books or magazines in your niche can offer insights or even just inspire a fresh take on a recurring theme.

11. Mind-mapping Sessions

Set aside time for brainstorming. Start with a core idea and expand outward, jotting down every related topic or subtopic that comes to mind. This can help you visualize a multitude of potential content avenues.

12. Competitor Watch

It’s not about copying, but observing. See what topics your competitors are covering. Can you offer a different perspective or go more in-depth? Or did they miss out on a crucial point that you can highlight?

13. You Don’t Have to be Unique, but Try to be Better

Try not to spend time coming up with brand-new, completely original content. It’s the internet. Your idea has probably been thought up before.

But what you can do is make your content better, more informed, funnier, more opinionated etc. And that’s how you can differentiate yourself.

Lyndsay Cambridge

Owner at Jammy Digital, Digital Marketing Specialist and Writer of Young-Adult Fiction.

jammydigital.com

The post 13 Ways to Find New Content Ideas appeared first on Content Marketing & SEO Agency | Get More Sales From Your Website.

What is SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation and is the process of gaining higher rankings for certain targeted keywords.

SEO is not magic, it’s a well thought out, tried-and-tested method of essentially, giving Google exactly what they want, so they prioritise your site over your competitors.

Remember, the organic search results are listed just below the Google’s Ad results. It’s clear what a Google ad as it says the word ‘Ad’ next to the listing – web users have become savvy to this and often ignore these results.

Why is SEO so important for businesses?

Some facts…

Did you know that 70% of people click organic search results as opposed to paid ads?

Did you know that 93% of online experiences start with a search engine?

And did you know that 75% of people never scroll past the first page of Google?

Some pretty impressive statics and as you can see, it’s very hard to argue against the benefits of SEO, but some business owners do ask, what does all this mean?

How can SEO help you?

Well, it’s quite simple, the more relevant web visitors you gain to your site the larger your profits. Ultimately, SEO is a powerful, complex and rewarding lead generating activity.

Everyday someone searches for YOUR products and services online and, providing your website is easy-to-navigate with a clear call to action, you could easily see a massive increase in leads and sales.

If you want to find out how we can help you increase your visibility online get in touch today for a free consultation.

Martin Huntbach

Web designer & marketer for small businesses. Martin is an experienced search engine and web design specialist, with over a decade of experience working with large corporations to small businesses.

jammydigital.com

The post What is SEO? Search Engine Optimisation Explained appeared first on Content Marketing & SEO Agency | Get More Sales From Your Website.