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Is Your Site Mobile Responsive?

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Most businesses focus on making their website mobile-friendly but not mobile-responsive. While it might seem like a subtle semantic difference, a responsive website makes a website more user-friendly and accessible, according to custom web development specialists.

Defining Mobile Responsive Websites

A mobile-friendly website only adjusts the page size on a smart device or tablet; it does not alter the layout. A mobile-responsive website changes the layout and may add buttons or tabs depending on the device. For example, a company can include a call button for a smartphone or mobile layout, allowing consumers to touch to dial.

Unlike traditional methods for creating mobile sites, a business no longer needs to maintain a different website for each device. A responsive website is a single system, meaning a company only needs one URL. The system allows for a flexible layout, allowing sites to change according to the screen size and device used.

More users than ever are using smartphones to access digital content. If a company fails to use mobile responsive designs, consumers will often abandon the web page. Also, if a website takes over three seconds to load, consumers will move on to the next search result.

Understanding the Benefits of a Mobile Responsive Design

A mobile-responsive web design is vital to marketplace success. Consumers want easy-to-navigate pages, regardless of the device they use. They also want companies to accommodate their shopping and viewing needs depending on their device. If your business has yet to update its website to a mobile-responsive design, consider the benefits of the upgrade.

Improved User Experience

The design provides a better user experience across multiple devices. The responsive approach ensures specific devices have appropriate features to make the experience more approachable. For example, smartphone users can scroll up and down to read or explore the website; they do not need to scroll horizontally or zoom in on text.

Increased Efficiency

With only one URL, companies can save money. Before RWDs, it was common for a business to have multiple URLs for different device sizes, meaning it had to pay for the hosting of multiple sites. Also, the company had to pay in-house or contracted designers to create each variation.

Also, a responsive design makes it easier to update your website. You or your team can make quick design edits once rather than several times across multiple sites.

Better Reach

Because the website automatically adjusts to the user’s device, it is more accessible. Satisfied phone and tablet users will convert more often. With over 57% of internet users accessing sites from multiple devices, a company is bound to expand its reach with responsive design.

Higher Search Rankings

Google announced mobile-friendliness as a ranking factor all the way back in 2015. It only makes sense that improved mobile responsiveness will increase your website rankings. Also, higher rankings typically equate to higher conversions and more profit.

Hiring a Web Development Company To Handle Responsive Design

People assume that a custom web development service is expensive. While specialized services do cost money, you always need to put the costs in perspective.

If you do not hire a web development company to design your new responsive website, you will need to hire an in-house team to do it. To hire a team, you will need to recruit talent, invest in training, pay benefits, etc. Your expenses skyrocket. While a large corporation might be able to eat the costs of an in-house team, most small and medium-sized businesses cannot.

Hiring an outside service is usually more affordable. If you want to learn more about responsive web design or digital marketing, contact Unwired Web Solutions, a reputable full-service digital marketing agency in Canada.

What is Website Hosting?

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What You Need To Know About Web Hosting

Whether you have products or services to sell or ideas to share, you need to have a website. The internet is everywhere and over 5 billion people use it regularly. A website puts you and your business in front of millions of customers, improving your visibility, credibility, and reach. The right website looks professional, loads quickly, and connects you to the right people. While having a plan for custom web development is important, one of the most important factors is how and where your site will be hosted. Here’s what you should know about web hosting.

Understanding Web Hosting 

When you think of a store or other business you can visit, there will be products or services the owner wants to sell to clients or customers. That store or business needs a facility to conduct its business, including equipment to conduct transactions, spaces to display goods or information about services, and a building that houses operations. You can think of web hosting as the service that makes your site and its elements accessible to internet users. Web hosts provide the space and technology necessary for your site to operate according to its purposes.

Taking a Closer Look

A web hosting service provides the server, which is a physical computer that stores the data, images, and other elements used for your website. When a user types a specific address or URL, your web host transfers all the files needed for your site. Your web host is responsible for making sure the right elements are transferred each time. Web hosting also covers security for site use as well as the maintenance necessary to keep the site running.  While you could build or operate a computer to act as a server for self-hosting, that could be a very expensive option. Many individuals and organizations use a third-party hosting service that takes care of the costs and responsibility of server maintenance and security.

Exploring Web Hosting Options

When it comes to third-party web hosting, there are different options available, each with its own advantages:

  • Shared hosting: This option involves multiple users sharing the same server resources, such as storage, memory, and computing power. Shared hosting is usually quite affordable and requires no technical expertise; however, you don’t have access to server settings and your site performance is impacted by other website traffic.
  • Virtual private servers: Generally more expensive than shared hosting, VPS hosting dedicates space and resources to your site’s files. Although you enjoy much more freedom to customize, you’ll likely need to hire a custom web development service to manage the technical details.
  • Dedicated hosting: This web hosting option comes with dedicated server space and boosted functionality. While you do have root access to the server, this type of service is usually very expensive and better suited for large businesses.
  • Managed hosting: This option comes with dedicated server space, but less control and responsibility than dedicated hosting. Typically you manage your site’s content using networked computer communication rules, also known as a file transfer protocol.
  • Cloud hosting: Although more expensive than shared and VPS hosting, cloud hosting uses multiple virtual servers reducing the chance that your website will be impacted by hardware failure or high traffic. Depending on your provider, you may not have root access to these services.

Finding the Right Custom Web Development Solution

You may seem overwhelmed by what’s available for web hosting. The good news is that Unwired Web Solutions offers a full suite of services to make your website dreams a beautiful and functional reality. Not only do we help you develop a website, but we also specialize in search engine optimization, helping to ensure your site is visible and accessible by the users that are in most need of the products or information you provide. Contact us today to get started!

6 Steps To Take Before Starting a Web Design Project

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What You Need To Produce a Successful Web Design Project

Web design requires a lot of hard work and dedication; it is not about creating a one-and-done, stagnant webpage. For most businesses, the objective of web design is to encourage consumers to buy products or services. If you want to push consumers through a proper sales funnel, you will likely need the experience of a custom web development team.

Still, whether using a professional service or not, a web development project requires several pieces to work on. Most professional web design firms will explain six essential steps every business must take before starting a major project.

1. Review Competition

While you might have ideas about how you want your pages to look and feel, you need to assess your ideas against those proven and working in the industry. The best place to start a web design project is by performing opposition research.

You want to review the websites and pages of your competition. Look at the design strategies of successful market opponents. Do they use videos on landing pages? What do their page layouts and menus have in common? What topics are they covering in their blogs?

Research creates an informed strategy. While you do not want to copy everything your competitors are doing, you do what to ensure you offer similar thoughts, services, and designs to ensure consumer crossover.

2. Use Keywords

While keywords are not the most critical web design element, they still hold power, especially in search engines. It is no longer true that you can rank with irrelevant content as long as your pages have the correct frequency of keywords. Now, the quality of content is the driving force of search engine rankings.

When doing keyword research, you want to focus on relevance to your business and your post or page. If the keywords do not seem to fit, it can hurt your SEO strategy.

3. Find a Professional To Help

If you are new to web design, SEO, and digital marketing, you might consider hiring an experienced professional service. It is possible for an individual to learn everything they need to know to create beautiful and successful pages on their own, but it is quicker and more cost-effective to hire someone with existing knowledge.

Professionals and web design services already know the intricacies of SEO and digital marketing. They do not need to invest hours into the study of fundamentals because they are already ingrained in their work processes.

4. Include Contact Info

While it might seem obvious, all web pages should include your company’s contact information. Too many business owners forget this essential detail, especially when attempting to do everything themselves. 

Doing web design DIY is a quick journey to several beginner-level mistakes. To avoid simple errors, work with a professional service.

5. Include Testimonials

Testimonials are another critical aspect of fundamental web design. Consumers want to know what other people think of your product or service. Providing a page with testimonials gives consumers a place to review other customer experiences without leaving your pages. 

The longer you can keep a client or potential customer on your site, the more likely they will commit to your service or purchase a product. While page ranks are part of web design strategy, increasing the average time consumers spend on your pages is often more important.

6. Create Content Frequently

A stagnant website is the death of a digital business. You want search engines and consumers to see the constant improvement of your pages. Much of the success of pages is due to consistent content creation and updating. Still, it can also involve the linking strategy between pages, something else an expert can help with.

Web design is an involved process, and it is challenging to do it alone. If you want to spruce up your website or build a new one, contact Unwired Web Solutions to learn what it can do for you and your business.

Best Practices for Custom Web Application Development

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No matter your industry, custom web development has a significant impact on your business. In today’s tech-focused world, you’re at a massive disadvantage if you don’t have a functioning website.

Of course, creating a site that brings in new customers while contributing to your business goals is easier said than done. Fortunately, with enough knowledge and the right help, you can leverage your web pages to grow your enterprise.

What Does Web Development Include?

Custom web app development creates a digital framework for your website, but it’s more complex than writing a few pages. You need to design, launch and maintain backend and frontend elements, tasks that require specialized knowledge and ongoing education.

To simply things, let’s break down what “backend” and “frontend” mean. Backend development includes the programs that run your website. This side of the project requires programming skills in several languages:

  • Python
  • Java
  • PHP
  • HTML

Visitors never see the work that goes into backend development, but it’s responsible for all the things they do see, which we call “frontend.” This aspect includes webpage content, sitemaps, links and anything else visitors directly interact with. Graphic design plays a major role here, like layouts, colour choices and images contribute to successful frontend development.

Why Is Web Develop Essential for Growing Your Business?

Excellent web development has two significant benefits: Your website looks good and functions well. Both are essential to creating a phenomenal customer experience.

From a visual standpoint, your website should look professional and align with your branding. Sites with out-of-date visuals can set off alarm bells, so you need to stay modern, which means regular updates. Additionally, design impacts how well users can navigate your site. For example, visitors may find your content hard to read if the text and background colours are too outlandish. Even if your content offers exactly what they’re looking for, they won’t know because it’s difficult to access.

As far as functionality goes, visitors should be able to navigate your website with ease. That means minimal loading times and no broken links. You should also regularly update security, especially if you accept sensitive information such as credit card numbers.

While this may seem like a lot of effort, providing the best experience to potential customers is well worth it. The majority of internet users give a website about 15 seconds to impress them. If it doesn’t measure up, users move on.

What Are the Benefits of Custom Web Development?

Even if you’re a small business, you can enjoy the benefits of a dedicated web development team. It’s easier than ever to outsource website building, and you’ll find it’s better for your business. For one, you can dedicate your energy today daily operations knowing that your website is in good hands. For another, you don’t have to keep tabs on yet another industry, one that updates irregularly and without warning.

Your dedicated web development team can also help you take advantage of new technology in a way that makes sense for your customer base. They also know what add-ons are all flash and have no substance, saving you money on unnecessary upgrades.

This customization lets you create a website that supports your overall marketing and branding efforts. You never have to make do with awkward templates or cobbled-together solutions. If anything does go wrong, you have experts ready to help you identify and resolve the problem.

Whether you’re creating a website from scratch or need to revamp your current web pages, Unwired Web Solutions is here to help. Our experts have worked with a wide variety of companies, and we’re excited to create a site customized to your needs. For more information, call us or contact us online.

Should You Have Live Chat On Your Website

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We now live in a world of instant gratification where consumers want a convenient and easy way to ask questions when shopping online. One way to help consumers instantly connect with your business is through live chat (also known as “instant messaging”). Live chat can help in the consumers’ decision-making process as studies show that those who use the service are either considering making a purchase or are in the process of making a purchase.

At Unwired Web Solutions, we understand how important it is for your customer to connect with you throughout their buying experience. We offer a variety of services, including custom web development and custom web app development with an option of live chat.

Communication is Vital

Research has shown that roughly 44% of online customers say that having questions answered by a live person while making a purchase is one of the most essential features of a website. This means the simple act of answering a customer’s question can mean the difference between making a sale or having them walk away.

No matter how much content you have created, visitors will still have questions, making a chat option very useful. Live chat can help customers feel satisfied when they get their questions answered quickly and easily. This means they will often leave the interaction with a positive view of the site and may even leave a positive review for your business on Google.

Live chat boxes can be used in several ways to help lead to conversions. You don’t want your live chat to make customers feel as though they’re being “sold to.” However, you also don’t want a warm lead to disappear without getting any contact information, so it’s necessary to steer customers in the direction that will help them and also get their contact details. This approach kills two birds with one stone. It helps get the customer the information they want and can also give you permission to get their details and contact them.

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Marketing Possibilities

People love communicating in real-time and live chat gives them what they want. But customers are not the only ones who can benefit from live chat. Marketers are also seeing a way to increase leads and sales. 

Consumers also want to get a deal, and a live chat box can also offer this. Chat boxes don’t only need to be about answering a customer’s question. It can also serve as an ad or pop up. Think about using a chat box as a way to capture an email in exchange for a coupon towards your shop. By seeing the chat box itself as a way to reach out to customers, you can start the conversion process early on.

Many people believe that live chats may be the future marketing and sales teams, especially in the age of COVID when people are not meeting in person. If you can start with it now, you may have a competitive advantage in the future. 

Chat Support Team

Your chat support team is the lifeblood of your live chat system. It is vital to train them specifically for your live chat, but it is one aspect that many businesses don’t think about. If you have a small business, you may be able to handle all of the live chats yourself during business hours. However, if you have a larger company, you may want to look into a live chat provider service.

When looking for a live chat service, you will want to keep in mind the language in which most of your customers will communicate. You will want to make sure that your live chat representatives use a semi-formal voice and can be flexible enough to identify and speak like your customers.

Creating a seamless chat protocol that can be followed and modified easily is important. You will want to start by creating friendly greetings that are automatic chat box pop-ups. These chat boxes can be triggered for specific interactions. For example, they can detect if someone is a first time visitor, so you can queue the chat box to pop up with a particular greeting. It can also be triggered to pop up after a certain amount of time.

Increased Conversion Rate

Many clients shy away from live chat because they feel it is just too complicated. However, when they see that research shows an increased conversion rate by almost half, they’re much more open to the idea. Live chat may not be suitable for every business, but it can be helpful for most types of online businesses that require some level of customer interaction. If you are unsure if live chat would be a right fit for your business, there are a few questions you can ask yourself:

  • Do you sell products or services online?
  • Does your customer service team regularly interact with customers via email, social media, or other online platforms?
  • Does your business require a customer support team?

If you answered yes to all of these questions, your business is most likely a good candidate for live chat. If you want to build a personal connection and increase your conversions, then live chat may be the right option for you. Contact Unwired Web Solutions today to learn more about our services, including custom web development with an option for live chat.