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How to Design a Website That Is User-Friendly and Easy To Navigate

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At the heart of a successful website is one that is designed with the user in mind. Websites that rank high in ease of use of having simple navigation may get more traffic and better results in the search engines. A user-friendly website starts with intelligent design choices. You need the help of an experienced SEO and website design firm, Unwired Web Solutions, to make your site more effective.

Learn About Your User’s Behaviour and Habits

First, businesses need to understand their user’s behaviour and habits while searching the web. Companies can work with their marketing team to develop a baseline demographic of their ideal customer. You can learn about your potential customers with marketing research into their habits and lifestyle.

Once you find out what is important to your customers, you should focus on that information and make it easy to find on your site. You should also have your web design team plan out the overall purpose of your site and ensure the flow of information is logical and makes sense to your users. Users that get frustrated with a website may leave and never return.

Create a Clear Structure for Your Site

Next, work with your web design pros to create a clear structure for your site. Web design trends have changed in the last few years, making it essential to revise your site’s structure if it’s older and tired. Use feedback forms and surveys to get information about how you can change the layout of your site to better serve your users.

Whatever structure you choose to go with, be sure that your site is functional in all types of internet browsers. Popular browsers like Chrome and Firefox may be fine, but users may have different browser preferences that are different, such as Opera, Safari or Edge.

Use Intuitive Navigation Menus

Your site’s navigation also needs to be updated to be more intuitive and user-friendly. Most successful sites start with a landing page that presents important information to users and instructs them with a specific call to action. Ideally, your landing pages will be able to convert users into customers and bring in more revenue.

Your web design team should be experts in advanced programming languages, such as DHTML, JavaScript, Motools and Ajax so they can build navigation menus that function smoothly. If you have a lot of information on your site, your team should be adding drop-down menus or other navigation tools to simplify the organization.

Optimize for Mobile Devices

Many users today browse the web on mobile devices, such as phones or tablets. The look and structure of your site may function differently when it’s not being displayed on a computer.

Your site needs to also be optimized for mobile devices with a different layout and structure that fits a smaller screen. Web design for mobile devices looks different from desktop designs and needs unique features, such as a condensed navigation bar, larger fonts and optimized images.

Improve Load Times

Modern internet users are also very impatient, so your site’s load time is critical in keeping them engaged with your content. Most web design experts recommend clearing sites of annoying add-ons that increase load time, such as videos, pop-ups and complicated widgets.

The average site has about four seconds of leeway for load time, so anything you add to your design needs to have a fast turnaround time in order to be effective for your audience. Our team works with our clients to test site load time and improve speed so you don’t turn off potential customers.

Make a User-Friendly Website

If you aren’t sure how to make a user-friendly website, that’s where we come in. Unwired Web Solutions understands the latest trends in web design and can apply them to usability. Our team of designers, programmers and testers can revamp your site so it not only looks great, but it generates leads and results. We combine this with our content marketing strategies to give you a comprehensive team approach to web design.

Contact the team at Unwired Web Solutions today for more information about our web design process. We approach design by first learning about your company’s goals for your site and then working with your existing structure to design something more effective.

Website Design Trends for 2023

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As a business owner, you know it is essential to remain relevant in the digital age. Most companies understand that static web pages are a thing of the past. Modern consumers demand more, and web design trends 2023 only prove it.

Emerging Trends in 2023

Web graphics, user experiences, and accessibility all evolve, creating quicker and more compelling web pages. The future of web design is one of functionality and beauty. It is a streamlined transactional process, but it is not only about the transfer of money; it is about the exchange of information.

Website optimization is an omnichannel effort, especially in 2023. Consumers seek information and access across various platforms and devices. A business’s ability to navigate these channels and market to consumers without boundaries plays a pivotal role in profitability and longevity.

Adapting to new trends is about reviewing website functionality, engagement, aesthetics, and customization, and asking what you can do differently. It’s OK if you don’t know how to answer the question; many small business owners aren’t sure how to improve their digital image, which is why they trust services like Unwired Web Solutions.

UWS understands the latest trends, and its team of designers can help your business establish an audience and adapt to the changing environment. All of the current evolving trends exist within six core design concepts.

1. Website Optimization

Website optimization is the use of various tools and techniques to improve website performance. The analytics important to optimization include:

  • Web traffic
  • Load times
  • Conversion rates
  • Usability

Many things contribute to each analytic element, including keywords, images, videos, content, color schemes, etc. The new year will see advancements in analytical tools, making it easier to create high-ranking pages and sites.

2. User Experience

The user experience refers to all elements that improve user comfort and accessibility. Some examples of UX trends include streamlined mobile experiences. The current trend prediction for 2023 includes parallax scrolling, thumb-friendly navigation, data visualization, and gamification.

Gamification is a continuing trend, but it’s expected to grow. You have likely experienced gamification in other web page designs; it is the use of points and badges to motivate consumers toward a specific action or objective.

3. Interactive Visuals

Web design trends often aim to improve consumer engagement. The elements can include surveys, polls, games, or calculators. The primary objective of interactive pieces is to keep people on the page as long as possible. The longer a consumer stays on a website, the more likely they are to complete a desired task, like buying a product or signing up for an email list.

4. Omnichannel Navigation

Omnichannel navigation is a term that refers to meeting consumers where they are. Customers can access the internet on many devices, including tablets, cell phones, and laptops. A business needs to cater to whichever device a consumer prefers. Also, companies need to focus on the platforms their target audience prefers. For example, a millennial consumer will likely prefer messaging through standard web pages and social media channels.

5. Designs and Color Palettes

Some web designs are loud and busy. The colors of the pages are distracting. In 2023, design trends are expected to skew minimalist. You can still focus on color and bold designs, but keep things clean and simple.

6. Personalization

Finally, a continuing trend for consumers is personalization. Web users want to customize their experience. Permitting individual changes can encourage brand loyalty.

Staying Relevant With Unwired Web Solutions

The key to modern website design is working with a web design and marketing firm that understands current changes. If you are ready to make the most of your website, contact Unwired Web Solutions and ask how its team can help.

Why Your Local Business Isn’t Getting Indexed On Google

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Many businesses invest a lot of money into web design and content creation, and while those investments typically pay off, sometimes, there is a disconnect between effort and results. Local SEO services explain that there are several reasons a company might have a functional website and not have a listing in Google. Thankfully, understanding those reasons can also help a company fix the problem.

1. Lacking a Google Business Profile

If a company wants customers to find it in Google’s local listings, it must have a business profile. Google provides guidelines for creating a profile that includes basic information like the business name and address.

As a business owner, you want to take your time to read through the guidelines and follow them strictly. While the information is provided as guidelines, it is actually a set of rules. If you do not follow the recommendations precisely, your business will not be listed.

2. Poor Content Quality

Besides following strict rules for filling out your business profile, you will also need to focus on content strategy. Google has strict policies regarding content quality and topics. For example, the search engine will not list sites that include:

  • Biased work
  • Thin content
  • Hate speech
  • Abusive language
  • Misleading information

Also, Google does not list plagiarized or duplicate content. Sometimes, a website is flagged for plagiarism when it doesn’t contain any copied work. The error is possible when canonical tags point to multiple pages. Website designers should use 301 redirect tags for duplicate content.

3. Exceeding a Crawl Budget

Depending on the size of a website, Google may not index every page. Google bots index a specific number of pages per site; the actual pages are up to you. If you are unfamiliar with the term “crawl budget” or do not understand web design, it is best to hire a professional web design service for help.

4. Complex Coding

For Google to properly index a website, it needs to understand the coding language used. Too many people attempt DIY web design without the proper knowledge or tools, which can lead to overly complex coding, which might work on your page, but is confusing for search engine bots.

If you want to know whether your site is doing well in search engines, use software or tools like an SEO analysis tool. The analysis should help you understand the issues Google or other sites are having with your website.

5. Poor SEO and Website Design

If a website is not optimized for search engines, it will not perform well. SEO goes beyond content creation. A business must also ensure that a site’s technical SEO is on par with best practices. For example, if a website takes too long to load, Google will not index the page.

Slow loading can stem from hosting issues to too much content. To improve website performance, a company should follow the latest algorithm updates. Also, tools like webpagetest.org or Googles page speed insights to learn more.

Ideally, a company will work with an in-house team of specialists or a contracted service. An in-house team is not feasible for many businesses because the costs associated with recruiting, training, and keeping a dedicated web design staff are too much.

The better option is to hire a web design and digital marketing firm. The company already has the specialists you need; you do not have to invest in salaries, benefits, etc.

Are you ready to improve your website and search engine rankings? Contact Unwired Web Solutions, a well-respected web design and digital marketing service in Canada. The company offers everything from local SEO to content and social media marketing. If you are ready to get your business listed, Unwired is your solution.

Outdated Website? How Our Experts Can Help Bring Your Business Into the Future

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Website design and development services aren’t a one-time deal — after a while, pages become outdated and their search engine optimization not as effective. Fortunately, web design experts can help you stay current with refreshed layouts, upgraded code and high-quality content. If you see a dip in website traffic, professionals can reverse that trend with the following solutions.

Identify Outdated Site Content

Search engines update their algorithms frequently, and most of the time, the changes go under the radar unless you know what to look for. As a result, your webpages may start performing poorly without any changes on your end.

Website development experts track algorithm updates to align sites with new criteria. One of the first steps is reviewing your landing pages and blog posts to identify outdated pages. A good way to do so is by checking the analytics for each page; you should refresh pages with low visitations or click-through rates.

A refresh keeps the page’s information but introduces more effective keywords and SEO techniques. For example, if a blog post includes awkwardly used key phrases, a refresh integrates the new keywords more naturally. It’s also essential to keep refreshed content as evergreen as possible to remain relevant year-round.

Improve User Experience

When visitors arrive on your website, they shouldn’t have to think about navigation. Instead, it should be intuitive, allowing them to smoothly research and purchase their desired products or services. Website design can hinder or help the user experience through layout, font choices and even loading times.

One excellent way to ensure intuitive navigation is clear labelling. For example, your banner should explain its links in concise, straightforward language. Don’t use wordplay here, as it may confuse and frustrate visitors, causing them to bounce to another company’s website.

Additionally, you should prioritize functionality. All links should lead to a live page; broken links can make your business look unprofessional or even shady, so fix or remove them. Your pages shouldn’t take more than four seconds to load, as customers won’t wait around longer than that.

Create Consistent Messaging

Every aspect of your website should align with your brand:

  • Landing pages
  • Blogs
  • Meta descriptions
  • Meta tags

Depending on the scope of your website, this can be a big task. Fortunately, a professional web developer can ensure your content, design and metadata reinforce your company’s voice and values.

Additionally, expert assistance during a rebrand makes for a smooth transition, which means minimal interruption to your operations. As a result, you can hit the ground running, using that momentum to boost your metrics.

Hire Website Design and Development Services

While it’s possible to handle web development on your own, hiring custom website design services offers a wide range of benefits. For example, having a team analyze and update your content means you have more time for daily operations. You also get the advantage of experience and long-term trend tracking, ensuring your updates are on the cutting edge.

Of course, some business owners worry that outsourcing website development means cookie-cutter solutions, but that isn’t the case. In fact, working with professionals ensures you get a website tailored to your needs. The do-it-yourself approach can only take you so far if you don’t have a web design background, while a team works closely with your company to customize every detail of your site.

Unwired Web Solutions is the place to call if you’re looking for the best website design services. We can help you build a site from the ground up or refresh pages that aren’t performing well. We also offer other marketing services to boost website traffic, including content and social media marketing. For more information or to schedule a consultation, visit us online or give us a call today.

How Website Design Mistakes Could Hurt SEO

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6 Common Web Design Mistakes That Hurt SEO

Most businesses understand that a website is crucial for success in the modern marketplace. Unfortunately, many companies work with inexperienced website design services or attempt DIY solutions to save money, resulting in poor-performing sites. Without at least a foundational knowledge of SEO best practices, businesses are bound to make little mistakes that can hurt their performance in search engine rankings.

Website Mistakes That Hurt SEO

An effective website is about more than looking attractive; it must have substance. Also, the design and engineering of the site must allow for meaningful consumer interactions and engagement. SEO is about optimizing your site not only for search engines but also for the viewer, regardless of the device they use. When creating your website, try to avoid the following six SEO mistakes.

1. Poor Speed

A slow website speed is detrimental to a business. According to Google, slow speed affects a company’s ranking in search results because it compromises reputation and credibility. Over 45% of visitors to a page will not wait longer than three seconds for a page to load.

While there are many things you can do to improve webpage speed, the most significant contributor can include the hosting service you use. You want to invest in the best hosting experience to ensure your customers get rapid access to sites.

2. Poor Navigation

Consumers want to find what they are looking for quickly and easily. If your website does not provide clear navigation tabs, buttons, or features, your customers will become frustrated or bored and leave the site.

Many business owners lack the knowledge to implement effective navigation strategy and design. If you feel navigation and web design are outside your area of expertise, hire a full-service digital marketing and web design agency.

3. Non-Mobile Friendly Site

Mobile devices are the primary tool people use to access the web. If your site is not mobile-friendly, or better still, mobile-responsive, it will not perform well. Google will not even display non-mobile-friendly sites to mobile users.

Having a mobile-friendly site used to mean having a separate URL for the different devices. Today, you can build a responsive site with a flexible design. Responsive sites automatically adjust the page layout to fit a consumer’s screen size.

4. Low-Quality Content

Search engine algorithms are sophisticated. They can tell a web page’s quality by analyzing the text and links. If search engines like Google determine your content is spammy or low-quality, they will penalize you and remove your content from the results.

Consumers are also judges of content. When you spend time writing content, you want visitors to spend time reading it. A consumer will not waste time on irrelevant content.

When focusing on a content strategy, consider quality, uniqueness, and relevance. A digital marketing agency can help you design your SEO and content strategies.

5. Pop-ups

Over 90% of consumers hate pop-up ads, so much so that they will close out a page. Businesses perform better with pop-up-free designs. Consult a reputable digital marketing and web design service to learn more.

6. Missing CTA

A call to action tells a consumer what you want them to do, whether buying a product or subscribing to a newsletter. Too many companies invest in beautiful web design only to leave out the CTA. By ignoring the CTA, you effectively sabotage your conversion rates.

Improving Web Design With Professional Services

Most business owners do not understand web design or SEO strategies, which is fine. However, it is a mistake to ignore these essential tools. Instead of trying to master an entire field, you can hire an experienced web design and digital marketing firm. Contact Unwired Web Solutions to learn more.