Website design and development is an important aspect for any business to consider when going online. However, you may have seen that it is easy to set up your own site without any help, and you may be considering this option.

If you are still in two minds about whether to hire a designer, here are six benefits which you may be able to enjoy from hiring a pro.

1. Professional company image

By creating your website yourself, you are running the risk that it will not look as professional as it should, and this may look bad for your company image.

Whilst a free blog may be fine for a personal blog, for a professional company site you do not really want your image to be affected negatively due to the appearance of your site.

2. Quick-loading pages

Many online visitors can be lost through something as simple as your site pages loading slowly.

If you have a designer helping you out then they may be able to ensure that your pages load quickly so that visitors stay on the site for longer.

3. Quick solutions to website issues

If you are not a web designer yourself then you are almost certain to encounter issues which may take a long time to resolve. If you have a professional on board then it may just be a matter of sending them a simple query whenever you need help and they may be able to sort the problem out for you in a matter of minutes.

4. Slick navigation

Many people only think of the appearance of the site when they consider its design, but the navigation is also of huge importance.

Visitors need to be able to find their way around your site with minimal effort, and a professional designer may be able to ensure that this is the case.

5. Easy blog integration

If you want to launch a blog onto your company website then a designer may be able to make this easier for you so that you are then able to start attracting more visitors through providing them with useful content.

6. Create a more individual website

Individuality is an important feature of any site, and the danger of going it alone is that you may end up with a website which is the same as all the others. A designer may be able to help you to make sure your website is unique and represents your brand accurately.

This may be welcome news to NI residents who need a short-term loan following the recent undercover Trading Standards investigation of payday loans companies providing borrowing in their region.

Among many failings, the study* revealed that:

• almost a third of the 29 payday lenders said they would not carry out a credit reference check (contravening consumer credit legislation); and,
• none of the companies investigated were able to quote the Annual Percentage Rate (APR).

“This is unfair and further taints the industry” says Terry O’Hare CEO and founder of Cash365. “Until recently, it has been difficult for NI residents to access any short term form of lending. Those people that were offered a loan often found they were charged more than their contemporaries on the mainland by the very virtue of where they lived.

“Not only that, but our own research showed that with many payday loans services, their fees and interest rates were confusing and unclear. We empathise with those people who have taken a payday loan, unaware of just how much the lending will actually cost them.”

The Cash365 service offers an interest rate of 30% and fixed admin fee of £6.50 for residents of UK and NI, so customers know exactly how much their borrowing will cost. Full credit checks are carried out to ensure that an individual is not over indebted.

Mr. O’Hare continues: “Our service was set up to offer short term cash in an emergency, with fully transparent fees and no hidden charges – regardless of where someone lives.”

But how do you go about doing this? Here are a few tips:

• the first thing you may want to start doing if social media integration sounds interesting is to build up your profiles on a couple of networks such as Twitter and Facebook. Add all of your company details, write unique and compelling headings to attract attention, and then start to make a presence for yourself by doing something on them every day even if it is just updating your status;
• once you have got the hang of a few social networks and have followed a few of your competitors to see what they get up to, start to update your profiles regularly with your blog posts. If you write a new blog post a day then there are plugins on Facebook where you can automatically post your blog to your profile, and on Twitter you can send notifications when you post a new blog. If you only write one new post a week then make sure that you do not just appear once a week but that you sign in once a day or so to talk about issues surrounding your post;
• it is a very good idea to add social media sharing buttons to your blog posts in your actual blog. These may include the Facebook Like button, the Twitter Retweet button and the Google+ button. These are easy ways for people to share posts with their own networks even if you are not part of that network. For example, you may not have a presence on Digg, but by including the button you can allow other people with a presence on the site to share your blog posts with their networks. If you know a website design company then this is something they may be able to sort out for you;
• make sure that you target your posts to your audience by making them interesting and helpful. The idea of social media is to get your posts shared as much as possible, and people do not share posts which are blatant marketing or sales pitches. Instead, write something useful or provocative and the people on social networks may be more inclined to share your content;
• it is a good idea to remember to start small with social media and to build up your presence slowly. There is no reason why you should not have lots of social media accounts, but if you start too many too soon then you may find that it becomes a bit overwhelming. Instead, start with one or two networks and when you get the hang of these then move on to others. Just make sure that you stick to what you are able to realistically handle.

So how can you go about increasing the amount of people who access your content? There are a number of ways to do so, and here are a few of the most effective.

Social media

Using sites like Facebook and Twitter you can greatly increase the reach of your content across the internet. Boasting hundreds of millions of users between them, if you use these social networks correctly you may be able to drastically increase the amount of people who get access to your content.

As well as opening accounts on both sites (and any other networks which interest you), it may be a good idea to include sharing buttons such as the Facebook ‘Like’ button underneath each of your posts. This allows people to share your content with their own networks if they like it, and this may direct more traffic to your site.

Article marketing

By writing information articles and marketing them online you may be able to get your company name in front of more readers, as well as increasing your reputation as an expert.

The internet thrives off high-quality, informational content, and if you are able to produce such articles on a regular basis, along with a link to your website at the end, you may find that you increase the amount of people visiting your site.

RSS

By including an RSS feed on your website you allow readers to get access to your content from their own RSS readers. People may not want to keep on visiting your website, but if you allow them to sign up to your RSS feed then you may be able to keep your content in front of them for longer. If you do not know how to set up your RSS then get your web design company to do it for you.

Build an email list

An email list may be a very effective way to get your content out to the people who have shown an interest in your company.

By capturing the email addresses of people who visit your site, you do not have to worry about them never returning because you are able to send your content to them directly.

Make your content go further

These are just some of the most useful tactics for getting your content out in front of more people. Use some of them or all of them to try and get your content to go further, and you may find that your traffic and customer numbers go up as a result.

• the first thing to do is to get your blog designed. You may already have hired a web designer to set up your company website, and if so they may be able to add a blog section into this. Alternatively, set up a separate blog on WordPress or a similar blogging platform, and get help to do this from your designer if you do not know where to start;
• the next stage is to create a design for your blog to make it original and unique. Again, a designer may be able to help you with this. You may want to think about adding some common blogging features such as links to recent posts and similar posts, a tags cloud and a categories section. You may be able to add these yourself using plugins, or your designer may again be able to help you;
• after your blog design is set up you need to start thinking of some ideas for your blog. This may be tricky, but try to think about what your readers want to know and then use your expertise to answer these issues. You may want to visit forums to find out what people are asking, or think about the questions that your customers regularly ask you. You may also want to write about industry news and events which may be interesting for your readers;
• do not forget that you may want to add videos and images to your blog posts as well as just text. These may help to make it look more interesting by breaking up the page more, and this may help to attract more readers;
• make sure that you add a commenting feature to your posts so that people can leave their responses to what you have written. This may help to build up an online community around your brand;
• keep your posts short, concise and written with simple sentences to make them easy to read. You may want to add bullet points, subheadings and highlighted text as well, and these may all help to make the copy more scannable and easier to read on the screen;
• now you are set up, make sure that you post something new about once a week or more. Do not post so frequently that you do not have anything interesting to say, but do not allow your blog to grow stale and boring as you may end up losing visitors.

For example:

• it is estimated that there are a whopping 500,000 tourers on the road in the UK– with around 15-20% not insured;
• the average cost of a claim is 19.25% more than cost of a caravan insurance policy;
• the UK’s most expensive static caravan in the UK is the Haulfryn Anniversary Lodge in Wales, that came with a £550,000 price tag!

Richard Burgess, Director at Cover4Caravans, commented: “Let’s face it, while caravanning is fun, people rarely get excited about caravan insurance! We produced this infographic to add a bit of interest for our visitors, as well as show the not-so-dull side to caravan insurance!”

Cover4caravans offers both a web-based and telephone service, and Richard added: “The infographic embodies the Cover4caravans ethos. We strive to make the whole caravan insurance process as simple as possible, from getting a quote to helping with any claims – and in an easy to understand and fun way.”

The UK Caravan Universe infographic is free to use by other websites by visiting this link here http://www.cover4caravans.co.uk/articles/universe

Visit www.cover4caravans.co.uk, or call the Cover4Caravans team free on 0800 970 7172 for general caravan insurance information.

Laura said: “I am delighted that Google has agreed to come to Thanet to help our local businesses increase their online presence and attract more trade. The ever-increasing success of online retailers shows just how important it is to be on the internet. Being online can really boost trade and help a company grow. In the UK alone, online sales for January this year were up 16% on 2011’s figures. When compared to a 2.1% increase in trade on the high street over the same period, it is clear just how vital it is to be online. This is also true for businesses offering services; people will frequently do their research online before deciding on a certain restaurant, hairdresser, florist or hotel. In an area which attracts tens of thousands of tourists a year, being accessible online will become more and more important for our local businesses.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for companies to get free advice from the experts at Google on what really works and I very much hope that this will provide a boost for our local economy.”

Google’s advice sessions will take place on Friday 27th April from 10am to 4pm at The Oak Hotel, Ramsgate. Advance booking is required. For more information or to book a session, please visit Google’s dedicated website:www.gbbo.co.uk/juicebar

However, the first problem is the actual content that you should focus on. There are many different ideas for types of content you could create, and here are a few suggestions.

Product Demonstrations

If your company sells products then videos can be an excellent way to demonstrate how they work and their capabilities.

People often have trouble understanding some products through words and images alone, and a video can really help to clarify things for them by showing a demonstration of the product in action.

If you have a new product then you may want to put a video of this on your home page to capture the attention of visitors.

Interviews

If you are able to then you may want to record interviews with industry experts. This could prove to be a big draw for possible customers and can also help to improve your image at the same time.

You could equally record interviews with members of staff at your company to put up on the website as this will help to show customers the personal side to your brand and can help to increase trust.

Mini Documentaries

Get creative and come up with your own documentary ideas which may be of interest to your customers. For example, you could take your camera to an industry trade fair and record interviews with people from other companies or simply make a documentary of what you discover of interest. These help to show creativity and may be of genuine interest to visitors to your website.

Presentations

Presentations can be created using software such as Microsoft PowerPoint, and they can easily be turned into videos with music and a voiceover.

These could be an excellent way to describe your services and other features of the company rather than just writing it down because it may be more interesting and accessible to visitors that way.

Make the Most of Video Content

These are just a few types of video content which you may want to experiment with when you create videos for your website. Remember that you do not just have to put them on your website, and that you can use them on video sites like YouTube as well as across your social networks. For more advice on getting started, just get in touch and we will be happy to help.

You want as many people to see your videos as possible, so here are a few ways that you can help to increase the amount of times it is viewed.

Video sites

YouTube is normally the first place to upload a new video, and for good reason. YouTube is by far the biggest video content website on the web, and millions of people visit it every day.

However, do not forget about all of the other video sites out there, some of which are quite popular. You will find that there are hundreds of sites to upload your video, so have a look and see which ones may be worth your time.

Your website

Some videos are ideally suited to go in a prominent place on your website, such as your homepage. Here you could include a welcome message or a review of your latest product release or special offer to instantly grab the attention of visitors.

On other pages you could include different types of video content. For example, on your about page you could include an interview with staff members or a tour of the office premises.

On your products and services page you could provide hands-on demonstrations of how your products work or presentations describing your services.

Your blog

Blog posts can be brought to life by a video and can attract a lot more interest at the same time. In fact, include a really interesting video and you may get more people to share it as a result.

It is easy to embed videos into your blog posts if you post them to YouTube first, and for the few seconds it takes to do so it could be very worthwhile.

Facebook and other social networks

It is easy to include videos on your Facebook Fan Page and it can help to make your page more interesting. On top of that, you can also link to it from your Twitter account and include it in your LinkedIn profile page as long as the content is appropriate to your network on each site.

Press releases

A press release with a video is a great way to get it noticed, and many press release sites make it easy to embed your video or provide a link to it at least.

Just make sure that the video is relevant and genuinely newsworthy rather than just a way to make your press release more colourful.

Make your videos go further

When you create a video, all of the places above are good places to start to attract more viewers, but there are many more ways to make use of your videos. And if you need some help getting your video out there in front of the right people, just give us a shout and we can help.

However, do not get carried away by the design. A designer can only do so much for you, and it is the content that you write on a regular basis that may make or break the success of your blog.

What qualities should a blog have?

There are many qualities a blog should typically have, and these may include, amongst other things:

• interesting;
• compelling;
• entertaining;
• memorable;
• personal.

The challenge for many is making sure that their blog is all of the above and more.

However, one problem that you may find when you first start out with blogging is that you may not know how to go about the actual technical side of the blog writing.

Learn from the pros

What do you see when you read a top blog? You may instantly see that the posts are:

• clear and concise;
• making a good argument;
• short and crisp;

But look beyond the actual topics that they are discussing, and you may see that most of them conform to a typical style of writing for the web which is different to print writing.

This is because they stick to a few conventions of blog writing which make their posts more enjoyable to read.

So what are these conventions?

Short sentences

Keep your sentences and paragraphs short and simple when writing your blog posts. Readers tend to lose interest if your sentences are too long and confusing, so make sure you do not drag them out too long.

Headings

Large chunks of text do not work online, so make sure that you break up your writing into manageable portions and use headings to improve how easily the page may be scanned by time-pressed readers who may not want to read everything.

Bullet points

Bullet points are very common in blog posts because they:

• draw the readers attention;
• break up the content;
• make the text more interesting.

They are especially good for highlighting key information that you do not want the readers to miss.

Most important info at top of paragraphs

Do not wait until the end of the post to provide the most important information because your readers may have disappeared by then. Instead, provide all of the important info right at the start, and make sure the first paragraphs in each section also contain the most crucial info.

What about keywords?

Keywords are important for all online content, but in the best blogs you may not even realise that they are there.

When you write your posts, make sure that your keywords are there, but use them sparingly otherwise they may start to clutter up your writing and put readers off.