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web design northern ireland Archives - Ryco Marketing Belfast

Jun 02
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ipad website version

5 Creative Web Design Trends to Watch in 2016

By | Blog

Web design seems to go through just as many trends as the fashion industry. Whilst some of these trends are nothing more than quick flashes in the pan, others stick around for the long haul. The main purpose of each new trend is to give internet users a more polished user experience. But since this is an ever-changing medium, keeping tabs on the best trends can prove to be quite a challenge.

To help you decipher the “best from the rest”, we have combined a list of five of this year’s most influential web design trends of 2016:

1. Hover Animations

Animations of all kinds have been “bang on trend” this year, but perhaps none more so than the classic “hover animation”. Have you ever moved your cursor over a certain element on a site only to have it jump to life right before your eyes? This innovative and lively trend provides immediate feedback. It’s also a great way to stir up interest in your brand and reach out to potential customers using simple but effective graphic and animated techniques.

2. Artistic Typography

Who doesn’t love mixing up their typography patterns every once in a while? Web designers can’t seem to get enough of artistic fonts. Branching off from traditional styles gives sites a creative boost and helps to set them apart from their competition. Eye-catching typography will grab user’s attention and make your site more memorable.

3. Long Scroll Navigation

Internet users desire FULL CONTROL of scroll navigation. They tend to get fed up with websites that don’t allow them to control the scrolling option at their own pace. Enter long scroll navigation, a simple scrolling option that enables users to navigate as they please in a smooth, easy and uninterrupted format.

4. Hero Styled Imagery

A hero image is an eye-catching photograph or piece of content that will instantly capture the user’s attention and urge them to find out more. This trend is particularly popular with visual based sites such as photography pages or even hotel booking pages etc. Use HD quality images to get the best results and don’t forget to include a relevant call to action!

5. Background Videos

YouTube is currently the second largest search engine online. It is owned by Google, which is conveniently the first largest search engine. It makes sense then, that video would make it onto this list. Recently, there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of background videos and animations included on web pages. It’s important to get this done right. You don’t want to irritate or distract the viewer. Instead, your videos should drive engagement and interaction. It’s a great way to increase your site’s visibility on SERP’s as well, since Google tends to favour sites that include video!

Our team of digital marketing experts and web design Belfast and web design Newry teams can help with any digital marketing, adwords, video production, social media, SEO Belfast, Magento or web design questions you may have.

 

May 24
0
successful ecommerce

7 Things Successful Ecommerce Websites Have in Common

By | Blog

E-Commerce is the single fastest growing retail market in Europe. 78% of the entire population have made at least one purchase online via an eCommerce site such as EBay or Amazon etc.

But what makes a successful eCommerce site propel whilst others plummet? Any eCommerce store can grow in success – you just need to know how to get it there!

Here are 15 things every successful eCommerce store has in common:

1. Responsive Design

It’s no surprise that mobile devices have quickly become the main internet portal for millions of users around the globe. In fact, mobile devices are expected to generate 68% of all internet traffic by 2017. Successful eCommerce sites are responsive, meaning that they operate across all devices including mobile and tablet. Google even favours mobile-friendly sites over non-responsive designs, so if you want your eCommerce store to succeed the first step is to get it on mobile.

2. Smooth Checkout Process

Customers prefer a smooth and hassle-free checkout process. Studies show that the most sales online come from eCommerce stores that allow customers to complete a purchase without having to register. Simple forms without any distractions or unnecessary “gibber jabber” are more likely to persuade a customer to complete a purchase rather than making them register for an account. Keep the checkout process smooth and clean!

3. Flawless Product Pages

Product pages should be clear and straight to the point. Sites that offer various sorting options tend to show an increase in sales. For example, many shoppers like to sort product pages by price, size or popularity. Another great feature is the ability to view a different number of products per page. Many shoppers enjoy flicking through countless product pages as part of the online shopping experience, but others prefer to see products in larger batches. HD quality images are also more likely to grab people’s attention, especially when it comes to online retail.

4. Social Proof

People are more likely to trust a site that isn’t afraid to show off their reviews and testimonials – good or bad! Using social proof is a great way to add a sense of authenticity and credibility to your site. Popular eCommerce sites, such as Amazon, include reviews on each of their products. This helps customers to gain a better insight into the product, helping them along in their decision making process. This can also be accomplished via Facebook or Twitter etc. Facebook mentions can do wonders for your site’s performance, so encourage your followers to leave feedback as much as possible.

5. Sense of Urgency

How many times have you been convinced to buy a product online because there was only one left in stock? Successful eCommerce sites are genius’ when it comes to creating a strong sense of urgency. They do this in order to create the “fear of missing out” in their customers, which inevitably convinces them to complete a purchase. You can do this with various limited time only offers or by using count downs for certain products and offers etc.

6. Quality Product Images

When it comes to product images, it’s not just about the high definition. Your product images should present the item in an honest and truthful light. This means that you should never use fuzzy or highly pixelated images. The photographs MUST be true to the product or you will receive a lot of returns and negative reviews as a result. Incorporate a wide range of angles or better yet, a short video of the product in use to give customers a clearer insight.

7. Site Search

Websites offering site search allow customers to find products in a few short seconds. This saves a lot of scrolling time, making the buying process a lot simpler and user friendly. It’s also a great way to navigate a site, simply type in your search keyword and you will find the associated products within seconds. A website that has mastered the art of site search is of course Amazon and EBay. These sites make the shopping experience enjoyable, easy and efficient for their users.

 

Our team of digital marketing experts and web design Belfast and web design Newry teams can help with any digital marketing, adwords, video production, social media, SEO Belfast, Magento or web design questions you may have.

May 12
0
SEO Strategy

Why your SEO Strategy Isn’t Working Out the Way You Planned

By | Blog | No Comments

No matter how much we plan, prep and plot, sometimes things just don’t work out the way we thought they would. Building an effective SEO strategy seems like a piece of cake. You’ve done your keyword research and you know exactly how to climb up the rankings. Several months have passed and your site has crept closer to the top BUT it still hasn’t made it onto the first page. Why?

SEO is changing, which means you must adapt your strategy or risk falling behind. However, it can be difficult to see exactly where you are going wrong. Here are a few reasons that might explain why your SEO strategy isn’t quite as “googlised” as it should be:

 

Stuffing Keywords

 

Keyword stuffing goes a little something like this:

Web Design Northern Ireland, Web Design Northern Ireland, Web Design Northern Ireland etc.

This is of course an extreme example of stuffing keywords. This tactic is used to try and fool Google in order to rank higher on search results. Instead of noticing this and boosting your position on SERPs, Google will see what you’re doing and punish you by dragging your site to the bottom. You can thank the Penguin update for this!

 

Using Repeated Meta Tags

 

Each page on your website needs its own title tag and meta description. They should be descriptive and relevant to the content on the said page. Focus on specific keywords that are relevant to certain pages.

For example, an online clothing store should include unique meta tags for each page. These are usually divided by the type of clothing available on each page such as blouses, jeans, skirts and coats etc.

Using original meta tags will persuade people to hit the “click” button and improve your SEO.

 

Neglecting Broken Links

 

The links on your page may have been added back in the stone age and have since broken. The only way to find out if your site includes broken links is to double-check each one to make sure it still works.

Replace those that no longer work and update your content if needed. In addition to this, some of the links that were once considered high quality may have lost their original “kick”.

If you find that your site links to poor-performing sites, it may be time to update them!

 

Using Low Quality Content

 

Updating your website with poor content won’t do your SEO performance any favours. Avoid using dodgy content services that produces “optimised” content for low prices. Yes, you will probably receive a batch of content but the poor quality of this content will not get people’s attention – or Googles, for that matter.

If you don’t have the time to produce content yourself, seek out professionals. They will be able to not only write your websites content and articles, but optimise them for Google.

 

Preventing Google from Crawling your Site

 

It’s up to you to make sure Google can find your content. If you don’t do this, Google won’t be able to index OR rank your website. You can leave your site open to Google’s wandering eye by configuring Google Webmaster Tools to your website.

The best way to ensure that your SEO strategy is performing at optimal level is to seek help from a professional SEO agency who specialise in the matter.

Don’t hesitate to give RYCO a call today to discuss how we can help improve your SEO strategy and take your site to the first page of Googles search results.

Our team of digital marketing experts and web design Belfast and web design Newry teams can help with any digital marketing Belfast, adwords PPC Belfast, video production Belfast, social media Belfast, SEO Belfast, Magento or web design questions you may have.

Newry : 028 3026 1861
Belfast : 028 9099 8106

 

Jan 11
0
eCommerce Store web design belfast

Why your Business Needs a Professional Website

By | Uncategorized | No Comments

We live in a digital world and in this world, the internet rules. No matter how established your business is offline, without a website it does not fully exist. For a business to reach its greatest potential, it must make the most out of all possible outlets. Having a website ensures that potential customers can find your business. But without an online presence, none of these users will be able to find your business when they need it most. This leads to missed opportunities and missed sales. Below are just a few of the main advantages associated with having a business website:

Effective and Cheaper Advertising

SEO and social media services have made advertising online both effective and inexpensive. Advertising methods such as television, radio and printed media is quite expensive. On the other hand, online advertising guarantees that your brand reaches your target audience at a fraction of the price. A website makes promoting your company simple. You instantly have a range of advertising options and outlets open to you, including Google AdWords and Facebook Ads. This ensures that your business is shown to the right people at the right time, improving conversion rates and increasing brand awareness.

Greater Audience

A website gives you instant access to millions of potential customers from around the world. You can target locally or globally, allowing you to reach your most sought after audience. A website can make your company visible, instantly showcasing your best features to the public in a modern and simple format. Another great advantage to this is the fact that the internet will enable you to reach potential customers from further afield.

Highly Convenient

A website will make life easier for not only you but for your customers. They will be able to make an enquiry or a purchase with just the click of a button. People usually check online for a product or service before visiting the physical location of the desired product. For this reason, a website makes online shopping easier for your customers. Unlimited accessibility is also a huge benefit to having a business website. Instead of closing your doors at your usual hours, your business can live on into the night.

Fresh and Informative

A website allows you to track everything that goes on. For example, you will be able to track how many people visited your website, what they did while they were there and how many emailed or messaged you etc. This valuable information allows you to better track data that can help you to determine your websites progress. Having a website allows you to build closer relationships with your customers. You can also update your site at any time that you please.

 

The main reason why a business needs a website is of course to gain more sales and important conversions. A professional website design allows you to engage with your customers, reach a larger audience, obtain an increase in sales and expand your company’s profile.

Our team of digital marketing experts and web design Belfast and web design Newry teams can help with any digital marketing adwords video production social media SEO Belfast Magento PPC Agency Belfast or web design questions you may have.