The 2020 Shift: Business in the Shadow of a Global Pandemic

The global pandemic has changed the way that customers interact with businesses. Online searches have dramatically increased and consumers’ behaviours are undoubtedly changing. People aren’t venturing out to browse or shop around anymore. Instead, they research, compare and then purposefully purchase. Businesses who have adapted to the digital marketplace and have a website that works for them are able to offer curbside pickup, online sales and delivery services. Their online presence is allowing their business to continue serving customers and in many cases, thrive. 

Your Website Matters More Now than Ever Before

What You Need to Consider When It Comes to Your Website

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The 2020 Shift: Business in the Shadow of a Global Pandemic

Many companies continue to grapple with the effects of Covid-19. Undoubtedly, the way we do business, run companies and serve clients is changing in ways we never could have expected or anticipated. Working from home, changing health regulations and pivoting marketing messages during the pandemic have kept many business owners preoccupied, as they search for new ways to create income streams and generate profits. 

The global pandemic has also changed the way that customers interact with businesses. Online searches have dramatically increased and consumers’ behaviours are undoubtedly changing. People aren’t venturing out to browse or shop around anymore. Instead, they research, compare and then purposefully purchase. Businesses who have adapted to the digital marketplace and have a website that works for them are able to offer curbside pickup, online sales and delivery services. Their online presence is allowing their business to continue serving customers and in many cases, thrive. 

Before consumers venture out, they are searching for business hours, location, phone numbers and products and services that are offered. If consumers can’t find this information, they move on to the next business. It is imperative that businesses are easily accessible to their customers on both a local and global scale. 

Business Must Change to Survive

Foot traffic is dramatically down, trade shows are cancelled and many bricks and mortar stores are limited by social distancing measures. There is no doubt that the way we do business as Canadians has shifted, putting many businesses at risk of bankruptcy or closure. 

Having a strong online presence has never been more important in the history of the world. The importance of a website that supports your business and generates sales is crucial to the success of a business in this “new normal”. The pandemic has forced many business owners to reconsider their online presence and whether or not their website is working to its greatest potential. 

As society changes and consumers’ behaviour shifts, business owners must shift with them in order to stay relevant, useful and to continue being a profitable business. Without a doubt, your business’s online presence has never been more important. 

Throwing up a Squarespace or Wix website might be a band-aid solution, but the complexities of creating a website and online presence that works for your business and makes you money requires professional assistance. And there are many aspects that business owners just aren’t aware of when it comes to creating a high-quality website that works.  

You Don’t Have to Figure it Out Alone

It can be overwhelming when you start researching different digital marketing and website companies. Or you might start even more basic with some simple DIY research, how to make a website or how to create a website? Which platform? What to say? How to clearly communicate the business? Which plugins? How does SEO work? There’s a lot to understand and navigate. At 519web, we guide you through each step of the process and ensure that you have a deliberate, strategic and secure website that enables your business to keep on generating income now and in the future, regardless of a global pandemic. 

Business Strategy First

At 519web, our focus is on developing high-quality websites to grow your business. That means developing a website to generate leads and sales for your business, one that will help you increase revenue. In order to do that, there are four main areas for consideration: 

• The Technical Aspects of a Website 
• Business Development and Content Development 
• Premium Hosting 
• Web Care Plan and Ongoing Support 

By approaching website development from a holistic perspective, we ensure that you are being taken care of at every step of the journey, from conception, through the technical development and messaging and into maintenance and aftercare. We listen, guide and create exceptional websites that make you money and will grow your business. 

Part 1: The Technical Aspects of a Website 

The technical aspects of a website are well… technical. There is a lot that goes on “behind the curtain” that affects the overall success of a website. At 519web, we are located in the municipality of Kincardine, but we work with a global team of cutting edge web developers. Our developers are current, up to date and even ahead of the curve when it comes to developing premium websites. Our team of web developers focus on creating mobile responsive websites built on WordPress platforms that are SEO ready, so you can get found online. 

Mobile Responsive Websites 

According to Statista.com “Mobile accounts for approximately half of web traffic worldwide. In the second quarter of 2020, mobile devices (excluding tablets) generated 51.53 percent of global website traffic, consistently hovering around the 50 percent mark since the beginning of 2017.” So, with half of all websites being viewed on a mobile device, it’s imperative that your website translates and can respond to phones, tablets and computers. 

Not only does your website need to work between screens, it also needs to be user friendly and adjust certain aspects of functionality in order to be useful. All of our websites are mobile responsive and we account for design and user experience on each device, ensuring your customers don’t get frustrated or confused, bounce or head to your competitor’s website. 

WordPress

Choosing the right platform for your company brand online is kind of a big deal. Your website should reflect the quality you, your employees and your company represent offline.

Most entrepreneurs don’t give it any thought, but what if your website is created on a platform that search engines don’t like? Well, simply put, you won’t be found by new customers online.

That is why at 519web we use WordPress as our platform. Competitors like Wix, Squarespace or Weebly, don’t play as nicely with Google as WordPress does, which affects your SEO and getting found on Google. WordPress sites rank higher than the competitors when it comes to searchability because WordPress is constantly updating and offers a variety of plugins that can boost SEO. WordPress is also an extremely secure platform, which means that your website is less susceptible to being attacked or hacked. WordPress values security and is constantly improving. 

If you are looking for more information on wordpress vs. wix, check out our post here.

SEO 

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which essentially means your website’s ability to get found on Google, Microsoft (formerly Bing), Yahoo and other search engines. It is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of web traffic to your website. Investing in SEO is 61% cheaper than outbound marketing and it boosts conversion by 8 times. 

SEO can get very technical, very quickly. And with changing algorithms used by Google, it can feel nearly impossible to stay on top of SEO on your own. At 519web, we work with a global team of web analysts who are SEO experts. 

Many businesses don’t take into account the importance of SEO. You can have a beautiful website, but without effective SEO, it doesn’t mean that anyone is going to see it. Essentially, without Search Engine Optimization, building a website is like putting up a billboard in the desert. No one will see it. 

We build top-ranking search results that grow your presence online, so that people find you. We also do SEO keyword research and strategically work with our copywriting team to organically embed these keywords into the content of your website. 

• Transparency: We have 100% confidence in our ability to deliver results. We provide full visibility allowing you to monitor your results daily to see progress as your campaign advances.
• Technology: All work is done by our PinPoint Local SEO analysts, our team is among the most experienced in the industry. We maintain the best-in-class technology to ensure our clients consistently achieve top results.
• Google Approved Strategy: We have the highest standards & all of our work aligns with current SEO guidelines, so you rank naturally & show continual organic growth.

We make sure that your website gets found, so that you can increase traffic to your site, attract more customers and increase your sales and profits. 

Looks Do Matter: Creative and Innovative Design 

At 519web, we create beautiful and aesthetically pleasing websites. We carefully consider fonts, colours, layout and overall user experience. We believe that websites can have it all: effective business strategy, strong technicality and be beautiful! 

We want your website to be visually attractive, so that you can be proud of your website and so that your online presence matches your exceptional reputation as a business. We work with talented designers to create logos, brand colours and digital assets that are aligned with your company or we can start from scratch. Whatever stage of branding and design that you are at, we can help you take it to the next level. 

Accessibility 

As of January 2021, all companies with over 50 employees in Ontario, Canada are required to have an AODA compliant website. 519web is here to ensure that you are ready. It’s our goal to help all small businesses with accessible websites, so everyone has easy and friendly access to all of our local services.  

We offer a free audit of your website’s accessibility and an easy, inexpensive solution to ensure your website is compliant and accessible on an ongoing basis. Consider the benefits of a visitor being able to increase the font size, remove any flash, change the background colours depending on light. All of these adjustments can be easily made with our new Accessibility Tool. 

How it Works

Using Artificial Intelligence, our accessibility tool scans your website and allows the user to make several adjustments based on their abilities. This Artificial Intelligence Accessibility Tool will ensure that your site stays compliant as it rescans and reanalyzes every page of your website every 24 hours to remediate new content, widgets, pages and anything else that you add. 

This is the first AI Accessibility Tool of its kind and it’s affordable for all small businesses. In the past, tools like this would cost 10,000 – $100,000. However, 519web partnered with an amazing company that is revolutionizing website accessibility and leading the way to remove barriers for persons with disabilities. Contact Deborah for a demo of the accessibility tool and to learn more about how you can make your website accessible and avoid expensive lawsuits or fines.

As you can see, there’s a lot that goes into the technical aspects of your website. At 519web, we’ve got you covered and can guide you through each step of the website process. 

Part 2: Business Strategy and Content Development 

Business Strategy

What sets 519web apart from other digital marketing agencies is our commitment, experience and expertise in business development. Our primary goal is to use your website and digital marketing strategies to help your business reach more clients, convert more sales and increase your profits. 

We are strategic about reaching your ideal customers and clearly targeting with effective messaging. We work with amazing copywriters who write clearly and persuasively and call your audience to action. We take a holistic approach to your digital marketing strategies and can help with website design, email marketing, list building, lead generation and paid ads. We will help you set up a Google My Business account and profile. In short, we guide you through decision making processes related to your online presence.

With 30+ years experience growing businesses, we have both the academic and hands on experience to take your business to the next level. We are transparent and what you invest in digital marketing has a clear return on investment. 

Content Development 

We use a strategic marketing formula that uses stories to sell. Without clear messaging, your audience won’t stick around to figure out what you do. Once we have established a deliberate business strategy, we work with exceptional copywriters to develop compelling content that connects with your ideal customers and coverts. 

Having the right words on your website is essential to the success of the project. We have an easy and effective interview process that allows us to collect all the information necessary to showcase your business and align with deliberate growth strategies. You don’t have to write a thing. We will do it all for you with professional copywriting and content development. We do the heavy lifting to get your new site ready to launch.

Our strategy first approach and professional content development ensures that your website is effective and that you can clearly see a return on investment. We are local and understand the area and can target our messaging to your ideal customer, with a clear call to action that gets the results you are looking for. 

VIP Monthly Strategy Calls

We also offer VIP Monthly Strategy calls to help you grow your business. Focusing on branding, content marketing, social media, email marketing or LinkedIn lead generation, we can help create a custom plan to keep your business front of mind. These monthly VIP calls are just as effective whether you are a solopreneur or a CEO. We can help you avoid scope shift, stay accountable and build your following. This service is combined with our Web Care plans and also includes development time to keep your website updated, safe and secure. You don’t have to do it alone. We are here to help. Consider us, with all of our resources, a valuable addition to your team.

Part Three: Premium Hosting

Many people don’t even think about hosting when it comes to creating a website for their business. It’s easy to just take this for granted. But not all hosting is created equal. You might be asking yourself, “What is hosting for a website?”

Online Safety and Security 

Cheaper hosting can make your website more susceptible to hackers or online threats. If your website is not kept safe and secure, your business could be attacked and your website safety and security compromised. We’ve seen it happen to clients and have been able to help them.

At 519web, we offer premium hosting that is safe and secure. PinPoint Local has its own servers in Canada and the USA and we take small business hosting seriously. Our premium hosting is exclusively available to Pinpoint Local partners and we monitor and screen our servers so that your website will remain fast, safe and backed up.

Your website’s safety and the security of your business is priority. Our premium hosting differentiates us from other platforms and it ensures that your website is safe and secure and can be easily found in Google searches. This is just one way that 519web goes above and beyond other website services. 

Speed 

The load time of your site is also extremely important to the success of the site. Speed is one of the most important factors in search rankings, so your site needs to be lightning fast. Sales on websites that take longer than 5 seconds to load drop by 27%. Our global team of web developers are committed to maintaining the highest level of hosting, so that your website loads quickly and provides an optimal user experience. 

Many people don’t have patience and if a site takes too long to load, they will go to your competitor. Our hosting ensures lightning fast load times, so that your site gets seen and your business grows. 

The Impact of Hosting on SEO 

Additionally, hosting is important to SEO. If your website is hosted on a server that also hosts gambling, pharma, adult or other ‘shady’ sites, that impacts your ability to be found in searches online and threatens the success of your website and business.

Our Premium Hosting Ensures: 

• Your online visitors have a fast and seamless experience so they visit often.
• Custom-managed hosting, personally managing every element of your website for you (security checks, coding updates, etc).
• Super Fast Servers configured to deliver lighting-fast website load times and high search engine rankings.
• Private server usage limitations ensuring your neighbouring websites are high quality.
• Stable and reliable servers stay online with multiple systems in place to ensure uptime.
• High-security measures to safeguard your data including automated daily security updates.
• 24/7 support. You’ll always have someone you can call.

Not all Hosting is Created Equal

Do you know where your website is being hosted? Do you know if it’s safe and secure? Do you know how your hosting is affecting your customer’s user experience and your SEO? 

We would be happy to help you answer these questions with ease. Our premium hosting is exactly what you need. This is just another example of how we like to go the extra mile at 519web with our local expertise and global standards. We know what you need and are always looking out for your best interest. We have the skills to help guide you through every step of the website creation process. 

Part Four: Web Care Plan and Maintenance 

Maintenance Matters

Another imperative matter to consider when creating a website is a maintenance plan. Many people overlook this aspect of the website as it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the business strategy, messaging and design when creating a website. But it’s imperative that you understand what type of maintenance program is available before you begin working with someone. 

Operating a successful website requires ongoing support and technical know-how. In order for your website to succeed you’ll need to stay up to-date with the latest technology, keep track of multiple 3rd party software bills, updates & licenses, and implement tight security measures to ensure your data is safe. 

Buyer Beware

The reality is that some website designers and developers put locks on the website and refuse to relinquish control of the site to the owner. At all costs, you want to avoid this type of relationship. You should always be able to easily access your website, make additions or updates as your business, offerings or messaging changes and evolves. Your website is a living creation that evolves with your business and it belongs to you, not to the developer who created it. 

Beware of the maintenance plan before you sign a contract or go into this type of relationship with a web developer. Some developers charge exorbitant prices to make changes to your site or update information which limits your autonomy as the business owner. 

Custom Webcare Solutions For Your Needs 

We don’t launch your new website and leave you! At 519web, we believe that your maintenance package should work for you. We offer customized maintenance plans based on exactly what you and your business needs. Tech savvy business owners have the freedom to maintain their own site, while businesses who want a done-for-you service, get the help they need and require. We have a plan that is the perfect fit for each customer, so you get exactly what you want and don’t waste your money or precious time. We are here to guide you and help with updates and website changes and have various plans to meet your needs. 

Free Post-Launch Training Session and a Website Owners Manual

We start with a free post-launch training session with you, where you will get your Website Owners Manual, with all login credentials and pertinent information for your website, hosting, domains login information, so you will always know where to source your information. We offer transparent, full disclosure of information about your website. After all, you own it! It’s your business and your brand.  

Google My Business Page

In our post-launch training we will show you how we made your website ready for search engine optimization (SEO). We’ll show you how to set up a Google My Business page, so more customers can find you and be directed to your website. This is an important next step to building your digital presence and connecting with customers. 

Quality and Care 

Our Web Care packages are designed with your needs in mind. Leave the safety, security and care of your online presence to us, because you have better things to do. 

In order for your website to succeed you’ll need to stay up-to-date with the latest technology, set up and monitor a web server, keep track of multiple 3rd party software bills, updates & licenses, and of course, implement tight security measures to ensure your data is safe. 

We offer a variety of web care options to help your website stay up to date, safe and secure. We provide a monthly web care report so you will see what vulnerabilities or malware we found and how we fixed it. We will also test the speed of your website and make adjustments and will report these to you. So you will always know exactly what has been done to your website, you have full transparency and can see where your money is going. We ensure that you are well taken care of and can answer any questions about the maintenance requirements of your website. 

After your website launches …

We will be happy to continue our discussion about marketing your website and business online. Search engine optimization (SEO) can be daunting at best. We can help you to focus on the 20% of the things you should be doing online, to reap 80% of the SEO rewards. We have tools to help you get into a better position in local searches, to help you collect and monitor reviews online, to help you communicate more regularly with your customers and to help you with monthly social media posts.  Our bottom line is continued service to help your business grow! Your website should be working for you 24/7. We will help you get there. Let’s talk!  519web.com/contact

This is just another example of how 519web goes above and beyond to serve our customers and help businesses grow.  There has never been a more important time to have a great website! Is it time for an update? Let’s talk.

519web: We’ve Got You Covered

As you can see, there’s a lot to consider when it comes to creating a website and digital marketing strategy that helps your business thrive and grow. At 519web, we pride ourselves in helping you through each and every step of the process. From our experienced business coaching, to our global team of web developers and exceptional copywriters, we have the expertise you have been looking for to take your business to the next level.

Local Expertise, Global Standards

We have expertly guided many local businesses through this process and they have experienced a clear return on their investment. Our work speaks for itself. Be sure to check out our portfolio to see the many projects we have completed.  

We offer the best possible experience and approach web design from a holistic perspective that sets us apart from our competitors. We live right here in Southern Ontario and understand your customers, community and business. We can guide you and help you shift your business so that it can grow and thrive, despite a global pandemic. 

It’s Time To Set Your Business Up For Success

The time is now. If you have been wavering about investing in your online presence, now is the time to commit to your business growth. As winter approaches and the threat of a second wave of COVID-19 looms, ensure that your business is prepared with a strong website, clear messaging and a strategic business plan. 

If you are considering building a website and growing your online presence, we would be delighted to help you. Contact Deborah Clarke today, to get started on your next project and ensure that you have everything you need to help your business thrive.  

Book a Free Strategy Session at 519web.com.

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