Red Kite Creative

contact pages

Weekly Links Roundup – Site Speed, Product Pages, Contact Pages, WordPress Security Myths

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The top website and online marketing links of the week.

You know your website is slow. It’s always been like that. But do you really understand what that slow site could be costing you in terms of customers and conversions? A recent report shows that 70% of buyers are influence by a site’s page loading time. The average site loads in about 15 seconds – but a number of studies show that the majority of online shoppers will leave a site if they have to wait more than 3 seconds. If you need help making your site faster, check out our Performance Optimization service or get in touch with questions.

Learn how to take your product pages to the next level with this great post on design elements to make product pages soar. Start with inviting, high-quality photography – this is really critical – and then polish your text descriptions to make your product seem irresistable. Be sure to have a clear call-to-action (Add to Cart) and don’t pack the page with too much information. Never get in the customer’s way!

Here are tips for making an effective contact page – including having a contact form (form submissions are something you can measure in Analytics). But don’t make your form too long – studies show that the more questions you ask, the less likely people will fill it out (that’s really true for general contact forms, and doesn’t necessarily apply to all types of forms).

Finally… it’s always fun to debunk WordPress security risks, and here are the top 5 for this week. WordPress is no more or less secure than other online platforms. The biggest security problem for a WordPress site is the negligent site owner who fails to keep plugins, themes and WordPress updated, making their site a prime target for hackers. Don’t be that person! Be better and keep your site safe.

Did you find this information useful? Please share with your friends and colleagues! And comment below with questions or observations.

Weekly Links Roundup – Contact Pages, Phone Numbers, Branding, Video Editors

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The top website and online marketing links of the week.

Contact pages – not the most exciting topic, right? But so important: getting that user to get in touch with you may be the most critical conversion on your site. Here’s a great post on 25 amazing contact pages that may help you rethink the typical boring contact us page and make it something a bit more special for your users.

And speaking of contact pages… should you put your phone number on your website? And do you? This article on posting phone numbers (or not) grew out of a forum discussion on Australian entrepreneur site Flying Solo, and goes over the pros and cons of posting a number.

Did you know that research shows 54% of users say that a lack of phone number/contact info will drop the credibility of a site and the likelihood of buying from you or filling out a contact form? But what about junk calls and so forth? If you’re a very small business or solopreneur, consider getting something like a Google Voice number that allows you to forward calls and provides voice mail when you’re not available to talk.

You’ve probably heard that you need to work on ‘building your brand’ if you run a small business. But what does that really mean? And why is it so important? Learn more about the benefits of branding – including increased credibility and trust – even for the tiniest of companies.

Finally… video marketing is hot! Studies show that customers are 4x more likely to watch a video about a product than read about it. But how do you get started? First, choosing video editing software is a key step. Here’s a review of 16 video editors, both free and commercial, that can help you get started.

Did you find this information useful? Please share with your friends and colleagues! And comment below with questions or observations.

 

Weekly Links Roundup – Standing Desk Mats, WordPress vs. SquareSpace, Better Contact Pages

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The top website and marketing links for this week.

First, not a web thing, but a work thing… Have you jumped on the standing desk bandwagon? I stand about half the time most work days, using a Varidesk Pro on top of my big black IKEA desk. But lately since I’m standing more I’ve noticed my 2-year-old anti-fatigue mat is seeming rather fatigued. This morning I ordered a replacement based on this review of non-flat anti-fatigue mats for standing desks (didn’t even know there was such a thing!). My butterfly mat will be here Tuesday, I can’t wait to try it out.

Personally, I love the ability to alternate sitting and standing at work whenever I want. But I like to move around a lot (never stand still for more than a minute or two) and have been taught ergonomics for adjusting my keyboard and monitors. If you’re thinking about getting an adjustable desk, keep in mind you have to learn how to use it properly or it could be a painful experience. And some jobs are more suitable for standing than others. Some references here and here.

Second… if you have a plain vanilla, non-CMS (content management system) website you can’t edit without coding and are considering making the move to a real CMS, here’s a review of 27 reasons why WordPress is better than SquareSpace. Yes, it’s a bit biased, but I’m in complete agreement, especially if you’re creating a business site. You want more control over your site and its hosting environment than you’ll get with SquareSpace.

Finally… is your contact page confusing? Does it have a clear call to action, or are visitors left to fend for themselves? Here are some examples of bad and good website contact pages to consider.