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Why You Should Regularly Backup Your WordPress Site

The post Why You Should Regularly Backup Your WordPress Site appeared first on HostGator Blog | Gator Crossing . Editor’s Note: the information in this post, while incredibly valuable, is simply non-applicable to those who use owr Continue reading

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Why The Images On Your Homepage Matter

The post Why The Images On Your Homepage Matter appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . Your business makes a number of decisions every day. From management to product design, everything about your enterprise is organized with the intention of building a brand and selling a product. In the fray, however, certain aspects can become lost, including the images on your homepage. To the surprise of many business-owners, these seemingly simple assets can shape your brand perception, influence customer decisions, and improve conversion in profound ways.   They Heavily Influence Your First Impression The old adage that “you only get one chance to make a first impression” is hard to shake in a rapidly moving society. For perspective’s sake, consider any time you’ve made a purchase online. You likely visited the homepage of the product in question and made a rather snappy judgment regarding characteristics that may even be impossible to perceive from the comfort of your desk chair: dependability, trustworthiness, quality, worth, value, etc. In that brief few seconds of analysis, you’ve already made a decision, completely independent of the carefully crafted text and list of product features. Photographs help ensure that your product or products make a positive first impression quickly. Tired, hurried minds are far more likely to consider a visual before text, since text requires additional effort to process. Furthermore, the setting, subject, color, and quality of photos all convey the kinds of characteristics mentioned earlier. By presenting attractive images of your product or individuals using your product, you’re more likely to capture visitor attention and make an impression that spurs further research; no small feat on the constantly shifting web.   They Affect User Experience As mentioned, Internet users are tired creatures, bombarded constantly by attention grabbing ploys and solicitations. In this scenario, visuals command immediate attention due to their ability to convey a great deal of information more efficiently and effectively than text. In this way, visuals are more user-friendly, acknowledging the plight of the modern individual and offering a compromise that’s beneficial to both parties. Through presentation of a visual, users are treated to something pleasing, easy to digest, and easy to understand. By presenting a visual, businesses offer a more friendly web experience, additionally controlling the perception created by the presentation. This combination of effective communication and usability leads to a more positive brand perception that will influence future sales and open further engagement opportunities.   They Speak to Design Apple’s market-changing products have shared one characteristic in common: design. The intelligent combination of visual appeal, functionality, and intuitiveness has propelled many of their devices to the forefront of the market, effectively demonstrating that the modern consumer has design in mind. Whether through conscious acknowledgement or subconscious enjoyment, this expectation is carried through all brand interactions. With this conscious attention to trends, maintaining an up-to-date web design is paramount to brand image, and large-format photographs are a part of that package. If the images on your page are pixelated or of poor quality, users will take note and assume that your brand lacks the attentiveness needed to also produce a quality product. High-quality photos, on the other hand, inspire confidence, providing a positive experience and satisfying discerning tastes.   They Set Expectations Unless your marketing campaign has significant clout, it’s generally safe to assume that a new visitor to your site knows next to nothing about your product. With this uncertainty comes a great deal of fear, generally dissuading purchases if an understanding of product functionality, performance, price, and value isn’t conveyed quickly. Images help bridge this gap between uncertainty and comfort by quickly establishing viewer expectations. A photograph of a business setting suggests that your product helps productivity and communication in a professional context. An illustration of a house builds the understanding that your product is meant for consumers and used in their home. While it may be challenging to pick the perfect image to convey the nuances of your product, doing so immediately alleviates the mental burden of uncertainty that customers experience, guiding them further along the path to conversion.   They Affect Conversion While each of these factors can be listed as important in their own rite, the net result is conversion. A strong first impression keeps viewers around while an easy-to-use website provides a more pleasant browsing experience. Strong web design inspires confidence in your company while accurate product expectations help convey brand message and improve conversion rates. Ultimately, the images you use on your homepage are more than just decoration; they are tools to bring potential customers into the fold, generating revenue and enhancing brand perception in complex and far-reaching ways.   From your products to your pitch, everything about your business is engineered for success. Your website should benefit from the same treatment with attractive and communicative images that turn one-time visitors into repeat customers. Don’t underestimate the value of a good visual and use the inherent benefits of these aesthetic assets to turn your homepage into a conversion tool. web hosting Continue reading

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Infographic: The ROI of Great Web Design

The post Infographic: The ROI of Great Web Design appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . It’s fairly important to determine the ROI (return on investment) for all aspects of your business.  The reason being that if you aren’t making money as a result of a certain thing, then you are likely losing money as a result of it.  It’s possible you haven’t considered the implications of how this applies to your overall website design.  The following infographic addresses that very circumstance: The ROI Of Great Web Design via HostGator web hosting Continue reading

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B2B 101: How To Connect With Customers Online

The post B2B 101: How To Connect With Customers Online appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . A great viral video or a commercial during the Super Bowl will turn a brewery into a pop-culture sensation, but your business isn’t so lucky. As a vendor of business-critical technologies and services, your job is to eschew “cool” for intelligence, and that means connecting with customers in a different way. The traditional marketing channels may not bear the same fruit for your B2B business, but these methods will make hay in ways you never thought possible.   Build a Great Website Your website is the gateway to your customers. It’s a first impression, lead generation tool, marketing piece, and sales pitch all in one. With so many hats, a solid B2B business needs a well crafted website in order to build communication with potential customers. Regardless of the specific aesthetic, layout, or tone involved in your online storefront, a strong business website builds trust. Coherent product descriptions ensure that those searching for an appropriate vendor can make an easy assessment. Contact information makes potential clients feel safe in the knowledge that they can contact your company on a moment’s notice. Finally, landing pages for product offers and demos maximize your conversion rate and reach a broader audience in the process.   Use the Right Social Media Channel Social media is frequently billed as a “magic bullet” for companies, reaching widespread audiences and building a following while encouraging engagement. While this is true, to an extent, no one can be everything to everyone. Your company, particularly as a B2B enterprise, has a focused clientele, and that clientele exists in a specific place. Perform your market research and determine where potential clients exist and use target your approach on that basis. LinkedIn, in particular, provides an excellent opportunity to connect with thought leaders, and become one yourself. The professional context and contact breed more meaningful interaction than a Facebook like or Twitter retweet. Furthermore, you’ll save money, observe better results, and glean a better understanding of what content resonates with your market.   Become an Authority B2C businesses have the unique privilege to build lifestyle brands predicated on concept, entertainment, and brand image. B2B businesses are not so lucky. When convincing other companies to select your products, your sales pitch will carry far more weight if you’re viewed as an authority than if you’re latest video went viral. That means tackling your marketing in an entirely different manner. Content marketing was, is, and continues to be t he most effective method of marketing in the B2B realm for the reasons mentioned above. Establishing your niche as a though leader in the industry and providing informative articles, videos, and other forms of media from that position builds confidence with customers and encourages engaging conversation that can generate leads. A slick branding aesthetic is a great visual impression, but substance is an asset few other methods of marketing can touch.   Build Your Email List With the availability and ease of social media, many businesses ignore the potential of email marketing at their own peril. While it’s true that writing stellar subject lines and building content tailored to the platform is essential for success, the inherent benefits of email are difficult to ignore. Posts on social media platforms must compete with other posts that effectively dilute the impact of marketing content. Email represents a direct link to the customer, meeting them in a distraction-free setting and therefore communicating information to greater effect. For this reason, an extensive email list is worth far more to your business than a well-followed Twitter account. Make it a focus of your marketing efforts by making optional registration clear and easy, and delivering content that’s valuable and without fluff. Offer product demonstrations with an email registration or include an opportunity to sign up for your weekly industry newsletter with a well-highlighted registration box on your website. Tailor content to the platform by avoiding pandering, communicating your message quickly and without tricks, and soliciting feedback for future content so that your audience gets what they want, and are therefore more likely to stick around. Engaging potential clients and customers online is an effective, low-cost way to build leads, drive conversion, and maintain solid relationships with returning visitors. As a B2B business, your circumstances are unique, but presenting your company in the right light, going where your customers are online, building your reputation, and focusing on email are all great ways to turn those circumstances into opportunity. web hosting Continue reading

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Seven Branding Books You Should Read This Year

The post Seven Branding Books You Should Read This Year appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . The role of business is ever changing, and with it, the practice of crafting identity. Competitive companies must continually position themselves as a necessary part of customers’ lives in order to stay relevant and profitable. Educate your staff, re-imagine your practice, and build a better practice through the knowledge imparted by these seven highly acclaimed resources.   StoryBranding For many businesses, the concept of branding is difficult to grasp. Building recognition in the marketplace takes more than exposure and advertising, it takes a compelling story. That’s what 30-year advertising veteran Jim Signorelli preaches in this high-impact volume entitled StoryBranding : Creating Stand-Out Brands Through the Power of Story. The book takes a look at the practice of branding as an extension of corporate identity. By asserting that modern branding practices should favor messages that resonate with customers over editorialized benefits, he challenges long-held preconceptions about what branding means and how to execute it successfully. The 6-step process guides businesses large and small through the process of finding their story and sharing it effectively with their target audience to build identity.   Designing Brand Identity Branding and marketing are ever evolving practices, and brand managers that wish to stay abreast of changing trends need a reference as relevant as their work. Enter Alina Wheeler’s Designing Brand Identity , a powerful resource rebuffed by dozens of case studies highlighting the best practices of successful brands. Through a five-phase process that begins with research and leads through product implementation, launch, and continuing governance, the tome is a veritable users manual for the practice of branding in the modern marketplace.   Ancient Secrets of Lead Generation A brand adorned with Facebook likes and clever aesthetic is nothing more than window decoration if it doesn’t generate sales. Fortunately, Daryl Urbanski’s cheekily titled volume examines what brands mean to customers and how to turn sentiment into revenue. By looking at what brands and businesses mean to communities and groups of people, Urbanski inspires and entices with techniques designed to tap human psychology and satisfy customer needs. By combining message with method, Ancient Secrets works to build relationship with customers that bring profit and prosperity for both parties.   What Great Brands Do Design can seem like hokum to the analytically minded. For those unconvinced of branding’s power, What Great Brands Do : The Seven Brand-Building Principles That Separate the Best from the Rest is like a marketing foreign-language dictionary. Denise Lee Yohn takes world-class brands like Nike, Zappos, and Apple and examines their method on a scientific basis that makes branding understandable and approachable. Designed to examine companies from the inside out, from culture to capital, and build a brand-as-a-business model that facilitates profitability and personnel satisfaction, her seven key principles highlight the commonalities that can turn have turned multiple businesses from bit-players into superstars.   Kellogg on Branding When you’re building the backbone of your corporate identity, leaning on the experts is never a bad idea. Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management takes an academic look at the practice of branding in this 352-page book that will educate your practice and hone your craft. It’s academic themes may feel inaccessible to some, but the information, presented scientifically or otherwise, is steeped in knowledge that only years of university research can provide.   Essential Elements of Brand Identity A strong brand requires a strong visual identity and Essential Elements of Brand Identity tackles the aesthetic aspect of branding with aplomb. Kevin Budelmann, Yang Kim, and Curt Wozniak outline a platform for building brand identity predicated on a common framework of terminology and tools that both designers and customers can comprehend. The work dives deep into the concept of visual identity by creating a structure of brand analysis. By deconstructing how aesthetic affects brand perception and linking the process of design to business concerns, it becomes immediately applicable and immediately understandable for both designers and management; a marriage that can lead to cooperation, impact, and profitability.   The Brand Gap The strategic and creative forces behind your companies brand can sometimes become divorced, mired in a disconnect of goals and methods. Marty Neumeier’s The Brand Gap seeks to combine the two in a coherent fashion that aligns branding efforts for maximum effectiveness. Breaking the concept down into the “five essential disciplines of brand building”, the book looks to remove the disconnect between marketing arms and unite them in a way that strengthens image and breeds revenue. Building a strong brand is an essential part of any successful business. Understand your goals, your allies, your customers, and your market through these seven volumes, and make 2014 the year that your brand reaches new heights. web hosting Continue reading

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