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Web Design

8 Web Design Considerations for Nashville Websites

Nashville is unique. That’s why it’s become not only a popular place to live, but also a frequent vacation destination. We have a lot to offer and it’s no longer a secret. And with this upward trend of popularity comes an increasingly competitive economic market.

Unique Nashville Business and the need for Local Websites
Nashville Local Businesses

This means you need to make use of every opportunity to set yourself apart. And there’s no bigger tool to bring attention to your business than your website. This is your online headquarters. It is how many potential customers will first learn about your goods and services.

So how do you tailor your web design to Nashville? What systems can you put in place to bring attention to your website. What can be done to make the most out of these visits once they occur?

Here’s 8 Things you need to Consider when designing a Nashville website:

  1. What is on Your Competitors’ Websites
  2. Local Stories on Local Websites
  3. Web Design Trends
  4. Location Pages for Your Website
  5. Accurate Contact Information within Your Website
  6. Link Social Media Accounts from the Website
  7. Implement Internet Marketing into Your Website

1. What is on Your Competitors’ Websites

There’s a good chance you have others in your industry in the Nashville area. Do some market research by visiting their websites. Look for similarities and differences between them. Make note of what held your attention, what you found confusing, and what you would have liked to see if you were a potential customer.

Use this information to put together a list of wants and needs from your web design. The goal is to view your website from the point of view of someone learning about your company. What tools would you like to have at your disposal? What information would you like to have up front?

2. Local Stories on Local Websites

Keep in touch with local events and reference them on your website when possible. This could be done either through a blog/news section, or banners that can be updated on top of your homepage. For instance, many websites currently have a COVID-19 banner letting their visitors know how they are addressing the pandemic.

Another example could be an HVAC company alerting people to new specials during the summer — or a trucking company addressing shortages in local supplies. Inserting yourself into local stories increases your ties to the area.

3. Web Design Trends

There are always going to be trends in music, books, movies, and television. There will also be trends when it comes to web design. It’s very easy to spot a website that was built ten years ago. Websites that look out of date will tell your visitor that you aren’t on top of changes within the industry.

A fresh-looking and current website invites the visitor to dig deeper into your content. It intrigues them because it’s more interesting and more attractive.

4. Location Pages for Your Website

Location pages help directly address your community. And if you have multiple locations, this helps call out that fact. Addressing each location individually — even if there’s only one — will provide SEO benefits as well as improve the experience of your local visitors. 

This is your chance to directly address the community. It’s also a chance to include relevant keywords and headers to better help search engines find your page when someone makes a relevant search query.

5. Accurate Contact Information within Your Website

Including accurate contact information is essential to effective Nashville web design. This includes your email address, physical address, and telephone number. These need to be included not only on a dedicated contact page, but also on the footer of each webpage.

Updated and consistent contact information is essential to help search engines find your website, and customers find your business. You still need to include this information even if you don’t have a physical location. It grounds you in Nashville and shows your visitors that you are local.

6. Link Social Media Accounts from the Website

Your business should have a presence on social media. This is where a large portion of people in Nashville find their information. You’re missing out if you’re not participating in this free avenue to connect with potential customers.

You can link these accounts to your website in two directions. For instance, your Twitter feed can automatically update a sidebar in your website. Your website can also have links directly to your social media accounts. User engagement can be hugely beneficial and this is a great way to facilitate that.

7. Implement Internet Marketing into Your Website

Integrating the various forms of internet marketing into your Nashville web design gives you the best chance of connecting with your audience. Content creation, PPC advertising, social media advertising, and SEO target the people that are more likely to be interested in your product or service. 

Nashville web design can be set up to better support these tactics. Strategic content placement, inclusion of a blog section, and optimized images can assist your website in finding your customers. It also helps assist your customers to find you.

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Web Design

Why Your Nashville Business Needs Responsive Web Design for Your Mobile Friendly Website

Responsive Web Design and Mobile Friendly Websites in Nashville is all the talk. Why? Because technology has continued to progress creating new challenges for websites made for Nashville small businesses. The images and text contained within the layout of a website can occasionally be cut off when viewed on various devices, the navigation bars maybe obstructed, or any other challenges making it difficult to peruse Nashville’s websites.

Nashville small businesses needing mobile websites that include responsive web design
Nashville Local Businesses on Broadway Ave. 2020

Responsive & Mobile Friendly Website Design takes these considerations into account when constructing the website. It is a specific way of programming the website to adjust the layout and adapt to a wide variety of screen sizes. Images and text can be shrunken and realigned and the navigation is contained within the screen.

Gone are the days of two versions of a website — desktop and mobile. Responsive mobile web design does the work for the visitor to adapt the web pages to display perfectly no matter what size screen they are using.

The Importance of Responsive Web Design

There are about 246 million people in the United States that view the internet on a mobile device. You want to be sure that your Nashville customers are presented with the best experience when they visit your website.

The previous mentality of designing two websites — desktop and mobile — is simply unsustainable. Changes are constantly being made to these mobile devices so it is crucial for your website to be able to adjust itself. You don’t want to risk a large amount of possible sales to be lost simply because visitors were unable to find your search function on mobile devices.

Here’s how your Nashville Website stands to benefit from a Responsive Web Design:

  • Responsive Web Design Provides Better User Experience
  • Responsive Web Design Improves SEO
  • Your Reduce Bounce Rates with Responsive Web Design
  • Responsive Web Design Prepares You for Future Innovations
  • Expand Your Reach with Responsive Web Design
  • Responsive Web Design will Save on Maintenance Costs

Responsive Web Design Provides Better User Experience

The main goal of responsive web design is to improve the experience of the people that visit your website. Internet users have a lot of options. They are looking for reasons to leave your website and look elsewhere. Any annoyance or difficulty will be met with immediately leaving the website.

But a quality user experience holds the visitor’s attention. You are much more likely to create a customer from your visitor if they are able to quickly and easily find the information they need.

Responsive Web Design Improves SEO

Google rewards websites that incorporate responsive web design. This goes back to the idea of an improved user experience. Search engines want to provide their users with the highest-quality options when displaying search results. This is because they know that if they provide subpar options for users, they will start using a different search engine.

Responsive websites are rewarded with more favorable rankings on search engine results pages. And this can make all the difference when attracting new customers.

Your Reduce Bounce Rates with Responsive Web Design

Imagine visiting a website on your phone that isn’t set up for a mobile device. It generally involves a lot of scrolling, possibly some zooming. But either way, it looks bad as soon as you pull it up. This will frequently be punished by users immediately clicking off the website to look elsewhere.

Your website’s bounce rate is the tendency of visitors to leave your website without moving past the initial page. Responsive web design gives the visitors a reason to stay, which results in a better bounce rate. And the longer they’re there, the more likely they are to become customers.

Responsive Web Design Prepares You for Future Innovations

As we said earlier, technology is always changing. An unresponsive website isn’t going to be able to keep up with the innovations. This will mean your website is either going to be incompatible with new technology, or you’ll have to do a complete redesign as technology progresses.

Responsive web design is made for this inevitably. Altering the images and layout depending on the type of device used will continue to be an asset as new technology emerges.

Expand Your Reach with Responsive Web Design

Higher search result rankings and the ability to easily view your website on a wide range of devices will open your website up to new visitors. Many people find information and products through the use of social media. And social media is often viewed on mobile devices.

Position yourself to convert these new visitors by making use of responsive web design. Ignoring this consideration will leave room for your competition to pick up any slack you leave behind.

Responsive Web Design will Save on Maintenance Costs

Responsive web design is going to have a larger upfront cost, but it will save you money over time. Managing two versions of your website will create twice as much maintenance work and fees. You also stand to incur more fees as technology progresses and your current website becomes out of date.

Do your Nashville business a favor and make use of a professional responsive web design company. NoSweatWeb serves the Nashville community with responsive design, ecommerce websites, content creation services, and more.

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SEO

The Value of SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a means of getting your website’s content to rank higher in search results. There are a variety of methods to accomplish this. Employing SEO services can help your Nashville business become more visible to potential customers and hopefully lead to more conversions.

SEO is used by many companies, but not everyone. The question you have to ask yourself is why would you not make use of an effective tool when it’s readily available? All you’re doing is putting yourself at a disadvantage, especially if your direct competition is employing SEO services to help boost their content.

The main question that comes up is how does SEO services provide a ROI for my Nashville company?

Here is how SEO can provide value to your local business:

  • Increased Traffic
  • Strengthen Branding
  • Continuous & Ongoing
  • Value to Vistors
  • Increased Visibility
  • Increase in Sales

Let’s look a little deeper into how SEO can be valuable to you and your website.

Most Traffic Comes From Organic Search

Most people will find your website by going to a search engine and typing in a query. Your website’s performance has a lot to do with how well it connects with organic searches relating to your industry. And because this is an act performed by others on the internet, it can be easy to assume you don’t have a way to impact your results.

But that is wrong. SEO directly targets specific keywords. These keywords are what your customers are likely to search. And if you can perform well for these keywords, you stand a much better chance at appearing higher in the listed results.

SEO Strengthens Your Brand

Your company’s brand is a combination of many different factors. This includes your products, the tone of your public communications, how you interact with your customers, and more. In fact, everything your company does can either help or hinder your brand. Cohesive statements and actions will strengthen your brand identity in your customer’s mind.

SEO helps to further your brand identity by narrowing your focus. Recognizing the keywords relating to your industry and creating content based around them strengthens your theme. There are many different branches of most businesses and websites, but a centralized idea guides decisions and helps your customers understand your brand.

SEO Provides Ongoing Benefits

SEO can be implemented into many different areas of your website. This includes the text on all of your pages, the titles, and even the URLs. SEO can be used for additional content like blogs and news articles. And once those pieces of content are posted to your website, they factor into your overall search rankings while also ranking for keywords themselves.

There’s no time limit on search rankings. This is why you’ll frequently find articles from years earlier when performing searches of your own. Blogs, articles, and website copy continue to factor into search results for as long as they are posted on your website. So the more you make use of SEO services, the better your Nashville website will perform on search results.

Provides Immediate Value to Visitors

Blogs are a very popular means of attracting visitors to your website. SEO can make sure these articles attract readers. The idea behind this is that creating content based around your industry will bring in visitors that are already inclined to be interested in your services.

These blogs provide an immediate value to your customers. Quality content not only serves your customers by providing useful information, it also elevates your brand. Being seen as an authority in an industry based on useful information puts you in a good position to be their choice for services or products.

Increases Visibility to the Right People

Bounce rate refers to the habit of people finding your website and leaving without clicking to another page. This often happens when people don’t find the information they are looking for. Directing SEO toward the proper keywords will help your Nashville website to attract visitors that will actually be interested in your content.

SEO is about much more than simply manipulating the system to reach the top of any search query. You want to be at the top of the correct search query. Attracting people interested in your topic and in need of your service is the only way to turn these visits into actual sales.

Increases Sales

This is the ultimate goal of SEO and the reason many companies are utilizing SEO services. More visitors to your website means you have a higher likelihood at converting them into customers.

The internet is full of information. It’s estimated that there are currently 1.5 billion websites. It’s essential to make use of any available means of setting yourself apart from the pack. SEO services are an affordable and effective means of doing this.

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Web Design

Why User Intent is Important in Web Design

No matter what your industry, there is a lot of website competition for potential clients. This is true both in the physical world as well as online. And when it comes to attracting potential customers on the internet, the search engine is king.

Websites jockeying for position with search engine optimization has been a contested point since search engines were first introduced. The ways in which a website could position themselves at the top of these results have changed over the years.

Gone are the days of peppering your website and copy with specific keywords without regard to the rest of the content surrounding them. Internet users are more savvy, as are the search engines that serve them.

And that’s the main focus — serving the searcher.

This is where user intent comes in. The term “user intent” refers to what a person using a search engine is looking to find with their query. What question do they need answered? What product are they looking for? The most effective means of search engine optimization is simply to provide helpful content.

How Does User Intent Affect My Website?

User intent is the main focus of a search engine. Therefore, search engines reward websites that most adequately address user intent. The goal of a website should be to align with user intent as closely as possible for the benefit of both the website and the visitor.

On average, you have around 15 seconds to prove your worth to a new visitor. They’ll quickly hit the back button and move to the next search result if you don’t address what they’re looking for. Search engines take note of this.

Factors such as the amount of time a user spends on your website, the percentage of users that view one page and leave the site without clicking around, and how many people click into your search result in the first place play a big role in your rankings.

Properly addressing user intent will positively affect all of these aspects. This will lead to higher search result rankings.

Your content should aim to address a concern, answer a question, or otherwise provide a service. The point of a website isn’t solely to get people to click in, it’s to keep them there. And for websites that offer a product or service, there’s an additional step of creating a sale.

But if your content doesn’t give visitors a reason to stay, you won’t be able to convert on the rest of your goals.

Does your Nashville company need help with search engine optimization? Contact NoSweatWeb today!

How Should I Think About User Intent?

User intent can be separated into three different varieties.

Informational

The searcher needs an answer to a question.

Transactional

The searcher is in search of something to purchase.

Navigational

The searcher has a specific goal in mind, such as a particular website.

These distinctions are important when considering how to address a concern. After all, you can’t address a concern if you don’t understand what the searcher is looking to gain.

How Do I Address User Intent?

The chances of showing up in a search are fairly low unless the searcher is directly seeking your website. Providing relevant information that directly benefits your target market is the best way to attract attention and build your search result rankings.

Think of it this way: Gain the attention of a searcher through an informational search and convert it into a transactional interaction.

People searching for information related to your industry will be predisposed to be interested in your services. But this only works if your content alights with your product and/or service. A really well-written and informative article on brake pads won’t do a tech website any good.

Your title should work in conjunction with your content. You don’t want to trick someone into your website with a title that doesn’t reflect what they will find. This will only result in a quick departure from your visitor. It also creates a distrust of your brand and can damage your rankings.

The goal isn’t to simply make it to the top of any list of search results. Properly addressing user intent benefits everyone involved — both the business and the consumer.

How Do I Figure Out User Intent?

Imagine yourself as the person typing in a query to a search engine. What are you trying to learn? What are you looking to find?

One way to do this is to actually type your topic into a search engine. The top results most likely align with user intent. Occasionally a top-tier website will usurp a better article or page, but you can generally rely on these results. See how others have addressed the idea or question and learn from their methods.

Buyer personas can be a big help in figuring out what your potential customers might be looking for. Learn about the motivations and needs of the people your business serves and learn how they interact with your site. Create content that addresses their needs.

Visit NoSweatWeb for intelligent search engine optimization in Nashville!

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Web Design

The Importance of a Mobile-Friendly Website in 2020

Everywhere you look, people are on their phones. And when they’re not on their phones, they’re looking at their tablets. This is no secret, but some websites have yet to optimize their layouts and displays to properly fit on these smaller screens. However, the time has come where this can no longer be put off. Internet users will only dig more into their mobile devices in 2020. And if your website isn’t set up to accommodate this, you’ll be in trouble.

Let’s look into why and how a mobile-friendly website is essential to compete in 2020.

Increased Use of Mobile Devices

It’s estimated that there are around 4.4 billion people on the internet. And of those people, it’s estimated that 2.87 billion people will use a mobile device in 2020. That’s almost two-thirds of all internet users. In fact, it’s been estimated that more people in the world own a smartphone than a toothbrush.

And this has changed the way people interact with websites. Gone are the days of sitting behind a desk, booting up the computer, and navigating search results with a keyboard and a mouse. Most people explore the internet with taps and drags. And if your website isn’t set up to accommodate this method of exploration, users are likely to move along to a website that will.

The attention span of the average internet user is pretty short. They won’t tolerate a slow-loading website or one that is difficult to navigate. You could have the most attractive website in the world, complete with animations and buttons, but you stand to lose a lot of possible visitors if it doesn’t flow on a mobile device.

This tendency can be used to your advantage. Optimizing your website for mobile usage can attract this large section of the internet-using population.

Ready to get make your e-commerce website mobile-friendly? Visit NoSweatWeb in Nashville for expert web design today

Enhanced Customer Experience

A good, easy-to-use website that is also attractive will bring visitors back. This is a simplistic way to look at it, but it’s true. There is a lot more that goes into website design, but visitors will appreciate a website that looks good. Likewise, a website that is difficult will convince your visitors to go elsewhere.

Mobile-friendly websites are intuitive, easy to navigate, and attractive on a smaller screen. This translates to a better experience for the customer because they don’t have to scroll around to find the buttons, task bars, and menus. Pictures will be an appropriate size. And the website will load quickly and cleanly.

This is an important factor. A mobile website that takes a long time to load is likely to lose visitors.

The convenience of a mobile website is one of the main reasons people are trending toward heavier mobile usage. Being able to download a ticket to a concert, for instance, means your chances of losing it are drastically reduced. Online shopping is another example of why mobile usage has increased so dramatically. The susceptibility of people to impulse purchases on their mobile devices can be a great advantage for e-commerce websites. And having a website that is easy to use from a mobile device is absolutely crucial to converting these visitors into customers.

Better Rankings

Google’s search ranking algorithms take numerous factors into account when they compile search results. Mobile usability is one of the more important factors that are considered when someone searches for your keywords.

The increased visibility that comes along with this is essential to help potential visitors find your website. After all, you could have the best service in the world but no one will know if they can’t find your website.

This idea of optimizing your website for mobile devices is no secret. In fact, there’s a good chance your competitors are taking this into account for their own websites. Mobile usability is essential to remaining competitive. You don’t want your competitors to have an advantage, so you need to make use of every available tool you can use. And making your website as mobile-friendly as possible not only gives you the advantage of a better customer experience, but it helps with search rankings as well.

And if people can find your website easily, and then enjoy their time while they navigate it, you’ve already provided a positive experience for them before they’ve even engaged with your content.

NoSweatWeb not only knows how important a mobile-friendly website is for a small business, but we also know how to make it a reality. Visit us to see how we can help you today.