Category Archives: Website Tips

Responsive Web Design (RWD) – The Mobile Friendly Website Fundamentals

Web Wise, Website Tips

Mobile devices have been around for a while, but they were never used in a way (and to such a degree) as they are today. Surfing the web with these mobile devices has grown at a stellar pace, and for the first time will outnumber desktops and laptops starting this year. And most sites on the web are not optimized for these smaller screens.

Responsive web design, also known as mobile friendly design, assures that the website is responsive to any display size and adjusts accordingly to assure optimum viewing for any device.  For example, take our site ( Northwoods Web Designs ) shown below in different devices,  is designed with responsive in mind.

Responsive Web Designs

 

Similar to a chameleon per se, it will adjust the layout, navigation and content of what is displayed based on the size of the screen to assure the best viewing experience regardless of screen size.



To account for these smaller screens,

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3 Key Factors That Determine Local Search Ranking on Google

Web Wise, Website Tips


Did you know, Google (and Bing) search engines have two forms of presenting search results? One is general results, the other is local search results based on the location of user or business being searched for.

This topic is regarding the Local Ranking on Google which probably makes up 60-80% of your potential customers.



The following information is valuable to any small business trying to better understand the search engine giants’ inner workings.   It is indeed important to know that listing your business in the yellow pages and waiting for a response are long gone.

(Disadvantages of using Yellow Book/Pages for your online web presence)
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How Long Does It Take For a New Site to Appear in the Google Search Results?

Web Wise, Website Tips

Google Find If Index Your Site Yet

Here is the typical scenario: you’re a small business owner and you’ve just launched your new website to the world. Now you are wondering how long will it be before people searching the web find your site in the search engine results page (SERP)?

Since its brand new, the search engines do not know anything about it, so therefore cannot display it to anybody searching for it.

So some things need to occur before its “searchable”.  The site needs to be indexed by the search engine.  There’s no specific set time for Google to initially index your site, can vary based on several items such as:
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Creating a Social Media Voice

Website Tips

Social Media Voice - One Voice - Many OutletsYou’re website is up and running promoting your business 24/7 so you’re done right? Before the social media age (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc…) and before there were a trillion websites added to the internet that was possible.

Besides making updates to the website to keep it fresh with new and relevant data, another key component is to make sure you have social media tied into it in some form or fashion.


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Hiring Out Web Design

Website Tips

imageMany small businesses and organizations are faced with this need at some point.  Unless you are a large firm, you probably do not have IT staff, nor a professional Web Designer available to leverage.

When hiring out a web design company, you can go with a large company or find a firm locally. Much of it depends on your budget.

A large web design company generally will need to be much more expensive due to having multiple hands involved in the project, generally extending the schedule and costs involved.


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