As a newly-qualified personal trainer, Hannah Robinson found managing her classes with clients and taking both bookings and payments a time-consuming job to balance. After recent lockdowns, Hannah also wanted to be able to run regular online classes, keeping a regular income stream for her, and to be a flexible option for her clients.
Needing a new website, Hannah asked 4D Digital to design and build an integrated solution which would help meet these challenges and present her in a professional and friendly way.
Integrated solution
4D Digital recommended an integrated website solution which brought together a number of elements, including a booking calendar, online payments and online video. Pre-recorded classes could be uploaded into the website, ready for clients to view on scheduled dates. Clients can also now pay for and access live classes through Zoom.
Website launch
Bringing all these elements together with a modern design, the website was launched in early 2022. The website also includes a blog which Hannah keeps up-to-date with Nutrition and Recipe advice.
We continue to work with Hannah to evolve the website, and look forward to new plans for 2023!
Designing and building a new website, or redesigning an existing website, can seem like a daunting task. To small business owners a new web design is often something that gets put off due to the thought of tackling the project whilst already running a demanding business.
With nearly two decades of experience in developing websites for small businesses, we have the experience in what it takes to create an engaging and successful business website. Whether a startup or an existing business, getting the results you are looking for can depend on a number of key steps and factors, which we outline below.
Register a Domain Name
There are many factors to consider when choosing a website domain name. Some of the most important factors include:
1. The domain name should be easy to remember.
2. The domain name should be short and simple.
3. The domain name should be relevant to your business or website.
4. The domain name should be available.
There are many places to buy website domain names. Some popular options include GoDaddy, Names, and Ionos. Should you wish to, 4D Digital can quickly check availability and register a domain name for you.
Website Hosting
A website host is a company that owns and operates servers that are connected to the internet. When you create a website, you need to store the files that make up your website on a server. Website hosting provides space on a server for your website, as well as the technology needed to connect your website to the internet.
There are many factors to consider when choosing a website hosting provider. Some of the most important factors include:
Price: How much does the hosting provider charge?
Reliability: How often is the website down?
Customer support: How responsive is the customer support?
Features: What features does the hosting provider offer?
Consider your goals
Some goals that your website might have are to increase sales, to get more leads, to increase brand awareness, or to generate more traffic.
More general aims for your new website should include the following:-
To be user-friendly and easy to navigate
To have a clean and modern design
To load quickly
To be responsive (to work well on mobile devices)
To be optimised for search engines
To be secure (with an SSL certificate)
To have contact information and a contact form
To have a blog or news section
Create a memorable and engaging website
The best way to create a memorable and engaging website will vary depending on the type of website and the audience you are trying to reach. However, some tips to create a memorable and engaging website include using high-quality visuals, telling a story, and making it easy for visitors to navigate and find the information they are looking for.
At 4D Digital we work with each client to design a website that engages the user and provides clear access to all website content and information. We believe that the content of a website has to take priority when designing layout and structure. This then enables website visitors to navigate through the website more easily and access information quickly.
Optimise for search engines
There are many things you can do to optimise your website for SEO. Some important things to consider are:
Making sure your website is accessible to search engine crawlers
Creating keyword-rich content
Using relevant keywords in your titles and headings
Creating backlinks to your website from other high-quality websites
Optimising for SEO will vary depending on your website’s context and application. For more in-depth information we are happy to advise and talk through your requirements. At 4D Digital we offer full Website and SEO Audits as part of any SEO service.
Implement a maintenance plan
A website maintenance plan is a service that provides regular updates and security for a website. This can include things like updating the website content, adding new features, and keeping the site secure.
Should your website be based on the WordPress platform, it’s important to keep up-to-date with plugin, theme and framework updates.
Promote your website
There are many ways to promote a website. Some of the most common include SEO (search engine optimization), social media marketing, and content marketing.
For Social Media some common methods include creating accounts for the website and sharing links to the website on these accounts; creating promotional content such as videos or blog posts about the website and sharing this content on social media; and running social media ads that link to the website.
There are a number of ways you can use content marketing to promote your website. You can use blog posts, infographics, videos, and other forms of content to attract attention to your site and encourage people to visit it. You can also use social media to share your content and drive traffic to your website.
Commonly asked questions
Does my Small Business website need a content-management system?
A content management system (CMS) is a website framework that allows you to create and modify digital content. Most websites are built with a CMS which allows the business owner to modify and add content themselves.
If you want to create a Small Business website, you will most likely need a CMS.
What is UX and how does it affect my website?
UX, or user experience, affects your website in that it determines how easy or difficult it is for users to interact with your site. A good UX will make it easy for users to find what they’re looking for and navigate your site, while a poor UX will make it difficult for users to use your site.
Should I use WordPress for my website?
WordPress is a good choice for many websites, but it may not be the best choice for your specific website. At 4D Digital we specialise in developing for WordPress but will advise on the framework that we fell can best help your business reach its goals.
As a small business, do I need to be ready for e-commerce?
E-commerce refers to the buying and selling of goods and services over the internet. This can be done through a variety of different platforms, including online marketplaces, online stores, and mobile apps.
If your business has any plans in the future to sell products or services online, then good advice is to build the website framework with e-commerce enabled from the outset.
Do I need to add to my small business website every month or more frequently?
As a general rule, it is a good idea to add new content to your website on at least a monthly basis. This will help keep your site fresh and relevant, and will give your visitors a reason to come back.
How much does it cost to create a website for a small business?
The cost of creating a website for a small business can vary depending on the size and scope of the project. Generally, a simple website can cost anywhere from £500 to £2,000, while a more complex website can cost upwards of £5,000 or more.
Do you have to pay monthly for a website?
Should 4D Digital produce a website for you, you do not have to pay monthly. You may be required to pay for hosting with us, but that is separate from your website itself.
Summary
At 4D Digital we aim to use our experience and knowledge to ease the process of building a new website and, hopefully, even make it an enjoyable task. Please get in touch with us if you would like to talk further about your business website.
“4D Digital have been extremely helpful in designing and producing a fantastic website for my business and supporting the initial digital launch of the site. Chris is knowledgeable, has a wide-reach of contacts to support small to large projects and most of all trustworthy – very important in a digital market where I have little knowledge. I would recommend 4D Digital without hesitation.”
Miles Robinson – Founder & Director, Home Group Financial
Stronghold Global are an established and growing supplier to trade of workwear and business goods throughout the UK. Stronghold required a new website to be quickly deployed in order to react to market changes – specifically to provide PPE supplies due to the second wave in the UK of the COVID pandemic. A short deadline of four weeks was needed in order to be able to offer both quoted goods for trade volumes and paid orders for new customers.
4D Digital recommended existing branding for the Stronghold Global to be used as the company is well known within it’s target market, but subtle amends were used to enable the Stronghold Healthcare website to have it’s own identity.
Stronghold Healthcare within the Stronghold Global brand
The WordPress framework was used in conjunction with WooCommerce as an ecommerce module to enable fast development prior to product and content entry. Management of the website content, orders and products by the internal team was to be a key requirement post-launch.
4D Digital worked swiftly with the team at Stronghold to specify the website requirements and deliver the website ready for launch earlier than anticipated. Orders and quote requests were active within a day of launch. Particular importance has been placed on continual development of the website, with marketing channels set up with the internal CRM for access by the UK sales team.
Ongoing support is in place with internal CMS training and website maintenance. 4D Digital continues to work with Stronghold on SEO and paid ad campaigns to progress the website.
WordPress continues it’s growth as the most popular website CMS and blogging platform, and here we look at the most popular and effective ecommerce plugins available.
Updated May 2020
With the ongoing government restrictions due to COVID-19, the ability for businesses to sell online is clearly gaining in importance. With over 14 years experience in helping clients move into ecommerce, we would like to help businesses should they wish to make the step to sell online. We are offering free phone call consultations, simply call our office on 01249 561010 to arrange a callback or video meeting.
WooCommerce
By far the leading ecommerce plugin for WordPress, with over 29% of market share according to Datanyze most recent report, WooCommerce is still the leading solution for selling online with the framework. It’s a go-to platform for 4D Digital, and we have extensive experience in developing and extending it’s capabilities.
With a large selection of extensions, WooCommerce can cover most website needs and it’s huge contributor base means that any security updates are monitored and released with good regularity.
Easy Digital Downloads
As it’s name implies, Easy Digital Downloads offers a solution for those who are looking to sell download files such as music, articles or eBooks. With an easy set up, website owners can relatively quickly have their very own digital sales platform running.
With the basic plugin free, the premium very of Easy Digital Downloads offers extended functionality regarding email marketing and payment gateway integration.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a standalone ecommerce software solution that has gained popularity in recent years. Many would argue that it’s checkout experience is superior to WooCommerce. Now that the WordPress plugin for BigCommerce has moved out of beta, this is going to be a serious option for WordPress retailers in 2019.
As the New Year festivities fade and we all head back to work, inevitably thoughts can turn to plans for 2019 and how to progress your business. One of the main factors in a sales and marketing strategy has to be to optimise your company’s online presence. We might well be a bit biased – but there are a number of ways we can help you and we’ve outlined some options below.
New website
Most companies and organisations will have a website in place, so mainly we’re looking at a website redesign. Unless branding and logo have changed, typically a second, third- or fourth-generation website just needs to be refreshed, with perhaps a look again at the focus of the content. Responsive design is often a key, to ensure focus is given to mobile and tablet view. Depending on the industry sector, over half of traffic to a website will be on mobile. This also guides us into making sure the content is as clear as possible, with key action points as a focus.
Website Audits & Consultancy
From our basic website audit to a more in-depth consultancy role, we try to use our experience to help you ensure your website or mobile app is delivering the results you need. Focus is given to planning improvements and then measuring the performance over coming months and years.
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing, which includes a wide variety of areas such as SEO, Social Media and PPC campaigns, is the method of marketing your website or app online. With such choice of channels to use, it’s key nowadays to ensure the most effective route is used, and most importantly, to measure the success of the campaign. With analytics and insights metrics available to measure the finest detail of traffic source and flow, it’s possible to accurately show any return on the investment.
2019 and beyond
If you feel that any of the options we outline above may be of use please contact us, we’re always happy to chat through any enquiry. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading some of our #blogmas articles this year, and wish everyone good fortune in 2019.
When ASOS issued a profit warning just prior to Christmas due to poor online sales in November, many feared that this year was going to be a tough period for eCommerce retailers. With Black Friday falling in that November period, did this mean that other retailers would reflect the performance of one of the UK’s leading eCommerce lights? Was the Brexit effect having a tangible effect on sales and profits?
A good indicator of general retail performance is always how early stores, in the high street and online, switch into the sales period. Long gone are the days of sales starting on Boxing Day. Even in stronger economic times of a few years ago, many online retailers (Amazon in particular), would launch massive promotional campaigns on Christmas Day itself. No sooner had presents been opened than we were busily seeking bargain replacements!
But with some of the big guns such as Next and John Lewis holding off launching sales some confidence grew that the general economic concerns weren’t hitting online sales as much as predicted.
Reports from Next and John Lewis however, have both showed good online sales over the period. Next overall sales were up 1.5% on 2017, but online sales were up a whopping 15.2%, taking many ecommerce analysts by surprise. John Lewis’ figures were up 4.5% in the week to 29th December, but as no separate online figures were released, it’s less easy to assess.
So what can we learn? That online sales, done well, are forging ahead despite uncertainties in the economy and high street concerns.
In the first of our 12 Blogs of Christmas we have a look back at 2018 and pick out our top five website trends from 2018. These are website and app design and functionality that we’ve seen grow through the year, and may just give a pointer as to where we need to look in 2019. So if these are the top trends – are they the best way to enhance your website and make the most of your online presence? Not necessarily, and we give our verdict on each.
1. ChatBots
We’re sure you must have experienced the popup welcome when visiting a new website – ‘Can we help?’. Usually on the bottom right of the screen, these advice-offering widgets often feature thumbnail photos of the support person and their name. Nine times out of ten these are automated ChatBots, trained by Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning to automatically respond with guidance to common visitor requests. The suspicion is that these bots can be helpful, but tend to become an annoyance when continuing to appear on further browsing of the website. So are these ChatBots an annoying passing fad, or can they offer real value to your website visitors? Well, we think they are here to stay and will play a growing part in our web experiences over the next decade. A bit annoying currently, but when it becomes difficult to tell the difference between the bot and a real person then the value of a ChatBot really kicks in. Companies who’ve invested the time in ‘training’ these automated helpers will be a step ahead of their competition.
Verdict: Needs to be used with care currently, but a good investment for the future.
2. Original Illustrations
Website frameworks offer a fantastic way of helping clients get projects up and running quickly, and keeping maintenance costs low. One of the drawbacks though is that website styles, layouts and typography can become very similar unless time is invested in making the project stand out from the crowd. This is where original illustrations have taken a role in adding a wonderful bespoke element to the best of the web.
Verdict: We think illustration can make a real difference, and is well worth the additional initial cost.
MailChimp’s 2018 redesign
3. Data Visualisation
Having worked this year on a large Data Visualisation Portal, we’re perhaps a little biased in thinking that Data Visualisation has been a growing trend for 2018. However, the growth of infographics, mapping and data charting can only help users get the information they are looking for and is a great example of new techniques pushing the boundaries of user interaction. Coding tools including ChartJS, more advanced software such as Tableau, and mapping frameworks similar to MapBox make this a fascinating area to work in.
Verdict: We may be biased, but new techniques make this an exciting field to be involved with.
Mapbox GL
4. Microinteractions
Microinteractions are those subtle, almost imperceptible, effects that occur when buttons change when you hover over them, or images fade in when scrolling down a page. Although often seen as a ‘nice touch’ that gives a website an added design element, these microinteractions can really help guide and prompt the user through a website path. More advanced interactions can show detailed animation and even morphing of images and text. Developments with the use of SVG images and typography in modern browsers have enabled web developers to let their imagination run free.
Verdict: Becoming a key design element and if used carefully can help guide the user and create a unique style for a website.
5. Progressive Web Apps
Progressive Web Apps or PWAs, are websites which have increased functionality that enables them to give a more app-like experience to the user. On mobile they can give the similar performance of a native iOS or Android app, but run from a website or web app. The huge benefit to client and developer is that the PWA uses only one codebase or set of files, keeping development and maintenance costs much lower than would be needed to maintain separate native and web applications.
Other features which are typical of a PWA are the ability to work offline with locally stored data until a data connection is available, access to device hardware such as camera and geolocation. Our blog post from earlier this year outlined in more detail the rise of the website PWA.
Verdict: The future of the the web and mobile app.
Starbucks PWA
Top 5 Summary
These are the top five web trends that we’ve picked out from 2018, and maybe give some insight into what to look for in 2019. If we were running a top ten then just missing out on the charts were: Content Marketing, Responsive Design (yes, still), Reactive Design and Push Notifications. There’s another blog post in the making!
This year we are joining the #blogmas campaign and will be running our own 12 Blogs of Christmas over the festive period. Featuring articles that look back on web developments in 2018, looking ahead to 2019, guest posts from friends of 4D, and a few offers thrown in for good measure!
We’ll be running our blog over social media using the hashtag #4D12days – keep a look out and let us know what you think. Any feedback on the articles is welcome!
Every day from Christmas Day we’ll release one blog, articles will cover web design, mobile apps, social media marketing, SEO and all things web! From in-depth assessments of the state of web development to a more light-hearted look back and ahead we hope you’ll enjoy the blogs.
No, you probably haven’t. Unless, that is, you’re one of those lucky souls who remembers to buy cheap wrapping paper and cards in the January sales. The rest of us though, will probably start thinking about it as the nights draw in and the crisp Autumn air rings with the sound of fireworks being let off a month early.
Ecommerce preparation
The vast majority of our festive purchases will be made online, a sign of how quickly ecommerce has become the norm. If you own or run an ecommerce store you will know that the next few months sales make up a large chunk of your annual turnover. As these crucial weeks approach, we’ve put together a few tips on how to make your life easier and keep those orders flowing.
Marketing
Automation is the key here. Make the most of scheduling tools such as Buffer, HootSuite and MailChimp to schedule your content. Set up your Social Media activity and promotions a week ahead and then leave it to run itself. You may need to respond to any customer enquiries in these channels but the majority of the work can be done in one hit.
Don’t be afraid to give your customers plenty of offers over this period. We’ve all received the daily Amazon email in the run-up to the big day – and it’s done for a reason – people are ready to buy.
Customer support
Predict and prepare for your busiest periods. Unless this is your first Christmas selling period, you’ll know pretty well which weeks, days and even hours are the busiest for orders and enquiries. Half of the population will leave their buying until, at most, ten days before the 25th of December. This may not be ideal from their point-of-view, but it gives the store owner a heads-up on when to expect their busy time.
Black Friday is an American thing, right?
Not anymore. This year Black Friday falls on November 23rd and the big online stores will be hoping to maximise sales. With a little preparation you can set yourself up to make some sales here also. It might be a bit annoying for so much focus to be given to one day, but people love a bargain – why not make the most of it?
Christmas website embellishments
My personal favourite. Christmas for me only starts with the first client that asks for the animated snowflakes to be added. In truth, the flakes have been there waiting all year to be reactivated, but the sight of those digital flakes slowly drifting down the screen never fails to lift my spirits. Which it does for many people, and is why adding a few tastefully-designed Christmas graphics to your website can freshen it up and add a little sparkle to your orders.
Try to avoid the Santa hat on the logo though…
Quick wins
We all like a quick win, and this can apply to your website also. Have a look through to check on any broken links, missing images, odd spelling – the sort of thing that can give customers doubt and lead to missed sales. Check your Privacy Policy is bang on (we all did that for GPDR so that’s ok…) and your T&Cs protect both your and your customer. Increased sales will, inevitably, lead to increased returns and now is a good time to remind yourself of what you actually say in your Terms and Conditions. A good rule is to set expectations – delivery times, stock availability – and to be realistic with what you can deliver – literally.
Christmas Offers and Sales
The days of the January Sale being the only time goods were discounted are long gone. Did we all really wait to go out on Boxing Day for a good bargain? Maybe it was just to get away from the relatives and experience some fresh air. Why not create a Christmas Offers page? Most ecommerce frameworks, such as WooCommerce, Shopify and Magento, let you create a new category and copy existing products into it within minutes. People love a bargain!
Gift Vouchers
You know that Uncle who’s a pain to buy anything for? Gift Vouchers. We’ve all done it, and it’s a great option to add onto your ecommerce site. The upside of Gift Vouchers is that a decent percentage never get used. That’s a little sad but at least it’s good for your profit margin…
Merry Christmas!
If you do own or manage an ecommerce store then best of luck for 2018, maybe one or two of these tips will have been of use. Merry Christmas and Happy Black Friday!
