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Christmas is not only the season to be jolly, but it’s also the best time of the year for you to up your sales and ensure that your marketing strategy is working effectively. There’s no better way to do this than by giving your company’s website a festive makeover. Even if you are just starting up your company, or perhaps you work for a larger corporation that needs some creative inspiration, remember that your site provides customers with a window into you products and services. If your website isn’t positioning your site effectively, then your sales and potential leads will suffer as a result. Worry not, however, you can make a few small changes across your site to make sure that this Christmas time your earnings remain sky high.
Here are ways to make your website stand out this holiday:
Get Creative
Don’t be afraid to use the magic of the Christmas period to truly let your imagination run wild – your customers will love you for it. From publishing some festive blog posts, to adding in a few seasonal references to your homepage, you should be making the most of the holiday to promote sales and push products that are your key earners. First, start by giving your site’s content a quick review. Remember to get rid of any dated or irrelevant content as this will be affecting your overall site user experience. Now you can start to create new festive articles and posts that truly inject some fun into your site. From logos to gifs, iconography and even imagery, if you are allowed to – then why not get creative? You are sure to see traffic increase as your customer base share your site with friends and family too.
Make sure you use social media
Sure you might be already, but is it complementing your site. An effective website and social media should go hand in hand and the chances are that if your traffic is down on social, your website will suffer. Make sure that you schedule regular posts and use social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook to let your followers know about any festive open days or events. From upcoming sports game tickets to flash sales, social media is a powerful tool. Make sure that you keep your content calendar running across the entire festive season too, as this will ensure optimal results.
Don’t be lazy
You might want to relax and unwind this Christmas but don’t let all that food and drink make you lazy! When it comes to making your website stand out, you should be posting, tweeting and checking content on a daily basis over the holiday season. Not to mention you will want to make sure that you are keeping ahead of your competitors. So if you thought that you were going to spend all season resting, then think again. If you truly want your website to stand out and reap rewards then you will need to make sure that you put the effort in.
Social media, fun festive content, and dedication are key to making your website stand out this Christmas.
For anyone that creates things people see online, there has always been the topic of how to protect that work. Trying to prevent others from using it, or displaying it without your permission has led to a lot of new measures and laws. Intellectual property has been a difficult thing to keep safe. However, there are a few ways that you can protect your computer and your work from those looking to use it. You can use copyright, but if you are posting a lot of images, then this can be time consuming and expensive.
Protect Your Computer
It goes without saying that if you are a serious designer, you should make sure that your work is safe and secure. That means not only making your online work safe, but also the tools of your trade: your computer and laptop. You need to ensure that you have the latest anti-virus software downloaded so that your devices are safe from viruses and other online attacks. Storing your work in a protected folder or on a laptop that has a strong password are also things you must consider. If you are subject to an attack and you do lose any information, then you can use a company such as Secure Data Recovery professionals to restore your data and recover your missing or damaged files and restore your work.
Try Adding Watermarks
One way that companies and artists are trying to protect their online work is through watermarks. By adding a watermark to your work before you post it online, you can stop people from using it without displaying your mark. You want the watermark to be displayed prominently within your work but without spoiling what it is. Otherwise, someone might be able to crop it or take it out simply.
Disable Right-Click on Your Website
If you post a lot of images or other work on your website, it can be easy for someone to right-click on one of your images and use the save file as a function to download it. However, there are ways you can prevent this; you can add code to your website that prevents people from using right-click on your website. It will deter those who are looking for a quick photo for their project. Although it will prevent the opportunists, there are ways around it, so it is a good idea to use it with other measures such as watermarks.
Use Low-Resolution Images
Although you want people to see your work, you don’t want them to take it and use it. If you put low-resolution images on your website, then people won’t want to use them. That is especially the case if they are looking for bigger images for their projects. The only downside to this is that potential clients cannot see your work in all its glory. However, you can get around this by sending them the full resolution version on request.
By using some or these techniques, you can try to protect your work and prevent others from using it as their own.
Starting off as a young creative or marketing professional is challenging. You’re faced with trying to pick up on new information as quickly as you can and are put in situations that have you and your work going up against the best in the business.
Making ends meet is difficult and it gets frustrating when your work is passed over time and time again. Be kind to yourself and stick with it if you’re passionate about what you’re doing and see yourself making this into a career. Keep in mind that many others have been in your shoes and made it big. See tips for improving as a young creative.
Learn from the Best
Seek out information and research individuals and companies who’ve made a name for themselves in the business. Take a look at tough industries that are difficult to break through like vape marketing. Successful companies understand the tactical intricacies of working in regulated environments. They help their clients position using the best marketing media available for their campaigns and guarantee approvals. All they do is bespoke and tailored to the specific brand.
Join A Community
Find programs, communities and people like yourself who are looking to better themselves as a young creative. These professional groups offer networking opportunities and resources to help you improve your skills. There are tutorials and the chance to exchange ideas with those who are just as passionate about design as you are. Oftentimes the communities will offer blogs to help you gain knowledge and tools to help you build confidence and succeed. Involving yourself with a group of people who are just as zealous as you are will only help motivate you more.
Practice
Spend any extra time you have perfecting your skill and getting better at what you do best. The more time and energy you put into your design and artwork upfront, the more experience you’ll have when you start looking for jobs and freelance gigs. Practice will ensure you make less mistakes going forward and help you see where you want to focus your energy in your career and specialty area. You can never prepare and train too much, but remember to take breaks and socialize with other professionals who may have additional pieces of advice to offer.
Attend Conferences & Seminars
Attend a conference or seminar to get outside of your own head and bubble. You’ll meet new people and learn fresh techniques that you won’t be able to achieve when you’re at home with your head down working. Take classes and sign up for programs that will help you polish your skills and give you the chance to ask questions. Being around other creatives will open your mind to new ideas and ways of tackling your work.
Conclusion
Everyone has to start somewhere in their career. The same goes for you and your pursuit to be a successful creative. Do all that’s in your power to educate yourself and learn as much as possible along the way. These are tips for improving as a young creative.
Choosing a Web Host
When putting together a website for your business, web hosting is one of the more important decisions that you will need to make. The type of web hosting that you choose is considerably important since it will contribute towards the running of your website and the type of experience that your visitors have when they land on your page. Choosing the wrong type of web hosting for your company website could lead to disastrous results, such as slow page loading times or even failures to load which will put your visitors off and cause you to lose business. Because of this, making the right choice is absolutely vital. Here are some key factors to look out for to ensure that you pick the right type of hosting.
#1. Customer Service:
First and foremost, it’s important to look out for a web hosting service that offers a great level of customer service to its users. This is especially important if you run an e-commerce business or rely on your company website to bring in revenue for your brand. If the server were to go down, for example, or other issues cause your website to be down for a while, the lack of business could be hugely debilitating. The last thing that you need is to be unable to get in touch with your web host for advice and assistance. Therefore, it’s always a better choice to pay a little more if needed for the best web hosting service that offers a 24/7 helpline number.
#2. Amount of Storage:
Secondly, one of the main things that you’ll be looking out for when you pick a web hosting service is the amount of storage that you will have available to use on their server. For most small or medium company websites, a few gigabytes is usually enough storage. However, if you plan to expand in the future or already need a lot of data storage space, then it’s a good idea to go for more so that you don’t hit problems by running out. In some cases, you can even find web hosts that offer ‘unlimited’ storage – however, always read the small print as this could be capped.
#3. Mobile Website or App:
Today, it’s never been more important for businesses to be mobile-friendly, with more and more web users browsing the internet using their mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. When picking a web host, it’s crucial to ensure that they will support a mobile-friendly website or even a mobile application that your customers can use to stay up to date with the latest news and products from your brand. Along with that, it’s also a good idea to look out for web hosts that offer their customers the option to access site administration from a mobile website or app, allowing you to keep up to date with your site on the go.
These are just some of the main features to look out for in a great web hosting service for your business.