Tree Top Web Design Blog

Google recently announced it has started to use HTTPS as a ranking signal in order to “make the Internet safer more broadly.” HTTPS is a language code that secures the information being passed back and forth between web servers and clients.

Many websites are accessed by HTTP, which means that these websites are talking to your browser using the regular 'unsecure' language. In other words, it is possible for someone to "eavesdrop" on your computer's conversation with these websites that are served via HTTP. This is why you would never want to enter personal or financial information into a website unless you notice that the web address begins with https://.

Eureka! Since the upsurge and continued enhancement of content management systems like Joomla! and WordPress, individuals and businesses are now more than ever in a position to create and maintain their own websites. This is great news for small and medium size business owners who can gain access to the important tools of the online marketplace to enhance their business without the need for specialized coders or programmers. But hold onto your chair for just a minute before you decide to jump in without the assistance of a web design company! Maintaining your own website is often a lot more complicated and time consuming than most people initially assume.

Everyone has been waiting in rapt anticipation, in some cases paralyzing fear, to learn of the fallout of Google’s April 21^st rollout of their mobile friendly algorithm changes. So has all the buzz been warranted? In many cases, absolutely.

In a few studies we looked at, the results are not surprising. Mobile friendly websites kept moving up in the search engine results pages (SERPs), while websites that have not been made mobile friendly are slowing dropping. Some industries seem to be getting hit harder than others. According to some sources, many law firm websites have not updated to being mobile friendly and are therefore dropping in the rankings, possibly more so than some other industries as a whole.

As a business owner, keeping your website investment and online data safe is a top priority. However, this can sometimes prove to be a difficult task. One does not have to look too far in order to see examples of devastating security breaches (eg. the Heartbleed bug, Target credit card data leak). In fact, according to the online security firm Sophos Labs¹, approximately 30,000 new websites per day are identified as distributing spam or malicious code. Most of these are small business websites that have been hacked and turned into malware distribution zombies. But fear not as there are some basic steps all website owners can take in order to keep their site and online data safe and help prevent becoming a hacking statistic.

As a business and website owner you are most likely inundated with companies trying to sell SEO (search engine optimization) services via email and telemarketing. In this post we dissect the two sets of users who are trying to find your business online and summarize the importance of SEO for each case, helping you decide what is right for your business website.

There are two distinct sets of user groups who use search engines like Google to find out more about you and your business. As a business owner it’s important that your website places well in Google for searches performed by both user groups in order to retain current clients and to capture new business leads and sales.

We humans spend a lot of time contemplating the purpose of all kinds of things but, as a business owner contemplating a new or redesigned website, the purpose of your website is the first and most important decision you can make.

Research shows that users are easily frustrated when they can’t quickly figure out how to complete task or find information on a website. While many elements go into making a website work, it all must begin with a Purpose. If the purpose of your website is unclear in your mind it will be unclear to your designer and ultimately unclear to your customer.

As a small business owner you know that your website is an important tool for communicating with your current and potential clients and that is why you have invested in making sure your website looks great, is functional and easy to use. This is a great first step in maximizing your use of the web to help your small business grow BUT there is a very important next step that is often times overlooked by small business owners.