Business owners should have these key skills…

Business owners should be aware of some core areas when it comes to web design. If you own a website doesn’t mean you have to have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a web development certificate. After all, a lot of times people looking to start a simple website can build it and put their ideas to work themselves. Yes, there is some learning required at the start. And as a business owner, It’s up to you to learn basic web skills. After all, the benefit of this will allow you to keep your site relevant and up to date. The alternative is to hire a professional web design agency, like ours.

Know basic HTML as Business Owners

First things first, a website owner should know HTML and CSS or at least understand the basic concepts of how they work. This will enable you to make simple changes such as correct typos or add text to your website. Remember, not being able to update text or correct typos can deter people from visiting your site again. A site for a community center or a nonprofit is a perfect example as to why knowing HTML and CSS is very important. For example, events, and notices of cancellations will ensure that the community is aware of sudden changes. In fact, the ability to manipulate text is a critical skill for controlling content. Be it blogging on a WordPress website or adding new content to an HTML web page?  Basic knowledge will help you.

Business Owners should be able to create unique content and media

You may have gathered that websites that are filled with text are much less appealing than those with photos and videos. Hence, not being able to control your media content can make your site stale. You must be able to create unique media that appeals to your target audience. Going back to the example of a community center website, visitors will want to see media on the site that pertains to the events.

Business owners not only want to create appealing media content but they also need to be able to change the media content on their website. Also, business owners need to know how to update the media on their site to ensure that it is up to date and relevant to their audience. Knowing how to organize website content including media content is important for any small business owner to be aware of.

Small Business Owners should remember to Present

All websites should definitely be presentable and if you find yourself with too much content or not visually appealing web pages? Then you should definitely know how to rearrange their website. Knowing how to tweak your site can make the world of a difference. In fact, a visually appealing and correctly laid out digital content will allow visitors to continue to browse the website. Hence, knowing how to add, delete and re-arrange content will give you the added advantage of continually being able to change your website.

For example, a retail site where inventory is constantly needed to up updated regularly. Rather than updating the site and loading all the images onto one page, the retailer is going to want to organize the site so that visitors can see a certain amount of merchandise on each page. The benefits as a business owner will allow promotions and new products to be immediately available. Also, determining site layouts and pages definitely help engage visitors, but as business owners, you also want to attract new visitors.

All Business Owners should have a presence on Social Media

In today’s society, social media plays a huge role in attracting visitors to websites. Hence the importance to be able to integrate social media into a website and be active is paramount. Being able to immediately tweet or post a Facebook action will get your small business awareness and more business. Imagine if you sell footballs, and your local team seems to be doing well in the league? In fact, it’s on the way to the championships? You should be placing more emphasis on this current trend then and not later on after the event. Afterall, immediate social activity will drive more activity to your website.

Along with owning a site, it is recommended that your site is connected to a social media site. Social media allows owners to give followers updates on the go without having to do any editing of the site. Most often it is the easiest component to attracting visitors, but managing social media can takes a lot of thought and effort. Site owners need to ensure that the content posted on social media is in line with their site. Another good example would be Nike; they utilize social media by posting videos of athletes to promote products on their website. You can successfully attract visitors by raising their curiosity about products or by simply showing your company’s values through videos and photos like Nike.

Now that we have covered all the skills needed regarding the presentation of a website, it is time we look at a topic that is overlooked.

Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a discipline in itself that helps with website ranking. But there are many resources out there that can help you do some basic SEO. Afterall, the whole purpose of having a website is to be visible on key search engines. For example, being able to understand the traffic to your website, as well as the bounce rate will give you more information to adapt to your business climate.

Security a number one priority for all Business Owners

After finishing up and putting together a web page. It’s important to secure your website. These are a few techniques a website owner should be aware of so that they may build a safer, a more protected website for visitors.

Although it may be obvious, keeping your software up to date is essential for keeping your website secure. This applies to both the server operating system and any software that you may be running on your website. By keeping your software up to date will limit the security holes that may be exploited by hackers. However, if you’re using a third party hosting company you don’t need to worry as much about applying security updates. As the hosting company should take care of this.

You should also be aware of how much information you give out in your error messages. For example, if you have a login form on your website? You should think about the message you would use to communicate “attempt-failure” when attempting logins. You should always use common messages like “Incorrect username or password”. For example, do not to specify if a user got half of the query right. If a hacker tries to attack and an error message saying only one of the field is correct will provide the attacker opportunity to pursue further. Hence making the website vulnerable.

Security and Strong Passwords

Everybody knows that they should use correct passwords to secure their login information. But this is not always the case. For example,  admin and server logins should have strong passwords so that hackers are not given the opportunity to try to access the website. Also, it is a good idea your website users follow the good password practices. Although many users would not like it, enforcing strong password requirements is a must. For example, including an uppercase letter and number will help to protect their information in the long run.

Another dangerous security risk is to let users upload files to your website even if it is simply to change their avatar. In fact, the upload could have malicious intent with a script that could potentially open up your website. Hence, file sizes and file types should be in place to avoid the possibility of your website falling to the hackers.

Testing Your Website

Once you think you have done all you can then it’s time to test your website security. The most effective way of doing this is via the use of some website security tools, often referred to as penetration testing or pen testing for short. There are a lot of free tools or commercial tools that you can use to test out your website. They generally focus on scripts hackers use on known exploits and attempt to compromise your site when using advanced methods.

These are just a few of the methods that can make your website more secure. As technology advances, it also allows users and creators to deploy more techniques and methods to enforce what they are trying to accomplish. It is a good idea to keep up with technology which in turn will equip you with more tools. This all might sound complicating and it can be at times, but as long as a website owner has basic knowledge they can get by.

Know the small details

When it comes to owning a website you definitely don’t need to know all the small details. It is much more important to know where to find the resources to get the correct answers. Whether a website owner needs to add text or update media on their site. Sites like w3schools.com can be a great resource to help get the desired end result. Staying up to date with current trends in social media gives the website owners an edge when it comes to promoting their site and helps understand what their visitors are into. It is also good to keep your skills up to date by practicing. Knowing the basics will allow you to save time, money, and frustration.

Hire a Professional Web Designer

If you’re just too busy which is great! and at the junction that your small business website needs professional help? You always have the option to hire a professional web design and internet marketing company like Visualwebz. Be it a CPA, dental practice wanting SEO, or an attorney needing a new website and online advertising? We can do it all. Call us now at (425)-336-0069 or email us at info@visualwebz.com