Customized Design

If branding and design are important to you, a professional website gives you TONS of custom design options. While you can add your own pictures and logo to DIY sites, you’ll ultimately have limitations based on the platform you’re using. For example, you want to add a cute info box to your new Wix site? Unless the theme you’re using has that option, you’re out of luck. Professional web developers use WordPress, which is more technical to use, but has endless possibilities with added custom code. Your Web Designer/Developer should be adding custom code to your website.

Better SEO

Most business owners know SEO is important, but they don’t necessarily know how it works. The truth is, there is a lot you can do to optimize SEO in the website design process. Working with a professional designer ensures that your site is more keyword rich and using the proper infrastructure to optimize SEO. Additionally, professional designers often use advanced plugins to further improve SEO, as opposed to DIY sites that are plug and play.

Mobile Optimization

Part of what makes doing your own website tricky is that not all platforms are the same. If you design your site to look great on desktop, that doesn’t mean it will automatically look good on mobile. The mobile experience is more important now than ever as most people use their phones to view websites today. Professional website designers go through each page and section of your site to ensure it displays and functions optimally whether it’s being viewed on a desktop, tablet, or phone. 

Improved Security

While most DIY website platforms offer some security, many of them are not as robust as you may need. This is especially true if you are processing any payments through your website. Both for your sake and your customers’ sake, having robust firewalls can prevent hackers from stealing sensitive information. Not to mention, if you’re on a Website Care Plan, you’re also getting regular website backups to a cloud server, giving you the peace of mind you need.

Advantage: Dynamic Elements

Perhaps the best thing about working with a professional website designer/developer is that they can create dynamic elements, specific to your business. Do you have multiple store locations that you want your customers to see on a dynamic map? Do you sell online courses and want people to be able to access and stream them right from your website? If you can dream it (and afford it), virtually anything is possible. This is perhaps the biggest limitation of a DIY site. To make it work well, you need to keep things simple, and may find yourself getting frustrated at the limitations. 

Integrations

Lastly, a professional designer can integrate your website with the other softwares, whether it be Hubspot, MailChimp, or other platforms. These integrations can be limited and harder to accomplish on many DIY website platforms. 

That’s a Wrap

As you can see, even though a professional website is an investment up front, it’s worth the savings of time & frustration. Not to mention, it will increases your visibility online, bringing more traffic through your virtual front doors than ever before. 

Not only am I a professional website designer/developer, but I have a Masters Degree in Web Design & Online Communication. I’d love to help you with your website and branding needs. 

Contact me today to start the conversation. 

The post The Advantages of a Professional Website appeared first on Holly E Design.

As a professional website developer, my clients always ask me the best way to get more leads and convert those leads into customers. A lot of times, the answer is way simpler than they expect. It doesn’t involve some algebraic formula to attempt to “crack” the Google algorithm (and Google actually punishes websites who try to trick it). In fact, it all comes down to the basics. So, here’s my list of the 3 most powerful conversion tools on your website. If you’re doing the following things well, you’ll be positioned to convert leads like never before. 

The Offer

Yes, I know how simple this sounds, but hang in there with me. You’d be amazed at how many websites I review where it’s actually really challenging to understand what the company does. Donald Miller, author of Building a Story Brand says every website should pass the 5 Second Test. In other words, within five seconds of landing on your home page, a potential customer should be able to understand what you do and repeat it. To borrow from Geico’s famous line, it should be so easy a caveman can do it!

When you approach your website through that frame of mind, it raises the bar on both your design and messaging. You only have a few seconds to capture the attention of the viewer and get them to want to keep reading.

There are some proven techniques you can use to help take your customer on a journey that quickly builds trust and most importantly, helps them understand how to purchase from you.

The Call to Action

Of course you know you need a call to action. But how intentional are you being with your call to action? Is it designed and placed in such a way that it leads people to click it? Is it confusing or hard to find?

Not all Calls to Action are created equally. In fact, psychology shows us that people are naturally drawn to what is clear and concise and repelled by things that are cluttered and confusing. This is why the visual look and design of your website really matters. If people find it visually confusing and cluttered and they don’t know where to go, your chances of converting them drop significantly.

On the other hand, when you have design and messaging that are clear, the customer is taken on a journey that allows them to easily navigate your website and complete your desired call to action, whether it’s a phone call, form submission, or purchase.

The Contact Form

I hate to break it to you, but most people visiting your site are not reading it word for word. There, I said it! While there are always the occasional outliers, it’s safe to say that most people skim websites rather than reading them word for word.

More often than not, after skimming your homepage, website visitors look for that faithful “Contact” button on the menu bar. Once they arrive at your contact page, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to take their next step.

Perhaps, that means filling out a dynamic form that gives you all the information you need. Maybe it’s a phone call or visiting your storefront.

Whatever that desired next step is, your contact form can make or break whether a potential customer decides to reach out.

That’s a Wrap

Overall, these 3 powerful conversion tools on your website certainly aren’t the ONLY tools for converting on your site. But they are 3 of the most important, foundational elements. If you do these things well, it’s going to help you trend in the right direction.

If you’re curious what more you could be doing, get in touch with me so we can set up a call.

– Holly

The post The 3 Most Powerful Conversion Tools on Your Website appeared first on Holly E Design.

File Types Explained & Why You Should Care

If you’re not a Graphic Designer, you’ve probably never given file extensions much thought. I’m sure you’re familiar with them, but have you ever really paid much attention to them? Doubtful. Well, I’m here to explain the file types you’re most likely to run into when working with a graphic designer (and in everyday life) and tell you why you should care. Let’s dive in!

File Types: Rasters vs Vectors

There are two main file types categories: rasters and vectors. Let’s look at the difference between them, so the file types make a little more sense.

Rasters

You’re probably most familiar with raster images – images made up of small blocks of color called “pixels.” Together, all of the pixels form an image— like the last picture you took with your smartphone. Rasters can’t be blown-up without becoming “pixelized,” or fuzzy due to a loss of quality— meaning, the larger the image, the higher the quality, simply because there are more pixels. Because of this, they’re primarily used when smaller images will suffice (like your new Facebook profile pic).

Vectors

Vector graphics are comprised of mathematical equations called “vectors” that connect to make shapes. They’re infinitely scalable with zero loss in quality which makes them the best when it comes to printing. They’re perfect for making things like logos – which you’ll need on everything from your business card to the sign above your storefront. Additionally, they’ll never fully look photo realistic because they’re completely computer generated.

File Types Explained

Now, onto the file types. Below is my brief explanation of the file types you’ll most likely come into contact with when working with a Graphic Designer:

Rasters

.JPEG

One of the most widely used raster file type is called a “.jpeg” or “Joint Photographic Experts Group,” named after the committee that developed the standard in 1986. JPEGs use a “lossy” form of compression (or irreversible compression), meaning when the image data is encoded it sheds some of its data then uses inexact approximations to represent the content. The smaller amount of data means faster loading times — something we all want when browsing the web. But it also makes them a bad choice when printing large, high quality photos. Additionally, they don’t support transparency which makes them not the best choice for logo files.

.PNG

Another common raster file type you’ll probably run into is a “.png”, which stands for “Portable Network Graphics.” They’re higher quality (and therefore slower) than JPEGs because they use a “lossless” form of compression, which allows the original image data to be perfectly reconstructed from the compressed data (aka, no quality loss). They still can become pixelized if blown-up though – they are still rasters after all.  The reason you’ll see them so often is because they support transparency (usually in the form of transparent backgrounds) so they’re easy for non-designers to use when DIYing digital graphics (like adding your logo to a patterned background on your own).

Vectors 

.AI 

The absolute most important file type you can have of your logo is a “.ai” file, which stands for “Adobe Illustrator.” If you have a good graphic designer, Adobe Illustrator is the program they’ll create your logo in, so your original, native logo file will have an AI extension. If you don’t have Adobe Illustrator though, you won’t be able to open this file and it will essentially be useless to you. But NEVER delete it. If you need any modifications of your logo down the road, send this file to your designer and they’ll be able to make the changes and send you files you can use.

.EPS

EPS stands for “Encapsulated PostScript.” It’s a vector file that works pretty much like an AI file but it has a preview bitmap in it so that you can open it in more programs than an AI, such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, CorelDraw and classic Adobe Programs such as Photoshop and Illustrator.

.PDF

Of the vector files types, you’re probably most familiar with a “.pdf” (Portable Document Format). It’s so commonly used because it can be opened on any computer with almost any program. Designers love them because we can save Illustrator editing capabilities to PDFs, which can come in handy in a pinch.

Why You Should Care

Do you really need to know all about file types? No. But knowing can benefit you, so here’s my explanation of why you should care. First, you’ll truly know that you’re getting the most out of what you’re paying for. Have you ever taken your car into the shop and you had no idea what they were telling you was wrong with it? Makes it harder to know if you’re getting ripped off? The same concept applies here. You’ll also be able to speak with printers and designers in an educated way. From ordering branded thank you cards to purchasing the signage– if you understand what file types you need/have you won’t waste time going back and forth with the printer. Instead, you’ll already know what you need. And you won’t have to call your designer every time you want to order something. Oh, and you’ll learn something new.

Need Some Help?

If you need some design help, check out my services or contact me. I’m happy to answer your questions or help you with a project.

The post File Types Explained and Why You Should Care appeared first on Holly E Design.

Hey guys, Holly here. This is a guest post from the Lovely Caitlin Shannon of Ember & Co. She’s a Designer & Brand Advocate based in Castle Rock, CO.

It’s likely no secret to you that personality typing frameworks are all the rage these days. 

Your friends are posting their Myers-Briggs results on Facebook, sharing Enneagram memes on Instagram, and your boss just had you do Strength-Finders as a team. Maybe you’re like me, and you totally nerd out about all of these assessments. Or maybe you’re more like my husband — skeptical, to say the least. Is it all just fun and games? Is there anything truly valuable to be gained from the personality framework craze?

As a brand strategist and website designer for small businesses and non-profits, I’m often working with business owners who are utterly overwhelmed by the prospect of differentiating themselves from the myriad of competitors in their space. It’s easy to feel like your business is a commodity that has to compete on price alone.

More often than not, we look to others that embody our idea of success — our former boss, our parents, or that business guru that’s always marketing to us on Facebook. 

We adopt their approach — and quickly find ourselves exhausted and stuck.

I found myself in that place when I launched my own business in 2017. 

I was doing what I had been told to do, and it was sort of working…but I was burning out, bad. I was attracting clients that stressed me out and zapped my energy. The projects I was getting weren’t paying well or lighting me up, and making my clients happy often meant sacrificing my own boundaries and preferences. 

At the end of my first year, I decided that something had to give. Something felt wildly out of alignment, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. I was doing everything I was told to do. Why didn’t I feel good about where it had led me?

Around this time, my sister asked me if I knew my Enneagram number.

I had always been into personality frameworks, so I jumped on the opportunity to distract myself with another quick online assessment. However, when I got my Enneagram results (Type 9), it felt different. I felt exposed. It hit on some of my deepest motivations and fears and put words to my experience in a way nothing else ever had.

With this newfound clarity, my experience over the last year started making a whole lot of sense.

Many small business owners preach the need to “hustle” and “work while others are sleeping,” — but it turns out, I’m someone who deeply needs rest and balance in order to do my best work. I was told to maintain professional (corporate-esque) communications, but the clients I connected with the best loved my down-to-earth approachability and my emoji-filled emails. 

Instead of marketing myself as I “thought” I needed to portray myself, I started relaxing into being unapologetically me. 

I used the results I got from various personality frameworks — from the Enneagram to Myers Briggs to DISC to Strength-Finders — to compile a list of keywords that described my personality/approach and peppered that into my website copy. It got me out of my own head, and I started to feel a much greater sense of clarity and ownership around who I was and how I best showed up in the world. These changes enabled me to attract clients who absolutely loved to work with me, and maintaining work I loved and personal boundaries that made me feel good became so much easier.

Personality frameworks certainly can’t provide an all-encompassing summary of who you are as a unique, ever-evolving, creative, breathing human being — but they can be a great launching pad for self-discovery and brand building.

Without further ado, here are five ways I leveraged personality frameworks to build the business of my dreams — and you can, too!

No. 1: Build self-awareness around your effortless superpowers and potential blindspots.

When we copy others that we’ve deemed successful, we ignore the fact that their lives likely look very different than ours. They have different backgrounds, different strengths, and different aptitudes. 

I spent my first year trying to emulate “typical” online business owner influencers that were incredibly high-energy, competitively-motivated, and extroverted. I deeply admired their drive, but when I tried to follow in their footsteps — I burned out bad. As it turns out, 9’s are considered the lowest-energy type and are motivated by harmony, not competition. No wonder. When I gave myself stronger work/life boundaries and more time for rest, my work improved drastically. I was actually more productive than before.

I also realized that I had innate “superpowers” that I grossly underestimated, simply because they came so naturally to me. 

My calming, down-to-earth ability to empathize with my clients, support them without ego, bring order to their thoughts, and gently provide a different perspective were traits I took for granted in myself, but that my clients valued deeply. It’s what set me apart from my competitors.

No. 2: Pull valuable keywords that describe what it’s like to work with you

The results I got from personality assessments (paired with feedback from clients) actually provided me with a great list of keywords, phrases, and perspectives that described what it’s like to work with me.

When I started working them into my marketing and client communications, not only did I attract clients who were actively seeking someone like me to work with, but I got consistent feedback from clients that I delivered a wonderfully consistent client experience. Who I described myself as was exactly who I was, which was an immense comfort to them. 

It’s scary to trust your business and hard-earned money with someone on the internet. It’s much less scary when what you see is truly what you get.

No. 3: Attract ideal clients who LOVE you for your natural strengths/perspectives

I asked my favorite clients why they loved working with me, and they said I had a wonderfully calming and down-to-earth approach to my work. I made them feel heard and supported. At first, I thought to myself, “well, of course” — but these all happen to be hallmark traits of my unique personality type, and it doesn’t always come as naturally to others.

In addition, clients who are naturally attracted to who I am are, naturally, clients that I love to work with. Our communication flows easily. We often follow similar work schedules and have similar desires for our businesses. Trust is built quicker. Instead of exhausting myself by “playing a part,” I am able to bring my whole self to my work.

My best clients obviously appreciate the quality of my work, but they stay with me because of who I am. This makes the working relationship so much more life-giving, for both parties.

And if a potential client is put-off by how I naturally show up? Well, that’s a wonderfully clear sign that we’re probably not an ideal fit for each other. The work is so much more frustrating (and draining) when personalities are out of alignment. I’ve learned to embrace the opportunity to recognize this early in the relationship and part ways gracefully if necessary.

No. 4: Find a daily routine that works for you, not against you.

Some business owners love to start their day at 4:00 am. Others love their late-night work sessions, uninterrupted by emails and phone calls. Some love the energy of an in-person networking event, and others would work from a cave in the woods if they could.

It can be tempting to follow the latest productivity hack or optimized work schedule we see promoted by our favorite guru — and sometimes those suggestions will work for us. Sometimes, they won’t.

Over time, I’ve realized that I need more time off, more family time, and more “deep work” time than other business owners. I hate unplanned phone calls that disrupt my focus and I don’t like the idea of following up with prospective clients until they ask me to stop. I don’t have six-figure income goals, or the desire to build an empire.

I love my business and my clients, but truthfully, I’m not as “success-driven” as most business owners I know. And I used to feel a lot of shame about that.

Now, I realize this gives me the opportunity to build a business that truly works for me. And what does that look like? For me, it looks like a small, thoughtful business. It means that I take time off to spend with family and don’t even consider bringing my laptop with me. I shut down work by 5:30pm almost every night. I ignore unscheduled phone calls and commit to calling them back later (or better yet, encourage them to use my call scheduling software in the future). I like slow mornings, so I wake up a little early to give myself an hour or two to read and drink my coffee, or get a workout in.

These days, I maintain exceptional boundaries and get better work done because of it, so the shame has faded. Some of my business friends follow a very different routine, but it works for them — so I cheer them on! That’s the beauty of knowing we all have a unique “personality cocktail” that we’re pulling from.

No. 5: Stop doing what doesn’t work for you

On that note, It should go without saying that a daily routine that doesn’t suit you will only drain and frustrate you — but we spend so much time trying to force “good” habits/routines to work for us that we often fail to assess if they even make sense for us.

One popular concept that many business professionals float around is to “eat the frog” — AKA, to get your biggest/scariest/worst task out of the way first. I really like that idea and tried to follow it for many, many months.

The problem? Knowing I have a big, scary task next on my list often paralyzed me. I’d procrastinate and procrastinate and procrastinate — and before I knew it, I’d put it off all day, it’s now 3:00pm, and I still haven’t conquered a single thing on my to-do list because I couldn’t get past that big, scary task at the top. 

However, I found that if I started with an easier, more enjoyable task first, I’d end up building momentum and by the afternoon all I have left is the scary task — and now I wanted to tackle it because it’s the only thing left before I can call it a day!

As it turns out, Enneagram 9’s are known for their inertia (“an object in motion stays in motion; an object at rest stays at rest”). 

Now that I understand that about myself, I purposely schedule my day to start with “momentum-building” activities first and watch my productivity soar.

Eating frogs first thing in the morning never sounded that great to me, anyway  

These days, there is more flexibility than ever when it comes to building a business that works for you, and thrives in the process.

Knowing your unique “personality cocktail” brings clarity, validation, and awareness to your daily routines, relationships, and responsibilities.

Maybe it will provide permission to slow down and move more mindfully because the world doesn’t need your hustle, it needs your calm. Or perhaps it provides validation that you should be chasing those crazy-big dreams because you were built to be a wild visionary. 

Either way, it’ll be a powerful reminder that committing to showing up authentically will maximize your productivity, your purpose, and your joy. And who couldn’t use more of that in their lives?

The post 5 Ways to Leverage the Enneagram & Myers Briggs to Build the Business of Your Dreams appeared first on Holly E Design.

Is Your Website’s Health at Risk?

If you have a business, you probably have a website. And if you have a website, it’s probably built using WordPress considering it’s the world’s most popular Content Management System (CMS). But having a WordPress website comes with some maintenance that most people forget about, dismiss or don’t even know about. Your website is something that needs regular maintenance, kind of like your car. There are lots of moving parts: softwares, plugins, themes and such, that all need regular updating and maintenance to avoid major security risks or even losing your site forever.

You Can DIY It

Luckily for you, with a little bit of guidance, you can do regular maintenance on your website without a professional. Here are some steps to follow to help keep your website up and running and defended against cyber attacks.

Back It Up

First things first: backup your website. You can do this with your host (some host examples: GoDaddy, SiteGround, HostGator, BlueHost, etc.). Some hosts will offer to do this automatically for a fee so check to see if you’re already paying for that feature and already have backups available. If you don’t, you can do automatic backups with a plugin like Jetpack or ManageWP Worker and pay for the upgraded version to do automatic backups for you. Another option is to manually backup your site with your host. Make sure to backup not only all of your website files but also your database. Your database is the backbone of your site and it cannot survive without it. Additionally, you should be backing up your website frequently. When you do it automatically with your host or a plugin it’s usually daily. If you’re doing it manually, I’d suggest doing it at least once a week and keeping on hand at least a couple months worth of backups at all times. If you need help restoring a website backup, call your host.

Update Your Theme

Once you’ve backed up your site, update your theme. Your WordPress website has a theme, even if it’s custom coded. Go to Appearance/Themes and see if there are any updates available. AN IMPORTANT NOTE: make sure there is a CHILD theme active in your themes panel. If you don’t have a child theme, all of the additional coding you or your developer have added to your site will be written over when the theme is updated (and your website could look very different). Child themes are really important – learn more about them HERE.

Update Your Plugins

Next, let’s talk about updating your plugins. Chances are you have at least 5 plugins on your site, probably more. DON’T immediately start updating your plugins, YOU COULD BREAK YOUR SITE. Let me explain: plugins are usually made by third party companies. Developers use them to quickly and easily modify your site. Each plugin has something called a “change log” where the plugin authors give a history of what they’ve changed. The important part of the change log is the part that tells you what the new version of the plugin is compatible with (the version of WordPress and other plugins). So, before you do any updates on any plugins, read each change log to make sure you’re not updating the plugin prematurely and potentially breaking your site.

Add a Firewall

Firewalls protect your website from malicious hacker attacks and malware infections – which are really costly to clean up – so much so that many people just abandon their old sites if they get infected. There are many firewalls out there – I personally use WebARX on my own site and websites I manage on my Website Care Plans. Some other popular firewalls are Malcare and Sucuri. If you want to want to read more about WordPress firewalls, CLICK HERE.

Add Uptime Monitoring

This is something you usually add with your host or add with a plugin like Jetpack. Uptime monitoring (or sometimes called downtime monitoring) lets you know if your site goes down for any reason. And if it does, you’ll be notified as soon as it happens so you can restore it from one of those handy backups you made in step one. What good is your website if it’s down?

Be Consistent

If you’re not logging onto the backend of your website weekly, you aren’t properly keeping your website healthy. Don’t let your themes/plugins become out of date. Hackers can use security vulnerabilities in your outdated plugins/themes to get in and infect your site (the firewall can only do so much and is not perfect).

I Want to Empower You

I love empowering my clients by teaching them how to take care of their websites on their own. But for those of you that are super busy or aren’t super tech savvy (or both), you might want to leave this job to the pros. That’s why I offer Website Care Plans. If you want to read about what’s included in those click HERE. To check out my other services, click HERE.

I hope you found this informative and helpful. Now go backup/update your websites!

Be well friends.

The post Why You Should Update Your WordPress Website Like Yesterday appeared first on Holly E Design.

It’s a weird time. Coronavirus (COVID-19) is on the rise here in the US and many people are doing their best to help stop its spread by social distancing and just staying home. Of course, that means that people aren’t supporting the small businesses that they usually do – restaurants, bars, boutiques, gyms, retail stores – you name it – it’s probably closed (or partially closed) because of Coronavirus – and we’re not sure when everything will fully re-open (yikes!). I’m sure some of you are wondering, “what can I do to help?” So, I’ve complied a list of ways you can help, from my online communication perspective:

1. “Like” their social media profiles – Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn.
2. “Like” or “Share” one of their social posts (or many!).
3. Comment on a post – actually read the post and comment something that adds to what they said.
4. Write them a review on Google – this will help them be found online (this might be the single best thing you can do!).
5. Refer them to a friend – tag a friend in one of their posts.
6. Purchase something from their online shop.
7. Buy a gift card – you can use it later and the company gets the money now.

By showing small businesses some love online they’ll know that you’re supportive of them and that you care about the future of their businesses. And if you want to help even further, reach out to them and ask what you can do for them during this time of crisis. At least they’ll feel your love and support.

Speaking of small businesses, I’m a small business. And if you’re looking to refresh your brand and expand your online communication, contact me! Here’s a handy link to my services: Click Here. I’d love to help you turn this time into something beautiful.

Stay well friends.

The post How to Help Small Businesses During Coronavirus appeared first on Holly E Design.