Ask yourself these questions: 

• Are you satisfied with your current website? 
  
• Is your website user-friendly and easy to navigate? 
  
• Do you have control over updating and editing your site?
• Are your visitors turning into customers?
  
• Does your website comply to current web standards? 

If you answered No to ANY of these questions, Let us give you a FREE Quote on getting your website updated.

Facebook has turned out to be a phenomenon of sorts. With an incredible size of 300+ million active users, Facebook is one of the epicentres of social networking. You probably know that and already have a Facebook profile to keep in touch with friends and family. What about your business, then? Have you tried your hand at Facebook yet to boost up your business? If you own a small business or are planning to start one soon, a Facebook Page is the perfect springboard to make your business known to the abounding millions. How to go about it? Keep reading!

A Facebook Page is fundamentally different from your Facebook Profile. Your business needs a fan page that tells the audience about the company, its latest ventures, web and contact info, blog posts, Twitter updates, press releases, and much more. The major advantage of such a page is that you already have a huge audience base ready; you just have to post something that attracts them. Additionally, it’s possible for even a novice to maintain their Facebook page, whereas a personal webpage requires a bit of expertise. Crawford Designs can establish your facebook business page, and show you how to easily update it.

Remember that Google Search gives a lot of respect to Facebook profiles and business pages; so the more details that are entered for your business, the better. We won’t forget to include company logos, RSS blog feeds and relevant multimedia.

Promote your page. Create a list of profiles or business connections that might benefit from your company and send them invites to join you. Remember that they are looking for benefits from the association; so tell them what exactly is in there for them. We also spread the word about your Facebook Page (with the link) on Twitter, your blogs, through email notifications, business cards, and so on.

Make it interesting. None likes business all the time; post crazy stuff and lure the Facebook audience into reaching out to you. Post polls such as “How can we improve?” or “What’s your favorite?” Let them know that you want to keep it fresh and exciting.

Keep evolving. Your Facebook fans need their dose of the new and the amazing from you every now and then to retain their interest in you. Dedicate a few hours of your busy schedule in updating your page. Trust us; it’ll pay you rich dividends. Contact us today and we'll show you how to get your business page started!

Think Again Before Deciding to Build Your Own Website...

Many existing businesses have started offering free web-building tools. Sounds great, right? Such tools enable you to build your website and go online within a short time. Although you might think this is a brilliant service, it isn’t.

You will find that the tools offered by such sites are simple enough to understand and use. However, most of them are not as useful as they promise to be. Some of the tools exclude most of the important aspects related to good website design, such as an artistic approach, sense of aesthetics, and use of SEO keywords and metatags.

Most websites that offer such services are full of ambiguity and lack any focal point or strong message. As you must have observed, colors and fonts are crucial to the fate of a website. A proper combination of colors and artistically selected typestyles and design convey subconscious messages to visitors and prompt them to remain on the site till they have seen it all and more significantly, to return. Some color schemes when used in combination with certain fonts convey the messages of reliability and trust.

Most tools that such sites offer are very generic and part of basic templates, which say nothing about your business. Some sites even put default advertising on your website, which is similar to wearing a tattoo you know nothing about. Another important aspect is the layout. The manner in which all elements within a webpage are put together and function evokes a subconscious response from the visitor. We have all landed upon websites that don’t ‘seem right’, and have therefore abandoned the idea of doing business with them.

Web marketing and conveyance of messages are considered carefully by professional web designers. To-the-point yet unambiguous content and well-coordinated elements on a page attract visitor’s attention. Search Engine Optimization is a crucial factor in turning your web business into a success. This professional touch, that differentiates your website from other sites in terms of search rankings, is a field of expertise for professional website designers.

Let the professionals construct your website. Such designers are generally quite affordable and the product they generate is worth every cent spent on it in terms of value addition to business.

The first impression is always the last impression, and you need to make sure that your client returns to your site after the first visit. A really good impression may even prompt social sharing, and your visitors will tell a friend or two about you. If you are looking for a few personal pages, choose a free blog rather than a website. Unlike blogs, websites require rigorous HTML formatting, which is entirely the professional web designer’s field of expertise. So, think again before you decide and choose a professional designer to build your site, just as you would prefer hiring a contractor rather than taking on the task of building your own home.

What exactly is a landing page?
A landing page, sometimes known as a lead capture page, is a site page that appears in response to clicking on an advertisement or link. The landing page will usually display specific sales content that is a logical extension of the advertisement or link.

Landing pages are often linked to from social media sites such as facebook, twitter, and linked in, or an email campaign or search engine marketing campaigns (such as google Adwords) in order to enhance the effectiveness of the advertisements.

Why Use Landing Pages?
The ultimate objective of all the online marketing activities like PPC campaigns, banner ads, SEO and the like is to bring potential customers to your site. Regardless of the source, once visitors reach your landing page, it has to be effective enough to compel them to take the desired action.

Apart from the content, the design and the overall look of your landing page plays a crucial role in its effectiveness. Good design keeps audience interested and leads them step by step in towards the desired action. It is best to get your landing pages designed by a professional. Here are some useful tips to help you develop the ultimate landing page.  Be sure to contact your local website design firm, to help you launch your landing page and website.

Four Tips for the Ultimate Landing Page:

1. Ensure that your landing page loads quickly. Short loading time is essential to provide a good user experience. Many people prefer to move away from a slow loading page rather than wait for it to open. It is best to get rid of any unnecessary graphics in favor of loading speed. Optimize all graphic elements to bring down your page load time.
   
2. Include all the critical page elements above the fold. Studies indicate that more than 50% of website visitors do not scroll down the landing page. This means, if important information is contained in the lower portion of landing page, which lies below the fold, over half of your visitors are likely to miss it. So it is best to get straight to the point within the upper 300 pixels of your landing page. 
   
3. Keep it simple. Just like our motto says... Keep it simple! A page containing banner and side elements may be ok for a blog, but you need to get rid of all the clutter to design an effective landing page. Use of small paragraphs, bullet points and ample white space is recommended. Effective landing pages are designed with a single clear focus and it is best to avoid any kind of distractions. 
   
4. Match the visual elements and color palette of your page to those in your ads. You need to make sure that the transition from your ad copy to the landing page is smooth. Use of similar imagery, color, and branding assures visitors that they have reached the right page. You can approach your local design firm to help you create such a landing page.

Facebook is unarguably the biggest player on the social media scene. Having a Facebook fan page is becoming more of a necessity than an option. It is best to take help of an expert, for instance a PA web site design professional, if you are based in Pennsylvania, to develop your Facebook page.

Many businesses prefer to direct traffic to their Facebook fan pages rather than their websites as these pages are greatly interactive. With popular search engines like Google indexing Facebook business pages, their reach has widened manifolds. Apart from over 600 million active Facebook users, anyone looking for your brand on Google can access your Facebook page. But not all Facebook pages are successful in developing a large engaged fan following. Here are some of the characteristics that make Facebook fan pages successful. 

Target the Proper Demographic
It is essential to assess Facebook demographics and its usefulness for your business. If you target businesses, you are likely to have limited success on Facebook. Facebook pages are likely to be most beneficial for brands that target college kids.

But Facebook demographic is constantly changing as college kids segment matures and more people from older age groups join. Your Facebook strategy needs to be developed keeping these changing demographics in mind. 

Offer Value to Target Audience
Your Facebook fan page should offer some value. This is essential to attract fans and to keep them coming back to the page regularly. You can offer exclusive deals and new product updates. Based on your social strategy, you can develop your page as a connection hub or a resource portal for your target audience. 

Organize Activities that Help in Building a Large Community
Organizing contests in which potential customers can take part is a great way to build a large community. It is the best way to offer value, if you do not want to develop your page as a resource portal. Contests with attractive prizes and coupons are effective tools for attracting potential customers to join. 

Integrate All Online Marketing Platforms
Social media as a standalone activity cannot be successful. It has to be integrated with your overall online marketing mix. For example, if you include a link to your Facebook fan page on your website, your website traffic can be directed to your Facebook page. Similarly, you can ask your web site design professional to include links to your website and blog on your Facebook page.

A top-notch website designer must be a jack-of-all-trades, excelling in programming, graphic design, email marketing, media development, social media integration and more. Here's what you should be looking for in an outstanding webmaster:

1. A diverse portfolio demonstrating knowledge and skills in visual design, web graphics, and programming.
   
2. Knowledge of standards, technologies and tools. The ideal webmaster knows what is possible and required to implement certain features, but also knows that the latest and greatest craze may not be suitable for a specific company or client.
   
3. Efficient. Webmasters who really know their trade build sites more efficiently.
4. Social media savvy. Your website is just the beginning. Establishing a strong brand presence online requires a blog and a following on social networking venues.
   
5. Expertise in developing non-web templates, such as those for e-newsletters and e-mail marketing materials using third-party marketing platforms such as iContact, MailChimp and Constant Contact.
   
6. Responsive. Your webmaster must acknowledge all of your requests in a timely manner and capture, organize, schedule and report on request submissions.
   

What is a QR Code?
A QR Code is a two-dimensional bar code created by Japanese corporation Denso-Wave in 1994. The "QR" is derived from "Quick Response", as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.

How do I read a QR Code?
If you have a smartphone, go to the app store and search for a QR code reader. You’ll find several free apps. We like the AT&T QR Code Reader. Run the app and then hold your phone’s camera over a code to read it. Most codes you’ll come across have a URL encoded, so chances are when you read the QR code it will take you to a web page. These codes link offline information to online content. A QR code can be printed on packaging, magazines, and promotional items to enable smartphone users to go directly to a web page without having to type in the web address. These little pictures truly are worth a thousand words!

How do I create a QR code?
There are several QR code generating sites out there. We like Delivr. www.Delivr.com generates QR codes quickly, and allows for immediate downloads of PNG and EPS files.

Go ahead and try it. Open your App and click on the QR code shown above. Then enter for your chance to win! 

Your own business YouTube Channel is a great way to:

• Advertise your goods and services; and
  
• Drive traffic to your website.
  

The nice thing about having a YouTube Channel is that it gives you the opportunity to show what your business does in a very visible way. If you sell books, then you would have videos about that. If you make toys, you could have a video of a toy being made from start to finish. Making things visual increases the likelihood of sales.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million!


Contact Crawford Designs, to get your YouTube Channel up-and-running Today!