If you are restaurant owner in Orange County how much can you relate to this statement: “Before they open your menu they open your website”

Now this is not the blog where I am going to talk about why your restaurant business needs a good website because if you are reading this than I am sure you know about it.

Here I will mention few actionable tips that you can implement on your restaurant websites right away to turn them into a powerful lead generating machine.

1) Keep your area in mind

You are a restaurant owner in Orange County who is looking to build either a new or redesign a website for your restaurant. Now, what is the first thing you will be looking at? Menu? Well, we have a different answer to this.

Even before you think about the colors and graphics of your website it is imperative to understand the area where your restaurant is located.

See what all areas are covered in your radius. Does it have universities or it is located near co-operate offices or it is easily accessible to nearby residential areas. Once you have the grasp of your area you will able to get the right:

– Tone: A Collage goer will have a different vocabulary than to an office executive. So you need to make sure that you choose the right voice.

– Graphics: If 70% of your audience is residential you would want to give them the theme that resonates well with their tastes.

Therefore it is imperative that once decide to build or redesign your website you are completely aware about these facts.

This will not only help you understand your market better but will also help your designer design the website as per your way.

2) Menu

Yes, now is the time to talk about it. Though we have written about it in our earlier blog but still this is one point which needs to be included every time it is mentioned.

Why would a user click on a Restaurant website?- To know about the food items it offers
– What is unique about it
– Where it is located

Now, if a user has to search hard for these things or he is not able to access it on his smart device the effort on the website is a complete waste irrespective how good it looks.

Menu should be in front of the user in a jiffy when he/she open up the website. Not only it should be easily accessible but should also be readable.

3) Less Is More

Now, I could have covered this point above as well but I gave it a separate sub-heading because it is relevant and important.

Now, you will come across lot of websites that will write something ambitious like: amongst the best restaurants in orange county or best places to eat in Orange County.

Now these are generic statements that people don’t care about. More than making an impression they generally turn people away.

Now, I am not discouraging you from mentioning things you are good at but instead of adding these terms it is good to mention facts. This is what you can do:

– If you have good reviews on Yelp, you can mention that on your website
– Add testimonials and reviews of your customers
– Mention the ingredients and unique techniques you use in cooking the food

In other words cover less but cover things that are authentic and true. People want to will believe in you if you present them with facts rather than statements.

4) Get Your Audience To Act

Your restaurant website should have a good and clear call to action on all the pages.
Imagine this, by using proper tracking metrics you are able to gauge that a person is on your menu page for more than a minute, which means that is interested in it.

Now, when he is about to leave that page a small pop-up comes up asking would you like to make a reservation or add this menu or bookmark this page? Bam!

Once you have a customer on the website don’t become too aggressive or pushy with your call to action but at the same time don’t become so polite also that the other person don’t even notice you.
Don’t have boring Contact forms. Make them user friendly and more interactive.

Remember that the success of your restaurant will ultimately depend upon the quality of food but to get them there you need proper tools.

Your website should be interactive and should cover all the essential elements so that when the customer walks in he is aware about where he is and what he can expect.

In case you need any assistance in creating or redesigning a restaurant website you can always contact your truly orange county website design company.

The food world has gone through its own unique evolution in this brave new world.
Remember when you had to queue up to order a hot big cheese burger with crispy fries?
Nah! Neither do we.
From the actual mechanics of eating to the way restaurant criticism functions, the internet and its tools have left an unfading mark on our relationship with food. And to keep this relationship as smooth as possible, tons of restaurant delivery sites seem to be popping up all over the internet.
Orange County has a very lively dining scene. There are various restaurants offering impressive culinary variety – from renowned hotel restaurants to sophomore efforts from some of the area’s most respected names.
All wrapped up in warm days and cool nights, with the sounds of the ocean often not far away.
The sister county to the south – Orange County has restaurants with their websites allowing users to search and filter through their menu, place an order, and have it delivered straight to their door.
In this article I shall be discussing my findings on 3 restaurant Orange County websites: Pour Vida Latin Flavor, Puesto and SOCIAL Costa Mesa.

Prominent Call-To-Action

All such sites need a prominent call to action in order to provide a smooth customer service. Puesto does just that. As soon as you land on their website you are immediately greeted with the option to make a reservation along with the other necessary icons appropriately placed.
Pour Vida Latin Flavor, on the other hand, does not offer the choice of making reservations as soon as you open their website. Instead, it gives us a brief description of their restaurant’s chef.

EASY ACCESS TO THE MENU

All the websites excel in providing their respective menu – an impetus in user experience.
Puesto provides a variety of Mexican food and the menu is easy to interpret.
Pour Vida Latin Flavor has a creatively designed menu with a very attractive layout and equally appealing colour scheme.
SOCIAL has a relatively similarly designed menu all over the world. The theme around which the menu has been designed is very scholarly. The menu can be comprehended easily and truly matches the décor of the restaurant.

EXCELLENT PRODUCT PHOTOS

Ok. So I actually have a confession to make here.
I maybe a little biased towards these sites because I ended up reviewing them around midnight but the food looks tempting. All 3 of them have their best items on display and honestly, I am not complaining!

EASY TO CONTACT

SOCIAL, Puesto and Pour Vida Latin Flavor – offer an easy way to get in touch with them. Visitors can find their contact details on the top of the webpage under ‘contact details’.

MOBILE FRIENDLY

It is a known fact that more people than ever are using mobile devices these days. With this in mind, websites now have been built taking non-desktop devices into consideration.
Puesto’s mobile site handles this issue beautifully. Social Costa Mesa offers website accessibility assistance to its users, and Pour Vida Latin Flavor offers a separate mobile site. Each allows the same user-friendly filtering and checkout process as the desktop site.

EMOTIONAL APPEAL

At last, I would like to discuss how these websites appeal to our emotions or instincts. Exciting colour schemes and fun, casual language tend to be more appealing and make users feel more comfortable. Thus, they are more willing to eat from your place than a one which has complicated, high end names and a rather dull colour scheme.
“We eat through our eyes” – is a true phenomenon. Until and unless it appeals to our eyes, it will never make its way into our stomach.
Pour Vida Latin Flavor has a delicate colour scheme. In comparison to Social and Puesto, their website is dull and boring. They don’t have a solid background and impressive font.
Social and Puesto have a bright colour scheme and tend to be more appealing to the youth. More attractive layout and images of food items incite hunger and actually make you want to run to these places and order all this!

Plumbers run very different businesses from traditional companies. A restaurant may use their website to advertise their menu and their specialties. Contrary to that, you need to generate leads from your plumbing website.
Unlike the restaurants, your success is calls and contact forms, and not foot traffic to your restaurant.
In this age of digitalisation, consumers want the information they seek NOW, meaning your plumbing company’s website should answer questions like:
So Lets Analyse few Websites in Orange County and see how are they different:
Who are you?
What do you do / offer?
How do I contact you?
Without the user needing to scroll down the page at all
Today I am going to discuss my findings on 3 plumbing websites: Orange County plumbing heating and air conditioning (OCPHAC), Pristine plumbing and Scott Harrison plumbing.

Call to Action

I know that I have mentioned this in the past, but this is the most important aspect that needs to be catered to – a prominent call-to-action.
OCPHAC does just that. As soon as you land on homepage, BAM! You are greeted with the message – “Get help now”.
Pristine plumbing and Scott Harrison plumbing operate on the same grounds too. Both of them have an immediate call of action which is a huge plus point in generating leads.

Services Offered

We then move forward to the services offered by these websites. Like a menu is an illustration of a restaurant’s abilities, the services symbolize the company’s talent.
Pristine plumbing advertise on the lines of 24×7 provisions of plumbing services.

OCPHAC and Scott Harrison plumbing offer a wide range of plumbing services too, both residential and commercial.

Easy To Contact

Pristine plumbing, Scott Harrison plumbing and OCPHAC – all offer a toll free number to get in touch with them to avail their services.

Apart from this, they also offer a small form for you to fill in your address and contact number to book an appointment with them too. These facilities make the websites user-friendly and very easy to operate.

Chat Support

Sometimes, even the most user-friendly sites may fall short to design for the lowest common denominator. Therefore, to take care of the unforeseen problems there is always a facility for chat support.
Pristine plumbing is the only website that offers this facility to its users. OCPHAC and Scott Harrison plumbing do offer you a form to fill in your enquiry and send it to them for a response but they don’t have a chat support system setup.

Coupons

Who can overlook this? There is nothing better than getting a discount or getting some service for free. Each site has a section and filter just for special deals. I personally am a sucker for coupons, whether its food deals or deals on other services.

Scott Harrison plumbing has a separate section under the heading – view specials/ coupons. OCPHAC offers financing options for your plumbing needs and even offer coupons which can be redeemed. Pristine plumbing doesn’t offer any such coupons on their website.

Mobile Friendly

More and more people have gained access to mobile phones these days. Gone are the days when mobile phones were out of the reach of a common man. As a result, loads of websites have started getting mobile friendly and can be accessed through non- desktop devices.
Scott Harrison plumbing, OCPHAC and Pristine plumbing have also taken non-desktop devices into consideration and services from these websites can be accessed through desktop and non-desktop devices easily.

Customer Reviews

Reviews on a service website can play a very pivotal role in affecting sales and generating leads. Most of the people, these days, do a bit of research from their end before taking up any service.

OCPHAC, Pristine plumbing and Scott Harrison plumbing – all of them have their testimonials and reviews uploaded on their respective websites for the viewers to read and analyse their services. Pristine plumbing even provides for a shortcut to access their customer reviews in one click.

Color Scheme

Color scheme and font are important aspects of any website. More attractive a website, more traffic it tends to attract. Colors affect the psychology of an individual and different colors incite different emotions.
Orange County Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning, Scott Harrison plumbing and pristine plumbing – all have relatively dull websites with more whites, blues and black. There are traces of orange and red which add enthusiasm and energy on a website.
Colors play with the human mind and are a very essential tool in attracting customers to your website.

“Creativity is a conversation.”
What are trends? Answer to it is simple; they are just like the main threads in this engaging and chaotic conversation. Our creative choices exist alongside these trends.
Emerging trends keep changing in terms of functionality, sustainability, web design and development.
They guide us to make the best possible changes and discard anything unsuitable. When doing business online you need to make sure that you provide your audience with the best possible user experience on your website.
Therefore, it is vital for you to stay at par with the changing trends else your business may fall behind. You will notice all good web designing companies in Orange County keep themselves updated as per the current demand of the market.
2017 was all about minimalism – rise of conversational interfaces, AI and creative layouts. 2018 brings back bold typefaces, vibrant colours, and new possibilities for users to interact with design.
Now in the second half of 2018, we continue to see these grow further and become more popular, hinting what we can expect in 2019.
Let me list down some web development trends that are bound to leave a strong impact globally and leave you behind as an awed spectator to the age of transformation.
This will be the future of Web Designing:

1. Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)

PWAs are web-based applications that have the feel and UX like mobile apps. They utilize the latest web technologies to bring users app-like experience in a browser tab.

PWAs are the happy medium between casual websites and mobile apps. They carve out the best from the two and bring forward dual benefits. Some of its basic features are as follows:
1. PWAs have URLs for every page for trouble-free linking. You can access them in every modern browser without installation.
2. PWAs bring users an app-like experience, ensuring that users spend more time on your website.
3. PWAs load when the network connection is bad or absent.
4. HTTPS protocol serves PWAs, ensuring secure data transfer.
5. Also, PWAs are fast, reliable and engaging thanks to the UI and UX borrowed from mobile apps.
PWAs can help bring sizeable benefits to businesses by increasing engagement with the audience and leading to higher conversion rates and improved reliability.
With its PWA, companies like Amazon and AliExpress have doubled their conversion rates across all the browsers.
All said, PWAs are totally worth it. As of now, they have not entered the mainstream, but this is one trend that is expected to raise after all the hype that it has created in the early part of 2018. It is one trend that is sure to provide you a boost that you might have only dreamt of!

2. Motion UI

A popular definition of Motion UI states it as a standalone library that powers the transition effects used in several Foundation components, including Toggler, Reveal, and Orbit.
ZURB has been in the business of creating awesome-looking web design tools for quite a while now, one of their most popular one being-Motion UI.
Motion UI is ZURB’s own Sass library that offers nothing but customizable transitions and animations for your site.
The library lets you transition the elements of your website, like overlays, modals, off-canvas menus, etc, in and out. Moreover, you can use transition effects to build single CSS animations and even series of them.
Its simplicity, flexibility and universal character make it one of the most popular web development trends of this year.
With basic knowledge of CSS and JavaScript, the coding of Motion UI is not a hard nut to crack.
With multiple parameters at your disposal, you can build your own animation in whichever way you want and apply it to almost every element of your website.
Users today are moving away from showy animations and GIFs towards a simpler website with modern design elements. Therefore, implementing Motion UI animations on your website will provide better user experience.

3. Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one such trend which has made its way from the virtual world of sci-fi to reality.
It is one of the latest and top trending technologies in web development in 2018.

1. Artificial Intelligence has revolutionized how computing is experienced by people in the present age.
It helps to create a better user experience leading to quicker business conversions by decoding buyer intent.
It can help in increasing the sales per buyer in the e-commerce industry. The big cheeses like Amazon and AliExpress benefit a lot from AI as they can track search results of the customers and provide them with alternative or better products relative to their search history.
This is how you get the option “Suggestions for You” in your account. Thus, AI leads to increase in sales which in turn lead to increase in revenue.
2. Chatbots are another great way in which artificial intelligence has made way into our lives in 2018.
It is a computer program based on the technology of machine learning and natural language processing that helps people in completing tasks like shopping, finding some information or ordering a service.
Bots offer online customer support to your users in a manner that emulates a real human interaction.
The big sharks like Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Skype etc have incorporated bots and consider it to be the future of the web development industry.
In 2019 bots, powered by AI, will become an essential tool for most websites ranging from sites that sell books, gym memberships etc. Hence, bots have managed to secure their place in web development industry for the years to come.

4. SSL and HTTPS

SSL (Secure Socket Layer) is a technology that provides for establishing an encrypted connection between browser and web server.
According to a recent research more than 43% of users abandon a website if they see a security alert message. Therefore, it has become vital to secure your website by installing Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and Hypertext Transfer-Protocol Secure (HTTPS).
When your website uses the SSL technology, you’ll see an ‘S’ added to http:// in the address bar, as well as a padlock.
Some SSL certificates also display your company’s name in green for better recognition.
1. They are cryptographic protocols which are secured through Transfer Layer Secure (T.L.S) using three layers of protection.
2. It protects sensitive information of users and lets them complete transactions without any risk of data loss.
3. The data exchange is authenticated to prove that users are communicating with the intended website and no hacker is intercepting the transmission.
Also, Google gives ranking benefits for HTTPS websites thereby giving a boost to your SEO and increasing the reputation of your business over the internet.
So, this is one trend that is going dominate 2019, therefore, all businesses should go for this certificate as it ensures data integrity, encryption and authentication.

5. WordPress 4.9

WordPress is one of the most popular website engines for content management in the world – home to numerous personal blogs as well as personal and e-commerce websites.

WordPress has always been a front-runner in the business of content management and post the release of its latest version it has become an even more popular web development technology.
WordPress 4.9 delivers better menu customization UX, theme previewing within Customizer and improved theme switching. It aims to improve your workflow inside the customizer.
It is a thing to watch out for in 2019 because it plans to integrate a variety of plug-ins to facilitate VR and AR technologies into web design which will create an ease of use experience for readability of content.
This developer friendly platform will now also offer a huge variety of drag-and-drop themes, which will make it very easy for developers to design websites without writing a single line of code.

Conclusion

These trending web development technologies that I have listed are just a few among many web development trends that are sure to leave a mark in 2019.
Other trends include Push Notifications, PHP, User Behaviour Tracking, Google AMP, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality.
For someone working in this dynamic career of a professional web developer, understanding and using these technologies will always put them ahead of their competition.
You must choose which technology has the potential to guide your business towards great heights. Your choice determines your future. Choose wisely!

Your website is the hub of all your online marketing activities. It is a doorway through which your customers can gain access your business.
First impressions are powerful. You just have a time span of 0.2 seconds to leave an impact on the user. So, if your website will come across as old or boring then there is a very unlikely chance that users will visit your website again.
You need to know if your website is generating the right number of visitors and sales as expected.
But how do you know that it is time for a redesign?
In this blog I will share 11 signs that are a clear indication that your website desperately needs a makeover.

1. Your website is not generating any revenue

The goal of any business is to generate sales. But that becomes difficult when your website receives traffic but there are no conversions.
This significant drop-off in traffic and leads could be a sign that your visitors are clearly not finding what they’re looking for.
Therefore, if your website is not finding you any business then it’s time for a redesign, something all leading Orange website design agencies stresses upon.

2. You have a high bounce rate

Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who navigate away from the site after viewing only one page.
In other words, people are exiting your website as soon as they enter it. This is a sign of a high bounce rate. This is a sure sign you need to redesign.
A good website should be inviting for the visitor and should keep the visitor engaged and interested. An effective website design can decrease your bounce rate and increase your conversions.

3. Your website is outdated

When was your website created? Does it have the feel and impression of a modern-day website?
If your answer is NO, then clearly, it’s time for a redesign.
It’s always good to stay on top of design trends. An outdated website is a guaranteed way to get visitors running away from your site as fast as they can.
Visitors want a website that is fresh and engaging. They need to be provided with an experience. An outdated website would not be able to do that. A website redesign is the way to go.

4. Your website isn’t responsive

A responsive website is a website that displays well on all devices and screen sizes. You need to remember that users will be accessing your website not only from their laptops but smartphones and tablets.
In a world where everyone is handling everything via a mobile phone, if your website isn’t accessible through that then you lose a large percentage of customers. To stay relevant in your industry, your website must be responsive.
It maximizes your conversions and provides visitors with a good experience. Therefore, if your website isn’t responsive, it’s a clear sign you need a redesign.

5. Your website has no conversion funnel

A conversion funnel refers to the stages a visitor navigates through your website to convert.
Effective website designs define conversion funnels.
One should know how starting from the homepage of your website the visitor will travel through different aspects or options available throughout your website before they can find what they are looking for.
How easy is it for visitors to navigate your website? If the navigation isn’t hassle free, then it’s time for a redesign.

6. Your website is too slow

Remember you have hardly 2 seconds to leave an impression on the user. And if your website spends that much time or more in the loading process then you are in for some trouble.
Your visitors are going to exit before your website even loads. Outdated websites, often, run into the problem of being slow loaders which can further have an impact on your bounce rate as well.
A website redesign can help boost your load times, thus, making your site more engaging for visitors. If you can finish your chores when your website loads, you should know that it’s time for a redesign.

7. Your website has no call-to-actions

A call-to-action button is simply a piece of content intended to get the viewer to take an action. It’s an area on your webpage that stimulates action.
Examples could include ‘sign up now’ or ‘get started today’ or ‘call now’ or ‘request a free consultation’.
If your website has no call-to-action, it’s time for a redesign. It will take your website visitors from point A to point B. This basically helps your visitors navigate.

8. Your website doesn’t reflect your brand

Your brand is who you are. Your website should be aligned with your core values. It should be reflective of the experience a visitor would have if they interacted with you in person.
No matter how impressive your website looks, it will fall short if it doesn’t reflect your brand personality. A redesign provides you with this opportunity. It helps you communicate the value of your business.
Also, if anything else in your company is updated then it’s time to update your website too. Maintaining this brand consistency reflects your brands overall identity.

9. Your website is hard to understand

The entire purpose of having a website is to have a means to connect with your target audience. But if your website only makes sense to you and no one else then you have got a problem in your hands.
If the information on your website is outdated or the font types are inconsistent, and the font sizes are totally random or the images on the website are not corresponding with the message you want to portray then it’s high time that you redesign.
Only a professional redesigning of the website can get this thing right and prove fruitful in the future.

10. You can’t be found online

Over 90% of people searching for something online don’t even click to the second page of the search engine to find more options.
This means for visitors to find you online fast, it must be on the first page.
So how easy it is for the visitors to find you online?
SEO is extremely powerful when it comes to building your brand identity. You, obviously, won’t be able to build your SEO up enough to be on that first page in just a day. What really matters then?
It’s the keywords and the content. For this you need to redesign your website to help your website become more visible and aid you in finding more qualified leads.

11. Your competitor’s websites are amazing in comparison

There are a lot of people out there doing the same thing as you are. You are saying the same thing in the same way as tons of other businesses just like you.
How can you make yourself stand out? How can visitors find something unique in your website that separates you from the rest?
The answer is – effective web design.
If your competitors have websites that look and work better than yours, you’re going to be at a significant disadvantage.
Therefore, it is time for a redesign when you start feeling that your competitors have moved a step ahead in making their website more appealing and distinctive.

Your turn

You need to know that a new look and fresh content and design can make a difference in your organisation’s ability to attract new business.
So, if you’re experiencing a few of these problems, it’s time for a website redesign. Of course, it’s not going to be possible for you to personally do it.
The ideal solution is to rope in a professional web development agency like, Orange County Web Design, with experts in all arenas – designing, coding, and writing – to have a complete and thorough makeover.
Apparently, they offer website design with 360-degree branding.
How cool is that!

Is your business lacking luster? Need to energize it with new leads? An effective answer is to link your e-mail publishing platform to your landing page.
Landing pages are a medium to inform your visitors of the benefits and features associated with your product or service and most importantly make them take some sort of action like clicking on a button, providing you with an email, making a purchase, or simply clicking through to another page.
If you want to increase your targeted leads, then your landing page web design must speak for your business.
Landing pages contribute to conversion rate optimization and literally run your business when you’re not there. All professional Orange County Web Design Companies do it.
In this post I am going to give you a step-by-step process for creating an ideal landing page.
A landing page that speaks directly to the customers and guides them to a place leads to conversions.
So, let’s get started.
Starting With A Mock Up!
You always need to have a rough draft before your final submission. Similarly, you need to start with a prototype when you are building a landing page.
You cannot simply jump into the HTML and CSS process. You should use some graphic application, like Adobe Experience Design or SVG, to create a mock-up of the page you intend on building. This can have benefits like:
• It is quick and easy.
• It’s easier to make changes without adjusting codes.
• It gives a structure to your vision of what exactly your landing page will look like in the browser.
Hence, I always advocate starting with a mock-up when in the process of building a landing page.

Creating A Background For Your Landing Page

Choosing a background for a landing page involves a lot of subjectivity. There are no fixed rules that one needs to follow.
However, there are some principles that might help you in establishing a successful background for your page.
• Your background should never contain large graphic files like high quality JPG’s as it takes too long to load.
• Your background should have high contrast in relation to the foreground content.
• Your background should never contain distracting elements.

Headline and Sub-Headline For Landing Page

A headline is a prominent blimp of text that captures a users’ attention. It is the first thing that you want your users to see.
It is something that would leave an impression on the users’ mind and make him want to come back to your website again and again.
Next in the visual hierarchy is the sub-headline. It mainly provides additional details about your service or product.
You want to pay attention to both these things when building a landing page. They can easily make or break your business.

Call To Action

The elixir of a great landing page is the call to action button. The button should be prominent and at the same time compelling.
It should make your visitors want to perform some action. It should be representative of exactly what your target user will receive and the experience they can expect.
You want to draw your visitors’ attention to it. This call to action button needs to stand out from the rest of your content.
It should, most preferably, use a colour that’s high contrast from the background and possibly unique to the rest of your colour theme.
The ‘content’ of the CTA button is also very important. “click me” is so cliché’. You may want to be more specific and try some options like:
• Let’s Talk
• Get my quote
• Get my proposal
• Schedule my consultation etc.

Supporting Right Media For Landing Page

Your landing page should contain illustration to make it stand out or be more attractive.
Any type of media like, a photograph or some video, can do the job.
“a picture is worth a thousand words.”
It is a visual world and people respond to visuals. Visuals make information clearer to the reader more than text alone.
Use visuals that are relevant and compelling to your target audience.
Visuals have taken over the social media network. Internet is full of social media tools as a proof of this.
Facebook and Twitter have established authority, more than ever before, due to their high volume of images and videos.
Using visuals as a design element in your landing pages can truly transform your digital business.

Give Away Useful Material

Give away valuable, practical and content-rich information for free. Yes, I am serious.
Giving free gifts to your audience is an effective marketing strategy and a great way of upping your conversion rate.
It’s a way of building trust and credibility with customers. Free gifts always compel people to act.
I am sure most of you are familiar with the term ‘lead magnet’.
It is helpful content that you give away for free, in exchange for the user’s email address, thereby moving that user into your conversion funnel.
It can be a simple report, eBook, blog post, email course, software, plugin or even your time.
If you give them a free consultation, you’re building relationships that will come into play when talking about conversion rate optimization.
Remember, that in the long run, giving away free valuable information is much more profitable because it encourages those CTA button clicks, improves your conversion rates, and boosts your marketing campaign.

Conclusion

The digital marketing space is changing. New tools are being developed. You need to invest adequate time to learn how these new tools work and keep abreast of landing page trends – they would guide you when making decisions.
You need to invest a great amount of time, effort, skill and resources if you want your landing page to consistently yield good results.
Maybe, at some point you may need more landing pages, but it is advisable to focus your attention on one task and with the right design it can also yield impressive results.
Some other elements that you could include in your landing page could be:
• Target the right keywords.
• Showing logos of those who have covered the business.
• Testimonials.
• How can visitors trust you?
• Why is it advised to not chronically change things in your landing page?
Follow these steps and watch your conversion rate rise.
“Landing pages are within your easy reach. You’ll be amazed how your business got by without them!”

User experience is paramount to any user today and must be considered when building and designing a new website.
People are now filled with so many options as to how to utilize their time – and the digital landscape can provide so many different avenues for users to explore. Therefore, web and app design, as well as user experience, needs to make the customer feel powerful and most good Orange County Web Design Companies do that .
It has the customers’ best interest in mind, and is not deceptive in nature. These experiences are either created after studying various design practices, learning more about the user or, it can be used to manipulate the user and trick them into making decisions that aren’t necessarily good for them but eventually benefit the company.
The former approach can make a product stand out and provide good results for the businesses. However, it is the latter that is ultimately going to lead to huge business growth. It is called creating ‘Dark Patterns’.

“A dark pattern is an element of a manipulative interface designed to trick the user into taking actions that they might not have done freely.”

UI design gets dark sometimes. Particularly when companies exploit their user interface to trick users into doing something they wouldn’t consciously do, usually for profit, Dark patterns are used in some web pages, popups and programs that include malware, freeware, shareware, freemium offerings and even fully paid software.

Companies are often looking for short-term results, and increases in numbers rather than qualitative stats like, maybe, user happiness. And dark patterns work.
They successfully trick people, so companies keep using them.
“When you use the web, you don’t read every word on every page — you skim read and make assumptions. If a company wants to trick you into doing something, they can take advantage of it by making a page look like it is saying one thing when in fact it is saying another. You can defend yourself against dark patterns on this site.”
HARRY BRIGNULL
Some of the common dark patterns to watch out for are Bait and Switch, disguised ads , forced continuity, friend spam, hidden costs, misdirection, roach motel, sneak into basket, making it difficult to cancel a subscription, and tricking users to share information they did not intend to etc. the 12 main types of dark patterns are attached in an image below.

Tech companies use so-called dark patterns to do everything – from making it difficult for you to close your account to tricking you into clicking online ads.
A typical example of this is the inclusion of additional programs along with a program a user is installing. During the installation, these programs may be presented to the user as options in a more- or-less visible check box.
Typically the additional programs are pre-selected for download.
To make it even more likely that the user won’t successfully prevent the download of these programs, the developers make the forms complicated for the users to fill completely and have them set to reselect “optional” programs in the event of an error.
Or the user selects between typical and advanced installations and the “typical” option includes unspecified third-party programs.
Should the user continue through installation by simply clicking “next” in the series of windows, they end up with unwanted programs.

” When Dark Patterns are employed, agency is taken away from users by nudging them toward making certain choices. In our Opinion, this means that the idea of giving consumers better control of their personal data is circumvented”

Dark patterns are used almost as often by established companies as shady enterprises.
In a report called ‘Deceived By Design’, the Norwegian Consumer Council has accused Facebook and Google of manipulating its users with dark patterns.
For example, Facebook is criticized for wording the strongly nudged users in a certain direction.
If they selected ‘Manage Data Settings’ rather than simply leaving facial recognition on, users looking to opt-out of a facial recognition feature are met with a prompt warning telling them that they “won’t be able to use this technology if a stranger uses your photo to impersonate you.”
In this instance, Facebook has carefully formulated its wording to provide a negative result to your data privacy choice instead of giving their users even a neutral proposition.
Also, Facebook is pushing users into sharing their bio to the News Feed. It’s doing this by implying that by clicking ‘Cancel’, you are cancelling changes made to your bio.
In reality, ‘Cancel’ means ‘No’. Again, it’s the type of practice that can trick even the most privacy-conscious.
Facebook and Google are also accused of providing nothing more than the “illusion of control” through various methods such as hiding away privacy-friendly choices, take-it-or-leave-it choices, and choice architectures where choosing the privacy friendly option requires more effort for the users.
“It is a practice of misleading consumers into making certain choices, which may put their privacy at risk.”
Similarly, Amazon’s website makes closing an account almost impossible and the company continues to send promotional emails after users have unsubscribed.
While Amazon targets the pockets of vulnerable consumers, Facebook is more interested in the user sharing as much information about them as possible—even if they are not intending to do so.
Google responded to the above mentioned accusation and released the following statement:
“We build privacy and security into our products from the very earliest stages.
Over the last 18 months, in preparation for the implementation of the EU’s new data protection regulation, we have taken steps to update our products, policies and processes to provide all our users with meaningful data transparency and straightforward controls across all our services.
We’re constantly evolving these controls based on user experience tests – in the last month alone, we’ve made further improvements to our Ad Settings and Google Account information and controls.”
Conclusion
For the most vulnerable, such as elderly, those less proficient with the language used, or users with a disability, these types of practices can make things near impossible to use or understand.
They may not be able to find that hidden unsubscribe link. They may not notice that something has been added to their basket during checkout. And they may get disillusioned with privacy settings, disguised ads and friend spam which may provide a great deal of confusion and distress.
Even as a designer who is aware of these tricks, it’s still incredibly easy to fall victim to them. These practices create distrust between the company and the consumer.
The internet is a place where you have to always remain on your toes. The bigger the companies, the bigger the scams, Designers and teams need to be aware of their responsibility to ensure that the vulnerable, who are hit the hardest, are safeguarded against all these issues.
Honestly, if a business’s UI creates a shady, suspicious experience that leaves the user feeling defrauded or patronized, that business will lose out in the long term.
It’s always better to win over customers through delightful UX design and not through dark patterns.

There are tons and tons of websites who spend billions on digital marketing, web infrastructure and more in order to carve a niche in the market. Internet marketing services is a virtual “gold rush” industry right now.
It is a booming industry with opportunities galore. Every consumer looks online for local merchants.
Business owners understand this and are pulling advertising dollars from traditional media and investing billions into online search.
But here is the catch!
If the merchant’s website is not available on page one of local search… then… their website is virtually invisible.
The local merchant, on the other hand, is hands full on his business and running around doing million things on his plate.
Dealing with vendors, servicing customers, clients and patients, these folks do not have the time or even the inclination to cater to these matters and figure out how to maintain and keep their websites at the top of the search results.
This is your cue! This is when you make your entry.
However you should know what you’re doing.
Wild-eyed enthusiasm and a flare for internet marketing is not enough to succeed. You need to keep some things in mind before you take a shot at the opportunity you have been offered.

1.Customize your business

Businesses love customization and when it is specially customized for them, it’s a jackpot! Local merchants want internet marketing services customized for their business.
They would anyway prefer being a big fish in a small pond rather than being a small fish in a big ocean.
By selling tailor-made websites you not only make your work easier but also attract the best clients.

2.Market yourself Well

Potential clients will not know who you are and what you offer unless you know how to actively market your services.
You may possess all the required technical skills and hope that clients will line up outside the door of your office, but this won’t be possible unless you apply the principle of Direct Response Marketing.
You’re not just telling people your business name and phone number, but you offer specific lead generation content that positions you as the internet marketing expert they must call.
Even more important, when done right, the content pre-disposes prospects to your service and agency.
If you don’t proactively deploy a system like this to generate leads, then you will struggle to build an agency that can put your face on the street.

3.Go after Conversions and not the clicks

High search engine placement without a conversion strategy is useless. There are many agencies who make false promises and later fail to deliver. Either they couldn’t get the client’s web rankings to budge or they got the client ranked high in the search engines, but they didn’t know how to make the client’s phones ring.
Successful companies at Orange county web design has a different approach to this problem altogether. They not only deliver better rankings but also offer multiple ways to get our clients’ phones ringing.
Thus, the clients get more business and a measurable ROI on our services.

4.Be Good with your research work

It is very important to research when you are making broad assumptions about entire markets. You need to put Google to some use.
You need to know which prospects within any market offer you the greatest opportunity. What a business would look like tomorrow, if suddenly, they had the top performing 0.1% of the, let’s assume, 200K independent businesses in their area.
You need to research and research to succeed.

5.Generate Interest

Interview anyone you can get your hands on in the market you want to serve or at the level you want to help. Ask about their problems.
Have them walk you through their workflows. Not just for doing their work but ask about the steps they take to procure contracts.
Conducting customer development interviews will teach you how to win future work of that size.

6.Get a mentor

You need to network with other agency owners above your level. Grab lunch or coffee with others doing the same thing you are, but who are further along than you.
There are over a million agencies worldwide. You need to find companies that have the type of work you want in the future today.
Ask the owners out for a coffee or a casual lunch with little other agenda than
“I want to learn from you.”

6.Set Realistic Goals

Think about your goals. If you’re selling low four figures now, and you want that first seven figure project, how would you do that?
If the answer to that question is you’d need to start working with different types of clients.
Then start down that path of exploring how to get around other people.
Change your habits. Instead of attending the local WordPress meetup, attend a conference that is not in our industry. You’ll quickly be blown away at the millions of dollars spent.

7.Be Persistent

We all have heard the idiom that ‘slow and steady wins the race.’ Well this applies here too. You need to progress with every deal you make till you reach that seven-figure finish line of yours.
Progress might seem slow in a year, but the power of compounding interest affects this type of effort as well
Now go for it!
The seven-figure dream that might have felt impossible before is well within your grasp in this lifetime. I don’t recommend going from selling a four-thousand-dollar website to a million-dollar project next week.
There is much risk with more significant projects. There have been several agencies who have gone through a needless stressful downturn because they over-committed their business to a big project.
You need to keep it slow and steady. Success doesn’t come overnight. You must put in loads of effort day and night to achieve something in life. It can take years. But what is important is to have a vision of where you see yourself and your business.
You need to set your mind to this goal. Determining that you want to get there one day is the most critical part of the whole opportunity.
Bigger isn’t always better. There are several agencies who make more profit than the big whales in the ocean. Some have incredible flexibility in where and how they choose to work.
Finally, the most important thing is to know why you want to sell a seven-figure project. Is it to satisfy your ego so that you can shout at the top of your voice to let other people know about how successful you are?
Frankly, this reason is never ever going to get you there.
However, if you look at the organizations making these investments, and see problems, you could help them solve, and you see that as rewarding and meaningful work, then perhaps this is a journey you should consider.
Regardless of all these things, you should focus on pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. Whether it is with the size of work you are pursuing, or the focus you have on a specific market.
Remember…
Growing yourself is just as important as increasing your revenues.
Enjoy!