Great web design can double sales, reduce bounce rates, and improve customer perception of a brand. Designing a website from scratch is impossible unless you have a web design background. Finding a trustworthy web development company to build out your site should be priority number one for many businesses around the globe.

Many companies, both Portland-based and elsewhere, are turning to the great state of Oregon to find and hire a Portland web development company. The creative talent of the city, along with its mid-market rates, attract a wide variety of companies looking to hire a Portland web design team.

Just because you know you want to Portland company does not mean it’s going to be a clear choice though. Vetting web design services is going to take time and lots of research. In the end, all of this effort will pay off in both the product and total investment. To make things a bit more manageable on your search, we’ve constructed a checklist of things to review as you hire a web development company.

One of the biggest mistakes companies make when hiring a web developer is focusing on prices alone without a proper understanding of the value received per dollar spent. Don’t make that same mistake. Follow our guide and you’ll protect yourself from sloppy, amateur web design.

Portland, OR boasts a huge creative heart with design and development rates often less than those seen NY and LA – without compromising on quality!

Designing is a Two-Way Street

No matter how little you think you know about web development, having no say in your company’s website is a recipe for disaster. Your website is such a key component in your brand’s identity. You need a cohesive design that compliments your business’ core offerings.

A professional web development company will listen to what you have to say…not just dictate the project! They should be asking you lots of questions, as well as answering yours. Don’t let their fancy portfolio give you the impression that your input isn’t valid.

What Are Their Plans/Ideas?

On your initial consultation, the web development specialist should have some first-impressions or ideas already. If they can’t give you any feedback or a rough outline of what they could do for your business, it might be bad news. Inexperience speaks from a place of uncertainty and a lack of creativity.

Responsive Web Design

During your early talks, ask them if they will be incorporating responsive web design. What this basically means is that your website will be designed for all screens–mobile, tablet, and computers. This means that your website will be designed with one theme, which is adjustable for all devices.

Ever since Google updated their algorithms to adjust for the overwhelming chunk of the mobile browsing population, there has been a major push for web developers to get some semblance of a standard for website functionality. That’s where the concept of responsive design was born.

This was the most effective solution to being stuck with websites that are not properly for mobile users. Design one webpage that can display the same proportions and features, no matter what size screen you’re looking at.

Lastly, don’t just choose a responsive template and expect your site to be perfect. While many design platforms now incorporate responsiveness into their code, your website still requires fine-tuning for different screen sizes. Ask your web development company how they implement their responsive design process before moving forward.

Optimized for Google

Responsive websites, while not explicitly listed as the only preferred mobile browsing option, will perform better on search rankings than those who are using a simple mobile HTML-based website.

Any website design that isn’t responsive will usually leave tablets and hybrid tablet users with a lower-quality experience. This may mean that their screen space is either not being utilized, resulting in blank spaces on the sides, or that they are forced to browse the desktop-size webpage that requires more scrolling and swiping to navigate. Either way, they’re getting a second-class experience.

Local and National

If your business has a local audience, then you should ask if the design company has experience with local SEO. Branding and optimizing at a local level requires a specialized skill set. Google searches are much easier to rank for when your website is optimized locally.

That includes geotagging various website elements, organically hitting local keywords, incorporating Google Maps effectively, and more. 78% of all local mobile searches results in an offline purchase. People are looking to buy, and if your website isn’t optimized locally, you’re missing sales.

Advanced Web Design

Responsive web design doesn’t just look more polished, it enables the website to perform. The amount of coding that is needed to deliver a smooth experience for all types of devices, without using responsive templates, is unreasonably heavy.

Responsive websites are simple, yet visually impressive. They can be easily updated, migrated, and compartmentalized, without having to constantly adjust the code to work on all devices. Taking out the time and money wasted on the guesswork is well worth the investment in a new website if your current one isn’t mobile responsive.

User Interface Standards

As processors become faster, networks quicker, and convenient shopping the new standard, you don’t want to be left in the past with a clunky, unimpressive web design. Graphics and user interface buttons are becoming much sharper, and mimic the tactile feedback without tradeoffs of slower page loads or glitches due to inadequate processing power.

Users will start to look at web pages that are slower, flatter, and harder to navigate as outdated and not worth browsing. With so much competition out there, you can’t afford to lose a customer due to poor UI.

Your web developer needs to know about these visual trends, coding improvements, and advanced analytics. If they are just churning out simple websites and swapping out color themes and logos, they may not be the best if your brand requires a deeper web experience.

Experience is Crucial

How old should a web development company be before they’re deemed experienced? Well, this can vary, but you want them to be in business for a couple years, at least. You don’t want to fall into the trap of paying for a service from a fly-by-night operation.

Look at their portfolio, see how much work they have under their belt. Great web design should be met with great customer reviews and testimonials. It also helps if they have an active social media presence. It’s a lot harder to curate or manipulate customer feedback on other platforms.

Do They Have Marketing Experience?

Are they just a team of graphic designers and programmers or are they a complete web development company? Hiring a company who knows more than just aesthetics is a huge bonus. Your website is going to perform a lot better when it created with things like CTAs, bounce rates, conversion rates, and campaign strategy are understood.

Navigation and page elements won’t need to be forced into the design after the fact. Natural integration of buttons, subscription fields, and upsells is extremely valuable in web development.

Understanding Industries/Niches

While you look through their portfolio, take the range of companies they have worked for. Do a lot of them center around the same niches? Are their designs built for only a handful of industries?

This is important to know when searching for a web development team that will work outside the box. If the majority of their business is cookie-cutter websites, then that means they aren’t willing to challenge themselves. At worst, it could mean they are reliant on templates with little modifications. These developers may offer slightly more affordable prices, but the value you receive is significantly less, and your customers will be able to sniff this out.

If you want your business to stand out, you cannot afford to settle for a barely-modified template that does the job. You can have a clean, well-balanced, and unique web page design without breaking the bank.

Modern Designs and Trends

Have you ever watched an old movie or TV show and seen what websites looked like in the past? Go back far enough and you’ll be met with big, ugly, and flat pages with no “life.” Go back less than a decade and you’ll see ugly designs, but with less obvious flaws.

The reason why many amateur web designers have cheaper-looking products is not just due to technical skill. It’s about following modern designs and trends. People grow tired of looking at the same things for years on end. Just take the ultra-flat designs spurred from smartphone development.

Today, users find it a chore to navigate through these flat websites, taking 22% longer to find what they’re looking for. You don’t want to be left behind with an outdated look on your website. Ask the web developers what the current trends are in web design, and how they plan to implement them into your project.

Comparing Prices

We end on price, being the least important aspect to consider while shopping around for web developers. The reason, of course, is that much of what passes as web design these days is editing layouts and themes on WordPress. There’s nothing wrong with this approach for simple blogs or landing pages.

If you want a professional, brand-appropriate, and cutting-edge website, you’re not going to find it for less than $3,000. Another big issue with selling yourself short is not having all the security in place to prevent hacks and server attacks.

We’re not saying you shouldn’t negotiate and shop around. Businesses just need to understand that your website is a serious investment that you should budget for considering long-term ROI, not just the immediate return enjoyed from saving a buck or two.

Finding a Portland Web Development Company

Finding the right Portland web development company is not the easiest job with so many to choose from. The time spent interviewing and bouncing ideas off companies is well worth the investment.

We’d love to discuss your company and potential web design needs if you have further questions.

Contact us today to see what we can bring to the table!

The post How to Choose a Portland Web Development Company appeared first on Midas Marketing.

How does your website stand up in today’s digital age? Will potential patients contact you for an appointment after they land on your site?

When a potential client clicks on your website, you only have 10 seconds to wow them.

Your website design is the most important digital tool for your online reputation. So, you better make it count.

Get it right and you’ll be converting new patients left and right. But get it wrong and risk losing potential business for your practice.

Here are 7 dental website design must-haves for your practice.

Investing in a clean, custom dental website is necessary to position your practice for long-term success – it’s no longer optional!

1. Use Your Homepage to Impress Your Audience

Your homepage is a digital first impression of your brand. It’s where potential patients go to find information and learn about your company.

You have one chance to impress your audience with a clean and comprehensive homepage. Use this as an opportunity to be out-of-the-box creative and visual. The homepage should draw attention, without being too busy or cluttered.

Go for one amazing image that showcases your practice and captures the essence of your brand. Think bright, happy, and healthy smiles in wide dimension. Dentist office websites should evoke a sense of comfort and care from your audience.

Remeber to think above the fold, like a newspaper. How long the viewer stays on your site depends on what they see without having to scroll down. A modern yet simple design theme is best.

You want to stay light on content and incorporate your logo and slogan on the homepage. Also be sure to include a call to action. As well as clear and easy to find contact information.

2. Make It Easy to Navigate

Easy navigation is what makes a good website. It keeps it easy for viewers to find the information they need. Without having to waste time searching throughout your site.

Have a clear and concise menu at the top or side of your website. list your most important pages here. Use a drop-down function to keep lower priority pages out of view.

A dental practice website design should include the following sections:

• About Us
• Meet The Team
• Services
• Reviews
• New Patients Section
• Contact Us

You may also want to consider adding a special page about your dentistry experience. This is a section to showcase what makes the dentist unique. Highlight education, awards, and community involvement here.

I can also be helpful to list insurance providers on your website. Shortcuts to important information and documents are also appreciated by new patients.

Include office hours, address, and an interactive map in the contact us section. This helps users find you through Google maps when using their mobile phones.

Include a linkable logo on your website template so it shows up in the same spot on every webpage. This way it’s easy for users to get back to your homepage.

The website footer should include your contact information and social icons. Make it easy for viewers to call, email, or find more information.

3. Consistency Is Key

Be consistent throughout your entire dental office website design. Have your branding evident, with a pleasing color palette.

Make sure your digital branding techniques translate well to all other marketing materials. Text, colors, logo, and content should remain consistent across all marketing channels. This will help patients to identify your brand and better relate to it.

Use optimized images for your website. Go for quality, not quantity. Too many images will also affect how fast your site loads. A site that takes a long time to load will receive a higher bounce rate.

Pay attention to the size and spacing between letters and images. Text and background colors should complement one another and be easy to read. 16 pt size text is a general rule of thumb.

Use a text that reads well on all web pages. Sans serif fonts translate best for online text.

You’ll also want to limit the number of fonts you use. Too many different fonts can look unorganized and distracting.

Use subheadings and bullet points to break up text on web pages. It is friendlier on the eyes and will help your reader find information quicker. Your audience will also find your dental practice website design more engaging and be less likely to look elsewhere.

4. Get Friendly with Google

If you want your website to rank high on search engines, you’re going to need to make friends with Google.

To do so, pay special attention to your content. It should be fresh, inventive, and relevant.

You’ll want to lace important keywords throughout your website. This includes headlines, titles, descriptions, and meta tags. Google is also a fan of long-tail keywords.

Content should be natural, and easy for readers to digest. Local keywords are also important. They will help Google recommend you in local dentist searches.

Need help figuring out which keywords to use? Consider an SEO expert to increase online traffic to your website.

Linking to other affiliate sites (online review platforms, etc.) can also boost your SEO. Always check your hyperlinks to make sure they work and pages have not gotten moved.

Google also pays attention to the speed of your site. Use an online tool, such as Pingdom, to test how fast your site responds. Also, be sure to claim your business on Google My Business.

5. Keep Content Fresh and Relevant

Having fresh content is key for keeping your website up-to-date. Not only does this help with SEO, but it shows patients you pay attention to the details.

Be sure to keep your website updated with office upgrades and changes in company policy. Make sure your dental website designer gives you access to the backend of your site. This will allow you to make quick changes when needed.

It’s also helpful to use Google Analytics to measure traffic. If certain pages are getting low or non-existent viewing time, redesign them.

Blog About It

One of the easiest ways to add fresh content is by blogging. It’s simple to add a blog to your website using WordPress.

Aim to update it at least three times per week. Cover topics ranging from company updates to best practices to dental trends. Pick trending topics that patients can relate to, such as teeth whitening methods.

Start a Newsletter

Create a company newsletter as part of an email marketing campaign. It will let you stay in touch with current customers and reach out to new leads. Have an easy newsletter sign up right on your homepage.

Use an automated service such as MailChimp to create and deploy campaigns. Track the effectiveness of campaigns to see what tactics get the most engagement.

Get People Talking About You

Online reviews and testimonials are important for your business.

84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation. So, ask all those happy customers to share their experience with the online community.

Aim for quality reviews on Google, Yelp, and other third-party sites. Don’t forget to respond back to your reviewers. It shows you value their feedback and are open to recommendations.

You can link reviews and testimonials right to your website. New patients will want to see real-life feedback from your customers. It will also do wonders for your SEO.

6. Don’t Get Left in the Digital Age’s Dust

The digital age doesn’t take lightly to old, outdated websites. And neither do your patients.

Over 50% of people use their mobile phones to conduct online searches. Make sure your site is mobile-friendly and test every single webpage. This will also make Google happy and push your website ranking higher up.

Younger generations expect to be able to do everything from the comfort of their smartphones. Consider a booking widget on your website. This will allow patients to make appointments after hours.

Use video content where applicable. Did you recently redesign your dentist office? Use a digital tour of the new space as a marketing tactic.

You’ll also want to avoid these website design mistakes.

Share Smiles

Be present on social media and use it as a tool to share stories of your brand. Facebook and Instagram are the main channels your patients turn to when seeking more information.

Share relevant articles and images. Showcase your employees and become involved in the community. Post seasonal highlights and holiday favorites to boost engagement.

7. Be Digitally Convenient

Use your website to meet the needs and expectations of your patients. Give them the information they seek right at their fingertips. Nowadays, people prefer this over calling and speaking to someone in the office.

Consider a patient portal. It makes it easy for patients to pay bills online, review records, or leave a message for the dentist. Appointment scheduling tools are also appreciated.

Go paperless and have important forms available online. This way patients can fill them out right on the website or email them in. Hyperlink your email address to make it quicker for patients to get in touch.

Provide a contact form for potential patients so it’s easy for them to get in touch. Add an FAQ’s section to help save time by answering popular questions.

Dental Website Design Tools for Online Success

Following these dental website design practices can help turn leads into new patients. Use these tools to enhance your digital brand and maintain a happy client base.

Is your website in need of a revamp? Learn more about how a contemporary and user-friendly website can transform your practice.

The post Dental Website Design: 7 Must Haves That Will Skyrocket Your Success appeared first on Midas Marketing.

The pop culture quote “If you build it, they will come” doesn’t apply to the internet. Just because you have a website published doesn’t mean people will be able to find you. It takes the right approach, the right platform, and a strategy for SEO.

That’s why businesses that are serious about growing take advantage of a WordPress Specialist. These gurus know how to build an aesthetic website that is easy to find, easy to navigate, and generates qualified leads for your business.

How do they do it? And is it really worth the investment? We certainly think so! But you should decide for yourself after reading these 5 highlights of hiring a web designer trained in WordPress:

The Advantages of Hiring a WordPress Specialist

Did you know WordPress is the #1 content management system (or “CMS”) in the world?  This massive platform makes up nearly 27% of the websites online today.

That’s why there are so many WordPress Specialists available. They know the in’s and out’s of this advantageous platform, and how to help your business make the most of it.

WordPress has and will continue to take over the web design world. Working with a WordPress specialist can turn website from a liability to a sales-driving asset.

Here are 5 ways a WordPress specialist will bring your website to life:

1. WordPress Serves as a Powerful Engine for Your Website

If your website isn’t built on WordPress, you could be missing out.

Google is a big fan of WordPress sites. They rank well in search engine results because of well-structured content and the tendency to have a steady stream of updates.

In fact, Google endorses the use of WordPress for site design. The advantages of WordPress allow you to build a custom website that serves as a lead-generation machine for your business.

After all, your site is more than just a digital billboard. It serves as the hub for most digital marketing strategies. Used correctly, it should turn your web traffic into conversions that grow your business.

Whether your business sells products via an e-commerce platform or you’re building a website designed to showcase your services, WordPress gives you the tools and options to create what you need without constraints.

But keep in mind that not everything about WordPress should be “DIY”. While anyone can create a website on the platform and select a theme, it takes an expert to know how to optimize it and integrate various features.

From mobile responsiveness to plugins to SEO optimization, there’s a lot that goes into building a professional and useful website design, which is why hiring a specialist comes in handy.

2. Having an Expert Build Your Website Saves a Lot of Time

When you’re running a business, time is precious. You don’t want to waste weeks–or even months–trying to overcome a learning curve in order to build a website. Not only are you wasting time better spent on running your business, but you also run a high risk of missing important web design steps or elements.

By hiring a WordPress specialist, you guarantee quality results while opening up your own time or the time of your employees to be better spent on their job responsibilities.

Plus, the task gets done quicker. The average timeline for a custom web design is often 6 to 8 weeks. In that span, a good developer mocks up, stagings, and launches your website for you.

As he or she goes about this process, they will use expertise picked up through formal education and/or training to ensure that your site is built correctly from the front-end to the back.

They can also train you on how to post blogs, make updates, or manage your website properly, or you can hire them to do this for you.

The latter of these two options is a worthy investment. One that saves you time while ensuring the job is done right.

3. The Ways a WordPress Specialist Makes Maintenance & Management Easier

Because websites require monthly updates after they’re published to maintain optimal functionality and SEO, it’s good to have an expert available who can handle it.

Typical website security and maintenance services include:

• Updating Plugins & Themes
• Monitoring Website Security
• Responding to and Preventing Downtime
• Initiating Website Backups

But what about the other stuff, like uploading new photos, creating new pages, or formatting and posting your company blogs?

Enter Website Management: a service most businesses choose in order to save money, improve efficiency, and gain peace of mind.

When you put your website’s management into the hands of a WordPress Specialist, you save on the cost of having to hire a website developer in-house in order to use your site to your advantage.

These individuals are no stranger to coding. From HTML and CSS to PHP and Javascript, they know how to create, maintain, fix, and update this foreign “web language” so your website maintains a professional look as well as its structural integrity.

They can also include this coding on any site updates you create. This is important when you’re making changes to your website. Even blogs have a unique set of coding that is essential to its formatting and SEO performance.

Not knowing how to update your website properly can lead to poor display, broken elements, and other “emergencies” you don’t want your web traffic stumbling upon.

4. A WordPress Specialist Can Help with Your SEO Strategy

Okay, so we’ve covered your website’s design and maintenance, but what about SEO? There’s no point in having a website nobody can find.

No matter how good your website design is, you aren’t going to pop up on the first page of Google overnight. It takes strategy to move up in search engine rankings, and the competition can be thick.

Currently, there are over 18 BILLION websites on the internet today–and counting. Carving your place on the world wide web requires you to prove to search engines your content and services are the best solutions to certain keywords researched by its users.

To do that, businesses develop or hire someone to develop an SEO strategy. This strategic marketing approach researches the most relevant keywords in your business, then uses both internal and external content to help you rank for them.

SEO is a full-time job for most businesses. It requires not only implementation but also maintenance. Your ranking changes in real-time based on new websites entering the pool and updates on existing websites trying to rank for the same keywords as you.

That means getting to the first page of search engines is only half the battle. The other half requires constant, daily monitoring and maintenance if you want to achieve optimal performance.

WordPress Specialists trained in SEO can do that by:

• Producing Relevant On-Page Content
• Producing Relevant Off-Page Content
• Building Quality Backlinks to Your Site
• Auditing Poor Backlinks to Your Site
• Improving Your Site Speed
• Improving Your Mobile Responsiveness
• And More…

All of these things are ongoing strategies, not singular tasks. They have to be implemented continuously in order to build and maintain your SEO performance.

But what if you need to rank fast? There is a strategy for that, too. It’s called Search Engine Marketing, or SEM. Many WordPress Specialists trained in SEO are also familiar with SEM strategies, including AdWords, Google’s popular platform for digital marketing.

The difference between SEO and SEM is that SEM is paid advertising. You’ve seen it before. From the banners on various websites to the top 3 listings on each of your Google search results, SEM puts you in front of your customers’ eyes.

For a price, of course.

If you’re interested in pairing an SEM strategy with your SEO, be sure to ask a website specialist about digital marketing opportunities.

5. A WordPress Specialist Can Improve Your Digital Marketing Campaigns

While we’re on the topic of marketing, another advantage to hiring a WordPress Specialist is he or she can help you get the most out of your digital campaigns.

From newsletters to landing pages to setting up call-to-actions, a good WordPress Specialist can adapt your website to whatever digital campaign you have going.

Have a sale on a product? Advertise it on your website via blogs, a landing page for SEM, or a slider image on your homepage.

Do you produce a monthly newsletter? Add a newsletter signup pop-up to your website to build your audience.

Perhaps you’re big on social media. Great! Add widgets or icons to your website in order to help new visitors stay connected.

When it comes to campaigns, there are numerous ways your website can both support and expand its reach. However, you won’t know how or when to use them without insight from an expert.

By hiring a WordPress specialist, you receive this expertise through a third party vendor, saving you the cost of hiring an in-house employee while making you money through advanced website development and maintenance.

Pretty cool, right?

Let Us Help You Optimize Your Website

Ready to have your website built and managed the right way? We can help your business grow with your website design, branding, SEO, and copywriting needs. We’ll set you up with a WordPress Specialist who can design and optimize a website tailored to your business.

Contact us to get started!

The post 5 Ways A WordPress Specialist Can Bring Your Website To Life appeared first on Midas Marketing.

Introduction

The world of wholesaling is vastly different than the retail industry. Fancy marketing tactics, like creative advertising and a website with all the bells and whistle are usually reserved for retail-oriented brands.

This has left many owners, managers and other influencers in wholesaling industries to focus more on running an efficient business operation for their success, while giving limited consideration to marketing their goods and services.

We’re here to make a case against that line of thinking. While we won’t dismiss the fact that certain marketing elements are better reserved for consumer-facing industries, that doesn’t mean we should neglect opportunities. In fact, the 57% of B2B customers now want access to their account and orders online, meaning that they are starting their searches online as well.

Instead of ignoring marketing, wholesalers should just take a different approach. Even in B2B sales, people still buy from people. And people won’t buy from people they can’t find or can’t easily get the information they need to make an informed decision.

That’s where an effective wholesale B2B web design layout comes into play. This will be the foundation of your business’ online presence and marketing strategy, so we’ll start here!

Why Do You Need a Great Website?

Many wholesale businesses see their website as an “online brochure” that is a nice-to-have but not a need-to-have. Let’s look at a few reasons this way of thinking may be a bit misguided.

Product & Resource Organization

If you’re like most wholesalers, you are working with a large variety of SKUs and inventory management is a large part of running a successful business. Having an effective website can do wonders for your overall organization of all your products and resources.

A well-organized website can easily keep all of your products sorted by various categories, with stock management, pricing discounts, and all sorts of other valuable functionality built into the website itself. Your customers will love being able to easily find what they are looking for, and your internal team will be able to keep track of things too.

Including a search functionality in your website will also enable you and your customers to easily look up various SKUs & product numbers without having to flip through catalogs or make a bunch of phone calls.

Sales are important, but using your website to stay organized can be just as, if not more, valuable!

Streamlines Your Sales Process

While a website is often thought of as a tool for existing and potential customers, good wholesale B2B web design can also support your sales team. Being easily able to access your most updated digital catalog, see customer order history, and review real-time inventory levels are just a few of the ways a website can not just offer value to your customers but improve your sales performance internally as well.

Additionally, having a website enables you to set up gated pages and products, meaning your team can be prepared to offer password-protected pricing and services, without fear of having everything open and visible to the public.

CRM & ERP Integration

Keeping track of your customers and resources is a full-time job, many times over. The good news a well-designer wholesaler website can integrate with your existing CRM and ERP programs. This means that your website won’t add another disconnected system that manually requires tracking and updating, but will actually reduce data redundancy and keep your business running smoothly.

Customer Support

Being reachable by phone is crucial for any business, but especially wholesalers. However, many don’t have effective systems built out for support outside of normal working hours. Your wholesale B2B website design can and should include both an email support platform as well as a FAQ section. This will enable potential customers to solve their own problems faster as well as be able to reach out to you via email if they prefer. The more options you have available, the more confidence your lead will be that you can deliver on your promises.

On-The-Go Functionality

Any good website design these days should be fully mobile-responsive. That means your website will look good on any screen size, from a smartphone to a desktop computer. By having a well-designed and organized website, both your internal team and your customers will be able to get the information they need, 24/7.

Wholesale B2B Web Design to Grow Your Business

Hopefully you’re starting to see how a well-designed wholesaler website can streamline your operations and reinforce value with existing customers. But can your website help your company grow by bringing in new business?

Absolutely.

Attract New Customers through Online Search

One advantage B2B companies have, especially wholesale companies, is that they are essentially built for maximum search engine visibility. Here’s why:

1. Generally less competition compared to retail brands
2. Large product and/or service catalog makes it possible to target and rank for a plethora of keywords
3. Specific niche searches are usually made with high purchase intent.

It’s pretty obvious why there are less wholesalers in the world than retailers. This means your company generally has an easier climb to the top of the mountain. Assuming your product and category pages are well optimized, ranking is not just easier for your primary search terms, but all your individual products as well. Lastly, somebody searching for a very specific style of wholesale neon fabric is much more likely to take action once they find it than someone searching for basketball shoes.

High Customer Value

To sweeten the pot even more, new leads and/or orders that come in from a strong wholesale B2B website design are usually substantially higher, justifying any website and marketing costs much more quickly than retail marketing campaigns, which often involve years of brand awareness before the scales start to tip towards significant profitability.

So while there may be more search volume for “basketball shoes” than “wholesale neon fabric,” the latter may lead to a 4, 5 or even 6-figure purchase. Even getting a handful of good new leads online each month for your wholesale company can justify an entire year’s worth of marketing spend.

Build Your Email List

Let’s imagine your new website, perfectly built for your ideal customer, convenient for staff, and wonderfully optimized for search engines. Where do you go from here? Well, usually you’ll start seeing a good uptick of new business considering what has already been discussed. But it doesn’t stop there. You can give your leads an opportunity to develop a relationship with your company even if they aren’t ready to buy immediately. How do you do this?

Give ‘em a deal!

First Time Customer Offer

Creating a (non-intrusive) pop-up or chat box on your website that showcases a special deal for new customers in exchange for their email address is the perfect way to start a new relationship. This offer could be for a free sample, a first order discount, or some other “lead magnet” (such as a PDF ebook). The lead enters their email, and they automatically receive their discount coupon or special instructions on how to activate their promotion. After this point, they are “in your tribe,” and nurturing the relationship with a monthly newsletter or other email marketing strategy is cost effective and leads to great results.

Mind Your Analytics

At this point, the fun really starts. Your website should be  set up with analytics (we use Google Analytics) and you can start measuring the actual ROI for your website and marketing. Here’s how it works:

1. You run your numbers to figure out the average lifetime value (or annual revenue) of a customer to your business.
2. Review your website analytics to determine how many website visitors you get, how many sign up for your new customer offer, and then how many actually turn into customers.
3. Determine your target “acquisition budget” for getting a new customer.

At that point you can figure out how well your website and marketing is performing. It looks like this:

• Company A’s average customer spends $20,000 per year with them, for a minimum of 5 years ($100,000+ LTV)
• Company A’s (new and improved!) website is now getting 1,000 visitors per month. 50 of them are claiming the offer, and 5 of them are redeeming it and turning into new customers.
• Company A budgets 5% of gross revenue for marketing and advertising.

5 new customers equates to $500,000 of lifetime revenue for company A. 5% of $500,000 is $25,000. So theoretically, Company A could sustainably spend $25,000 per month on their website and online marketing each month and easily justify it assuming these numbers keep working out. Considering most SEO campaigns for wholesale companies would run in the $1,000 to $5,000 / mo range, you can hopefully start to see the opportunity this holds for many wholesalers.

Deploy Other Marketing Strategies

Once you have your new website set up, know your numbers, and have a profitable funnel (website > offer > new customer), then you can start exploring other advertising channels, such as Google Adwords or Facebook Ads, and understand with confidence if you are spending in a sustainable way.

Managing Your Wholesale Website & Marketing Efforts

Even if you are fully on board with us at this point, you may be wondering how to put all of this into motion. Many wholesale companies keep themselves very busy and always have a million things going on.

Others may be busy but are also fearful of getting “tied” to a web design or marketing company forever, and are fearful of losing control and endlessly being at the mercy of their marketing partner.

Before you engage an any website development or marketing efforts, make sure you approach this question beforehand with the agency you are considering. Here at Midas, we offer three different approaches depending on what suits your business best.

Full Service

You’re busy and need a trustworthy, transparent marketing partner to go full throttle on your behalf. If this option is the most expensive, but it saves you the headspace, management, overhead and everything else that goes with successful outsourcing. When running a campaign like this, we will set budgets and goals at the beginning and execute on your behalf, working in the background while also “owning” the campaign or website process as if we were a part of your internal team.

Semi-Managed

Semi-Managed websites and/or marketing campaigns are often a good mix for a business that has some bandwidth and expertise in house, but not a lot. Maybe one of your internal staff has a few hours each week to help with marketing and updating the website. In this case (for us), we would assist with some of the more complex or time consuming tasks, but still be able to save you a bit of cash considering what you’re able to fulfill in house on the marketing and web development side of things.

Complete Handoff

For those that have staff bandwidth or other resources to manage the website and marketing efforts in house, we recommend a complete handoff. The website is built and screenshare tutorials are created so your team knows exactly how to do everything they’ll need to do. As the videos are lasting assets, you can even keep your website and marketing going strong through staff turnover or other transitions. And of course, we’d only be a call or email away if we were the ones working with you!

Final Thoughts

We hope you have enjoyed this fairly deep dive into wholesale B2B web design and marketing!

While marketing opportunities in this space may be different than the retail world, there is no shortage of ways to win with high customer lifetime values, extensive SEO opportunities and less competition for visibility and market share.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below. If you are ready to learn more about what it would take to revamp your own wholesale company’s website, click here!

The post Wholesale B2B Web Design: A Roadmap to Success appeared first on Midas Marketing.

Nothing makes you appreciate a well-designed website like visiting a poorly designed one. As a business owner or marketing manager, you should take care to incorporate effective web design elements into your company’s website.

Small text, loud colors, and missing information all make for a poor web browsing experience.

Consider The Impact of Poor Web Design Elements on Your Company

Eighty-two percent of consumers conduct online research prior to making a purchase.

Now think about 82% of potential customers visiting your company’s website. Your website is, for all intents and purposes, a digital store. It displays your offerings and represents your brand.

If you walked into a messy, unattractive store, would you feel inclined to buy there? Or would you feel more inclined to shop elsewhere? More than likely, you’d want to leave and go to a different store.

Poor web design has the same effect. It paints a bad image of your brand, and it drives away potential customers. And for many businesses, you’re not competing locally or even nationally–you’re competing globally.

Given the fierce competition among online stores, it’s important to steer clear of poor web design elements.

Notoriously poor web design elements include the following:

A Rainbow Brite Color Scheme

Colors play an important part in making your website (and brand) attractive. You should choose colors that compliment each other, represent your brand, and make your website functional.

One thing you should not do is throw every color you like onto your website. Having such a busy color scheme makes your website exhausting to look at. Not to mention, it poorly affects your site’s functionality.

A lot of colors make it hard to discern your site’s other elements. Potential customers want to go to a site and know where to find what they’re looking for — not be screamed at by twenty or so bright colors.

Media That Automatically Plays

Auto-play media adds an unnecessary nuisance to your site that many customers will find annoying.

Consider the auto-play ads on lyrics and news sites. Most information on the Internet is text-based and requires reading. When you visit a site and one of these ads play, it breaks your concentration.

If customers want to watch or hear media, they will do it on their own terms. They don’t want to be forced to consume media, especially if they prefer silence or music while browsing.

Scammy Text or Images

One of the most important elements of efficient website design is credibility. There are a myriad of scams out there, so proving you’re trustworthy is key to generating online leads.

The easiest way to establish credibility is to include contact information and reviews on your site. But the buck doesn’t stop there.

Check your text elements. How are your grammar and spelling? Poor writing skills are a major red flag that your site may be questionable.

Next, review your overall layout. How old does it look? Does it seem like it was built circa 2000?

Scammers aren’t web designers. Their websites are simplistic and look like they were built by middle schoolers. As such, it’s important to keep your site updated and looking modern.

Hard-To-Read Text

Consumers visit your site for information about your company and products. If they can’t find that information easily, they will leave and go elsewhere on the web.

For that reason, the text on your site has to be readable. Curly fonts are pretty but can be hard to read. Small text might aesthetically look pleasing, but that pleasing look is lost if consumers can’t make out what the text says.

The same goes for colors. Don’t use light text on a light background or dark text on a dark background. That forces consumers to highlight the text, and many aren’t willing to do that just to read what it says.

Too Many Images

The old saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” And that is true–unless you’re using too many images.

Images help illustrate the information that you’re presenting to potential customers. However, too many images can muddle the message, confusing customers and driving them away.

Too many images can also make your site busy and poorly impact its functionality. Like crazy color schemes, a lot of unnecessary images distract customers from finding the information they want.

Poor Site Navigation

Excellent site navigation is another all-important web design element. Customers need a clear path to the information they seek, or else they will become frustrated and leave your site.

To make sure your site navigation runs smoothly, put yourself in your customers’ shoes. Is your main menu easy to find? Can you intuitively find the information you seek? Is the information organized into pages logically and named appropriately?

If you answered, “No,” to any of these questions, you need to reorganize your website immediately.

A Lot of Blank Space

Blank space may have been a hit with Taylor Swift fans, but it won’t resonate well with your potential customers.

Big and empty, blank space on a website does more than give the impression that you don’t know much about effective web design. It implies that you don’t have a lot to offer.

Fill that blank space with something, be it text, images, or reviews. Just be sure not to stuff the space, or the page will become too busy for customers’ viewing.

If you still can’t get rid of the blank space, you may have to look at rearranging the elements on that page.

Need Help Picking The Right Web Design Elements? Reach Out to Us!

Midas Marketing is an internet marketing agency with an extensive network of designers and marketing specialists. We are experts in web design and other internet marketing strategies, and we’d love to help you optimize your web presence!

Reach out to us today! The sooner you do, the sooner we can start boosting your site’s ROI.

Know of any other poor web design elements? Got a story about a horrible web browsing experience as a result of poor web design elements? Tell us in the comments section below!

The post Don’t Use These Web Design Elements appeared first on Midas Marketing.

Things are far from what they used to be in the 90s. The clothes, hair, makeup and even lifestyles have evolved in unforeseen ways. But some things were predictable, like in technology advancing.

We knew this would continue to grow in various ways, and it has. The web has become our go-to resource for just about everything – shopping, dating, home buying and organizing our lives.

The mobile scene has really transformed the way modern Americans live their lives. There’s an app for just about everything – you can manage your fitness, count calories, read books and watch TV shows all from your smartphone or tablet.

As these trends continue to change, it’s important for businesses to keep an eye on them. In doing so, you can ensure your web properties remain in line with the happenings of the world.

For example, updating your website so that it is easily found and used by your target audience. And on that note, we bring you a list of the top web development trends expected in 2018 and beyond.

Mobile-First Is the Way to Go

You can thank Google for this concept.

They were the first to adopt the mobile-first agenda, penalizing any websites that weren’t mobile-friendly. So with that, it’s highly essential to design your site with mobile users in mind.

Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t continue making sites that are accessible by desktop users. Your site should have a responsive design so that it can be accessed on any device, but we’ll delve into that later.

The mobile-first trend began a few years ago and is expected to continue in 2018 and beyond.

After all, who’s going to detach themselves from their beloved smartphones? A lot of people today are carrying around phablets (large screen smartphones). So they’re getting an even better experience.

To sum this trend up, make sure your site can be easily used on a smaller screen than your typical laptop or desktop monitor.

The Use of Responsive Designs

You’ve likely heard the term responsive design kicked around all over the media. It’s a buzzword in the online marketing community and for good reason. It’s the key to appeasing the Google gods and your mobile-using visitors.

And it’s expected for this trend to only grow as people jump from one device to another. For example, searches for a home or new shoes may begin at work using a smartphone or tablet. Then once the user gets home, they complete the purchase using their desktop or laptop.

For this reason, it’s important to have a website that is designed responsively. If you’re unsure of what this entails, here’s a quick breakdown.

A responsive design consists of CSS media queries and grids and layouts that are flexible. This develops a single, dynamic website that can adjust the content based on the size of the screen, offering the best experience and look.

The benefit for your business is that you only have to pay for one website design instead of a mobile site and a desktop site.

And let’s not forget – having a responsive design will help your website rank in search engines.

AI: One of the Most Interesting Web Development Trends

Yes, artificial intelligence is finally here, but not like it will be in the future.

While there aren’t any robots and cyborgs walking around, there is an AI presence inside various web development trends.

As you would imagine, some of the biggest minds in technology are all-in on this trend: Google, Facebook, and Microsoft. It’s a race to see who will come out with the best programs.

For example, AlphaGo is one program developed by Google DeepMind. This was the first program to outwit the professional Go player.

However, you can find various AI technology being released to the public. Some are designed to improve search engines and content, such as the one used by Wikipedia. This helps the site to find inaccuracies and damaged articles.

If you want an example of a site already using an AI, you have The Grid. This has Molly, an AI web designer that asks you questions to help build your site. For instance, you’re asked about your branding, layout, colors, and content.

Then everything is automatically created for you. You can update the design as much as you like. Of course, this won’t have the finesse and pure genius a live web developer could offer, but an interesting trend nonetheless.

Virtual Reality Is Here

This is another technological concept that we’ve been waiting around for many years. Since the 80s even, if not before! We now have the equipment and software to create VR experiences.

This is being done for video games, as well as advertising. A VR system can be used by consumers to get a realistic tour of a home far away or experience the use of a new product before even touching one.

So there are many clever ways brands can go about implementing virtual reality into their own marketing campaigns. And even for their website design.

Just imagine, a user enters your site using VR goggles and experiences your product or service firsthand. That could help get people to convert easier without the need of an in-person salesperson.

We’re expecting to see virtual reality continue being used in all sorts of applications, such as news apps, real estate tours and more.

Turn Your Business to Gold

What do all of these web development trends have to do for your own site?

Not all web development trends are worthy of being used, depending on the business you’re in and your goals. So rather than trying to keep up with the Joneses, you need to figure out what will work best for your brand.

You can do this with the help of Midas. Here, we have a team of experts who can assist you with your web design, search engine optimization, digital marketing, logos and general branding.

So contact our office today to get consulting for your business website!

The post We’re Not in The 90’s Anymore Toto: Web Development Trends for 2019 and Beyond appeared first on Midas Marketing.

Your website is one of the first impressions your business will make on a potential customer. So it better be a good one!

With 73% of Americans going online daily and 21% saying they’re online “almost constantly,” periodic reviews of your website effectiveness are essential.

So let’s make sure your website is doing its job by looking at what makes a website effective overall.

Clear Communication

First and foremost, your website communication needs to be clear and optimized for your target audience. That means using simple language to convey the following:

• What your company does: Try to explain your services in a brief, Twitter-friendly description of 140 characters or less. It’s not a hard and fast rule, but it’s a great exercise to keep your communication clear and succinct.
• The purpose of the website: Is it to provide menu details for your restaurant or tech support for a product? Make your objective clear from the get-go.
• A simple call-to-action: Whether you want people to subscribe to your newsletter or call for custom pricing options, make sure they know what to do after viewing your site.

It’s tough to strike the perfect balance between including too much information and too little on your website. But your best bet is to focus on using concise language with quick, catchy descriptions that get your main points across.

Also be sure to check for silly spelling and grammatical errors that can undermine your website’s trustworthiness. Every detail counts when it comes to keeping users engaged.

User-Friendliness & Functionality

The modern attention span is shorter than that of a goldfish. That means your website needs to be quick and easy to use, or your customers may just swim away.

Check that all important sections are clearly labeled and easy to navigate to. Ideally, nothing should be more than three clicks away from your homepage. Also, spend time clicking through your links to make sure they all actually work.

That includes ensuring that your web design functions as well on mobile as it does on desktop. Keep in mind that if a page takes longer than three seconds to load, you could lose up to 40% of your visitors!

So make sure your pages are responsive and your web experience is fluid by trying it out yourself.

Smooth Transactions & Analytics

The best way to measure your website effectiveness is analytics. Page view data, where your visitors navigated from, and where they spent the most time can offer clues about what’s working and what’s not.

If a certain page has far more bounces–people visiting and quickly clicking away–than other pages, that’s a flag that something’s not quite right about the page.

Likewise, e-commerce vendors should focus on keeping their shopping experience as seamless as possible. Visitors should be able to edit their carts, apply promotional codes, and make secure purchases all without having to contact support.

Website Effectiveness Made Simple

If you make your website more effective, you’ll boost your web traffic, up your mobile views, and increase the amount of time spent on your page. All things that factor into that all-important SEO ranking!

But ensuring your website effectiveness is an ongoing process. If you have any questions on how to increase your site views, give us a shout or request a free quote today.

The post How to Check Your Website Effectiveness appeared first on Midas Marketing.

One of the daunting aspects of getting your business officially of the ground is building the best website possible. How much does WordPress cost? What about web design services?

How do you even know what you need?

As you’re developing your website, it can be difficult to develop an appropriate budget. You may not even know where to start.

We’re here to help you navigate the Internet jungle and answer your questions. When it comes to websites, is the most expensive option the better one?

How much does a WordPress site cost?

When you’re wondering how much budget to allot for your WordPress site, you may start by researching exactly how much a website should cost.

However, if you’re looking for a specific figure, you might be disappointed.

There are a ton of variables to your website that make a ballpark figure all but impossible.

Different websites have different needs, so your website budget isn’t going to match another business.

Therefore, regardless of what system you’re using to build your site, there are some questions you need to ask yourself to get accurate answers.

What do you need for your website?

The first step to developing your business’ website is to figure out exactly what it is your website needs.

Presuming you’re using design services to take your website as far as it can go, you need to figure out what pages you need, the costs for writing them, as well as links to your social media.

• 7 pages, Home, Contact, FAQ, About Us, Shipping, TOS, and Privacy Policy.
• Social media links: Facebook, Twitter, Google+
• Social media widgets for the above

Keep in mind that this is a very bare-bones web page. It doesn’t include anything for you to interact with, and it only includes links to the most effective advertising schemes.

This could cost you about $3000 to $4000.

Also, if this is a new project, the cost will differ somewhat from a website redesign.

To get an idea of a solid budget, you need to know how many pages you need for your website. If you sell products, you need to take count of those, as well as any options (color, size, etc.) for those products and whether or not they vary in price.

The price will also change if you need help creating content or you’ll do it on your own. Additionally, pictures and graphics can change the cost.

Where to draw the line?

The figures and process above can be eye-opening. When we’re talking about a $10,000 WordPress site compared against a $4000 bare bones site, it’s easy to see how your costs can soar.

That said, a $10,000 WordPress site could absolutely be worth it, provided everything is optimized correctly and your content is effective.

A good portion of this is going to fall on your shoulders, not your designer’s. A website is only as good as what you do with it, so you’ll have to put in the legwork to make sure that website pays off.

For $10,000, it should be completely decked out, meaning that it’s mostly plug-and-play to take it to its full potential.

Conclusion

As a business owner, you best know your website’s needs and strengths. Find design services that capitalize on those.

Designing a great website can take a big chunk of your budget, and looking at that number’s never a great experience if it’s flying away from you.

However, an expensive website can help polish your name and develop a good reputation for your business. It’s up to you to determine whether or not you need fully loaded options.

Any questions or comments regarding web design or building the perfect website? We’ve got you covered.

The post How Much Does a WordPress Site Cost? Is a $10,000 Site Worth it? appeared first on Midas Marketing.

As an entrepreneur, you wear many hats. Some of them fit you quite well. But as much as you’d like to be hands-on, there will be some aspects of starting and running a company that fall outside your expertise. Not to mention, you’re only one person, and there’s only so much you can do with your energy spread across all areas of your business.

So, here you are looking for a great WordPress developer to help you build or make changes to your website. Your biggest problem? You can’t tell the difference between CGI and Servlet if your life depended on it. How are you supposed to know how to hire the best WordPress developer when you don’t know what you should look for?

To help you find the right person, we’ve put together this comprehensive guide. We’ll look at all the necessary skills and qualities a professional WordPress developer must possess, present a few places where you can find them, tell you about the costs, and teach you how to interview and choose the best candidate for your project.

Know the Scope of Your Project

The first step in hiring a WordPress developer is understanding your needs. All websites are not created equal, and you have to determine your requirements.

Who you will hire will largely depend on how complex your site will be. If you need something small and straightforward, you could work with a junior developer. They are hardworking, motivated, and open to suggestions.

On the other hand, if your WordPress website will be highly interactive and will require specialized apps, it’s better to work with a professional developer or even a larger team.

Write a Good Job Description

It’s critical to have a clear understanding of what you want and be able to describe it meticulously to future candidates. A well-written job description can help you avoid costly confusions. If a developer knows that what you want is something they can’t deliver, they won’t apply for the job. On the other hand, if the job description is not well thought out and you neglected to add some important details, the developer might not understand what your requirements are and apply for the job even though they are not a good match.

Sure, creating an exhaustive job description will take time and effort on your part, but it’s a million times worth it than wasting precious resources on someone who is not the right fit for the job.

Here are some of the elements you should include in your job outline:

• Include Samples of Sites That You Like: They key is to help potential candidates understand your requirements and expectations. A skilled WordPress developer can use this information to review their capabilities and provide you with suggestions.

• Include a List of “Must-Haves”: For example, if you run a beauty salon, and you need your website to have a booking functionality, you should mention that in your description.

• Set a Time Frame: If you have a tight deadline, double up your time frame. For example, if you plan to launch your website within a month, mention in the job description that the deadline for the project is three weeks. Whether you’ve changed your mind about some of the site’s functions, or there are more coding bugs to fix than anticipated, you could expect delays in most projects. So, it’s better to plan in advance and allocate extra time to fix potential problems.

• Don’t Forget to Include a “Duties as Assigned” Line: As much as you’re trying to write a complete description, you might omit something. Or, the job requirements might change over time. To avoid a potential argument with your developer claiming that what you’re asking wasn’t listed in the job description, include a “duties as assigned” mention in the outline.

Think of everything and anything that might be relevant to your project and business needs. If you want your website to work the way you’ve imagined it, take the time to create a job description that explains your requirements clearly.

Setting clear expectations up front will give you the best chance at a wonderful web design collaboration!

How to Tell If a WordPress Developer Is Good

Judging a developer on his/her technical skills is easy. After all, all you need to do is check their resume to ensure they have the experience required for your project. However, even if they check every box in your description, it’s still possible that they may not be the right person for the job.

With that in mind, here are a few considerations to keep in mind when choosing a WordPress developer.

Technical Skills

Create a list of the skills you want your developer to have. Use it to eliminate candidates who are not suited for the job. Here are some of the qualities to look for in a developer

•        PHP
•       JavaScript
•       HTML/HTML5
•       CSS/CSS3

Soft Skills

In theory, you want your developer to be able to focus and communicate, be creative, and have strong attention to detail. However, it’s not that easy to determine if a candidate meets all of your requirements. They might look perfect on paper, but when you start working, you may realize that they lack collaboration skills.

Here’s a checklist you can use to ensure you’re hiring only the best WordPress developers:

• How Fast Do They Respond:

o       Responsiveness is a vital skill, especially if your developer will work remotely. You want someone who will respond within a reasonable time frame to your requests.

o       If you’ve found a few developers you like, email them. That way, you can get a better sense of how fast they respond. Don’t immediately exclude those who don’t answer within the first day. They might be busy or have a bad day. But, if they aren’t very responsive, then it would be a good idea to drop them.

• Do They Have a Good Understanding of Your Requirements?

o      A lot of developers tend to apply for jobs without even reading the description. A smart way to rule out these types of applicants is to hide a question in your job description. It can be something like “What is your favorite movie?” Ask them to write the answer at the top of the application.

• Ask For Examples of Previous Work

o      Most candidates tend to sugarcoat their applications and only present the best versions of themselves when applying for a project. That’s understandable, but you want to learn about both their strengths and weaknesses. To see if someone is a good fit for your job and is capable of meeting your expectations, ask them to send you samples of previous projects.

Look for Someone Who Fits Your Company’s Culture

While work experience is definitely important, the biggest predictor of success is how they fit with your business. For example, a professional WordPress developer who has worked for a large corporation may not be a good fit for a startup. A startup may require traits such as adaptability, versatility, and risk-taking. However, these characteristics are usually not relevant in a big corporation, so it’s very likely that the developer won’t possess them.

How to Determine Compensation

Before deciding a salary, it’s essential to weight in the complexity of the project, the skill level of the position you need, as well as the amount you are prepared to spend.

• How to Set a Budget for a Small Project

Small web development projects, such as adding a few new features to your website or changing some functionalities, don’t take that much to complete. The best approaches in this scenario would be: a) work with an experienced WordPress developer and pay them on an hour basis or b) collaborate with a junior developer and pay them on a fixed price basis.

Experienced developers are highly efficient, so it’s cost-effective to pay them by the hour. They get the work done swiftly and efficiently. Keep in mind that professional developers cost between $90 and $200 per hour in developed countries and between $35 and $60 in developing countries.

Junior developers, on the other hand, will require more time and more revisions. A fixed price payment model will give you more control in the eventuality their work needs extensive changes.

• How to Set a Budget for a Large Project

A large WordPress development project could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to complete. Due to their size and the amount of work needed to complete them, large projects have more room for errors. That is why shooting for a fixed price is the right way to go.

This compensation strategy will protect you from a broad range of potential problems, such as developers underestimating the project’s difficulty or missing deadlines, and also from unexpected revisions and fixes.

Professional developers usually allow you a set number of revisions. For instance, you are allowed to ask for fixes up to three times. If you request more than the revisions approved, you may need to pay extra.

A smart way to avoid unnecessary costs is to plan your web development project thoroughly and discuss it with the developer to see if they notice any potential problems or challenges. The more time you invest in planning, the more likely you are to complete your project within a set budget. On the other hand, the more revisions you request, the more you’ll have to pay.

Where Do You Find Professional WordPress Developers?

There are many ways to find WordPress developers and many strategies to vet them by price, expertise, and availability. Unfortunately, for most people, the abundance of choices only leads to more confusion and stress.

Here are some of the best places where you can start your search:

• Freelancer Websites: Although generalized markets such as UpWork and Freelancer are excellent ways to find skilled developers, we recommend looking into WordPress-specialized platforms to ensure you are getting only the best of the best. Smashing Jobs, WP Hired, or WordPress’ official job board are some of the best places to look for a talented wp developer.

• Tap into Your Network for Referrals: More often than not, the most qualified candidates are only one or two connections away. So, post on your Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter pages and tag people who you know work in the industry.

• Consider Specialized Agencies: Another good option is to look into web design companies that specialized in WordPress development (like us!). While this option is usually little more expensive, it’s also the most efficient. You know that you’ll work with a team of skilled professionals who will deliver quality work.

Interview Candidates before Hiring Them

Although intimidating for the employer and the candidate, the interview is an essential step in finding the right developer for your project. They allow you to get a sense of a candidate’s communication skills, analytical abilities, and personality. If you are hiring a web design agency, most will give you a complementary consultation.

Your primary objective is to determine if an applicant or team can do the job, and if they fit into your work culture.

Before the interview, request examples of the candidate’s previous work. Then, ask them on what portion of the site they’ve worked. Did they collaborate with a senior developer or did everything themselves? Did they manage to deliver within the deadline?

Ask a few behavioral questions as well, such as “Which colleague at your last job did you not get along with, very well and how did you manage the situation?”

Use a Short Trial Period before Making a Final Decision

The best way to know if you’ve found the right WordPress developer is to work with them. That said, we recommend you start with a small project to test whether the relationship is going to work.

Choose a non-critical project and ask them to complete it within a set time frame. Observe the person in action and analyze their expertise, efficiency, and punctuality. Did they go above and beyond to complete the project in time? How well did they execute? How well did they communicate?

Hire Slow, but Fire Fast

Take your time when hiring a developer, but if you realize that the person is not the right fit for your company, let him/her go as fast as possible. A developer who doesn’t work well can hinder the success of your project and be disruptive to the entire team.

It might be hard to fire someone, especially if you are a small business. But, think about the long game: the wrong person will inhibit your company’s ability to grow.

Over to You

We hope that after reading this guide, the prospect of finding and hiring a professional WordPress developer won’t seem so overwhelming. If you would like to add anything or ask us a question, don’t hesitate to contact us.

If you want to go the extra mile and create a website that will stand out, take a look at what we can do for you.

The post How to Hire a Professional WordPress Developer appeared first on Midas Marketing.

The Best Work for the Best City as a Portland Web Designer

Sandwiched between two major tech hubs, Portland is a city that marches to its own beat. Its quirky culture appeals to young professionals and artists alike, making it a destination where thrift shops and button-down stores coexist peacefully under the same ZIP code. “Keep Portland Weird” is one of the most common bumper stickers you’ll see here, a message that truly describes the heart and soul of the city.

Not only that Portland engenders innovative thinking, but it’s also a renowned epicenter of creative entrepreneurship. Boasting all the qualities that are likely to attract young people these days, Portland has become a symbol of West Coast happiness. Living, working and starting a business here feels like a blessing.

That’s what we’re telling ourselves every day. The youthful creative vibe of Portland has allowed us to build a web design company that draws from the city’s artistic energy. We are lucky enough to work with like-minded clients who understand the value of good design and have a good grasp of what makes a business move forward. We can say with an open heart that being a web designer in Portland is better and more fruitful than anywhere else in the country (do we dare say the world?)

Before you raise your eyebrow at this bold statement, pour yourself a cup of herbal tea, get cozy in your chair and discover why we think Portland is the best city to be a web designer.

The Importance of a Creative Environment in Portland Web Design

Creativity plays a crucial role in art and design. If you are a photographer, you draw inspiration from the great outdoors. If you are a writer, you probably prefer working in a coffee shop, surrounded by people, music, and a glass of Chardonnay as the evening comes around. If you are a painter, you might want a garage where you can work without worrying about paint dripping down the floor or carpet. If you’re a web designer, you need to be around like-minded people who aren’t afraid to break down taboos and traditional thinking.

The environment is a valuable resource for cultivating creativity. What you surround yourself with can ignite your imagination. The opposite is also true – a poor environment can extinguish your creative spark.

Portland has all the perks that could benefit a creative mind: mountains, coastlines, hip coffee shops, cultural institutions, and a handful of oddball events. It’s also a diverse city with an open culture that supports gay rights and has made marijuana legal. Simply put, Portland has managed to capture the spirit of these times like no other small city in America was able to. But, most importantly (at least from a web designer’s perspective) the city has been able to attract and retain an impressive number of young college-educated people. In fact, Portland has the second-highest rate in the nation after Louisville and attracts more young professionals than Austin, San Francisco, or New York.

For a web design company which needs creative minds to come up with innovative solutions for its clients, this is a perk that has allowed us to grow our business.

Why Portland is a Great City to Be a Web Designer

The reasons that turned Portland into a mecca for young people are many. From its great surroundings to its hip vibe, Portland has become the preferred destination for the highly educated, highly mobile workers in their early 20s.

Being a Portland web designer (or a web design company, in our case) comes with a set of advantages that are hard to beat by any other city. Sure, Portland isn’t as eclectic as New York or as tech-forward as San Francisco, but it offers its residents something more than that: an eccentric culture that fosters innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship.

Don’t get us wrong; we’ll be the first ones to admit that Portland isn’t flowing with milk and honey. The unemployment rate is higher than we might have wanted and the city could do better at fostering job growth. But, for all its job search hassle, we believe that Portland is worth the extra work. From its quality of life to the opportunities for meeting and working with like-minded people, Portland is, without a doubt, one of the best cities for those who want to focus on web design and digital marketing across the board.

1.   Opportunities for Pursuing Your Dream Career  

It used to be that access to ports and blue-collar workers was vital for promoting a thriving economy. Now, it’s no longer the case. Educated people with desk jobs and a drive to challenge the traditional way of thinking and doing business are the ones who drive growth.

These social and economic changes led to the transformation of most major cities. Most blue-collar workers, battling with taxes and the rising costs of housing, suddenly realize that they can move to smaller cities and live like kings on a cashier’s job.

Portland, however, has a different story. If people move to most cities looking for a certain kind of wealth, young professionals come to Portland attracted by the intangible opportunities the city has to offer. They know that they can find here jobs that bring their lives meaning and that they find fulfilling. Young people move to Portland to pursue their dream career rather than pursue a career and go wherever their job takes them.

2.   It Doesn’t Lack Human Capital

Because so many young people are attracted by Portland’s quality of life and hip vibe, it’s a breeding ground for creative minds. Serendipity provides clients a better chance to find the perfect web designer for the job as opposed to someone whose skills and expertise just sort of match their requirements. And, it’s not just about web design, but with all aspects of business.

The wealth of human capital leads to innovation, which allows businesses to grow and thrive. And, if there’s one thing that Portland doesn’t lack, it’s young professionals.

3.   Portland Has a Generous Community

Have you watched IFC’s hit show Portlandia? There’s a scene in one episode where two drivers are stuck in a four-way intersection not because the streets are too crowded but because they are too polite. The drivers spend a good few seconds insisting that the other one should go ahead.

“No, you go ahead!”

“Oh, no, please, YOU go ahead!”

It goes on for quite a while.

You might think that Portlandia is just hyperbole, portraying the stereotypical Portlander, but the reality is that people here are that nice and welcoming, and caring about the environment and those around them.

Portland residents exchange waves and smiles with fellow residents with more fervor than a Manhattaner exchanges obscenities. That’s not to say that there aren’t some exaggerations in the show (for starters, we don’t have an “Allergy Pride Parade”…yet) but for most parts, the city truly has a loving and generous community. Being a web designer in Portland is easier than in other cities since people are so nice and eager to make meaningful connections.

That brings us to the next reason why this is a great city for a web designer/web design companies.

4.   It’s So Easy to Make Connections

As we already mentioned, one of the upsides of Portland is that people here are extremely nice. Of course, that doesn’t mean that you will become best friends with the mailman, but the friendliness and openness of Portlanders make meeting like-minded people far less daunting than most cities.

Networking is important in web design just as in any other business. For starters, it can further your career. Since there are plenty of jobs that aren’t advertised, you have to network to find out about them. People usually recommend the people they like, so you don’t have to meet the actual employer but one of their contacts who could put you forward for your web design job. In most cases, networking can feel forced and a little weird. But, in Portland, where people on the street smile and chat with you as if you’re an old friend, making meaningful connections is certainly easier than in New York.

As a general rule of thumb, even if people in Portland are generally nice, if you meet someone that could help you in your web design career and you’ve exchanged contact information, don’t forget to follow up. Making connections isn’t a process that ends the moment you walk out of an event or encounter.  

5.   The Rain Will Make You More Creative

We’ll have to admit; it rains a lot in Portland. About six out of 12 months it rains here (and that’s just a fact, not an exaggeration.) Last December, we counted 14 straight days of no sun – just solid gray sky.

But, let’s look at the bright sides. First of all, while it does rain often, it’s usually light rain rather than torrential downpours. Secondly, we always have an excuse to snuggle up with a hot cocoa in one hand and a good book in the other. And, lastly, it has been shown that rain and cloudy days make us think more clearly and creatively.

Studies have shown that the sunshine engages the mind in risky behaviors while cloudiness expands our capacity for creative thinking. The reason has to do with human biology. We are hardwired to avoid sadness, so we respond to it by looking for opportunities to change our moods. Happiness, on the other hand, sends the signal that everything is fine and that there’s no need for deep and careful thinking.

These different mental approaches explain why we feel creativity spark in us during rainy days. The rainy days usually induce a negative mood, which our brains try to overcome by seeking information that might help us replace our sad moods. So, next time you have a creative block on that website design project you are working on for a client, pour yourself some team and look out the window. The chances are it will be raining (and, that’s a good thing.)

6.   You Are Encouraged to Be Your Quirky Self

Most of our colleagues don’t own a car. Instead, they prefer to ride the bus to work or walk to the city’s many coffee shops, brunch spots, and breweries. On weekends, we regularly hitch rides to the Pacific Coast. We could rent a car, but why would we when there’s such an opportunity to meet new people?

And, that’s the great thing about Portland. Everywhere you look, you will see people just like you – creative minds wanting more than just a job, but a place where they can put their mark on and make a difference. Portland might just be the only city that encourages people to move away from the norms and just be themselves. After all, we’re talking about a city that hosts a naked bike ride, has a museum of peculiar things and a vegan strip club.

Quirkiness, creativity, and web design go hand in hand. We’ve often drawn inspiration from the city to build sites with beautiful (and functional) designs. This city has been and continues to be our muse, inspiring us on our quest to deliver excellence. Although Portland web designer teams work in a competitive market, we’ve welcomed the challenge and used it to build an agency that delivers world-class results and stellar work experiences.

If you’d like to work with us or just chat about your business, don’t hesitate to contact us. We are more than happy to help you or just share funny memories of how this magnificent city has helped us become better versions of ourselves!

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