Mobile Responsive: HOW it Effects Your Website

June 11, 2020 by anoadmin

What is a mobile responsive website?

A mobile responsive website simply means that the website can be easily navigated on a mobile phone, tablet, and desktop. Responsive websites have the ability to adjust their size, layout, and proportions to be readable across devices.

Image is a screenshot of OldCity.com's mobile responsive design.

Mobile Responsive: HOW it Affects Your Website

The first time we mentioned the importance of a mobile responsive website was nearly one decade ago. Oh, how time flies! All these years later, this topic is more important than ever.

Unresponsive websites are at risk of losing half of their traffic.

From May of 2019 to May of 2020, roughly 50% of web users were browsing on mobile devices. With this information, we can assume that nearly 50% of the users on our clients’ websites are on a mobile device. So, if your website isn’t responsive, you are at risk of losing half of your website traffic!

Find out how many users are on a mobile device on your website via Google Analytics.

Picture this: You are on vacation and headed out for a day of fishing. But first you need to pick up bait, so you do a Google search for ‘nearby bait shops’.

Among your search results is a locally owned bait shop. Since you would prefer to spend your money locally, you click the link to their website. Next, you head to their Products Page to find out if they carry – wait a minute. You can’t find their Products Page. In fact, you can’t find anything on the website without scrolling left to right and up and down because it is not a mobile responsive website. Frustrated that you can’t find answers, you’ll scroll to the next bait shop.

Need more convincing that you need a mobile responsive website? Keep scrolling!

The Benefits of A Mobile Responsive Website

Here are a few of the perks of a mobile responsive website:

Users on a mobile device or tablet can easily find the Navigation (this is at the top of the website where the Home Page, Contact Us Page, and other pages are located). A mobile responsive website also allows them to easily find other information and view images better.
Search engines (like Google) reward mobile-responsive websites with a higher SEO (search engine optimization) score. You can learn more about how SEO and mobile responsive websites correlate here.
The Exit Rate (the percentage of times people leave your website too quickly) is lower. If your Exit Rate is high it’s likely because users aren’t having a good experience on it; not having a responsive website hugely contributes to a bad user experience on a site.

The Downfall of Unresponsive Websites

Since more people use mobile devices to browse the internet, mobile responsive design was created to provide a better user experience. Your website serves as an online marketing tool and a bad user experience is detrimental to how effective it is. Think of it like this: browsing an unresponsive site is similar to trying to find an item in a store with no aisles, no signs, and no employees.

There is inadequate space to click on links, so the user has trouble getting information. Have you ever tried to click on a button on your phone but kept missing it? This is what the entire experience feels like on an unresponsive website.
Users are constantly having to zoom out to find information and then zoom in to read it. Talk about inconvenient!
Instead of scrolling up and down, users have to scroll up, down, left, and right.

For a good example of a mobile responsive website, check out this blog on a mobile phone. Not only is OldCityWebServices.com a responsive site, but the layout of this blog was also intentionally designed to be user-friendly on a mobile phone.

Don’t put this off for another decade!

We understand that life gets busy, but this can’t wait! If your website isn’t mobile responsive, we guarantee that a mobile responsive design will astronomically improve the efficiency of your website. Remember, your website’s purpose is to be a marketing tool that works for you!

Call us at 904-867-4112 or click the button below to fill out our form.

Let’s get started!

Mission Statement

The mission at Old City Web Services is to navigate the world of web design, web development, and advertising for our clients so that they can focus on what they do best – running their business! Our business intentions go beyond the metrics of graphics, coding, and SEO. Located on Florida’s First Coast, we run a personable home front service and consider our relationship with our clients as a partnership in their success.

Please share and re-post this blog. Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on Old City Web Services Blog.

Logo Roll Out Checklist

March 13, 2020 by anoadmin

At the end of the day, we all want to look good and present our best selves. This goes double when you’re running a business – and looking professional for your customers starts with your logo. In fact, when a customer visits your website or receives an email from your business, your logo goes a long way towards validating the trustworthiness of your business. On the flip side, a missing logo can cause customers to hesitate to do business with you.

So, whether you just had a logo designed or you’ve had one for years, use our Logo Roll Out Checklist to dot your i’s and cross your t’s by making sure your logo is on everything that represents your business.

Image contains two different shoes on one person.

How Our Logo Checklist Can Help You

We want you to look good for your customers and one way we can help you with that is by making sure your logo is aligned throughout your online and print materials. After all, you wouldn’t leave the house missing a shoe or wearing two different shoes, would you? Well, that’s exactly why you should never have two logos – or no logo at all – representing your business.

Regardless of if you have a new logo or just want to double-check that your current logo is in each place it needs to be, below is our Logo Checklist as well as some quick tips to help you place your logo in the right places!

Read our quick tips below before starting your Logo Roll Out Checklist:

Digital first, print second: Adding your logo to your website or social media is much simpler than adding it to a business card or rack card. So, a good rule of thumb is to always check your online materials first.

Update your color scheme: Whether it be in the marketing emails you send to customers or in your email signature, don’t forget to utilize the very intentional color scheme of your logo!

Logos put customers at ease: Your logo is like your business’ badge because it speaks to the professionalism and authenticity of your business. Without one present, you risk looking untrustworthy.

Logo Roll Out Checklist

Need a logo? We can help!

Does your business need a logo or does your current logo need sprucing up? Or, maybe you just need your current logo added to your business cards and other print materials. Either way, we’re here for you for whatever logo needs you may have. Schedule a free consultation by calling us at 904-867-4112 or by clicking the button below and filling out our form.

Let’s get started!

Mission Statement

Please share and re-post this blog. Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on Old City Web Services Blog.

The Evolution of Websites

January 17, 2020 by anoadmin

The evolution of websites has featured significant advancements since the creation of the world wide web in 1989. In fact, every few years there are enormous technological changes in the way they look and how we use them. While comparing the look of old websites to websites today can be a fun walk down memory lane, it also sheds a light on how quickly websites can go from ‘on trend’ to outdated. While we hope this blog is interesting, we also hope it highlights how important it is to keep up with the Joneses (and your competitor) by redesigning your website every few years!

Evolution of Websites from 1990 to 2000:

Having been created in 1989, the world wide web was just starting out when our timeline begins in 1990. In fact, was 1991 when the first website would be created and today, it is hardly recognizable as it only had a single column of text.

Once websites became more popular, they would make leaps and jumps in appearances. In fact, two noteworthy advancements between 1990 and 2000 include the creation of table-based sites and a new software called Flash. While table-based sites were substantial because they made it possible to create websites with multiple columns, Flash was equally as unique because it gave websites the ability to have videos, music, and graphics with animation. Both advancements significantly changed the appearance of websites as well as promoted better user-experience and content organization.

Websites from the ’90s: OldCity.com (1998), Nascar.com (1996), CountryLiving.com (1997).

Fun facts during this time:

Splash pages became a fad among designers. A splash page was a page that users hit before hitting the main website; designers added logos and moving graphics or text to catch the eye of the user.
Background images, animated text, scrolling text, and GIFs became popular across websites.
Website page builders became available to anyone with an internet connection and allowed them to build their own websites. Examples of these programs include Angel Fire and GeoCities.

Evolution of Websites from 2000 to 2010:

In the early 2000s, a programming language called CSS (cascading style sheets) became a widely popular way to build websites. At this time, CSS was used in conjunction with HTML which is another popular programming language. While only using HTML mandated creators to code each individual element on a website, the combination of CSS and HTML allowed creators to define elements across a website. Instead of writing out an entire website, creators could write the code for elements once (title sizes, colors, header images, etc.) and have it mimicked across the website.

JavaScript is another programming language that became popular at this time and is useful in a completely different way. In fact, its biggest superpower is that it can add animation to a website that doesn’t need to be read by a secondary program. Up until this time, Flash was pretty much exclusively used to add animation to a website. However, animations built with Flash could only be read with the program Flash Player and not every computer had it.

CSS and JavaScript gave creators more wiggle room and layout capabilities. As a result, the world wide web was seeing more websites using animated buttons and call-to-actions to interact with users as well as websites with uniformity, sleeker layouts, and more organized content.

Websites from 2005: OldCity.com, Nascar.com, and CountryLiving.com.

Fun facts during this time:

In 2003, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 became the first web browser to support more than 99% of CSS websites with no glitches or loading errors.
In 2004, Facebook (formerly TheFacebook) launched for the first time.
The first version of Google’s popular website browser, Chrome, was created in 2008.

Evolution of Websites from 2010 to 2020:

Although internet access on a mobile phone was available prior to 2010, it was in the years after 2010 that mobile responsive design became a priority for websites. This resulted in progressively minimal websites. For example, instead of getting the attention of users with flashy designs, designers began to focus on layouts that were tall and skinny. This ideology helped the experience on a mobile phone be just as delightful as that on a desktop.

Furthermore, although it can be argued that websites have been optimized for search engines for decades, it wasn’t until the few years before 2010 that creators began to competitively add it to their marketing strategy. As a result, the content of a website became about SEO and therefore, design became about the layout of the content. This only further stressed the importance of a bare-minimum layout. Soon thereafter, more and more websites were redesigned to have reduced navigation of only the main areas of the website, images that shrink on smaller devices, as well as content that gets straight to the point of the website.

OldCity.com (2012), Nascar.com (2015), and CountryLiving.com (2015)

Fun facts during this time:

In 2016, the number of people browsing the internet on a smartphone surpassed the number of people browsing the internet on a desktop.
The programs Facebook, Mozilla, Google, Apple, and Microsoft have stopped supporting Flash Player because of its vulnerability.
There are 1,742,651,546 websites online as of January 15, 2020.

Don’t get left behind, get a redesign!

Websites are changing faster than ever and it’s only a matter of time until newer trends like mobile responsiveness are old news. Additionally, people can tell if your website looks a decade, or even a half a decade old. So, don’t get left behind! Instead, let us give your website a facelift with a redesign. After all, the number of consumers that shop, plan, and research on the internet is only rising.

Press the button below or call us at 904-867-4112 to get started on a redesign that will make your business shine.

Have a redesign in mind?

Sources: EZ Marketing, HubSpot, Neil Patel, Pew Research, Search Engine Journal

Mission Statement

Please share and re-post this blog. Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on Old City Web Services Blog.

Two Telltale Signs Your Site Needs A Redesign

November 30, 2018 by anoadmin

A website is an important marketing tool because it is a business’ online storefront. When people are surfing the web and come across a website, they judge it and determine whether that business is a good fit for them. There are quite a few reasons that might deter someone away from a website only to go to their competitors. One of the biggest reasons is that the site is out of date and needs a redesign. Additionally, there is more than one factor at play that can put a website into this category. Below, we’ve described two of the biggest telltale signs that a website needs a redesign.

It isn’t responsive.

Time and time again we’ve stressed the importance of having a responsive website. A responsive website has a flexible layout that is adaptable to different screen sizes and devices. For example, take a look at the three images below, each image has the same image, titles, and text despite being on three different devices.

: Mobile Version

: Desktop Version

: Tablet Version

Now more than ever, people are using mobile devices and tablets to surf the web as much as a desktop, if not more. When users have a bad mobile experience on a website, they’re less likely to shop with that business. The proof is in the pudding, check out the statistics below to see how important a responsive website truly is.

46% of people will not shop with a brand again if they had a bad mobile experience (Google, 2017)
52.2% of worldwide online activity was generated through smartphones in 2018 (Statista, 2018)
57% of mobile users will not recommend a brand with a bad mobile design (socPub)
80% of mobile users are more likely to shop with a brand with a mobile website that answers their questions quickly (Google, 2018)
Consumers have twice as many interactions with brands on their smartphone than they do with brands on TV, in-store, etc. (Google, 2017)

(Source: Blue Corona)

Your competitors have newer sites.

If your competition’s website looks significantly newer than yours, it’s time for a redesign! Potential customers surfing the web will research a few businesses before making a final purchase. Part of their research is comparing you to your competitors. This includes the look and feel of your website. Generally, we encourage clients to redesign their website AT LEAST every five years. On the other hand, this recommendation may change based on the look and navigation of your competitor’s site. Although a two-year-old website may feel new to you, potential clients may not draw the same conclusion. Remember, a quality website represents a quality business. Periodically compare your website to your competitors. Check for a fast or slow load time, easy navigation, and how responsive your site is on a smartphone, desktop, and tablet.

Need A Redesign?

Don’t panic if your site isn’t responsive or if your competitors have newer sites. This is an easy fix. Depending on your needs, a new website can be designed in as short as a few weeks or as long as a few months. Of course, the quicker you get your website redesigned the better! If you have any questions about the redesign process, just give us a call or contact us today.

Use Good Phone Etiquette

One thing that is important for success in your business is using good phone etiquette. Answering the phone promptly within in one or two rings is a big plus. Use a friendly, welcoming tone; don't be abrupt or gruff. Put a smile on your face...it conveys in your voice. If you have to put the caller on hold, check back in with them - don't forget them. And, at the end of the call, be sure to "Thank" the caller. It goes a long way.

Mission Statement

Our mission at Old City Web Services is to navigate the world of web design, web development, and advertising for our clients so that they can focus on what they do best – running their business! Our business intentions go beyond the metrics of graphics, coding, and SEO. Located on Florida’s First Coast, we run a personable home front service and consider our relationship with our clients as a partnership in their success. If you are looking to increase your business’ visibility give us a call at 904-867-4112 or contact us today.

Sharing and re-posting this blog is encouraged. Please credit Old City Web Services when sharing. Photo credits: OldCityWebServices, Canva. Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information on Old City Web Services Blog.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Website Terms to Know

October 4, 2018 by anoadmin

Most businesses hire a web firm to navigate the enigma that is the web world. From registering your domain to ensuring responsiveness, web firms take care of the nuances of your website. However, it’s important that the information they give you is translated correctly. To help you understand your web firm better, we've created a list of frequently used terms in the web world.

Website Terms

CMS (Content Management System) - A CMS is software that is used to manage your website content for your website. It may allow multiple people to manage a website's content and is usually internet based. One example is WordPress.

Development - This is the act of programming or coding that creates features and functions so that a design concept can be built into a website.

Development Site - An alias website with a different domain than that of the actual website. While a site is being built or undergoing a redesign, a development site is used. The purpose of a development site is to have a private space to build a website.

Design - The overall appearance of a website including colors, fonts, images, spacing, and style.

Domain Name - A domain is the name of your website and where users can access your site on the internet.

IP Address (Internet Protocol Address) - An IP address is a unique set of numbers that are separated by periods. Each series of numbers identifies the computer or server that a website is hosted on; think of it as the street address of where your website resides.

Open Source CMS - Software that is open to the public to create, edit, and transform and is usually free. In most cases, no single individual owns an open source CMS, rather, a community of developers and programmers work simultaneously to improve it.

Plugins - Plugins are functions that you add to your website such as a calendar, a reservation bar, a scheduling bar, or to convert to an eCommerce site.

Responsive - Responsiveness is a website's capability to adapt to different devices. Design and functionalities of a responsive website stay intact whether the website is being viewed on a desktop, smartphone, or tablet.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) - SEO is the act of using techniques, strategies, and content to help a website appear at the top of the SERP (search engine results page) allowing the maximum number of people to visit your website. Google is an example of a search engine.

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) - An SSL certificate is a technology that encrypts information between the web server and a browser; it is an extra level of security for your website that protects you and visitors. Read about Google's part in promoting SSL certificates.

Themes - A theme is the underlying functionality of a website.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator) - A URL is the address of a web page; each web page has a different URL. URLs, links, and web addresses are interchangeable words. An example of a URL is https://oldcitywebservices.com/services/.

User Interface - The user interface is how users navigate a website after landing on a web page. This includes menus, the layout of the text, contact forms, buttons and more. A designer and developer must consider and optimize the user interface to make the user experience as friendly as possible.

Web Host - A web host is a business that provides the servers where your website files are located so that they can be accessed through the Internet.

WordPress - WordPress is an open source CMS that we encourage clients to build their websites on. WordPress offers over 45,000 quality plugins, exceeding offers from Drupal or Joomla (which are rivalry CMS').

Tip for Success – Research, examine and execute.

This list of terms may have opened your eyes to areas that your website is lacking in. But, if you’re website is lacking several characteristics, you may be asking yourself “Where do I start?” and “What can I afford?” The best thing to do is research, examine and execute.

Research your website needs.

The first step is to determine what your website is lacking. You can research this by using materials like this blog of defined terms, calling Old City Web Services, or reading material online.

Examine your choices and budget.

What is the biggest piece missing from your website? If your website is missing several things, you'll have to decide what's most critical to its success. This is a great question for us, just give us a shout! We can lead you in the right direction based on your unique needs.

Execute the process.

This is the easiest step! Inform us of your final decision and we'll get the ball rolling! Remember to relax - the tough part is over and now you can lean on the trustworthy shoulders of your web firm team.

Mission Statement

Sharing and re-posting this blog is encouraged. Please credit Old City Web Services when sharing. Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information on Old City Web Services Blog.

WordPress vs Squarespace

August 9, 2018 by anoadmin

Terms to Know

Open source – Software that's built and added to by the public. Open source CMS’ don’t have owners. A community of developers, programmers, businesses, individuals work on it simultaneously and have rights to the plugins and themes they create.

Themes - A theme is the underlying functionality of a website.

CMS (Content Management System) – A platform for your website that allows multiple users to manage website content, such as WordPress.

Plugins - Plugins are functions that you can add to your website such as a calendar, a reservation bar, a scheduling bar, or to convert to an eCommerce site.

Let’s Get Started

Credit: First Site Guide

So, how did we decide which builders to compare? We chose WordPress because of its long-standing reliability – which is also why we recommend it to customers. We chose Squarespace for its growing popularity. Before we get into the major differences between Squarespace and WordPress, it’s important for you to know the context in which we’re comparing the two CMS’.

Businesses that use WordPress hire a company (like Old City Web Services) to manage their site. In the same respect, businesses that use Squarespace for their site manage it on their own, without ownership or the expertise of search engine optimizers and designers.

Limited Design Capabilities with Squarespace

WordPress

Businesses depend on designers and developers to create a website that accurately portrays their business, even if that owner knows how to work their way through a WordPress site. Designers have a trained eye for critical architect-based issues, they know how to make your site responsive on every device, and they know how to grab the attention of users.

Squarespace

Initially, Squarespace is less expensive than hiring a company to build your site. With easy-to-navigate templates and simple, appealing design, anyone could build a website on this software and have it running in a day. But with this quick fix comes some downfalls to be aware of. Your choices of the themes and plugins are extremely limited. You also risk building a biased site that you think is great, but customers might not feel the same about.

A DIY Squarespace website with a DIY logo on the Home Page. As you can see, there is no clear call to action on the Home Page, the logo is distracting, and the image quality isn't great. These are all common mistakes you can avoid by hiring a designer.

You Don’t Own Your Squarespace Site

WordPress

You legally own the rights to templates and plugins you purchase for your WordPress site. Contrary to that, if you wanted to move your site from WordPress to Joomla or Drupal, you won't be able to use those plugins in the new CMS. However, this is usually a non-issue for people. The versatility of open source CMS' is way beyond that of CMS' like Squarespace. So in a scenario where you're already using an open source CMS, you're unlikely to feel the need to move it, because they don't have the same limitations as Squarespace.

Squarespace

In the section above “Design”, we spoke a little on the disadvantages of designing a site yourself. Now, Squarespace may help you with some design issues such as by providing you with templates that you can insert content or images into. However, that is not your property. They own your domain. If you ever wanted to merge your website over to a more versatile software such as WordPress, Joomla, or Dubla you can’t take your Squarespace site, themes, or plugins with you. To move your content to another CMS, you'd have to copy and paste it from Squarespace.

Additionally, unlike WordPress, Joomla or Drupal, Squarespace doesn't back up your site for you. If you're adding content to the backend of your site, Squarespace doesn't save your earlier drafts. In case you need to refer back to old content, they only recommended that you copy and paste your content into a word document and save it. WordPress, on the other hand, keeps a record of your revisions.

SEO is More Difficult & More Expensive When You DIY

WordPress

There are plugins available for your WordPress site that can help you with SEO. One of the most popular ones is Yoast, which is easy to use and approaches SEO with a step-by-step mentality. Furthermore, Yoast offers a free version of the plugin that is suitable for many of our customers. The free version of Yoast focuses on keyword optimization, calculation of the Flesch reading score of your content, technicalities in code, along with checking for duplicate content.

Squarespace

While Squarespace has a few plugins, they have nowhere near as many as WordPress. The majority of Squarespace plugins are generic, such as social media icons, photo galleries, and accordions. This means you’ll have to hire extra help with optimizing your site so that it ranks in Google and other search engines. Of course, you can always attempt to optimize your site for search engines yourself. But, this trial and error method will take up a lot of your time.

To Sum it Up...

Since we’ve told you All About the Benefits of WordPress, we thought we should also shed light on the major differences between WordPress and DIY (do-it-yourself) website builders. Using a DIY website builder runs the same risks as creating a DIY logo. In fact, most of the time we recommend our clients only use opensource CMS’ like WordPress and hire a team to build the site for them. We hope this information was helpful!

Tip for Success

Bobby here with another Tip for Success about the risks associated with building a site on Squarespace without a designer. Squarespace is popular because of its easy-to-use structure, right? But, just because the average person can build a website with this software, doesn’t guarantee the finished product is rock solid. To understand this, its important to know the fundamentals of what goes into designing a site.

The task of a designer goes beyond the metrics of color schemes and placement. In fact, a good designer will analyze every characteristic of the page: the navigation, the padding around text blocks and images, the amount of text, the spacing and readability of the font, the sizes of images, the quality of images, the flow of the page, and so much more. The key to successfully doing this is being objective and unbiased – which designers are trained to do!

Mission Statement

Sharing and re-posting this blog is encouraged. Please credit Old City Web Services when sharing. Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information on Old City Web Services Blog. Squarespace website photo: Mission Chinese Food. Comparison chart: First Site Guide.

Guide to Online Banner Ads

March 7, 2018 by anoadmin

Should You Purchase Online Banner Ads?

St. Augustine Lions Seafood Festival Digital BannerAs a small business in a city where tourism is booming, the short answer to this question is yes! In our last blog, Advertising Ideas, we discussed the best ways to advertise during Tourist Season. To no surprise, online banner ads and other ad spaces topped our list!

How They Work

Online banner ads are eye-catching and use links to push online visitors to business' websites and landing pages. There are several outlets that allow you to advertise your business with a digital banner. But, the best way to reach vacationers with your banner is to place them on sites like OldCity.com. Visitors consider these sites as reputable, in fact, 70% of global respondents, consider websites to be the second-most trusted format to use while they are planning their vacation. These respondents, or vacationers, use websites to browse their options for lodging, activities, and restaurants.

Basically, visitors on OldCity.com are using the site as a source of information for St. Augustine. So, what better way for a small business in this region to reach potential customers?

How to Get Started with Online Banner Ads

Design

Online banner ads on OldCity.com come in a variety of designs! The design team at Old City Web Services custom designs each digital banner. Although there may be several online banner ads on one page, each one is compelling and unique.

When you hire a designer to create a digital banner you are optimizing its potential reach. Designers are trained to create interactive, responsive, and beautiful pieces to catch the eye of visitors. However, an advertisement that is created by a person without a design background may have subtle elements that will deter visitors.

Digital banner designs and banner spaces on OldCity.com are one of the least expensive ways to advertise. Why not consider adding one today?

: Banner for GhoSt Augustine

: Banner for Guy Harvey Resort

Choose A Space

The location of your digital banner is just as important as its design. On OldCity.com, you’ll find there are over two dozen pages that were created with advertising spaces in mind. Find which category best describes your niche and place your banner on the corresponding page.

Sub-pages:Attractions, Beaches, History and Culture, Music and Art, Night Life, Shopping, Sightseeing, Sports and Recreation, Weddings, Bed and Breakfasts, Campgrounds and Fish Camps, Condos and Resorts, Historic District, Hotels and Motels, Oceanfront Rentals, Short-term Vacation Rentals, Pet-Friendly Information, Fine Dining, Real Estate, Places of Worship

Landing Pages: Things to Do, Where to Eat, Where to Stay, The Community

Online banner ads on landing pages are viewed by more visitors, get more clicks per banner, and are more expensive than sub-page spaces.

Professional Photography Matters!

Smartphones give virtually everyone access to good, even great cameras. However, that does not make everyone a photographer. It is a skill set that requires years of training and experience to see and set up a well-composed photograph. Professionals see the details most of us miss, such as whether it is a good time of day to shoot your storefront or positioning a person so that a light pole is not coming out of the top of their head. It may be tempting to cut them from your website budget but that could be a costly mistake. But, a poorly shot photo reflects poorly on your business and speaks to your consumer subtly about the quality of what you are offering them. It could be the difference between choosing you or your competitor. Look at professional photography as a worthwhile investment in your success.

Mission Statement

Our mission at Old City Web Services is to navigate the world of web design, web development, and advertising for our clients so that they can focus on what they do best – manage their business! Our business intentions go beyond the metrics of graphics, coding, and SEO. Located on Florida’s First Coast, we run a personable home front service and consider our relationship with our clients as a partnership in their success. If you are looking to increase your business’ visibility give us a call at 904-867-4112 or contact us today.

Sharing and re-posting this blog is encouraged. Please credit Old City Web Services when sharing.
Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information on Old City Web Services Blog.
Photo credits: Old City Web Services

Top Five Advertising Ideas for Tourist Season

February 22, 2018 by anoadmin

As Summer approaches, businesses who invest in advertising now will optimize their potential revenue during tourist season. Since there are dozens of unique ways to advertise, we've created a list of the most effective advertising ideas for businesses targeting tourists and locals during tourist season.

Answer these questions before reading our list of advertising ideas, they will help you determine which method is best for your business!

What is your budget?
Who is your ideal customer?Note: An ‘ideal customer’ should mirror the following: loves your brand and region and is proud to associate themselves with it, writes a good review on Yelp, doesn’t ask about price and often spends more money on upsells. For example, the ideal customer for a bed and breakfast in St. Augustine is a repeat customer who loves the Old City, purchases upsell items such as champagne, and brags about your bed and breakfast to their friends.
How old are they? Are they male or female?

Advertising Ideas

1. Website Banners and Ad Space on a Reputable Site

It's important to choose advertising spaces on an outlet that will reach your ideal customer and is also trustworthy. Therefore, many businesses choose to advertise via banners and spaces on websites such as OldCity.com. Travelers often use these types of sites to research and plan their vacation making it easy for them to find your ad. In addition, 70% of global respondents, or travelers, consider websites to be the second-most trusted format to use while they are planning their vacation.

Ideal Customer: Locals, Travelers

Cost: Low

Select from the following ad spaces on OldCity.com:

Things to Do, Where to Eat, Where to Stay, Community.

2. Direct Mail

“Direct mail marketing is far from dead.” – Says Forbes Magazine. Direct mail is effective for businesses who are targeting locals because they already have their postal code and travelers don't receive mail while they're on vacation.

Here are a few astonishing statistics for restaurants, bars, and attractions in the Old City targeting locals.

80-90% of direct mail gets opened.
30% of millennials agree that mail is more effective at getting them to act.
The return profit of direct mail is 7%, but, mobile is 2%, email is 1%, social media is 1%.
56% of people who responded to direct mail went online or visited the store.

Ideal Customer: Locals

Cost: Middle

3. Vehicle Wraps, Decals, and Bumper Stickers

Vehicle graphics are a great way to advertise because they discretely attract attention, are seen by thousands of drivers, and are at work 24 hours a day for 365 days a year. Restaurants, bars, boutiques, attractions, and other establishments looking to attract customers that are already in their region will benefit from vehicle graphics. However, lodging businesses should consider a different vessel since travelers book rooms prior to their vacation.

Ideal Customer: Locals, Travelers in your region.

Cost: Vehicle wraps are an investment, ranging between $1,500 to $3,500, while decals and bumper stickers can cost up to $1,500. Estimated prices, prices may vary.

Let’s get started on your bumper sticker or vehicle graphic design!

4. Print Design & Cross-Promotion

Cross Promotion: Using your social network to promote a business that in return promotes your business.

Amongst our list of advertising ideas, we had to add cross-promotion. Potential customers see cross-promotion as word-of-mouth, and word-of-mouth is extremely effective. Since customers don’t know your relationship with the respective business, they’ll consider this recommendation as reputable. But, first, you’ll need print media to distribute to your joint advertisers, such as brochures, flyers, hanging posters, or business cards.

Ideal Customer: Locals, Travelers already in your region.

Cost: Low

Not sure which business you should trade your print media with?

Give us a call, we will design your brochures, flyers, hanging posters, or business cards and connect you with a partnering business.

5. Social Media Campaigns

Social media outlets use an algorithm (set of rules), to create a better experience for the average user. Algorithms used by Facebook and Instagram organize a user’s feed based on whether it's relevant to the user’s interests. However, Twitter has a natural in-real-time feed. This means that your Twitter posts will appear in your follower’s feed as soon as you tweet. But, posts on Instagram and Facebook may take two days, three days, four days, etc. to appear to your followers. Naturally, paying for a promoted post will get your post more exposure, because the platform overrides the algorithm for that post.

But, are your ideal customers using social media?

According to publications by Pewinternet.org, Forbes.com, and Businessinsider.com Facebook is the most popular outlet with the most demographically diverse user-base.

Ideal Customer: Locals, Travelers

Cost: Low

The graph below will help you find which platform your ideal customers use the most:

A photo of PEW Social Media Demographic Chart

This social media demographic chart is by PEW, from a survey conducted in January of 2018.

One thing clients can greatly benefit from is backing up their websites daily and automatically. This is especially important for site owners who go into the backend of their site to make edits, change text, photos and so on. Backups are very easy to restore, in an emergency, a restore can take only a few minutes versus spending hours or even days trying to fix a problem.

Mission Statement

Sharing and re-posting this blog is encouraged. Please credit Old City Web Services when sharing.
Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information on Old City Web Services Blog.
Photo credits: Old City Web Services

OldCity Web Services – Highlights of 2017

January 12, 2018 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

Check out a few highlights from our year in 2017.
From website and print designs to new content services, SEO efforts, and pro bono projects – we’ve been busy!

Advertorials

Advertising and Content

In 2017 we implemented a new type of advertising on OldCity.com, called advertorials. We now offer a 300-word blog, made-to-order for our clients. Advertisers can use advertorials to spread the word on sales, services, general awareness and more. Our first client was the franchisee of the local chain, Dunkin’ Donuts. Check it out.

Content Writing

St. Augustine Historic Inns

In other content news, the St. Augustine Historic Inns requested we create intriguing blogs for their customers, which are then published on the bottom of their Home Page. The blogs vary in topic, but all pertain to things-to-do, holidays, and events in St. Augustine. Now, when potential customers navigate to the Inn’s website, they are greeted with material that is persuasive, making them more inclined to book a trip to exciting St. Augustine!

Print Design

Bluewater Adventure

Front and back of rack card designed for Bluewater Adventure.

Bluewater Adventure’s made a big move from the waters of South Carolina to the Old City that prompted them to redesign their rack card, which was no longer accurate. Our team decided the only way to fully capture their quality tours was by taking on the Intercoastal Waterway ourselves! We set up a Bluewater Adventure photo shoot and scored photos of the catamarans in action along with phenomenal photos of The Great Cross and Castillo de San Marcos. Now, on the front of the rack card is a proper representation of the sightseeing opportunities you have when sailing with Bluewater Adventure.

Magazine Advertisement Design

Gator Door East Inc.

Gator Door East used this advertisement for their big debut in St. Johns County Parade of Homes magazine! After learning they’d be a featured business, Gator Door sat down with our team to create an influential and compelling ad to catch the attention of shoppers! Don’t you just a-door this ad?

Business Card and Site Design

Jack Ward Fire

Jack Ward Fire, recently under new ownership, desired a brand with a haute look, reflecting their field of work. Working through fire and flames, we presented them with what is now their company’s business card. They were so pleased with the fire-hot cards, that our design team is currently working with them on a smokin’ hot site.

: Gator Door magazine ad for St. Johns County Parade of Homes.

: Jack Ward employee business cards.

E-commerce Solutions

Minorcan Datil

After facing multiple issues with X-Cart commerce solutions, Minorcan owner decided to upgrade to a more modern system, WordPress. Our development team knew that WordPress’s, user-friendly, Woo-commerce theme would satisfy her desire to add new products, edit old products, and raise her customer satisfactory level. Now, Minorcan can concentrate on managing customers and products without the hassle of learning how to navigate a difficult system.

Site and Logo Redesign

Rodbender Fishing Charters

The fishing charter industry in Northeast Florida can be compared to a shark tank, it’s a competitive field and standing out in the crowd can be difficult. After a consultation, it was clear to Chuck Stearns, owner, that Rodbender Fishing Charters needed a fresh logo and easy-to-navigate site. The design team created a few mockups and Chuck decided on this creative logo and simple site. Now, the Homepage of his site subtly answers frequently asked questions and has three call-to-action charter packages. As for the logo, if you can think of a better design, let minnow.

Site Design and Launch

R.V. Cooper Construction

R.V. Cooper Construction is a local construction company servicing St. Augustine and surrounding areas. Remarkably, since 1998, the company has relied on word of mouth to reach new clients; their quality workmanship and attentiveness in guiding customers was their business strategy. However, the competitive nature of the construction field prompted them to make their web presence concrete. Ricky Cooper, the owner, desired a platform that would showcase the construction process, to ease the customer experience. Our team raised the roof by creating Cooper’s beautiful new site; straightforward, simple and user-friendly.

: R.V. Cooper Construction’s Home Page.

: Hook, line, and sinker logo for Rodbender Fishing Charters.

Search Engine Optimization

Ranking Efforts

Search engine optimization (SEO), is imperative for every business to incorporate into their business plan. In 2017, our SEO team worked with nearly a dozen local businesses, developing key-terms and strategies to gain a higher ranking in their search engine results.

Multipurpose Online Designs

St. Joseph Academy

Old City Web Services also did a few pro-bono projects in 2017. One of our favorites was creating a series of 14 athletic-banners for St. Joseph Academy’s sports teams, the Flashes. It was important that the banners could be transferred and size-well whether they were added to newsletters, emails, print media, or their site. Our team sparked the Flashes interest with a lightning bolt and bold imagery. Go team!

Logo Design

The Ponce Hotel

Upon branching out from under the franchise, Magnuson Hotels, The Ponce Hotel needed a fresh look and logo. Our design team worked with the new interior designer at the Ponce on matching the color scheme used inside the hotel. In conclusion, they decided on the simple yet elegant logo.

Love what you see? Call us for a consultation.

Check out other work we've done for clients.

Two things clients can do to push security efforts is to never trust embedded URLs or unsolicited mail. This may seem obvious, but you wouldn’t believe the number of times a client is hacked because they thought they recognized the “From:” address in a spam mail. Also, be on guard for shady apps requesting unusual permission’s – especially mobile ones!

Mission Statement

Sharing and re-posting this blog is encouraged. Please credit Old City Web Services when sharing.
Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information on Old City Web Services Blog.
Photo credits: Old City Web Services

Website Trends for 2018

January 2, 2018 by anoadmin

In 2017 several website trends caught traction which will remain popular throughout 2018. In the past year, we have noticed a major evolution in the design of small business sites. Cluttered pages, a lack of direction, and M.I.A. contact forms are a thing of the past. The message has been conveyed; business owners are realizing that strong photos, clear messages, and prompt customer service is what makes a positive user experience. A positive experience results in potential customers to stay on a site for longer. Therefore, websites are being designed with a specific goal to convey a clear message and make it as easy as possible for the user. More sites are sticking to a clean site format, incorporating a call to action (CTAs) and chatbots.

Clean Sites and Good Photo Quality

Old City Web Services designs a site that is clear and focused.

This is an example of a site that Old City Web Services redesigned not too long ago. Notice the simple color scheme, clear text, and simplicity of the site.Above all else, a clean and focused website is a top priority for businesses. A cluttered site can be distracting and push potential customers out of your cyber-door. Since sites only have a few seconds to grab the attention of a user, distracting elements like blurry photos, a mismatched color-scheme, and too short or too long of content, is damaging.

Call to Action (CTA)

St. Augustine Record CTA

In this CTA, the St. Augustine Record advertises a local attorneys office.The purpose of a CTA is to prompt the user to take a specific action while on your site. A CTA usually takes the form of a button, link, or pop-up and requests the user to “sign up”, make a purchase, download a coupon, or read more information.

Every site should have a CTA, especially e-commerce sites. They provide a direction for users, measure the success of a site, and let’s not forget they increase conversion. The proof is in the pudding. Nearly every large corporation site has several CTAs and small businesses are following suit in 2018.

CTA’s are for you if you have an e-commerce site, use email as a form of marketing, host events or sales, or provide coupons.

If you are interested in adding a CTA or expanding your current site into an ecommerce site, call us to schedule a free consultation.

Screenshot: Chat automation by thinkingchat.com. An example of what chat automation can look like for your business' site.

Chatbots

Customer service will be more complex than ever in 2018. In the past, customers with an inquiry resorted to dialing a number for a resolution, but in 2018 they will resort to clicking; chatbots are the key to high customer satisfaction.

Consumers are interested in what is most convenient for them and phone calls have become inconvenient. Since users often use the internet and social media pages, such as Facebook, to find information, connecting with them online is more important than ever. Consequently, chatbots are taking the place of phone calls. As you may have noticed on some Facebook Business Pages, it is no longer necessary to dial a number for an answer. Chatbots make it convenient to answer frequently asked questions such as the price of items, event times, locations, and the purchase of tickets. While large enterprises have a customer support person on the other side of their chat box to answer questions, small businesses may not have the manpower to answer individual questions. However, small businesses can rely on chat automation, which provides pre-written responses to FAQ. Chatbots is beneficial for more than just the consumer. In fact, small businesses profit as well because customers are satisfied and better customer data is collected.

The technology behind chatbots is sophisticated but surprisingly inexpensive. Interested in knowing if chatbots are the way to the hearts of your customers? We can help you.

Mission Statement

Sharing and re-posting this blog is encouraged. Please credit Old City Web Services when sharing.
Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information on Old City Web Services Blog.
Photo credits: Old City Web Services, Thinkingchat.com, Rodbender Fishing Charters.