Is It Time To Update Your Website?

It Might Be Time To Update Your Website

It's time to update your website. If you're thinking, "But I just updated it last year!" then it's time for an even bigger web design overhaul than before. It is 2022 and web design trends are constantly changing! If your site looks outdated or unprofessional, then customers will be turned off by the experience and bounce right out of your website without even considering what you have to offer. You must take the time now to make these changes so that the future success of the business is not compromised. Today, web design has become more about user experience than ever before. This means that web designers are not focusing solely on the aesthetics of their sites, but also on how people interact with them and where they want visitors to navigate within the website. You can learn a lot from your web analytics because you'll be able to see what pages people visit most often, which will help you determine what information should go first for users to stay interested. Another important factor is having social media share buttons prominently displayed at the top of each page; nowadays it's about engaging an audience through various online platforms like Facebook or Instagram as well as sharing blog posts via Twitter! If there was one thing I would recommend above all else regarding web design trends in 2022, it would be to have a mobile-friendly website. It is now more important than ever before for web designers to consider the small screen of cell phones as well as tablets, with statistics showing that people will not wait around on a site that isn't "mobile-friendly". Google has even begun penalizing those who don't have an optimized website for mobile devices! To better serve customers in 2022 and beyond, web design needs to become user experience focused; web designers need to focus on how users navigate through their sites rather than simply creating something visually appealing. To obtain this goal, web developers must take into account what pages visitors are engaging most often (based on analytics) and make sure that social media sharing buttons are prominently displayed. There are some differing opinions about placing social media buttons at the top of a web page. Some say counterproductive to invite your website visitors to leave your page right away. I believe you should have your social media buttons at the top of your pages and that the buttons should open a new tab. You are demonstrating that you are actively engaged in social media and providing an easy way to navigate to those sites without them "losing" your website in the process.

Mobile Website Traffic

Mobile-friendly web design is also more important than ever before, as Google has begun penalizing those who don't update their web designs to accommodate mobile devices. Web developers need to focus on how web visitors navigate through their sites rather than only creating a visually appealing website. To serve customers in 2022, web design needs to become user-experience focused and web designers should consider the small screen of cell phones as well as tablets when designing websites. Do you know how much of your website traffic comes from mobile devices? You should! Sometimes these numbers will surprise you. We review website analytics recently with one of our customers and they were astonished to learn that nearly 90% of their traffic came from smartphones. Ninety Percent! That makes it pretty simple for them to understand where to focus all of the design attention. One of Google's recent criteria is Core Web Vitals. This is a list of web design guidelines that web designers need to follow to have their website approved by Google. These web design guidelines include mobile-friendliness, speed, and security among others! You can check your website's Core Web Vitals score with a utility like GTMetrix

Why Spend The Money

My website works just fine. Why should I spend the money to redesign or upgrade it? You should redesign or upgrade your website because web design is a constantly changing industry. Things that might have been popular last year will not be this year and web browsers are ever-evolving so you need to keep up with the times if you want to stay competitive! By updating your site, you can ensure it's ready for future success in today's web market. You have to take the time now to make these changes so that the future success of your business is not compromised. It's not just web design that changes, web browsers are always evolving! You need to stay on top of these things if you want your business website to be successful. You shouldn't think of updating your website as an expense. You are investing in your success. If you're thinking about redesigning your website, we would love the opportunity to review your current site and your needs and wants for an updated website. You can send us some specifics by using our Onboarding Form. And don't let the form name scare you off - there is absolutely ZERO obligation or cost involved. Just an honest evaluation and answers to your questions.      

Original post here: Is It Time To Update Your Website?

Launch of Arizona Tactical Services Website

We are happy to launch the brand new website for Arizona Tactical Services. David Lopez from the Phoenix area contacted us about a new business he was starting and after several conversations he chose Team 218 Web Services to build his new website.

Self Defense Training

Arizona Tactical Services teaches Self Defense, not Self-Aggression.The decision to act has to be made quickly in life threatening situations so you need training systems that work under stress…real world training. David provides training at your place of business or residence so you can learn in a setting that is familiar and comfortable to you. This allows you to learn in a non-intimidating environment where you can focus on the training. The focus is on reality based training. Reality-Based Training, or RBT for short, is any manner of training that utilizes tools and techniques to approximate in a training setting anything that what would happen if someone had an attack. It includes all sorts of exercises that are meant to replicate situations as close as possible like dealing with armed intruders, fending off attacks from individuals, negotiating with terrorists or even evacuating buildings due to bomb threats.

The goal is to give you the tools to survive and end the threat before it happens. You will feel the stress with each hands-on scenario.  

Arizona Tactical Services will teach you tactics learned over many years of real-world experience. Self Defense is about tactics that work in real life. You will learn Self- Defense based on what actually works; not what someone thinks might work if the stars align just right. Self Defense training has to be realistic and focused on practical Self Defense techniques that can stop an attacker regardless of his size or strength. Self defense is for everyone regardless of their age, size or experience level.

David Lopez, Founder

Arizona Tactical Services founder, David Lopez has been a law enforcement training instructor since 1998, and has provided training for Tribal Detention, Security, Individual Citizens, and Corporate Clients.  His hands-on experience comes from years of working in the law enforcement, crisis intervention and the security field. He began studying martial arts, defensive tactics, and firearms in 1987. David has a criminal justice education and has over 820 hours of law enforcement and training certifications. He is also a certified Personal Trainer/Nutritionist. His training system is based on his personal experiences combined with industry accepted methods. He is a graduate of Executive Security International and has provided personal protection for celebrity clients. He is also a contractor for a government agency.

Don’t Become a Victim

Stay Safe, Be Prepared. In today’s world, you can’t be too careful about your safety. That is why our Defensive Tactics course may be the perfect fit for all types of jobs in a variety of work environments and situations. You’ll learn how to use your fists, knees, elbows and feet as weapons – giving you an arsenal to defend yourself against any situation that comes along! Come get trained by a true professional at Arizona Tactical Services. Make sure you’re able to protect yourself based on different scenarios before it becomes a thing!

Women’s Self Defense

Tired of being a victim? Get your life back with this exclusive training from Arizona Tactical Services. Protect yourself and those you love by becoming educated on how to defend against any harmful situation. The Female Self-Defense Tactics training provides the necessary basics for overcoming an assailant, as well as giving you the skills needed to get away without injury. Don’t become another statistic; empower yourself today!  

The Web Design Process

We utilized a dark hero image with a parallax effect on the home page that reveals a hand with a gun as you scroll down the page. One of the design goals was a clean layout with easy navigation. We wanted the site to quickly convey to visitors what kind of services Arizona Tactical Services provides. An easy way to request training was a priority. We think we nailed it.

See The Finished Arizona Tactical Services Website

Original post here: Launch of Arizona Tactical Services Website

How To Write a Great Blog Post

How To Write A Great Blog Post

Blog writing has become extremely popular over the last few years and there are millions of people out there that take part in it. It can be very confusing as well as difficult to figure out all the different things that go into blogging and how to be successful at it. There are certain things that you need to avoid as well as things that you should do so you can truly enjoy the experience and become much better than other people who blog. We know what it's like to sit down all ready to write the next great blog post and then stare at a blank screen for the next hour. Don't waste a lot of time, just start writing! Sometimes in the process of writing ideas will come to you and you just might be surprised at what you end up creating.

Not Too Salesy

If your primary objective is to increase sales for your business, take care not to sound too promotional or salesy in your blog posts because this will annoy your readers and you won't get the backlinks that you need to improve your search engine rankings. Don't sit down and write a post with the thought of only getting a few backlinks from it because it won't help you in any way at all. You need to give people a reason to keep reading so they'll stay on your site for a longer period of time and you'll also gain more backlinks from them.

Study Other Blogs

A great way to improve your blog writing skills is by reading some of the best blogs on the market. There are lots of fantastic resources out there that will teach you good blogging techniques and give you an edge over other bloggers. To be successful, plan ahead when you write your posts. You should know beforehand how many words or paragraphs you're going to include in each post and what tone it will have before you ever begin to type. This can be beneficial because if a post doesn't turn out the way it was supposed to, then you can scrap it and start a new one rather than wasting a bunch of time for nothing.

Hire a Freelancer

If writing isn't your strong suit, don't worry about it because there are plenty of freelance companies out there that can do it for you. You don't even need to know anything about the topic and they'll write it for you and then post it onto your blog so people will begin to wonder how you were able to come up with such great articles. If you don't like writing about certain things but feel obligated, then pay someone on Fiverr to write for you because this can also make your blog much better than it would be if all of the articles were written by someone who didn't know anything about the topic. It's important that each article contains lots of keywords in order for Google to rank your site higher than someone else's.

Give The People What They Want

To be a successful blogger, you should focus on writing about things that people would like to read about as well as making sure that each article is unique and provides them with some sort of value or information. Make certain that every sentence has a purpose and says something important otherwise readers won't bother reading any further than the first paragraph or two where all they're doing is wasting their time.

Grammar & Spelling Matter

Another thing that's crucial in blogging success is having good grammar and spelling because bad grammar can cause confusion and a reader won't be able to get your point if you don't have good grammar. There are lots of tools out there that will help you improve this such as the Grammarly chrome extension and also G-R-A-M-M-A Spell Checker which can easily be found on Google. Because of the large number of bloggers that are doing it today, you have to set yourself apart from them or else people will have no reason to choose your blog over another one. The only way that you're going to be successful is by posting something interesting and useful onto your site so they'll want more of what you're writing on there. In summary, all successful bloggers agree on one thing: it takes lots of practice, patience as well as perseverance to create something worth reading. By following these tips and tricks, you'll not only write better posts but also learn how blogging is truly done so everything will go smoothly when it's time to write something new. Think back to this post the next time you are wondering How To Write A Great Blog Post.

Original post here: How To Write a Great Blog Post

Pretty spectacular sunrise! #fall #iowa #northlibertyiowa

The post Pretty spectacular sunrise! #fall #iowa #northlibertyiowa appeared first on Team 218 Web Services.

Original post here: Pretty spectacular sunrise! #fall #iowa #northlibertyiowa

The wind has almost finished the leaves on this guy. #fall

The post The wind has almost finished the leaves on this guy. #fall appeared first on Team 218 Web Services.

Original post here: The wind has almost finished the leaves on this guy. #fall

Hmmmm

The post Hmmmm appeared first on Team 218 Web Services.

Original post here: Hmmmm

Creating a Website For Your Business

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Tips From a Professional Web Designer

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 You have a business. You need a website. Where do you start?

We're here to help you out with a little guidance on your trek to getting online with a website for your business. Rest assured you're not the only person to be in this position and since we see a lot of interest in this topic we decided to share some of our experience with you.

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 When you're creating a website for your business there are 2 choices to make at the very beginning of your process. Which one you choose will depend on your budget, your level of technical skills, and your sense of adventure.

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Do It Yourself

If you're on a tight budget and feel confident in your ability with technology you might find yourself in this column.

Keep in mind when considering the DIY route, you'll also need the time to devote to doing it yourself. There is the time required to learn whatever website product to go with. Don't forget about the time to conceptualize your design and turn it into an actual digital work of art.

DIY can be a good option for a starter website. The current crop of website builders have a nice array of design tools that let you create a good looking website without any technical knowledge.

What do you need to DIY?

• Domain (Your website's address)
• Hosting
• Content (text & images)

Actually there's a little more to it but those are the 3 main categories.

Most of the major players in the DIY business include a domain and shared hosting in their website builder packages. You just need to create your content and choose a template to format it.

Here are a few of the DIY website builders vying for your dollars today.

• WIX
• Weebly
• GoDaddy Website Today
• Wordpress.com (different from Wordpress.org)
• Squarespace

Any of these platforms will let you create a website without too much technical knowledge. Many of the low cost versions are limited in one aspect or another. Some limit the number of users allowed in a certain time period. Some limit bandwidth and storage space.

With a DIY package you are also limited in functionality. Most don't allow you to upload any plugins. You are stuck using their themes, although the themes they offer can look really good.

Most of these website builders aren't suitable for eCommerce unless you're creating a small online store. Plan on upgrading to one of the deluxe (more expensive) plans if you need ecommerce.

What about SEO? We wrote a blog post about our experience with Weebly. You can read that Weebly blog post here.

 

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Hire a Pro

Using a Pro is a much different experience than the DIY route. When you hire a web designer to create your website, much of the work involved becomes the responsibility of the web designer, freeing you to concentrate on your business. Let's take a look at what we do for a typical web design project.

• Domain name research & procurement
• Set up Hosting on appropriate plan
• Install and configure Wordpress
• Select and install WP Theme
• Create Child Theme
• Configure Theme settings
• Set default color palette
• Set default typography
• Determine necessary plugins, install and configure
• Create User Interface
• Create pages using Organic SEO tactics
• Use appropriate images and textures
• We take high resolution photographs when necessary
• Review design with client & modify as needed
• Launch site
• Configure Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Google Maps, & Google MyBusiness
• Configure Bing Webmaster Tools
• Configure site to use InfiniteWP for continuous monitoring
• Provide client training
• Configure custom email as needed*
  (optional)

Those things are what you don't get with a DIY website builder.

A responsible web design firm like Team 218 will ensure that the pages of your website are designed and built with solid Organic SEO tactics. This is something that is more difficult to add on after the fact. Without good Organic SEO, your search results will suffer and it will be almost impossible to achieve a good ranking.

When we design a website we include all of the above and we also include hosting and all maintenance for 12 months. We keep a close eye on the site not only to make sure any updates are completed promptly, but also to monitor Search results. We may make many adjustments to a page to affect the SERP.

We are confident we deliver a better result than you can get from a DIY builder.

On top of everything else, we provide the best customer service you'll find anywhere.

We can't speak for other web design firms but we know you'll be happy with one of our websites. Ask any of our clients.

 

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Summary

Buyer Beware

Website builders are in business to make a profit. That's why they have limitations on their lower tier plans. They want you to upgrade. They also don't want to see you leave. Because of this it's very difficult to move your site away from most of the DIY builders. Something to keep in mind if you decide to use one.

What we said in our blog post about our experience with Weebly still applies.

The DIY path to a website is a viable option if you are just starting out and want to get your name on the web. Using DIY services for any serious business website may leave you wanting more. Your DIY website may also appear amateurish due to ads. You will suffer from less than stellar SEO results. These are all things a business owner should not have to deal with.

Our advice? Use this approach only if you absolutely have to and then only as a stop-gap measure. If you decide to go ahead with a DIY plan, take your time and PAY ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS. Check your spelling and grammar and make sure you are consistent and get things like phone numbers and addresses correct. If you get stuck, we'll be here to help you out.

To ensure the best first impression and a trouble-free website experience, we recommend hiring a profession web designer. Yes we're a little biased but we're giving you our honest opinion. Remember - it doesn't cost anything to ask questions. Call, text, email, or use our contact forms anytime. We're always glad to help.

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You can read more about Web Design and finding the right website person on our home page.

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Original post here: Creating a Website For Your Business