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Archives for November 2020

Checklist for Migrating Your Website Without Hurting Your SEO

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An important aspect of providing search engine optimization services is forming part of the core team business owners rely on during website migration. This stems from the fact that any changes to a website can affect how well it ranks in search engines. So, before you migrate your website, here are a few things to help you create or improve your checklist for protecting your SEO.

1. Determine the Type of Site Migration

Every type or example of site migration comes with its own unique risks, so it is important to pinpoint what you plan to do. This provides a good foundation for your IT, marketing and SEO teams to work together to ensure a smooth transition. Here are the five main types:

  • Site Location: This may involve changing the mobile setup, merging parts of the existing site, changing to HTTPS or HTTP2, changing the domain and general rebranding.
  • Structural: Common changes that fit into this category include reorganizing hierarchies, changing the mapped user journeys, altering navigation and making changes to internal links.
  • Platform: Examples of these changes are integrating multiple platforms, upgrading to a new version, introducing new features and moving to a new platform altogether.
  • Design and UX: Adjusting the media, updating the user interface across devices, adding site performance features and modifying the look or feel fall into this category.
  • Content Changes: Introducing new locations and new languages can have big changes in SEO; other big changes include consolidating pages, removing or adding pages and rewriting content.

2. Create a Strategy

Treat website migration like any other big project your business would take on. Migration has the impact to determine how you do business and how many customers you receive. For instance, for a restaurant, if the pages that make online orders possible disappear, the effect can be as impactful as reducing the restaurant’s capacity during renovations. Because of this, your team needs to determine how it intends to manage this project and create a plan. This plan must feature a clear strategy and detailed deliverables.

SEO Checklist for Website Migration

3. Include a Contingency

The contingency plan you come up with depends on the type of migration you have in mind. For instance, if you plan to change domains or rebuild the entire website, you could keep the old one up while creating the second website in private. Only developers and other qualified professionals could view the new website while it is being worked on. This allows you to continue business operations with no disruptions, at least for a time.

Unfortunately, websites can still fail after launch. Here are some common backup plans:

  • Revert to the old website during debugging.
  • Create a one-page stand-in that encourages people to email, text or call.
  • Add a texting option to your Google Business Profile listening.

4. Complete Thorough Testing

The good news is that testing can help you maintain SEO and prevent crashes when migrating your website. Testing should begin with trying all the features on the new website to ensure they work. When migration involves rebranding and big upgrades, ask a few trusted customers to review the new changes and become part of the testing process. Finally, perform testing in stages as you complete various milestones, so you have enough time to make adjustments before launch.

5. Rely on Our Search Engine Optimization Services

The smallest changes to your website can affect its SEO for better or worse. Even changing the platform and speed can lead to improved or lowered performance. Because of this, it is crucial to work with qualified professionals. Unwired Web Solutions has the skills necessary to preserve your existing SEO during and after migration. We are also committed to helping you improve your website’s SEO.

Contact us today to learn more about what our search engine optimization services can do for your business. We look forward to serving you.

The Importance of Good Website Design for Your Business

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When was the last time you updated the overall look and feel of your website? If you do not yet have a website built, do you plan to hire a professional for the web development process? The ideal answers to these questions are that you update your website regularly and rely on professional services to do so.

Why You Need a Professional Website for Your Business

Almost anyone can learn the skill sets to create a basic website. Because of this, most brands have a website to match, no matter how small they are. That makes a professional website the bare minimum consumers expect of companies when it comes to establishing an online presence. However, just any website won’t do.

Boosts Credibility

Because a website is a bare minimum requirement, it affects a company’s credibility when it does not have a good one. A company can use social media profiles to do business, but consumers view social media more as necessary add-ons than suitable replacements. In fact, 84% of customers believe a company with a website is more credible than one with only social media profiles.

Provides Ownership

When you use another company’s platform for your business, you are constantly at the mercy of that platform and how it develops. For instance, consider the brands that relied heavily or exclusively on TikTok or Google Plus. When you have a website, you can create a central hub where you control all the information that goes out about the brand.

Improves Search Engine Ranking

Control over the information on your website puts you in an ideal position to improve the SEO ranking of your overall brand. News agencies, brand partners and reviewers finally have a website to link to, which improves your link-building strategy. By upgrading other functional aspects of the website, you can further improve your SEO ranking over time.

Why Web Design Plays Such a Crucial Role in Web Development

Website Design for Your Business

When developing a website, the functional aspects are the most important. However, the design determines how well these functions work for potential and current customers.

Improves Customer Experience

Web design dictates how easy and fun it is for customers to find the information they need. Factors that contribute to this include logical site maps, fast loading speeds, no random music, no obtrusive ads and legible fonts. How much customers enjoy using the website also determines your bounce rates, session lengths and conversion rates.

Contributes to Branding

How much branding work has your team put into your company so far? When customers hear your jingle on the radio, come across your web pages and see your billboard ads, is it obvious they all belong to the same company? How clearly does your product line up? A website can create a starting point from which all the rest of your branding efforts can flow.

Affects the Functionality

The more bells and whistles you add to your website, the more data it takes to load and the slower it does so. Are there videos that start automatically or large photos to load? These and many other factors can slow down the rendering of the website, which makes for an unpleasant viewing experience. Website design can also affect how well the site adapts to different screen sizes.

How To Get Started

By working with a professional web development team and SEO specialists, you put your website in the best position to attract visitors and create customers. A professional team considers your business needs, the demographic of your audience and your customer preferences when creating a design that works.

Unwired Web Solutions can provide the skills and experience you need to make your new or improved website a success. Reach out for more information.