A very common approach for our clients is to request multiple concepts (mock-ups) at the beginning of their web development project. They believe that this will give them a sense of control over the site’s look and feel. Inevitably though, there will be elements from each design that they like, leading to the “picking and choosing” of various elements from each mock-up. Here’s the problem: elements from different designs are not necessarily compatible or even easily combined, and they don’t always present a cohesive or attractive design. This can lead to an inconsistent and possibly amateurish-look. This is jokingly called a “Frankenstein” approach.

So we use a collaborative approach with our clients instead, to shape the design as it’s created.

It’s very important that all parties have a clear understanding of the project goals and the expectations of the website, and it’s target audience. Knowing these will guide the decisions that will be made during the development of the site.

In the same manner, if you’re creating the website yourself, you need to be clear on why you need a website, what its goals are, how you will measure its productivity, who your target audience is, and why.

Producing a quality product takes time. Take that time to explore these questions and answer them honestly.

There are a few other topics to think about before developing your site. Here are a few of them:

Your Domain Name

When thinking about your domain name choice, remember that a good domain name is memorable, reflects your brand, and is nearly impossible to misspell. These qualities are important. Combining Search Engine Optimization (SEO) with brand-identity in your domain name can increase the likelihood of your site appearing higher in a list of search engine results.

Your Site’s Design

Design is subjective. “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder”, am I right? So…. having said that, we all need to remember that there is no such thing as the “perfect” design. The desire to achieve perfection leads to “tweak” after “tweak” in order to get it “right”. This isn’t a wise use of your budget or time. You may personally like it, but the site may not achieve your goals or be as user-friendly or effective as it could be. It’s important that the site looks great, yes, but it’s equally as important for it to function properly, be user-friendly, be mobile-responsive and achieve its’ goals.

Your Site’s Security

Websites that conduct online monetary transactions, such as e-commerce sites, need certain security measures to protect customer information. To reduce browser-based threats, SSL certificates should be used on the site. All businesses should conduct on-going security checks on their site, or have them performed by a security service.

Your Content

It’s necessary to have high quality, original content on your site, not only for user engagement but for SEO. Content affects your site’s ranking in search engine results. Each web page should have at least 150 words and should include links to credible online resources and other pages within your website. Your content should be written to echo your brand. Use a free plagiarism detection tool to ensure that there isn’t accidental plagiarism in your content. (Google penalizes plagiarism, and they may remove your site from search engine results.)

Your Images

Everything on a website is considered to be intellectual property and is protected under copyright law. If you plan to use stock photos, they may still be copyright-protected. Using copyrighted images can result in stiff penalties. When using stock images, make sure you have written permission to use them and that you pay any relevant fees.

You can also use copyright-free images, but be sure you’ve read their terms of use beforehand.

Your Site’s Style

Think about whether you prefer an uncluttered, muted, minimalistic look with lots of white space, or whether you’d rather have a bright and bold design. Look at several sites within your niche to get ideas.

Your Site’s Goals

Determine what you want your website to do. Once you know exactly what you want to achieve with your site, it will be much easier to design a site that delivers those results.

A goal of “Being #1 on Google” or “getting more traffic” should not be the main goal. That kind of SEO takes time, effort and dedication. SEO is an ongoing process, best done by professionals who do it for a living.

Knowing your site’s goals will help provide value for your business.

Your Timeline

Do you need this project done in a rush? Is there a specific date you have in mind for its’ launch? Make sure your timeline is realistic considering your skill level, knowledge, and experience in creating websites and promoting them.

Maintenance: who will maintain your site?

A website is kind of like a car; it requires ongoing care and support. Your site may function beautifully today and not so well next year. There are ongoing costs for keeping your site fresh and functional, and there are also costs to you for NOT doing it: like diminished readership, fewer sales, low search-engine rankings, lost clients and customers, high bounce rates, malware, legal issues, broken links, 404 errors, and website repairs that will cost you time and/or money.

If you plan to update the site yourself and do not want to get into the code to do it, then you need a CMS (Content Management System). A CMS handles lots of the technical aspects of a website, like allowing non-developers to easily upload and manage their content.

A CMS can also be used for creating an online community, allowing visitors to create accounts and have their own pages.

Do you need a CMS? Ask yourself these questions:

• What kind of website will it be?  Will it be a personal blog? Or a portfolio site with contact information? A store?
• What’s your budget? WordPress is free, though you’ll still need to purchase your own domain name, hosting, and any commercial “plugins” or templates that you need.
• How many users, contributors, or admins are you going to have? How many people are going to contribute to your site? Do they need individualized permissions?  WordPress allows you to define different kinds of contributors.  
• What are your site-updating needs? Will your site be mostly text and images, or will you need to support multimedia or interactive components like a shopping cart? How much control do you need over the look of your site?

The more complex your needs, the more you might benefit from a maintenance plan with us, or if you prefer the doing the maintenance and updating yourself, using the WordPress CMS would be a good solution.

Your Hosting Provider

A Hosting Provider is a company that provides storage space for your site on their server, for a fee. It’s basically where your websites “lives”.

The kind of hosting you’ll need is determined by these factors: will the site be static (unchanging) or dynamic (interacting with users or changing frequently)? Does the site require room to grow? (By the way, using a personal computer for hosting is very risky, not recommended, and it requires a costly static IP address.)

1. Traditional Hosting: With this kind of hosting, the server is housed in a data center, managed by the hosting company, and requires a subscription to different standardized packages that suit current or future site needs. There’s a risk of paying for more resources than are actually needed, or paying for fewer resources than what will be needed in the future.

• Shared Hosting: Still traditional, but your website shares server resources with other websites, depending on the servers’ capacity. How much your site gets depends on the hosting package you purchase. Because resources are shared, bandwidth can vary, causing slower page loading, or 404 “page not found” errors. You might be charged “over-usage” fees when the site uses more resources than the package provides, and you’ll be required to upgrade your hosting package, moving the site to a different server and setting it up from scratch; re-uploading all files, photos etc., and the site being down 24-48 hours during transition.

• Dedicated Hosting: Still traditional, but all server resources are used for only your website. Much more power, but much more expensive. There’s still the risk of paying for more resources than your site requires, or of not buying enough resources for what site will require later. Administration costs can go up too, and “over-usage” fees still apply.

• Virtual Private/Dedicated Hosting: Still traditional, but resources are shared among sites, but significantly fewer sites. “Over-usage” fees still apply when the site uses more resources than the package provides, and you’ll be required to upgrade the hosting package. Again, this means moving the site to a different (dedicated) server, and setting it up from scratch; re-uploading all files, photos, etc., and the site being down 24-48 hours during the transition.

• Cloud Hosting: Very flexible and highly scalable. Cloud hosting uses multiple servers that are housed in data-centers around the world. The servers combine as a total “pool” of resources which scale up and down according to website needs, creating a virtual server. Resource allocation is not fixed: you only pay for what is used.

Choosing the best hosting solution comes down to what’s “right” for the business right now while projecting into the next three years of growth.

Your Color Scheme

Color schemes are important because color has the ability to evoke various emotional responses. It’s vital to consider your company’s niche, target audience, brand, and to incorporate some very basic color theory. Which colors will your target audience respond to? What colors will best convey your brand?

The Website’s Integration with Your Social Media

Social media provides a way for customers to promote your brand, provide reviews, and stay current about you or your company. Written and visual content, including product images and video, can easily be shared on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. by simply including the relevant buttons on your site.

Do You Want to Rent or Own Your Website?

By contracting with us to design and code your site, you will OWN your site. Many people don’t even realize that there is an issue of “ownership” to be considered.

When you own your site, you possess the “source code” that was used to develop the site. Without these documents, it would not be possible for you or another developer to edit the pages, or troubleshoot issues in the future. To maintain control over your site, you need to have these source files.

When you contract with Image and Aspect, you always get your source files at the end of the project.

Renting 

You’re renting your site when you use a “hosted platform” package-solution, (D-I-Y) which is considered to be “Software as a Service” (SaaS), and it has lower up-front investment cost. Examples: Wix and Shopify.

Owning

Owning requires a custom solution, and there’s a higher up-front investment for this dedicated development. Owning allows for customization and integration with 3rd party services, provides greater flexibility and room for expansion.

Summary

Before diving in and creating your website, take the time to explore the answers to some basic questions. Figure out what you want your website to do and how you want it to look and function.

Take the time to read, research, and learn. Draw or sketch your ideas for the site, or create mockups. Take my advice: doing these things will save you a lot of frustration, stress and lost time.

Or you could just call me. 🙂

Other articles you might like:

–Things to consider before building your website

–6 Ways to Use Storytelling in Your Blog Posts

–Balancing Consumer Personalization with GDPR Regulation

Questions?

Diane@Imageandaspect.com

My Contact Page

About the author

I developed Image and Aspect because I believe that professionals need to have an impactful web presence. One that showcases their unique talents, skills, and abilities as well as their values and style. A presence that focuses on social engagement and connection.

I’m passionate about what I do; I like helping fellow humans, I like having all kinds of social connection with others, and I want to give back, to make the world a better place.

I do much of the designing and coding myself, and I also have a wonderful network of professionals that may contribute as well; photographers, copywriters, branding experts.

I love designing and coding beautiful, elegant and responsive web creations. I ALSO teach and help others who want to learn how to do it themselves.

‘Tips and Snips’ is my blog, and it’s full of information and inspiration to help transform any online persona from “meh” to AMAZING! Sign-up HERE to get blog posts right to your in-box every Friday! I write about Design, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Branding, Vlogging, Color Theory, HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap, WordPress, Social Media…anything you’d want to know to get yourself noticed online.

Visit Image and Aspect to learn more about your web presence options

Diane M. Metcalf, M.S.

When you contract with Image and Aspect, you always get your source files at the end of the project. You own them. Just sayin’.

Here are some pointers to help you learn the difference between renting and owning your site.

Renting

When you use a “hosted platform” package-solution, (Do-It-Yourself) it’s considered to be “Software as a Service” (SaaS) and you are renting your website from them. It’s usually a monthly or annual subscription and it has a lower up-front investment cost. Examples: Wix and Shopify.

Owning

Owning requires a custom solution, and there’s a higher up-front investment for this dedicated development. Owning allows for customization and integration with 3rd party services, provides greater flexibility plus there’s room for expansion. There is also less of a chance that you’ll pay for services that you’re not using. Basically you own your piece of web real estate and you can do what you want with it. Let’s think “keeping it within legal parameters .”

What Renters Can Expect

• Easy for Do-It-Yourselfers.
• Lower cost of entry.
• Various paid subscription levels (free, starter, pro, etc.)
• Add-on modules, plugins or extensions purchased from a dedicated “marketplace”.
• One combined service for hosting, payment processing, and website administration.
• Maintained infrastructure & automatic security updates.
• New features introduced on a regular basis.
• Technical support in articles, tutorials, videos.
• A wide selection of design templates (some are free).

The Downside of Renting

• No equity! When your subscription ends, the time, money and effort you put into building the website are lost.
• Incremental costs add up. With every add-on, a new cost emerges that is often higher than the original subscription fee. There will be a monthly fee for that one item for the rest of the duration of the website.
• Possibly little flexibility on the required services for payment processing, hosting, data warehousing.
• Limited customization for design.
• If you leave the platform, all the investment in design and development is lost. You can’t take it with you when you move to another hosting provider/webserver. You have to start over.

What Owners Can Expect

• Customization tailored to specific business requirements.
• Scalable for future growth.
• Integration with external services.
• Open architecture allows for development, the code is portable and not tied to an organization.
• Freedom of choice for your web hosting, payment processing, and website administration.
• Important as sales volume increases and competitive processing and transaction fees become critical.
• Accommodates creative innovations as opposed to waiting for the hosted platform to release updates or fixes.

The Downside of Owning

• A higher cost of entry.
• Must be actively maintained – if the site is not maintained through a web developer, (or someone who knows how to code or how to develop with WordPress) there will be no innovation, no new features, no security patching. Eventually, a website will become obsolete as code and formats change over time.
• Time constraints – building a custom site requires a collaborative effort and considerable thought and engagement from the site owner.

As with everything, there are costs either way. Financial costs, opportunity costs, perceived value costs. The best way to decide on whether to rent or own your website is to look at your long term business goals.

When you’re business takes off and you’re renting your site, will you want or be able to take the time to stay current on how to use the platform? Will you be able to set aside time to update the content, or be on the phone with technical support or Billing? Do you feel comfortable making scheduled full-backups and storing them off-site where they’ll be secure but still easy to find when you need them? Will you feel comfortable restoring your site from a backup if you make a mistake on the site and don’t know how to fix it? Will you have the time and the inclination to research the latest Google SEO changes or the newest security threats? Will you feel comfortable making these changes? Will you be able to quickly and easily find your log-in information, your API keys, and/or your font or photo licenses if a component of your site stops working? Will you keep up with all expiration dates for your domain name, SSL certificates, sub-domains, etc, so nothing accidentally expires? If something expires would you know what to do or who to contact? Do you feel comfortable troubleshooting and fixing text formatting, images, or email issues? If you can do these things, and more importantly you’d ENJOY doing them, well that’s just swell! 🙂

But do yourself a favor and hire a professional. You’re not a web developer already! (unless you are) LOL!

If you choose the DIY route and you get in over your head, you can always call me. I promise not to say I told you so. 🙂

Other articles you might like:

–Things to consider before building your website

–6 Ways to Use Storytelling in Your Blog Posts

–Balancing Consumer Personalization with GDPR Regulation

Questions?

Diane@Imageandaspect.com

My Contact Page

About the author

I developed Image and Aspect because I believe that professionals need to have an impactful web presence. One that showcases their unique talents, skills, and abilities as well as their values and style. A presence that focuses on social engagement and connection.

I’m passionate about what I do; I like helping fellow humans, I like having all kinds of social connection with others, and I want to give back, to make the world a better place.

I do much of the designing and coding myself, and I also have a wonderful network of professionals that may contribute as well; photographers, copywriters, branding experts.

I love designing and coding beautiful, elegant and responsive web creations. I ALSO teach and help others who want to learn how to do it themselves.

‘Tips and Snips’ is my blog, and it’s full of information and inspiration to help transform any online persona from “meh” to AMAZING! Sign-up HERE to get blog posts right to your in-box every Friday! I write about Design, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Branding, Vlogging, Color Theory, HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap, WordPress, Social Media…anything you’d want to know to get yourself noticed online.

Visit Image and Aspect to learn more about your web presence options

Diane M. Metcalf, M.S.

6 common image formats: how to use them

JPEG, JPG (Joint Photographic Experts Graphics)

JPG’s are the most common of the six common iamge file formats out there. Digital cameras use the JPG file format, and internet images are displayed using this format as well. This file format is based on “Lossy Compression”, meaning that it keeps only the visible information and discards any information that our eyes can’t actually see. JPG’s popularity comes from its ability to load fast on any platform while maintaining good quality, and because it can be viewed on any type of device. The downside is that any time a JPG image is saved, (basically re-compressing it each time), it loses quality and becomes grainy or pixelated.

PRO’s: lightweight and view-able on almost any device without special programs or viewers.
CONS: loses quality when saved repeatedly.
Best for: web design, social platforms, and portfolios.

PNG (Portable Network Graphics)

A PNG is a high-quality image file format, based on “lossless compression”. PNG has the ability to retain the original sharpness and color of the saved image, and it supports transparent backgrounds, which is great for displaying logos or when using an image on a patterned or colored background. They’re a larger file format and use more storage space then JPG’s, so they take more time to load.

PROS: high-quality, support transparent backgrounds.
CONS: heavyweight, longer loading time, takes up more storage.
Best For: logos, websites photos, profile pics, posts, covers.

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)

GIF, for many of us, means animation. GIF’s are made of pixels, just like JPEG’s and PNG format types, but GIF’s are based on the “LZW (Lempel-Ziv-Welch) compression”, which is also a type of lossless compression. GIF is best for images that contain fewer colors, like diagrams, and shapes. GIF’s also support transparent backgrounds.

PROS: basic animation, transparency.
CONS: poor gradient color display. Not good for multi-color images.
Best For: short animations on social media.

PDF (Portable Document Format)

PDF’s are used for online documents. The PDF format was created by Adobe so that files could be opened and displayed without losing their original formatting or design. Photos, images, videos, audio files, interactive elements like forms or buttons, as well as text, can all be included inside a PDF file. PDF’s can be created in Adobe products like Acrobat, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Indesign, as well as with Google Docs, Microsoft Word and many others. To view PDF’s, you need to have a reader program (special software) installed.

PROS: keeps formatting and design of the original document.
CONS: need PDF Reader to view.
Best For: online forms, documents and printing them.

SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)

SVG is a format for saving and displaying “vectors”, which are digital illustrations made with geometric shapes and created with “vector illustration software”. SVG’s look very clean and professional and can be displayed on all web browsers. They’re a good format for printing because they maintain their high quality when resized. It’s a good idea to save logos and other visual business resources as an SVG file as well as other formats like PNG and JPEG.

PROS: doesn’t lose quality when resized.
CONS: SVG’s aren’t supported by social media.
Best For: web design, illustrated business resources like logos, icons, diagrams.

MP4 (Moving Picture Experts Group)

Of the six common image file formats, MP4 files are video files that may also contain audio data and/or text subtitles. MP4’s are lightweight and can be uploaded quickly to websites or social media networks. They can be played on media players or streamed over the Internet, without the need to use a special application or program.

PROS: lightweight, plays on all common media players, streams online.
CONS: none.
Best For: websites and social media.

Questions? 

Diane@ImageandAspect.com

My Contact Page

Other articles you might like:

-How your personal brand makes the difference

-Using images: Tips to improve your SEO rankings

-10 Things to Do After Creating Your Website

About the author

I developed Image and Aspect because I believe that professionals need to have an impactful web presence. One that showcases their unique talents, skills, and abilities as well as their values and style. A presence that focuses on social engagement and connection.

I’m passionate about what I do; I like helping fellow humans, I like having all kinds of social connection with others, and I want to give back, to make the world a better place.

I do much of the designing and coding myself, and I also have a wonderful network of professionals that may contribute as well; photographers, copywriters, branding experts.

I love designing and coding beautiful, elegant and responsive web creations. I ALSO teach and help others who want to learn how to do it themselves.

‘Tips and Snips’ is my blog, and it’s full of information and inspiration to help transform any online persona from “meh” to AMAZING! Sign-up HERE to get blog posts right to your in-box every Friday! I write about Design, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Branding, Vlogging, Color Theory, HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap, WordPress, Social Media…anything you’d want to know to get yourself noticed online.

Visit Image and Aspect to learn more about your web presence options

Diane M. Metcalf, M.S.

Social Media by itself

Right now, you might be relying on just social media to showcase your talent, work, experience and ability. By using social media, you can definitely grow an audience and relationships within it. Your followers can learn more about you and what you do, and connect with you. These platforms are a great way to do this.

There is a downside to using only social media to promote yourself, and that would be the “algorithms” that they use. Algorithms are basically a set of mathematical calculations that determine how your content gets displayed. They are changed and updated frequently, and that affects the way users see your content. Sometimes “paid” content has priority over un-paid posts. Entrepreneurs’ solopreneurs and creatives sometimes pay for sponsored posts or social media advertising, just to stay visible and relevant. This is one reason why professionals need their own web presence.

Why Social Media isn’t enough

If social media is the primary way you nurture an audience, there are a few things you need to know. Social media platforms, like Facebook, use a time based news feed, so photos that you post will be seen lower in your feed, as you post newer content. To be able to see older posts and content, your followers have to scroll for them or visually search for specific content or photos, and possibly search your albums. As you can imagine, this is frustrating, and they may never find that week-old post they were looking for. Not good.

You don’t need to stop using social media altogether, because it’s still important for connecting. It’s just not the best way for promoting your work, skills, abilities or brand.

Owning your own space

When you buy your own piece of internet “real estate”, you now have your own dedicated space to present your work, share your story, and provide a place for interacting and connecting. You’re the one who gets to decide how to use that space.

You’re no longer relying on a platform that you can’t control, and your current and new audience members will be able to find your new space if you continue to engage on social media and let them know your new address. Another reason why professionals need to focus on getting their own web presence!

Owning your own domain name (“something.com”) is an important part of establishing your web presence. It helps build online credibility and a personal and professional reputation.

If people can find you on the Web, they’ll be able to do business with you.

Your domain name and a web platform are the first steps towards a stable, credible web presence. A well designed and professional looking platform translates into credibility for you. It provides a sense that you’re serious about what you do and that you’re serious enough to invest time and money into the thing that you’re passionate about. It doesn’t have to be expensive at all. There are many options. I’ll continue to write about them, and for now, here’s a handy downloadable, free guide.

To have your own dedicated web presence, you need three things:

1. your own your domain name (“xyz.com”)
2. a reliable hosting provider
3. content to share.

When you have your own web presence, on your own platform, you can decide how to present your work and give yourself priceless opportunities, like being able to reach the larger global community, provide value, help others, and establish a following….all without buying social media ads or paying to “promote” posts.

A harsh reality of owning your own web space is that people won’t find it overnight. It can take a long time to establish an optimal search engine ranking. One particular reason for this is that Google ranks websites and domains higher the longer they’ve been around. Your web space and brand will grow over time, and your traffic will increase organically. So, learning some basic SEO, or hiring some help, and creating a stable web presence on your own platform sooner rather than later, are always good ideas.

GREAT REASONS TO OWN YOUR WEB PRESENCE:

Your work

A website is a place of business. It’s where you communicate with people, grow a fan base, and sell or promote products and services.
Your own web space, in the form of a dynamic, visually engaging, content-rich website, has the power to create a web presence that:

• represents YOU: your personality, work, voice, brand, and values.
• gives you the power to connect and influence.
• puts you out there as an expert and an authority in your area of expertise.
• sets you apart from the hundreds of others who solely use social media.

Making yourself available to the world like this can lead to unbelievable personal and professional growth.

A noteworthy point to make here is that your web space will be accessible by all kinds of devices; phones, tablets and laptops, just to name a few. You site will truly be available to anyone, anywhere, who has a device that can assess the Web.

Content Marketing

Creatives create because we enjoy it. “Creating” is part of who we are. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone appreciated our creations enough to pay us money for them? It happens all the time, with content marketing.

Content marketing is a type of marketing that focuses on creating, publishing and distributing subject matter to a specific audience.
When people go online to research products or services that you provide, you need to have your own web presence on your own web space, if you want them to find you and learn about what you do and provide.

Having your own web platform also means that you can find out what your audience is looking for, and then publish content that’s relevant for them. When you publish content that your audience wants, and make it available on your site, they will come. You can use social media to spread the word.

Content marketing draws visitors to your web space and gives them an opportunity to find out who you are and what you do. It’s a type of “inbound” marketing, and it’s the opposite of “pushing” ads out to people. Inbound marketing is very cost effective: online marketing researcher, Hubspot, found that inbound marketing-leads cost 61% less than outbound leads do.

Using Analytics

Using analytics tools (like Google Analytics) allows you to learn about your visitors and how they interact with your site. Google Analytics is free, and easy to set-up. Some things you’ll learn about your visitors are:

• whether they accessed your site by mobile, laptop, or tablet
• the pages they visit on your site
• where they are geographically located when they come to your site
• how long they look at your content
• whether they’re a first time or repeat visitor
• If they’ve read more than one page on the site
• whether they’ve made a purchase (if you provide that ability)

All of this information is useful when you’re planning a marketing strategy.

Sales

A web platform can be the place where you sell your work or products, and the great thing is that sales can happen 24/7.

You can test and experiment with products and pricing, and by introducing new products or services to see how they’re received.

Your voice

When you own your web space, you’re no longer limited by geographic location. Your place of business is anywhere in the world people can find your web presence.

Owning your web presence allows you to share your values, thoughts and ideas with the world. Blogging gives you a forum to create thoughtful and valuable content and a way to share your story and journey. These give you a voice, and the capacity to influence.

Your reach

There are nearly 4 billion Google searches every day. At any time, a potential new customer or fan could discover you!

Owning your web platform means that your content is always available, all over the world, and allows people from anywhere and everywhere to find you and discover what you’re about.

Your credibility

Having your own web platform helps to build your credibility and reputation as a professional.

People expect to be able to find a dedicated web-space for any well-known Creator: artist, author, designer, photographer, producer, musician etc. If someone looks for you on the web and can’t find you, it could send the wrong message.

When your followers can find you online, it tells them you are serious about what you do.

Your credibility and reputation grow as your web space gets more visitors. Visitors may get to your site directly from other sites that share your audience and choose to link back to your web space. This is called “back-linking”, and it’s a valuable practice. It’s like getting massive approval or a meaningful positive reference from these other places that have a common connection to your audience.

You can grow your credibility by engaging on social media and with relevant “event” websites, bloggers, galleries and any others who share your audience. Share links to your content. Chime in. Provide value. They may love it that you provide value to their audience and want to link back to your website.

Questions? 

Diane@ImageandAspect.com

My Contact Page

Other articles you might like:

-6 Tips to Make Your Blog Post SEO Friendly

-Using images: Tips to improve your SEO rankings

-Use a customer thank-you page to avoid missed opportunities

About the author

I developed Image and Aspect because I believe that professionals need to have an impactful web presence. One that showcases their unique talents, skills, and abilities as well as their values and style. A presence that focuses on social engagement and connection.

I’m passionate about what I do; I like helping fellow humans, I like having all kinds of social connection with others, and I want to give back, to make the world a better place.

I do much of the designing and coding myself, and I also have a wonderful network of professionals that may contribute as well; photographers, copywriters, branding experts.

I love designing and coding beautiful, elegant and responsive web creations. I ALSO teach and help others who want to learn how to do it themselves.

‘Tips and Snips’ is my blog, and it’s full of information and inspiration to help transform any online persona from “meh” to AMAZING! Sign-up HERE to get blog posts right to your in-box every Friday! I write about Design, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Branding, Vlogging, Color Theory, HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap, WordPress, Social Media…anything you’d want to know to get yourself noticed online.

Visit Image and Aspect to learn more about your web presence options

Diane M. Metcalf, M.S.