Posts related to website projects we are working on or have launched.

Conversion anxiety: Why your website visitors resist the click

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“I don’t want to adult today”

Remember as a child, the world seemed so easy to navigate? And then you grew up, and realized that you’re the responsible adult now, and the world is full of decisions and potential mistakes. Websites are a good representation of this, and a phenomenon known as conversion anxiety is very real. Today I’m going to talk about what this is, why it happens, how to overcome it, and perhaps sprinkle in a few other words of Helen wisdom along the way.

Click Me, A Mysterious World Awaits

Our spam folders have ruined everything. Once, a peaceful world of trust and love, we are now living in a time where scammers and phishermen rule supreme. No button is safe from the potential scare of malware and viruses, and our browsing habits and on-page actions reflect this. How many times have you been on a website with a button where you’ve thought “There’s no way I’m going to click that!”? And how many times has that website been, on the surface, a fairly reasonable looking page, with nothing outwardly suspicious? This anxiety is present in all of us, and it is probably happening right now on your businesses’ website. Go check, I’ll wait.

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See? Somewhere on your homepage is a call-to-action that just screams “I’m leading you into the dark world of uncertainty”. It’s a button that says something like “Submit”, or “Click here”, or “Enter”. It’s a form that gives little information about the room behind the door. It might be a menu item, a page link, or a simple phone number. See where I’m going with this? Your call to action is creepy, and there ain’t no way in hell I’m going to do what you tell me, without a little more reassurance that it’s all going to be ok.

Why We’re Scared of Clicking Your Button

We’re not wimps. We’re businessmen, high-flyers, schmoozers, and risk-takers (I’m looking at you, entrepreneurs). So why are we so afraid of a little click-action? The fact is, your website’s call to action doesn’t tell us what to expect, and it’s not fear we’re experiencing, it’s common sense. If we clicked every Tom, Dick, and Harry button out there, we’d be in a bad way, with laptops full of viruses, inboxes full of spam, and bank accounts on the verge of collapse. We don’t click your button because your button doesn’t show any good intentions.

Borrowing Reputation through Trust Symbols

When the BBC publishes a news story, no one questions it. Why? Because the BBC is pretty darn reputable (and British, which is always a good thing to be in my book). And if you see a quote from the BBC somewhere else, you don’t question that either? Why? Because their reputation follows them. This is the whole idea behind trust symbols, it’s an image that makes your inner voice squeal “I know them!” and adds that reputation to the surrounding information. Right now, Netflix features the word “Emmy” in its headline, and it’s doing just that – adding the reputation of an industry-recognized award to the whole brand. And they’ve not even won anything yet!

Preventing Click Anxiety

To prevent anxiety on your webpage, all you need to do is a little hand-holding. Sprinkle a few of your best and most reputable trust symbols around the button, and let the website visitor know it’s all going to be ok. I also recommend adding in a few sentences about what this action will do – it turns the mysterious metal door into a lovely glass panel through which everything becomes clear again. If the button is a sign-up, let them know:

“Receive 3 emails packed with hints and tips, every month!”

Reassure them of any get-out clauses you might have:

“Unsubscribe anytime with our one-click process.”

Give them peace of mind that they’re not going to be left alone after taking the action:

“Our support team is available by phone 24/7 on (555) 867-5309”.

See it in action right here! Click below to find out exactly how we can help you improve your website even further. We’ll call you for a no-cost consultation and suggest ways to improve your website’s confidence. Join companies such as RPM, Jack in the Box, and Five Ten, who have worked with us to improve their conversions and online reputation. Or just call me, on (909) 748-5882 x 804.

Frightening Ways Your Website is Losing Leads

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Frightening Ways Your Website is Losing Leads

It’s Halloween, and in honor of the holiday, we’re going to take a look at some frightening ways your website could be losing you leads. If your website is not properly set up to get conversions and bring in leads, you’re losing out on potential business and bleeding money. The scariest part is, you’re probably not even aware of it!

There are many fundamental items your website must contain to have a high conversion rate – these include layout, design, and content. If your website is missing even just one of these important factors, your bottom line could be affected.

Above the Fold

What is”above the fold” and why is it important? Above the fold is the area of your website a visitor will first lay eyes upon when coming to your site, the area that is visible without having to scroll down. Sometimes referred to as the hero or the showcase area, this is your first chance to catch people’s attention, tell them what you can do for them, and address their pain point.

You want to answer their question: What’s in it for me?

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Does your showcase area effectively target your key audience? Does it contain the important elements that will turn visitors into customers?

If the answer is no to either of these questions, then you could be losing out on potential business.

Homepage Content
Of course, when we think about content, we think about the words on the page and crafting great copy to draw in our visitors and sell them on our products. What most people don’t know is that content isn’t just words.

 

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There are key elements every website needs to have to grab attention and convince your would-be customers that they need you. These include forms, social proof, and up-to-date contact information, just to name a few. Above and beyond that, there is a specific formula to these elements that, if followed, will greatly transform your business and increase your sales.

Other Features
Websites that are built for marketing will assuredly capture more leads and increase your sales. There are many features a website can include to capture these leads, and if your website doesn’t have these items, you’re bleeding money and missing out.

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So, how do you know if your website is effective at capturing leads and turning over conversions? Which features should your website include, and what should your forms ask your visitors for? If only there were some type of test you could take to figure all of this out for you . . .

Introducing DoorGrow, a simple test you can take in just a few moments to evaluate how well your website is at getting you those leads. Geared towards property management websites (because that’s our specialty), this test will walk you through your website step-by-step and ask questions to determine if you’re losing out on leads or converting like a pro.

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Editor’s Note: If you’re not a property manager or a property management website, don’t be afraid to take the test, too. It’s targeted towards getting more doors for property management companies, but it’s still a great test to evaluate key elements every website should have to increase conversions and sales.

Building incredibly effective websites is what we do at OpenPotion—after all, we’re marketers first and designers second. Take our free test today  and discover for yourself if your website is costing  you leads.

 

-Starr, Content Goddess

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Why is WordPress the Best CMS Choice for Property Management Websites?

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If you’ve made the decision to use WordPress as the starting point of your property management website, you’re already off to a great start. While there are several other choices out there for a content management system for your website (such as Joomla and Drupal) there are a number of advantages that WordPress brings to the table.

But first, you may be asking yourself what exactly is a content management system and why use a CMS in the first place?

What a CMS Does

Essentially, a CMS is a web application that makes it easy for non-technical people to edit, update, and manage their website through a visual interface. You no longer have to be a hardcore coder to make grand changes to your website – with a few sweeping motions of your mouse and a few clicks, you can add in a video, change the background image, edit the text content, or create an entirely new page.

The power of a content management system effectively hides all of the “behind the scenes” complicated stuff allowing the user to focus on the website’s message and presentation.

 

WordPress makes creating and editing your site easier.

WordPress makes creating and editing your site easier.

 

Even though creating an interface that is easy for the average user to use is the goal for all CMSs, it’s important to note that not all CMSs are created equally–in fact, many management systems can still be fairly complicated applications that will challenge your intellectual prowess.

Why use WordPress?

WordPress has been downloaded 140 million times, while the next popular CMS was only downloaded 30 million times. This gives you a pretty clear picture of just how widely used WordPress is. Simply put, it’s popular for a very important reason: it’s easy to learn and use.

Some of the major WordPress advantages:

  • You’re in good company: CNN, Harvard, Forbes, and the White House use WP.
  • Responsive: works on mobile phones and tablets
  • Manage your website from any computer, anywhere in the world
  • Search engines LOVE WordPress: it’s easy for search engines to read and index your site, and includes options for precise search engine optimization (SEO). Getting ranked highly by search engines has always been a tough battle – by choosing WP, you make it that much easier to gain valuable ground.
  • Everything is 100% customizable – from the text content to the visual layout, you have as much control over your site as you need.
  • Make Your Website Do What It Needs to Do: with 27,000 free plugins available, you can add new functionality and life to your site in minutes—add contact forms, photo galleries, event calendars, live chat, rental listings, application forms, and more.
  • You don’t have to know a thing about HTML, CSS, PHP, or FTP (or even what they stand for):  WordPress is hands down the easiest CMS to use for beginner users, and you can make all your changes entirely within the visual interface.

If you’re thinking of creating or redesigning your property management company’s website, you are on the right track. With more than 70% of renters starting their search online, and more than 92% of home buyers using the internet to find their next home, WordPress will allow you to set up a website quicker and easier.  And thanks to the many SEO features and options, you’ll reach more property owners and tenants in larger numbers than before.

Even still, there is a way to take it a step further.

Enter OpenPotion . . .

While many property managers are satisfied with using WordPress out of the box, we know our clients expect more. When we develop a website using WordPress, we add extra functionality and features that go above and beyond the standard CMS.

We add a tried-and-true layout that converts users to customers: even if you add your own pages or content, your site will still follow the basic rules and layouts we’ve established to convert.

Wanting to make things even easier, we add “drag and drop” functionality: editing your site has NEVER been this easy before. Want a text box on your page? Then you simply drag a text box where you want it to be on the page, then edit the type. Want to add a button? A testimonial? Click, drag, drop, then customize it as you see fit.

 

Here’s just a sample of the visuals you might see when editing your WP OpenPotion website.

With WordPress as your CMS and OpenPotion as your tour guide through the process, you’ll save time, lower costs, increase sales, and end up with an incredibly effective website.

Ready to discover what OpenPotion can do for your business?  Contact us today.

-Morgan, Website Developer

Morgan

Responsive Design: 4 Key Reasons Your Business Site Needs It

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Why-Your-Business-Site-Needs-Responsive-Design

 

Earlier this year, mobile web usage in the United States overtook traditional desktop browsers for the first time in history. With millions of connected devices scattered around the nation, consumers have more access to the Internet than ever before. Long gone are the days when users had to peruse subpar mobile sites that lacked the functionality and visual appeal of desktop platforms. Today, companies can create dynamic, responsive sites that bring the full desktop experience to the small screen. If you’re contemplating whether or not you need a responsive site, consider the following four benefits.

Responsive Sites Reach More People

Google estimates that more than one in five searches are now performed via a mobile device. Furthermore, 25% of all Internet users in the U.S. connect solely via a smartphone or tablet. If numbers like those don’t sway you, consider this: more than half of all local searches conducted last year came via mobile platforms. The figures don’t lie; if you neglect mobile web users, you’re missing out on a huge segment of your target audience.

Search Engines Play Nicer with Responsive Sites

If you’ve spent any time familiarizing yourself with search engine optimization, you understand the importance of your site ranking. Google and its competitors rely on bots that canvas the web every day, indexing websites and using a series of complex algorithms to determine a site’s rank. Responsive sites give search engines one destination to index, as opposed to businesses that opt for separate mobile and desktop sites. This single indexed site is often better received by the search engine algorithms, in turn ensuring a high rank for the online destination.

Responsive Sites Produce Better Results

As a business owner, your primary concern is ensuring that your website provides a positive user experience and generates real results. Not only are responsive sites tailored to the smaller screens of mobile users, but these websites also produce better conversion rates. Furthermore, the majority of social media activity now occurs on mobile devices, and web users are eager to interact with businesses on the move. With a responsive site, you make it possible for visitors to reach out to you immediately, no matter where users happen to find themselves.

Responsive Sites are Easy to Maintain

Attracting new business and retaining your current customers is likely one of your largest priorities as a business owner. Do you really have spare time to waste updating a mobile site frequently and ensuring it plays nicely across a myriad of different devices? A professional, responsive site shouldn’t be difficult to maintain—in fact, it’s quite the opposite. These simple platforms make it easy for you to communicate your business’ message to the masses, regardless of how they choose to access your online destination.

Harnessing the digital tools available to you is the best possible way to build a brighter future and work to stabilize your monthly revenue. Utilizing responsive web design is merely one of the diverse options available to you, but the results these sites create speak for themselves. If you’re not already using responsive design and are ready to take the plunge, get in touch with us today and learn how OpenPotion can breathe new life into your business’ approach to online marketing.

Adam Zetterlund

– Adam, Content Wizard

3 Reasons to Get an Open-Source CMS Website Instead of Something Proprietary

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opensource-CMS

Launching a new website is an intensive process that encompasses a myriad of diverse tasks. From choosing a design scheme and layout to crafting the content that fills the site’s pages, it’s important to pay careful attention to the many components of a new website’s identity. For amateur webmasters with little experience in creating and maintaining an online destination, ideas like content management systems often appear overwhelming and complex, but these innovative resources are actually one of the most valuable tools available to would-be site managers.

Best of all, many of these platforms, commonly referred to as CMS, are also open-source, which represents a unique advantage for content creators and designers alike. An open-source CMS provides a seamless fit for most webmasters, thanks to the three following benefits:

1) Cost-Efficiency

Much like the name suggests, an open-source product is created and maintained by an independent group of developers. Unlike platforms from big-name software companies, an open-source CMS like WordPress or Joomla doesn’t carry an exorbitant price tag. Instead, these systems can be deployed and customized for a fraction of the cost of a proprietary system. Furthermore, the passionate grassroots development teams behind these open-source products continually release new updates to the bones of the CMS infrastructure, ensuring the platform remains secure and compatible with various web browsers.

2) Flexibility and Compatibility

Continual advances within the realm of digital content creation have served as an undeniable boon for web developers, but the various competing technologies don’t always play well together in practical applications. From coding languages to dynamic plug-ins, web designers have a vast arsenal of solutions available to them, but many proprietary management platforms only support a limited number of these resources. This results in a massive headache for designers and developers tasked with building a powerful, modern website.

Utilizing an open-source CMS as the infrastructure for a web destination eliminates many of these problems. Because of the wide number of sites taking advantage of these content systems, independent developers and large corporations alike have worked to make their products compatible with the most popular systems. For this reason, an open-source CMS can be customized to fit nearly any website need.

3) Intuitive User Experience

Professional web designers and developers tackle the responsibility of creating an appealing website, but often times, it’s small business owners and their staff who keep a site updated with new information. Without advanced knowledge of web development processes and the various elements that compose them, it frequently proves next to impossible for website owners to make changes to their site. Sites built on an open-source CMS, however, don’t present the same challenge. Open-source powerhouses like WordPress and Joomla are utilized by innumerable groups across the globe.

From multinational brands to mom-and-pop retail establishments, some of the Internet’s most-visited sites utilize an open-source CMS. Much of this popularity can be attributed to the unparalleled UX these systems provide. With a few hours of training, any website owner can master the basics of using an open-source CMS.

Ultimately, most website owners are most concerned with how well their site meets the needs and expectations of its visitors. In order to address this issue, however, it’s essential to use the right approach in the developmental process. We’ve had the privilege to partner with clients of all sizes in a web design capacity, and our open-source CMS solutions continue to prove invaluable for our customers. With the many benefits these platforms provide, it’s simply impossible to deny the appeal of an open-source content management system.

-Adam Z, Content Wizard

Adam Zetterlund

Your Website Could Use a Refresher

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Websites are like gardens – you need to keep watering them or they wilt. Something as simple as updating the call to actions can improve conversions by as much as 90%, and most sites that are a year or more old have elements that could be improved.

If you’re not frequently checking in with your website, it could be going stale. Here’s some typical changes our clients ask for that make a huge difference in the performance of their sites…

Update your software.

1Technology moves quickly, and just like ‘dog years’, a year in internet time is a big deal. If your software is out of date, you could be a prime target for spam attacks and costly site damage. Think you have nothing to steal? You’re still at risk. Hackers are not just looking to take – they’re wanting to use. You’re currently a prime target to those looking to use your site for spam, illegal file serving, and other nasty activities. hurting your reputation and taking months to repair the damage.

A quick software update could be all you need to have a faster, safer site, free from spam attacks and malware. Let us work our magic to keep your site safe and secure.

Freshen your SEO copy.

2Google updates its algorithms more often than I have a cup of tea – in the last few years we’ve seen the birth of Google Updates ‘Panda’, ‘Penguin’, and even a scary sounding ‘Payday Loan’, to name a few. These Google changes will have affected how your site shows up when people search. If your site has not been prepped for these changes, it’s a good bet that you’ve sunk down the rankings and slipped out of sight.

If your copy is earmarked as ‘spammy’ or ‘impersonal’, you could be losing your place in the Search Engine Results Pages. Let our Content Goddess Starr spring clean your content and boost your online reputation.

Make your site responsive.

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You aren’t using the same technology that you were when your site originally launched. Internet Explorer has released 5 new versions in the last 5 years, and since 2009, mobile web browsing has grown from 1% to a third of all internet traffic. Is your site responsive and compatible with current browsers? If not, say goodbye to a large chunk of your potential leads. With a growing portion of web traffic now coming from mobile devices, it’s important to be ready.

If your site is not yet responsive, speak to us – we can do this for you.

Simplify your menu structure.

7bLong, confusing menus are so 2012. Web users are quick, and far too fickle to sift through complex menus to find what they want. We recommend 5 items or less on your main menu.

If your menu leaves visitors in a muddle, lets work together and streamline things.

Is it time for a total redesign?

3Does your website work as hard as your best employee? Could you pay someone to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to adequately and consistently sell your product? Would you rather just have more leads, more income, and less to worry about? A redesign helps you to spend less and earn more.

We work with different budgets to achieve exactly what you’re looking for. Get in touch to find out how we can help you make more sales.

Refresh and update for less.

Websites should grow with your business. Our monthly support plans allow them to do just that, at a price that works for you.

On our Silver plan ($89 a month), you not only get government-grade security and fabulous 24/7 support, but you also get an included design hour every month (this alone is worth $129). You can use this to make gradual updates as and when they’re needed.

For more included design hours, or multiple sites, try our Gold or Platinum plans. Our customers love them!

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The Call to Action: Why one little tweak might be all you need

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A single change, 90% more clicks.

Getting the call-to-action right is a fine art. Unbounce.com recently ran a test on one of their landing pages that offered a free 30-day trial to new users. All they did was change “You” to “My”, making the new call-to-action read “Start my free 30 day trial”. Within three weeks, they had raised their click-through rate by 90%. In another example of excellent CTA optimization, MatchOffice.com reworded the text of one of their buttons from “Order Information” to “Get Information”, and saw nearly 15% more people click it.

Easily do it on your own website.

All it takes is one simple tweak to a button, and you have a recipe for success. People respond better when they a required to put in minimal effort. Single words carry many connotations, so you need to make sure you are picking the right ones that say the right things about you.

the words that sell

Get us to do it for you.

OpenPotion has been advising companies on conversion optimization techniques like this for years, and we can help you. Changes like this are quick and easy to do, and it will surprise you just how effective they are. Simply click the button below and we’ll be in contact shortly to get started.

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Pssst, a little sneaky discount for our clients.

Cut some corners and get a pretty great deal. Should you subscribe to our Silver Plan, you will benefit from an included hour of website development every month (a value of $129!) to make tweaks and touches to your website. Amazing! Here’s just some of the things you could do with that time…

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Click here to see more of our Plans and Pricing.

How to Make a Rock Star Hero Image

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Starr Bryson

What is a Hero Image?

The hero image is a banner that is displayed prominently across the top of a webpage- typically the landing, or home, page- front and center. Its purpose is to present a visual overview of what your website is about and attract visitors to stay awhile. The hero image gives you a chance to show just how awesome you are.

Why is it important to have a Hero Image?

A picture is worth a thousand words. In today’s world of instant gratification and short attention spans, you want to quickly and visually give visitors an idea of what your website is all about- a sort of preview of your content.

A well made Hero Image- such as we do here at OpenPotion- will demonstrate several things in only seconds. A headline, describing your business and what you do, a sub headline telling them what they’ll get, a short video showcasing your business, and finally, a photo of a real person with an actual quote about the business.

Why is it important to use a Real Person?

Stock photos are lame. It doesn’t make your company look very honest if the same person from your hero image shows up all over the internet selling other brands.

You want to be transparent. By using a real person from y our company with the accompanying quote, you’re painting a picture of a company with real people who are approachable and down to earth. Not to mention honest.

Do I have to?

The short answer is yes, you do. The other answer is, no you don’t really have to. We can do it for you. You just provide the photos you wish to use and we’ll do the rest (for a small fee).

If you want to rock out your own hero image, please follow the guidelines below on our handy visual aid.   You’ll be a pro in no time.

 

How to Make a Hero Image Look Awesome

How to Make a Hero Image Look Awesome

Video Announcing Our New Website

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Announcing Our New Website

I was outside our home in Pacific Palisades, walking with my almost 2-year-old and my 6 year old nephew and decided to record a quick video. This was a big leap from our old Joomla site and took quite a while to develop… there are still several things on my todo list, but it is up and it is better than our previous site… so… progress!

Some of the things that went into this…

  1. Migrating content
  2. Planning out a simpler, smarter structure for our search engine friendly URLs
  3. Setting up 301,302,307 redirects to redirect old pages and to new locations
  4. Integrating ScheduleOnce
  5. Researching lots of WordPress addons to find the best ones
  6. Setting up site-wide SSL (https)
  7. Enabling and tweaking page caching (W3TC)
  8. CDN integration (CDN77)
  9. Integrating ZOPIM Live Chat
  10. And a LOT more…

 

Why did we switch to WordPress? I’ll write another post on that.Looking to migrate from Joomla to WordPress? Need a new website designed? We can certainly help with that.

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