What is "Above the Fold"?

Above the Fold is one of those terms you may have heard but not really defined properly. Simple put, above the fold in web design is what can be viewed on a monitor without scrolling down with the mouse. It's also known as above the crease or above the scroll.

Originally, it was a term for newspapers. When a newspaper sat in the stand, it was folded in half, so whatever appeared in the upper half could be viewed by just walking by and not even picking up. So editors put what they thought were the most interesting stories "above the fold". Advertisers also wanted their ads in this space since their ads were much more likely to be viewed.

This concept applies directly to web design. We want our most important information to be viewed without scrolling down on the page. Typically this would include:

• Logo
• Phone number
• Address
• Email address
• Contact form, or "lead" form
• Banner ad
• Important intro text

Not all of these things can necessarily all fit above the fold. There is limited space. Your website may not even have all these things. But fit what you can without it looking cluttered.

You can still use "Under the Fold"

Some people think that everything should be above the fold. This isn't true. It's good to have a lot of additional information, even if it doesn't fit on one screen shot. Just try to get your most vital information above the fold like your phone number and important call to action buttons.

Different computers have different "folds"

Not all monitors will show the same amount of information on one screen. Different monitors have different resolutions and sizes. Test your website by looking at it from many different computers, including smaller laptops.

Above the fold is a big deal in search engine ranking

Everyone wants to be #1 ranked on Google right? Well if you can't get #1, then at least go for above the fold. Appearing in the top 5 or 6 on Google makes a huge difference when you are above the fold.

Make sure you're applying this principle! Identify the 3 or 4 most important parts of your website. Make sure that they are above the fold. If necessary you can rearrange things. Good luck!

10 Reasons Why You Should Hire Us

Our first unashamed plug of Fresh Look Web Design! If you're looking for a few tips to enhance your website, please read a different article because this one is not for you! :)

Here are the top 10 reasons why you should get a website with Fresh Look Web Design:

1. We do good work.

We do great work! Our websites are beautiful, user friendly, and are found on search engines. You can check out our portfolio right here to check out some of our websites. Want to see more? Contact us and we will give you more to look at.

2. We are reasonably priced.

Other than doing good work this is the most important thing to look for right? We can cater to any budget and the amount of website that you get for your dollar is better than anything else we've ever seen. Do cheaper websites exist? Sure, but they aren't effective. Are there slicker, fancier websites out there? Sure, but say goodbye to a whole lot of dead presidents.

3. We understand how search engines work.

Creating a website is half the battle. Making it appear well in the search engines is the other half. You want someone on your side who knows how to make both parts work together.

4. We do updates in half hour increments.

Most web development companies charge by the hour when it comes to updating your website. We charge by the half hour. It usually takes around half an hour anyway for most updates, so why charge for work we're not doing?

5. We're here to stay.

The NUMBER ONE complaint we hear from people about other web developers is that their web developer disappeared and they can't contact them anymore to update the website. Whether they were a freelancer, or a company that went out of business; they're gone and now no one can access the website.

You don't have to worry about that with us! We're extremely accessible and have no plans of dropping the ball on anyone.

6. We make quick updates when you need us.

Any time you need a change to your website it's usually hours, sometimes minutes before we get it done, not days.

7. We can do weekend updates.

Got an emergency that needs to go on the website Saturday evening? We can do it...although a heads up during the week will make us like you more :)

8. We're local (to Virginia)

Ideally you want to be able to sit down and meet with your web designer. We do a few long distance projects when necessary, but meet with 95% of our clients at some point during the process. It just works better that way.

9. Our goal is to help your business succeed both long term and short term.

We want our clients to stay with us, and the best way to do that is help them any way we can. A client is a much better revenue source over 10 years of good pricing versus 1 year of being over charged. We really want your business to grow and succeed.

10. We have very good English

There's no language barrier here when you need to call us for technical support. If you need help on your website, it's nice to have someone who you can understand!

Please contact us if you want to talk about how we can help you with your website!

Why you NEED a blog on your website

Over the past month or so, we have had several clients come to us seeking advice about "How can I get found on the search engines?"  Our answer has consistently been - "Start a blog".

Why is a blog so important? There are several reasons why blogs are great, but really we want to focus on the most important one, which answers the question of how to get found by Google:

Blogs are the most cost effective way to improve the search engine rankings of your website.

First of all, let's clear up what we mean by a "blog". Basically a blog is just an informational website or part of a website consisting of different posts, or articles.

Usually a blog allows for users to leave comments, and that's a great feature but for our purposes not completely necessary (although, again - a very nice feature).

Content is King

Secondly, let me explain what the number one ingredient is to making your website appear on the first page of Google: content. The text, verbiage, wording, words, etc. on your page is what Google craves. If the words on your webpage are crumbs, Google is like a hungry puppy dog searching the floor for every dropped morsel it can find. If your website doesn't have very many crumbs...Google will quickly move on to the NEXT website.

The reason we recommend blogs so often is that they provide that content for search engines like Google. Particularly if you are a small business or non-profit, you probably need more content for your website. Many of our clients have 5 - 10 page websites, yet their competition on the internet has websites with 30 - 50 pages. Not exactly an even playing field when it comes to who is going to appear higher up on Google.

So what do you put on your blog? The simple answer is anything remotely related to your industry.

Let's think about what the goal is first and then work backwards. We want to feed Google words. More precisely, we want to feed Google keywords that relate to our business.  If you do web design, lawn care, or hair cuts you want to feed Google the keywords "web design", "lawn care", and "hair cuts", respectively.

Any topic you can think of that will naturally include those keywords is what you're looking for.

It will take time. Even if you only write once every other month, you're still adding valuable content to your website. But for many small businesses it's the best and most cost effective way to improve your search engine rankings.

I launched my website...now what?

Creating a brand new website for your business is a big accomplishment. There are countless hours that go into designing, coding, reviewing, testing, and publishing a website. However once the website is launched, what do you do next?

Here are the top 7 things you should remember to do AFTER your website is launched.

1. Promote it

It's really easy to forget to promote your website. Make sure to put your web address on business cards, brochures, signs, etc. Also send out an email blast and Facebook post announcing that you have a new website and people should check it out.

It's also a good idea to give people another reason to go to your website, such as offering web-only specials or coupons. People love to get a good deal, and once they've visited your site it will be easier to get them to return.

2. Check your statistics.

Early on, you can expect to see small amounts of traffic to your brand new website.  Make sure that you check your website hits about once a week or so, especially early on, just to see what pages are getting hits, where your visitors are coming from, how long they're staying on each page, etc.

You'll also want to make adjustments based on your findings. For example, if your "About Us" page is getting a fair amount of visitors, but no one is staying on the page for more than a couple seconds, maybe you should consider sprucing up the content to make it more interesting, or adding some pictures.

3. See where you land in the search engine rankings.

Where your website appears in the search engines is extremely important. Everyone wants to be on the top of page #1, but that isn't easy.

There are a large number of keywords that you can type into Google to find your website. For example, an easy one is your company name: "Fresh Look Web Design". Or you can do a more general search: "web design". Or general term + geographic location: "hampton virginia web design".

We recommend checking your position in the search engine rankings every couple months at the least, to see where you appear. This is particularly important if you are actively trying to improve your position in the search engines. Which leads us to our next topic...

4. Improve your search engine ranking.

This could be a whole series of articles by itself, but we'll direct you to our SEO Checklist if you want to get some general ideas for improving your ranking. The idea we want to get across in this article however is that it's an ongoing process that continues long after you launch your site. You have to work at it, because your competition is doing the same.

5. Add new information

Sometimes it's hard to remember to post things to your website. Think about all the information you share on a regular basis: event information, newsletters, special offers, board meeting announcements, etc. As you go through the day to day business, make sure to put this information on the website.

6. Remove outdated information

This is so easy to forget, however it's important to do. You do not want outdated information on your website. Sometimes it helps to have an archive section where you intentionally put old info, and that's fine. But you don't want your users to see you promoting an event that is 2 months old...it just doesn't reflect too well on your business. Try to remove outdated information promptly.

7. Be patient

A website is not like a microwave that will just zap your business into success. It's more like a really great recipe that will in time produce a delicious meal - if you put forth the effort. Be patient while you're making your website work...keep up with it, update it, check the status and try new things. In time it will turn into something delicious!

7 Simple Ways to Build Your Mailing List

One of the most cost effective marketing you can do for your organization is sending out an email newsletter. We've talked about the value of an email newsletter in our article, 8 Reasons to Create an e-Newsletter with Constant Contact. Now we're going to go over some simple, easy ways to encourage people to sign up for your email newsletter.

1. Make it easy to sign up

Make it as simple and easy as possible to sign up. Don't require that people enter in more information than is necessary. Name and email address should be enough. The more information you get is good, but people are less likely to take the time to sign up.

2. Let people know what they're getting

Inform your customers what they get with your email newsletter. Make it sound helpful, inviting, simple and non-threatening.

• Coupons
• Helpful tips
• Industry news
• What's New

If you are a small business and typically have close relationships with your customers, you can also add more of a personal flair by informing them of what's going on with your company. New clients, new employees, awards, etc.

3. Create a signup form on your website

Adding a little signup box to your website is a very effective way to add people to your mailing list. It can be as big and obvious or as small and subtle as you want. It all just depends on how important it is that people sign up, and what other things on your website need to stand out as well.

One way to do it to put the form directly on every page. This is helpful because it requires less clicking for the user. And if you use something like Constant Contact, you can create it so that when they sign up they are automatically added to your list...no extra work on your part.

Examples of email sign up forms:

• www.chincoteague-hotel.com
• www.defythebadguy.com

4. Offer incentives to sign up

Give your customers a coupon or small gift just for signing up! You will encourage people who are on the brink of signing up, and the gift can have some good promotional material in it as well.

5. Create a Join My List button on Facebook

If you use Constant Contact, and many people do, you can create a button on your Facebook page which lets people sign up for your email newsletter. It connects with Constant Contact, and is just another way to let users sign up!

See an example of how it works

6. Add a check box that lets users sign up from your Contact Us form

Similar to #3 where you are directly asking users to specifically sign up for your email newsletter, you can also add a field on your Contact Us form which is more subtle.



The point is to ask for users to sign up at every opportunity. This one is very helpful at getting good leads for your business since your customers are already taking the time to contact you.

7. Encourage existing subscribers to forward your newsletter to friends

Most programs such as Mail Chimp or Constant Contact let you create an easy to use "Forward this email" button on your newsletter. People love to forward emails (unfortunately) but in this case use it to your advantage.

Sending out an email newsletter really is one of the easiest and cost effective marketing tool you can incorporate. Use these 7 tips to build your mailing list and reap the benefits!

8 Features of a Great Call to Action Button

The best way to get visitors to do what you want them to do on your website is to create an effective call to action button.

A call to action button is simply a button people click on that says something like:

• Sign up now
• Call us today
• Get a free quote
• Download our brochure
• Read more
  

A good call to action button has several characteristics. Here are a few:

1. Color contrast

The color of the button should stand out from the surrounding elements on your website. So if you have a white background, don't have a light button. Make it a dark color.



The Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce uses purple for this image to make the important Visitor Guide button stand out.

2. Give a few details

Some users want to know a little more information before they click on something. Keep it brief, but give them a few more details if it fits on your button and looks good.

If you'll look at our buttons on the right, you'll notice that we have the call to action statement in bold type, followed by a short explanation.

3. Don't make it scary

There are some terms that people seem to shy away from. If a web user thinks they're making a long term commitment that will be hard to get out of they're less likely to click it.

Don't say: "Register" or "Sign up"
Instead, say: "Receive Updates" or "Stay Connected"

These friendly terms are more inviting and people are more likely to click on it.

Defy the Bad Guy uses the phrase "Free Safety Tips Newsletter" rather than something like "Sign up to receive our newsletter". After all, who doesn't want to be safe? And who doesn't like free?

4. Keep distractions to a minimum

It's very easy to make a website too cluttered. But by adding a lot of stuff, we end up losing the effectiveness of what we started with.



Sometimes less is more. The Northern Neck Farm Museum keeps their home page very simple to emphasize the buttons on the left to make sure that the important items are easy to see and there are no unnecessary distractions.

5. Use white space

White space, as mentioned in our article on How to Make Your Web Content Look Amazing is the blank or empty space surrounding elements on your web page. White space can really make your call to action button stand out and get noticed.



6. Put it at the top of the page

The "above the fold" principle is what the user sees on their screen without scrolling down. If feasible, put your important call to action buttons "above the fold".

A lot of times it's not practical to put your call to actions at the top. Maybe it's not how you want your website styled, or you have something else at the top that you want to highlight. That's OK...this is just one way to do it.



The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank uses two techniques for their call to action button - positioning it at the top of the page, and high contrast. They have a dark green button on a white background.

7. Give more than just one option

We always want people to "Buy Now" but what if they're not ready? They don't want to "Buy Now", but they do want to "Learn More". Give them the option to do that.

A cautious customer will take baby steps towards the ultimate goal. In baseball, a walk, stolen base and a base hit scores 1 run...same as a 450 foot home run. Let them go at their own pace.



Constant Contact wants people to sign up for their free trial...but maybe people just want to "See how it works".

8. Give the button a "hover" feature

Users like it when a button lights up when they hover the mouse over it. Our buttons on the right do this as well...they turn a slightly brighter yellow. It's just an attractive, simple way to let your users know that it is in fact a button that you can click on.

Creating a good call to action button can really help you reach your website goals. We hope you can incorporate these ideas into your website and improve the effectiveness of your online presence!