This guest article was provided by Amy Collett of Bizwell.org. As the world continues to evolve, the importance of having an online presence for small businesses becomes more and more apparent. A website is no longer just a space for showcasing your product or service; it is also an opportunity to engage with your customers and build your brand. In this article, we will discuss critical web-based updates that will enhance your website, improve your customer’s experience, and ultimately boost your bottom line. Accessible for All Users One of the most critical updates you can make to your website is ensuring it is accessible to users with disabilities. In recent years, there has been a rise in legal action taken against businesses with inaccessible websites. To avoid falling into this trap, make sure that your website is compliant with the guidelines. This can involve ensuring that your website is navigable using only a keyboard, providing alt text for images, and providing clear and concise language on your website. Dynamic Website Gone are the days when simply having a static website was enough to attract and retain customers. Today, customers expect websites that engage with them and offer a personalized experience. Personalization can involve suggestions based on previous purchases, showing the closest location to the customer, or sending a personalized email to a customer who left an item in their online cart. By incorporating dynamic content and personalization into your website, you show your customers that you understand their needs and that you value their time. Mobile-Friendly Website More and more people are accessing websites from their mobile devices. In fact, over 50% of all website traffic comes from mobile devices. Make sure that your website is optimized for mobile devices by using a responsive design, which allows your website to adjust itself automatically to fit the screen of any device. This ensures that your customers can easily view and interact with your website, regardless of the device they are using. Online Payment Processing Offering online payment options is essential for small businesses to stay competitive in today's digital world. Customers demand the ease and speed of paying for goods and services online, and small businesses that don't offer this option risk losing sales. Integrating online payment processing into your website not only provides convenience and peace of mind to your customers but also increases transaction security and streamlines payment processing for your business. Data Security Enhancing your website's cybersecurity is a critical aspect of maintaining a secure and trustworthy online presence. Implementing robust anti-virus software and firewalls is an integral part of this process, as they work together to safeguard your site from potential cyber threats. Anti-virus software provides comprehensive protection by detecting and removing malicious files, attachments, and downloads that could compromise your system. Firewalls, on the other hand, serve as a barrier between your website and external networks, filtering incoming and outgoing traffic to prevent unauthorized access. By consistently updating and fine-tuning these security tools, you can significantly minimize the likelihood of cyberattacks and ensure that your website remains a secure platform for all users. Benefits of Online Advertising Online advertising is a powerful way to get your website in front of potential customers and drive traffic to your business. Social media advertising and remarketing ads can help you target specific demographics and reach people who may not have known about your business. By investing in online advertising, you can increase brand awareness and drive sales for your small business. Web-based updates are critical to the success of your small business. By creating a dynamic website that personalizes the customer's browsing experience, optimizing your website for mobile devices, and integrating online payment processing, you can attract and retain customers while increasing your bottom line. Remember that your website is often the first impression customers have of your business in today's digital age. So, make sure that your website is up-to-date and engaging, and watch your small business thrive. Image from Digital Buggu via Pexels.

Hackathons are a great way to immerse oneself in the end-to-end UX workflow while collaborating with other people. Hackathons are an opportunity for multidisciplinary groups to showcase their skills and develop new projects in record time! In a period of 30 hours (or more), participants can self-challenge, show leadership, meet people, and even discover new skills! On the weekend of May 29–31, 2020, I had the pleasure and thrill to participate remotely in Talent Hack FinTech Hackathon. It was a great way to validate my interest in transitioning into UX design. I walked away with a great project and expanded my network. And that’s what’s great about all hackathons. Whether focused on empathy-driven research, prototyping, or some other area of UX, they help develop skills and network. In this piece, I will discuss what hackathons are, why they’re valuable and how to make the most of the experience. What is an hackathon? Hackathons are competitive design events for problem-solvers to come together and collaborate on a meaningful, short-term project. Timeline – It could range anywhere from three hours (those would typically be called mini-hackathons) and go up to 72 hours, with most of them being an all-day competition. They are mostly held in-person but there are also virtual ones. Host – Anyone could host them, including well-established companies or passionate designers through local Meetup groups all around the world, with most being concentrated in startup-driven cities like San Francisco and London. Cost – Hackathons receive sponsorship so many are free but even the paid ones are reasonable. Registration spots for Hackathons sell out quickly so it’s recommended that participants seek them out in advance and register early on. Attendance – Expect anywhere from 80 to 300 participants. Most end up working in groups of 4-6 but there are people who compete alone as well. The optimal situation would be to work with people of varying skill sets and levels to get work done efficiently. Challenge – Usually, the host sets a theme and gives participants guidelines on how to go about it. Designers are free to interpret the challenge however they like and use research to influence their final products. Who should go to hackathons? The short answer: anyone who loves problem solving and tackling new challenges while working collaboratively with others. Generally, hackathons are geared towards the tech which includes: Design researchers UX/UI/product designers Product managers Data analysts Copywriters Web developers Students of human-computer interaction programs HCI students and junior designers should definitely go to hackathons because it’s an effective way to learn the process, expand their network and build their portfolios. Veteran designers also benefit by working on new challenges that help hone their craft. Entrepreneurs and non-technical professionals will also benefit from hackathons because they can experience the end-to-end problem solving process to validate ideas through research and using data to develop solutions. Why is a hackathon valuable? Benefits are plenty: Meaningful challenges Hackathon challenges can range extensively from data transparency to environmental conservation. It pushes designers to be innovative and think about the implications of the problem in context of the bigger picture. These meaningful challenges turn into excellent case studies for portfolio work. Beginner-friendly environment Hackathon hosts want designers to succeed so most of them feature introductory skill-building workshops built in the agenda to help guide their workflow. They go over facilitating user interviews and discuss best prototyping practices in a short amount of time. Mentors will almost always be present to provide guidance. Simulation of real-life problems The purpose of UX in the real world is to synchronize users’ goal with business goals. These events aim to simulate real-life problems so participants walk away with the experience of incorporating business goals of building revenue and scaling into their workflow. Exposure to the UX community What I learned from immersing myself in the UX community in London is that people are open and willing to help out. I keep in touch with most designers I meet who have been resourceful for my further development. Hackathons are an amazing collection of wonderful people who serve as catalysts in helping further designers’ careers. How can designers make the most of the experience? For students and junior designers who are making the transition into UX, attending a hackathon is a great way to validate one’s interest. For veteran designers, hackathons can be refreshing and give them an opportunity to work with new people. Here are ways to make the most of a hackathon experience: Come prepared Junior designers should familiarize themselves with the design process, if they haven’t already. A good place to start is look at the schedule for the event. This is a great outline of what parts of the process one could expect. There are also tons of blog posts out there that outline the design thinking process and UX workflow. Participants should bring the necessary equipment needed – having a laptop is a given but also having a notebook helps. Downloading any apps that might be useful beforehand could work to their advantage. Having post-its and sharpies handy to do affinity mapping and plain paper to sketch out wireframes is extremely helpful. Work efficiently Since UX hackathons are extremely short, teams should work together efficiently. Rather than brainstorming out loud, it’s more effective to ideate and sketch in silence and regrouping, similar to the design sprint model. Teams should divide up the work and have different teammates working on different tasks. Half the team could work on the final prototype while the other half could focus on the presentation. When meeting teammates for the first time, it is also recommended that everyone has an upfront, open discussion about what each person hopes to gain and what their strengths and weaknesses are. These discussions are crucial in setting the tone for the rest of the day in terms of how a team tackles the challenge and the process they use to approach the problem. Document the process Documenting the process and keeping track of what was completed at the event is a great way to add value to the UX hackathon experience. Some designers go to sharpen their skills and refine their process so documenting it can be extremely helpful. It allows designers to reflect on the experience more objectively and identify areas of improvement for the next time around. During the hackathon, designers should be actively photographing the activities they conduct. Pictures of post-its, user interviews, journey maps and rough wireframes are great to have when reflecting back on the process. It might also be beneficial to have a designated note taker to document the ideas that were discussed throughout the day. Projects completed at hackathons are great starter pieces on portfolios and having them is a great way to communicate to hiring managers how they think and they are willing to immerse themselves in new challenges. Focus on the experience Designers should go into every hackathon expecting to learn something new and get excited about meeting new and like minded people. These would be the ultimate takeaways from any hackathon that participants would walk away with so it’s crucial to take advantage of every moment of the event. Designers shouldn’t get too attached to their ideas and let the competition cloud them of why they came in the first place: to have fun and learn something new in the process. At most hackathons, there will be a competition aspect to it and the best designs would be awarded with prestigious prizes. These incentives, however, should not be the main reason to attend. Participants should set goals prior to attending and focus on them. Keep in touch Finally, keeping in touch with other participants can be one of the best ways to take advantage of the experience. Exchanging emails and sharing resources can be a great way to build a designer’s network and opening doors for bigger opportunities. Just exchanging information isn’t enough, though. Follow them on LinkedIn, write to each other, share resources and keep that communication stream alive. Photo by Fletcher Pride on Unsplash

The Double Diamond design model has been around since it was officially invented by the British Design Council, back in 2005. While it has been around for a while, many designers are still unclear what this model is or what it entails. Fear not! Just read on. The official Double Diamond design model has four stages: Discovery, Definition, Development and Delivery. Together, these stages work as a map designers can use to organize their thoughts in order to improve the creative process. Discovery: gathering data The very first stage of the Double Diamond model consists of learning more about the different variables that affect the problem and its possible solution. It’s common for companies to start this process by laying down their problem, presenting their hypothesis, and defining ways they can learn more. The objective of this stage within the Double Diamond model is to identify and contextualize the actual problem or opportunity. Think of it like an expedition to map out the playing field. The study found that keeping employees’ minds open to all possible solutions was crucial to ensure maximum creative problem-solving. Normal activities in this stage include market research and user testing. Something interesting the Council learned is that all companies were user-oriented, which translates into focusing on users’ needs, wants and behavior. Definition Stage: filtering through data and sign-off The definition stage in the Double Diamond model consists of filtering through all the information you got from stage one, and elaborating on it. This can mean identifying bottlenecks or resource waste, seeing hidden opportunities or setting a list of things the design team definitely shouldn’t do (called no-gos). The definition stage aims to elaborate on the different components of the project, making sure everyone understands the context of the project (both internal and external) as well as understanding what lies within the capabilities of the company. This means that designers must bear in mind the finances of the company, its resources, logistics and market situation before designing anything. In short, the definition stage of the Double Diamond model represents a filtering of the ideas and data taken from stage one. It also sets the context for product development, assesses the realism of what can be done and analyzes how this project agrees with the corporate brand. The end of the definition stage comes with the corporate sign-off. This is a make or break moment, when top management either scraps the project or approves of it and gives it the budget and resources needed for it to carry on. Development stage: start to design The development stage involves a lot of multi-disciplinary work – putting the designers together with internal partners, such as engineers, developers or other departments that have the expertise needed in the project. A big win from this aspect of the development stage is that by putting different departments together, you speed up problem-solving. Another aspect that takes the spotlight in this stage of the Double Diamond model is that all companies engage in development methods- as you might have guessed. Each of the companies in the study had its own preferred methods. Brainstorming, visualization, making of different scenarios, MVPs, low-fidelity wireframes and so on. The important thing is that all methods aim for the same outcome: to put the prototyping tool to good use and bring the solution to fruition. By having different departments participate in the design process, you ensure that less prototypes are needed and that less problems are discovered with testing. Delivery stage: test and release The last stage of the Double Diamond model includes the final testing of the product, official sign-off to production and launching. The final testing is that one last look at the product to make sure there are no issues with it. This usually includes testing it against any regulation and legal standards, damage testing and/or compatibility testing. Companies also use this stage to assess the impact of the design on customer satisfaction, in order to quantify the value of good design for the brand. Separately, all the companies in the study took their responsibility to create feedback loops very seriously. This was seen as a window for constant improvement on the product – each company went about it differently but the lesson here is clear. Your work as a designer isn’t done when the product is launched. In fact, some would say your work has only just started, because once your product is out there you need to listen to users and make sure their thoughts and opinions are reflected in each new version of your design. So forget the race to launch, and brace for the marathon of improvement. Conclusion The Double Diamond model is a framework that can be used in a variety of industries and just about anywhere. It’s more than a simple tool for designers, because it can be applied to any problem that calls for a solution. Every designer has their own way of doing things – but having a road map to follow allows you to focus all your might on the situation at hand, and that will always save you time in the long run. Photo by Daniele Levis Pelusi on Unsplash

This article is made in collaboration with Amy Collett, please visit her blog: http://bizwell.org/my-blog/ Businesses need to stay on top of accounts receivable as a form of managing cash flow and ensuring the financial health of their companies. Unfortunately, late or missed payments by customers can throw accounting into turmoil, potentially impacting your financial solvency. There are ways, however, to ensure on-time payments without damaging customer relationships. Here, London-based UI/UX designer Antonio Dell' Omo shares some helpful insights. Establish Clear Payment Practices If you perform services prior to charging a customer, promptly send an invoice that has specific details about when payment is due. Consider language that indicates your appreciation for the customer’s prompt payment as a way to ensure your business remains financially stable and well-positioned to provide high levels of customer service. For example, “Your prompt payment ensures we have the ability to continue operating at optimal levels in providing high-quality service to our customers and clients.” Offer Multiple Ways To Pay If someone has to write a check or go to the bank for a money order, address an envelope, and find a stamp and a mailbox in order to pay you, there may be a lag between the time services are rendered and payment is received. Make it easy for your customers to pay you by offering numerous options, including electronic payments via platforms like Skrilll or Payoneer, and of course, with multiple types of credit cards. According to Qualtrics, the more ways you give customers to pay, the more likely they are to be prompt. Incentivize Early Payments While many companies penalize consumers for late payments by charging a late fee, that can lead to animosity in the customer relationship. Instead, Pay 4 recommends finding ways to reward customers for paying early. This might include a slight discount or some other perk that is easy for you to provide. If you have a regular client with a recurring service in the same amount you may also offer a percentage discount if they set up automatic payments through their bank. Work With Customers Sometimes people go through a rough financial patch, which makes it difficult for them to meet their debt obligations in a timely fashion. If you find customers, particularly loyal, long-term clients, struggling to pay invoices, work on a solution that meets both of your needs and prevents you from having to take them to collections. For example, a few deferred payments or a repayment payment plan could work. This approach tells customers you value them, sympathize with their situation, and want to help. If you have trouble handling customer service by yourself, or if you could stand to use some additional customer service representatives, make life easy and look into hiring additional workers through a staffing agency. Recruiters can take care of the details you don’t have time for, expediting the process of onboarding new employees. Organize Your Invoicing There are a number of different tools and processes that can help you with your overall accounting organization. For example, you can invest in software for invoicing that helps automate your processes. Look for a system with a platform that lets you run batch invoices, which helps you save time, money, and makes it easier to track both incoming and outstanding payments. Also, ask customers whether they prefer to be billed via paper or electronic invoice. The easier you make things, the faster you’re likely to get paid. All companies, particularly small businesses, rely on prompt payments from customers and clients to ensure the financial viability of their operations. Recognize that most customers are not trying to cheat you by missing payments, but are often struggling with finances on their own, or have simply forgotten. Give people the benefit of the doubt early on and don't resort to collections until absolutely necessary. The Posh Organization provides a full slate of virtual executive support and business operation functions that can free up your time for building your company. Reach out today for more information. Photo by Roman Synkevych on Unsplash

Japan's product design is another area of UX design success; both in its approach to the aesthetic qualities and its functionality. Here are just a few things Japan can teach us about product design. Japan has a long history of packaging and product design rooted in a tradition of gift-giving. Long before industrial materials like plastic and cardboard, gifts were wrapped in straw, bamboo, leaves, and paper. Although the materials have changed, the core values of Japanese design remain at the heart of these creations - harmony, consideration, and functionality. Harmony in Design Creative packaging designs often lean towards the experiential. Utilizing interactive elements in the opening experience of the product, creating a whole new realm of experiential opportunity. The creativity of Japanese design often comes in the ability to create a sense of harmony between the products and the user. Take the bento boxes below, warm hues, rounded shapes, and matted textures provide both tactile and visual harmony for the user. The satisfaction of perfectly aligned boxes exists every time the product is used. How can it not "spark joy"? Cuyana x Marie Kondo Mini-Capsule Capsule case product designs. Another example of harmony in design. Packaging for Japanese rice crackers and Swedish biscuits. Design by Saikai — Japanese fika packaging project Designing for the Differently Abled Designing for usability in healthcare packaging has been a topic of consideration for many global brands. In Japan, it extends beyond niche markets and brands consider multiple users of varying abilities when designing everyday products. Milk cartons are outfitted with a special indentation to the top of the carton to help visually impaired customers identify pure whole milk out of all the drinks with the same packaging. Simple considerations like this can have a huge impact on the experience of the user. Image by Ikidane-Nippon Milk carton design in Japan Minimalism and Maximalism Strolling down the aisles of a supermarket in Tokyo I'm distracted by the bold, glittering designs of candy screaming at you from the shelves. This provides the perfect contrast to the sleek, monochromatic hues of brands like Muji. This duality in design reminds us that we can't be everything at once but we can enjoy the many facets of our personality through our products. Examples of "Kawaii Design" - Japanese snack "Pocky", Frog shaped construction signs, dish sponges. Japan’s “kawaii” culture is another example of personality in design. Sprinkled throughout the city, on everything from construction signs to stationery. “Kawaii” as an aesthetic is not reserved for children but seeks to provide a more relaxed, familiar and friendly feeling to products that would otherwise be mundane. One doesn’t usually smile at a roadworks sign, especially one that disrupts your daily commute…but I found myself doing just that in Japan. The subtle effects of “cuteness” is part of what makes Japan special. Eugen Eşanu talks about product designers “living the life of a user” when designing products with purpose and clarity. We can go a step beyond to stay that products should share in the lives of the user. Cup noodle containers with resealable lids, food packaging with perforated lines for opening, the neatly outlined 3 step process for unwrapping a rice ball — all examples of products that anticipate the needs of the user and aim to make the experience frictionless. The products certainly change with time but the core values of Japanese design remain the same. Photo by Manuel Cosentino on Unsplash

Metrics will tell you everything you need to know about how well your landing page is performing as well as give you some insight on how to improve it. It’s hard to know exactly what will work when you launch a page. Measure and track meticulously in the beginning until you reach a relatively good conversion rate, then you can track your metrics less frequently. Page Visits How many visits are you getting on your landing page? The more visits, the more you increase your probability of conversions. Try adjusting your paid strategy or redefining your keywords to drive more traffic to your page. You can also let your current followers know about your offer through emails, social media, and on your website. Traffic Source Knowing where your traffic is coming from will let you know where you should double down on or ditch your efforts. Submission Rate This is the number of people that complete your lead form and land on your thank you page. There are many tweaks you can make to your page to increase this number, but make sure to A/B test so you know what’s working. Contacts Contacts refer to the number of leads that you generated from your form. The reason this is different from submissions is because duplicate contacts are only counted once, meaning if a current lead fills out your form to get your offer, they don’t affect the count. Heat Mapping This is more of an observation of how people interact with your page as opposed to a metric. Heat mapping can show you where people scroll, what they read, and how they engage with your page. This is all useful data when thinking about your page layout and structure. Bounce Rate If visitors are coming to your page and immediately leaving, then you need to examine whether the content is aligned with the offer. Does your copy capture visitors’ attention and do visitors automatically know what to do when they land on your page? Is your page a reflection of the copy you used to get people to visit it? Form Abandonment This metric tells you how many people start filling out your form but don’t complete it. If this number is particularly high, some adjustments to consider are introducing new click triggers, shortening your form, or making it more clear what you want your visitor to do. Benchmarks You need to judge your landing page against industry norms and across a similar audience to know if it’s performing as expected. Check out some industry benchmarks to set as your baseline, but don’t be discouraged by other company’s results. No matter what’s going on, it’s possible to diagnose and heal your landing pages if you pay attention to the metrics. What Is a Good Conversion Rate for Landing Pages? The best landing pages convert at rates of up to 27.4 percent. However, the median ranges fall much lower, with most industries experiencing between 2 and 6 percent conversion rates. When it comes to landing pages, the true measure of success is improvement. If your conversion rates stay the same month after month, you’re not collecting data and using it to improve your landing pages. Photo by Miguel A. Amutio on Unsplash

This article has been done in collaboration with Alyssa Strickland. Alyssa Strickland created millennial-parents.com for all the new parents on the block. Alyssa believes the old adage that it takes a village to raise a child, but she also thinks it takes a village to raise a parent! Millennial-Parents is that village. Today’s parents can be more connected than ever and she hopes her site will enrich those connections. On Millennial-Parents, she shares tips and advice she learns through experience and from other young parents in three key areas -- Education, Relationships, and Community. Entrepreneurship is fulfilling but can also induce stress. Whether you're starting a new business or expanding an existing venture, you should develop habits that help you relieve anxiety and have the energy you need to achieve your goals. UX/UI designer Antonio Dell’Omo shares a few below. Simplify With Automation, From Time Management to Invoicing Software Evolve Consultants notes that streamlining business tasks with software can increase efficiency and give you more time to focus on what matters. Scheduling programs help you organize appointments and manage your time. You can automate communications with clients and improve customer relations. Accounting software can save you time and money on a range of tasks, from payroll to inventory management. There are also invoicing options, including software that can help you keep accurate books and get paid faster. It’s best to find software that allows customers to pay online through an invoice, and which alerts you as soon as customers view and pay invoices. Digitizing records helps you sort and store your paperwork. For example, if you're moving while launching your business, you can avoid the hassle of transporting physical files. The right online tool allows you to merge PDF files online and store your documents as one file instead of many so that you can avoid wasting time searching for the right file. Make sure you put the pages in appropriate order after combining files. Outsource for Assistance A growing business needs flexibility, and outsourcing allows you to expand as needed. In addition, you can gain access to expertise and get help for specialized tasks. For example, if you need legal advice, you should work with a business lawyer rather than trying to handle the issue on your own. Many small companies also outsource IT services when they need to create a beautiful and well-designed consumer experience (call on UX/UI designer Antonio Dell’Omo to get that job done). Additionally, you can simplify your workday by hiring a virtual assistant to carry out administrative tasks. Image via Pexels Enforce Your Boundaries It can be especially challenging for entrepreneurs to separate work and life responsibilities. Setting clear boundaries can help you avoid burnout and communicate expectations with colleagues and clients. For instance, if you only have a certain amount of time for a business call or meeting, inform all parties involved from the start. You should take time to unplug from work and allow yourself to step away from work communications. Practicing self-compassion can help if you struggle with perfectionism or overcommitting your time. Make Time for Self-Care BetterUp cites research suggesting that entrepreneurs may be more vulnerable to mental health issues. Cultivating psychological wellness includes making time for self-care. It helps to acknowledge that entrepreneurship is challenging and can exhaust your resources. As with other aspects of operating your business, you can develop strategies to prioritize self-care. For instance, try learning mindfulness meditation, which can help you handle stress and improve your focus. Mindfulness can also increase your self-awareness and help you navigate difficult decisions. Redesign Your Workspace To reduce work-related stress, you should design your office to promote both productivity and relaxation. Spending time in nature can alleviate anxiety, and you can bring the outdoors inside with a few houseplants. Look for low-maintenance plants that grow indoors, such as snake plants or bamboo palms. You should also try to declutter your office and eliminate unnecessary items which might distract you from your work. Finally, keep your windows unobstructed and clean to allow more natural light. You can boost illumination with light, reflective wall colors in calming hues like blue, purple, and green. If you want to avoid anxiety while running a business, you must make time to care for yourself and relieve stress. Managing your obligations, automating functions like invoicing, and developing self-care habits can help you stay productive and pursue business growth. Photo by Miguel A. Amutio on Unsplash

In today’s digital world, everything comes down to speed. It doesn’t matter if you have the most complex and good-looking site if it takes forever to load. There are various reasons why your web pages may load slowly, but no matter the cause, today I’m going to show you some useful tips and techniques on how to improve your website performance and speed and ensure a smooth user experience. Why Is Page Speed Important Research shows that the amount of time a user will wait before losing focus is roughly from 0.3 to 3 seconds. If your website takes longer than that to display important information, the user will lose focus and possibly close the browser window. Websites that are faster will have lower bounce rates, higher conversion rates, higher ranking in organic search, and, of course, they will have an overall better user experience. The bottom line is that slow websites will cost you money and will hurt your brand. On the other hand, making your web pages load faster will positively impact traffic, user retention, and sales. What Affects Site Speed There are a number of reasons why your site load time might be lagging. It could be anything, but the most common factors are: Heavy CSS and JavaScript use Poor server/hosting plan Large image sizes Not using browser cache Too many widgets and plugins Hotlinking images and other resources from slow servers Traffic volume Older browsers Slow network connection (mobile devices) That means there is a whole range of steps you can take to enhance page speed, which I’ll explain later in the post. But before you start troubleshooting to improve website performance, you need to test your page load time. How to Measure Website Speed Before making any changes, it’s important to measure first. Measuring specific metrics will let you compare your website performance before and after the changes, and will let you know if your changes are actually working. There are many metrics that you can measure as the website owner, but I would suggest focusing on Largest Contentful Paint, First Input Delay, and Cumulative Layout Shift. These three metrics are defined as Core Web Vitals by Google. Best Practices to Speed Up Your Website As you’ve seen, there are a lot of factors that influence how long it takes to load each page on your website. But there are just as many ways you can improve the performance of your website. Here are some of them: Reduce the Number of HTTP Requests Switch to HTTP/2 Optimize Image Sizes Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) Write Mobile-First Code Minify and Combine CSS, JavaScript, and HTML Files Reduce the Number of Plugins Use Website Caching Conclusion Improving website performance can be challenging, especially with the vast differences in devices, connectivity, browsers, and operating systems, but it will have a significant positive impact on your business if your business relies on your website as one of the main channels for reaching your customers. Also, keep in mind that this is a process that doesn’t have a clearly defined start and endpoint. You don’t have to implement all of the suggested changes today. Spend some time looking into the monitoring tool results, make changes on the website, and then compare the performance before and after the changes.

A heatmap shows you how visitors interact with your website and – just as importantly – how they don’t interact. In statistics, it’s a graphical representation of data where the data values are shown as colors. Where other services like Google Analytics show static data such as session length, heat maps give extraordinary details about how your users actually use your site. This means you can pinpoint elements of your website layout that deserve extra attention and care. Photo from Hotjar The data on the left is the same as that on the right—but one is much easier to understand. The practice we now call heatmaps is thought to have originated in the 19th century, where manual gray-scale shading was used to depict data patterns in matrices and tables. An early heat map showing population density in 19th Century Paris districts. Photo from Hotjar. The term heatmap was first trademarked in the early 1990s, when software designer Cormac Kinney created a tool to graphically display real-time financial market information. Analyzing your web traffic is extremely important when it comes to optimizing your site for conversions and user experience. Heatmaps are a great way of analyzing which parts of your website are popular with users and which parts need improvement. Mouseflow, Hotjar, Attention Insight and Visitor Analytics are definitely some of the best software. The benefits of using heat maps on your website Heatmaps help product managers and website owners understand how people interact with their website pages to find answers to critical business questions and goals such as ‘why are my users not converting?’ or ‘how do I get more visitors to take action?’ Using heatmaps, you can determine if users are: Reaching important content or failing to see it Finding and using a page’s main links, buttons, opt-ins, and CTAs Getting distracted by non-clickable elements Experiencing issues across devices As a visual tool, heat maps help you make informed, data-based decisions for A/B testing, updating, or (re)designing your website. They're also useful on a wider business scale: heat maps let you show team members and stakeholders what’s happening and get their buy-in more easily when changes are needed—it’s hard to argue with a heat map! What are the different types of heatmaps? Heatmap is really an umbrella term for different heatmapping tools: scroll maps, click maps, and move maps. Knowing the difference is handy, as each type helps you investigate a slightly different aspect of your website and product performance. 1. Scroll Maps An example scroll map Scroll maps show you the exact percentage of people who scroll down to any point on the page: the redder the area, the more visitors saw it. 2. Click Maps A click map example Click maps show you an aggregate of where visitors click their mouse on desktop devices and tap their finger on mobile devices. The map is color-coded to show the elements that have been clicked and tapped the most (red, orange, yellow). 3. Move maps A move map example Move maps track where desktop users move their mouse as they navigate the page. The hot spots in a move map represent where users have moved their cursor on a page, and research suggests a correlation between where people are looking and where their mouse is—meaning that a move map gives you an indication of where people might be looking as they go through your page. 4. Desktop & mobile heatmaps A desktop (left) and mobile (right) click map Desktop and mobile heat maps help you compare the performance of your website on different devices. For example, content that is prominent on a desktop page might sit much further below the fold on a phone—and you need to see if interaction differs, and how. Conclusion Heatmaps are easy to create and understand, and they let you discover actionable insights that help you improve the user journey and your product pages to increase retention and sign-ups on your website! Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

This article is made in collaboration with Amy Collett, please visit her blog: http://bizwell.org/my-blog/ Creating a start-up is an intimidating prospect, especially for those who've never built one before. Nonetheless, the rewards make getting over one's trepidation worthwhile. Statisticians studying small business growth say 4.4 million companies start operating every year worldwide. With that many citizens taking the plunge into entrepreneurship, there's no reason why you cannot do the same. Antonio Dell'Omo offers some tips on triumphing over your hesitations. Writing a Plan There are many reasons for preparing a formal business plan, but perhaps the most vital is that it maps out what you're doing and how you'll be doing it. Referencing this document should provide reassurance during moments of confusion or feeling lost. Thinking out your strategy keeps you organised, assists with marketing, and helps identify which business format to use. Speaking of choosing a business structure, this may be one of the more nerve-wracking aspects of establishing a start-up, along with registering a name and securing a web domain. Fortunately, there are online services that assist with these tasks. Say you decide to become a limited liability company. There are Ltd formation services available for making this happen. Working with a service simplifies the process and keeps you legally compliant. Once complete, you'll enjoy numerous advantages, including streamlined paperwork, tax benefits, and liability protection. Finding a Mentor One way of gaining confidence in your leadership abilities is connecting with someone who will give guidance. A guru can review your early-stage decisions and provide reassurance that you aren't making wrong choices. Take a personal approach to connecting with someone who has experience. If you have a degree, plunder your alumni network. Begin attending networking functions. Besides discovering someone who'll offer advice, you might uncover critical business opportunities. Don't be afraid to reach out to your dream mentor. Many successful titans are grateful for where they've gotten. As such, quite a few are more accessible than you might imagine. The worst that can happen is a lack of response. Hiring Well One of the keys to small business success is bringing on great employees. Although you're the captain, they're the rowers who power your vessel. Learn how to identify desirable individuals during the interview process. Also, choose ones with whom you're likely to build a healthy personal rapport. Working with people who make you smile and laugh should significantly ease your mind. Of course, you need to attract talented hires before you may bring them into your fold. Do your best to maximise the appeal of staying within your organisation. For many job applicants, a pleasant corporate culture is as important as how much filling a position pays. Focus on the design of your office environment, and offer enticing amenities your competitors do not. If you’re part of a remote hiring team that requires submissions such as images from applicants, it can be useful to have tools available to work with those images. An online tool, for example, can turn your image into a PDF to store in the cloud. Then you and your team can share the image, ensuring that you are all working from the same information. Staying Zen Once your enterprise is running, the stresses will amplify. You must maintain a cool head throughout. Eastern practices such as meditation could help you stay centred. Develop strategies for dealing with feelings of unease, whether that means going for a walk, listening to music, or playing with a pet. Virtual reality offers a host of programs designed to induce calm. Whatever methodology allows you to regain focus, make a habit of using it when signs of panic arise. Creating a business is a massive undertaking that may trigger intense worry. Managing these emotions is necessary to accomplish small business ownership. Allow these strategies to increase your overall comfort with starting a venture. Image via Pexels

After design comes great copy. Your objective is to be compelling, instructive, likable, concise, effective, trustworthy and informative all at once. How? Keep reading. Cover the main points. No matter how you position it, there are a few main points that you need to hit with your copy. Those main points are your persona’s pain point, the solution to that pain point, how your solution works (features), how your solution will improve their situation (benefits), and verification that it works (social proof). Let’s go more in-depth on these points. The Pain Point The pain point that you focus on should be the one that your offer solves. Not to sound negative, but it’s important to touch on the problem your persona is facing so they know you understand what they’re going through. Empathy is an effective way to build trust. And if they know you get their problem, then they’re more likely to trust your solution. Your Solution The solution to their pain point is what you’re offering in exchange for their information. Illustrate a clear path between their problem and how your solution is the remedy they need. Features Just knowing what your solution is may not be enough to convert leads, so you need to mention what’s included in that solution. If it’s an ebook, what are the subjects your cover? If you’re promoting a webinar, how will it work and what will you teach? If it’s a service, what can they expect? Give your potential lead all the information they need to make a decision. Benefits Your copy should be heavy with benefits to the user because that’s what they really care about — what’s in it for them. While features list what your offer has, benefits tell visitors how their situation will be improved as a result. It paints a vivid picture of how much better their life could be by using your solution. Social Proof Studies show that social proof is effective for persuading people to take a desired action. Social proof comes in the form of logos of brands you’ve worked with, testimonials from previous clients, reviews of your product, or confirmation that others have purchased your service. In essence, people want to know that others are have used and benefited from your solution, too. By including social proof on your landing page, you're validating your offer without even saying anything. Touching on each of these points will provide you with well-rounded copy that answers all of your visitors’ questions … which brings me to my next point. Preemptively respond to objections. A key part of writing persuasive copy (copy that gets people to convert) is dismantling objections before they even come up. Now, this takes some skill … or at least some help from a friend. Once you’ve laid your foundation by addressing all the main points, put yourself in the mind of your prospect and think about where they might protest or challenge you as they read. For instance, if you say “We’ve helped Fortune 500 companies bring in customers,” your reader might scoff or doubt it unless you follow up that statement with social proof. Do this exercise for every section of your page (or ask an unbiased friend to help) until you’ve covered every possible objection you can think of. When you get questions from people who’ve visited your landing page, use that as feedback to sharpen your copy even further. Better yet, seek out constructive criticism from your first few converted leads to ensure your landing page is meeting every need. Build trust with your prospect. Say you were reading a sales page and the company wrote, “Our product has helped 100 people and it might work for you, too!” Meh. I’d probably pass and find a company that has a solution that can definitely work for me. Your goal is to build trust with your visitor and the way to do that is to come across as an authority. Besides using social proof, some other ways to build trust are: Write in the way that you speak and address your prospects as you would a live customer. Cite statistics that support your message. Use case studies that highlight customers similar to your target. Be relatable. Show your audience that you’re human by admitting failures, opening up about doubts you’ve had, and being honest. The caveat is you should only share what is relevant to their struggle; don’t just divulge anything. Use click triggers. Click triggers are designed to eliminate that last bit of doubt before a visitor converts. You can think of them as lick Probability Enhancers (... yes, I made up that term). They are essentially copy positioned next to your CTA that pushes your prospect over the edge by easing their mind and mitigating the risk of converting. Below are some effective ways to employ click triggers: Money-back guarantee Easy unsubscribe Quote from a successful or happy customer Blurb on “what to expect” Price slashing Privacy policy Some other creative method Whatever you choose, click triggers will give your conversions the boost they need. A/B Testing Your Landing Page Everything we’ve discussed until this point is great … in theory. But your business is different from others, and your target audience is unique. How do you know if the copy you chose is working? Or if your CTA placement is right? Or what colors perform best? Or which image to choose? You test it. That’s how. Split testing (or A/B testing) is probably nothing new to you as a marketer, and split testing your landing page is just one more experiment to add to your list. Let’s briefly go over how to best A/B test your landing pages. What is A/B testing? A/B testing is simply splitting your traffic to two (or more) variations of a page to see which performs better. While you could do this manually by launching one variation for a period of time, then another for the same amount of time, it’s far more efficient to use a software that allows you to split test and can track your results. The main components of an A/B test are variants, or the two versions of the page, the champion, or the original page, and the challenger, or the page that you modified to test against the original. How to A/B Test The most important trick to split testing is to make very small tweaks with each experiment. For instance, you don’t want to split test your headline and your image at the same time because you won’t know which element garnered the results. For this reason, stick to testing one element at a time. The “winner” becomes your champion, then you can create a new challenger to test the next element. You repeat this cycle until you reach a conversion rate that you’re happy with (and that falls within realistic expectations, which we’ll cover below). What should you test? You can test virtually anything on your landing page. But while that’s possible, you may want to limit your test to a few of the most impactful elements of your page, like: Headline copy Image CTA color Click triggers Copy on the page Lead form length and fields These tests will have the biggest impact on your conversion rates. Try starting with the simplest change first, like a headline or CTA color, then work your way to the larger undertakings, like your page copy. Photo by Micah Boswell on Unsplash

A landing page is a website page with a specific purpose — the objective of a landing page is to convert visitors into leads. While there are many types of landing pages the intent the same — get more leads. Today, I’m going to talk about the best practices so you can attract more prospects and convert more customers. Landing Page Best Practices to Improve Your Conversions If you want to improve your website conversion rates, approach landing page optimization using best practices and strong data. The process starts the minute you begin designing the page, but it lasts long after the page goes live. Think of it as building a product. You don’t design the perfect prototype on day one. Instead, you might create 100 prototypes before you’ve perfected the product. Landing pages work the same way. Just like products, landing pages must appeal to your target audience, compel them to act, and meet their expectations. Simplify your landing page A very simple landing page might seem counterintuitive, but it gets rid of the visual clutter. You want your website visitors to focus on the prize: your call to action. Dropbox is consistently one of my favorite examples. The company creates awesome landing pages that communicate volumes without many words. On this page, there are just five main elements above the fold, and three of them are small enough to fit in a navigation bar space. The fourth provides a pleasing but subtle visual, and the last focuses on the CTA. Try contrasting colors The best landing pages I’ve ever seen have made great use of contrast, but in color and clarity. In this example from Starbucks, you can’t ignore the CTA. Even though the “Join Now” button reflects the star’s color in the left-side logo, it’s far more pronounced and clear. The textured black background makes the headline and CTA pop. Plus, there’s lots of negative space between the logo and the rest of the elements. Add testimonials to help convert undecided users I’m a big fan of social proof. I want people to know that other businesses have used my products and services. Not only that, but I want to communicate that I’ve helped them achieve fantastic results. Testimonials are among the best ways to do this. If you can convince your customers to create a video testimonial, you’ll have an edge on the competition. Quotes work well, too, as long as you use the customer’s full name — and ideally a headshot. Make your offer clear When you first start planning your optimization strategy, think about how you can make the customer experience positive emotions. You want them to feel smart, appreciated, inspired, and excited. Start by thinking about your customer’s specific goal, and turn that goal into a headline. Elegant Themes does this well. The word “empower” in this context makes the customer want to feel the same thing. Add contact information You can provide your website visitors with contact information in lots of different ways. You can put your phone number or email address on your landing page, or you can use a contact form. Other companies, such as Shopify, include links to their help centers. Customers know by now that they can find contact information, answers to frequently asked questions, and tutorials in help centers. Optimize your landing page for SEO People find landing pages via organic search all the time. Maybe one of your landing pages is your home page, for instance, which means that it should — at the very least — come up if someone searches for your company’s name. You can also rank for industry-related keywords. If you search Google for “heat map tool,” for instance, Crazy Egg is the first organic result: Use tools like Ubersuggest to find the best keywords for your landing page. Incorporate those keywords into headlines, body text, image alt text, and more. Keep A/B testing everything The more A/B tests you run, the more accurate your data becomes. Each A/B test should include a single change to one variant, such as your CTA. If you change multiple elements, you won’t know which one impacted the difference in conversions between the two variants. After you’ve collected data and gotten to know your audience, you can apply what you learned to a redesign and verify that it improved your conversion rate via A/B testing. Optimize for search. Sure, you’ll be driving visitors to your landing page through email blasts, social posts and other marketing methods, but your page should also be optimized with target keywords for your paid campaigns and organic search. When someone searches for your key phrase, they should find your landing page. Similarly, when you target a keyword with paid ads, those words should exist on your landing page. Remember to use a thank you page. A thank you page is where you send leads once they’ve completed your form. Now, you could just show a thank you message on the same page or ditch the thank you altogether, but there are many reasons why that’s not the best option. A thank you page serves three important purposes: It delivers the offer that you promised (usually in the form of an instant download) It gives you an opportunity to interest your new lead in additional relevant content It serves as a chance to thank them for their interest, which goes a long way in promoting them to a customer down the line. Grow Better with Landing Pages Landing pages will account for a majority of your new leads, so they demand your attention. With the vast number of tweaks, additions, and variations you can implement, there’s no reason why you can’t have a landing page that converts well. As long as you’re following the best practices I've covered above, you’ll be on your way to a high-performing landing page Photo by canmandawe on Unsplash