Our Blog & Web Design Ideas
Creative ideas showcasing what’s new and what’s possible in the constantly moving world of web design, branding and social media. Plus a healthy dose of how to DIY your own site with our video tutorials.
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Website Ideas
The Difference Between Web Design and Development
A website is a complex thing. It requires a number of specialisms to make it work effectively for your business. The first stages of a website are the design.
Website Hosting
How Web Design and Development Work Together to Create Effective Websites
Websites are complex things, and it takes a team of specialised professionals to create an effective one.
Search Engine Optimisation
Did you know that your web design affects your SEO?
You may not realise it, but the design of your website can have a big impact on your SEO (search engine optimisation).
Property Marketing Ideas
Property Development Creative Design: Creating an Engaging Experience
Creating an engaging user experience is essential for attracting buyers and building an effective digital footprint
Property Marketing Ideas
Property Marketing Strategies: Capturing the Attention of Potential Investors with Professional Web Design Services
Are you looking to maximise your property investment by capturing the attention of potential investors? Professional web design services can help you create an impressive online presence that will make a lasting impression.
Website Ideas
Content Marketing And How Web Design Impacts It's effectiveness
Have you ever given thought to how well your content marketing is performing?
Woocommerce
The Dos and Don'ts of Starting up an eCommerce Store
The UK has the fourth largest eCommerce market in the world worth an estimated £120 billion in 2021 and the first quarter of 2022.
Website Ideas
First party cookies are now more important than ever
First party cookies and data may now become very important.
Website Ideas
What does a world without cookies and pixels look like?
In March 2022, Google finally announced that Universal Analytics will be coming to an end – with the launch of GA4 set for some time in early 2023.
Social Media Ideas
10 top tips to get your podcast started
So, you’ve decided to put together a podcast, but what do you need to do to get things underway?
Social Media Ideas
Why is social and sonic audio so important for your business?
Sonic audio (or social audio) presents a big opportunity for brands to collaborate with experts, influencers and celebrities.
Website Ideas
What to think about when starting your new podcast
Starting your new podcast may seem a daunting task but the technology to create audio programmes and publish them is well developed.
Longer Read
What is Social Audio?
Given the rise of texting, WhatsApp and social media over the past 10 years, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the art of real conversation was dead and buried.
Woocommerce
How eCommerce companies can make the most of Google PageSpeed Insights
We’ve recently been working on developing and designing a number of eCommerce websites.
Branding Ideas
Is it the end of Instagram as we know it?
Successful branding is far from an easy task, and for organisations of a certain size that rely heavily on their branding, it is vitally important to remain relevainsnt to fend off the threat posed by competitors.
Search Engine Optimisation
How does website hosting affect page loading speed?
Does website hosting affect page loading speed? Your business can’t afford to have pages that take an age to reveal the content to customers.
Website Ideas
Review your 3rd party scripts and improve your website loading speed
3rd party scripts can be extremely beneficial for your website, making it more interactive and dynamic for visitors. However,
Website Ideas
How to speed up your website
The time it takes for your website has a direct impact on how Google ranking, with user experience and mobile friendly sites now given priority.
Branding Ideas
The key to optimising your online presence
In today’s increasingly digitised world it would be fair to assume every business has a website and that they use the search engine to advertise their services or products.
Longer Read
How to manage Google’s Page Experience Update
A lot has happened over the past 16 months or so, with first Brexit and then the COVID pandemic adding a considerable amount of stress and worry to all our lives and now there's Google's Page Experience update.
Website Ideas
Making the change to eco-friendly web hosting
One of the key targets for all businesses in 2021 and beyond is to adopt sustainable practises that reduce harm to the environment.
Search Engine Optimisation
Website Location Pages - why you should focus on your local area
There are many sub-sections of SEO marketing and one of the most important for any business is focusing on attracting local customers.
Branding Ideas
Video content on your website - the best way to use it for maximum effect
Video content is becoming more important than ever and no matter how small or large your business it’s something you should consider adding to your website.
Longer Read
Google Maps - How to start ranking
Google Maps is a great tool that can be used to help new local customers find your business.
Search Engine Optimisation
Using Google My Business Posts to your advantage
While website SEO is important to your business there are some other free tools you can use to support the visibility of your brand.
Website Ideas
Mobile First Indexing: Our Top Tips
Now that Google prioritise the indexing of mobile sites ahead of desktop versions, you need to ensure your company doesn’t suffer in the search rankings.
Website Ideas
This Years Web Design Trends
Web design trends come and go, influenced by the changing world around us in the same way fashion, music, art and other creative industries respond to cultural shifts.
Website Ideas
Mobile First Indexing
As mobile usage continues to surge it is changing the way Google is indexing websites and ranking search engine results.
Website Ideas
Mobile Web Design
Great mobile web design will make all the difference to how customers use your site.
Website Ideas
eCommerce Payment Options discussed
There are lots of eCommerce payment options but which types are best for your web store?
Website Ideas
Your Website Conversion Rate Optimisation
Once you understand why customers buy your products you are in a greater position to serve their needs and increase sales for your business.
Website Ideas
What to think about when redesigning a website
Redesigning a website is no small job and it takes a lot of preparation and detailed work to ensure it looks great and performs well on search engines.
Longer Read
Google indexing changes from desktop to mobile-first
Since the end of 2016 Google have been slowly shifting towards mobile-first indexing and the search engine giant recently revealed that by March 2021 mobile-first indexing will be used for every site in their index.
Shopify
Shopify Page Builders Ranked
If you are not experienced with using code, Shopify page builders are your best option.
Shopify
Which is best for your online store: Shopify vs WooCommerce
Anyone thinking of setting up an eCommerce website usually whittles their options down to Shopify vs WooCommerce.
Shopify
Shopify Website Design: What to think about before creating your new store
Shopify website design is made easy thanks to its simple layout and the tools that are available from the start.
Longer Read
Google’s Core Web Vitals and what it means for your website
You may have seen Google and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) companies talking about Core Web Vitals over the past few months.
Search Engine Optimisation
6 key SEO tips that will improve your web design
Web design and SEO go hand-in-hand, so it’s important not only to have an attractive looking website, but also one that can help produce strong search engine results.
Search Engine Optimisation
Domain Age
There are a variety of factors that go into deciding your ranking on Google. One that is hotly debated is domain age, with some saying it doesn’t matter at all.
Search Engine Optimisation
HTTPS vs HTTP - Secure Websites
Secure websites are more important than ever in today’s online world, with an ever-increasing number of hackers and bots roaming the net causing disruption.
Search Engine Optimisation
Images and Image Optimisation
Image Optimisation can be a quick win for your website. While written content is, of course, important, images play just as an important role in selling your products and services.
Search Engine Optimisation
Structured Data
One element of the SEO process you may not have come across is something called structured data, or schema mark-up.
Search Engine Optimisation
User Experience
When Google crawls your website to measure engagement metrics, user experience (UX) is one of the main factors taken into account.
Search Engine Optimisation
Social Signals
Social signals can help your website rank so it’s now important to have a good presence on relevant social media platforms used by your target audience.
Search Engine Optimisation
Page Speed
Page Speed, Load Time or Page Loading Speed – all essentially mean very similar things. If your website pages are not loading fast enough, it is likely having a negative effect.
Search Engine Optimisation
Mobile Usability
With over 50% of visits to your website likely coming from a phone mobile usability is now a huge factor.
Search Engine Optimisation
Content Length
Content length may not be the first thing you think about but a lot of time and energy goes into creating content for your website.
Search Engine Optimisation
The importance of backlinks
It’s not only keywords that pay an important role in SEO, but backlinks are just as crucial.
Website Hosting
The Best Website Hosting Service: Which one is it?
Which is the best website hosting service available? Well, even if you have the best website in the world, without a reliable web host service you are far more likely to experience technical issues that can lead to lost sales and a long-term drop in website visitors.
Website Hosting
WordPress Hosting: Which hosting service is the best for your website?
WordPress is the most popular CMS in the world, with around 455 million websites using it to power their content, which accounts for almost 20% of the total 1.3 billion active websites currently found on the internet (as of 2020).
Website Hosting
Which website hosting service is the best for beginners?
Here we discuss your website hosting service and if you're new to it provide some background as setting up a new website can seem like a daunting task from the outset.
How to display Reviews - from Facebook, Google and Yelp
Customer reviews are a great way to back up your authority and nothing helps sell your product or service better than the feedback of happy customers.
Website Hosting
Can you transfer web hosting?
If you are looking to transfer web hosting to a new provider then read on! If you are unsure whether you can transfer your website hosting, the simple answer would be yes.
Messaging Apps: Easily integrate WhatsApp and Messenger
Easily add messaging apps to your website. Communication is everything when it comes to keeping customers happy and if you can find ways to make it more convenient for them they are more likely to spend money as a result.
Social Media Ideas
Instagram Feed: More visual content for your website
An Instagram feed can be a great visual way of displaying content on your website. Finding ways to connect your social media marketing with your website can bring a number of benefits to your business.
Website Ideas
Table of Contents and how to configure
Time is of the essence when it comes to keeping visitors and potential customers engaged on your website.
How To Widget: Easily add tutorials or guides to web pages
A How To widget can be especially useful for your website. Web pages featuring tutorials or guides need to be easy to read and follow.
Frequently Asked Questions and how to make them a feature
For the vast majority of businesses there are a number of common questions asked by customers that can be easily answered without having to handle each one personally.
Using Charts On Your Site
Written content on your website is the most common method used to get your message across to customers.
Google My Business - why you need to set it up
There are a number of different ways you can boost your presence on Google to produce more leads and increase conversions.
Social Media Ideas
Boosting Organic Content On Social Media
It pays to make the most out of the organic content you post on social media – be it in video, photographic or written form.
Website Strategy: Updating it during the Covid-19 uncertainty
Your website strategy will now be key to growth in the coming weeks, months and years.
Branding Ideas
Your Ideal Clients: why it's important you get to know them
Do you know who your ideal clients are, or are you unaware of the type of customer who spends money with you?
Branding Ideas
The Importance of Maintaining a Client Database
The importance of creating and maintaining a client database cannot be overstated. It provides a crucial information resource for your business not only in terms of contacts, but also in building sustainable revenue.
Social Media Ideas
Facebook Ads - what's working right now
The dizzy world of online advertising has been shaken up quite a bit by the Covid-19 pandemic but as with all major changes this can lead to opportunities arising.
Social Media Ideas
Which Social Media platform works best for your business?
With likes of TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube all offering huge audiences to connect, how do you know which one is best for your business?
Re-establish Your Business with these 5 Top Tips
How do you re-establish your business during a pandemic? Even during the current period businesses need to find ways to grow and expand.
Branding Ideas
Effective Marketing Branding in 5 Great Tips
As most people have been on lockdown at home, there has been an increased focus on social media marketing.
Branding Ideas
Business Tips to Survive and Prosper
COVD-19 has changed the way everyone conducts business, but even as the commercial world prepares to reopen, thoughts have already shifted towards preparing for a potential second or even third wave of the coronavirus.
Website Hosting
Website Tips to grow your Business: Our Top 5 Tips
A little while back I spoke on the Simplified Marketing Podcast giving a number of ideas and website tips on how to use your site effectively during these difficult times.
Branding Ideas
Covid-19 Outbreak: How thinking local can help your business
During the Covid-19 outbreak times are exceptionally hard for businesses all around the World and there's the prospect of a 35% fall in UK GDP as a result of the Coronavirus crisis.
Social Media Ideas
What is SproutSocial
We are SproutSocial agency partners and absolutely LOVE the software. If you manage social media accounts then the first thing you need to find is a reliable piece of software to help you take the leg-work out of scheduling posts, replying to enquiries and gaining insights and analytics.
Branding Ideas
Video Meetings - Is it time to switch?
This post on Video Meetings was written at the start of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown in the UK. We've since revisited it and added more...
Social Media Ideas
5 tips to take great Instagram photos
If you want to improve your photography skills for your brand there here are some helpful tips to get you started on the road to taking great Instagram photos.
Design custom icons for your website
Your website is supposed to be a reflection of your brand and its unique offering. You want every element to stand out from the competition and to speak with clarity to each and every visitor that arrives there and one way to do this is with custom icons.
Social Media Ideas
Get the most from your Social ROI
Maximising social media for your brand is more than just posting content every day. It needs to be concise and targeted to the ever changing needs of your customer base.
Social Media Ideas
How NOT to use Social Media for Marketing
As the Brexit deadline approaches once again, the battle across party political lines continues to intensify. Controlling the conversation on social media plays a big role in trying to retain and win over new voters ahead of a general election.
Making sure your business is GDPR compliant
The digital landscape is forever changing, both in terms of technology and the regulatory standards businesses have to meet while using it.
What is Elementor?
If you are designing and building websites using WordPress it's difficult not to have heard about Elementor, the visual builder that allows you to create eye catching websites quickly and, in the more simple types of build, without any coding knowledge.
Using Request Parameters to increase customer engagement
Monitoring and tracking user information at every stage of the sales funnel is vitally important for your business. It gives you the insight you need to understand behavioural patterns and buying motivations, making it easier to convert users into long-term customers.
Your Guide to Chatbots
The very idea of a chatbot can be quite intimidating for some people. A computer giving responses, how will it be received by your customers?
Should you upgrade to a responsive website?
When smartphones first became popular, people realised that traditional ‘desktop’ websites didn't work very well on the smaller displays.
How websites really generate sales
Unless you have a business where someone buys your product on impulse (or in an emergency), most of your customers will go through a decision-making process that may take anywhere from a couple of weeks through to several months or even a year to complete. So how can your website work to generate sales?
Why is a blog so important?
Call it what you like, a blog, a news section, articles, they’re all essentially the same thing – posts, a type of page within your website where you can add your thoughts on life, the Universe, everything.
Branding Ideas
Why simple ideas often work best
A recent tweet from actor and writer Paul Scheer (The League and Human Giant) picked up on a clever piece of marketing by a retail store in America.
Branding Ideas
Personal Branding and careful choice of colours
Branding has more of an effect on us than many of us realise. It’s not just the logo, font choice and words that influence the way we engage with them, but just as importantly, the use of colour.
Website Hosting
Why is online security SO important?
In today’s e-commerce driven world, every business needs a website to sustain and grow their customer base.
Website Hosting
Which website platform should I use for my new website?
So which website platform is the best? In this article we will explore a number of different platforms you can use to build a new website.
Social Media Ideas
The Three R's to measure your social impact
Social media is more than just an advertising or customer service channel for brands. It should be used as a building block to support and inform almost every aspect of your business.
Branding Ideas
Why sadness is inevitable when you achieve your goals
Achieve Your Goals – a guest post by Andrew Black – find out more about Andrew and his work at Heroes on Hand.
Social Media Ideas
Facebook Ads Library - how to spy on your rival's ads
Following the criticism thrown towards Facebook for the way some adverts have been used by various organisations on their platform in the political arena, they have now created an exciting new free tool called Facebook Ads Library.
Social Media Ideas
Facebook vs Google in Local Search
Google leads the way when it comes to online searches. It’s the first place almost everyone goes to when looking for whatever it is they have in mind.
Jon Peterman, and how he develops businesses
In this episode we speak to Jon Peterman. Jon advises businesses on all sorts of matters having experience working both in the UK and abroad with Internationally based companies.
Andrew Black and Your Vision
As a sole trader or entrepreneur how do you make it past that boundary of just you in the business without losing out on work?
Branding Ideas
Trades: Leave your DIY to the experts
Leave your DIY to the experts – a guest post by Georgia Stylianou – find out more about Georgia and her work at Marshmallow Design and for more FREE brand and marketing advice.
Making an impression from the very first view
As a business constantly on the lookout for ways to grow your customer base and engagement with potential new clients, you want to use the most cost effective tools available to you to make that all important first impression.
Custom made widgets for your website
There isn’t anything more frustrating than having ownership of a website you cannot fully control.
John speaks to Lorenzo Lusio about Local Search
Regular contributor Lorenzo from Brick Digital is back to talk about the power of concentrating on local search.
Introducing Motion Effects to enhance your brand message
It’s estimated that visitors to your website will make a snap judgement in as little as 10-20 seconds about whether or not to investigate further or to go to a competitor.
Social Media Ideas
Facebook connects people globally, enabling social interaction, content sharing, and community building online
Social Media Ideas
Facebook Fact Find
A tool designed to identify and mitigate misinformation on its platform
Social Media Ideas
LinkedIn for Business
LinkedIn for Business boosts professional networking, brand visibility, and market insight through corporate profiles
Social Media Ideas
Instagram for Business
Instagram for Business enhances brand engagement through visual storytelling and targeted advertising features
Social Media Ideas
Pinterest for Businesses
Pinterest for Businesses drives brand visibility and sales through visual discovery and inspiration
Social Media Ideas
Getting ahead in 2020
In this quick fire guide we run through some of the most pertinent questions you need to ask yourself
AI Ideas
Harnessing AI for Creative Web Design: Transforming Aesthetics and Functionality
In an era where the digital landscape is perpetually evolving, the fusion of artificial intelligence (AI) with web design is revolutionising the way businesses establish their online presence.
AI Ideas
The Future of Web Design: How AI is Revolutionizing User Experience
As Webshape Design approaches a decade of delivering expert web design and secure web hosting, we stand at the forefront of a significant shift in the digital domain.
AI Ideas
Is AI a Useful Tool For Website Personalisation?
As website personalisation changes the way businesses sell their products and services, the customer experience is being transformed into something just as unique and individual.
AI Ideas
From Concept to Creation: Integrating AI into Your Web Design Workflow
As Webshape Design, a pioneer in the field of web design and development in the vibrant locales of Kings Cross, Central London, and Barnet in North London, approaches its 10th anniversary, we're reflecting on the transformative journey of web design.
AI Ideas
Personalization at Scale: How AI is Tailoring Web Design to Individual Users
In the bustling heart of Kings Cross, Central London, and the serene expanse of Barnet in North London, Webshape Design stands at the vanguard of a digital revolution.
AI Ideas
Navigating the AI Revolution: Ethical Considerations in AI-Enhanced Web Design
As Webshape Design, a premier web design and development agency rooted in the heart of London, stands on the brink of its 10th anniversary, we reflect on the transformative journey of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into web design.
AI Ideas
Beyond Templates: Using AI to Generate Unique Web Design Elements
In an era where the digital facade of a business significantly contributes to its success, standing out in the vast sea of online presences is not just an advantage—it's a necessity.
AI Ideas
The Impact of AI on SEO: Strategies for Designing AI-Friendly Websites
As we edge closer to the two-decade mark in the 21st century, Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to reshape the digital landscape in ways that were once relegated to the realms of science fiction.
AI Ideas
AI and Accessibility: Creating Inclusive Web Designs with Intelligent Solutions
In the heart of our digital era, where the boundary between the physical and online worlds blurs more each day, the importance of accessible web design has never been more pronounced.
AI Ideas
How Can AI be Used to Improve Responsive Design?
The ultimate goal of any website is to provide a smooth and engaging experience for the user, with the design element playing a pivotal role.