Essentials You Need To Become A Web Developer

Should your business invest in a website?

If you’re just starting out as a new business, you might be thinking whether to invest in a website. Particularly if you’re busy from the start, you may think a website is not needed as you’re doing just fine without one. 

A website, however, should never be something that is overlooked. For a start, it demonstrates that you are a legitimate and professional business by providing a branded online presence. A good website should provide some good quality content, allowing potential customers to find out about who you are as a business and the full scope of services you provide.  This is something that often can’t be fully portrayed through social media platforms and other forms of advertising. 

A website also opens up the scope of options that people can use to find you. If searching on Google (which many people now do), a well optimised website will be listed for related key terms. People finding you in this way also increases the chance of converting that visit to a sale as they are specifically searching for products/services you provide.

A website can also be shared easily across social media, providing free and easy marketing. You can also use this to properly showcase your work by providing an attractive gallery section. 

Of course, having a website may not come cheap but after the initial investment the on-going costs should be minimal, with only domain registration and hosting to pay for.  

MK Web offer SEO in Rutland and SEO in Stamford.

The term Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is mentioned quite a lot when it comes to websites - but what exactly is SEO and why is it important? 

In simple terms, SEO is collectively a term for the optimisation of a website so that it has more visibility on search engines. More specifically, It covers a multitude of tasks that when combined all contribute towards improving the general organic ranking of a site on Google and other search engines for related keywords.

When searching for a specific business online, the default for most people will be to use Google or another search engine. For many of us, it’s just part of our natural online routine.

According to a recent study, the top listing in Google’s organic search results receives 33 percent of the traffic, compared to 18 percent for the second position, and the traffic only degrades from there.

If you’re not listed within the top three results on the first page of Google, it’s fair to say that you’re unlikely to generate much organic traffic.  

Having a well optimised website is therefore paramount in achieving success through organic methods. The process is far from easy, however, and takes a lot of time, effort and persistence - for larger sites, it can almost be a full-time job.

Content is king when it comes to SEO and the most important aspect of SEO is making sure content is fresh and unique - but that's just part of the SEO journey. SEO also covers performance, back-links, internal links, blog posts, social media, article submissions, video content and much more. Technically, it is about ensuring search engine complex algorithms are understood. Of course the process of SEO will be timelier for more competitive products and services, rather than those that are more niche.

Get SEO right and the rewards could be huge - this is why you should always budget for regular SEO work when launching a new website.

Type ‘Web Design in Bourne’ into Google and you will see that MK Web come up quite high in the search engine results. This is because we have successfully optimised our own site for search engines. 

Why is WordPress great for websites?

WordPress is an extremely popular choice when it comes to building websites. It is reported that over a third of all websites use WordPress - that’s a big online presence! And as it’s usage continues to grow, it is expected that this figure will be nearer to 50% in years to come. 

But just why is WordPress such a popular choice when it comes to web design and development?

Firstly, it’s really flexible and easy to adapt to meet all needs - customisation is almost limitless! 

There are also an endless range of themes to choose from, meaning there’s a very good chance you’ll find one that suits your exact design requirements. Many of the themes are highly dynamic, flexible and creative. 

There are also a huge number of plugins for WordPress, providing a wide scope of functionality. Many plugins are free (with upgrades available for more features), meaning you won’t end up paying through the nose for additional functionality (like with Shopify!).

WordPress is also very user-friendly and this makes it a breeze to keep content fresh and up-to-date.

WordPress makes it easy to optimise websites to rank highly on search engines. There are a large variety of tools and plugins for optimising content.

Most importantly, WordPress is free to download and use and there are a large number of free themes that can be used. 

MK Web provide web design in Bourne, web design in Lincolnshire and web design in Oakham.

Does SEO really work?

The simple answer to this question is yes it really does! However, it takes a lot of commitment, knowledge, and time to get it right. Good SEO is certainly not something that can be achieved with just a few hours work and you really do need to know what you’re doing to get it right.

Initial research is key to determine the best key phrases to focus on to generate the most amount of traffic, and most importantly, increase the likelihood of conversions. There are many online tools available that let you analyse a vast amount of analytical data for each keyword, including search volume, intent, and keyword difficultly. This will help determine what keywords are likely to rank well.

Once you have narrowed down your keyword focus, it’s time to get to work to ensure your website starts to rank well for these keywords. This is where the hard work really begins as there are many tasks that need to be completed to ensure you have covered all the factors that search engines look at when determining the ranking score of a website. Metadata, well written content and headings, internal/external links, usability, blogging, the website structure, and the speed of the site are just some of the on-site tasks that need to be addressed when optimising a site. And the work doesn’t stop there, as there are many off-site tasks that need to be addressed too – most importantly, obtaining good quality back-links. Many people mistakenly believe that the more back-links you have, the better. Getting a large quantity of back-links from poor ranking sites can be detrimental to a site’s overall ranking. What’s important is getting a back-links from good quality sources that already rank very highly on search engines.

Social media is also important when it comes to the general marketing of your site. It’s true to say that having a good social media presence may not necessarily have much weighing on your overall ranking on search engines, but it can help push traffic to your site and, if managed correctly, can provide a good following of people who may well be interested in the products and services provided by your business in the future.

If you do a search on Google for ‘HGV Medicals in Nottingham’, ‘Taxi Medicals in Nottingham’ and ‘Motorsport Medicals in Nottingham’ you will see that Midland Medical Group should be displayed quite highly on page one of the results. This represents a website that has been optimised for these keywords through completing the tasks discussed above. The same is also true is do a search for ‘Web Design in Bourne’ or ‘Care Jobs in Staffordshire’ – these are sites that have also been optimised to rank well for these keywords.

The Frustration of Facebook Advertising

Most of us have heard of Facebook and indeed most of us probably have a Facebook account. Indeed, with roughly 2.89 billion monthly active users as of the second quarter of 2021, Facebook is the biggest social network worldwide.

There is no denying that Facebook provides a great platform to share information and for online social networking, but just how well does it work for businesses looking to advertise on the platform?

Firstly, although the user base on Facebook is huge, not everyone has a Facebook account, and even if they do, it doesn’t mean they use it much, if at all. The mistake a lot of businesses make is sticking strictly to Facebook to advertise - although this can often generate some business, it’s effectively ignoring all those that aren’t part of the platform and therefore missing out on lots of potential customers.

Facebook is also saturated with information, especially for those with lots of friends and who follow multiple groups. Of course there are those people who will spend hours scrolling through their Facebook wall to review all the latest posts, but for many people time is of the essence and they are most likely to limit their exposure to a brief period during a break at work or in any downtime in the evening. This means they will only see what has been posted recently or those posts that have received a lot of interaction. So unless a business posts regularly every day, it’s likely that their posts will only be seen by a select group of people. 

And let’s not forget all those messages that simply never get read because (when not friends with someone) the message is sent through as a message request, which can often get missed as there’s no notification to indicate a message has been received. And for business pages, even though a Facebook business page is linked to a personal account, seeing messages requires a business to review their business page separately to see messages sent via their business page. With a busy schedule, this process can often be overlooked.

Finally, Facebook does not offer the same level of detail about a business as a website and therefore may not always provide enough of a hook to get a customer to engage. A good website design offers an opportunity for a professional online representation of a business, which a Facebook page often fails to achieve. Some people simply may not feel comfortable engaging with a business they know little about.

Our advice is to maximise the potential reach of a business online by using many different online resources, most especially a professional website design that is well optimised for search engines (SEO). 

Why Content is King for SEO

You may have heard the term Content is King thrown around when researching SEO. Indeed, many would argue that content is the most important aspect of SEO in today’s world. 

Back in the day, keyword stuffing and multiple links to your site may have been suffice in getting your noticed on search engines. Fortunately (or unfortunately for some), search engines have become ever more sophisticated in sieving out the good from the bad and it means you now have to work much harder to get your site ranked highly on search engines. 

One way to show search engines you mean business is by producing unique and great quality content. Copying and pasting from another source just won’t do unfortunately. The content should be highly relatable to do what you do and should contain internal and external links to other related sources. It’s not just about quantity either, the quality must be high - you should ensure the content is well structured with good grammar and spelling. Headings and sub headings should be used to help break-down content into meaningful sections. 

Content should not just be restricted to your website alone, you should also look to include content (again, unique and highly relatable) on external sources, such as blogging platforms, article sites and other websites. And don’t forgot to include those all important back-links back to your website to establish the link between the two. 

To add to the workload, fresh content should be added regularly and should always be kept up-to-date. Any dead links can hinder your performance on search engines, so links should always be checked for validation. 

Get the content right and the rest will follow suit, providing of course other aspects of your website are good - there’s little point having good content if the the site takes ages to load and is difficult to navigate. 

Article written by MK Web - web design in stamford and web design in Oakham

MK Web turned 3 today!

Check out our full range of services at www.mk-web.co.uk.

How long does it take for search engines to show changes to a website search listing?

When you search for something on search engines you will notice that all related websites will show a title and brief description. This information is mostly extracted from what is called metadata. Metadata is quite simply a title and description provided in the website code itself - this information cannot be seen on the front end of the site but can be read by search engines.

Metadata essentially tells the search engines about the content of each page of the site, as well as providing the user with a title and description within the search results. The way the way the metadata is written can often make all the difference in regard to the amount of traffic your site gets. This is an important aspect of search engine optimisation. 

Unfortunately, any changes made to the metadata can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks to be indexed and then shown by search engines. Requesting a manual reindexing and ensuring the site has some good quality backlinks can speed up this process, however, it's always a case of being patient.

Metadata often has an impact of how well your site is ranked for related keywords, so once a site is reindexed its position in the search results may change.

It should also be noted that other changes that involve optimising a website for search engines may also take up to several weeks to be indexed by search engines. 

Essentially, if you’re optimising a website organically, any changes made won't have an affect straight away - patient is certainly a virtue when it comes to SEO!

Search for SEO in Bourne or SEO in Stamford and you should see our site listed at the top of the search results. 

Should you build your own website?

Having a website doesn't have to be something you use the professionals for. Indeed, many people choose to build their own website, potentially saving them hundreds of pounds.

Shopify, GoDaddy, WordPress and Wix are just some of the platforms that can be used to produce your own website. But just how easy are these platforms to use?

Well, that depends very much on the platform, but most self-build platforms are made to be user-friendly and make it easy for even a novice user to put together a simple site in a matter of hours. Most of the available platforms use friendly drag and drop interfaces and allow you to select from a range of pre-build templates. Some will even provide sample content and images for you.

So why would you ever need a professional web developer? Well, templates are all very well and good if you just require a simple web presence, but if you're looking for something with a little more impact and complexity, you may find that the templates offered are quite limited.

It should always be remembered that a website is an online shop front for your business and so should always be taken seriously. It needs to not only look good, but also needs to be professional, user friendly and engaging. This is where a professional web developer can really add benefit as they have the experience and skills necessary to produce a website that can really make your business stand out against the crowd and get those all important conversions. Furthermore, they have the skills and experience needed to ensure the site is optimised for search engines and works well across all devices.

You may have to spend several hundred pounds to get a decent web developer to produce your site but you'll most likely make that money back through the additional sales you'll generate from the site.

See Website Maintenance & Support

What is it like being a freelance website developer?

Working as a freelance website designer brings with it lots of freedom and excitement. You can pick and choose your hours, have lunch when you want, nip out to see friends and family whenever you please and be available for all those important school plays. No more begging the boss to leave early so that you can pick your kids up from school because your child minder has let you down or feeling guilty about taking time out for a doctor’s appointment.  

Indeed, freelancing as a website developer has many blessings and can provide you with a cosy lifestyle. However, it isn’t all a walk in the park. Starting as a freelance developer provides many demands. Even though many freelancer platforms are available to find and secure work, many people are searching for a person who has built up recognition and a great looking portfolio. It takes time and it's tough to build up a good reputation. Consequently, the first few months especially can show very hard in terms of income – you’ll be bidding for jobs at much less than you would like to charge and may resent doing jobs for less than the market rate.

You also won’t be paid for holidays, sick days and those doctors/dentist appointments.  At the start you’ll likely find yourself working plenty extra hours than your hired buddies. You are completely answerable for your income.

Have I referred to hard customers yet? Alas, now not everybody is a pleasing individual to work with. Clients can be difficult and managing them can be very time consuming. Projects get put back or cancelled altogether – that nice little earner you were counting on is no longer on the agenda.  

The good news is that once you’ve got yourself established and your portfolio and reviews are looking good, you'll find that the work comes to you rather than you having to find it. You can then start to increase your prices and earn a decent income. It’s then that working as a freelance website developer becomes a good deal less difficult and also you start to realise that all the long hours were worth it.

Being a website designer in Bourne, Spalding and Stamford, I know what’s it like to work as a freelance website designer. Website design in Spalding is particularly difficult due to the small population of this town.