How to Create a Blog

Creating a blog doesn't have to be complicated

I've made this easy for you in this simple step-by-step guide.

I will guide you through obtaining a hosting account and domain. Then we will set up the WordPress platform on the hosting server after we will apply the theme and look of your site. Lastly, we will create and post your first blog.

Let's get started!

First, we need to signup for a hosting provider

Without getting too technical, think of a hosting provider as a service that gives your website a home. This new home is created on a server that is connected to the internet and can be visited by anyone online.

My two recommendations for hosting are NexusHost.io and Kinsta.

NexuHost.io is a premium cloud hosting platform with UltraFast speeds. You can also easily upgrade your plan for more websites and features.

Kinsta is also a premium cloud hosting platform built in the cloud.

Bluehost is a shared hosting provider for those on a budget. The hosting speeds are significantly slower than NexusHost.io and Kinsta, but for those willing to sacrifice speed and performance over cost, then Bluehost will do.

Tip: Your web hosting provider and site speed can greatly affect the success of your website. I highly recommend upgrading to a premium and fast hosting provider such as NexusHost.io

For more information on the importance of a fast web hosting provider, check out this post:
NexusHost.io

To get started with UltraFast Cloud Hosting, visit NexusHost.io to sign up for their hosting package.

Select the hosting plan that works for you. Most people who want to create 2 WordPress sites choose the Pro Cloud hosting plan. If you only need one site, select the Starter Cloud plan.
Enter the new domain name you would like to register, transfer your existing domain name, or use your existing domain name and link it yourself later.
Select monthly or annual payments and add any additional features you would like to add.
Complete checkout
Check your email to access your new portal.
Access your cPanel and install WordPress.
Choose your theme and start designing your site.
On your WordPress dashboard, select Posts and create a new post.
Once you've completed your post, click Publish Post.

Congrats, you just created your blog website! Make sure to make your page visible by publishing your website. Start sharing your website address with your audience and social media profiles.

Happy blogging.

Cheers!

Signs You Need a New Website

It's probably time for a website redesign.

There are many indicators that your company may need a website overhaul. Some indicators are more important than orders. In a digital marketing perspective, these are considered the most important.

It takes forever for your website to load

Page loading speed is crucial. Nobody wants to wait for their website to load for longer than a few seconds. Slow websites can cause buyers to lose interest in you business. They will simply go to the competitor’s site instead. Google also looks at page speed. Google can rank your website in search results very negatively if it is slow.

Google began using site speed in their algorithm in 2010 as a ranking signal. Google increased the importance of page speeds by using mobile page speed in their algorithm to rank results for mobile searches. Google recently announced in May 2020 that a new update would be available sometime in 2021. This update will allow users to judge web pages on the basis of their page experience. The page experience includes a variety of factors, including mobile friendliness and HTTPS security.
Google PageSpeed Insights Scans

Google Core Web Vitals will be looking for websites that have the Largest Contentful Painting (LCP) within 2.5 seconds and First Input Delayed (FID) less than 100 milliseconds. To check if your site is speedy, you can run it through Google’s PageSpeed Insights. You should redesign your website before the 2021 update.

Your website is not available

We have written a lot of blogs about the importance of making your website WCAG-compliant. A website that is “accessible” simply means it can be read and used by screen readers. The World Wide Web Consortium’s WCAG 2.1 guidelines provide more information about accessibility guidelines for websites.
A WCAG accessible website can make your website easier to use for people with disabilities. This could also help to prevent you from being sued. A growing number of lawsuits have resulted in businesses being sued under the American’s with Disabilities Act since a 2017 landmark case. This is because their websites don’t meet the strict WCAG accessibility requirements. These lawsuits can be very costly.
WebAIM can help you determine if your website has accessibility issues. WebAIM is a free tool that will provide a baseline for your website’s accessibility. However, it won’t catch every ADA compliance issue. Functional testing is required in order to conduct a comprehensive ADA check. If you need assistance with accessibility review of your website, our team of programmers is here to assist!

Your website is not mobile-optimized

Smartphones won’t disappear anytime soon. Many people spend more time online with their smartphones than ever before.
Businesses need a website that is compatible with every device. A responsive website is the solution. Because the website automatically adapts to the size of different screens, a responsive website can be used on smartphones, tablets, desktops and other devices. Mannix Marketing is well-known for creating responsive websites.
Mannix Marketing- Eddy Senior Living Communities Website design- Summit Creative Award Winner
Eddy Senior Living Communities’ website has been awarded an award for responsive design. It is designed to be accessible on mobile, tablet, and desktop computers.

The bounce rate is extremely high

The bounce rate of your website (which can be found in your Google Analytics reports), is the percentage that visits your site and leave without visiting any other pages.
A bounce rate of 40-50% is considered to be a good bounce rate. This means that between 50-60% people visit your site and stay on the site. There are many factors that can be used to determine what constitutes a good bounce rate. For example, your homepage versus a blog article. Our goal when redesigning your site is to decrease the bounce rate.

You don’t get enough calls or inquiries

Are your phones ringing less frequently? Do you notice a decline in inquiries, sales, or submissions to your website?
Your website might be getting lots of traffic but if it’s not producing steady leads or sales, then there may be a problem with converting visitors into leads, guests or customers. Our goal in website redesign is to improve conversions.
Is it possible to not track conversions on your website? This is a problem by itself. Mannix Marketing websites are designed with conversion tracking in mind. This allows you to track how many leads you get and where they come from.

It’s time for a rebrand

Have you had your company rebrand since the last website redesign? Have you changed your logo or color scheme?
Your website communicates your brand personality and brand identity to potential customers. You must ensure that your brand identity is not being “stolen”, either by bad or simply outdated design.

Simple website edits can be too costly

No longer are you required to have a degree or advanced HTML skills in order to add a page to your website. Content Management Systems make it easy for anyone to manage their website, add pages, copy and photos.
Mannix Marketing builds websites for businesses using WordPress Content Management System. This allows business owners, marketers and other employees to quickly and easily add pages, photos and text copy to the website.
Example of WordPress Content Management System
Example of adding a page to a WordPress Content Management System website

Google searches are not showing your site in results

Yikes! This is a huge problem. This is a big one.
Although there are many factors that go into Search Engine Optimization (SEO), even the most basic components can make a significant difference in how your website ranks in search engines. This will help you bring more searchers to the site.

Your last website redesign was years ago

We recommend that websites be redesigned every 4 to 6 years for most businesses. While web design trends change, many important, long-lasting changes can be made to your website in just a few short years.

Home page sliders (a.k.a. Slideshows were once very popular. Companies discovered that loading large images on a website could slow down site load speeds and negatively impact user experience. This led to many companies looking for alternative website sliders (slideshows).

Why Your Website Needs Responsive Web Design

What is responsive web design?

In simple terms, responsive web design (RWD) is a website design that adapts to the device it is being viewed on. Other terms used are mobile-friendly, responsive design, mobile friendly website, mobile version, and responsive website. This means that whether someone is viewing your web page on different screen sizes such as a desktop computer, a laptop, a tablet, or a smartphone, they will be able to see it correctly. The content of the web page such as font size and images will automatically adjust and rearrange itself to fit the screen size of the device, making it easy to read and navigate.
Responsive web design is essential for businesses because it allows you to reach more people. By not having a responsive website, you're automatically excluding anyone who isn't using a desktop computer to view your site. This means you could be missing out on potential customers or clients. In today's day and age, it's more important than ever to have a responsive website.

What are the benefits of responsive web design?

There are many benefits of using responsive web design for your business website. As we mentioned before, the main benefit is that it allows you to reach more people, especially mobile users. By having a responsive website, you're ensuring that everyone can view your site. Regardless if they're using larger screens or a smaller device, they will have a better user experience. This gives you a wider audience and potential customer base.

Another benefit of responsive web design is that it makes your site easier to use. With a mobile website, people will be able to navigate your site using mobile browsers more easily on their devices, which will lead to them spending more time on your site and possibly even making a purchase. Additionally, responsive websites tend to rank higher in search engines such as Google's because they're seen as being more user-friendly. This will raise your search engine rankings meaning that you could get more organic traffic to your site, which is always a good thing.

Reasons Your Website Should Have a Responsive Design

If you're like most business owners, you want your website to be seen by as many people as possible. The problem is, not everyone accesses the internet in the same way. Some people use desktop computers, while others use mobile devices such as laptops, tablets, or smartphones. If your website isn't responsive - that is, if it doesn't adapt to the device being used to view it - then you're missing out on a lot of potential traffic. Here are a few points on the importance of responsive web design and why every business should implement it on their website:

User experience on mobile devices

There are a few key reasons why you should make sure your website is responsive. First, it's good for your users. If someone is trying to view your site on a mobile device and it isn't responsive, they will likely have a difficult time navigating it. This can lead to frustration and ultimately cause the user to leave your site without taking any desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up for your newsletter.

Improves your SEO

Second, websites that are mobile-friendly is good for business. Websites not optimized for all devices can hurt your chances of ranking well on search engines like Google. This is because Google takes into account the user experience when determining where websites should rank in their search results. If your website isn't responsive, Google will likely rank it lower than a responsive website, this decline in their search engine means you'll get less traffic.

Responsive design is important for the future

Lastly, responsive web design is good for the future of the internet. As more and more people use mobile devices to access the internet, it's important that websites are designed to be viewed on these devices. If your website isn't responsive, it will become increasingly difficult for people to view it as time goes on.
Responsive web design is important because it ensures that your website can be viewed on any type of device. This is essential in today's day and age, where people are using a variety of different devices to access the internet. By having a responsive website, you're ensuring that everyone can view your site, no matter what type of device they're using.

How to make a website responsive?

There are a few different ways to make your website responsive. The most common method is to use media queries, which is a CSS technique that allows you to change the styles of your site depending on the width of the screen. You can also use Flexbox and flexible grids, which are both layout models that can be used to create responsive websites.

If you're not sure how to make your website responsive, or if you don't have the time to code HTML and CSS styles for your web pages, you can always hire a web designer or developer to help you out. There are also themes available that have a responsive layout and looks good when using a mobile device. Although themes are easier to manage than trying to coding your website yourself, they still need some work, customizations and many times some extra coding as well. Hiring a professional web designer is usually the best way to insure your website will look great and work well. Responsive web design is an essential part of any business website, so it's worth investing in if you want your site to be successful.
Here are some examples of responsive web design:

Is it worth investing in a responsive website?

The short answer is: yes!

As we mentioned before, there are many benefits of having a responsive website. Not only will you be able to reach more people, but your site website responsiveness will also be much improved making it easier to use and navigate across all devices. Additionally, responsive websites tend to rank higher in search engines, which means you could get more organic traffic to your site. All of these factors can lead to increased sales and conversions for your business. So if you're serious about making your website successful, it's definitely worth investing in a responsive design.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many reasons why responsive web design is important. If you want your website to be successful, it absolutely will need a responsive web design. You need to make sure it's designed in a way that allows users to view it no matter what type of device they're using. Contact us today to learn more about how you can make your website responsive. Our web design and development team have built many different websites designed to increase website traffic, increase visibility on search engines, and of course optimized for different devices which helps to improve the user experience.

Is Responsive Web Design Important?

Why Your Website Needs Responsive Web Design

Whether people browse your site using their smartphone, tablet, or laptop, they expect the same quality of experience. With responsive web design, you can provide that experience by adjusting your website to fit different screen sizes and resolutions. This makes it possible for a wider audience to experience your website without interruption. Furthermore, search engines prioritize responsive websites, so if you are not using a responsive design, your website may not be ranked high enough in search results.

Many people use mobile devices

According to Pew Research Center, nearly half of American adults use mobile devices to access the internet. The percentage of users using a mobile device is increasing, with a recent study showing that more than 50 percent of teen smartphone owners say that they use the internet mostly on their mobile device. Meanwhile, 45 percent of young adults say that they use their mobile devices exclusively to access the web. This growth is important for healthcare institutions, as they must cater their sites to this audience.

While desktop usage still dominates the number of web users, the growth of mobile devices is rapidly outpacing desktop usage. According to a study by BroadbandSearch, users spend 203 minutes a day using their mobile devices to access websites. Today's smartphones have processing power that rivals desktop computers, and many are on par with some laptops. They can do just about everything a desktop can do, so it's important for websites to consider this when designing a mobile site.

In the United States, more than half of online purchases are made using mobile devices. More than half of Internet users will make purchases on mobile devices in 2020, according to the report by Merchant Savvy. Mobile devices provide larger screens for browsing websites, and many users prefer them for their convenience and accessibility. Mobile users spend the most time online shopping for movies and video games, while those using mobile devices are more likely to make a purchase.

Search engines prioritize responsive websites

One of the best ways to boost search engine rankings is to make your website mobile-friendly. Search engines prioritize responsive websites in order to deliver the best user experience possible. This is especially important since the majority of website traffic is generated from mobile devices. Responsive design allows users to browse and read your website easily, so they're likely to spend more time on your site. Google has also made it a priority to design websites that are easy to navigate.

A non-responsive website will frustrate your visitors and cause your dwell time, clickthrough rate, and bounce rate to plummet. These metrics are important in determining your ranking in search engines. With higher rankings comes more traffic and a better chance of being discovered. But responsive websites don't just boost user experience. They also help boost your website's speed, which is another factor that affects website traffic. This can make a big difference for your conversion rates.

Google has made it clear that it prioritizes responsive websites for a variety of reasons. It's also important to note that your website should be fast-loading. Slow-loading pages will drive users away. Google's mobile-first algorithm prioritizes responsive websites. That means that if a user can't access your website quickly enough, they will leave your site and move on to another one. You can improve your site's responsiveness by using Google's Mobile-Friendly Test. If your site is an old one, you'll likely need to revamp the entire site.