Responsive websites Archives - Drive By Websites Ltd.

AI in Website Design – A Few Lincolnshire Examples

11th November 2022 by driveby

It’s been a while since I first acquired access to OpenAI’s DALL·E 2, so I thought I should come back and report on how this tool has been helping Drive By Websites clients.

Outpainting Website Images

By far, the most useful feature for me is outpainting. This is where new image is ‘painted’ by the AI to fill spaces outside of the initial image or blank spaces inside the image. With a feature like this we can extend images that would otherwise be very difficult to use as well as remove and replace spaces of the image that we feel are inappropriate. The first times I was able to use this successfully came only a day after the feature was introduced. This was no surprise though, due to how commonly I encounter this particular opportunity. Many clients will take portrait photos of their work using their phones, which is great for social media but not ideal for a website. Banner spaces are typically covering the width of a website, but they don’t have much height. So if we will the available space with the portrait image, we lose much of the top of bottom of the image. Let’s look at an example…

Get Competitive on your Website Homepage

1st June 2021 by driveby

Video/Drone Footage

Accordions

Cloudflare Content Delivery

Blog Content

Click to Call – The Single Best Feature for Mobile Viewers

23rd May 2019 by driveby

Remember, converting Smartphone visitors to a responsive website is very different from converting customers using desktop websites. Smartphone users are very unlikely to scroll down and read a whole load of content wording and then send you an email, more especially if there’s a lengthy form to complete. Because your mobile visitors are already holding their phone it will allow them to call you with one simple touch of the button. No more complicated copy-and-pasting or memorizing the phone number!

If you want to add some text to your button we can also do this, to help make it more obvious to viewers. However you would like it to look, a “click to call” button could make all the difference between getting a new client or losing them forever. We can even help demonstrate this by integrating the Click to Call button with Google Analytics in order to collect statistics on the button usage.

Mobile Vs Desktop in Spalding and Surrounding Areas

Spalding, Pinchbeck, Holbeach, Crowland, Long Sutton, Surfleet, Swineshead, Kirton, Donington and Boston

Drive By Websites’ choice of platform to use for mobile friendly websites is WordPress because:

ease of user – you can easily make updates.
sites can be managed from any computer or device
search engines love WordPress sites
there’s no HTML or FTP software required (for the end user)
websites are designed to be future-proofed and grow along with the development of the business.

Drive By Websites securely hosts and manages over 150 mobile friendly websites mainly around Spalding and South Lincolnshire but nationally too. Drive By Websites offer a fast turnaround, we are affordable and easy to get along with. Please feel free to get in touch by calling us on 01775 761512.

If this isn’t for you, there are plenty of other simple enhancements you can make to your website. Don’t miss out on these easy next steps for your business:

SSL Certificate

It is inevitable that with enough time your website ranking will suffer without an SSL Certificate. These addresses technically start with https:// instead of http://.
Read More: Safer Websites and Higher Rankings

Fresh Content

Don’t be one of the many people that uses too few words in their website pages or blog posts. You can maximise your SEO potential by exceeding the recommended minimum of 300 words.

Maximise Website Marketing with Google Analytics in Lincolnshire

9th August 2018 by driveby

Businesses in Lincolnshire generally opt for marketing stratagies including:

Local Press
Print Materials
Facebook/Instagram/Social Medai Campaigns
Google AdWords
Mailshots

Analysing your Marketing Stratagies

One of these five will generate the best results for your business. Once correlated to the cost of the marketing, knowing which is most effective is invaluable. Most companies spend years wasting money on bad advertising. Sometimes this is in the interest of saving money but other times it is simply that they don’t know what forms of advertising work best for them.

The ultimate solution to this recurring problem is ‘Google Analytics’. Once integrated into your website, Google provide high level analytics detailing audience acquisition, audience behaviour and audience conversions. The detail is unparalleled in the industry and provides invaluable marketing and progress data. Google Analytics can be found in 57% of the 10,000 most popular websites, and that percentage is even higher for smaller websites! We find that businesses in Lincolnshire have been slower to adopt systems like Google Analytics but that does offer our customers a competitive edge against other companies in the same industry. Let them waste their money on ineffective marketing while you maximise you continually improve your marketing potentail.

We’d love to list all of the features of the analytics reporting available in this system but it’s genuinely too big! Put it this way, it’s everything you’ll need and more.

Cookie Compliance with Google Analytics in Lincolnshire

You will need to notify your visitors to comply with GDPR/EU Cookie Law. An analytics code is not as intrusive as other software available that track users over multiple sites, but you still need consent. Website owners do have to seek consent for the use of cookies that acquire Google Analytics data.

For more information or to get Google Analytics added to your website, give us a call on 01775 761512.

Writing Content For Your Website – Blogging Tips

9th July 2018 by driveby

It’s not easy coming up with content for your website. While we cannot help make that much easier, we can tell you how to make the most of what you do write. Here are some ways you can improve your content quality:

Localised Content

Over the course of a year your can ready spread your reach far and wide if every website page or blog post is specific to a different location. In some areas you may not have the ability to crush the competition in one website page or blog post but in others there may not even be any competition and you’ll effortlessly make it to the top. Worst case scenario, even in the toughest areas to crack you can still be a few pages back in the search results for those more scrupulous searchers. The point is, unless you localise your pages and posts Google doesn’t see you as being everywhere, it sees you as being nowhere. For our business we usually specify clients work as being in towns and cities such as Spalding, Holbeach, Bourne, Boston, Grantham, Long Sutton, Lincoln, Peterborough.

Content is King

Don’t be one of the many people that uses too few words in their website pages or blog posts. You can maximise your SEO potential by exceeding the recommended minimum of 300 words. Although time is a big factor, I would still suggest putting aside at least an hour to write each new update instead of trying to cram in into a spare 5 minutes. It’s vital that content updates are done properly because there’s a very high chance that one of those updates will become somebody’s first impression of your business.

Blog early and Blog often

Did you know that companies that published 16+ blog posts per month had roughly 3.5 times more traffic than companies publishing from 0 to 4 posts monthly? It’s important to note that it’s the content that takes priority, but there is a balance to be struck. Why not pad out two quality, lengthy blog posts into four over the same period of time. Provided you aren’t cutting to close to the recommended minimum of 300 words, you’re probably substantially improving your visitor numbers. Some of the websites we host update their content on a daily basis.

How does a Page Builder stack up to a Web Developer?

10th May 2018 by driveby

Almost all our clients come to us knowing exactly what they are looking for. Generally, it’s something like this:

They want someone to build a website
They want someone they know and can trust to build a website
They want to be able to drop in and see their chosen web developers when it suits them
They want something bespoke for their business, and not a generic template
They want to be able to discuss web development options and choose what’s right for them
They want the development to continue for years to come and not stop once the website is live

All our clients fit into this list somewhere, but there continues to be new customers that need to be convinced of these benefits first. We don’t push our services on anyone and often I’ll just direct people to where to research the benefits of real web development over a cheap page builder. In some cases, I’ll even recommend that they use a page builder at first and come back to Drive By Websites once they have outgrown it. These cheap page builders on Wix, Godaddy or 123-Reg have their benefits. They’re easy to work on and they aren’t much on the pocket either. But that’s as much as you can expect, the benefits end there.

Website Builder (cheap/free) vs Drive By Websites In Spalding

Our services include optimising websites. From as early as the initial design stage we’re implementing ideas and trying to focus on SEO strategies to enhance the potential reach of the site. Further still, we implement the tools to allow our clients to take SEO into their own hands. Now, there is some training and a learning curve involved but we aren’t working by the hour and we’ll take as much time as it takes to get our clients geared up to make continuous improvements to their websites.

We also put all our website design costs up front. This is where the page builders have gained a very bad reputation. Suppose you’ve got a nice simple website to get you going, you then want to go live. Already you’ll incur costs as they want to throw in a domain cost and a connection cost. Then you’ll find it’s not high enough in Google, so they offer you an SSL certificate for even more cost. Over time these issues will arise and leave you wondering why you had started with the page builder in the first place. It is likely still cheaper in the end, but you’ll certainly not be trusting your host like you should.

The main issue, above all else, is these page builders are missing all the fundamentals named at the top of the page. All the priorities for almost all our clients are missing from the page builder offering. I would still go as far as to say it’s just scratching the surface because the technical advantages of our systems over these page builders are endless. Nonetheless, that isn’t often what matters most for our clients.

For more information on what we offer or the technical benefits of our systems, give us a call on 01775 761512.

Developing the Website of the Future – Web Development

2nd February 2018 by driveby

There are some emerging technologies that are set to change Web Development in much the same way as mobile browsing has in recent years. We have named a few that we predict will be become more and more common in the coming years.

Domain Extensions

We can already see the rise of unconventional domain name extensions beginning. As traditional domains (.com and .co.uk) have been so widely used, people will need to adopt new domain extensions such as .limited, .shop or .events. There are a vast number of extensions now available but we still aren’t coming across them daily. As more people are forced to adopt them, the search engines will respond by putting them on an even playing field with more common extensions. A lot of industry experts are arguing that it’s important to start using them now to ride that wave when it comes. There are currently over 600 new extensions that you could potentially invest in over the next few years.

Cryptocurrency

It seems logical that before ‘cryptocurrency’ (such as Bitcoin) truly finds its place in the real world, it will first become as standard for future ecommerce websites as PayPal is today. With virtual currency growing in popularity there are already signs of this reality. Major websites such as Microsoft, Expedia and Shopify.com have already adopted this payment option. Benefits include anonymity, very low transaction fees and irreversible transactions (a third party such as a bank or PayPal can’t reverse the payment). We’re a long way off a cryptocurrency revolution but if it continues to grow as it has then there will undoubtedly be a market call for this in Ecommerce Web Development.

Online Security

With online security concerns still inhibiting a smooth browsing experience it seems logical that the market will lean towards account security being less troublesome and more secure. Three symbols, two numbers, one capital letter and ten minimum characters leaves users with a problem on their hands. Most of us will have experienced the difficulty of creating a password that has to be written down. This defeats the object of the security measures and ultimately makes the account less secure. The future will offer Web Development options beyond that. Examples of this can be seen with online banking and the technology available to enter your pin securely. Many smart phones are now capable of reading thumbprints therefore thumbprint entry is potentially already an option. Regardless of how this manifests itself, there is currently a need for a solution. With website apps being commonplace for social media, online banking and even ecommerce (such as Ebay and Amazon) it won’t be long before we are able to use the full potential of facial recognition, voice recognition and thumb recognition to solve this problem.

To discuss your own futuristic web development objectives, give us a call on 01775 761512 or contact us online.

Website Browsing With A Mobile Has Overtaken Desktop

10th November 20163rd November 2016 by driveby

The clocks have gone back and Christmas is just around the corner. Website browsing, which the writer of this blog can only imagine, is an activity which will be taking a lot more of your time right now. With all those presents to buy, you will probably end up searching the internet for inspirational gift ideas on your Smart phone or tablet.

With the new figures just released demonstrate that it’s even more important to upgrade your website to a mobile friendly solution. The new figures have revealed that Smartphones and tablets are now king as the share of desktop web browsing has shrunk to 48.7% (according to data provided by StatCounter – statcounter.com)

If you’re running your own business, it’s easy to start to rest on the year’s successes at this time of the year. But as you are reading this blog, your competitors maybe stepping it up a gear and boosting their sales. Perhaps even by going mobile-friendly.

If you are a regular reader of Drive By Websites’ blogs, you will know how much we’ve stressed the importance of transferring websites to a mobile friendly solution. Google has continued to remind businesses that mobile friendly websites are the future, and therefore favoured by the search engine.

Drive By Websites is continuing to offer an affordable solution with prices from only £499 plus VAT for an optimised mobile-friendly website.

Legal Documentation & Insurance Claim Website

10th August 2016 by driveby

Drive By Websites has been busy building a mobile friendly website covering legal documentation and insurance claims for an accident investigator. We particularly like the design of the site and we hope you do too – http://www.firstcalldocuments.co.uk/

David Stearn, the owner of First Call Documents, offers a personal accident investigation service. David has 30 years’ police experience with 27 years working on traffic patrol. He’s worked for 7 years as a self-employed claims investigator.

With the experience he gained whilst working for the police his qualifications include criminal investigations.

First Call Documents also offers an accident investigation service on behalf of solicitors specialising in all types of personal injury or liability claims. David appreciates how beneficial photographic evidence can be and this is another service he offers.

First Call Documents offers a comprehensive service which also includes providing statements in both criminal and civil format to cover road traffic accidents, public liability, employer liability and personal injury cases.

If you are thinking to yourself, “I’m having trouble with my website designer and I need help” don’t let your business suffer. Working with over 150 local business owners, Drive By Websites is continually setting the pace for services such as website hosting and mobile friendly design. If you need assistance to get your business presence on the web, then either call, visit or email us for an easy to understand and affordable solution.

Mobile Friendly Berkley Owls – What A Treat

21st June 2016 by driveby

As an avid viewer of Springwatch and, of course, Autumnwatch, it came as a nice surprise for the writer of this blog to be asked to build a mobile-friendly website, together with a Facebook newsfeed, on behalf of Lincolnshire-based Berkley Owls. What a treat.

Berkley Owls rescues owls and, over time, has learnt how to care for them after they’ve had treatment at the vets. Injuries as a result of a traffic incident can be more serious than first appears because owls have fragile eyes that can be easily damaged. The Berkley Owl Rescue Centre has all the trained staff and equipment required to assess an injured owl. A lot of the equipment has been bought using donations without which they would be unable to treat the injured owls and would have to turn them away.

Berkley Owls can be booked to attend an event. The display is open to view throughout the opening times of the event and visitors can experience holding an owl for a small fee, and even have a photograph taken as a memento of the experience for an additional fee.

Both Drive By Design and Drive By Websites had an input into the work required on behalf of Berkley Owls. Drive By Design in respect of creating a new logo and, of course, Drive By Websites designing and building the website. For more information, please visit http://www.berkleyowls.co.uk/