A previous hosting company built their site “for free,” but a year later, they wanted to charge them $200/month for hosting, and with services that weren’t clearly defined. Worse, even basic updates required developer involvement.

At Alpha27, we believe websites should work for you, not hold you hostage. We rebuilt their site with a fresh design that reflects the fun and energy of their tours—and made content editing a breeze.

Using custom admin panels powered by SCF for WordPress, their team can now manage tours, images, and testimonials without touching code or needing a web developer. No hidden fees. No surprise roadblocks.

Their new site is vibrant, mobile-friendly, and finally gives them full control over their content.

Read our case study regarding the work we did for them to learn more

The post From Frustrated to Empowered: How We Helped Wandering Palm Regain Control of Their Website appeared first on Alpha27.

The Importance of Placement

The strategic placement of social media links can enhance user experience, increase engagement, and drive traffic to your social profiles. Conversely, poor placement can clutter your site, distract visitors, and even drive them away from your primary content.

Typical Places Where You See Them

Below are the most common locations where you would see social media links on a website.

The Header of the Website

Social media links in the header offer immediate visibility and consistent access across all pages, making it easy for visitors to find and engage with your social media profiles.

In a Floating Bar

A floating bar keeps social media links always accessible as users scroll, ensuring high visibility without requiring visitors to navigate away from the main content.

In the Sidebar

Social media links in the sidebar complement other quick links or essential information, making them easily accessible. This placement ensures that the links are always visible as users browse different sections of your site.

The Footer of the Website

The footer offers universal access across all pages. It provides a non-intrusive placement for social media links, allowing visitors to find and engage with your profiles without distraction.

My Recommendations for Where NOT to place Social Media Icons

The Header or Near the Top of the Page

Placing social media links in the header is actually not a great idea. You might be thinking “Why? So many websites do it.” Often times they do it because it feels cool, or looks nice. The reality is they are not considering the impact of having those links at the top of the site does.

Social media links at the top of your website can actually drive users away from your webiste.

This can work against you because getting the traffic to your website is challenging. Once you have a person on your website, you want to keep them. Most of your business is conducted on your website, and probably not on social media channels. Those channels work more for your brand awareness. The job of brand awareness is to drive traffic to your site, so don’t give them a reason to leave your site.

Social media links in your header are counterproductive to your website goals.

Another reason to avoid this is that placing too many links in the header can clutter this crucial area and distract from primary navigation elements, potentially leading to a less streamlined user experience.

Sales or Landing Pages

These pages are designed with a simple goal in mind, converting visitors to leads or customers. You most likely spent money driving traffic to these pages, with the intention of converting them through a signup or purchase. Don’t give them a reason to go somewhere else.

Sales pages and Landing pages need to be focused, and not distracting with too many options for the user. Please, don’t place your social media links on these types of pages.

My recommendations where you Could place Social Media Links

The following are locations where you could place social media icons, but aren’t necessary.

There’s no guarantee that users will visit all of the pages for your website, nor should they. A user is focused on getting the information they need. Here are pages that you could consider, but I’m going to give you some ideas on how to improve it. The key point with this is that placing social media links on specific individual pages, are secondary or in addition to where you should have social media links.

Placing Social Media links on the The Contact Us Page

You could place social media links on the Contact Us page. Why? well, think about the purpose of the contact page, it’s for the user to contact you. Typically a user will want to communicate with you in some way, whether it’s via email, a phone call, or maybe an online chat. Having the social media links here fine, but think of them as purely supplemental information. A user may decide to follow you after sending you a message or having a quick call or chat.

If you do decide to add it here, make it more impactful by doing the following:

• If you contact page has a listing for a physical address, email address, and/or phone number, I would place near that area, and add a title of “Follow Us”, or something.
• Another thing you can do is, if you have a Thank You page, after a user submits a contact form, add social media links there, and encourage them to follow you on the various platforms.

Social Media links on the About Us Page

This is similar to the Contact Us Page. It may be nice to have, but not critical. I would honestly skip this. If you do, place it in a secondary content area like a sidebar if you must place it on this page.

My Top Three Recommendations for Social Media Links Placements

Below are my top recommendations

Conclusion

Placing social media links on your website is a significant benefit, but their placement is crucial.

Balancing visibility with user experience is key.

• Avoid cluttering primary navigation areas and driving traffic away from your site.
• Ensure social media links are easily accessible without overwhelming the visitor.

This approach will help you maximize the benefits of social media engagement while maintaining a positive user experience.

The post Where Should I Place the Social Media Links on My Website? appeared first on Alpha27.

Running a business and running a website are two different things. A website is a reflection of your company in the digital world. Whether you’re handling your website maintenance in-house or outsourcing the work to a vendor, having a maintenance plan is critical. A good maintenance schedule will help ensure your website remains functional and effective. While there are no hard and fast rules, here are some recommendations.

Website Maintenance Tasks That Can Be Automated

Website Backups

Regular backups are essential for recovering from data loss or website compromise. Most web hosting companies offer automated backup services. Verify that backups are performed regularly, especially if you generate frequent content. Schedule backups to run either daily or multiple times per day.

Most importantly, inspect backup files every quarter to ensure they work correctly and do their job.

Website Software Updates

Keeping your website’s software up-to-date is crucial for security and performance, including your CMS (like WordPress), themes, and plugins. Regularly check and update all software and plugins to protect against vulnerabilities. Many companies offer automated updates, but occasional manual checks are recommended to ensure compatibility.

Renewing Domain Names and Web Hosting

Ensuring your domain name and web hosting are set up for auto-renewal is crucial to avoid service interruptions. Occasionally check that they are set to auto-renew to prevent lapses.

Website Maintenance Tasks You Should Perform Manually

Website Content Updates and Audits

Regularly updating and auditing your website content ensures accuracy, relevance, and engagement. Assess content for accuracy, relevance, and engagement. Update or remove outdated or underperforming content. Adjust content based on your SEO strategy and compliance requirements. Review your website content at least every three months. More frequent reviews may be necessary if there are significant business changes.

Blog Updates

Blog posts help with SEO and provide timely, relevant content. Regular updates keep your blog fresh and engaging. Depending on your industry, aim to post new blog content regularly. Ensure blog posts are meaningful and serve a purpose rather than just filling space.

• For service-based businesses, twice a month is a good target.
• For news sites, daily updates may be necessary.
• For e-commerce sites, the frequency will depend on the number of SKUs you have.

Website Performance Reviews

Regularly analyze your website’s loading speed and overall performance.

• Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix for performance insights and suggestions.
• Verify that all forms on your website are working as expected.
• Review Google Analytics or your website’s analytics regularly to monitor performance and user behavior. Monthly reviews are recommended.

SEO Monitoring

Monitoring and adjusting your SEO strategy is essential for maintaining and improving your search engine rankings.

• Regularly review your SEO performance and adjust keywords and meta tags as needed.
• Use Google Search Console and check server logs for insights.

Web Hosting

Regularly assess whether your web hosting plan meets your current needs.

• If you notice performance slowdowns due to increased traffic, it might be time to upgrade your hosting plan.
• Check your web hosting plan every six months or before your annual billing cycle.

Bonus Tip: Check Your Billing Setup

Ensure that your billing information is up-to-date to avoid service interruptions. Update your billing information promptly whenever you replace a credit card. Verify your billing setup every six months.

Conclusion

Maintaining a website is a continuous process crucial for ensuring security, performance, and user engagement. Regular maintenance not only improves the user experience but also boosts SEO efforts and enhances your site’s security against new threats. Following these guidelines allows you to keep your website running smoothly and effectively to support your business goals.

The post How to Maintain Your Website? appeared first on Alpha27.