1. Introduction – Realtor website design Marbella guide

Welcome to the ultimate guide to web design for realtors in Marbella, Costa del Sol. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the importance of web design for realtors, the key elements of a successful realtor website, and strategies to enhance lead generation and user experience. Whether you are a realtor in Marbella or any other location, this guide will provide valuable insights to help you create an effective online presence.

2. Understanding the Importance of Web Design for Realtors

What is Web Design?

Web design encompasses the visual and functional aspects of a website, including its layout, colors, typography, navigation, and overall user experience. It is a crucial element in creating a professional and engaging online presence for realtors.

The Role of Web Design in Lead Generation

A well-designed website can significantly impact lead generation for realtors. By creating an attractive and user-friendly website, you can capture the attention of potential clients and encourage them to explore your services. A visually appealing website with intuitive navigation can also increase the chances of converting visitors into leads.

The Impact of Web Design on User Experience

User experience (UX) plays a vital role in web design. A website that provides a seamless and enjoyable browsing experience will keep visitors engaged and encourage them to spend more time exploring your listings and services. A positive user experience can lead to higher conversion rates and increased client satisfaction.

3. Choosing the Right Platform, Domain Name, and Hosting

Selecting the Ideal Website Platform

When designing a realtor website, it is essential to choose a platform that offers flexibility, customization options, and ease of use. WordPress is a popular choice among realtors due to its user-friendly interface, extensive theme options, and robust plugin ecosystem. Consider hiring a web design company or developer to set up your website’s foundation and core elements.

Choosing a Domain Name

Selecting the right domain name is crucial for establishing a strong online presence. Your domain name should be memorable, relevant to your real estate business, and ideally include keywords related to your services or location. Consider using your own name or a variation of it to create a personal brand.

Selecting Web Hosting Services

Web hosting is an essential aspect of website management. Choose a reliable hosting provider that offers fast loading speeds, excellent uptime, and reliable customer support. Consider factors such as storage space, bandwidth, and security features when selecting a hosting plan.

4. Selecting the Perfect User Experience WordPress Theme

Importance of User Experience in Web Design

User experience plays a crucial role in web design. A well-designed realtor website should prioritize ease of use, intuitive navigation, and quick access to important information. Users should be able to find listings, contact information, and other relevant details with minimal effort.

Top User Experience WordPress Themes for Realtors

When choosing a WordPress theme for your realtor website, consider themes that prioritize user experience. Some popular options include:

• WP Residence
• Astra
• Houzes
• Real Estate Lite
• CitiLights
• Divi RealEstate
• Real Spaces
• WP Pro Real Estate 7
• Homeland
• HomePress

Choose a theme that aligns with your branding, offers customization options, and is optimized for mobile devices.

5. Designing a Website for Realtors in Marbella

Creating a User-Friendly Layout and Navigation

When designing your realtor website, prioritize a user-friendly layout and navigation. Ensure that important pages, such as listings, contact information, and services, are easily accessible. Use clear headings, subheadings, and menus to guide visitors through your website.

Incorporating a Responsive Design

In today’s mobile-dominated world, it is crucial to have a responsive website design. A responsive design ensures that your website adapts seamlessly to different screen sizes and devices, providing an optimal browsing experience for both desktop and mobile users.

Implementing a Clean and Professional Design

A clean and professional design can make a significant impact on the perception of your real estate business. Use high-quality images, consistent branding elements, and a visually appealing color scheme. Avoid clutter and ensure that your website is easy to read and navigate.

6. Enhancing Lead Generation through Effective Web Design

Creating Compelling Call-to-Actions

A well-designed realtor website should include compelling call-to-action (CTA) elements. These can be in the form of buttons, contact forms, or prominent text prompts that encourage visitors to take action, such as contacting you for more information or scheduling a consultation.

Optimizing Lead Capture Forms

Lead capture forms are essential for capturing visitor information and generating leads. Optimize your forms by keeping them simple, requesting only necessary information, and ensuring that they are easy to fill out. Consider using plugins or tools that integrate with your CRM system for efficient lead management.

Offering Valuable Lead Magnets

Lead magnets are incentives that you offer in exchange for visitors’ contact information. These can include free e-books, market reports, or exclusive access to property listings. Design visually appealing lead magnets that provide value to potential clients and encourage them to provide their contact details.

7. Implementing SEO Strategies for Realtor Websites

Understanding the Basics of SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial for improving the visibility of your realtor website in search engine results. Understand the basics of SEO, including keyword research, on-page optimization, and creating high-quality content that appeals to both search engines and human readers.

Conducting Keyword Research for Realtors in Marbella

Keyword research is essential for identifying the phrases and terms potential clients are searching for when looking for real estate services in Marbella. Use keyword research tools to find relevant keywords with high search volume and low competition. Incorporate these keywords strategically into your website content and meta tags.

Optimizing On-Page Elements for Search Engines

Optimize your realtor website’s on-page elements to improve its visibility in search engine results. This includes optimizing page titles, meta descriptions, heading tags, and image alt tags. Use relevant keywords strategically but avoid keyword stuffing, which can negatively impact your website’s ranking.

WordPress SEO by Yoast: This is an essential plugin for real estate websites because it allows you to customize almost every element of each page without having to know HTML or CSS coding.

All in One SEO Pack: This is another great real estate WordPress plugin for optimizing all of your web pages, where you can easily change the page titles, descriptions, and more without knowing HTML/CSS. It even helps with canonicalization across sub-domains to ensure search engines know which pages are related on multiple domains within the same real estate website.

8. Incorporating Listings and Resales Online

Showcasing Properties and Listings

One of the primary purposes of a realtor website is to showcase properties and listings. Create visually appealing property listings with high-quality images, detailed descriptions, and key features. Include search filters and sorting options to help visitors find properties that match their criteria.

Providing Interactive Search Tools

Enhance user experience by incorporating interactive search tools on your realtor website. These tools can include advanced search filters, map-based property search, and saved search functionalities. Make it easy for visitors to find relevant properties and explore your listings in a user-friendly manner.

Integrating Online Resales Platforms

Consider integrating online resales platform into your realtor website to provide additional value to potential clients. These platforms allow users to browse resale properties directly from your website, streamlining the buying process and enhancing the user experience. It also offers a module for all new developments for sale on the Costa del Sol.

9. Utilizing Plugins and Tools to Improve Web Design

Essential WordPress Plugins for Realtor Websites

WordPress offers a wide range of plugins to enhance the functionality and design of your realtor website. Some essential plugins for realtors include:

• Estatik
• Easy Property Listings
• IMPress
• WP-Property
• Realtyna WPL Real Estate
• Essential Real Estate
• WP Amortization Calculator
• WP Real Estate
• WPCCasa
• Home Value WordPress Plugin

Choose plugins that align with your specific requirements and integrate seamlessly with your realtor website.

Implementing Tools for Enhanced Functionality

In addition to plugins, consider implementing additional tools to enhance the functionality of your realtor website. These can include live chat tools for real-time customer support, CRM integration for efficient lead management, and analytics tools to track website performance and visitor behavior.

More from our online marketing blog

• The 8 Digital Marketing Trends That Will Define 2026: A Complete Strategy Guide
• Top 5 Pain Points for Costa del Sol Real Estate Agencies in Online Marketing
• Unlock the Secrets to Selling Real Estate Like Crazy on the Costa del Sol
• How to Choose the Best Digital Marketing Agencies for Your Business
• Real Estate Lead Generation: Proven Techniques for Success

10. The Role of Content Marketing in Web Design

Creating Engaging and Valuable Content

Content marketing plays a crucial role in web design for realtors. Create engaging and valuable content that appeals to your target audience. This can include blog posts, articles, market reports, and informative guides related to real estate in Marbella. Focus on providing information that is relevant, informative, and helpful to potential clients.

Establishing a Content Marketing Strategy

Develop a content marketing strategy to guide your website’s design and ongoing content creation efforts. Identify your target audience, their needs, and the topics they are interested in. Plan your content calendar, including the frequency of blog posts and other content types, and allocate resources for content creation and promotion.

Leveraging Content for Lead Generation

Utilize your content to drive lead generation for your real estate business. Incorporate lead capture forms, calls-to-action, and lead magnets within your content to encourage visitors to provide their contact information. Create landing pages for specific offers and optimize them for conversion.

11. Regular Maintenance and Tracking of Realtor Websites

Ensuring Website Security and Updates

Regular website maintenance is crucial for ensuring optimal performance and security. Keep your website’s themes, plugins, and core files up to date to prevent vulnerabilities. Regularly backup your website to protect against data loss.

Tracking Key Metrics for Performance Evaluation

Monitor key metrics to evaluate the performance of your realtor website. Track metrics such as website traffic, bounce rate, time on site, and conversion rates. Use tools like Google Analytics to gain insights into user behavior and make data-driven decisions to improve your website’s performance.

Conducting Regular Website Maintenance

Perform regular website maintenance tasks, such as checking for broken links, fixing coding issues, and updating content. Regularly review and update your website’s design elements to ensure a fresh and modern appearance. Continuously optimize your website for search engines and user experience.

12. Conclusion: Realtor website design Marbella – The ultimate guide

In conclusion, web design plays a crucial role in creating a successful online presence for realtors in Marbella. By choosing the right platform, domain name, and hosting, selecting a user-friendly WordPress theme, and incorporating effective lead generation and SEO strategies, you can create an engaging and high-performing realtor website. Regular maintenance and tracking will ensure that your website continues to attract potential clients and generate leads. With the right web design, your real estate business in Marbella can thrive in the digital landscape.

FML Marketing are realtor website design experts. We operate from Estepona, near Marbella on the Costa del Sol. Thank you for reading: Realtor website design Marbella: The ultimate guide.

The post Realtor website design Marbella: The Ultimate Guide appeared first on FML Marketing.

Web Design and CMS: Choose a SEO-friendly system with our 10 checkpoints

Therefore, we have this checklist with the 10 most important SEO (Search Engine Optimization) features for your website,

1. Clean URLs

Clean URLS are important. You look at a website and see for example the url www.tweedomein.nl/ index4.php?option=en_content&do_pdf=1&id=5. That looks awful. It is certainly not clean. It is cheap.
A (clean) URL should have a descriptive character. Both a search engine and a user can read from a URL what a web page is about. A good URL for example is www.tweedomein.nl/pagina-met-8-tips.
In a good CMS, a user can write or modify this clean URL himself. Pay attention to this when purchasing a CMS. If you see such a cheap url, stop judging the CMS immediately. This is really very bad. Usually there are other things wrong with the CMS.

2. URL for the homepage

If you are on the homepage of a site (e.g. www.yourdomain.nl) click on the home button in the navigation bar. You are probably wondering why. Sometimes you will see that the url then changes to www.eendomein.nl/index.htm. In another homepage so…
This actually means that there are 2 homepages: www.yourdomain.nl and for example www.yourdomain.nl/index.html.
And if Google sees 2 homepages (because that’s what happens) then that’s not ideal. Why is that not ideal? Because Google doesn’t like duplicate URLs with the same content. Google prefers single URLs.
That is why it is important that you choose a CMS that doesn’t have this problem of double homepages.

3. Title tags can be filled in separately

Do you want to improve your SEO with title tags? The title tag is important for Google. It is pleasant for search engine optimisation (SEO) if you can fill in the title tag (the title of the page at the top of the browser) yourself in the CMS. In some CMSs the title tag is generated automatically. But that is not allowed. At least, that is not SEO friendly
In a good CMS you as a user fill in the title tag. Why should I do this? Because you can put your important keywords in it.

4. Heading tags + visual editor for pages

A bit reasonable CMS provides the possibility to add heading tags. Examples of heading tags are H1, H2 and Hx tags.
A heading tag is actually no more than a title or subtitle of a web page. For example, the word “Heading tags” as a subtitle of this part is an H2.
A CMS is primarily intended to manage content, as the name suggests. A CMS should therefore be easy to use for non-technical editors, online marketers and employees of marketing and communication departments. A CMS that is built by and for developers overshoots the mark.

5. Canonical tag

In a good CMS you can enter a canonical tag on every page. A canonical tag is a preferred URL. I’m trying to explain in Pinocchio-language what this is. Earlier in this article I discussed 2 homepage URLs. www.yourdomain.nl www.yourdomain.nl/index.htm There is a problem here.
Google sees these URLs as double. What can you do about this? Set a preferred URL: you set which URL is most important. Suppose you find www.eendomein.nl most important. What you do then is the following. On the page www.yourdomain.nl/index.htm you indicate that www.yourdomain.nl is the main page.
In most cases, Google will take over this. And this in turn ensures that Google does not see pages with the same content as double.

6. Meta description

Although the meta description no longer counts for seo, it is still desirable to write a good meta description. Visitors click on an attractive title and a good meta description from the Google results.

7. Meta robots tag

A CMS must provide the possibility to enter a “meta robots tag” on every page. With a meta robots tag you can indicate whether a page can be indexed by Google or not. Sometimes you don’t want certain pages on your site to be indexed by Google. And that is possible with this tag.
A meta robot tag also has some other advantages, but this is the most important one.

8. 301 redirects + 404 page

A 301 redirect is difficult to explain to a layman. I am going to try anyway. If you change the URL (for whatever reason) then you can place a 301 redirect from the old to the new URL. Suppose you have the following URL www.yourdomain.nl/example-page.html.
You are going to change CMS and change this URL to www.yourdomain.nl/example-page.
As you can see these are 2 different URLs. Both Google and users now end up with a dead URL at www.yourdomain.nl/example-page.html.
What you do about this is the following: you create a sort of rerouting which automatically converts www.yourdomain.nl/example-page.html. to www.yourdomain.nl/example-page. This redirect has a 301 redirect and is good for SEO. An SEO-optimised CMS must have the ability to enter 301 redirects.

9. XML sitemap

In an SEO friendly CMS you can generate a dynamic XML sitemap. An XML sitemap is a page that contains all the pages of your website. As a kind of table of contents. It is an XML file that has been specially created for Google. As soon as a page disappears or is added to your site it is immediately reported to Google via the XML sitemap.

10. Alt tags with images

Google actually only reads text. That is very brief but a good rule of thumb. This means that Google does not read images. What Google can read, however, are alto texts in images. Alt texts are very important for search engine optimisation because an alt text indicates what an image is about.

The post 10 tips for an SEO friendly CMS (Content Management System) appeared first on FML Marketing.

The advantages of setting up an e-commerce website

Easy to use

Nowadays, ease of use is playing an increasingly important role among consumers. Of course, it is much easier to order products from behind your computer than visiting different shops to find the right product. With the internet, it is possible to order products without leaving the house and the internet has a huge assortment. Because of the large number of webshops on offer, the chance of success for consumers is many times greater. If, in addition to a webshop for desktop, a website for mobile or tablet is also created, the convenience for the customer is increased even further. This, in turn, has a positive effect on the traffic that is drawn to the site.

E-commerce in Europe: 60% buys online

Online shopping had already become more popular throughout the European Union over the years. Partly due to increased use of the Internet and improved security standards. But driven by the measures taken to contain the coronavirus, eCommerce has recently taken quite a breakthrough. Eurostat does not yet show these figures, so we have to do with the 2019 stats. It shows that six out of ten people in the European Union, aged between 16 and 74, shopped online last year. By way of comparison: a year earlier, that percentage was 4 percentage points lower, at 56 percent. And compared to ten years ago, the share has even almost doubled, from 32 per cent in 2009.

Opportunity for unknown brands

Where the big brands are mainly about brand awareness, this is not the case with e-commerce. It is much more important to attract visitors to the website than to generate brand awareness. In addition, many large webshops now also offer a partner program. As a small supplier of, for example, clothing or electronics products, you can pre-purchase on the site of the large webshop. In Holland,  leading webshop such as Bol.com and internationally Zalando.nl and Amazon already work according to this principle to expand the range of products. Also Google Shopping can play a huge part in the success of your online business. In April 2020, Google changed its policy, allowing all online stores to advertise on the platform for free.

Google is making a significant change to its Google Shopping platform by letting any business owner that sells products online list their inventory for free. Usually, an e-commerce operation would need to pay for ad placement on Google Shopping. But the company says it will now let anyone who operates a website or manages a store on a marketplace platform list without paying. Google still plans to charge companies for top placement as promoted listings.

For more information, please visit the Google Merchant Center website.

In addition, literally and figuratively a world opens up once a webshop has been set up. Where a physical store has a relatively small reach, in a webshop the world is at your feet. Worldwide, almost everyone is a potential consumer.

Your 24/7 sales office

Because there are no opening hours, you can sell your products 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Customers sell your products

By using a webshop and allowing reviews on the website, many more potential consumers are reached than when only using a physical store. In physical stores, positive feedback will only reach people who are close to the consumer, such as family and friends. Reviews on the internet, on the other hand, reach almost all consumers who click on the product in question. These people are often interested in the product, but also how others think about the product. However, this can also have negative consequences. The same applies to negative feedback.

Low costs

Setting up an online store can be done for a fraction of the costs if compared to a physical store. There is no rent to be paid, there is less staff and the physical stock needed is smaller. The fact that marketing costs are lower can also save a lot of money. By setting up the webshop in the right way, consumer confidence is also gained. When the website looks good, the customer is more inclined to buy products and the owner of the webshop can respond much better to the wishes of the customer. It is possible to look at the number of clicks per product, the number of purchases per product or the turnover per product. This allows a webshop owner to adapt his assortment to the wishes of the customer faster. By using Search Engine Optimization, the traffic to the website can be further increased.

Security and Data of the consumer

However, it is important to protect the data of the consumer. Consumers are forced to provide a delivery address, personal information and payment details when purchasing a product. It is therefore important that this personal information is properly protected.

Starting your E-commerce website the smart way

In order to run a webshop successfully, you have to take into account many things, such as marketing, logistics and the ability to pay online. But first, you need to select your CMS (Content Management System) and E-commerce platform.

To learn more about this aspect, please read the following content thoroughly:

• What website software? Choose the best website software!
• Web Shop and Ecommerce Design
• Content: The first step to a successful website
• 9 Ways to boost your webshop
• Content Marketing Strategy: The Start to Finish guide

Ecommerce: Online Marketing is the cornerstone for your online store

In order to sell online, you need website traffic. The RIGHT website traffic that is. In order to open the gates and provide a solid stream of visitors, you need to get started with marketing. Basically, this means you need to get out of the obscurity. Sales-mogul Grant Cardone puts it brilliantly in the following video. Long story short: People do not know you! And you need to make sure they do. You need to make sure people are convinced about your product. Time to step out of the shadow and to start with online marketing.

Content marketing

Content marketing is an important part of your overall marketing strategy. A slogan like this used to be very effective. Maybe you remember it: “We from WC duck, recommend WC duck”. Nowadays this no longer works and you have to do your best to build trust with your target group. Visitors and potential customers want more, they want proof that they have really come to the right place. Content marketing helps with this.

By placing and distributing content, you create value for visitors. They are looking for certain information and you give it to them. If you do this right, you not only create engagement with your visitors, but you will soon be seen as an expert in your field. Moreover, content marketing strengthens the position of your webshop in search engines.

Of course, there are many forms of content. Below are a number of forms you can use for your webshop.

Get started with content marketing today with our FREE WINNING content strategy of 2020. Click here: The winning SEO Content Strategy of 2020

Blogs and articles

Blogging is an excellent method to share your knowledge, to inform your target group about news and to bring your web shop to the attention of your customers. Every webshop should have a blog. Share not only news about your webshop, but also background information about products, new collections and useful tips.

Videos

Not everyone likes to read (long) articles and blogs. Therefore use video as a marketing tool. For example, make videos with product reviews, show how products can be used and answer questions in videos.

Reviews

Telling yourself that you are the best no longer works (see also the video of WC duck above). Visitors are more likely to assume from your current customers that your products are good. Give customers the opportunity to share their experiences and post these reviews on your website.

Infographics

An infographic is a nice variation on your content. An infographic is an illustration that displays information in an orderly manner. It is often a combination of text and image. You can use it, for example, to explain the production process.

E-books

E-books are ideal tools to share your knowledge and expertise. Write an e-book about a subject that your target group is interested in and that matches the products you sell. You can also use this to collect more subscriptions to your newsletter.

Email marketing, indispensable in your marketing strategy

It is often thought that e-mail marketing, sending newsletters and mailings to your target group, is outdated. But nothing could be further from the truth. Of course, it is true that consumers receive an awful lot of e-mails and newsletters these days, but that does not mean that it is better not to send them.

E-mail marketing is a great way to reach your target group and customers and keep them informed about new products, promotions and other news. Moreover, if you send a regular newsletter, the reader is constantly reminded of your webshop. The moment the consumer needs something, you are top of mind.

Collecting email addresses

By placing a registration form on your website and giving visitors a reason to register, you can collect e-mail addresses, even from people who are not customers at that time. By subscribing to your newsletter they can indicate that they are interested in your products. Then use the newsletter to introduce these potential customers to your webshop and gain their trust, so that they can still make a purchase.

Offer value in your newsletter

Do not turn your newsletter into a digital advertising brochure. Take a different approach than your competitors, so that you stand out in those overflowing mailboxes. Provide tips, background information and sneak previews in your newsletter. Make something valuable out of it, that works much better than simply saying ‘these are the new products and these are this week’s offers’. Of course, you have to mention them as well, but always offer a little added value, so people will keep opening your newsletters and even look forward to them in the long run.

Social media for your webshop

The proper use of social media for your webshop can bring you enormous brand awareness, online visibility, fans and customers. But don’t underestimate it. Setting up and implementing a good social media strategy takes time and perseverance.

You don’t have to be present everywhere. Choose the channels where your target group is present and post messages that suit both the channel and your target group. On Instagram and Pinterest, for example, it’s all about the photos and you can use Facebook to share links to blogs you’ve written.

Search engine marketing

Worldwide, Google processes nearly 4 million searches per minute. Many online shoppers start their search for a particular product or for inspiration in a search engine. If you make sure that your shop scores well in search engines, that’s a great way to attract more free visitors to your shop.

There are several things that are important when you optimize your website for search engines. One of those things, which I’ve had a lot of success with last year, is adding a knowledge base to the website. Here you can share a lot of basic information. Information that is interesting for new visitors, but that doesn’t really belong on your blog. In addition, blogging ensures a better position in the search results, especially if you include relevant search terms in your articles.

Discover more about our Search Engine Marketing Sevice: Ranking within 90 days! – FML SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Google Ads

If you are not yet found well in the search engine on certain search terms, you can place advertisements in the Google advertising program: Google Ads. By advertising in Google or other search engines (SEA – Search Engine Advertising) you can attract many extra visitors to your webshop.

In the search results of Google, for example, standard places are reserved for the advertisements. In the image below you can see that the first four search results contain the abbreviation ‘Adv.’, which indicates that these are advertisements. On the right side of the screen you will also see the Google Shopping results. These are also advertisements.

Logistics

Logistics is one of the most important parts when it comes to optimising your business, especially if it’s an online shop. Sometimes we assume that everything goes well, but if you take a closer look at the figures and possibilities, you will see that you can probably perform even better. So always look for new opportunities to optimise. We explain here how you can do this best for your logistics.

Payment

As you can read, a webshop offers numerous advantages. Besides the lower costs, there is a larger market that can be tapped into, products can be sold 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and positive feedback reaches more consumers. The use of e-commerce is therefore highly recommended for companies, so increase the chances and put on that webshop!

But in order to be successful, you must ensure flexible payment options!

The post Start selling online: The advantages of e-commerce websites appeared first on FML Marketing.

Good WordPress hosting ensures a fast website. And a fast website is important for both your visitors and Google. First of all, visitors drop out if it takes too long to load your website. And Google rewards fast websites. They get higher in the search results. And website hosting is one of the most important factors of a fast website. It is the ground you start building from.

In addition, you can and must do everything yourself to make your website faster. But it all starts with a host that makes it possible to have a fast website. Otherwise, you can optimize all you like, but it will never harvest the desired result.

The other way around is also true. You can have a good WordPress website provider, but if you don’t do anything to optimize your WordPress website it won’t help you. But more about that another time. First, a number of criteria to choose a good WordPress website provider in Spain or any other European country for that matter.

What should you pay attention to when choosing good WordPress hosting?

In recent years I have moved my websites several times to other WordPress hosting in the Netherlands and abroad. This is because I was always dissatisfied with a certain aspect. One time it was slow websites, the other time it was bad support. As a result, I now know what to look out for when choosing good WordPress hosting in the Netherlands. This has led to the following criteria.

Speed

Speed is the most important criterion for me. But how do you find out if a WordPress hosting provider is fast?

To start with, you can read reviews. There are all kinds of comparison sites. And if you already have WordPress hosting in mind, you can specifically search for reviews or experiences for this WordPress hosting provider. You will then be able to read quickly enough whether it is a good choice.

Price can also say something about speed. In general, the cheaper a WordPress hosting provider, the more websites on the server, and the slower your website will be. So my advice is to stay away from discounters in the field of WordPress hosting in Spain, the UK, the Netherlands, etc.. Don’t choose the cheapest one, but pay a bit more.

It is also important where the server is located. If your target group is in the Netherlands, choose a server in the Netherlands. However, if you mainly have visitors from America, choose a server in America. This does not necessarily mean that you have to choose a Dutch WordPress hosting provider. There are also foreign WordPress hosting providers with servers in the Netherlands.

Some WordPress hosting providers have extra caching functionality. This can make your website considerably faster. Furthermore, your site will get considerably faster from SSD website hosting. So choose a hosting provider that supports this. For some time now, some hosting providers support HTTP/2. A successor to the HTTP protocol that makes your site considerably faster because files are loaded at the same time instead of one after the other… So choose a hosting provider that supports HTTP/2.

Also good: if the hosting provider has taken measures to ensure that other websites on the server cannot slow down your website.

Attention to security

WordPress sites are regularly attacked by hackers. That is why it is good to choose a website hosting provider that pays attention to the security of your website.

For example, by:

• offering the possibility to update your WordPress and plugins automatically.
• quickly close security holes on the server
• apply technology that prevents a hacked website from infecting other websites on the same server
• Here too, the following applies: Siteground has and does all of the above.

Let’s Encrypt SSL Certificates

An SSL certificate is nowadays a must (see also my other blog about this). Browsers say your site is not safe if you don’t have one. And search engines like Google give priority to secure websites. This means websites using an SSL certificate. Well, until now that was sometimes complicated to arrange. And SSL certificates cost money. Nevertheless, now you have the open-source project Let’s Encrypt. This allows you to apply for a free SSL certificate. And you don’t need your own unique IP address anymore.

Support

I think good support is very important. I always look at how to get in touch first. Is that only by e-mail? Maybe there is a support forum where you can see how well they answer questions.

Also important: how fast is the response. Is it within 15 minutes or can it take a few days? And what about support in the evenings or on weekends?

An example of how you don’t want it: I recently had to transfer a website for a customer and wanted to create an extra database for that purpose. It already started with the fact that I couldn’t do it myself (silly!). That had to be done by support. Unfortunately, they hadn’t done that. We found out on Friday after 5 pm and then had to wait until Monday morning before we could continue.

I need support at the most impossible hours because I run into something. That’s why I always choose a large WordPress hosting provider with support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A large WordPress hosting provider can offer this because they have a support team all over the world. So there is always someone awake and working. I haven’t found a Dutch WordPress hosting provider that can offer this.

A special form of support is the transfer service. Some WordPress hosting providers offer to transfer your website for free if you switch to them. This can save you a lot of time and frustration.

The numbers

The numbers or features are also important. The megabytes and gigabytes:

• How much web space do you get to set up your website? I like to have at least one gigabyte. In my case, this space is not only for my website but also for my e-mail. I use the so-called IMAP protocol. This means that all e-mail stays on the server. And when you receive an e-mail with a large attachment, you are suddenly at your limit.
• How many e-mail addresses can you have? Useful if you want to link multiple e-mail addresses to your domain. For example, for freelancers or employees who help you. Or to separate support from regular mail.
• How many databases can you use? Additional databases are useful for test sites, for example.
• How much traffic is your website allowed to have? You may not be so quick to reach this limit, but it’s good to know.
• How many websites can you put on one package? If you only have one website, that’s not important, but if you have more, you might be able to save money. And who knows what the future holds.

Extra functionality

Also look at extra functionality such as:

• Does the website hosting provider have a WordPress installer? This will allow you to install WordPress with just a few clicks.
• Are automatic backups made? How often? How far back in time can I go? Can I access it myself or do I need support for this?
• Can I access the log files myself (raw access logs)? These are files in which you can see exactly what is happening on your website. Very useful if your website is slow or has been hacked.
• Can I set “Cron jobs” myself? Cron jobs are tasks that are performed automatically at a fixed interval. A normal user will not need them. But I am not a normal user …
• Can I test my website with “staging”? With staging, you can make a copy of your website with one click of a button. With this copy you can, for example, test new plugins or make other changes. If you are satisfied with the result, you

Price – Cheap WordPress Hosting Providers: A NO GO!

I advise you not to go for the cheapest for a business website. Cheap WordPress hosting providers:

• put a lot of websites on one server, which results in a slow website.
• are often difficult to reach for support questions
• often respond slowly to support questions

For a private website that’s not so bad. But for a business website, you don’t want all that. In any case, I would like to pay a few extra tens for quality and SERVICE!

Therefore, I can not stress enough to search for a very good price/quality ratio.

A fast website

At FML Marketing, we pay a lot of attention to the speed of your site, such as:

• Fast NGINX servers in Amsterdam, London and two other continents which is important if you mainly have visitors from Europe, and the rest of the world.
• All shared website hosting servers have SSD disks, which makes your website considerably faster (nowadays many providers have this, but Siteground already offered this in 2015, indicating that they are at the forefront with new technologies).
• HTTP/2 on all shared and cloud servers, which means that the different files of your website are loaded at the same time instead of one after the other, which also results in a faster website (they have had this since 2015 when it wasn’t standard yet).
• A self-developed SG Optimizer plug-in to accelerate WordPress websites. With its caching capabilities and front-end and image optimization features, it optimizes the performance of WordPress sites so much that, according to Siteground, you can see speed benefits between 20% and 500%.
• Free Cloudflare CDN integration allowing some files to be loaded from the fast Cloudflare servers and making your site faster.
• The latest PHP version for even faster websites.

FML Marketing – Hosting Experts Marbella

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What is CTR?

In the world of online marketing, it’s a common term: the CTR, also known as click-through rate, clickthrough rate or click through rate. Especially within Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising, this percentage is highly valued. This term tells you what the ratio is between the number of people that see your advertisement and how often they click through to your landing page. The higher this percentage, the higher the chance of a conversion.
The click-through rate is just as important for SEO. You want to know whether these high, organic positions within Google actually generate a lot of new visitors. Does only a small part of it click through to your website? This is a signal that the meta description, URL and page title have not been optimised sufficiently. These texts are not sufficiently appealing. High time to adjust that!

5 tips to increase the CTR of organic search results

Getting people to your website. As an entrepreneur, of course, you want nothing better. You know better than anyone that this is the first step towards a conversion. Fortunately, as the owner of a domain, you can influence the click-through rate of a landing page yourself. With the next five tips, you will attract more potential customers to your website.

TIP: Apply these tips to your existing content to increase the CTR of existing organic search results and content.

Tip 1: Create an attractive meta description

The meta description is one of the most important texts within Google’s SERP. It gives you an attractive description of your landing page. You have to sell your website, as it were, to the users of Google. Don’t fill in anything here? Then Google will get a random piece of text from your page. Of course, this flow of words is not written for visitors to click through. It is therefore not surprising that filling in a meta description often results in a higher CTR.
Example Meta Description
The good meta description tempts you to click!

Tip 2: Include the main search word in the URL

Not only Google but also the potential visitors of your website attach great importance to the words that appear in your URL. With these words, they determine whether the page actually answers their question. Many reports underline the importance of the right choice of words. URLs in which a specific search term is used, show 45% growth in their CTR. Non-matching words, which do match the search, also have a significantly higher click-through rate.
Keyword in the URL
The main search term of this page is used in the URL.

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Tip 3: Use 15 to 45 characters in the page title

The maximum length of the page title has changed regularly in recent years. However, research shows that these changes have little effect on the efficiency of the text. It follows that when a page title contains between 15 and 45 characters, the click-through ratio is almost 9% higher. Do you use more or fewer characters? Then you reduce your chances of a click.
Characters page title
This page title is – with 26 characters – short but powerful. Service + company name.

Tip 4: Ask a question in the page title

Google users are often looking for answers. How high is the Empire State Building? Where can I find a cheap pizzeria in Estepona? Best golf course in Marbella? It is, therefore, no surprise that asking questions in the page title is a good strategy. This is because you indicate that your landing page will provide the user with the correct answer. Do you use a who-, what-, true-, why-, when- or how-question in your page title? Then the CTR of your landing page is on average 14.1% higher than for variants without a question.
Question in the page title
This page answers the question of a visitor

Tip 5: Emotions in the page title increase CTR

In the world of advertising, you regularly come across them: texts that try to appeal to emotions. With Product X you become a leading professional! Or: Prevent mistakes on the shop floor with Product Y. It’s no surprise that this technique also works well in the world of online marketing. Even today, page titles with a positive or negative charge score significantly more clicks.
Emotion in page title
This blog title responds to emotion

Need help optimizing your organic results?

Getting visitors from Google or other search engines on your website. As an internet entrepreneur, this is a very important goal. To make this wish come true, it is important that you optimize the page title, meta description and URL structure of your landing pages. Do you need help with filling in these elements correctly? The SEO specialists at FML Marketing will be happy to help you! Contact us today.

Thank you for reading – 5 tips to increase the CTR of organic search results –

The post 5 tips to increase the CTR of organic search results appeared first on FML Marketing.

7 reasons to consider a website redesign

1. The technique is outdated

A few years ago, websites were built with Flash. Responsive was not an issue at all. How different is it now? Now a mobile-first approach is important for your Google ranking and Flash doesn’t even work on the average Mac. The technique is fast, so make sure you are aware of the latest developments and change your website if necessary.

2. Your logo and corporate identity are restyled

Sometimes it’s not necessary to redesign your website aesthetically, but other things do lead to a redesign. For example, if you get a new logo and/or a new corporate identity, your website will probably also have to rely on a few changes. Of course, this doesn’t have to be super rigorous, but you do want all expressions of your company to be consistently recognizable for your customers.

3. Your current website is not SEO friendly

The purpose of a website is of course that it can be found. Many outdated websites are not completely up to date in terms of code. This means that on other points the SEO is probably a bit outdated as well. Google’s requirements for a good ranking for your website change regularly, so you should keep an eye on it and adapt your website accordingly.

4. Your website can’t be updated easily

Thanks to WordPress, coding is no longer necessary. This means that having a website is a lot more accessible than just having one ten years ago. Thanks to WordPress, having and maintaining a blog is easier than ever. A blog is also a great tool for SEO. Google ranked websites that are regularly updated with new content are higher than websites that are not.

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5. Your website built with a platform like Wix

With Wix, you can easily create your own website. The problem with this kind of website builders is that they are limited. That’s why these kinds of websites are not so distinctive. Also, the functionalities in the field of SEO are limited. And let’s face it, most business owners are not necessarily well versed in the field of design, which also quickly results in an amateurish website.

6. Your nephew, niece, neighbor designed your web page

Although the person who designed your website is a professional, it is usually not a good idea to have your nephew, niece or neighbor build your website. Cheap is usually expensive. It is possible that you are missing out on great opportunities because your website is not optimal. That’s a shame.

7. Your Facebook page functions as a website

Some companies don’t have a website at all, but only use their Facebook page as a replacement for a real website. However, it is important to have your own website. Most customers do their research online and your website can help them with this. A website can serve in this way to inform your (potential) customers. After all, you can put a lot more information on your website than on a Facebook page. Also, having a website builds trust. This way, people get a better feeling that they are dealing with a “real” company.

In addition, it is also quite possible that Facebook will hardly be used anymore in a few years’ time. Just look at Hyves. When these kinds of channels disappear, it is good to have a website where you can fall back on.

Website redesign round-up

There are plenty of reasons to consider a website redesign. The fact is that you may miss out on opportunities due to an outdated website. Still doubting whether your website is ready for a redesign? Please contact us for free and non-binding advice.

Did you like this blog post – Website Redesign: When is it time? –  and would you like to receive more of these messages? Subscribe to our newsletter. You will receive the latest news, tips, and inspiration in the field of branding, search engine optimization, graphic design, and web design.

FML Marketing – Digital solutions Marbella area 

Considering a redesign of your website in the Marbella area (Gibraltar, Manilva, Estepona, San Pedro de Alcántara, Fuengirola)? Contact FML Marketing. We are a boutique online marketing agency, specialized in high-quality, responsive web design.

The post Website Redesign: When is it time? appeared first on FML Marketing.

Good content is half the battle

Knowing what is relevant starts with finding out which words your target group uses in search engines. With the right keywords, you can write specifically and answer the question your visitor has. Process the keywords in strategic places in your text. But don’t force it and stay relevant. You write a text to inform your visitors, not to please Google. Moreover, Google is becoming smarter and smarter and content is becoming more and more important.

Learn more: Content SEO Audit

Faster websites are better for SEO

Good websites don’t just look sleek and neat, it also meets a large number of standards that are used. These standards help search engines to better index your website, allowing potential visitors and customers to find their way to your website. A website that meets modern requirements for SEO, will not only make a good impression on visitors but will also be displayed much higher in the natural search results. The design of your website definitely plays an important role in this.

Well coded functionalities

Websites are often equipped with all kinds of functionalities that enable visitors to perform certain actions. A like-button, a contact form or a registration field for the newsletter are examples of small and simple functionalities. Larger functionalities that are used in websites are, for example, the integration of a webshop, a forum or a photo album. The more functionalities your website contains, the more coding is required to display all of them correctly. All these codes can cause your website to react less quickly or to malfunction. This is not only noticed by visitors, but search engines also judge your website on good use of programming code.

How to solve it?

It is therefore important to use good and clean programming codes when building and designing your website, so that not only does every functionality work well, but this also does not have any negative consequences for the speed and findability of the website in search engines.

Read more: Why free websites are often not a good idea

Conclusion: Good design is important for SEO!

The content on your website, interaction with visitors and search engines all play an important role in the success of your website. Yet, all these things are packaged in the design of your website. After all, the design of your website reflects what you stand for as a company or as a private individual. It says something about your company, yourself or about the products or services you offer. A well-chosen design also fits in with the target group you have in mind and meets the important requirements for a good website. It is important to ensure that the design looks good, not only for visitors but also for the search engines. A website with a good design will be better indexed, will be higher in the search results and will, therefore, attract more visitors.

FML Marketing – Web Design & SEO Experts Costa del Sol

Thank you for reading our blog Does Web Design affect SEO?

FML Marketing is a digital marketing agency, specialized in Search Engine Optimization, SEO-optimized web design, social medial, and online marketing solutions. We are based in Estepona, near Marbella on the Costa del Sol.

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Times are changing

Before 2005, most websites were created manually. By this, we mean that the source code is written by hand. A web designer has to know various programming languages such as HTML, CSS, javascript, and PHP, for example, in order to be able to deliver a professional website that meets the client’s requirements. Nowadays there are many more website software possibilities for creating a website. Even without knowledge of programming languages and source codes, you can have a professional website made. There are various software packages that write this programming language for you, as it were.

3 possibilities in terms of website software

Roughly speaking, the possibilities for creating a new website can be reduced to 3 main categories:

• Manually coded websites
• SaaS solutions
• CMS systems

This enumeration is somewhat simplified. There are solutions that fall between the above categories, so-called niche products. Because these niche products do not necessarily add anything to this article and we would like to keep it clear, these have been left out here.

1. Manually encoded website

Manually coded websites are tailored to the exact needs of the client. They can be as simple or as complex as you like. Design and functionalities can be put together completely according to your wishes. You really start with a white sheet and everything is built completely ‘from the ground up’. Commonly used software for creating manually coded websites is Adobe Dreamweaver, Google Web Designer, WebStorm, KompoZer and for example Coda.

Advantages of this website software

Because it is completely custom made, a manually coded website can fully meet your requirements. It has been developed specifically according to your wishes and situation. Another advantage of a ‘hand-coded’ website is that it is almost always safer than a CMS system, provided it is well developed of course. By ‘good’ we mean according to industry standards with an extra layer of security if necessary. Hacking a ‘standard’ CMS system is generally more attractive than hacking handmade software because with the popular software a hacker can abuse many websites at the same time.

Disadvantages of this website software

A handmade solution will cost you more time and money, as opposed to using a standard system. The starting rate for a complete custom solution is quickly about € 5000,- to € 10.000. If you have a more extensive website with specific functionalities, this can be as much as € 25.000,-. For an extensive website with advanced functionalities, the amounts can be as much as € 100.000,- or a multiple of this.

2. SaaS solution / Website builder

In addition to a hand-encoded website, you can also opt for website software in the form of a SaaS solution. SaaS (Software as a service) is a service in which a software application is offered via the internet instead of being installed on a computer or server. With a SaaS solution, your website is hosted on the server of the provider. You pay for the use of the software and receive a license that allows you to use the platform. You do not own the software, but by purchasing licenses you have the right to use the software. Examples of SaaS solutions such as website builders are Jimdo, Wix, and Weebly.

With ‘website builders’ you can build a website without design skills and knowledge of programming language. Website builders offer various themes (designs) and built-in functionality. You choose a theme and can start filling the content, i.e. placing text, images, and videos. With most website builders you can also make a number of standard changes to the design of the theme by moving certain blocks with the so-called ‘drag and drop’ function.

Advantages of this website software

The biggest advantage of website builders is, of course, the ease of use. Without technical knowledge, anyone can make a professional website.

Disadvantages of this website software

The main disadvantage of such solutions is their lack of flexibility. The adjustment options will be largely limited to choosing colors and shifting ‘movable’ blocks. So you can’t add custom functions or styles that aren’t included in the website builder. Although website builders like Wix or Jimdo seem attractive because of their simplicity, they lack a dynamic power compared to a CMS system.

3. CMS platforms

Content Management Systems are systems that allow you to create a professional website without any technical knowledge. CMS systems differ from website builders because they contain basic functionality that can be expanded with various ‘add-ons’.

A CMS is a piece of software that has already been built by a company or an individual and is now offered for mass use. Some of these CMS systems are commercial, so you have to pay a license or usage fee for them. Other CMS systems are ‘open source’ and therefore free to use. Open source means that the source code is completely open and freely available to absolutely everyone. You can download the code for free, after which you can get started yourself or together with a development team.

The CMS market is very diverse. The solutions differ per form, functionality, and cost. In general, CMS systems can be divided into 2 categories:

• Open-source CMS platforms (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal)
• Enterprise CMS systems (Adobe, Microsoft Sharepoint, Oracle WebCenter).

3a. Open Source CMS systems

Open source is software whose source code (sources) has been published and is freely available to everyone. Anyone can and may copy, modify, supplement, and distribute this software without any cost in terms of copyrights and/or surcharges.

An open-source CMS system can be used for free and can be modified as often as you like. A lot of work is done with add-ons, parts or functions that you can add to your website. Some parts (themes and plugins) can also be paid for or work with for example license fees. Even with paid parts, you are free to change them to your own wishes.

Because of the diversity, knowledge of the CMS is a prerequisite for a professional result. You have to think carefully in advance about which functions you want to implement and make a choice in the various add-ons (called plugins) that meet this need. In most cases, these plug-ins have to be configured manually.

For setting up a website based on a CMS platform, technical knowledge is an advantage. Basically it is possible to use such a CMS platform without technical knowledge to create a website. If you are not demanding and have the time to get to know such CMS systems, then this is certainly possible. If you really want to provide a professional website with various functionalities, then you still need to hire a specialist who can help you with the technical realization of your website.

TOP 3 CMS platforms

The top 3 CMS platforms are:

WordPress (58.9% market share)
Drupal (7% market share)
Joomla (4.7% market share)
WordPress is by far the most popular platform with a market share of almost 60%. open-source CMS is a perfect solution for small and medium-sized companies with an average budget. You can develop fairly quickly, are flexible and have a scalable website that can grow with your business. When it comes to webshops (e-commerce), Magento is the most popular CMS platform.

Advantages of this website software

Compared to website builders, CMS systems offer much more flexibility. You have thousands of themes (designs) to choose from that can still be adapted to your own wishes, provided you have the technical knowledge (HTML, CSS, PHP, javascript). In addition, you can add all kinds of functionalities with the help of plugins. These functionalities can also be adapted to your own wishes if you have the technical knowledge. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but start from a base developed by another company or individual and adapt it to your own wishes.

Disadvantages of this website software

A disadvantage of an open-source CMS system is that it is more vulnerable than a manually encoded website or an enterprise CMS system that we will discuss in the next chapter. This is mainly because it is more interesting for hackers to attack a popular open-source system than a custom-made website because with the popular systems a hacker can ‘abuse’ many websites at the same time. Technical knowledge and understanding of the CMS system is very important in this respect. You have to know the do’s and don’ts to be able to adequately secure your website. Open-source CMS systems are not necessarily unsafe, but you need to use them properly, secure them and keep the software up-to-date.

3b. Enterprise CMS systems

Enterprise CMS systems are complex proprietary systems designed for large organizations. According to research, organizations go for an enterprise solution in the following situations:

• Complex websites in terms of cross-channel, contextual and interactive customer experiences for robust websites
• Integrations with other systems
• System must support multiple websites with many languages
• Have a substantial budget
• In other words, these systems are made for large companies with complex user interactions and complex operations. Therefore, enterprise CMS systems are also robust and feature-rich to meet these needs.

Advantages of this website software

Enterprise CMS systems are highly advanced and rich in functionality. Because these are commercial products, there is often good support. This applies to both system updates and technical support.

Disadvantages of this website software

The main disadvantage of such solutions is the price. An enterprise CMS solution can easily have a price of six digits. Another disadvantage is the limited flexibility compared to a manually coded website. The capabilities of such systems are very extensive but at the same time the limiting factor.

Conclusion

Manually encoded website software

Manually encoded websites offer a great deal of flexibility. They are built from the ground up and can be developed entirely according to your own wishes. Yet, the development time is quite long and the costs are high. Manually coded websites quickly exceed € 10.000,- and can cost up to 6 digits depending on your wishes and the size of the website. Manually coded websites are in a good solution for large companies with a large budget and very specific needs.

SaaS solution

Website builders or SaaS solutions (such as Jimdo and Wix) are the easiest to use and the fastest development time. Nevertheless, you have to be satisfied with the functionality and styles they offer, because you can’t change much and the flexibility is nil. Prices for using a website builder are quite favorable compared to the other options and are about € 15,- per month depending on your needs. A SaaS solution is an excellent option for a hobbyist who wants to make his own website.

Open-source CMS platform

Open-source CMS platforms (such as WordPress and Drupal) offer more room for customization, but you do need to have some technical knowledge or hire a platform expert. Possibilities are almost endless, you are flexible and your website is highly scalable so it can grow with your company. The development time is short and you should be able to launch your website pretty quickly. Security is a point of attention, especially when processing personal data. It is important that you call in a platform expert who can take precautions regarding the security of your website. Prices for a website based on an open-source CMS are between € 500,- and € 10.000,- depending on your wishes and the size of your website.

Enterprise CMS platform

As far as enterprise-level systems (such as Adobe Experience Manager) are concerned, most of them offer advanced functionality for managing multiple websites, channels, and complex organizational processes. Enterprise CMS platforms are very expensive and quite flexible. An enterprise CMS is a good option for a large company with a large budget without very specific requirements in terms of functionalities.

About FML Marketing 

We thank you for reading our blog What website software? Choose the best website software! FML Marketing is a digital marketing agency located in Estepona. Our team specializes in web design, search engine optimization, social media solutions, and graphic design.

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The clear and present danger of not owning your website 

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Compare it to decorating your house. Every once in a while you add new stuff to your house. A side table, or perhaps a new color paint for the wall. The same story repeats itself in the world of web design. You must take a long-term approach to the design and maintenance of your website. Let’s take a look at why this is really important

The clear and present danger of not ‘owning’ your website

• My uncle made my website and he is the only one with the access
• My web designer is the only one that has access to my website
• This web designer left me with a homegrown CMS (Content Management System)

This is just a short list of common errors. I hear them allllll the time. Very unlucky if you suffer from this problem too! Because if you have zero control over your website, you are in for bad times…

Web Design…why long-term is winning

So what are the dangers of not owning your website? Let’s take a look at several scenarios that we encountered the last couple of years.

• Emails are not reaching you. People that require your service or product are neglected. This costs money and hurts your reputation.
• People think your website is shit. Another variant to the point above. Your website looks so terrible that people refuse to contact you, or make purchases.
• Your website content is outdated. But your uncle, or BUSY web designer, never respond to you. Do you leave your money on the table too when you leave a restaurant?
• I have a new phone number. But your website is featuring your old one. Now you need to change it, but how!? Your uncle, or BUSY web designer, are both still BUSY!
• The website is not protected.
• Your website is not SEO optimized.

Why is this happening!?

• My Web Design Agency charges me a fortune!

We have a client that was once charged with €495 to update 12 plugins in WordPress. That is stealing in the finest form. Updating plugins in WordPress take about minutes and often, DOES NOT REQUIRE manual work! So be aware of dodgy web design agencies that are trying to bleed you dry!

• My website sucks! But eh…it is family

Ok, this is about the saddest thing I have ever heard. Let’s break this down. One of your family members is an expert in web design (made two lame websites ever) and now he is in charge of your new business website. So this inexperienced person is in charge of your digital brand. YOUR BRAND!

I mean, that is just outrageous. About the saddest thing, I have EVER heard. Your business is hurt. You are losing money. But YOUR FAMILY could not care any less. But I guess the fun and jokes on the regular birthday parties make up for all that…

• My website is built with a NONO CMS

Writing is code is probably not your core, or am I wrong? Allow me to spill the beans. YOU DON’T NEED CODING EXPERIENCE TO MAKE SMALL EDITS TO YOUR WEBSITE! But here is the catch. Provided that your website is built with WordPress, and features a modern WordPress theme! With a few hours of CMS training, you will be able to make minor updates to your own website. Such as changing your mobile number, email address, or some pictures perhaps of your latest project.

Get your act together, take the professional road

Don’t comprise on bad quality. Don’t be overcharged. Send your uncle on a holiday and hold possession of your website credentials. Your access details. Get back behind the driver seat. And you will retake control over one of the most vital parts of your business, your website! Your lead generator. The 24/7 salesman. Your online powerhouse that never gets tired of educating your audience (FUTURE CLIENTS!). Thank you for reading our blog. FML Marketing is a Dutch Web Design agency in the Marbella area.

For more Web Design Tips, please check our blog regularly!

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Questions? Contact FML Marketing!

The post The clear and present danger of not ‘owning’ your website appeared first on FML Marketing.

What is a CDN?

CDN stands for Content Delivery Network, a worldwide network of servers that can be used to deliver content, such as images and videos, to the end user via the fastest route. For example, website owners can use a CDN to make web pages load faster.

Why use a CDN?

The purpose of a Content Delivery Network (CDN) is to deliver web content quickly and efficiently to end users. The internet is a web of networks and failure or congestion in one of those networks, therefore, causes delays. When a site’s loading time is slow, many a web surfer quits and that is why content providers turn to a CDN to ensure that their traffic is always optimized.

CND under the hood

That is why a CDN consists of a lot of extra servers that are placed at data centers and ISPs. Each CDN uses a different approach to deliver content efficiently. Providers, such as Akamai, have a policy to be as close to a user as possible. In order to deliver the cast web content as directly as possible. CDNs are not paid for by the network operators, but by content parties who want to ensure that their web traffic is delivered quickly and efficiently to customers.

Images and other Content

First, a CDN ensures that files, such as images, videos, style sheets, and JavaScript, are copied from the source to servers on different continents. Once the website owner has implemented the CDN, by changing the Internet addresses (URLs) of page elements, the Content Delivery Network will start receiving requests for certain files. The CDN then finds the optimal route. Next, it redirects the end user to the server that can deliver this file the fastest. This is usually, but not always, the server closest to the end user.

Search Engine Optimization

Website speed is current day, while I write this article, a very hot potato. Not just in terms of user experience, but even more so for your SEO. Often referred to as Website Ranking.

Website Loading Speed

Preventing website delays is an important issue for all websites today. Search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo etc.) make no secret of this: loading time is an important criterion. The CDN shortens the response time of your site and improves the loading speed.

View more: Web Hosting Costa del Sol
Blog by FML Marketing – The Creative Online Marketing Agency on The Costa del Sol.

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