When someone comes to your website and they like what they see… Do they immediately know what to do next? - They should. That's why you need a strong "call to action". A call to action answers that critical question and gives people a straight navigation route through your website. Here are three things you can…
A website without images can be boring and a real turn of to your site visitors. But chances are you're not a professional photographer or graphics artist. These are some of the reasons people turn to "stock images". Stock images are those ready to use photographs and graphics you find on the web. Most of…
Is your website looking stuck in the 90's? There's a few things you can do to spruce up your website and make it look more modern. One of those ways is to add rounded corners to your page elements.
In what I like to call the "Internet Explorer" years browser weren't capable of displaying rounded corners…
What's an ISP email? An ISP email is that free email address you get from Verizon, Comcast, Brighthouse Networks, and other Internet Service Providers. If you're using one of these emails you should stop immediately. Here are three reasons why using that free ISP email address sucks.
1. It's unprofessional.
When I go to a business meeting…
You're building your website and naturally you want to express yourself. What better way to do that than sharing your taste in music with the rest of the world. It may seem like a good idea at the time but in the long run this is a bad idea.
Getting people to come to your website…
ICANN, the governing body of all domain names, has instituted a new policy that effects just about all domain names. They are cracking down on domain name owners who don't keep up to date contact information for their domains by sending out verification emails to the registered owners. The thing is, if you don't respond…
I recently had ask why WebStarts doesn't offer 24/7 phone support. So I thought I'd take some time and write about our take on customer service. Here at WebStarts we understand we live in a world full of companies who promise 24 hour support. But what is real support? If your idea of customer support…
When it comes to web design like most things there are as many opinions as there are web designers -- probably even more. Most business owners are focused on running their business, not on their website. For that reason they often times rely on the opinions and advice of outsiders.
In my experience much of the…
Over the years I've talked to hundreds if not thousands of people about their website. Most of these people are small business owners or budding entrepreneurs who know the future of business is on the web. I can say from these experience that even to this day most people believe a website is something you…
A mail to link is a hyperlink you can put on your website that when clicked launches a site visitors default email program on their computer with your email address pre-populated in the send to field. In the early days of the web these links could be found on many website contact pages. However times have changed and here's why...
1. Many people no longer use mail clients.
In the last 10 years many people have moved away from using email software like Outlook on their local computer. The email programs have been replaced with web-based solutions like Gmail. Web-based email is more convenient than installing an email client software on your local machine. Mail to links are designed to launch a default software program on your computer and don't open your web-based Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail account. Some of those programs do offer a separate software program called a "notifier" but most people don't bother to install them.
If you use a mail to link on your website and someone doesn't use their default email client software they'll have a bad experience. When the link is clicked rather than opening up their Gmail or Yahoo account they'll see a program launch they likely have never setup like Microsoft Outlook. This usually creates confusion for the end-user and makes them far less likely to contact you.
2. It makes your site look like it was built in the 90's.
Since mail to links have fallen out of popularity with web designers finding one on the web has become a associated with a site being out of date or abandoned. As a business owner the last thing you want your site visitors to do is think you're not really working behind the scenes or that you're out of business. If you're using a mail to link it's like putting a sign on the door saying you're closed.
3. You can't capture the information you need.
Another problem with mail to links is the fact they don't capture the information you really need. Simply launching a default mail client with your email address on a computer, even if the end-user does understand what's happening rarely results in your getting the information you need to properly support your site visitor.
Using a contact form is the modern replacement for a mail to link. By using a form you can customized fields and ask for the information you need. In addition when you use a form you won't be publishing your email address on the web. So you don't have to worry about bots crawling your website and accumulating your email address to spam later.
A WebStarts Pro plan comes with everything you need to create and manage forms directly on your website. So don't waste anytime and get busy replacing those mail to links today. If you haven't already signed up for a WebStarts website you can do it by clicking here now.
A mail to link is a hyperlink you can put on your website that when clicked launches a site visitors default email program on their computer with your email address pre-populated in the send to field. In the early days of the web these links could be found on many website contact pages. However times…
Your contact list is the most valuable asset you have as a business. Taking good care of your contact list is key to building your business and growing your customer base. If you're advertising and marketing your company but you're not actively building and marketing to your contact list you're taking things out of…
