In today's modern world the internet moves fast, and you can't afford to be left behind. Understanding that your website is your online storefront is key to making sure your website is up to date both visually and technologically. You may love the design that was developed a few years ago but what about your new and current customers? Let’s take a fresh look at three ways your outdated website is hurting your business.

Loss of customers

When your website is outdated it can also suggest to potential customers that your business is outdated. In 2019, where people live through their phones and can find anything they need anywhere, anytime, it’s important to stay up to date with current trends and be the business that everyone surfs the web for. It is a high priority that your website evolves and grows with your business. If your website content is not in line with your brand, then your business may be losing customers.

Your competitors look like they know what they are on about

Your competitors' websites are current, up to date and are excelling in a world where people are attracted by iconography first and the tone of your content second - ultimately, these customers are going to your competitors because they look good. Your competitors have great graphic design, amazing web content and brilliant app development. This then tells your customers the competitor knows what they are on about more than you.

You are not at the top of your customers' search engine

Not updating your content regularly results in your business dropping in search results, which leads to no new business. Making sure your website is optimised with regular content creation, web hosting and search engine optimisation is imperative to keeping your website up to date.

Not sure where to start? Let Canberra Web help you bring your website up to date. Canberra Web are a team of experts that build and maintain websites, keeping it current, on trend and search engine optimised. Call us today for the best web design, SEO, web hosting, graphic design and content creation Canberra has to offer.

Why should I backup my web site(s) and why I should backup using your web site backup service?

Without giving you goosebumps, many horrific situations can easily ruin any website owners day that can be prevented by maintaining safe, secure, and consistent set of website backups. You've heard too many stories about other fellow website owners having lost their website files, databases, emails due to a staff error, server hardware failure, or malicious attacks. Our Website Backup service prevents these problematic situations from ruining the website you've invested money, hours of time, dedication and hard work into. All in all, this is an easy solution that allows your website to have a weekly scheduled, automated web site backup.

Why should I backup with your service if I already backup myself?

Many people make the mistake of not having a reliable place for storing their backup files, nor is it stored in a schematic fashion; many people make the mistake of storing their backup files in the same place as their original files (eg. backup files on the same server as your website). If there is a problem with your website, then you may lose both the original files and the backup files all at once. if you use our backup service, we will store your backup files in a schematic naming fashion on reliable RAID-6 servers, which means drives on the server can fail without the loss of data. That in turn means that you can retrieve the files whenever you need to. Your backups will also happen automatically on a weekly basis. You don't have to remind yourself to make your backups, so you'll always have a consistent backup set to rely on when disaster strikes.

How much does it cost?

Peace of mind for $104 p/a, thats $2 per week and 52 website backup a year! Can you afford not to have it?

4 tips for improving your Magento online store

Selling online offers low overheads, the convenience of working from wherever you are and the opportunity to work in an exciting, dynamic environment. However, not all online stores are created equal. Here are four tips for making your Magento shop shop work better, whether you're in Canberra or on the other side of the world.

1. Optimise files to increase speed
   
   The quickest way to turn off online shoppers is a lack of speed. Your entire site should take no longer than a few seconds to appear. To make your Magento store work faster, optimise all files. Images, for example, take up a lot of space, so it's important to compress them - before uploading them or by using an extension, such as TinyPNG. In addition, you can cut back on HTTP requests by merging your CSS and JavaScript files via Magento's inbuilt tool.
   
   
2. Always run the latest version
   
   It's easy to get lazy about updates. But it's a big mistake. Keep an eye on your inbox, where notifications for updates appear regularly. Then, when a new version of Magento becomes available, don't delay in downloading it. That way, you'll get to take advantage of the latest advancements in performance. Remember that if you're using any custom extensions or particular themes that you want to keep, you'll need to shift them over from the old version.
   
   
3. Make sure check out is easy and offers many payment options
   
   You don't want to lose a customer, simply because he/she can't find the way to check out or has an incompatible credit card. Make sure your check out is easy to find and easy to use. Offer a variety of payment avenues, including Paypal, a range of credit cards and international options.
   
   
4. Get the help of an expert
   
   Building your own Magento store might seem appealing and affordable, but, to maximise long-term success, it's important to enlist the help of an expert. Even if you think you've read everything there is to know, you won't be able to compete with someone who spends all day, every day on web design in Canberra. Plus, you'll have someone to call on in the case of an emergency.

Contact Canberra Web today if you want to find out more about improving your Magento store.

All web developers need to challenge themselves if they are to produce the best results. It’s no surprise that developing and maintaining your website takes consistent effort, and with this in mind, it’s important that you’re building strong habits that you can rely on. Think of your website as a new-born baby. It cannot think for itself, so instead, you have to be the one to constantly nurture it and pay attention to its needs, ensuring it remains healthy and functions well. To ensure you’re employing useful habits for your website management, consider these tips:

1. Keep up with the latest developments

Keep yourself up to date with the latest technology trends and innovations across the entire spectrum of design, UX and functionality. Simply by reading new articles and following the industry's influencers daily, you’ll be able to keep your inspiration fresh and stay informed. You can use platforms such as Twitter, Hackernoon and SmashingMagazine to stay up to date.

2. Update your site regularly

The best sites are those which prioritise security. Get into the habit of updating your site whenever patches are released, and carry out other regular cyber security techniques such as penetration testing to see where your weaknesses lie. It's also a good idea to ensure you're carrying out cyber security best practice, such as having an up-to-date privacy statement, encrypting your site with SSL, and having databases and servers that are backed up.

3. Check out the competition

Spend some time looking at the different websites out there - particularly your competition. Try to work out how they were built and what works and what doesn't. Being able to satisfy the end user isn't just about putting together a neat website that looks impressive and loads with super-fast speeds; it's about understanding who is using your website, what their needs are and how it fits within the broader industry so bear this in mind.

4. Reduce file sizes where possible

As we all know, load speeds are vital to continuing to attract high rates of traffic and keep users on your site for longer. But modern websites need rich media to impress. So make sure you are consistently optimising your images, video and audio content before you upload them. Not only will this improve load speeds and navigation but it will reduce wasted space.

Trends move fast in web design, so if you're about to work on a new web design project, it's important to brush up on your skills to stay ahead of the curve. To ensure you get it spot on, why not speak to us at Canberra Web instead, for the best in web design Canberra businesses can depend on.

Why your website needs to be updated

Regardless of what type of business you operate, every business owner needs a website. Unfortunately, too many business owners neglect their website, leaving it to become outdated. If this is the case for your website, act now to get it back on the first page of the search engines.

The internet is full of limitless possibilities to grow your business online. Lacking a quality website reflects poorly on the attitude of a business owner, leaving opportunities to generate new leads non-existent. There are many reasons why people neglect to update their website, but why you should update it far outweighs those excuses.

Boost rankings

A new and updated website allows for fresh content to be published. SEO is a must for any website, which is why it is important to start updating your content right away. A user-friendly design combined with updated web content will dramatically boost your search engine rankings. If your website is not on the first page of Google, update it now.

Visually appealing

Let’s be honest, websites that haven’t been updated not only look outdated - they are prehistoric. As well as that, they don’t respond too well to mobile devices. This makes it hard for people to access your site on a phone or tablet. Updating your website not only allows easier user engagement; they are more likely to respond to a call to action. Content management systems such as WordPress and Joomla allow anyone to build a custom site easily. If you are time poor, have your website designed and built by a professional.

Increased security

There are many stories of people having their website hacked and having important information stolen. Fortunately, as technology changes and updates are made, new websites are safeguarded from possible hacking. Older websites are not immune to hackers. In fact, most websites that do get hacked haven’t been updated in years. Keep your information safe and update your website.

If your business website is not up-to-date, act now. If you are interested in our web services, get in touch with us today. The team at Canberra Web will happily assist you with all your website needs.

Once you have built and designed a beautiful website for your business, you can sit back and relax, right? Wrong.

In order to drive the kind of traffic and revenue your business needs, you will need to conduct regular maintenance checks on your website. Indeed, the digital world is not static, and altering your site to keep up with the latest trends and purge any outdated content is an essential element of any good digital marketing strategy. If you need any more convincing, here are a few reasons why website maintenance is important:

It encourages customers to make return visits

Regularly updating certain areas of your website such as a blog page or special offer section will keep customers coming back for more, and will help you to establish a loyal base. What’s more, updated site pages will provide you with fresh content to post across your social media channels. This is a great way to attract potential new clients.

It can boost your SEO efforts

Search engine optimisation (SEO) can be tricky. However, one of the best and most simple ways to push your website up the rankings is to update it on a regular basis, as search engine algorithms love new content. New blog posts and articles also give you the opportunity to include some specially-selected keywords to ensure that potential customers are able to reach your site.

It can help keep your website secure

Any business using a content management system or web-based software must ensure that it is regularly updated with the latest bug fixes and security patches. Indeed, it is common for hackers to break into the sites of vulnerable companies and upload malware in order to exploit their unsuspecting victims.

Outdated software represents an easy target for hackers, so it is important not to fall behind on upgrading your security software. As well as putting customers at risk, failure to stay secure can prompt Google to delist your site until you address the problem.

Get in touch with Canberra Web for all your website needs

Whatever sector your company operates within, keeping your website up-to-date is a vital part of attracting new customers and retaining existing ones. If you need help with web design Canberra wide, as well as hosting and maintenance, don’t hesitate to give Canberra Web a call today.