Wednesday 23 December 2020

The Top 22 Web Safe Fonts to Use on Your Website

Whether you’re a budding professional web designer or a DIY business site builder, you may have come across the term “web safe fonts.” This is an important element for any successful design, but finding and using the best typefaces for the web can be tricky.

Fortunately, web safe fonts are easier to access and incorporate into your website than you think. They not only ensure consistency across your branding but also provide advantages in terms of User Experience (UX) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

This article will explain what web safe fonts are and why they’re important from a web design perspective. Then we’ll share some popular examples, resources where you can acquire them, and instructions for using them. Feel free to use the links below to jump to the section that most interests you.

There’s a lot to cover, so let’s get started!

An Introduction to Web Safe Fonts (And Why They Matter)

A web safe font is simply a typeface that is viewable on most devices, including desktop and mobile. Typically, they come pre-installed on each Operating System (OS).

This is important because if a visitor tries to view your website and it uses a font that is not installed on their device, they will see a generic typeface such as Arial or Times New Roman instead. In some cases, your content may even become unreadable on certain devices.

Of course, the latter situation is undesirable, as users won’t typically stick around if they can’t read your site. However, even having to display a generic font family can disrupt your website’s overall design. It may also lead to inconsistencies in your branding.

In some cases, using web safe fonts may improve your pages’ loading times. Since they are pre-installed on most popular operating systems, modern browsers don’t have to download them from your server while rendering your site. This can improve both UX and SEO.

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The Top 22 Web Safe Fonts to Use on Your Website

Fortunately, there are many different web safe fonts out there that you can choose from when designing your site. Finding one that matches your brand’s tone and personality shouldn’t be too much of a challenge.

To give you a head start, we’ve rounded up some popular choices for your consideration. Let’s start with the basics and then take a look at a few more unique options.

1. Arial

The Arial font.

Many designers see Arial as simple or boring, but you can’t deny that it’s a tried and true web safe font. This is perfect for use as a fallback for a more unusual (and not always available) typeface. Plus, it’s highly legible.

2. Times New Roman

The Times New Roman font.

If you appreciate the reliability and simplicity of Arial but would prefer a serif font, Times New Roman is the way to go. Although it’s also somewhat lacking in personality, you can rest assured that it will be viewable on any device.

3. Helvetica

The Helvetica font.

Helvetica is a sans serif font that many prefer as an alternative to Arial. It’s purposefully designed to be industrious and lacking in personality, making it useful for documentation or other no-frills content that you want to make sure is readable.

4. Calibri

The Calibri font.

Calibri is another basic sans serif font, similar to Helvetica and Arial. It has been the default font for Microsoft Office for several years now and is an excellent pick for modern businesses and e-commerce sites. By using an unassuming, unintrusive font, you can draw more attention to your products and services.

5. Georgia

The Georgia font.

Classy, serifed Georgia has a timeless look that adds to your website’s tone and style without overwhelming the design. It’s ideal for lifestyle blogs and brands that want a slightly softer, not-too-edgy feel.

6. Cambria

The Cambria font.

Cambria is similar to Georgia, but with a slightly more modern twist. Its serifs are a little more subtle, which can make it easier to read – especially on smaller screens.

7. Veranda

The Veranda font.

Veranda was designed specifically for on-screen use, and as a result, is particularly easy to read on all devices. It has a classic feel and certainly won’t distract from your content. It adapts well to headings or body text, so you can use it for just about any kind of content.

8. Tahoma

The Tahoma font.

Tahoma is another clear and easy-to-read sans serif font. It’s flexible enough to work well for business sites, blogs, creative portfolios, or whatever else you need it for. The characters are clean, uniform, and easy on the eyes.

9. Trebuchet

The Trebuchet font.

Designed for readability and usage in signs, Trebuchet is the perfect font for headings and titles. It also retains its legibility at smaller sizes, so don’t hesitate to use it in your body text as well.

10. Century Gothic

The Century Gothic font.

Sleek, clean, and geometric, Century Gothic makes a bold statement in headings and titles. If Arial and Helvetica are too plain for your tastes, but you still want a sharp sans serif font for your site, this one is worth considering.

11. Didot

The Didot font.

Classic, elegant Didot gives off an intellectual feel that would be well suited to a university site or even some blogs or startups. It features clean, straight lines with minimalist serifs that don’t take away from the text too much.

12. Bodoni

The Bodoni font.

This eye-catching serif typeface is a more interesting alternative to the standard Times New Roman. Edgier than Georgia but not as in-your-face as something like Courier New or Rockwell, Bodoni a great middle-ground if you want your text to have some flair without taking over the design.

13. Calisto

The Calisto font.

Calisto’s soft lines and dainty serifs give it a feminine air perfect for lifestyle blogging or female-run startups. Its tight spacing may not lend itself well to long blocks of text, but it will look stunning in headings and titles.

14. Candara

The Candara font.

Featured in Microsoft’s ClearType Font Collection, Candara is often seen as one of the less modern-looking sans serif fonts. It projects an open, easy-going attitude that could lend a memorable tone to your website and brand.

15. Optima

The Optima font.

It can be hard to inject a lot of personality into a sleek and clean sans serif typeface, but Optima certainly accomplishes this. It’s memorable enough to lend itself well to developing your brand identity but won’t make long passages feel cluttered or intimidating to readers.

16. Palatino

The Palatino font.

An ideal font for digital magazine headlines and other text that needs to make a bold statement, Palatino is a classic serif font. It feels a little less structured than Georgia and has much more personality than your standard Times New Roman.

17. Quicksand

The Quicksand font.

Quicksand is a modern font designed to look good on mobile devices. It’s simple and not too flashy, but still shows enough quirky personality to keep your body text interesting. This fairly streamlined typeface is easy to read as well, making it a solid pick for text-heavy sites.

18. Courier New

The Courier New font.

Courier New is a quirky font that is highly recognizable and packs a lot of personality. It is the perfect choice if you want your site to have a more vintage feel and are looking for a strong font that will convey your brand’s identity.

19. Rockwell

The Rockwell font.

Rockwell’s distinctive serifs are reminiscent of Courier New, only without the overwhelmingly vintage vibe. It may be a little more difficult to read on smaller screens and at smaller sizes, but it can be a fun font for headings and titles.

20. Garamond

The Garamond font.

Garamond is a timeless font originally designed in 1615. Unfortunately, it’s easier to read in print than on the web. However, you can still make use of it as an accent typography font in headings, or perhaps even as a part of your logo.

21. Copperplate

The Copperplate font.

This highly distinctive font is hard to miss and brings an industrial, official feel to your text. Copperplate is the ideal typeface for drawing attention to your headlines or logo. Unfortunately, it could become hard to read when used for smaller body content.

22. Impact

The Impact font.

Aptly named, Impact is a statement font that you may want to reserve for headings and titles. This heavy font packs a punch and grabs readers’ attention as they scroll your blog roll or skim your posts for key information.

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Where to Download Web Safe Fonts

In short, you shouldn’t have to download web safe fonts. Since they’re already pre-installed on all popular operating systems, you can simply code them into your site using CSS, and they should appear as intended across all devices.

With that being said, if you feel the need to download a web safe font for some reason, you can find them in most of the popular font libraries, such as Google Fonts, DaFont, or FontSpace.

However, keep in mind that just because a typeface is available via one of these resources doesn’t automatically mean it’s web safe.

How to Add Web Safe Fonts to Your Website

You can add fonts to your website with CSS. The best practice is to include your preferred font (which may or may not be web safe) and a fallback font (which should always be web safe). This way, if your primary font choice is not compatible with a user’s operating system, you can still have a say in the backup font that’s shown in its place.

There are a few different options for adding the CSS to incorporate web safe fonts on your website. If you’re using WordPress, you can put it in the Additional CSS section of the Customizer.

The Additional CSS section in the WordPress Customizer.

Alternatively, you can change your website’s font in its stylesheet (style.css). There should be a fonts and typefaces section of this file where you can specify which fonts should be used for different types of text.

Here’s an example:

p {font-family:Montserrat,Arial,sans-serif; }

In this snippet, we’ve set the paragraph text to display the Montserrat font first. If a user’s device doesn’t have Montserrat installed, Arial will be used instead. You can include more than two fonts if you wish and use different fonts for body text, headings, and titles.

Do You Have a Favorite Web Font?

If you’re not an experienced designer, it’s easy to overlook the importance of your website’s font. However, this element plays an important role in your branding. Choosing a font that isn’t viewable on all devices can disrupt the UX or even prevent visitors from reading your content entirely.

In this post, we’ve explained the significance of web safe fonts and how you can add them to your site. We also shared 22 options that you can use in your upcoming designs, including common sans serif fonts such as Helvetica, classic serif fonts like Georgia, and some unique options, including Courier New and Quicksand.

Are you ready to start designing your new site? With our shared website hosting plans, you can have it up and running in no time. Check them out today!

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Tuesday 22 December 2020

21 New Year’s Resolutions for Small Businesses to Make in 2021

Bring out the noisemakers (and a lot of beverages) — you finally made it to the end of another year! 2020, eh? It’s been … well, woof. We know you’re excited to enter a new year, fresh with opportunity and possibility. 

We also know this year has been a tough one, especially for your small business. Quarantine and social distancing guidelines have largely moved the business world entirely online, and pivots have been necessary to navigate unprecedented circumstances. Likely, your business started and ended the year with very different sets of goals, challenges, and experiences.

So, as you look forward to a “new normal,” first, pat yourself on the back — you made it this far. While running a business during a pandemic (and through the resulting economic and societal challenges) has not been ideal, you’ve endured to the end of the year. You’ve likely come away with several business survival skills that have made your business stronger. 

But now, letting bygones be bygones (and yes, please let 2020 be a distant bygone), we’re ready to ring in 2021 with a bang, starting with some smart business goals. What are you resolving to do in the new year? 

Here are 21 ways you can resolve to build a stronger, more prosperous business in 2021:

  1. Build a website
  2. Be social
  3. Write a blog
  4. Crisis-proof your online presence
  5. Rank higher through SEO
  6. Go mobile-friendly
  7. Find your target audience
  8. Improve your email marketing
  9. Fine tune your customer service
  10. Build your brand
  11. Run A/B tests
  12. Talk to real customers
  13. Get involved in your community
  14. Research web design trends
  15. Create a staging site
  16. Stay up to date on marketing innovations
  17. Use PPC advertising
  18. Try out some new tools
  19. Give back
  20. Subscribe to the DreamHost blog
  21. Focus on you

Yes, it’s possible — even in our “new normal.” 

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1. Build a Website 

The fact of the matter is, if you’re running a business in the 21st century, you need an online presence. Even if you have endless tasks on your small business to-do list, prioritizing the presence of your own web content is critical. Web users need to be able to find and connect with you virtually — that fact is elementary, Watson.

But building a website to showcase your business doesn’t have to be a complicated or an expert-level-only endeavor. And the how-to aspects of creating a website don’t have to keep you up at night!

Any small business can — and should — have a website. Start with a game plan and determine your goals, then dig into the necessary technical tasks, based on your needs.

The best part? You can usually get a great-looking, functional website in less time than it takes to finish a Netflix episode. Boo-yah.

With a website, you’re reaching people even when you’re asleep — meaning, your business isn’t limited to a brick-and-mortar location. Your site will help you to build your brand and connect with audiences.

2. Be Social

Meeting IRL is overrated. OK, not really, but right now, social distancing is a business imperative. Luckily, the kind of social we’re talking about is the type you’ve been mastering all year: virtual connectivity. 

Engaging with audiences on social media is essential to getting your business seen, building your brand, and developing a loyal following. Plus, plugging into social platforms gives you new ways to connect and promote your website. This year has likely had you pivoting to incorporate more significant ways of engaging with your audiences online. Keep perfecting that digital engagement. 

Not yet fluent in the social jargon of snaps, double-taps, tweets, and apps? We’ve got a few social tips and tricks for your hard-working small business, like advice on writing killer captions, curating content, monitoring competitors, harnessing hashtags, marketing with micro-influencers, and showcasing your brand’s voice. Plus, we’ll ease your mind about biting off more social than you can chew (hint: you don’t have to use all the platforms).

3. Write a Blog

Believe us, blogging is not a thing of the past. Creating your own content on a personal or business blog is still a powerful means of engaging with your audience and providing value to consumers, sharing your expertise, building your brand, and growing your business. Remember the oft-quoted adage: content is king? Well, we’d go so far as to say that content is the Beyonce of the internet. The Queen, capital Q. That fact hasn’t changed, no matter the landscape of the internet.

Getting a killer blog up and running doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming.

And even if you’re aren’t an OG of the blogosphere, don’t worry. When it comes to blogging, we say, “Beginners welcome!” (Just strive to avoid these blogging blunders).

To begin, learn from the mouth of the experts — some of the internet’s best bloggers — about what makes a five-star blog, and then take notes from these company blogs that boast killer online reps.

4. Crisis-Proof Your Online Presence

 Even if you’re accustomed to running an in-person service business, 2020 has necessitated major pivots. But it’s not impossible! And likely, moving your in-person biz online can open up more opportunities for the growth of your business! Adapting offered services and incorporating virtual elements can help you continue to improve how you engage and reach out to new audiences. A predominantly digital landscape is far from a death sentence for your biz, so chin up and get creative. 

You’ll also want to make sure your website can handle the technical tasks of operating online. Make sure your .COM or .SHOP is equipped to handle curbside delivery (for product-based businesses) and positioned to showcase current info and updates

We know it’s a challenge to get your technical ducks in a row. We’re doing it too —  and we’re here to help.

5. Rank Higher Through SEO

Obviously, one of your main goals as a small business is to grow your business. That means you need to start attracting audiences — and online engagement is more important than ever. Promoting your blog on social media and producing great content aren’t the only tactics you need to get found by your target audiences — you must also prime your site to rank highly on search engines. 

You need to rank high if you want sales: 81% of shoppers conduct online research on products before making a purchase, but 75% of people never scroll past the first page of search engine results.

Enter Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Good SEO starts with a quality hosting provider and involves everything from your domain to your site structure.

To grow your business, you need to start implementing strategies to drive traffic to your site — SEO is one of the most effective ways to rank higher in search engines and increase visibility. Learning and implementing successful SEO strategies will help your business get found more easily online — and that’s essential for businesses navigating the increase in e-commerce.

6. Get Mobile-Friendly

Mobile matters. OK, so maybe we’re a broken record on this topic. But seriously, if you aren’t optimizing your site for use on mobile devices, you’re harming your business. 

Sixty-one percent of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing, and 40% will jump ship and visit a competitor’s site instead. Ouch. What’s more, Google rewards mobile-friendly sites with better rankings. That’s a lot — sales, conversions, traffic, search engine placement, UX, responsiveness — riding on your bottom line. 

Mobile rules e-commerce: 66% of online shopping time is being consumed on smartphones, and that number seems only to be increasing with each year. Not only are consumers using smartphones to search (more Google searches take place on mobile devices than on computers in 10 countries, including the U.S.) and make purchases (70% of all mobile searches result in action within one hour), but they’re not letting mobile devices out of their sight: 91% of American adults have their smartphone within arms reach 24/7.

Taking these numbers into account, you can see that mobile optimization affects nearly every aspect of your business, from brand building to traffic generating, to customer service, to establishing relationships. Plus, Google will not be friendly in its rankings to sites that aren’t optimized for mobile, which harms your SEO, and therefore, your traffic-building efforts. You don’t want that.

Having a website optimized for small screens is a thou-shalt that simply has to be a part of your small biz commandments this year if you want a more successful business.

Start thinking mobile by taking a responsiveness test drive, working on improving your site’s load times, redesigning your site pop-ups, enabling AMPs, and making an app — if that works for your business. 

7. Find Your Target Audience

Have you ever taken the time to think about who you’re actually trying to reach with your business? 

Instead of broadly and ineffectively casting a wide net, take the time to define your target audiences so that your marketing and other efforts are focused enough to have a real, meaningful effect on your business. Determining exactly who your target markets are — starting with the who, when, how, and why — gives your business the benefit of being able to appeal to those most likely to engage with you. Your business can’t be everything for everyone, so don’t try. 

Do the research, identify your niche, and run your business with its target audiences in mind. This focus will give purpose and meaning to every business decision you make — from the design of your site to the kind of content you produce to the way you market that content — and yourself.

Then, once you’ve zeroed in on your target audiences, ask them to do something with your winningest CTAs.

FYI: Even with a target audience bullseye in mind, it’s necessary to make your website accessible for all users, including people with different abilities, LGBTQ+ groups, and those who speak languages other than English. Inclusivity is just good business (and good citizenship).

8. Improve Your Email Marketing

Sure, it’s often overlooked if you’re not in a ‘90s Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks rom-com, but truth be told, email can be very powerful. How powerful? 

Well, a whopping 89% of marketers say that email is their primary channel for lead generation — and they consistently rank email as the single-most-effective tactic for meeting their awareness, acquisition, conversion, and retention goals. They’ve branded it, fittingly, “the workhorse” and prove your marketing budget should include more money allotted for an invested email strategy. This seemingly-archaic medium (which was predicted to decline, btw) is increasingly relevant — unlike screen names or Myspace pages — for site owners looking to build customer relationships and augment sales.

And marketers aren’t the only ones cheering on Team Email: 72% of consumers say email is their favorite method of communication with companies they do business with, and 61% say they like to receive promotional emails every week from businesses. And now that consumers have less $$$ to spend, they’re going to be picky about the types of businesses they let into their inbox. So make your email marketing count.

So educate yourself: Get the 411 on dodging the spam folder and providing valuable content that customers want to see in their inboxes. Learn about the types of emails you should be sending your followers (like the increasingly prevalent email newsletter), set goals, work on building your ever-important email list and start connecting with more of your customers in their inboxes.

9. Fine Tune Your Customer Service

You probably already know this, but excellent customer service doesn’t just take place behind a counter anymore — and this year, it’s big-time online. Like most things in the online age, customer service interactions are increasingly transparent and web-based, with virtual-word-of-mouth effects that have the power to make or break your business. 

In fact, good customer service practices are essential to modern and future businesses. Soon, customer service is expected to become more significant than price or product when customers decide who gets their business. No pressure, right?

Let’s raise the stakes a little more. As it turns out, bad customer service does some serious damage to your business. Data evidence shows that 71% of consumers — yep, nearly three-quarters of ‘em — have terminated their relationship with a company due to poor customer service. Yikes. 

That’s not all. You’re actually helping out your competitors when you don’t prioritize top-notch customer service experiences. Sixty-one percent of customers will take their business to a competitor after a negative customer service experience.

Building strong customer service principles — like professionalism, communication, and active listening — helps you to be more profitable, for one. It’s seven times more expensive to acquire new customers than to retain existing ones, and 58% of consumers are willing to spend more on those companies that provide excellent customer service. That makes more than dollars and sense.

What’s more, by providing customers — and those elusive potential buyers — with a killer customer service experience, you’re setting your business up for success: better sales, repeat customers, strong relationships, a distinguished brand reputation, and those coveted five-star reviews. So start putting your best (virtual) face forward by demanding gold-star customer service experiences from your business.

10. Build Your Brand

With the influx of social media and e-businesses, we see the word brand tossed around haphazardly. What really is a brand? Why is it so crucial to build one? How can you establish your business’ brand?

Inherent to branding is your business identity: getting seen — and becoming known — by your target audiences. With strong branding, you have the opportunity to become an authority in your field or industry and build loyal customer followings. Think of building your brand awareness as establishing your e-reputation.

Like we talked about with target audiences (see No. 7), your niche — and the brand you ultimately build — determine your business decisions; it impacts the voice, feel, style, and substance of your content and website, and on a more technical level, your operations, management, interactions, and marketing efforts. 

Think about some of the most popular brands out there: Nike, Disney, Coca-Cola, for example. They all have recognizable and unique brands. You may not be setting your sights on global domination (yet), but these big-wigs prove that building your brand is a crucial to-do for excelling in business.

11. Run A/B Tests

Talk to any experienced website owner, and they’ll likely let you in on a little small biz secret — no one gets it right the first time. This applies to multiple aspects of your business (hello, learning curve), but especially your website. A fine-tuned, well-performing site requires time and tweaking to perfect. And when everyone is shopping from the comfort of their couch, you need to put your best website face forward.

You’ll want to regularly run tests on your site to see what is — and what isn’t — working best for your visitors and your bottom line.

This important trial and error process doesn’t have to be overwhelmingly technical. Simple A/B testing (AKA the comparison of two variations of a single webpage, design, ad, or other marketing media to determine which version converts more successfully), when strategized, can give you valuable insight on performance to help you adjust and refine the various aspects your website — everything from CTAs to images to copy length. 

What results is valuable insight that you can analyze to help your site — and ultimately, your business — improve. Three cheers for progress! That’s what resolutions are all about, right?

12. Talk to Real Customers

The day and age in which we do business are replete with 21st-century benefits: new and innovative technology, evolving e-commerce landscapes, and the unique opportunity of being able to connect with anyone, anywhere. And boy, have we needed that this year! 

But even with all the technological latest-and-greatest and virtual advancements, the truth is, you need some quality, face-to-face time with your customers (even virtually). Make the effort to meaningfully interact with those supporting and championing your small biz, whether that means connecting from a safe six-foot distance or getting more intimate face time online.

Get creative and host online meetups, workshops, or even informal get-togethers, and spend time (safely from six feet away) on the ground floor of your brick-and-mortar (if you have one). Express genuine gratitude to customers for their patronage and support, and seek to get to know them.

Not only will this boost your customer service rep, but it will give you insight on how to better serve your audiences. In both respects, you’re building a better business. And that’s what 2021 is all about.

13. Get Involved in Your Community

Trust in this knowledge: You have something of value to contribute to your community, even if right now, it’s just through your purely virtual e-communities. Get involved and lift your business — and the society you live in — together. 

Some ideas? Learn from others. Collaborate, crowdfund, pitch in together for noble causes, and share knowledge

Another life- and business-altering effort? Support and champion those on whom the spotlight isn’t often shined — especially women and minorities — and help them to get involved in business and tech, and help your community diversify.

The effects of your efforts will be far-reaching both for your business and the communities you are a part of. We really are all in this together.

14. Research Web Design Trends

As a small business and website owner, you need to stay on top of the trends. No, we’re not talking about the in-season looks gracing the catwalks of NYFW. We mean web design trends

Did you know? Design on the web goes through phases and fads, too. Keep tabs on what’s in style (minimalism and asymmetry, anyone?) and what is sooo 2020 to keep your site relevant, engaging, and looking fresh with a capital F.

Some website design fundamentals are basic, and some design to-dos never go out of style, while other design trends vary from year to year. Do your research to stay in the know; then consult your design checklist, channel your inner Chip and Joanna, and build a beautiful — and en vogue — website. Shiplap not required.

15. Create a Staging Site

Like we talked about with goal No. 11, often the best websites take time — and testing — to really get right. Setting up a staging site is a great way to test your site and fix errors — without letting your live site miss a beat (or risking unnecessary or unanticipated downtime).

How does a staging site work? Well, it’s pretty simple. 

Also known as a testing or development site, a staging site is a standalone copy of your website (whether that be a blank site or carbon copy of your existing one) that you can use to try out site fixes or changes — like new plugins or themes or bug fixes before implementing them on your live, or public, site. Your staging site is for your eyes and testing purposes only — it’s a private site that only you can access. Staging sites can be offline and stored on a local computer or hosted online but marked as private.

As you can guess, staging sites are beneficial for many reasons. First, it provides you with a safe environment to experiment with site changes before implementing them on your live website. Whether you’re a perfectionist or simply want to improve your website, a staging environment allows you to tweak until you get it just right. 

Second, staging sites facilitate the learning process. You’re not going to know everything about WordPress (or whatever CMS you use) right away, so staging sites give you a way to learn as you experiment incorporating plugins, themes, or custom code on the platform. Think of it as your low-risk, no-pressure website playground.

Lastly, staging sites provide you with the perfect place to test solutions for bugs and fix any troublesome site errors. You can, of course, maintain and tweak your website on your public site. Still, live maintenance creates the risk of something on your site breaking, slowing loading times, or causing other interferences in your visitors’ experience on your website. Not ideal.

This year, resolve to simplify and streamline your live website maintenance. Create a staging site to make sure everything on your website is working correctly — and to your liking — before implementing changes to your live site and welcoming traffic to it. Having a well-working website is more important than ever.

16. Stay Up to Date on Marketing Innovations

Just like design trends (No. 14), marketing tactics are ever-evolving. The small business owners of yesteryear looking to get eyes on their goods weren’t pushing new podcast episodes, managing micro-influencers, or fishing for Facebook likes. Marketing really has come a long way since the early 2000s.

The way you build traffic and promote your content is likely to transform as industries and digital landscapes change, and as your business grows. Plus, things change as marketers are continually discovering new, innovative ways to connect with customers, giving you new opportunities to learn and engage with your audiences. 

Sometimes these new strategies are merely building off of foundational tried-and-true tactics, like implementing seasonal or niche-related touches onto your current marketing efforts of developing a social media presence, growing and maintaining an email list, advertising, and running a company blog. And other times, they’re entirely new approaches to reaching customers — like the recent developments in virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and voice search.

Keeping up with current marketing innovations means doing your research and implementing the latest marketing tactics that make the most sense for your business. Guided by your overall business goals, you can develop an up-to-date marketing strategy that couples the best of old and new marketing innovations.

17. Use PPC Advertising

There really is a lot to small-biz advertising, and it can be overwhelming for newbies — and beginner budgets. But promoting your site and attracting audiences through advertising doesn’t have to be overly-complicated or pricey. This year, give PPC advertising a go. PPC, or pay-per-click, works like this:

A search engine query displays both organic results (the sites that come up because they are relevant based on their keywords, SEO strategy, fresh content, and responsive design) and paid search results. You’ve likely seen this second type of result identified with an “Ad” or “Sponsored” label.

Paid search — as the name suggests — involves dishing out dollars to have your website appear in the sponsored sections of search engine results and corresponding partner sites. Both organic and paid searches appear in search results, just in different locations. 

PPC allows you to have your website appear in the sponsored/ad results, but the best part? You only pay for it when someone clicks on your ad. With PPC, your business can take advantage of the web’s virtual rush hour of clicks in a wallet-friendly and low-risk way.

18. Try Out Some New Tools

A new year means new opportunities for trying things that are, well, new. The end of one 365 and the beginning of another can motivate you to run, skip, or hop out of your comfort zone and expand your range of skills and knowledge. Start by experimenting with some new tools that help you build your business —  and successfully navigate crisis conditions.

Let’s get some ideas flowing:

19. Give Back

It’s been a hard year for everyone in so many ways. Just because you’re a business looking to make $$$ doesn’t mean you can’t also give back to the communities and customers helping you grow — or to those causes that resonate with you personally. Seek out opportunities to flex your business’ philanthropic muscles and give back in meaningful ways — and not just during the holidays. With COVID-19 causing so many hardships, give back to help those experiencing tough times.

For our 20th birthday in 2017, we celebrated by gifting more clean water to the world — with your help! Our joint efforts to bankroll more community-owned clean water projects around the world resulted in a $9,500+ donation. And you know what? Giving back felt good. Really good.

Whether your giving efforts tie into tech or not, joining with your community and offering of your time or substance will not only result in a return of positive juju, but it will give more meaning to your day-to-day work.

20. Subscribe to the DreamHost Blog 

The DreamHost Blog

In addition to being your hosting gurus, one of our goals (not just this year, but every year) is to provide you with relevant, useful content that helps you reach your small business and website goals. Follow along with us on our DreamHost blog for a continued stream of valuable articles designed to keep you learning and improving your business all year long. 

Here you can find profiles on website owners making big moves with DreamHost, complete guides on every tech topic, beginner-friendly how-tos, and sooo much more. 

Be Awesome on the Internet

Join our monthly newsletter for tips and tricks to build your dream website!

21. Take a (Deep) Breath

Running a business is no small feat — especially in 2020. We know you’ve faced challenges, instituted necessary adjustments, and had to rethink how your business operates in a big way. Before doing anything else, just take a deep breath. In, out. In, out. You made it to this point. We know it hasn’t been easy, but you’re here. 

Moving forward, make sure to reestablish the caring of YOU. To give your best to your business, you need to resolve to achieve the proper work-life balance. It can’t be all work and no play — or you (or your employees) will burn out faster than those Christmas lights you still haven’t taken down. 

When approaching the new year, set realistic goals, hustle hard to stretch yourself and make things happen, and then breathe. Taking care of yourself is crucial to the success of your business — as a small business owner, you are an irreplaceable part of what you’ve built. Don’t neglect your own nurturing.

Set boundaries for in- and out-of-office hours and honor them. Automate any tasks you can, delegate responsibilities, and then unplug. Resist the temptation to “just check” your inbox. Be intentional about stepping away from screens and/or your desk and engage in rejuvenating activities. Make face-to-face connections and prioritize your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. 

Remember: It’s OK to take off your small-business-owner hat and just have a good time (even at home). And since your workspace and living space have likely been in a lot closer proximity to one another this year, those clear boundaries are more important than ever to preserve your health. Don’t let work bleed into every aspect of your life. A proper recalibration of your priorities and work-life habits will help you be a better business owner.

And that’s what we want for you! 

Conclusion

At DreamHost, we love watching you succeed. In fact, we live for it. Whether your new year goals include boosting your bottom line, hiring a team, finding new customers or clients, or learning new entrepreneurial skills, we’re here to help you make them happen in 2021.

Here’s to a happy, healthy, and business-booming new year! 

The post 21 New Year’s Resolutions for Small Businesses to Make in 2021 appeared first on Website Guides, Tips & Knowledge.



source https://www.dreamhost.com/blog/new-years-resolutions-for-small-businesses/

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