One of the most important prerequisites for successful blogging is planning. If you approach blogging with a detailed strategy, this will help you guide your actions and activities when creating, managing, and promoting your blog.

With blogging strategy, you design a plan of where you are and where you want blogging to take you. Regardless if you do blogging as a hobby, or you want to discover ways how to make blogging into a full-time job, creating a blogging strategy will help you with reaching your goals and figuring out the right actions that will help you get there.

#1 Goals

Start with goals. Goals are a necessary part of the planning process. Interestingly, a lot of people start blogging without any goals in mind. They start blogging just for the sake of getting published online, with no plans for the future or any idea on how to implement online marketing to promote this content.

However, goals help you keep everything organized and think about content creation more efficiently. It is crucial that blogging goals are:

• Custom – Define your own goals. Do not follow a pattern or a universal business plan with generic goals. Instead, create goals that are really plausible for your current situation and make sure you can benefit from these goals.

• Achievable – As much as you like for your blog to become an instant hit, there are no guarantees that it will. Instead, be realistic when creating goals. Take into account your current situation, whether you are starting from scratch or you already have a certain number of followers. Think about your competitors and how they are doing. All of this can affect the goals you can potentially achieve.

• Quantifiable – Having goals you can measure gives you an easy option to compare the planned goals and achieved results. These comparisons can help you understand and analyze your performance and find ways to improve your blogging strategy in the future. Numerical quantifiers are an ideal choice. For example, “increase the number of followers by 20%”, or “gain 200 new followers”. You could also add time frame for this goal to be achieved. So your goal would be “gain 200 new followers within four months”.

Goals can also be long-term or short-term, depending on the period you are going to take as a reference. Ideally, you should have both long-term and short-term goals
Planning gives your blog a purpose. It helps you determine what you want to achieve, and this enables you to define your story, your content, and find your voice.

#2 Target group

One of the goals of blogging is gaining trust and influence among your blog visitors. You want to establish yourself as an influencer in the industry and create a base of followers. What is going to help with this is defining your target group. You should be as detailed as possible when doing this. Try to narrow down the group of people you are addressing with your content.

As a result, you can create content that is better tailored to your target group. Not only is such content more effective with online users, but it also helps with achieving your goals.
Defining your target group also helps you:
• Plan the blog topics
• Identify ways to monetize your blog
• Determine content distribution channel
• Explore opportunities for online promotion

#3 Budget

The next step in your strategy is determining the budget. Depending on your blogging goals, depending on how you want your blog to grow, you will need a budget. The amazing thing about blogging is that you virtually need no investment to start doing it, except for your own time. You have free blogging platforms, you can use royalty free photos, joining social media is also free, there are plenty of free tools for bloggers, etc.

However, if you want to get your blog up to speed, it is advisable to consider it an investment.
The cost related to blogging which you should plan in your budget include the following:
• Hosting and domain name
• Premium templates, paid plugins, and other tools
• Budget for advertising (search engines, social media, etc.)
• Budget for content creation (it is always possible to hire help for proofreading, editing, creation of visual content, etc.)

#4 Content ideas

When you create a strategy, it is advisable to think about content ideas for your blog. This will give you a glimpse into what kind of content you could post on your blog. Since you will also be thinking about your target group, it will help you define content that is tailored based on their interest and expectations.

Start by thinking about content formats first. Here are a few ideas:
• How-to articles
• Case studies
• Ebooks
• Guides
• Guest posts
• Interviews
• Lists
• Podcasts

• Company news
• Videos

Take a look at the image below to find even more ideas when it comes to different content formats that are available to you when blogging:

Also, try to think about topic ideas and try to list at least twenty or even more of them. The best way to get content topic ideas is to do brainstorming.
Start by focusing on the keyword(s) relevant to your blog. Expand the list using synonyms or related keywords. Then try to add other phrases to start creating topics. Some ideas are the following:
• Top 5 [keyword]
• How to [keyword]
• 5 Things You Didn’t Know About [keyword]
• How [keyword] Are Like [other keyword or phrase]
• Why [keyword] Are The New Black
• How [keyword] Can Help You [Succeed/Understand Something/Get Better Results, etc.]
• 10 Ways to Use [keyword]

You could even use Content Idea Generator or Portent’s Content Idea Generator to help you with new content ideas.

The main benefit of defining content ideas are these opportunities:
• Create editorial calendar
• Plan promotional and other activities in advance
• Start working on blog monetization ideas
• Determine if you will be needing assistance with content creation and hire someone on time

#5 Metrics

The final step of your blogging strategy should be the choice of metrics you want to track and monitor. These metrics help you evaluate the success of your blogging strategy, which is why they are an essential asset in a strategy.
When you have metrics to monitor, you have the opportunity to see if you can achieve them and if not, how you can improve your strategy.
Metrics you should define within blogging strategy should include some (or even all) of the following:

#6 Engagement

Engagement is a metric that shows you how successful you are at engaging your followers. It can be analyzed through a variety of analytics data which include likes, shares, bounce rate, the average session duration, page views, signups, etc.

What this metric helps you conclude is how efficient you are in reaching your audience. It shows you success (or failure) at engaging the audience which helps you redefine your blogging strategy. It might be that you are targeting the wrong audience. You might need better content ideas, or your blog might need a revamp.

#7 Acquisition

This metric includes the data about who is sharing your content and where. Use the blog statistics to see the details about the number of clicks. Which articles are being shared the most? Where does this traffic originate from? Is it organic or social media driven traffic?

The goal of these metrics is to show you where your content is shared and how you are reaching your online users. This can help you find new (and better) ways to promote your content. It can also provide ideas about using paid advertising or expanding your influence on other content distribution platforms.

#8 Conversions

Finally, the last metric you want to focus on is conversions. A conversion is a desired action. While it is most commonly the case that a sale is considered a conversion, with blogging, it might be something different. For example, signing up for a newsletter or downloading free materials can be considered a conversion.
This metric should show a potential to grow as your blog grows. The ability to convert your visitors directly proves your influence thus shows you a growing power to persuade online visitors. This is an indicator of success, which is why conversions is the metric you should focus on as well.

Together, all of these metrics help you calculate ROI and directly measure the profitability of your blogging strategy. Use a free tool such as Google Analytics, to access your blog statistics and get the information about these and other metrics that help you evaluate the performance of your blog.

Action Point
PS: If you would like to have an online course on any of the courses that you found on this blog, I will be glad to do that on an individual and corporate level, I will be very glad to do that because I have trained several individuals and groups and they are doing well in their various fields of endeavour. Some of those that I have trained include the staff of Dangote Refinery, FCMB, Zenith Bank, and New Horizons Nigeria among others. Please come on Whatsapp and let’s talk about your training. You can reach me on Whatsapp HERE. Please note that I will be using Microsoft Team to facilitate the training.

I know you might agree with some of the points that I have raised in this article. You might not agree with some of the issues raised. Let me know your views about the topic discussed. We will appreciate it if you can drop your comment. Thanks in anticipation.

CRMNUGGETS is committed to fact-checking in a fair, transparent and non-partisan manner. Therefore, if you’ve found an error in any of our reports, be it factual, editorial, or an outdated post, please contact us to tell us about it.

There is a list of things to think about before you are ready to start blogging. These include blogging essentials, i.e., everything you will need to set up and create a blog. Having a list like this one is very helpful to keep everything organized from the beginning and planning your blogging strategy with more success.
One of the first things to choose is a blogging platform, after which you will also need the following:

#1 Hosting

Hosting, also called web hosting, is a service that allows individuals and companies to create and make their websites and blogs accessible to the online users. It is an online storage you will use to store your blog data, starting from CMS installation to all the files and images you want to share on your blog.

Platforms like Medium and LinkedIn do not require hosting because you get one when you create an account. It is one of the features these platforms offer to store your data and make it available to the online users. Having access to your own hosting provides much more control and flexibility, which is why a CMS such as WordPress.org could be your choice when choosing a platform. Of course, this hosting comes with an added cost, which can be paid monthly or annually, depending on the hosting provider, and the plan you choose.
The best way to make a choice is to explore hosting providers, the features they include and the prices they offer for their plans. Some of the popular hosting providers for bloggers include:
• InMotion Hosting
• SiteGround
• BlueHost
• GreenGeeks

#2 Domain name

A domain name is a part of the URL which is used to access the blog. It may or may not match the blog name, but it is generally recommended that it matches the blog name. When you create a blog and host it with the hosting provider of your choice, you will need to provide the domain name of your blog.
The complete URL starts with www. and it is followed by the domain name. It ends with a domain extension, which is most commonly .com, but you can choose other extensions such as .org, .blog, .net, etc.

You can use an online tool such as this one to conduct a domain name search and check if the domain name you want is free.

#3 Template

Blog template layout represents predesigned pages that are used to create a blog. You install the template after you install the blogging platform, or you get access to a selection (or sometimes only one layout) if you choose a hosted blogging platform. WordPress is generally known to offer the most extensive selection of blogging templates (also known as themes) including both free and premium templates.

To select a template, you will need to consider the blog layout design. It depends a lot on the type of content you want to create as well as on how you want this content to be presented on the blog. One way you can narrow down the search for a perfect template is by using the filtering feature to sort the results based on:
• Layout – Typically used layouts include grid layout, one-column layout, two-columns layout, etc.)

• Features – You can filter templates by features such as editor style, post formats, microformats, full-width template, custom menu, etc.
• Subject – Since templates are already pre-designed, they are often tagged based on the subject they would be suitable for. The subject you will be most interested in is a blog, but you can explore other categories if you are creating a niche blog.

#4 Gravatar image

Gravatar stands for Globally Recognized Avatar. It is an image that represents you online, and it appears when you interact with other WordPress blogs. It is a free service which is included as a
40
part of WordPress.com. To have Gravatar on a self-hosted blog, you will need to install a plugin that integrates the service.
This option is great for featuring blog authors and enabling them to gain more influence among the blog’s readers. Besides the image, a Gravatar profile can also include:
• Name
• Other profiles (such as social networks)
• Short description

#5 Comments

Comments should also be on the list of blog essentials because they enable you to engage with online readers directly. Some commenting features may already be a part of the core platform, but there are plenty of plugins to enhance the experience and add some new features, such as the option to post a comment with a Facebook account or through a blog commenting hosting service, such as Disqus.

The main benefit of comments is the possibility to increase engagement and encourage visitors to interact with the blog’s author through the comment section. This way you can get feedback, positive (or negative) reviews, additional questions or suggestions from your audience, etc. It can help you with improving your overall approach and blogging strategy.

Having comments does mean that you will have to be monitoring this section and moderate it to make sure you prevent any spam from getting publicly posted in the comment section of your blog. You will also need to devote time to answer any questions you might get in the comments. Since the idea is to engage the visitors, you should make sure to answer those questions promptly.

#6 Mailing list

One of the best ways to monetize a blog is through a mailing list, which is why this is essential for bloggers. Think about your subscribers as your asset. When someone decides to subscribe to your blog, it means that the person is interested in getting more news from you and following your future updates. This person values your opinion and wants to hear from you again.

What this means is that you have the power to influence these subscribers. It all starts with generating trust and reputation, but once you do that, you will discover a possibility to convert those visitors.

Among many different monetization tactics and promotions, email marketing stands out as one of the most profitable strategies in online marketing. It is a strategy with the highest conversion rate. As a result, the benefits you can obtain by having a mailing list are numerous.

#7 Social accounts

Bloggers use many different platforms for promoting their content and reaching online users. Social networks are certainly among the top within this group. Therefore, as a blogger, you should create social media accounts which will represent your blog or you as a blogger. You can also connect social accounts with blogging platform to take advantage of features such as automatic sharing on social media.

Social accounts provide an outlet for you to share content and reach online users. They also offer an opportunity to connect and further establish your reputation. Besides the obvious benefits, social accounts require regular management and implementation of a social media marketing strategy. Hence, you will need to explore this segment of online marketing and find the best ways to combine it with blogging.

#8 Images

Images will enhance your blog significantly. Based on many studies, blog posts with images receive far more clicks, shares, and overall engagement. Images are used to:
• Illustrate the most important aspects
• Draw attention of the readers

• Divide content into sections
• Provide more information about the topic

When using images in a blog post, make sure that:
• The images are of high quality
• You use right dimensions when adding them to the post
• The images are relevant to the topic
• You have the permission to use the images to avoid copyright infringements
• Optimize the images enabling the search engines to index them
Plugins
Plugins are installed to the blogging platform, and they add new features which are not a part of the core platform. Among the reasons why WordPress is such a popular platform for blogging, is the fact that the platform offers an extensive number of plugins, both free and premium. These enable blog owners to improve and optimize their blog with advanced features such as memberships, landing pages, contact forms, content optimization, image optimization, backup, migration, lead generation, editorial workflow, etc.

Despite many benefits they can bring to your blog, plugins have drawbacks as well. Plugins may cause security issues for your blog if there is a problem with the code, which is why you should only install reputable plugins. Additionally, the more plugins you install, the slower your blog will become. It does not matter if all of those are reputable plugins, they are still a burden to your platform and may cause pages to load more slowly. This is why it is important to update plugins regularly and to deactivate the ones you are not using.

#9 Unique content

The highlight of your blog is the content you share. The first characteristic of that content should be uniqueness. Search engines do not like duplicate content. You are also failing at providing value to your readers when you copy content from other blogs.

Instead, your focus should be original content that you create with your target group in mind. Think about how you can explore blogging topics and offer even more value on your blog. This way you will gain loyal readership and increase your influence in the online community. Content is also what is going to help you stand out and leverage the potential of blogging.

#10 Bloggers

Building relationships in the online world might be more challenging than in real life, but it still is an essential part of blogging. As you will see, the blogging community is quite vocal and strong, and it offers great potential for learning, exchanging experience, and finding possible collaborations. This is why relationships with other bloggers should be one of the essentials of blogging.

This list of the blogging essentials includes everything that is necessary for you to focus on when first starting out blogging, regardless the niche and the type of platform you will use. Try to create your unique plan including all of these essentials and how you will implement each into your blogging activity from the start.

Action Point
PS: If you would like to have an online course on any of the courses that you found on this blog, I will be glad to do that on an individual and corporate level, I will be very glad to do that because I have trained several individuals and groups and they are doing well in their various fields of endeavour. Some of those that I have trained include the staff of Dangote Refinery, FCMB, Zenith Bank, and New Horizons Nigeria among others. Please come on Whatsapp and let’s talk about your training. You can reach me on Whatsapp HERE. Please note that I will be using Microsoft Team to facilitate the training.

I know you might agree with some of the points that I have raised in this article. You might not agree with some of the issues raised. Let me know your views about the topic discussed. We will appreciate it if you can drop your comment. Thanks in anticipation.

CRMNUGGETS is committed to fact-checking in a fair, transparent and non-partisan manner. Therefore, if you’ve found an error in any of our reports, be it factual, editorial, or an outdated post, please contact us to tell us about it.

Email marketing has the highest conversion rate of all types of online marketing. When you combine it with affiliate marketing, you can get a very profitable strategy to boost the performance of affiliate marketing.

Merchants

Merchants often use email marketing to get in touch with affiliates. It is a practical way to communicate with them, to send motivational offers, such as increased commissions, extended cookie life, etc. The purpose of these is to increase engagement and to perhaps activate some of the less productive affiliates.

An email is also a great tool for recruiting affiliates to join your program. You can do this recruitment by using your own mailing list, or you could collaborate with another website or blog with a relevant subscriber base that could help with extending your reach and recruiting potential affiliates from their mailing list.
When creating an email campaign, it is essential to:

• Make it personalized
• Keep it short and concise
• Use engaging subject line and CTA
• Optimize the email template
• Use visual elements
• Make sure the email is mobile-friendly.

Affiliates

As said at the beginning of this e-book, affiliates are usually bloggers, influencers, and experts who enjoy a certain following online. They have the audience they can promote affiliate links to, which is why they decide to use this form of marketing to boost their income. One of their primary assets is usually their mailing list. Bloggers work really hard to increase their subscriber base, using various methods for lead generation. They also usually keep these subscribers active through engaging newsletters where they share exclusive content designed for the subscribers.

Part of their email campaigns could be sharing affiliate links. Affiliates choose two ways to distribute affiliate links through email campaigns. Firstly, there are those who simply incorporate those links into a regular newsletter, with or without mentioning that the links are affiliate.

The second option is to have a separate email message for these kinds of links. For example, apart from a regular newsletter with blog updates, the second email message would be focused on promotion and titled differently from a regular newsletter. Some suggestions could be “Products we’ve been loving” or “Promo Tuesday by [BRAND NAME]”.

Action Point
PS: If you would like to have an online course on any of the courses that you found on this blog, I will be glad to do that on an individual and corporate level, I will be very glad to do that because I have trained several individuals and groups and they are doing well in their various fields of endeavour. Some of those that I have trained include the staff of Dangote Refinery, FCMB, Zenith Bank, and New Horizons Nigeria among others. Please come on Whatsapp and let’s talk about your training. You can reach me on Whatsapp HERE. Please note that I will be using Microsoft Team to facilitate the training.

I know you might agree with some of the points that I have raised in this article. You might not agree with some of the issues raised. Let me know your views about the topic discussed. We will appreciate it if you can drop your comment. Thanks in anticipation.

CRMNUGGETS is committed to fact-checking in a fair, transparent and non-partisan manner. Therefore, if you’ve found an error in any of our reports, be it factual, editorial, or an outdated post, please contact us to tell us about it.

You’ve got your e-commerce website set up, and you know how to drive traffic to it, but are still stuck with low sales.

How do you fix that? By using online conversion techniques, also known as optimization techniques, you can increase your sales by focusing on the visitors coming to your site rather than the visitors leaving it. Here are some of the best online conversion techniques out there!

The Basics

When it comes to online sales, the conversion rate is key. In order to boost your sales and improve your conversion rate, there are a few techniques you can use.

First, make sure your website is user-friendly and easy to navigate.

Secondly, offer incentives like free shipping or discounts to encourage people to buy from you.

Finally, use strong calls to action on your website and in your marketing materials to encourage people to take the next step.

#1 Adding Trust Seals and Security Badges

One way to increase online sales is by adding trust seals and security badges to your website. This helps build trust with potential customers and show that you’re a credible business.

Plus, it can help boost your search engine ranking. Here’s how to do it:
1. Research which seals and badges are most trusted by your target market.

2. Apply for the seals and badges from the respective organizations.

3. Ensure they are displayed prominently on your site so they stand out.

4. Keep in mind, that this will take time so don’t expect results overnight!

The right seals and badges will only work if people know about them. Consider sending an email to current customers or running a promotion or sale as an incentive for people to visit your site.

#2 Getting Found in Google

If you want people to find your business when they search online, you need to make sure your website appears as high as possible in Google’s search results. This process is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

There are many ways to improve your SEO and increase your rank on Google. Keyword research can help a lot because it will show you what words or phrases other people are using to search for businesses like yours.

You then need to optimize the content of your website so that it matches these keywords as closely as possible.

#3 User Testimonials

When it comes to online sales, user testimonials can be extremely powerful. They provide social proof that your product or service is effective and can help increase conversion rates.

If you’re not using testimonials on your website, you’re missing out on a valuable opportunity to boost sales.

Find ways to collect customer reviews, the more the better!

Offer discounts or free products in exchange for reviews so people will have an incentive to give feedback.

These reviews should be displayed prominently throughout your site so they’re easily visible when people are browsing around. You may also want to include them in your newsletters, emails, or ads as well.

#4 The Right Call-to-Action

The first step to getting more conversions is having a strong call to action. This is what tells your visitors what you want them to do, and it should be clear, concise, and actionable.

Once you have a strong CTA, make sure it’s visible on your website. Place it above the fold so visitors will see it as soon as they land on your page. And finally, use persuasive language that urges visitors to take action.

Make every word count in order to convince people who are still undecided or need just one more push. You might even include an offer of some kind (discount, giveaway) in order to entice potential customers into purchasing your product or service.

#5 Creating Urgency

One of the most effective online conversion techniques is creating a sense of urgency. This can be done in a number of ways, such as offering a limited-time discount or displaying how many items are left in stock.

Urgency encourages visitors to take action before it’s too late, which can lead to more sales for your business.

If you’re running an online sale, consider adding countdown timers that display how much time is left on the sale. If you want to encourage customers to buy now and not wait until later, include phrases like Hurry! or Only X Left!

Action Point
PS: If you would like to have an online course on any of the courses that you found on this blog, I will be glad to do that on an individual and corporate level, I will be thrilled to do that because I have trained several individuals and groups and they are doing well in their various fields of endeavour. Some of those that I have trained include staffs of Dangote Refinery, FCMB, Zenith Bank, New Horizons Nigeria, and Phillips Consulting among others. Please come on Whatsapp and let’s talk about your training. You can reach me on Whatsapp HERE. Please note that I will be using Microsoft Team to facilitate the training.

I know you might agree with some of the points raised in this article. You might disagree with some of the issues raised. Let me know your views about the topic discussed. We would appreciate it if you can drop your comment. Thanks in anticipation.

CRMNIGERIA is committed to fact-checking in a fair, transparent and non-partisan manner. Therefore, if you’ve found an error in any of our reports, be it factual, editorial, or an outdated post, please contact us to tell us about it.

Another option for promoting affiliate links is through paid advertising. When using this type of online promotion, it is essential to have in mind the terms of service of the affiliate program, especially those terms that regulate promotion through search engine ads. The following tools can help with paid campaigns:

#1 Google Ads

It is most likely that you will run a search engine paid campaign, which is done through Google AdWords account. The platform enables the creation of ads, scheduling, targeting and analyzing ad performance.

#2 Bing Ads

If you are looking for an alternative that is designed for Bing, use this platform for search engine ads creation and management.
Facebook Ads – A lot of social networks offer advertising through the platform which can be done in a form of sponsored posts, or purpose-driven campaigns, such as driving traffic, increasing signups, etc. Using Facebook Ads Manager allows creating, managing, and monitoring of ads on Facebook and Instagram.

#3 Unbounce

The tool enables the creation of landing pages using drag and drop elements, templates, A/B testing feature, form builder and many more features. Since the landing page is usually the page linked to the paid ad, the first one the users will see once they click on the ad, this tool can help with increasing conversions.

Action Point
PS: If you would like to have an online course on any of the courses that you found on this blog, I will be glad to do that on an individual and corporate level, I will be very glad to do that because I have trained several individuals and groups and they are doing well in their various fields of endeavour. Some of those that I have trained include the staff of Dangote Refinery, FCMB, Zenith Bank, and New Horizons Nigeria among others. Please come on Whatsapp and let’s talk about your training. You can reach me on Whatsapp HERE. Please note that I will be using Microsoft Team to facilitate the training.

I know you might agree with some of the points that I have raised in this article. You might not agree with some of the issues raised. Let me know your views about the topic discussed. We will appreciate it if you can drop your comment. Thanks in anticipation.

CRMNUGGETS is committed to fact-checking in a fair, transparent and non-partisan manner. Therefore, if you’ve found an error in any of our reports, be it factual, editorial, or an outdated post, please contact us to tell us about it.

In my previous articles, I have looked at some of the facts that you need to consider when it comes to website hosting. In this article, I want to look at some common mistakes when building an e-commerce website. Follow me as we are going to look at some of these mistakes in this article.

 
Now the mistakes…
#1 Ineffective search engine
One of the common mistakes that can be made when building an e-commerce website has to do with poor website navigation which can negatively affect user experience on the website. Most times, when websites categories are poorly arranged, it might lead to a situation where users find it difficult to find what they are looking for. This will negatively affect search engine ranking for such websites.

 
#2 Poor technical supports
At times, e-commerce website developers can also make the mistake of using technology that they will not be able to support. This might also affect the level of support that they can also provide for their users. When you are giving technical to your e-commerce website in-house, you have to make sure that you are using technology that is not difficult for you to support.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz781265blA[/embedyt]
 
#3 Not suggesting related products
At times, one of the factors responsible for repeat purchases on e-commerce is when such websites have the capacity of suggesting related products. You have to make sure that the Algorithm used in the development of the website is able to suggest related products to users. This will increase the conversion rate on your website and boost the organization turnover at the end of the year.

 
#4 Complex checkout process
One of the major reasons for cart abandonment has to do with the complex checkout process. Most times, when it becomes so difficult for customers to pay for products or find products that they are looking for, they will definitely have no option other than to abandon the website and look for another website where they can easily find the product that they are looking. This might force them to abandon product(s) that they are planning to purchase on your website.

 
#5 Lazy loading
Also, it is a well-known fact that an average web surfer is impatient when it comes to website loading time. Some have argued that a good website should load in five seconds. Therefore, no matter how heavy a website is, you have to make sure that your website loads on time. This will definitely increase the conversion rate on the website.

 
#6 Poor categorization
Another mistake that can be made when it comes to e-commerce website development has to do with a poor categorization of your website. At times, when products are not properly grouped on a website, it may lead to a situation where some products are not discovered. You have to make sure that products are properly grouped so as to increase the conversion rate on your website.

 
#7 Non-compatibility
In one of my articles where I talked about website testing, I actually mentioned it that you should try and open your website from all available browsers and make sure that they are loading properly. You should also pay attention to how your website loads on mobile phones. This will help you to increase users experience most especially for mobile users.

 
#8 Un-enlargeable image
Also, the use of small images is good for websites and e-commerce websites. You need to be conscious of the type of image that you are using on your website. You have to make use of small images that can be enlarged so that users can be able to see all the visible features of your products before they actually purchase that product.

 
#9 Inconsistent product information
Also, you should understand that one of the reasons why users abandon carts is due to incomplete and inconsistent product information. If users are not able to get all the required information that they need in order to decide on whether to purchase a product or not, they might be forced to abandon that product. You need to make sure that information is short, simple and complete.

 
#10 Un-highlighted benefits
Also, one of the other reasons why people abandon carts on e-commerce is when the website owner fails to highlight some of the benefits of buying that product. You have to state the benefits that your customers stand to get when they purchase that product from you. If some of these benefits are not highlighted, it may force your customers to abandon their carts.

 
#11 No visible contacts
Another, mistake that is common to e-commerce website owners is when the contact details of the owners are hidden from users. Your users are more interested in what happens when there are issues with the products that they are purchasing from you. If users are not convinced about your identity and your genuineness, they might be forced to restrict you from transacting business with you.

 
#12 Clumsy pages
Also, when it happens that you did not create a separate page for each of the products that you are selling, you may be missing out on customers. You need to ensure that each product has a page. The Page should also explain all that customers have to know about that particular product. This will sustain customers’ interest in your products and services.

 
Action Point
PS: If you would like to have an online course on any of the courses that you found on this blog, I will be glad to do that on an individual and corporate level, I will be very glad to do that I have trained several individuals and groups and they are doing well in their various fields of endeavour. Some of those that I have trained includes staffs of Dangote Refinery, FCMB, Zenith Bank, New Horizons Nigeria among others. Please come on Whatsapp and let’s talk about your training. You can reach me on Whatsapp HERE. Please note that I will be using Microsoft Team to facilitate the training. 

I know you might agree with some of the points that I have raised in this article. You might not agree with some of the issues raised. Let me know your views about the topic discussed. We will appreciate it if you can drop your comment. Thanks in anticipation.

CRMNIGERIA is committed to fact-checking in a fair, transparent and non-partisan manner. Therefore, if you’ve found an error in any of our reports, be it factual, editorial, or an outdated post, please contact us to tell us about it.

In my previous articles, I have talked about some of the factors that you need to consider when you have to host your website. I have also talked about some of the elements of a good web design. In this article, I would like to talk about fifteen guidelines for creating effective web content. Follow me as we are going to look at that in this article.

Here are the guidelines…

#1 Clear and simple language

When you are writing your content for publishing, you have to make sure that you are writing in a simple and clear language. You should avoid the use of ambiguous words that will make it difficult for your user to understand the message that you are trying to pass across. You need to ensure that you also make use of short sentences when you need to write your article.

#2 One paragraph. One idea

Also, when you are writing your content, please you need to ensure that your ideas are not jammed together. You need to make sure that it is only one idea that is been discussed in one paragraph. This will ensure that the whole concept sank into the mind of your audience. Doing this will prove to your reader that you know what you are talking about. It will allow them to stay longer on your website.

#3 Descriptive subheadings

Also, if you want to write great online content, you need to adopt the use of descriptive subheadings that tells your users what a particular paragraph is talking about. This will enable the spiders to know what a particular paragraph is talking about. But you have to really indicate it that it is a subheading by using H2 or H3 headers.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06jf_fh3JVs[/embedyt]

#4 Highlight important words

In addition, if you are creating great web content for your website, you need to ensure that important words are highlighted and bolded so that users can reckon with those words. This will allow your users to know the key takeaway from a particular article. It will also allow the major points of a particular article to sink in the mind of your audience.

#5 Use Descriptive link text

Also, when you are trying to create online web content, you need to include links that relate to your previous articles. It is also ideal for you to link to articles that are outside your blog or website. Those links should be descriptive enough and they should be linked to articles that are similar to what is highlighted. This will help Spiders to understand your blog better. It will also reduce bounce on your website.

#6 Left Align Text

By and large, when you are writing your content, you need to ensure that your articles are aligned from the left to the right side. That seems to be the normal way for most languages. This also goes with the natural eye movement when people are reading content on websites. This will definitely assist spiders in understanding your content better.

#7 Visual alignment

Also, when you are creating your web content, you need to ensure that graphics are added in order to drive home your points. Adding graphics will also assist in conveying the messages that you are trying to pass across to your target audience but you need to ensure that the texts and the graphics work together. The two must be conveying the same message.

#8 Proper structure element

Also, when you are presenting your online content, you need to make sure that you are using a document structure that will make your article easier to understand. You need to make sure that the paragraphs are well arranged so that it will be easy for your users to follow your article.

#9 Use natural-sounding language

Also, when you are creating your online content, you need to make use of a natural-sounding language. You must write the content as if you are explaining to someone that already knows nothing about the topic being discussed. You must be persuasive enough when you are trying to present the idea to your target audience.

#10  Be direct with the audience

Also, when it comes to creating great content, you need to be direct with your audience. There is no need for you to cajole your audience. You need to try as much as possible to let them know that you understand their problem and you have what it takes to solve their problem. You must be able to convince your audience that you are an authority when it comes to resolving issues that have to do with your customers.

#11 Creating Tables

 Also, as far as your customers and readers are concerned, you need to create tables that transform with different browsers. I have said it one of my articles that you should be mindful of using tables. You need to make sure that your tables are browser responsive. It should remain intact when that table is opened from different browsers.

#12 User interface

Also, you have to ensure that the user interfaces are accessible. When you are creating content, you need to make sure that your tabs and other elements that you need to access when you are on that particular page. If it is a website that people have to make payments to, you need to ensure that the payment buttons are available even on mobile phones.

#13 Page activation

Also, you need to make sure that you design device-independent page elements that can be activated through a variety of input devices. You can design your website to open different pages or contents based on the type of device that the user is using to access the content.

#14 Temporary accessibility solutions

Also, when it comes to accessibility and the design of your content, you need to make sure that you create temporary accessibility solutions for your content. That means, if it happens that the main content that the user is trying to access is not available, there should be a particular content that will be made available to users while they are waiting for the actual content to open.

#15 Contextual information

Also, you need to include contextual information that will allow your users to understand your content better. You should not present your content as if you are writing in parables. You need to ensure that you include examples and illustrations that will allow your readers to understand your content better.

11 Guidelines For Designing A Good Website

In my previous articles, I have looked at some of the facts that you need to consider when you are choosing a web hosting site. In this article, I want to talk about some of the guidelines for designing a good website. Follow me as we are going to look at that together in this article.

Now the guidelines….

#1 Reputable websites

When it comes to designing a good website, you need to take time to examine other reputable websites and see what they are doing better. It is just like the saying that if you want to be successful in any area, you need to have a mentor. So also, if you want to have a good website design, you need to take time to study other reputable websites and emulate what they are doing.
 

#2 Attractive home page

One of the factors that you need to consider when it comes to building a reputable website is that you need to have an attractive Home page. You need to understand that most of the traffics that are coming to your website will be coming to your Home Page. If your Home page is disorganized, it is unlikely that the visitors will take time to check what you have on other pages.
 

#3 Appropriate colours

At times, when you have a colour riot website, you are going to blur the eyes of your readers. In order to drive traffic to your website and sustain your readers, you need to make sure that you have a colourful website.  You need to ensure that you choose colours that complement your brand. Don’t just use colours that do not add up when you are creating a website.
 

#4 Necessary information

Also, you need to make sure that all the necessary information that you need to convince your audience to buy your product is placed on your Home Page. Just like I said, most of the readers will not go beyond your Home Page, That is why you need to ensure that your Home Page contains as much meaningful content as possible.
 

#5 Division

Also, when it comes to the arrangement of contents on your website, you need to divide the content into categories and subcategories. You need to ensure that it is very easy for your users to find what they are looking for. This will ensure that your customers are not distracted. They should be able to locate what they are looking for.
 

#6 Informative description

Also, when it comes to marketing your products and services, you need to add short and descriptive information about the products and services that you are trying to sell to your target audience. The information must not be too long in order not to bore your audience. Just put enough information that the prospect needs in order to decide whether they needed that product or not.
 
 

#7 Easy navigation

There is a need for you to provide easy navigation on your website. You need to divide your product into categories and subcategories. You also need to provide a search box that will allow your prospect to search for products that are not covered in your categories and subcategories. This will allow your readers to quickly locate products and services that they are looking for.
 

#8 Keep things simple

Also, when you are designing a great website, it is not about how sophisticated your website is, you need to learn to keep things simple. It is not able how colourful a website is, you have to try as much as possible to ensure that the website is useful. Once a website is useful and can provide what users are looking for, you can be sure that they will stick longer on that particular website.
 

#9 Small and simple graphics

Also, you need to make sure that you are using small and simple graphics. When the images on your website are too big then it will slow down the loading time of your website. Please make sure that you reduce the size of the images. This will allow having a compatible website that will load well across different browsers.

#10 Avoid unnecessary features

Also, when it comes to designing a website, the design of a website is not a moment for you to show that you are skilful in website design, you need to make sure that you only add features and plugins that are needed to perform functions on the website. Please do not add any skills.

10 Advantages Of Content Management System

When blogging started, it was difficult for many to blog because you need to have a working knowledge of HTML and other programming languages before you can code. That has become a thing of the past with the advent of WordPress and Blogger and other content management applications. In this article, I want to talk about some of the advantages of a Content Management System. Follow me as we are going to look at that in this article.
 

What is Content Management System…

A content management system is a system that is used to manage the content of a website. This is defined as the process of moving the web content to all phases onto the production site. To effectively use a content management system, we need to make use of Content Management Applications.

Content Management Application

Content Management Applications allows the content manager or author, who may not know HTML to manage the creation, modification and removal of the content from a website without the expertise of a webmaster.

Content Delivery Application

Content Delivery Application uses Content Management Application information and compiles that information for updating the website.

Also, you need to know that Content Management System can also provide tools for one to one marketing. They will allow the content developers to use tools that are available in the application to reach out to prospective customers with products and services that are likely to be interested in.

#1 Small commitment

I don’t know if you have ever created a website? I need to ask how long it takes you to develop that website or post. If you check a singular post on the website and you try to look at the programming version of that post, then you will appreciate what WordPress has done for you. I have seen a time that I have spent less than 45minutes creating a post. If I have had to write those posts in HTML, I would have spent several days creating those posts. It is content management that makes it easier.

#2 Contribution

Also, Content Management System also provides simple desktop tools that allow more people to contribute to your content. With just clicking a few buttons, it is now relatively easy for more authors to contribute to your website. It is also very easy for your users to share your content. There is also a provision of tools that allow enthusiastic readers to share your content as well.

#3 Well defined approval process

Also, content management systems and applications always have a well-defined approval process for content. It is not all contents that are posted automatically. You can define and dictate what happens to each of the contents that you have posted on your website. 

#4 Large contributors

There are times that you may have many authors contributing to a blog or website. Without a Content Management System, it will be difficult to manage those content effectively. A good content management system will allow you to manage content from multiple authors such that the editing of content from a particular author will not affect other blog authors.

#5 Blog look

Also, a content management system and application will allow you to change the look and feel of a website at once without having to go from one page to another page. This will allow to collectively add new features to the design of a website through the use of plugins and other elements without going to the source code of the website.

#6 Consistent feel

As your blog or website grows, there are some elements on the websites that you will have to adjust in order to continue to meet the need of your growing audience. Having a good Content Management System at your disposal will allow you to have a look and feel on the website that is consistent with the brand image of the entire enterprise. This will allow you to maintain your brand reputation without breaking the bank.

#7 User experience

Due to the formidable marketing tools that come with the content management system, you will be able to gauge your user experience and determine how users will react to any of the changes that you are trying to make on your website. It will allow you to change one element at a time and determine how that change(s) will affect your users. This will help you to determine whether such changes should be made permanent or not.

#8 Reusability

Also, CMS will also contribute to content reusability. It will really assist the website owner to use old content for present-day marketing efforts. Let’s say that scenario has changed after you last used that content, CMS will allow you to re-use and edit that content in order to direct them towards new marketing goals.

In my previous article, I looked at some of the ways that you can develop effective content. In this article, I want to look at some of the benefits of content engineering to content developers. Follow me as we are going to be considering this in this article.
 

What is content engineering?

Content Engineering refers to the issues related to the use of content in a computer-facilitated environment. This talks about how content are researched and created as well as how users are expected to make use of content that is been produced. This will ensure that the writer or organization is able to produce content that will convert their prospects.
 

Content engineering always involves:

#1 Content production

This has to do with how the entire content is being published, It also involves how you research your content, gather opinions and write your content. Most times, you will need to involve several departments, most especially those that relate directly to customers and prospects in order to create contents that will convert your prospects to customers.

#2 Content management

Content management highlight how you can produce content, edit content or delete content. It will also highlight those that are empowered to edit and delete content. This will ensure that every individual that needs to manage controls is given the necessary privileges in order to achieve their goals.

#3 Content modelling

Another aspect of content engineering is content modelling. Content modelling will assist you in designing content in such a way that it will be of interest to your target audience. Before you can do this successfully, you need to really understand your target audience. This will allow you to put them into consideration when you are designing your content. When you are doing this, you are going to create content that will wow your target audience. 

#4 Content conversion 

This has to do with the process of designing content that can convert your target audience. It allows you to consider all the elements that a landing page should have. This will allow you to design content that can properly project your products and services to your target audience. This will definitely increase the conversion rate of your products and services. 

#5 Content use

Content engineering also has to do with content use. It has to take into consideration those that will be using the content generally. It must also consider what your target audience is looking for in your content. This will allow you to put all resources into use in order to ensure that your content meets the need of your target audience. This is very essential in order to increase the conversion rate for your products and services. 

#6 Content Repurposing  

Another aspect of content engineering has to do with content repurposing. This happens when you need to pick up content that is written by others and use it for another purpose entirely. This will allow you to pick up content that is written by others, add your own input and share such content with your target audience. This can also help you in converting prospects to customers. 

Now the benefits…

#1 Reducing production costs

First and foremost, content engineering can help with the reduction of production costs by helping with marketing research. If you identify your target audience, you may spend less trying to convince them to buy your product. This will also assist in reducing wastage that comes with trying to convince prospects that are not part of your target audience. 

#2 Getting feedback 

If you plan your content strategy well, you will be able to get reactions and feedback after you might have published your content. This will allow you to come up with Key Performance Indicators that will help you to determine whether you are achieving your goals or not.  This will allow you to make the necessary adjustments so that you can achieve your content marketing goals. 

5 Major Considerations In Web Content Writing

In my previous article, I have talked about some of the elements of good content. In this article, I want to look at some of the major considerations when you are engaging in web content writing as a Blogger or web content developer. Follow me as we are going to look at that in this article.

#1 Readability

The very first thing that you need to consider when it comes to web content writing is that your content must be readable. When it comes to readability it does not really have to do with grammatical errors and blunders. Although it is not good to present content that has grammatical errors to your reader. But if you want your content to be readable, you must learn to write in short sentences. You also have to avoid writing long paragraphs. Learn to write in simple sentences and readers will stay longer on your website.

#2 Simple

In order to lay emphasis on what I have said earlier when you are presenting your article, You need to make sure that your content is very simple. You need to write in short paragraphs and simple English. Please note that your mobile readers must not scroll down before they can see the beginning and end of your paragraph.

Also, the fact that we said your content must be simple does not mean that you should not research your topic. You need to take time to learn more about the topic. Try and understand what others have written about the topic. It is always better to come up with another perspective on the topic when you want to drive traffic to your website. It is good at times to be controversial.

#3 Effective

Also, you need to understand that good content must be effective. What do we mean by the effectiveness of content? It means that your content must achieve the exact purpose that you want the content to achieve. All content must have a Call To Action. You also need to understand that the Call to Action must be clear and visible to your audience. If your audience does not understand the action that you want them to take after reading your content, then you have not written good content.

#4 Understandable

It is also important that your content adds to the body of knowledge. When you are writing your content, you need to make your presentation in such a way that your readers understand your point of view. It is not good for your readers to be confused further after reading your content. That is why you as a person must have an in-depth knowledge of a topic before you start writing.

#5 Identifiable to the reader

It is also important that your content is identifiable to the reader. That means your readers must be able to associate with your content. Your content has to address their concern. It must answer the questions that your readers have been asking. This is the reading of why you have to identify your audience personae. You need to know what they are looking for in your content and make sure that your content addresses their concern.

Please note that your content can be in form of text, articles, PDFs, Press Releases, news, videos, and banners among others.

When I first started out as a Blogger, one of the slang that is very common is: Content is king. The great Bloggers of then will continue to hammer it that content remains the most important thing when you want to make it in Blogger. I also want to agree that most of the people that actually abandoned their blogs had problems with content and monetization. In this article, I want to look at four major importance of web content to bloggers, Developers and content creators. Follow me as we are going to look at this together in this article.

What a Web content is…

Web content is the information about a product or service that makes up a website. They are articles, texts, graphics and videos that can be found on a website that explains more about particular products or services.

Please note that text-based information is always the main content that explores all the features/ solutions associated with a particular product or service on a website. Most content developers that want to sell products and services will always adopt the use of text-based content. Although attention is now drifting towards video content as a means of engaging those who might be interested in what the website has to offer.

You should also understand that content can come in different forms such as words, pictures, videos, images, sound and animation among others.

Importance of web content…

#1 Conversion

Content is the information that an organization provides about its products and related offers to the visitors for making online purchases and orders. Most times, apart from a referral, it is the content that the users found about a particular product they are looking for that will determine whether they are going to purchase that product or not. Therefore, the content that you have presented to your users who visit your website will assist in convincing them to purchase your product or services. It will also enumerate some of the reasons why your website is the best place to purchase such products or services.

#2 Attraction

Also, when you have a blog associated with your website or you are the type that likes to provide answers to questions that users might want to ask about products and services that you will have to offer, you will observe that you will start getting traffic from search engines. When users have questions, they will always think of search engines as the best place where their questions can be answered. If you can develop content on your website by providing answers. You will observe that you will start getting organic traffic to your website.

#3 Ranking

Also, you need to understand that good content is one of the essential factors when you want to rank higher on search engines. I have said it in one of my articles that the number of contents that you have posted on your blog or website will determine the amount of traffic you will be getting from search engines. If you are the type that always posts content regularly, you will observe that you will start getting more content from search engines.

#4 Adverts and Marketing

When you have attractive content on your website or blog, it will attract advertisers and other marketers to your website. If marketers and advertisers observe that more people are coming to read your posts, they will definitely approach you for an advertising opportunity. Also, when you also want to advertise your products and services in the future, the content that you have on your website will determine the direction in which you are going to go in order to attract your target audience.

7 Components Of Information Architecture

In my previous article, I have looked at some of the elements of content writing that you should be aware of. In this article, I want to talk about something different. I want to talk about all that you need to know about components of information architecture for content writers. Follow me as we are going to look at that in this article.

What is information architecture…

Information Architecture can be seen as a method of developing a plan and structure for the information that the website will contain. This allows you to plan how you are going to manage content on your website as well as the arrangement of the contents in such a way that users can find what they are looking for on such a website. Please note that the information architecture will allow you to understand how you are going to label and index a website. This will determine the exact locations where contents will be placed on your website.

Information architecture for a website can allow you to take three main decisions…

#1 Accommodating future growth

The very first thing that information architecture will allow you to do is that it will allow you to plan for the future of your blog or website. It will allow you to determine the resources that you need in order to accommodate the future growth of your website. Just imagine when Facebook or Twitter started, I do not want to believe that they started the way I started my blog. The reason is that they have a future goal that is bigger than mine. Zuckerberg was building a platform that is expected to accommodate people from across the globe. Therefore, they are busy investing in Data Centres to accommodate those contents.

#2 Website structure

Also, it will also allow you to make decisions about your website structures for the website. It will require you to sit down and determine the type of content that you will be pasting on your website. You need to decide whether your website will contain texts or videos or a combination of both.

 You need to understand that when you are uploading direct videos on your website, it will occupy more space and it will be more expensive to sustain such if you do not have the required capital to sustain it. That is why you need to plan it well so that you do not start a project that you cannot finish.

#3 Type of content

When it comes to information architecture, you need to decide on the type of content that you want to host on your website. Just like I said earlier, the type of content that you desire to place on your website will determine how your content will be structured. At times, this will also determine where your content will be hosted.
 

Now the components…

#1 The sitemap

First and foremost, you have to determine the sitemap of your contents. This is one of the elements that will determine how the entire content will be arranged. The sitemap is a high-level diagram that shows the hierarchy of your website. Also, the sitemap has the ability to assist both humans and spiders to navigate your website and understand it better.
 

#2 Annotated Page Layouts

These are used to provide website directions for the website designer who uses a page layout for the website. This will determine where the Pages and Tabs are placed on your website so that users can easily find what they are looking for on your website.
 

#3 Content matrixes

This counts the number of pages in the system and also identify the web page content. This shows how the contents are arranged and linked together so that users can easily find what they are looking for on your website.
 
 

#4 Page Templates

The page element is one of the important components of information architecture for a website. It defines the layout of common page elements. The Page template will show determine where vital content will appear on a website.
 

#5 Personae

The information architecture of a website will always make use of a user personae when the structure is being determined. This will assist the Website Developer to determine user accessibility. It will help to determine whether important information is easy to locate on a website or not. At times, some of them go as far as conducting dummy signup so as to understand the challenges users can face when they are signing up on the website.

#6 Storyboards

It is also possible at times that Website Developers will adopt the use of storyboards when they are creating websites. Storyboards can allow the website developer to create 3D Stories that will walk users through the entire workings of the website. This will allow them to make their own inputs so that the entire process can satisfy all stakeholders at the end of the exercise.

#7 Prototypes

These are the models of the systems which brings information architecture to life. Most times, you may have an imaginary website or real website that you are following in order to create your own ideal website. This will give you something to work with so that you will have a perfect website at the end of the whole process.  Please note that the prototype will remain the minimum standard expected for the website. You will not want to create anything that falls below the standard you have chosen. It can only get better.

In my previous article, I talked about some of the reasons why you should consider hosting instead of buying a Server on your own. In this article, I want to look at some of the checklists that you should consider for a good web hosting company. Follow me as we are going to look at that together in this article.
 

#1 Tech Support

I remember a particular hosting where I once hosted my blog. This particular night I was having an issue and I need to contact support to resolve some issues on my behalf. The guy on duty that night has to confess that he was the only one on duty and he was not able to assist me. Believe me, I have to jettison that hosting company.

When you have to choose any hosting company to host your blog or your website, you need to make sure that such an organization have good email or chat support. This is important for you most importantly when you are a novice. You will not want to go through that stress of resolving issues on your own. It can be very frustrating.

#2 Storage space

Another factor that you need to consider is the storage space that they are providing for you. This is one common mistake that we are always making as bloggers and website owners. You will not want to be told that you need to buy more space when you have not even had much stored on your hosting account.

The different hosting companies have different Storage spaces for different packages. You need to be sure that you are comfortable with the storage space before you proceed with your payment.

#3 Email Accounts

Another factor that you need to consider when you are choosing your hosting company is the number of email accounts that you can have on a single account. At times, this will be based on the type of package that you choose with the hosting company. You need to make sure that you made an enquiry before you proceed with making payment for the hosting.

#4 FTP Access

Also, when you need to choose a good hosting company to transact business with, you need to make sure that your hosting company have the option of providing FTP access for users who might want to access your website. File Transfer Protocol can allow third parties to access your website without giving them access to your main server. It is not good to go for a hosting company that could not provide FTP access for those that would like to access your website for special assignments.

#5 Secure data transfer

Another important requirement for a good hosting company has to do with the secure transfer of data from one end to another. If for example. You are setting up an e-commerce website on your server, your customers will not want a situation where your password and other Personal Identifiable Information are compromised.  They will want a secured communication from one end to another. You have to have a commitment from your hosting company that your customer data will not be compromised.

#6 Bandwidth

In computing, bandwidth is the maximum rate of data transfer across a given path. Bandwidth may be characterized as network bandwidth, data bandwidth, or digital bandwidth. You need to check the rate at which data are allowed to be transferred by the hosting company. This will determine the speed of your website. I believe you know that website speed is very critical to SEO.

#7 Dependability and backup

When you need to host your blog or website, you need to make sure you have done your research very well before you choose any hosting site. You have to check out their client testimonial and vet what their previous customers have said about them.

You need to find out whether they have a system of data backup that saved the data of their customers in case of any unforeseen circumstances before you will choose them for your online business. This is very important to avoid stories that touch the heart.

#8 Reputation

There is a need for you to also check the reputation of the hosting company. You need to find out how long they have been in business as well as the quality of their resource personnel among others. This will help to determine whether you can actually rely on them for your online business. If they have a track record of excellent customer service and online support. That means you can trust them to provide excellent service for your hosting needs.

#9 Price

Also, when it comes to hosting your website, there is a need for you to cut your cloth according to your cloth. Hosting is something that you need to be able to sustain on a yearly basis. You should not choose a hosting platform that you will not be able to pay for at the end of the first year. You need to look at the feasibility of paying for hosting for a long time. If you know that payment will be a problem, it is advisable for you to start with a free hosting service such as Blogger or wordpress.com.

10 Reasons Why You Should Avoid Free Hosting

It is very common to human nature to like free things. I know it is very possible that you as a person like free things but when it comes to hosting your domain, you need to avoid hosting your site on a free hosting site. In this article, I want to talk about ten good reasons why you should avoid free hosting sites. Before that, there is one impression I would like to correct. Some have said that you should set up a blog when you are not gainfully employed, that notion is wrong. You need money to run a successful blog. If you do not have money or you are a struggling guy, you cannot go far in Blogging. I stand to be corrected.

Here are the reasons to avoid free hosting blogging like a plague…

#1 Lack of customer support

One of the very first things that you will notice when you are using a free hosting site is that you are actually on your own. There are many challenges that you will face when it comes to cpanel and hosting as well as submission of your website to search engine, I doubt if you will be able to address some of these challenges on your own.

You really need some external support from experts. You will not get that expert support if all you are relying on is free hosting.

You are absolutely on your own!

#2 More downloading time

You will also notice that when you are relying on a free hosting service, the bandwidth that will be allocated to you will be very limited. You will not have much of their resources committed to your online business. If you want your visitors to be able to download files on time, you need to really open your purse and pay for reliable hosting. It is as simple as that.

#3 Invasive advertisement

Another major challenge that you will have when you are using free hosting that you will have a lot of invasive advertising on your web page. This will actually affect the customer experience on your website. You will not have control over adverts from the owner that is coming to your website. They will tell you that you need to pay for hosting before such adverts are removed.

#4 Limited Storage Space

There was a time in my blogging career when I actually tried to use free website hosting when I could not afford to pay for normal web hosting. Then I have had over 500 articles on my blog. I was able to successfully upload my content. To my amazement on the second day, the account went offline. It was so frustrating. I think I need to repeat the advice I gave the other time for upcoming bloggers. If you cannot afford to pay for hosting for a long time, you should start with a Blogger.com account. When you use free hosting, the storage space that will be allocated to you will be very limited.

#5 Unsecured server access

Also, you should know that when all that you are relying on is free website access, you are likely to experience unsecured website access. It will be easy for a third party to access your website because your website is not secured. At times, when a breach happens, you cannot query the hosting company for a breach of data. You are practically at their mercy. You are not paying them in the first place.

#6 Limited type of files

Also, you need to know that if you go for the option of free website hosting for your online business, there is a limited type of file that you are allowed to post on your website. This will not allow you to serve your customers because they have complete control over what you can post on your website. This can be frustrating to you as the owner of such a website. It is not advisable to consider starting your Blogging career with a free hosting platform.

  #7 Limited Advertising revenue

Also, you need to understand that when you are using free hosting, there is a high tendency that you are going to experience limited advertising revenue. There are also going to limit the type of ads that you can place on your website. This will definitely limit the type of ads that you can place on your site. You cannot place direct ads and you cannot use Google AdSense among other options that you have.
 

#8 No guarantee longevity and availability

Also, just like I said earlier, the hosting company can decide to take off your website from their radar at any time. Since you are not paying for the service, you cannot really beat your chest that the website will always be available, you are practically at the mercy of the hosting company. The only thing you can do to guarantee the longevity and availability of the service is to pay for the service.
 

#9 Search engines ignore you

If you are using a free hosting service to host your website, you can never rank of search engine. You cannot even submit your website to Bing or Google Search Console. Your website will be ignored. Therefore the tendency of your website to come up on the Search Engine Result Page is very minimal. It is also going to be a subdomain which will make the website unnecessary longer and your audience will find it difficult to remember your domain name.

#10 Overcrowded server

Also, even if the hosting company wants to render “excellent service”, they will not be able to do because their server is overcrowded. It is only companies like Google and WordPress that can offer such excellent services because they have a variety of websites where your services can be hosted. Asides from those two, you are going to experience intermittent services if you are using any other free hosting service platforms.

4 Reasons Why You Need Web Hosting

I know too many bloggers out there, the topic I am about to write about might not be strange to you. Some of you might be planning to skip these articles already. Believe me, there is no harm in reading the article. There are some things that you can learn if you can take the time to read this article about why you need web hosting for your blog or website. In this article. I will be talking about some of the reasons why you get on a good web hosting platform for your website or blog.

Another reason why we need to go through this article is that there are some of you who you are with a blog hosting company that is killing your career gradually. It is high time you plan on how you are going to move on.

Without wasting much time, here are some of the reasons why you need a good web hosting service.

#1 Storage platform
When it comes to website hosting, you need to understand a good website works like you have an online office. When you are setting up an office, you will need to rent a shop and pay yearly for that shop. The same thing applies to your blog or website. Your hosting company is your landlord or landlady. They are the ones helping you to keep your files and other information that relates to your entire website.

So the hosting platform is a special computer that manages your blog or website database. They assist you in storing images, files and other important data that relates to your website.

#2 Domain requests
Also, your hosting platform is linked to your server. When a user comes to your website and they desire to open a particular page on your website, they will be sending a request to the server. It is now the duty of the server to load the web page that the visitor desired to open. If you have a domain name without a hosting platform, there will be no special platform which your data can load from.

#3 Good Stuffs are expensive
Also, you need to note that for you to enjoy good hosting, you must be ready to pay for such services. It is expensive because hosting requires good internet connectivity and bandwidth. It is also expected that the service should be available almost all the time. They need to make use of Ti, DS3 or Gigabit internet connection in order to be able to serve customers better.

#4 Cheaper to rent
You also need to understand that most at times, it is better to go for the option of paying for web hosting than when you are planning to host your website on your own. There is a high tendency that those hosting sites will have a strong internet connection that is stronger than yours. They will be able to provide excellent services which might be difficult for you to maintain on your own. That is why it is very important for you to consider this option instead of thinking of buying a server on your own.

Action Point
PS: If you would like to have an online course on any of the courses that you found on this blog, I will be glad to do that on an individual and corporate level, I will be very glad to do that because I have trained several individuals and groups and they are doing well in their various fields of endeavour. Some of those that I have trained include staff of Dangote Refinery, FCMB, Zenith Bank, and New Horizons Nigeria among others. Please come on Whatsapp and let’s talk about your training. You can reach me on Whatsapp HERE. Please note that I will be using Microsoft Team to facilitate the training.

I know you might agree with some of the points that I have raised in this article. You might not agree with some of the issues raised. Let me know your views about the topic discussed. We will appreciate it if you can drop your comment. Thanks in anticipation.

CRMNIGERIA is committed to fact-checking in a fair, transparent and non-partisan manner. Therefore, if you’ve found an error in any of our reports, be it factual, editorial, or an outdated post, please contact us to tell us about it.

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