Tiny_Coast

It depends on the style of the website. Some might for example go all in with a contrasty color palette, while some do very well with unique typography.
For me, it is smooth animations, and I try to add it as much as possible. One animated element that makes the site stand out from the rest (I think), is the animated gradient headings:

 

An important part of growing your business successfully is taking the time to understand your customers and their journey. Knowing their motivations for buying your product offerings, how they found your business, which communication channels they prefer, and what your competitors are doing to lure them, is key to being able to retain your customers and develop products that they need and want. Additionally, market research will help you better understand where your resources and marketing budget should be directed in order to get a better return of investment.

Best practices include:
Defining your buyer persona Checking out how customers behave in stores that offer similar products  Individual interviews and/or focus groups Processing the data into actionable steps
Learning how to ask the right questions can be tricky, and there are resources like Hubspot and Hotjar that provide information that can guide you along the way.

What are your tips for conducting market research? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Christmas is coming and this little code snippet can bring snowflakes to your site
<style> /* customizable snowflake styling */ .snowflake { color: #fff; font-size: 1em; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-shadow: 0 0 5px #000; } @-webkit-keyframes snowflakes-fall{0%{top:-10%}100%{top:100%}}@-webkit-keyframes snowflakes-shake{0%,100%{-webkit-transform:translateX(0);transform:translateX(0)}50%{-webkit-transform:translateX(80px);transform:translateX(80px)}}@keyframes snowflakes-fall{0%{top:-10%}100%{top:100%}}@keyframes snowflakes-shake{0%,100%{transform:translateX(0)}50%{transform:translateX(80px)}}.snowflake{position:fixed;top:-10%;z-index:9999;-webkit-user-select:none;-moz-user-select:none;-ms-user-select:none;user-select:none;cursor:default;-webkit-animation-name:snowflakes-fall,snowflakes-shake;-webkit-animation-duration:10s,3s;-webkit-animation-timing-function:linear,ease-in-out;-webkit-animation-iteration-count:infinite,infinite;-webkit-animation-play-state:running,running;animation-name:snowflakes-fall,snowflakes-shake;animation-duration:10s,3s;animation-timing-function:linear,ease-in-out;animation-iteration-count:infinite,infinite;animation-play-state:running,running}.snowflake:nth-of-type(0){left:1%;-webkit-animation-delay:0s,0s;animation-delay:0s,0s}.snowflake:nth-of-type(1){left:10%;-webkit-animation-delay:1s,1s;animation-delay:1s,1s}.snowflake:nth-of-type(2){left:20%;-webkit-animation-delay:6s,.5s;animation-delay:6s,.5s}.snowflake:nth-of-type(3){left:30%;-webkit-animation-delay:4s,2s;animation-delay:4s,2s}.snowflake:nth-of-type(4){left:40%;-webkit-animation-delay:2s,2s;animation-delay:2s,2s}.snowflake:nth-of-type(5){left:50%;-webkit-animation-delay:8s,3s;animation-delay:8s,3s}.snowflake:nth-of-type(6){left:60%;-webkit-animation-delay:6s,2s;animation-delay:6s,2s}.snowflake:nth-of-type(7){left:70%;-webkit-animation-delay:2.5s,1s;animation-delay:2.5s,1s}.snowflake:nth-of-type(8){left:80%;-webkit-animation-delay:1s,0s;animation-delay:1s,0s}.snowflake:nth-of-type(9){left:90%;-webkit-animation-delay:3s,1.5s;animation-delay:3s,1.5s}.snowflake:nth-of-type(10){left:25%;-webkit-animation-delay:2s,0s;animation-delay:2s,0s}.snowflake:nth-of-type(11){left:65%;-webkit-animation-delay:4s,2.5s;animation-delay:4s,2.5s} </style> <div class="snowflakes" aria-hidden="true"> <div class="snowflake"> ❅ </div> <div class="snowflake"> ❆ </div> <div class="snowflake"> ❅ </div> <div class="snowflake"> ❆ </div> <div class="snowflake"> ❅ </div> <div class="snowflake"> ❆ </div> <div class="snowflake"> ❅ </div> <div class="snowflake"> ❆ </div> <div class="snowflake"> ❅ </div> <div class="snowflake"> ❆ </div> <div class="snowflake"> ❅ </div> <div class="snowflake"> ❆ </div> </div> Add it into Code injection header
Source CSSnowflakes! (pajasevi.github.io)

Not linked pages are live pages of your website that don’t show in your site’s navigation menus. Your visitors can still view them through a variety of ways including text links, buttons, and linked images.
These handy pages can be used for all sorts of purposes. You can use a Not linked page to host a price sheet to send to prospective clients,  your freebie or giveaway event, or even a form for client intakes. Possibilities are endless! 
How do you like to use Not linked pages on your site? Do you have any great examples or learnings?
Share in the comments below!
 

I always spend a lot of time on the typography because I am a bit of a type nerd lol!
So for me it is the typography first then the colour palette.
 

There are many ways to advertise your business online. Whether it be through Facebook Marketplace, Instagram Shopping, or paid search, there are no shortage of ways to get your name out there. One of the biggest tools online marketers use to great results is Google Ads. With an average of 3.5 billion searches per day, Google Ads offers a way to get your product in front of many sets of eyes. Because it is such a robust platform with so many different settings, options, budget trackers and rules, starting out can be intimidating. According to Hootsuite and Semrush, you should consider doing these things before starting:
Define your goals and target audience for the ad Optimize the landing page where the ad will link to Think about catchy headlines (but no clickbait!) Make sure to use a negative keywords list Test multiple ad copies Do you have any tips for using Google Ads effectively? Any tricks on how to get the most out of Google Ads? Tell us in the comments below! 
 

CAC (customer acquisition cost) is a metric that I use for my ads, and it helps me calculating how much I can spend on ads, for every new customer.
Let's say the average revenue from each customer is $100, your CAC should ideally be $30-40. This means you can spend $30-40 in ads for every new customer.
In Google Ads you can easily track this with their conversions-feature, and see how many new subscriptions and purchases you get from your ads. 
 

@Jo_SQSP greetings
setup tracking first - before you run any kind of campaign or marketing activity make sure that you have every commercially interesting touch point on your website setup for tracking. This means email addresses, telephone numbers, dedicated form submit URLS that you can capture as form-sends, you can also setup your most important pages as Intent triggers. This means for example if you have a page that contains your contact address you can trigger that page as a goal.

To put this into context
If you run a Google Ads campaigns without tracking you will know that people arrived at your website. This makes it impossible for your to distinguish between browsers and people that are interested in your product/service. If you deliver a visitor to the website and they go through your website and also spend time on your contact page, you can determine that they may have a high interest in your business. You can then create AUDIENCES using Google Analytics either against Google Events or against Goals which then allows you to create remarketing campaigns. What's more if you have some logic to what you are capturing you can segment your audiences.
For example:
I know that everyone in Audience X has shown an interest in my company so I will setup and run a Google Ad with an offer, or with a link to a piece of content on my blog that is going to provide these people with a greater understanding that I am a real person and my company can be trusted.
🙂

hello! 
I offer digital marketing and web design services for small business owners.  Stepping out and working on my own rather than agency or in house positions has been a great new adventure. 
You can learn more at tinycoastdigital.com
Looking forward to learning about everyone's businesses 😊 
 

Whenever I design, I always look at current trends, local competition, and industry leaders to determine how to use my client's branding. When reviewing their color palette, I take into consideration their brand personality and target audience to make sure I'm using the colors in a way that properly communicates who they are. 
For example, if it's a boutique I make sure I'm utilize their neutrals more than any other colors. For more energetic sites, I utilize either brighter colors or larger sections of color.
I typically start by determining what the button accent color is, then what 2 - 3 section backgrounds I want to use. Lastly, I select the footer color to compliment the other decisions I've made. 
The three most common color-related errors I see when revitalizing sites are:
1 -- People have low contrast buttons. You want to make sure that button text is highly legible!
2 -- People use mid-tone grey text. Not everyone has great eyesight and browsers + devices display text differently.
3 -- People only have white backgrounds. With 7.1, it's so easy to use fun splashes of color or calming light neutrals to break up the content on your page. Give your content distinction and utilize different backgrounds.

I have noticed softer, calmer colours have been very popular in the last year or so.
This is a fun tool you may want to check out: https://coolors.co/

hello! 
I offer digital marketing and web design services for small business owners.  Stepping out and working on my own rather than agency or in house positions has been a great new adventure. 
You can learn more at tinycoastdigital.com
Looking forward to learning about everyone's businesses 😊 
 

There has been plenty of UX research and they found that they never really worked well.
Most people never saw the second slide so if it was important content it may get missed. Still depending on the circumstances they can work well. They do slow down the page load though.
https://medium.com/usabilitygeek/sliders-in-web-design-to-use-or-not-to-use-89487432a7f
 

We’re all creating content daily –whether it be through social media posts, forum interactions, voice notes, and blog posts; content is a great tool to reach out to your audience in relatable and useful ways. However, not all content is created equal and, more importantly, not all content serves a purpose. According to Quicksprout, having a clear content strategy and specific benchmarks for success –like increases in traffic, conversions, mentions, likes, or sales– can be a great tool to reach your business goals, create brand awareness, and offer something of value to your readers or prospective customers. In order to create engaging content, they recommend the following: 
Create content that is unique and unmistakably yours.  Don’t skimp on your content marketing budget.  Create actionable content.  Use the power of storytelling to your advantage. Create eye-catching headlines.
  Writing this type of content isn’t easy and, more often than not, it requires market research and a trial and error approach in order to figure out which type of content and strategies work for you. 
Do you have any tips on how you create appealing headlines and content for your site? Share in the comments below! 
 

hello! 
I offer digital marketing and web design services for small business owners.  Stepping out and working on my own rather than agency or in house positions has been a great new adventure. 
You can learn more at tinycoastdigital.com
Looking forward to learning about everyone's businesses 😊 
 

I'm making Spark Plugin for Squarespace.
I got the idea earlier this year when I was searching around for css/plugins for a site I was making. "Why can’t I have simple toggles inside squrespace to achieve the same thing?", I thought. So I started experimenting with it, and made Spark.
Spark offers 100+ stunning presets so that anyone can have a beautiful design in Squarespace. Instead of copying and pasting code, any preset can be added instantly in one click. Also, all presets are updated live which means they will not break like other plugins/code.
I recently released the first version (early access) of Spark, you can try it out here:
https://sparkplugin.com

My main goal: Have 1000 recurring customers
In my early days I thought starting the business itself was the hard part, but now recently starting my third company I know that's not the case. What's the real hard part: Selling and getting customers. Having 1000 recurring customers involves both of that. 
To keep motivation, I have split my main goal into smaller ones and there are currently two milestones I have reached that I'm proud of to have executed:
Making the product itself (it was hard). I recently started to get my first recurring customers (I made something that people like).

The world of digital advertising can be a complex and exciting undertaking. With so many tools at your disposal –like Google Ads, Facebook and Instagram ads, search engine optimization tools, audience and conversion trackers– deciding how, what, and when to advertise online can become a full time job. However, the tools mentioned above are there to help you succeed and create an advertising plan that works for you and your business. But, how do you start creating an advertising plan for your online business?

Quicksprout has a great resource with actionable steps on how to put together an online marketing plan that works for you and your business. Some of the foundational steps include: 
Focusing on your customers wants and needs Create a marketing framework focused on growth Building a robust social media presence Having a compelling brand story Use free and paid traffic acquisition Leverage some of your content for marketing purposes What tips do you have for getting started in online marketing and advertising? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
 

I think this is a great question. I think one thing to consider is the cost of acquisition. 
Digital strategy should be part of your larger business strategy - it is important to consider how you will drive traffic, margins, and cost per conversion. 
In-person, for example, you may have a great location with lots of foot traffic. Online, however, you may be up against several competitors and rank poorly in search engines. 
You may want to do a SWOT of your digital properties. For example, perhaps you have poor SEO, but a great social following or email list - this gives you an idea of channels you can prioritize and where you need to allocate more energy to grow. 
Additionally, you want to clarify how much you are willing to pay per lead/conversion. For example, if your product sells for $20, your margin is 40%, and it costs $6 to acquire each customer through paid ads, you will need to sell a lot of your product or consider other methods of driving traffic. 
Having clear goals in mind and stating the tactics you plan to use to reach those goals can help keep you on track. 
Thanks 🙂

Tracking is everything. Let me say that again: Tracking is everything.
Traffic delivery is not a problem whether you want it from Google, Facebook or any other network. Media spend needs to be optimized month on month and this can only be done if you know which is the poor traffic and which is the good traffic. You won't know if you don't measure it.
TOFU, MOFU, BOFU - tailor the adverts to the position in the funnel your user finds themselves in. Take a contextual view of what that person knows about you when they click your ad. Don't deliver to the homepage always and expect people to take an interest!
Even if the sector might not be appropriate for your own industry, we wrote a blog post to contextualize how the ad market is changing with tracking here and more zoomed out here
If an ad-network makes a recommendation and you don't have good measurement, you will spend more money and not have a way to reconcile results.
If it doesn't sound like a good offer to you, it probably isn't a good offer, so don't think you will  make sales and get good results.
Review the marketplace, look at your competitors, be better than them on everything.
Cheers.
G.
 
 
 

I think this is a great question. I think one thing to consider is the cost of acquisition. 
Digital strategy should be part of your larger business strategy - it is important to consider how you will drive traffic, margins, and cost per conversion. 
In-person, for example, you may have a great location with lots of foot traffic. Online, however, you may be up against several competitors and rank poorly in search engines. 
You may want to do a SWOT of your digital properties. For example, perhaps you have poor SEO, but a great social following or email list - this gives you an idea of channels you can prioritize and where you need to allocate more energy to grow. 
Additionally, you want to clarify how much you are willing to pay per lead/conversion. For example, if your product sells for $20, your margin is 40%, and it costs $6 to acquire each customer through paid ads, you will need to sell a lot of your product or consider other methods of driving traffic. 
Having clear goals in mind and stating the tactics you plan to use to reach those goals can help keep you on track. 
Thanks 🙂

A business plan is a crucial step towards bringing your idea to life. It is your roadmap to guide you through the winding road of getting your business off the ground. Beyond establishing your business’ focus, a solid business plan can also help you secure funding and attract top talent.
Your business plan should answer questions like what is the purpose of your business? Who is your audience? What needs are you filling? How will you define success? Researching and writing out the answers to these big questions will help you set yourself up for success.
How did you tackle your business plan? What resources did you rely on, and what learnings did you gain along the way?  
Share your tips for developing a solid business plan in the comments below!
 

Hi! You'll need to set the footer to an absolute or fixed position in the Custom CSS section. Try this, FYI this will only apply to the homepage, but if you want it applied everywhere just remove .homepage from it. 
.homepage #footer-sections { position: absolute; bottom: 0; top: auto; left: 0; width: 100%; z-index: 999; } If you need help let me know nick@nickscola.com 

Having a human element in branded photography adds warmth and can set the tone. However, they must be of high-quality and be directly connected to the content. In other words, having a photo needs to add value and communicate a strong message rather than be an arbitrary element. Sometimes you really need a photo to break up the space on a web page, but make sure it says what you want it to.

I totally agree with @Tiny_Coast - focusing on your target market's language style is important.

For my audience, I try to remember that most of them are new to terminology that I use, so I  keep an eye on forums, Facebook groups, and the comment section on my YouTube videos to see what language styles I should focus my strategy on.
Instead of optimizing a blog post for "single page header code injection installation" I would use more casual language like "add code to one page"

I also want to add Pinterest suggested search to the list! They have a lot of data that prompts those suggestions, and while it might not be as fancy as SEMRush or Raven Tools it's great for brainstorming. 😊