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What to Expect During the App Development Process

Author: Mario Diaz

What to Expect During the App Development Process

Posted on by Mario Diaz

Are you a business owner in the Los Angeles, Orange, or Riverside area of California? Do you want to gain new customers and strengthen your brand? Developing an app for your business is a great way to start. If you want your app to look clean, modern, and professional, it’s a good idea to work with an app development company to bring your vision to life.

Keep reading this guide to find out what to expect during app development, from start to finish.

Planning

Once you have an initial idea for your app, your app development team will work with you to help realize your vision.

When you and your app development team have decided exactly what kind of app your business needs, they’ll get you a full specification. A specification is like a blueprint for your app, so you can make sure everything looks good.

Mobile apps are a quickly growing market, taking up almost 50% of e-commerce in the U.S. But don’t worry; your team will know how to make an app stand out in the crowd.

Customer Experience

Once you approve the specification, your team will get to work on UX and UI design. This is how they make sure that customers enjoy interacting with your app.

UX stands for User Experience; in other words, do people have a good time using your app?

UI stands for User Interface, which is the way that customers will interact with your app. What buttons they’ll be clicking on, the way they’re redirected to other pages, and the general visual aesthetic of your app are all part of the UI design.

Research shows that 88% of online shoppers would not return to a website that gave them a bad user experience. Hiring a team of trained professionals to handle UX and UI design will help you retain as many customers as possible through your app.

App Development and Testing

The next step in the app development process is called full-stack development. In this step, your developers will work on both the front and back end of your app.

Basically, they’ll ensure that all the commands that your clients can give the app are properly coded into it, that data can be properly stored on it, and a bunch of other behind-the-scenes stuff that is essential to your app working well.

After that, they’ll test every page of your app to make sure everything works, loads quickly, and won’t give your customers any unexpected errors.

Final Stages

Once your app is ready to go, your development team will handle putting it on app stores. Time to celebrate! Your business is one step further toward success.

The last step in the app development process is ongoing; your team will always be with you to make any necessary improvements or updates to your app.

Start Developing Your App

You might be wondering: how long does it take to make an app? What app features will my specific business need? How much does app development cost?

Get in contact with an app development company today to start designing your product and get those questions answered.

Get your company on the app store, sit back, and watch your business grow!

7 Tips for Developing an Instagram Marketing Strategy That Works

Posted on by Mario Diaz

With almost one billion active users, Instagram is one of the world’s most popular social media platforms. But with so many users, your content has to be high-quality to stand out. To ensure your getting the most out of your account, we’ve put together 7 key tips for Instagram marketing. Keep reading for easy and effective steps you can take to improve your social media marketing presence today!

1. Use Hashtags

Hashtags are how users on Instagram search for accounts and content. If you want any chance at being found by new and repeat customers alike, you’ll want to make sure you’re using hashtags.

Create your own hashtags to promote products and services, and use established ones to boost traffic. Be sure to stay on top of what’s trending to increase your chances of being found through organic searches.

2. Write Creative Captions

While Instagram is an image-based platform, you can write captions up to 2,200 characters long. The first two lines of your caption will be visible without clicking to see more.

Captions are your opportunity to use your brand’s voice, and you should be taking advantage of it. Just remember that users typically don’t read long paragraphs, so keep it brief unless you have a great story to tell.

3. Use a Business Profile

If you’re using Instagram for your business, you’ll want to use a business account. These accounts offer more features than personal ones do, like Instagram ads and Instagram shopping.

4. Keep It Varied

To keep users coming back for more, you need to make sure you vary your content as much as possible. Instagram only allows you to post videos and photos, so make sure to change subjects and themes when you can.

While the focus should always be your industry and business, repeating content makes it harder to grow a following. Shake it up when you can to ensure your account is worth visiting.

5. Establish a Brand Aesthetic

It’s important to keep a consistent visual theme throughout your posts. While you should vary your content, your brand’s colors and personality should run through each of your posts.

This becomes especially important when several people contribute to your Instagram posts, so be sure to keep things consistent across your social media content.

6. Engage With Users

Social media isn’t just about posting pictures, it’s about being social! Because of this, it’s important that you interact with users on Instagram. Make comments, use the like button, and contribute to conversations on your posts.

This shows that you are active and engaged in your content, and is a good way to keep users coming back to your page.

7. Post at the Correct Times

Depending on your business, some times are better to post than others. To make sure your posts are seen by as many of the right people as possible, consider your audience and when they’re active.

If you aren’t sure what time is the best to post, there are plenty of guides online to help you out.

Get Social With These 7 Instagram Marketing Tips

When it comes to promoting your business on Instagram, you’ll need a good plan to keep up with your competitors. These 7 tips are the perfect tool for improving your Instagram marketing strategy!

Looking for more advice on web design to marketing? Check out the rest of our site to learn more from our digital experts!

How Long Does It Take to Design a Website?

Posted on by Mario Diaz

Nearly 90% of customers are less likely to return to a website if they have a bad experience.

Building a website isn’t a simple matter of adding some images and text. It takes careful planning, thoughtful design, and time to craft the perfect site that your visitors will enjoy.

The question is, how much time?

This article answers the question of how long does it take to design a website.

Read on to discover the five phases of building a website. Learn the benefits of a professionally designed site versus doing it yourself. And estimate the time needed to create a site that will best promote your West Coast brand online.

The Process of Designing a Website

When asking how long does it take to build a website you must consider the various phases of design to launch:

  1. Discovery phase
  2. Design phase
  3. Development phase
  4. Alteration phase
  5. Launch

The discovery phase is the foundation of any design project and involves researching how the site will best serve your needs. That includes researching your customer base, their expectations, and competitor sites.

Discovery results in a project specification, the first step of which is the design phase.

Design and Development

User Experience or UX measures how users interact with a website and if they enjoyed their visit.

Fundamental to UX is structured navigation and pleasing aesthetics.

Users want a professional image that inspires confidence. They must be able to find the content they’re looking for and benefit from it.

Professional website designers like Enfuse will create wireframes to steer this process. You’ll see how your site will work and mockups give a taste of the end result.

The real work begins during the development phase when coding and image editing takes place. This includes responsive design so your site will work on a mobile device or any size of a screen.

Alterations and Launch

During the alteration phase, you have the ability to fully test your site and make any changes.

We show you how to edit the content yourself through the WordPress CMS platform. When you’re happy, we set the site live and you can track your visitors through the analytics tools.

How Long Does It Take to Design a Website?

Now you know the different stages of designing a website, how long before launch?

The answer depends on your own unique requirements and how quickly you can provide content.

Our clients typically see their sites go live within 4-6 weeks. That time period covers all phases of development including alterations to mockups.

Don’t forget that once your website is online you need to market and promote it. That will continue throughout your site’s lifecycle and will help push you up the search engine rankings.

DIY vs Professional Website Design

You might be wondering why you couldn’t just create a website yourself. Online services state that building a website takes a few hours so why invest in weeks of work?

The difference between DIY vs professional website design is the end product.

Customers can spot a professionally designed site as soon as they arrive. It will inspire them to do business with confidence and will better promote your brand.

That takes time but it’s time well spent.

Building a Website That Works

How long does it take to design a website?

At Enfuse, we average around 4-6 weeks for a custom-built site that will draw visitors and keep them coming back. We work alongside our clients to ensure they receive the website they deserve.

If you’re local to Orange, Los Angeles, or the Riverside areas of California, start a project by contacting us today.

What Are the Different Types of Digital Marketing?

Posted on by Mario Diaz

With more interactions happening online than ever before, businesses need to have an online presence to give them the ability to engage with online consumers. Considering that 93 percent of all online experiences start with search engines like Google, having an established online presence will lead consumers to your brand rather than the competition.

There are a few different ways of connecting with consumers online or digital marketing options that can help you engage with potential online shoppers.

If you are looking to grow your online presence, keep reading this comprehensive guide to discover the different types of digital marketing and how they can help your business grow.

1. Search Engine Optimization

As so most people are utilizing the power of search to find things like:

  • Where to eat
  • Places to stay
  • And to find entertainment

It has never been more important for businesses to practice good search engine optimization habits in order to put their brand in a position to be found through a basic search. With 32 percent of individuals engaging with the first result to appear in Google, being visible is a major competitive advantage.

2. Pay-Per-Click

Pay-per-click or PPC is another common digital marketing type that businesses will utilize in order to increase the number of visitors to their website. When it comes to PPC, it’s essentially a form of buying visitors instead of obtaining them organically like you would with search engine optimization.

Businesses will often use PPC with search engines to promote their business. Each time a user clicks the link, the business will pay a small fee.

3. Social Media Marketing

One of the most successful kinds of digital marketing is through the use of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

According to insights from the PEW Research Center, over 72 percent of adults in the U.S are currently on social media. That’s a massive market just waiting to be captured. A few ways of connecting with users on social media include:

  • Posting informative content
  • Engaging with users
  • Answering questions
  • And offering freebies or raffles

Social media can be an excellent place to grow your customer base. However, it’s also easy to ruin your brand name by posting the wrong types of content – make sure to be mindful of content posted on social media.

4. Email Marketing

The tried and true email marketing may seem like an outdated form of communication for businesses. However, it can still be a great way of connecting with consumers and helping to build a community of followers.

According to the 2019 Marketing Email Tracker, the return on investment (ROI) for email marketing can be up to 42X. Meaning for every dollar spent on marketing for email, the return can be $42!

What Types of Digital Marketing is Right for You?

It can be intimidating to start marketing online with so many different types of digital marketing to choose from and begin to implement. Different types of businesses will often require various digital marketing types in order to connect with their target market and keep them engaged with the brand.

If you are considering giving your online presence a boost, contact us today, and we can help you get started on your digital marketing journey.

What Is the Main Difference Between SEO and SEM?

Posted on by Mario Diaz

Did you know that there are over 1.7 billion websites on the internet? All of these sites are vying for the coveted top spot in the search engine results pages. Your digital marketing strategy will help to take your website there. You may have heard of SEO and SEM; both are designed to help you drive traffic to your website. But do you know what the difference between the two is? In this article, we’ll take a look at the main difference between SEO and SEM.

What is SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimization. SEO relates to anything that you do to improve your organic search results.

There are several facets of SEO. The main types of SEO are:

  • On-page SEO- This helps your content rank higher in the search engine results pages (SERPs)
  • Off-page SEO– This refers to getting links to your site placed on other, high authority pages
  • Technical SEO- This improves the performance of your site to aid ranking
  • Local SEO- This helps your business appear on maps and on Google’s Local Pack

Common SEO tactics include keyword optimization, link building, mobile optimization, and improving page load speeds.

What is SEM?

SEM stands for search engine marketing. SEM utilizes paid advertising to help you position your website higher in the search rankings.

SEM involves setting up ads and optimizing them. This strategy may also be referred to as pay-per-click (PPC) marketing.

Google Ads is one of the most popular places to start when implementing this strategy.

SEM centers around keyword optimization, so in many respects, it shares similarities with SEO.

What Are the Benefits of SEO?

The main benefit of SEO is that you’ll rank high on the search results pages. It generates organic traffic based on people’s search terms.

This means that the traffic is effectively free, although you may need to pay to have your site optimized, you won’t pay by the click like you will do with SEM.

What Are the Benefits of SEM?

Much like with SEO, the main benefit of SEM is that your website will rank at the top of the search results. This time, it is listed as an ad.

The benefit of SEM is that it is a great way of guaranteeing traffic to your website. An SEM strategy should be employed alongside an SEO strategy.

The Difference Between SEO and SEM

The main difference between SEO and SEM is that SEO is free and organic, whereas SEM is paid for. Both SEO and SEM are powerful tools that are essential in any digital marketing toolkit, and both are very beneficial.

Both SEO and SEM serve the same purpose; that is to get your website to appear as high as possible in the search results.

If you’d like help with your marketing and SEO needs, get in touch with Enfuse today.

The Common Types of Websites for Businesses

Posted on by Mario Diaz

Did you know that 57% of internet users say they wouldn’t recommend a company based on a poor website experience on mobile? Websites for businesses are a great way to advertise the brand. They also help potential customers find information about the products and/or services. To help you prepare for your chat with a professional designer, we’ve listed some of the most common types of websites for businesses to consider.

Service Websites for Skilled Labor

This is the simplest option for small business websites. This site allows you to provide information about what you offer, such as your pricing and hours of operation.

You can also include a blog section that can drive traffic to your website. This is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). With the right support, you can not only convert leads into customers and earn you a passive income through affiliate marketing.

E-Commerce Website for Selling Products

The best kinds of websites for anyone selling products to consumers, the easiest choice is to use WordPress platforms like WooCommerce or Magento. These accept orders online and process payments on the site.

E-commerce sites are also set up to work with your own physical inventory systems and existing technology. So if you already own a shop and are looking to take your products online, then investing in a high-quality e-commerce site is the way forward.

Portfolio Website for Freelancers and Creatives

Suppose you’re starting up a business in freelancing or need something to showcase your skills as a self-employed laborer. In that case, a portfolio is the one to choose from all the website types.

A portfolio website is sleek, minimal, and designed to make your talents stand out from the crowd. Check out our own portfolio for an example of a quality showcase of workmanship!

But don’t fall for thinking this is only for creative freelancers. If you’re a developer, you may want to have a website as a showcase for what you can do. Or, if you’re an interior designer, you can capture your previous work in a gallery-style portfolio to add value to your services.

Corporate Website for Business-To-Business

A Corporate Website makes you and your corporate business look professional and trustworthy, which helps customers feel confident about their buying decision. They are also a great way to showcase your company or brand identity.

Use the most common corporate website options such as WordPress and Adobe Creative Suite, to create a site with professional imagery and layout. And if your business already has an offline presence, use your corporate website to allow for quick lead capture and conversion.

The Right Types of Websites for Your Business

Your small business website reflects your company, and you should choose the right one for your specific needs. Take time to think about how your business will be using the website to make sure it’s going to support your business goals.

A well-designed website can deliver real value to your company and help it succeed in its online endeavors.

If you’re still stuck with the different types of websites, get in touch, and let’s start a project. We’ll help you make an informed decision about your digital future!

3 Benefits of Infographics That Will Capture Your Audience

Posted on by Mario Diaz

As many as 65% of B2B marketers use infographics for their content marketing strategy. Many make it a key part of their strategies. Why is this?

The main role of infographics is to present data. Simply speaking, it’s used to compile data into one image using visuals.

However, we already have many ways of presenting data. What makes it stand out that marketers still use it?

Are infographics useful? What are the benefits of infographics? Keep on reading to know more about the infographic benefits below.

1. Captures Attention

Pictures and colors do more in capturing the attention of your viewers and retaining it than plain text. Remember, you’re competing with thousands of other content, especially on social media. What can make your audience stop scrolling?

Eye-catching content is what you need when you only have a fraction of a second to make an impression. You have to compete using visuals that will attract them. Posts with plain text won’t do; big walls of text might even bore the readers in an instant.

When you do it right, infographics can urge your audience to learn more. In a noisy space like social media, you need every weapon in your arsenal to grab attention and keep it.

2. Easy to Digest

Aside from the pretty colors, another reason why infographics can retain the attention of the audience is that it’s easy to digest. In infographics vs text, this is another area where the former wins.

Humans process visual media 60,000 times faster than text. This is why we tend to favor data presented using graphics.

Infographics arrange and compare data in a way that’s easier to understand. Bar graphs, for example, place the data side by side. In a single glance, you can tell the relationship of each data.

This type of content also provides context for the data presented in other mediums. As such, it’s also a good accompaniment to the text.

3. Shareable

One of the best benefits of infographics is that it’s shareable. This is a great characteristic for content, as you need it to reach as big an audience as possible.

On social media, your post can reach the friends and friends of friends of your followers when they share it on their timeline. Even if it’s on a blog post on your website, your audience can still share it on social media with a few clicks. You only have to make sure they’re shareable that way.

Infographics are also linkable. When other websites want to use them as a source, they can simply link to your post on your social media or blog.

Learn More About the Benefits of Infographics

These are only a few of the benefits of infographics. It can increase your audience engagement, and as such, it should be a key part of your strategy. It presents data in a way that reaches out to the audience.

In short, infographics prevent your data from being boring. Contact us today to learn more about using infographics.

On Page vs Off Page SEO: What Is the Difference?

Posted on by Mario Diaz

There’s a reason why the SEO industry market value is quickly approaching $80 billion. More companies than ever before are discovering the powerful marketing potential behind search engine optimization. If you’re new to SEO, then you might still be confused by a lot of the concepts.

Considering how in-depth the topic is, that’s perfectly natural. However, it’s important to understand at least some of the foundational terms. For example, on page vs off page SEO are two vital concepts. So, how do these two terms differ from each other? And is there any overlap? In this article, we’ll teach you everything you need to know about these two concepts. Let’s get started!

What’s the Difference Between On Page vs Off Page SEO

Before we dive into the details of off page vs on page SEO, let’s first discuss the difference. Essentially, on page SEO deals with the nuts and bolts of your website. It’s things that you can change in terms of content and features to make your page more effective. Off page SEO, on the other hand, deals with ranking factors that happen outside of the confines of your website. 

On Page SEO

It’s helpful to think of on page SEO as tactics you can use within your website to make it rank higher on search engines like Google. To use on page SEO effectively, it’s important to have an idea about what kind of traffic you want to generate: local or organic. If you want to target the people in the vicinity of your business, then local SEO is the best option.

However, if you just want the most amount of traffic from anywhere, then organic SEO is more important. So, what factors affect on page SEO? As we mentioned, it’s the details within your website. This includes things like:

  • URL structure
  • Meta descriptions
  • Title tags
  • Content organization
  • Image alt text
  • Internal and external linking
  • Site loading speed

Off Page SEO

Off page SEO deals with more intangible concepts like brand awareness and credibility. However, it’s nonetheless important. People make a first impression within 12 seconds of meeting someone. So, you can imagine how quickly they can dismiss a webpage that isn’t recognizable or credible. Here are some of the features you should be utilizing in your off page SEO:

  • Backlinks
  • Sharability
  • Domain credibility
  • Distribution of content

Need Help With Your Company’s SEO? Contact Enfuse Creative Design

We hope this article helped you find out the difference between on page vs off page SEO. As you can see, we’ve just scratched the surface of this topic. If you feel overwhelmed by the amount of technical knowledge needed to run a successful SEO campaign, then consider hiring a professional. A full-service web development and marketing company like Enfuse Creative Design is a great place to start. We’ve been serving our clients for over two decades. This gives us the expertise to accomplish your marketing vision — no matter how big or small. If you’re ready to learn more about how we can help you achieve your goals, then contact us today. 

Posted in SEO

The Importance of Website Design in Business

Posted on by Mario Diaz

Did you know that 47% of humans are off daydreaming? This means, if you want their attention, you have to grab it!

How can this be achieved? This becomes increasingly important for your brand or business. A clean website design is one way to ensure that people will stick around.

For your clients and customers, your website reflects your brand. It only makes sense to put the time to develop your page.

Interested in how to create a website that will shine? Read our guide below!

First Impressions

Whether in person or online, first impressions matter. Your website reflects your brand, so don’t take it lightly. When a user lands on a site that is well thought out, they will want to use your business.

You don’t want to give off the wrong sense with potential customers and clients, do you? We didn’t think so.

Build Trust

Transparency in business has become a popular character trait in the age of the internet. You will want a website design that is clean and simple. People can often sense when something feels a bit off with a business.

Don’t let this be your brand. Instead, focus on building a level of trust with your customers. This can be achieved with a clear and distinct feel.

When you put you and your brand out there, people will take notice.

Stand Out From the Crowd

Demonstrating a level of professionalism through website design is a must in today’s age. Users and clients expect a responsive design with the right set of images that pop off the screen. Hiring a website design company is necessary if you want to raise the stakes.

Be bold with your brand! Be sure to make good use of fonts, colors, and creative copy!

Take a peek at what the competition is doing. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery after all. By taking bits of inspiration here and there, your brand will soon be as sleek as the industry leaders.

Website Design Ideas

There are definite dos and don’ts of website design. If you want to take your brand to the next level, we encourage you to focus on proper website design ideas. Specific elements will create a visually appealing aesthetic that will have users visiting your site on the regular.

Be sure to go through a website design agency to kick it up a notch. A professional web designer will take your input and turn it into a beautiful website. If you would like a DIY approach, there are a plethora of website design templates to choose from.

Take a look at what you’ll need for a good, clean website design for your business.

  • Navigation – An intuitive navigational system
  • Responsive Design – A seamless look across desktop, mobile, and tablet
  • Color – Follow your brand’s color scheme with 60% primary, 30% secondary, and 10% accent
  • Fonts – Create consistency with your font choices
  • Images – Have bold high-definition photography

This shortlist will have you headed in the right direction. You won’t want to stop there as your site begins to take shape and form.

Get Creative With Your Website Design

Are your creative juices flowing? We thought so! Take your website design to the next level with our creative solutions.

Take the time you need to create a page that people will know and love. If you are curious about where to get started, we’ve got your back.

Contact our team today! You’ll have a beautiful website for your brand in no time!

4 Undeniable Benefits of Hiring SEO Services for Your Business

Posted on by Mario Diaz

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic moving so many of our activities online, it’s more important than ever for your business to rank on search engines. You might be able to get decent results on your own, but if you truly want to convert clicks into sales, you need professional SEO services.

Here are 4 great reasons to consider working with a professional SEO company.

1. Get More Than Just Traffic

A good SEO service company can help your business with more than just extra web traffic. Professional SEO services know how to turn those clicks into sales.

Simply getting clicks isn’t too complicated, but SEO companies have the right kind of expertise to get the right kind of clicks to your website.

This means they focus on driving traffic from individuals who are likely to actually buy your products or engage with your services.

Anyone can get clicks, but converting those clicks to sales is extremely valuable.

2. Get Helpful Data

Not only can SEO services drive more traffic to your website, but they can also help you uncover and interpret helpful data about who is visiting.

In the world of sales, information about demographics is invaluable. A good SEO company can help you to learn more about exactly who is visiting your website.

This could give you useful information about potential customers that you hadn’t previously considered.

For instance, an SEO company can help you to discover high-ranking keywords that you can use to drive more traffic to your site.

3. They Have the Best Tools

A professional SEO company will have the best tools to do the job. If you want to do truly comprehensive SEO research, you need to have access to the best apps and databases.

Usually, these apps charge a hefty subscription fee, so it’s not usually viable for a company to do their own SEO using them. It’s only viable to pay the required subscription if you’re doing SEO professionally.

This means that a good SEO company can do in-depth research that you could never manage if you tried to do it alone.

4. They’re up to Date on the Industry

The world of SEO moves quickly. The only way you can keep up to date with what’s going on in the industry is by working in SEO for a living.

If you try to handle your own SEO on top of running your company, you simply won’t have enough time to stay on top of the latest trends.

Professional SEO services, on the other hand, can help you take advantage of the latest changes and trends.

If Google changes the way their search engine works, this presents the perfect opportunity for getting your site to the front page. SEO companies are aware of these changes and can help you take advantage of them.

SEO Services Can Improve Sales

As you can see, SEO isn’t really something that you can do on the side while you try to run a business. If you truly want to get hits on your website and convert those hits to sales, you need professional SEO services.

If you’re interested in hiring an SEO service company, check out our services page.

Posted in SEO