The Fastest Way To Build A Website: Best No Code Website Builder

Choose The Right Format

If you’ve been dealing with slow pages, choosing the right format is what separates you from having buttery loading times. 

Before tying together your website with appealing, on-brand imagery, make sure you’ve chosen the best file type to go with your needs. The different usable file types are as follows:

• PNG – This format produces higher quality images, but is also very large file size. We wouldn’t recommend using PNG’s as product images. It was created as a lossless, but it can also be lossy. (We’ll get to explaining the difference between lossless and lossy as you scroll ahead). Complex designs, infographics, images with lots of text in them, and logos can ideally be PNGs. PNGs give you beautiful, crisp lines, allowing you to zoom in and not lose any quality. They also support transparent backgrounds, making it ideal for logos.
• JPEG – This popular format uses lossy and lossless optimization. Unlike with PNGs, there’s a good balance between quality and file size. In eCommerce, JPEGs will be your best bet for your product images, especially if there are several. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice image quality and JPEGs provide the best quality for the smallest file size.
• GIF – This format only uses 256 colors. They are of low quality and can only be used for simplistic images, such as icons and decorative images. It’s also the best choice for animated images. It only uses lossless compression. Never use GIFs for large product images. Use GIFs for thumbnails and decorative images only. Or you could get creative and make custom Instagram stickers for promoting your brand on your IG stories.

PRO TIP: Opt for the 24-bit PNGs instead of the “8 bit” since the former offers better quality and a much more versatile array of colors. But be wary of using too many decorative images since too many of them can affect your load times.

Know The Difference Between Lossy & Lossless Optimisation

You must save your visitors from a less than perfect user experience. To do so, one must optimize images to ensure faster load times. Using a plug-in or script, optimizing images is the process of decreasing image file size. The goal here is to speed up the load time of the page. As you’ve read through the last section, Lossy and lossless compression are two methods that were referred to a lot.

Lossy optimization restores the large file to its original form with minor loss of some unnoticeable data, while lossless compression restores the large file to its original form without any loss of data.

Identify Your Images & Make Alt Texts Your Best Friend

While Google can identify text extremely well, it is still a bit iffy in terms of images. So you must make sure your nomenclature is intact and easy to understand. Alternative text, commonly known as alt tags gives search engines a basic idea of what each image is about. However, they are not visible to your average visitor. Alternative text is a big win for website accessibility since it also helps visually impaired visitors navigate your site with audio-based software. And improving your website’s accessibility is a great way to improve your search rankings. Be sure not to stuff it with keywords. Use plain, understandable language with one targeted keyword. So it is imperative to fill in the Alternative Text field when you’ve added an image to your site.

Now, let’s say we are an exciting new gym, coming soon to your neighborhood. We are trying to find images for our website. We downloaded a stock image off Unsplash and it was named “photo-1534438327276-14e5300c3a48.jpg”. Now obviously, this needs to be renamed. We’d rename it to something simple like “choquer_gym_weight_training_1”. Once we upload it to our hypothetical gym’s website, we have to make sure to fill out the alt text, which would be: ‘Choquer Fitness Weight Training’. Given the example, this should help you understand how to rename and alt tag your images efficiently.

Using SVGs Can Make The Biggest Difference

Another good method would involve the use of SVGs, or ‘scalable vector formats’, with the other images you have on your site. SVG works great for logos, icons, text, and simple images. Here’s why:

• SVGs are known to be super scalable on browsers as well as photo editing tools.
• You can actually see the difference in quality on a small SVG against a bulkier PNG and JPEG equivalent in terms of gradients. The SVG’s gradient is extremely smooth, while banding can be seen on JPEG & PNG’s. (BEWARE: SVG’s don’t work with Illustrator gradient meshes)
• Google indexes SVGs, the same way it does PNGs and JPGs, so you don’t have to worry about SEO.
• SVGs can be your trump card since they are traditionally (not always) smaller in file size than PNGs or JPGs. This can result in faster load times.

Make Sure To Optimize Your Thumbnails

Every good eCommerce site will use well-optimized thumbnail images, especially on home and category pages. The goal is to quickly showcase products without taking up too much space and cluttering your webpage. Thumbnails are great, but can sometimes backfire if not optimized well. In turn, your page load speeds end up taking a hit. If they prevent your home and category pages from loading quickly, you could lose a potential lead. So make your thumbnail file sizes as small as possible. Remember that the collective impact of your thumbnails will have a noticeable impact on your page’s load time.

PRO TIP: Chance your alt attribute text and ensure not to duplicate text that you would use for the larger variants of the same image. In fact, make sure your alt texts are very different for each size of the same image.

Summary & Quick Pointers

• Rename images so that it makes more sense to you. No keyword stuffing. No fluff.
• Use GIFs if you need animated imagery.
• Shrink down decorative images as much as you can. For borders or simple shapes, make them PNG-8 or GIFs.
• If all fails and you can’t seem to compress a JPEG more than what you already have, try SVGs.
• Focus on image dimensions instead of its quality. So don’t worry about Dots Per Inch (DPi) or Pixels Per Inch (PPi) since they only affect an image's print quality, but not how it’s displayed on the web.

Is A Website Redesign The Best Strategic Move Long Term?

Absolutely. When you’re a small non-tech business, you don’t have the resources or capital to keep track and update your website’s code continuously. You’ve noticed that your bounce rates are high and visitors and staff have complained about its speed. So what’s the best solution here? Sure, you could pay a freelancer on fiver $300 to refresh your website, but it would cost significantly more to hire developers to work on your code, and it doesn’t solve your problem. So sometimes, the cost of maintaining something so outdated exceeds the cost of redoing your website by a long shot.

The most cost-effective, strategic way to go about an outdated, user interface nightmare is to reimagine your brand online and restructure your website. Our website monthly packages start at $250 a month for a 2-year subscription, billed monthly. With a set budget for your website every month, you could build a stunning, functional website, integrate a blog, monitor your metrics and analytics without paying an entire department in house.

Is A Website Refresh Best For Websites With Low Bounce Rates?

If you’ve got low bounce rates, your website’s functionality is healthy, and it’s doing its job. However, a refresh can impact and influence a user’s experience on your website a lot more than you think. A refresh gives them a reason to stick around for seasonal updates on new collections or product offerings.

5 Reasons You Need A Website Redesign in 2023

• Outdated code & A Stagnant Website

If your website does not feel current, effortless to navigate, and easy to buy from, then it’s time to rethink your online presence. Every year, web standards change, and designers find smarter ways to influence website visitors. Changes in content management systems can also affect your website, primarily if your site is content-heavy, like a blog, travel directory, reviews, etc. 

PRO TIP: Long-form content is huge in 2023! If you want to write a blog, keeping it on the longer side (3000-4000 words) can bring more visitors.

• Slow & Not So Steady Site Responsiveness 

If you got your website up and running 3+ years ago without updating it, it is most likely far behind in terms of its functionality and site speed. With modern CSS coding making websites more adaptive, you might be missing out on providing your users a seamless experience online. It can sometimes cost you much more to maintain something outdated. A website redesign is excellent for when you’re reassessing and solving your website’s shaky performance.

• A Full Rebrand For 2023 

If your organization is undergoing a significant structural change or a brand revamp, it is a good idea to rebrand the website. You can use this to your advantage to create buzz and anticipation around your business’ makeover. 

PRO TIP: Email your subscribers about the redesign before launch.  That way, if there are any unsatisfied users, it gives your website a chance to redeem itself.

• Digital Strategy Transformation

Let’s face it, keeping up with your online presence is so much more than building a pretty website and posting once a day on social media. To truly succeed online, you need concrete lead generation strategies, regular website updates & maintenance, and much more. The good news is, you’re not alone. You can explore our packages to determine what suits your web needs and budget.

• You’re Not On The Mobile-Friendly Train Yet

Google now indexes your website based on its mobile version, so if you haven’t got a mobile site, stop what you’re doing and book a consultation. With most web traffic brought in by mobile devices, it is a no-brainer that a mobile-friendly site is the best way to go. It is also recommended you design your mobile site first before desktop. In 2023, phone users will see a projected increase, so stay ahead of the game & go mobile!

5 Reasons You Need A Website Refresh in 2023

• Bland Design & No Messaging

Think of it as adding a fresh coat of paint. A website refresh only serves the look but not the functionality of your site. If your current website does not relay what you’re all about, it’s a good idea to revisit problem areas. Good marketing is all about good messaging so make sure your website has the right amount of content and exciting design elements, topped with functionality.

• You Want To Improve Conversion Even Though Bounce Rates Are Low

Sure, your visitors can get to where they want to go. But something is missing. Your conversions aren’t at their highest, and your website’s performance is now mediocre at best. This dip in conversions happens when there isn’t enough content to engage with, or your keyword strategy is off the chains. Now is an excellent time to consider sprucing up your website.

Fun Fact: We help you integrate a blog and give your website a total content makeover!

• Your Internal Links Are All Over The Place

Links can be broken and cause google some trouble when indexing your website. Make sure you conduct a link audit to check on broken links. Once you’ve done that, update your content, metadata, and you’ll have a much better website in no time. 

• Outdated Company Information

If it’s been a while since you’ve updated your about-us page, you may have outdated information about your services, staff, and contact info. Besides, addresses, contact information, and staff members can change over time. We recommend taking the time to make sure everything is up-to-date and accurate.

PRO TIP: Look at your company’s mission statement, strategies, and goals. As your brand grows, you may want to convey a different message about your brand than when you first began. So make sure your current brand messaging aligns with who you are and what you do now.

• No Testimonials Or Case Studies

Testimonials are proof that your work makes a difference to your clients/consumers. A testimonials page is a must-have when you’re a small business or start-up. Having an up-to-date testimonials section can be what makes or breaks a potential customer’s buying decisions. If you’re a marketing firm, you’ll have to prove your expertise with well-informed, in-depth case studies that other professionals or your customers can view, use or reference. 

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Indeed, a website can take up a fair chunk of your time and money. The learning curve is enough to keep marketers on their feet and agencies up to date with all web trends. So if you’d like to forgo the process and have the pros handle the rest, you’ve come to the right place.