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3C Digital

Digital Marketing for Small Business

Photography and Web Design

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3 Things to remember when setting up your website

Things to remember when setting up your website

  1. Pick a good copywriter
  2. Make sure your copy is compelling
  3. Use professional photos
  4. Ask for a quote and what’s included
  5. Set a timeline on when it’ll be finished

For some, creating a website can be quite daunting. Seeing codes and management systems that are unfamiliar can be enough to give you a headache. But in this day and age, having an online presence is important for small businesses. Here are some things to consider when setting up your website.

It’s not as expensive as you think

Gone are the days when your website will cost over $15,000 to create. The truth is that you only need to pay that much money if you want a complicated site that requires a lot of things (i.e., ecommerce, donations etc). If you just want something beautiful and/or professional but pretty straightforward, your annual cost for hosting and domain registration can be as low as $50 a year. All you’ll have to do is pick a ready-made template from the thousands of website designers out there who sell their templates from $69 up.

Pick a good copywriter

The design of your site is as good as the words written on it. There are a lot of copywriters out there who can express what you want to your clients in the best possible way. Go through their previous work and decide the best one that suits you. It is best to pick copywriters who have previous experience with writing copy for a small business website, that way they can also help you with things like the best way to present your business.

Get a good photo

Don’t use a selfie for your About page. This doesn’t mean that you need to hire an expensive professional photographer. These days, smartphones have great resolutions for photos. All you need to do is make sure you have a great background, great lighting and a great flattering pose. It’s a matter of knowing how to take a good photo more than buying expensive equipment. We all know that budget is tight but it doesn’t have to mean you have an amateur photo.

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Create great social media photos and videos for your small business

Create great social media photos and videos for your small business

  1. Use photo apps
  2. Try out the free apps first
  3. Invest in some props
  4. Try out flat lays
  5. Get a photo box

In this post we will show you how to create great social media photos and videos for your small business. Small businesses using social media these days know they need good photos and videos to stand out. One that looks professional and well done. But we also know it can be super expensive. Budget is already tight enough as it is, right? So what can you do to ensure that your social media videos and photos look amazing and also affordable? 

Photo apps

We are lucky that we live in the age when mobile phone cameras are getting better and better. Did you know that there are professional ads and mini movies out there being shot on phones these days? You can do the same, too! You can then enhance those photos using various free and paid phone apps. Use apps like Afterlight, Pro HDR, ProCamera and LittleMoments to edit your photos and use preset filters. Also try using stop-motion apps like iMotion to create engaging videos that showcase your products and services in a fun way. Some of these apps are free but even if they’re paid, they aren’t that expensive. Before you buy the paid ones, use their free trial period first.

Invest in some props

Don’t underestimate the value of tasteful props for your photography and videos. Flat lays are a great way to showcase your products. What’s a flatlay exactly? It’s an arrangement of things on a flat surface and taking the photo from above. Search for the hashtag ‘flatlay’ on Instagram and you’ll see great examples online. You don’t need expensive props for a great flat lay photo. All you need is good lighting and a well set arrangement. Don’t be afraid to experiment but also remember your brand colours when you start photographing. Natural lighting is your friend. You don’t need to buy expensive lighting, just a window.

Create great social media photos and videos for your small business

Get yourself a photo box

Invest in a portable softbox/light box for those amazing well-lit photos. If you search for ‘portable light box’ online, you’ll find find heaps of sellers. Check out the reviews before you buy one, and the final photos of those who have used it. Be careful you don’t pick the dodgy and cheaply made ones out there that will disintegrate after three uses. Get something that is easy to set up so it doesn’t take up a lot of your time when you use it. Do a couple of test shots and see which lighting is best for what you’re trying to do. Keep the light box clean and stash it away in a safe place that’s easy to access. We suggest you do a shoot for several hours at a time instead of a few minutes each day. That ways it takes less time and doesn’t intrude with your daily operations.

 

Do you need help to create great social media photos and videos for your small business? Get in touch with us for a FREE 30-minute strategy call!

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Top 10 free plugins for WordPress

Top 10 free plugins for WordPress

  1. Akismet anti spam
  2. Bulletproof security
  3. Contact Form 7
  4. Favicon
  5. Google Analytics
  6. Pixabay Images
  7. Pixelyoursite
  8. WordPress editorial calendar
  9. WP Smush
  10. Yoast SEO

 

First of all, what are plugins exactly? A WordPress plugin is a software you add to the back end of your WordPress site that provides a certain function. The plugin’s function can vary depending on what you need. It can be for putting a gallery of pics on your site, or protecting it from hackers. It can even be used to compress photos you use so your site works faster.

In all the years we’ve used WordPress, we’ve come across different plugins. We figured out which free ones would be useful for a site. Here is our list of free wordpress plugins you need.

Akismet anti spam

This plugin is popular for millions of users. It protects your blog from spam, basically. It protects your site 24/7 so you can rest easy.

Bulletproof security

This one is for security protection, for things like malware, login security, database backup, anti-spam and more. It is effective, realiable and easy to use.

Contact form 7

The plugin can manage several contact forms for your Contact page. It is easy to customise and looks good too. It supports CAPTCHA and Akismet spam filtering.

Favicon

A favicon is that little image you see at the beginning of your page’s URL. This one generates the icons for desktop browsers, iPhone/iPad, Android devices and more.

Google analytics

This is a good way to add Google analytics tracking code to your website without changing any of the files. You can log in with Google from your WordPress dashboard and choose the site you want to link. Take your time checking out all the features.

Pixabay Images

If you use stockphotos, then this plugin is useful for you. It lets you insert a stockphoto from Pixabay anywhere on your blog. The images are safe to use and paying attribution is not required.

Pixelyoursite

This plugin is good if you have a Facebook page too. If you’re doing Facebook ads (and you should) this plugin helps you insert Facebook pixel code on every page of your site with just one click.

WordPress editorial calendar

This is how you manage your blog posts without having to be on your site all the time. Schedule your blog posts and check out your schedule through the calendar. It provides an overview of your scheduled posts.

WP Smush

The smush plugin will compress all your photos so that your site comes up faster. Make it a habit to upload smaller files. But if there are photos over 2MB the plugin will smush it for you.

Yoast SEO

You want this plugin. This is a favourite tool for SEO management and it is easy to use. If you get a headache talking about SEO then just use this one plugin for it.

Need help with your site and plugins? Contact 3CD for a free consult!