Now that you have updated your website to an HTTPS Certificate or preparing to do so, you may have some more to consider. 

​Just updating from HTTP to HTTPS certificate may not be enough. You may have HTTP links within the code of your website that will cause an additional issue as well. 
Chrome flags HTTPS websites with HTTP links in the code or embedded on a particular web page as "Insecure Content Blocked."  This alert will give the end user the option to select "Load Safe Scripts," but this will cause users to second-guess the legitimacy of the website.
The alert in the address bar could go unnoticed for most of your target audience. If you update to HTTPS and ignore this alert, your web page will not function correctly.  Thus creating a poor end-user experience, which may cause the user to leave your site to a more Chrome friendly site. 

​The content blocked from Chrome could be something as simple as the default font within the code is being used instead of the font you had intended for your user to see, but your site overall still works.  This fix could be as simple as adding the S to the HTTP link that points to Google Fonts, Font Awesome or similar font type kit. 
If you load additional embedded code for animations, images, etc. your end users may get a large white space area because Chrome will not load the needed script, thus causing a poor end-user experience.  This may take a little more work to correct and the possibility of additional HTTPS certificates depending on how your embedded code is configured and hosted. If your website will need to be updated for this issue and is going to be a long process to fix, you may be better to hold off on upgrading to HTTPS until the other issues can be fixed first.

Google has been integrating updates to the Chrome browser to identify all HTTP websites as Not Secure.  This is to urge site owners to update to an HTTPS certificate.

HTTPS is a encryption that adds a layer of security to the transmitting data through an SSL (secure socket layer) to the connection between the user and the website.   Does this make every website safe? Nope, but it is a good step to help push for a more default layer of security for the end users.  And an HTTP site labeled with the non-secure warning does not mean you or the site has been hacked. 
So far Chrome is the only browser that is highlighting the non-secured websites, but I believe we will be seeing browsers such as FireFox follow as well. 
Chrome future updates will increase it warnings for HTTP sites.  According to c/net Chrome 69 will have a less noticeable HTTPS secure label in black.  Chrome 70  will have a more aggressive warning to HTTP sites with a more noticeable not-secure warning in red.  
Even if you think your site has no need for HTTPS,  not updating is going to affect your SEO(search engine ranking).  Anything you can do to help boost your SEO never hurts.  With Chrome being one of the most widely used browsers and Google being the leading search engine out there, it is always best to try to follow their standards as much as possible. Even if you don't like Chrome or personally don't utilize the browser, as a small business you have to look at it from the consumer side.  The majority of the traffic is coming from Google.
Just updating from HTTP to HTTPS certificate may not be enough, you may have HTTP links within the code of your website that will cause an issue as well. 
​Read more about what else you may need to do here.

At RBA all of our hosting now has an SSL certificate standard, making all of our clients that host with us an HTTPS site, even it a simple landing page.  
Contact Us to learn more about how we can help you with your web needs. 

The Town of Dublin, Indiana contacted us at RBA Web Design in need of a new website. Never having a website presence before, the town had a variety of requirements for the new site. 

Some of the needs proposed was a responsive design that was going to look great on multiple devices.  Being able to post minutes on the website for public availability was a big must, ability to have the documents available digitally was a big concern and also a future cost savings. The town also needed to allow the end users ability to pay utility bills online utilizing a municipal pay portal.  

RBA Web Design was able to provide solutions for the Town of Dublin with a streamlined system for the staff to update the minutes and other needed documents directly to the website.  An easy to use CMS platform that will allow town staff to go back and make necessary updates as information changes.  Also informative areas of the website, designed to help the users find multiple opportunities available in the Town of Dublin. The website was created with imagery in mind, the Town of Dublin is a beautiful canvas for pictures, and we wanted to make sure this was reflected on the ​website.

Are you in need of a new website? Find out what we can do to best help you.
It all starts with a conversation and maybe a donut...

Want to see more of what we have to offer?
​Check out our solutions that matter

Adobe is killing off Flash by 2020, which has been a long time coming.  To some no real surprise.  If you are not developing a website, this probably will not mean a whole lot to you.  But does your current website utilize Flash? And if your site is using Flash, does that mean you should wait until 2020 to change? Nope.

Most browsers have already blocked Adobe Flash, and if your site utilizes Flash now, your potential clients could be looking at a non-functioning part of your website.
Apple iOS and Android smartphones do not have a Flash plug-in.  There are workarounds to install Flash on some mobile devices, why depend on the end user to do a workaround to view your website?  As of March 2017,  in the U.S,  Android is the most used smartphone at 53.4%, and Apple is second at 44.5%(per www.statista.com).  The number of users that search for a small business utilizing a smartphone continues to climb, and if they are finding you via smartphone, and your site still uses Flash, they see an issue on your site. Smartphone users tend to bail off a site quicker and go back to the search engine to continue what they are looking for when a website does not quite work right.  But what if the majority of users are finding you via desktop?  Well, your site is still more than likely not working correctly if users are surfing the web with the default settings turned on in the web browser.  Safari, Chrome, and Firefox all block Flash by default. Although the default settings can be changed to allow Flash, you still have a risk of something that was initially designed to attract customers to your site not functioning correctly and will more than likely cause a customer to leave your site. This could equal no ROI.

Some small businesses still have Flash and quite frankly have no real reason to have it on their website. Not when there are better options out there.  
If your website has been around for awhile, the time is now to evaluate your site, see if it utilizes Flash, and update your site.  It would also be an excellent time to see if your website is mobile friendly or not. Google continues to rank sites higher that utilize a responsive design and make their websites mobile friendly. Best thing to do is pull out your smartphone and see how your site looks to you if you were a customer looking to buy from your business.​

Need some help evaluating your website? Contact RBA Web Design; we will be more than happy to help you with this process. If you just need a quick consultation or you may require us to dig a little deeper to a paid consultation that could save you more money in the long run.

​I had the opportunity to give a fresh update and redesign to a site I was able to help initially launch.
​​Just like everything in the technology world, change happens every day, and in the world of websites and web design, it is no different.​

At the time of the original build and launch of the website, our client new the need of a web presence was a growing need, even small communities greatly benefit from having an online presence.

As time passed and the original site was needing updating and refreshed.
The town recognized the need and contacted RBA Web Design with their new needs. After an update meeting, we come up with a list of new updates that we were able to help the town fulfill. Updates we help improve the site with:

• New responsive design
• New color scheme that pays tribute to the towns original High School
• Online bill pay integration for the town utilities
• CMS platform
• Update of new pages
• 301 redirects of update pages
• SEO updates

Ready to see how we can help you, we have solutions for businesses and budgets of all size.  We love assisting clients to grow and offer continual solutions after the launch of your site. We offer you in-house business solutions providing our work in your location or complete remote solutions.  ​ 

With more than a year in development, Facebook rolls out the new Like button.  Now you can do so much more than just like the post.  For some a welcome addition that is far overdue.  For some, agh, take it or leave it.

Tapping into the new selections
Using a mobile device just tap the like button and you can go old school and just like a post.  You want to do a little more, hold down on the like button and you will see the new selections of emoji’s come up to choose from.  If you are using a mouse, hover over the like button, and you can see the new selections to like, love, Haha, wow, sad or angry.   

Do you have a website for your small business?  Have you taken the time to address ideas on how you can convert sales via your website?  It is not too late. Here are some quick tips and ideas to help drive sales up.​

If you use your website primarily for informative purposes to lead customers back to your brick and mortar store, you can help increase your sales by offering online coupons and discounts.  Adding a printable coupon is easy to add to an existing website.  Offering online gift certificates is an easy way to help drive sales back to your store.  Gift certificates are an excellent way for customers who may live out of town or may not have time to shop during your business hours to purchase as gifts

If you are primarily a service provider, offer online gift certificates that can be used as gifts. Offer a promotion for customers to use for themselves to make life easier around the holidays; such as carpet cleaning, delivery service, etc.  This is a great way to become your customer's hero!

Let’s not forget your social media.  Utilize social media and increase your exposure with a giveaway or offering discounts.  It does not have to be a massive giveaway.  You will be quite surprised how much you can convert back to your store just offering a few $25.00 gift certificate giveaways.  

If you have a website, adding an additional landing page is a great way to do month to month promotions; and they tie in well with your social media platforms.
​If you don't have a website yet or don't have an easy way to create promotions, we can help.  Check out an example here of a design we've been working on to help our clients out with some upcoming promotions. This design works great with many of our clients because we can customize it to fit their business. It is also responsive, so it's going to look great on whatever device your customer utilizes to find your business.
 
After you have utilized all this technology to bring in new customers, go back to the basics. Remember, most of us serve our customers in one way or another. Without them, your store would not exist.  Provide them with outstanding customer service, and you may just retain a customer for life. Technology can only assist you so far; you will need to carry it the rest of the way.

   Sometimes all you may need is just a couple lines of content with your logo or company name added to your project.  Some projects require more text(See More).  Several software programs can help you achieve this.  Being able to create videos for your digital media has become much easier, and is a great tool to reach your potential customers. ​

You may be on the fence about having a website, or you have a website and not sure what to do from here.  When you are deciding what to do with your website or what you want on your site, you want it to be an extension of your brand.  Even if you don't have any physical or digital goods to sell, you still should expect some ROI from your site.  Why do you place an ad in the newspaper?  Usually not just to say hi.   
One of the first things you need to look at is content.  What kind of content do you what to show on your website?  There are cases of not enough and those instances of way too much.  If you can say what you need to in 2 or 3 sentences and grab your customers attention and navigate them through your website to where you want them to go, that's great.  But let's not be too vague, leaving a potential customer confused and unsure will push them away.  Attention spans are short and if you don't grab them quickly and motivate them in the direction you need them to go on your site to turn it into a lead or a sale you may lose them to the competition. 

Keep it short.  Keeping your domain to twenty characters or less is a good rule of thumb when creating your domain name.  If your domain name is long and complex, your potential customers may misspell and have a hard time finding you.
Next, keep it simple and obvious.  Something my father taught me and taught again in vocational school is KISS-keep it simple stupid.  Your domain is your brand.  If you are creating a portfolio or personal site, using your first and last name is a great way.  And if you're a business, use your business name.   Now if you operate under a larger name, but operate your brand under a shortened name or different name, then using your brand is the best way to go.  
Avoid the numerals, underscores, and hyphens if possible.  Sometimes this is not possible to do if the name you are using is already taken.  Then sometimes you may have to use the hyphen.  Also, there have been situations when a number is in your business name.  Say 3 is in your business name so that it could be The 3 Days Shop, your domain might look something like 3daysshop.com, I recommend that you purchase threedaysshop.com also.  Having both domains does not add on much expense, and both can be utilized for one site.  Whichever domain you decide to go with and the market is up to you, but know when potential clients look for you, they can find you with either domain name.

Research It.  This can be used in your discovery stage when trying to come up with a good name.  After you come up with the domain you like, research that name again to make sure there is not going to be confusion with potential customers.  It could also cause you some trademark and copyright issues.

Register your domain names for multiple years; this does a couple of things for you, it helps your SEO.  Search engines look at the length of registration to help with the legitimacy of your site.  The second thing is it is one less thing you have to worry about next year, and it's already done.  It may sound like a small thing, but when you are a small business owner, small things pile up quick.  Now I know money is tight and sometimes every dollar saved is a big help when you are starting out in small business.  If you only do a one-year registration starting out make sure you utilize social media to help make up the difference in your SEO.  
Use keywords and get creative.  If the domain that you want is already taken, you might be able to use a specific keyword or a specialty side of your business to tie in with your business name to create your unique business name.  Using .com in your domain is still the most popular way to go, but there is a slew of other options now available out there such .net, .co, .me and so on and so on.  But make sure the extension you use is appropriate for your brand or business.  If you have a unique name, you may want to consider picking other domain name options and extensions along with your domain.  This helps protect your business or brand.  These could be parked or even used as a blog or splash page for marketing purposes later on.