Come to the Dark Side and Help Your Brand Shine

I bet you were expecting some Darth Vader puns...well you would be right! As soon as I hear Dark Mode, I think of the Dark Side. Yes, I'm a Star Wars fan. I think anyone Gen X (best generation ever!) at least knows WTF I'm talking about. I added a link for all the Millenials and Gen Z. Anyway enough of that...

One of the best ways to make your brand shine is having the option of Dark Mode. Or making your website dark mode friendly. Australian business owners, Dark Mode can give your online presence a powerful edge. We'll explore how Dark Mode works and why you should consider using it for your website or app design. You'll learn what dark mode elements look like in practice. From choosing the right colours to considering accessibility needs. Some top tips on how to make this feature work for your brand image! You don't have to be a technical whizz either – all these ideas are user-friendly and easy to implement. So grab yourself a beer or coffee. As we dive into understanding exactly "How Dark Mode Can Help Your Brand Shine."

Australian business owners

No matter how creative and unique, have long sought out answers to the same question: How can I make my brand stand out? Step into any Australian cafe or bar and you're bound to witness someone quickly consult their phone to get more information on a product or service. That's why Misfit Branding is now suggesting Australian business owners explore Dark Mode design. Though traditionally used to save energy on digital products, dark mode has found new life as a viable design option that can comfortably fit with almost any style. By incorporating dark mode into web and app design, Australian brands can turn heads with unique visuals that demand attention.

Can your brand shine using dark mode?

Aussie businesses are catching on to the user experience gains made possible by dark mode. For example, the popular online marketplace Etsy is now offering dark mode so users can enjoy seamless browsing with minimal interruption from glare. While originally seen as just a cosmetic feature, more and more companies are leveraging the functionality of dark mode to differentiate their user experience while also conveying their brand identity through well-crafted design. One such business, travel blog Travelee, has gained recognition for its user interface by taking a page out of the mysterious world of night sky exploration with its star-studded dark mode display. By seeing how brands can utilize the user-friendly attributes of dark mode, we are reminded that user experience doesn't stop at sleek colours; a vibrant user experience is one worth shining bright in any space.

Did you know that dark mode doesn't have to mean oppressive within your brand? In fact, choosing the right colours for your dark mode design can really help your brand shine. Just like how Dame Edna Everage drapes herself bright frocks, we should consider doing something similar with our dark-mode designs. By including pops of vibrant or warm hues throughout, it has the potential to take an otherwise muted style and energize the overall look. This can make a real impact on viewer engagement when they visit your site. So Aussies, start picking the right colours – after all, no one wants their brand looking washed-out against a dark background!

Dark mode is the perfect way to help your brand shine

Misfit Branding has made dark mode their go-to for giving their brand a sleeker, more modern look that stands out from the competition. That's just the start: dark mode can also improve readability and provide energy savings. Not only will you make a statement with dark mode, but you'll save on power costs as well! It's an easy choice. So why not flip the switch and make dark mode work for your brand? It's the dark way to stand out from the pack.

How to make the change to Dark mode

For Aussie business owners who want to make a serious impact on their audience without spending a ton of cash, a simple switch from light to dark mode can do a world of wonders! By implementing a dark mode theme for your website or app interface, you can instantly transform the look and feel of your product to create a sleek, modern aesthetic that will help your brand shine. It's a smart idea that won't take too much time to set up and will leave a lasting impression on current and potential customers alike. So go ahead, give it a go – you have nothing to lose and everything to gain! Speak to your web designer/developer or contact us.

From tech startups to wineries, more Aussie companies are realising how dark mode can help their brand shine. Recent inspiring case studies reveal the power of dark mode designs - transforming homepages, product pages, and more into fresh and inviting experiences. With this approach, Aussie businesses are literally showing off their colours in a whole new light!

To sum it up

Dark mode has taken the design world by storm. For good reason! Brands that make the switch reap all sorts of rewards thanks to its modern look. Improved readability, and energy savings. It creates a powerful user experience that stands out from other competitors. Let the snowflakes have light-mode designs. With some thoughtful consideration of colours that work well with a dark background, your brand will be ready to rock. If you’re ready to make the move, it’s easy! Take some of the tips we learned today and apply them to your website or app interface. From there, it's just a matter of playing around with different options. Until you find something that works best for your business. Even if you’re not an experienced designer or coder, this simple switch can make an enormous impact. So give dark mode a try — you might be surprised at what happens next!

2023 Web Design Trends

Web design trends for 2023 are bringing futuristic technology and bold designs together. Helping web owners provide a really fun way to interact with web visitors. We've all seen those movies with sleek web designs that look like they are from another world - well, now they can become our reality! It's time to let your creative juices flow, web designers!

1. Dark mode

With the growing popularity of dark mode, more websites are expected to adopt this style in 2023. Dark mode provides a visually striking and elegant design that is easier on the eyes and helps reduce screen glare. We are huge fans of dark mode and you will see more of that from us this year.

2. 3D and AR/VR

The use of 3D and AR/VR technology in web design is on the rise. 3D models, animations and interactive elements are becoming increasingly common, while AR/VR experiences are set to become the new normal for e-commerce websites. Wondering WTF AR and VR is? Don't worry, we got you! AR is Augmented reality a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user's view of the real world, thus providing a composite view. Think the Pokemon game! For more practical applications check out this site by Showroom

VR is Virtual Reality the computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image or environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real or physical way by a person using special electronic equipment, such as a helmet with a screen inside or gloves fitted with sensors.

3. Micro-animations

Micro-animations, or small animations that enhance the user experience, will be big in 2023. These animations can be used to bring attention to specific elements on a page, to improve the overall feel of a website, or to make navigation more intuitive.

4. Bold typography

Bold and eye-catching typography will be a key trend in 2023. Designers will use big, bold type to make a statement and create a strong visual impact. We've already seen webpages make use of bold typefaces that jump out at us. Folks say it's a look that will never go away and I suppose we'll have to wait and see if that is true! As web designers, all we can do is hang on for the wild ride that is bold typography. We love the Futur for a great example of bold typography.

5. Gradients

Fasten your seatbelt web design enthusiasts, because gradients are back and they're here to stay! Yet these newfangled ancestors of web design past have had a major glow up since the days of Web 1.0. Nowadays, in web design 2023, its all about those way out rainbow gradients, colourful combinations that look like vintage video games, or subtle shade shifts that give out words like "sleek" and "professional." We'd say it's enough to make web designers jump for joy after such a long break from them, but we'll leave that up to the readers imaginations. We freaking love gradients, check out our home page

6. Video backgrounds

More and more businesses are beginning to incorporate video backgrounds in their websites to create lush and interactive designs. Video backgrounds make a website much more dynamic, as viewers can become instantly engaged by the moving imagery. These videos also offer many opportunities to express the company’s message in a very visual way, which for many businesses is essential for making a lasting impression on potential customers. However, if not done correctly, video backgrounds could take up too much loading time or be too distracting. For that reason it is important to find a balance between style and usability when creating those kinds of designs. One of our favourite designs with video backgrounds and micro animations is Humaan

7. Mobile-first design

This shouldn't be a trend, all sites should be mobile-first design. It is a critical aspect of web design. As more and more people access websites from their mobile devices, it is essential that websites are optimized for smaller screens and provide a seamless experience. Mobile-first web design has quickly gone from being a hot web development trend in 2021 to becoming the web design norm for 2023. And you can count on web developers everywhere scrambling to keep up with the newest trends and fads – after all, everything from single page websites to entire eCommerce sites have to look amazing no matter which device your customers are using. So if you're looking for websites that will make use of the latest web sorcery so that your business stands out from the pack, mobile-first web design is definitely the way forward. Our favourite mobile-first design is Typeform.

What our 2023 Web Design Trends means for you

2023 is an exciting year for web design. I mean every year is for us, considering it's our bread and butter! These trends will bring new and innovative design elements to the forefront, creating an even more immersive and engaging online user experience.

Now don't go running out and changing shit on your website just because there's a new list. Trends are just that, a trend. The best way to make your site look on-trend is to make sure you have all the basics covered first. Then if your feeling fancy, contact your local web designer for help, or contact us of course!

Australia Day

Yesterday was Australia Day. Normally celebrated with pride by the majority of the nation. You would see the Aussie flag flying free in suburban streets.

But times have changed.

Many of our indigenous brothers and sisters call it a day of mourning. Not a day of celebration. Very few Australia Day posts yesterday on social media. More about the protests and 'paying rent'. (Look it up if you're not sure what I'm on about).

Gen X

As a child I was taught it was to celebrate all that is great about our country. The freedom, beaches, country, food, and diverse wildlife. Then as I got older it was all about Triple J's hottest 100, drinking and backyard cricket. You would spend the day with your mates drinking and eating adorned in the Aussie flag. Carefree and fun no matter what your race or origin. Aboriginal, Islander, immigrant, it didn't matter. Around this time I was living in Townsville in North Queensland, where Aussie pride is strong.

Living in Brissy now and in my early 40s with no idea what to do. Don't want to upset my indigenous friends. Respecting and acknowledging our past. I also want to celebrate the amazing country we live in. We are a multicultural nation. That in itself is amazing.

Our day

Australia day for my family was spent quietly at home. Swimming in the pool and a BBQ with our neighbours. It was getting all together. Having a quiet drink and a laugh. Socialising, is something we don't often get time to do.

Change the date

There is a call to change the date of Australia Day, which in most polls, Aussies are happy to do so, me included. The trick will be to find the right one that is inclusive for all. Not just white Australia or indigenous. A date that celebrates our multiculturalism where hopefully we can all hang out and celebrate in full swing with no prejudice.

2023 Memorial Warrior Cup

Last Friday Wandering Warriors held their annual T20 cricket match, Memorial Warrior Cup. The ominous rain clouds disappeared so the game could go on. It was a scorcher of a day at the Allan Border Field. I was getting a sweat up just standing there. Grateful for the shade and breeze at the Captain's Corner. A truly spectacular venue!

Captians Corner
Captians Corner
Memorial Warrior cup sponsors
Sponsors

Wandering Warriors

Wandering Warriors team were busy setting up, and greeting players, sponsors and guests. My role was setting up event signage and running the socials for the day.

I was grateful to meet so many amazing people. I was also told my blue hair was distracting to some of the guys fielding. I am Switzerland when it comes to what team I go for. I really didn't think it through with bright blue hair! Everyone thought I was going for team East. Next year I'll go half yellow and half blue.

Andrew Smith Tracey O'Brien
Andrew Smith and Tracey O'Brien

Winners are grinners

For those of you that don't know, I actually love cricket. We grew up playing and watching it on TV. So you can imagine how hard it was for me to stay on top of taking social photos for Facebook and Instagram. The match was great, so close and I was excited West won. They needed the win!

West team SASR
Team west for the win
Tracey O'Brien and Audie Moldre
Tracey O'Brien and Audie Moldre

On a personal note

It was great to meet with fellow long-term volunteer and founder Audie Moldre and Glad. As well as Rod Smallwood and Denise.

I have worked with Audie from the very beginning of the Wandering Warriors and I assure you he is one of the most amazing people you will ever meet!

Wandering Warriors team

Meeting some Wandering Warriors in person for the first time Will Hetherington who organised this years cup. MBA recipients came in for the day to show support.

Behind the scenes we all work via zoom or google chat, dial in, email, Whatsapp you name it. We don't always get to meet in person. So its extra special for me when I do get to meet everyone.

Will Hetherington and MBA recipients
Blue, Tracey O'Brien and the minions!

The cup has always been a family event. I took my two boys along for the day and they loved it! Especially getting to meet Blue or Luke “Blue” Andrews as he is known on Linkedin. The boys watch Blue on TV in the program Hunted, an Australian reality television series. I work with Blue on The Krait Foundation branding and website. It was so good to meet in person!

Last but not least, the speakers at this year's cup were outstanding. Rupert McCall MC’d the post-match gathering. He amazed us all as he recited the poem he created for Q150 (Queensland's 150 birthday celebrations). Last but certainly not least, cricket legend Greg Ritchie gave a talk that had us all in awe and fits of laughter.

Tracey O'Brien Greg Ritchie
Tracey O'Brien and Greg Ritchie

We are all still buzzing and looking forward to next year. Wandering Warriors assist veterans and their families with Education, Employment, Mentoring and Respite. The Memorial Warrior Cup is an annual event get on board to sponsor next years cup! Contact Wandering Warriors to get involved.

12 Days of Inappropriate Christmas Gifts for 2022

It's that time of year again! Ho ho ho peeps. This December I have rolled out the 12 Days of Inappropriate Christmas. Starting December 1st. I will be sharing Australian Owned Business that stock the best inappropriate Christmas Gifts. There is no particular order because I’m not judgy like that. They are all winners in my eyes!

If you CBF reading, skip to the #youtube video instead

1) The Inappropriate Gift Co

How to fucking swear around the world game. Seriously wondering if I can claim this on tax. Seems like an ‘educational expense’ to me.

With 100 cards each featuring a different swear word from around the world, you will be left with a rather inappropriate and offensive talent.

BUY NOW
12-days-inappropriate-xmas-swearing

2) Uncle Reco

Another favourite on our list of 12 days of inappropriate Christmas.

This year we couldn’t go past the let’s party combo. For all the bogans, rednecks and eshays….we got you bro. Combo includes 1 x Let's Party Legionnaires hat in Pink/Blue & 1 x Pair of Pink/Blue Speed Dealers 

Let’s party cu*ts!

BUY NOW
Uncle reco

3) Ken Oath

We freakin love Ken Oath’s range. I even got hubby one of the wheels and waves collections with the landrover shortie. For those of you not in the know, my husband collects series 2 ex-military landrover #thatsnotweird

Anyway back to our pick this year….

At first sight, they're going to be squinting. Oh the looks on their faces. This Kenoath tee is the one that can land us in hot water. Consider yourself warned!

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Ken Oath

4) Farkew emporium

This lady turns out some of the best inappropriate gifts. She is always on our list.. This year we went with Rude Hand Gestures Around the World.  What you thought was an innocent thumbs-up could cause serious offence in certain parts of the world, learn all about what different hand gestures mean around the globe with this set of 100 cards. Why be inappropriate in Australia only when there are so many countries that you can offend.

BUY NOW
Far Kew

5) Flaming Profanities

My Last Fuck, Oh Look It's On Fire!

This one is for my husband, his fav saying is he has zero fucks to give…here ya go big fella!

Their Candles are different. They are more fucking awesome than the average. The jars are printed. There are no sticker labels or Vinyl. They are printed right here in-house in sunny Qld, Australia.

BUY NOW
Flamming profanities

6) That Printed Vinyl Place

Managed by fellow legend, Tracy.

We went a bit crafty with this one. Our friends at That Printed Vinyl Place have a heap of prints for those wanting to make their own fancy AF shirts. This design spoke to me. Adulting is bullshit. Pre printed on Bflex  HTV, These panels are ready to apply directly onto t-shirts or Tote bags. 

BUY NOW
That printed vinyl place

7) The Fuck Off Shop

One of my fav comedians Christian Hull, is the mastermind behind the Fuck Off shop. Due to the amount of rain and floods here in Queensland, what better gift than this umbrella!  Open this umbrella up in rain, hail or shine. The power it gives you and the way it makes you feel is AMAZING!

Its like a shield from the weather and from other people. 

BUY NOW
The fuck off shop Christian Hull

8) Wordy Wines

Stumbled across the COVID collection of these! Couldn’t go past ‘Pairs Well With Bat’ They have an entire range dedicated to COVID. Worth a look! You get to pick what sort of wine you want: Sauvignon Blanc (White), Sparkling (White), Chardonnay (White), Pinot Grigio (White), Rosé or Shiraz (Red)

BUY NOW
Wordy Wines

9) Spicy Baboon

Get out your footy franks and statue of little baby cheeses, it's Christmas time!! Give a gift this year that's a little bit noice, different, unusual. 🎁👌

Couldn’t go past this Kath n Kim shirt, also available as a mug and other gifts.

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Spicy Baboon

10) Australia the Gift

Joke Toilet Roll

Aussies have always found toilet humour freaking hilarious. Especially after the great TP shortage of 2020-21. We couldn’t go past this one. You can’t go wrong with this gift, for any occasion. This item can also be perfect for you if you want to be entertained on the loo of course.

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Australia the gift

11) Glitter Bomb Your Enemies

Spring Loaded Penis Bomb

These guys were in last year's list with ‘Eat a bag of Dicks’ candy. Still, my fav saying. Anyway, I couldn’t go past penis confetti. Whats even better is its spring-loaded! Oh the joy, of having hundreds of tiny penises bombarding you and decorating your surroundings. Because regular confetti just doesn’t cut it.

BUY NOW
Glitter bomb your enimies

12) Melbourne Cookie Co

Vagina Cookies

I like to even out the sexes. Can’t have a penis gift with out a vagina! Oh yeah the V word! Our southern friends have cooked up a storm with these cheeky sets of cookies. This box comes with 12 cookies: 6 x vagina and 6 x round cookies with your choice of message, Oh so many messages come to mind…all inappropriate of course!

BUY NOW
Yhe Melbourne Cookie Co

What a list! We had a heap of fun putting it together. Not just for us, but for you and the Aussie retailers. It's been a rough few years for them.

Recap of our 12 Days of inappropriate Christmas

Want to feature in 12 Days of Inappropriate Christmas Gifts?

Or do you have a business you would like to nominate? Or have you purchased something from an Aussie company you think should be added? We are all ears!

CONTACT US

Where to get free stock images

Stock images for your website, social media or digital profiles, can get pricy! We are sharing our favourite free stock image sites with you. Yes, you read that right, FREE stock images.

I can see some of you are super pumped, others a little sceptical. Rightfully so! If you have ever used someone's image without their permission it can get very expensive! Most people are happy as long as you take it down. Some are not and will send legal letters.

With the free stock images, they are uploaded by amateur and professional photographers all over the world. They submit their work to these sites knowing it can be used by downloaded by anyone. You can link back to the photographer or even send them a tip if you like. We normally give them a shout-out as a professional courtesy BUT you don't have to. The image we have used in the header is by Photo by Krisffer Aeviel Cabral on Unsplash

Here are two sites we use often for ourselves and clients:

UNSPLASH
PIXABAY

Paid stock images

If you are looking for paid stock image site we use Adobe stock. Great for web designers, content creators or company that use a lot of stock images. We have also used:
Stocksy
Shutterstock
stocksy

Our stock image experiment

As an experiment, we started an account with Pixabay and uploaded 3 images. Have a look below at how many times they have been seen, downloaded, liked or commented on. These images were taken on one of our many trips to our home town.

Our images

Highly recommend setting up an account if you are a budding photographer, you never know where it will lead you! Although it is an experiment for us it is also getting our name out there in a creative space. We will have libraries down the track! Misfit stock sounds cool, don't you think?

5 rules to follow when uploading images to your website

Images are on most websites these days. With so many uses, it's not hard to fill a page with big, beautiful imagery. BUT there are some hard and fast rules to follow when uploading

The good news is you can DIY the lot! 

Our guide will help your SEO and website speed

1. Image name

Don't upload an image that came straight from your camera or iPhone. The main reason is your device will name your image for you AND the file will be the wrong size. Normally way too big!

Say your image is called DSC5689.jpg and you upload that straight to your website. When someone does a search for your product or service, your image isn't going to show up. If you sell turtle food to turtles and the image is of turtle food. Call it what it is! Premium turtle food.jpg Now when someone searches for turtle food, your image has a better chance on being found. Because Google knows what the image is! You should be describing the contents of the image in 3-8 words. 

PRO TIP: Separate the words of your file name with a hyphen (dash). for example, Premium turtle food.jpg should be Premium-turtle-food.jpg Wanna know more? Check this out:

2. Image size

The average size your full-width image needs to be is 1920pxs These are your hero shot found at the top of your website or CTA banners and sliders. Depending on your target demographic, you might want to use a wider image to sustain the use of wider screens. This could apply to designers, video editors etc. But seeing as over 80% of those accessing websites use mobile devices, 1280px is plenty big enough.

Also for consistency on your site, choose a series of image sizes and convert any new images to that size.

Want a guide of the most common image sizes used? Well, we have one handy! Yes you need to sign up to get it, but you can unsubscribe at any time. We don't spam, aint nobody got time for that!

SIGN UP TO GET YOUR COMMON IMAGE GUIDE

3. File size

Keep that image as small as possible without losing clarity. Nothing over 1MB is a good rule to follow. 

Google wants your site to load fast! Google uses load times to decide your website ranking. With this in mind, you should make sure that you aren't overloading your website with huge images. A website visitor will wait no more than 3 seconds for your website to load before giving up and looking for another, faster, website.

Try to keep your images below 100kb when you can. This can be increased to a maximum of 1mb for particularly large images but avoid it as much as possible. To reduce an image's file size you can reduce the width and height of the image and reduce the resolution to 72. This change is easy to achieve on software such as Photoshop or Canva. You can also add a plug in to your wordpress website that compresses your images further. We use Smush – Lazy Load Images, Optimize & Compress Images By WPMU DEV

Google image load times
Image source

4. Alt image text

Alt-text refers to images alternate text. This text is linked to an image on the back end of a website. This alt-text should be a short and basic description of the image. It is not a caption so it will not be displayed on the webpage but instead be visible in the Meta information. Not many website visitors will look at your websites Meta information but the reason you need to add this alt-text is that it will both increase your SEO and make your website accessible

Google loves websites that are more accessible to everyone! It helps your SEO as Google will penalize a website that fails to add alt-text. 

PRO TIP: This also allows vision-impaired peeps to read your site and know what the image is of. It's making your site more inclusive and we think that's how all sites should be!

5. Metadata

Adding metadata to images embeds important details into the digital image itself, including copyright notices, author information, date(s), location(s), and descriptions. Embedding these details into archival images is a best practice employed by professional registrars, collection managers, and other industry experts. 

This isn't a must-have but if you make it best practice then it will help you in the future! It is more techy than the rest and you will need a program like Photoshop to do it.

Image metadata can help protect digital images of your original artwork from being misused or misrepresented. Metadata also enables images to be more easily searched for across the web and successfully located than images without metadata. 

Well there it is

Our advice on images for your website. We hope you have a better understanding and insight for best practices. For more help with your site make sure to contact us

Australian businesses secure your .au domain

Are you an Australian business and have a website? You may have been receiving emails from your domain provider that, .au domain will be available soon. Soon has been over a year as we eagerly awaited purchasing it for our own business. Well its dragged its arse but it's finally here.

What this means for you:

Currently, your website might be voltron.com.au what you would purchase is voltron.au It cuts out the .com part. Exclusive for Australian customers only. You will need an ABN.

Why should you buy another bloody domain name?

Straight up brand protection. If you have competitors who have a similar name or want to confuse your customers, this new update makes it is very easy for them to buy your .au Domain name. Yes there are sneaky buggers that do that kind of thing.

How you get the .au domain

If you have a .com.au website, then you automatically qualify for the Priority Process. This process has been split into two categories, depending on when you first registered your current Australian domain name.

If you want to find out more head to the horses mouth at auda.org

Once a .au direct domain name has been registered, the name will not be live immediately. That's okay it in no way affects your current website so don’t freak out.

Register and action your .au domain name yourself head to your domain provider.

Or if you CBF, we can do it for you and redirect your existing website to the shortened .au domain. Just click the secure my .au below.

SECURE MY .au DOMAIN NAME

5 SEO foundation hacks

No doubt if you have a website you will be wondering how it's going out there in the big wide world. SEO is its best chance at finding the right audience for your industry. We are going to provide you with some hacks to set your site from the start. 

If you CBF reading this right now and wanna skip straight to the download, go for it!

Download your free copy

We get it! You CBF reading right now and will probably forget where this blog is. Happens all the time!

To save you the hassle, hit the button and we will email it to you.

SEND IT TO ME

Stalk Your Competition

We all take a sneak peak at our competitions socials occasionally. Its time to take it a bit further. Understanding your competition is critical to outranking them in organic search. Pick 3 businesses who rank where you want to be ranking in organic search, not the ones you consider to be your competitors.. Start a word doc on each. Get their web address, social media links and any other digital profiles. Set aside a day at least to go through it all. This is what you need to look at:

  1. How fast their page loads, if it's faster than yours talk to your web developer to see what you can do to speed it up
  2. Do they have blogs?Are they interesting and informative or just shit?
  3. Is their site easy to navigate? Are the images good?
  4. What’s their socials  like? Are they highly engaging? What conversations are they starting? How many followers do they have.
  5. What other digital profiles do they have?

Make sure you have your basic UX is down pat

We bang on about User Experience all the time. That's because it's so freaking important. If your clients can’t read or navigate your site, then you are losing business. There are a few tests you can do yourself:

Check out your website on mobile, iPad and desktop. Make sure all the pages load properly, the text is legible and images aren’t cut off. If there are issues, speak to your web developer to get it sorted.

Get reviews

It's time to start taking reviews seriously. Reach out to your best clients and ask for a review on the services you provided them. Make it easy for them by providing a link directly to your Google reviews. Facebook reviews are good too but Google is better.

Google uses ratings and reviews data in its local search algorithms. It's part of the ranking criteria. Not to mention feedback from your previous or current clients, let prospective clients know you are the real deal. Trust is a massive art of decision making for your clients.

Get cosy with Google Search Console (CSG)

GSC is the way Google communicates with webmasters worldwide, providing alerts and data. If you don’t have it, set it up now! If you run into trouble, ask your friendly web developer for help.

Check your GSC monthly. It will show you if there are any issues, penalties, and other crawl issues. Check out the page experience, performance, coverage, security and manual actions. These sections will alert you to any issues that Google has in crawling and indexing your site all for free!

Track it

Track progress and set measurable goals. Optimization involves basing your future actions on what you've accomplished in the past. If you don't know what your goals are or don't track them, your optimization is simply based on a whim. We all know how that goes…

You can measure success easily by setting realistic goals and tracking metrics. Most sites use something to measure data, start with your site and GSC Just make sure that you're not basing your optimization efforts solely on rankings.

If your business is flood-affected

Has your business been flood-affected?

Ours has and it sux balls. We are lucky to be high and dry. We are unlucky with the power and internet for almost a week. It's back on now! Yey! Life is stressful enough without mother nature kicking our arse. No doubt you will be time poor like us. We spend most of our day tending to the needs of our minions, cleaning the old fashioned way, trips to the laundromat and cooking on the BBQ and camp stove. This all takes so much time.

Still, if you run your own business, the show must go on. We work on or in our business when we can. That can sometimes look like a trip to the local Maccas. At least they have power and Wifi. We have put together a list of ways you can communicate to your clients what's going down with your business when you will be back online. We are here to help.

We are here to help

Call them

A good old fashioned phone call. Not to every client, just the ones that will be most impacted. It's the quickest form of communication that allows you to connect directly with your clients. It may seem really freaking obvious but I can see all the introverts wigging out. If you don like to make calls or you have set your business up to not make them, then send a text. We have a few clients that are impossible to get on the phone but will always respond to text. Honestly whatever works between you and your clients.

Call your clients

Social media

If you have Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, TikTok or any other social platform, post there first. It's quick and easy. You don't need to overthink it. Just cold hard facts are fine. Keep updating. Clients and fans generally want to know how you are going. Add pictures of your current flood situation, clean up, teamwork any human interest stories are great for engagement on your page. Add to your Facebook or Instagram stories, these can be more light-hearted and fun. Now we all know how often people post in times of crisis and your post may get missed. Or your clients might not have social media. Or know you're on there too. That's ok we have a few more tricks up our sleeve.

Update your socials

Email campaigns

When was the last time you sent out an email campaign? Well, dust off that laptop it's time. An email campaign is a great way to slide right into your client's inbox. Keep them informed on what's happening with your business. While you're there, ask them to follow your social media for real-time updates. You could add to your following on Facey! Here are a few things you can do:

Email your clients

Email signature

If you are super, super time poor or just CBF creating social media posts and sending out email campaigns, then this is for you! Add a line of text in your email signature. Make it stand out by using a bold font or bright colour. That way every time you send an email or reply to one, there is a note there explaining your limited hours or delays in work.

Email signature flood-affected business

Website

A banner on your website or e-commerce store is a great way to let your clients know there are disruptions to your services. You can take it further by:

How to let your clients know your business is flood-affected

Update your Google Business Page

This is one of the best and we recommend you all do it. Head to your Google My Business page and update any hours. Write an update to let anyone who finds you via Google maps that your services are limited. It's easy to do. Head to your Google My Business profile and edit your deets there.

Let us help you grow

We hope this has helped you come up with some ideas on how to get your message out there. They may all seem pretty freaking obvious but there are a few little tricks in there to help your business grow in a shitty time. If you are on socials and you are posting updates make sure you tag us we are @misfitbranding across all social media. We will share your post on our stories and hopefully gain you some more followers.

How to let your clients know your business is flood-affected