Category: Website Development

Freedom Warriors: A Giant Client With an Important Cause

Posted on April 2, 2024 by - News, Website Development

Recently, a Giant Client with an important cause needed a fresh, new website. Freedom Warriors, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering and liberating survivors from the chains of exploitation and human trafficking, was looking for a website that would educate visitors, encourage involvement in the fight against human trafficking and drive donations.

Recognizing the importance of the Freedom Warriors mission, Giant Voices dove headfirst into this project. We collaborated closely with Freedom Warriors to evaluate powerful website designs, content, visual elements and calls to action.

With their goals at the front of our minds, Giant Voices designed and developed a new Freedom Warriors website that would make a Giant impact.

“I met Keir Cochran, founder of Freedom Warriors, at a conference 12 years ago, and we have been close friends and mentors for one another ever since. I have deep respect for Keir and his inspirational leadership style—we need more leaders and trailblazers who are focused on driving positive change. When Keir needed a new website for the Freedom Warriors organization, Giant Voices jumped at the opportunity to help.”

Pascha Apter, Giant Voices Founder & CEO

The Freedom Warriors team wanted an educational, impactful and visually intriguing site. We chose an attractive layered layout that incorporates bold statistics, interactive components and strong CTAs to drive donations.

We also used powerful imagery and thoughtfully written content to evoke emotion and inspire involvement. With the hard work of our graphic designers and web development team, we brought Freedom Warriors’ vision to life; their new and improved website boasts a unique, crisp design to support their important mission.

Unmasking the Global Epidemic

For many, human trafficking is viewed as a distant threat—strangers in far-away countries exploiting only vulnerable populations. The reality is much more daunting.

One of the most common myths surrounding human trafficking is that perpetrators target victims they don’t know. But most victims are trafficked by someone they share a close connection with, such as a friend, family member or romantic partner, through deception, coercion, isolation and even physical force.

The United States leads the world in human trafficking, with an estimated 199,000 incidents occurring each year—though the number of reported cases is much lower.

From 2008 to 2019, human trafficking victims worldwide nearly quadrupled, going from 30,000 to 120,000 identified victims. The pervasive reach of this heinous act surpasses even the trade of illicit drugs, arms, human smuggling and wildlife crimes.

Freedom Warriors recognizes that the time for mere words has passed. It is imperative to rise above rhetoric and take decisive action—against human trafficking and in support of survivors.

The Warrior Way

Freedom Warriors came to life after a transformative tour of the Underground Railroad Museum’s human trafficking and modern-day slavery exhibit. 

Overwhelmed by the emotional weight of the magnitude of human trafficking, this pivotal moment ignited a deep sense of purpose within the co-founders. Freedom Warriors is a testament to the determination to fight against the injustice of human trafficking and restore freedom to all those affected.

“To be a Warrior within Freedom Warriors is to embody unwavering strength, unwavering courage, and unwavering compassion,” explained Keir Cochran, Freedom Warriors’ Founder.

“It means standing on the front lines, facing the darkest corners of humanity with an unyielding determination to bring light. It means being a beacon of hope for the oppressed, a fierce advocate for justice, and a relentless force against the pervasive crime of human trafficking.”

Healing Through Equine Therapy

With a strong focus on healing, Freedom Warriors partners with organizations that utilize equine therapy to empower survivors on their journeys to recovery and restoration. They believe in the profound impact of equine therapy as a healing tool and are dedicated to supporting organizations that leverage this transformative power in survivor rehabilitation.

Freedom Warriors covers the annual cost of the horses, helping provide survivors with a safe and nurturing environment where they can form connections with horses to foster emotional healing, build trust, and develop essential life skills. 

Giant Voices is proud to support Freedom Warriors’ mission, and we were grateful for the opportunity to bring their website vision to life.

The Wonderful World of Web Apps

Posted on June 27, 2023 by - News, Website Development

Web applications are an essential, yet inconspicuous piece of the puzzle that ensures a website functions efficiently. But what exactly are web applications and how can they support and improve your business operations? We cover all this and more in our blog on the wonderful world of web apps.

Welcome to the wonderful world of web applications, a wide range of smart yet complex, process-driven websites hidden in plain sight.

We can almost guarantee you’ve used a web application before. They’re specific types of website functionalities that allow users to complete actions online.

In business, web applications take many forms to facilitate product purchases, manage inventory, process orders, track shipments, record time or complete billing processes.

Customer relationship management (CRM) tools are some of today’s most robust web applications. CRMs help businesses keep track of their interactions with customers, manage customer databases, store purchase history, provide better customer service and create, execute, fine-tune and report on targeted marketing campaigns.

The list of great examples of web applications goes on. The bottom line is this: building out your own customized web application could streamline many of your business processes and functions.

Let’s say you’re an OEM manufacturer that would like to add e-commerce capabilities to your website so customers can purchase the products and parts they need quickly and easily.

There are many web applications on the market that could fill this role. Or, you could invest in your company’s future to customize a web application that does exactly what you need it to do.

No forcing your company to fit into a predetermined process. You outline what you need, and a skilled web application developer delivers a product specific to your business.

It sounds too good to be true, but it isn’t. Web applications effectively ‘super-size’ traditional web development to create functional tools that customers and employees can use to drive business, support sales goals and create operational efficiencies at every level.

Web Apps Offer Limitless Potential

Entrepreneurs don’t start their own businesses because they want to uphold the status quo. They branch out independently because they have a unique product or offer, a new way to approach complex challenges, and a desire to forge their own path. Web applications support that entrepreneurial mindset with several key advantages.

Improved Accessibility

Today’s web users are sophisticated, and if they encounter difficulty accessing a website, they’ll simply move on.

Additionally, people of all abilities must be able to access the internet with ease. Sites that don’t meet ADA compliance requirements earn poorer search engine results and less traffic than their compliant counterparts.

Web applications can help transform a traditional website into a powerful tool that provides the necessary information and adds functionality allowing users to complete specific tasks.

Cost-Effectiveness

There are thousands of web applications on the market today, many of which are excellent. The only problem is that commercially-available web applications are designed to be general enough to meet the needs of most users.

But what if your company operates a little differently than others in your field? What if you subscribe to a particular web application but only use it to 50% of its capacity because it just doesn’t fit your business model?

The capital spent on unused functionality would be better spent on a custom-created web application that suits your business needs more closely.

Increased Efficiency and Productivity

Teams working on a project might use a web application to keep track of their tasks and deadlines, and they might use a separate messaging app to communicate with each other in real time.

They might also have separate tools for manual inventory management, customer orders tracking, shipping, payment processing or billing. A custom-created web application can help automate and integrate all of these business functions into a single piece of technology.

By streamlining labor-intensive processes, employees will have more time to focus on strategic, revenue-generating tasks that increase productivity, pursue career development opportunities and ultimately drive business growth.

Improved Customer Engagement and Retention

Many businesses already use web applications to track and facilitate customer engagement.

CRMs like Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, HubSpot and ClickUp (and many more) are all designed to help businesses manage customer relationships and interactions to help prospects convert into customers and brand advocates.

These CRMs are incredibly robust, with layers upon layers of great functionality and some elements many businesses will never use.

Instead of forcing your business into a pre-determined box, investing in a custom-created web application transforms into an investment in the future of your business and results in a more natural, on-brand experience for your customers.

Unleash Your Competitive Advantage

If you’ve tried out-of-the-box web application solutions and found them lacking or that you have to enact too many workarounds to make them make sense for your business, we want to talk.

The Giant Voices team is ready to explore real web application solutions with you. We want to elevate your business with a custom-created web application that fits your business just right.

Ready to take the next step?

Let’s Get Started

5 Reasons to Rebuild Your Website in 2024

Posted on February 22, 2023 by - Website Development

Is your website meeting performance expectations? If not, it may be time for a website revamp! Take a look at our five powerful reasons why a redeveloped website can amplify your business and help foster long-term success. 

The new year is here! After the chaos of year-end, our Giant team is always excited to embrace the fresh feeling of a brand new year.

It’s the right time to set an ambitious course for success and growth, and your website can (and should) be the foundation that supports your strategic marketing and sales efforts throughout the year. 

If your website isn’t meeting your performance expectations, it’s likely time for a revamp. No time like the present to address and resolve challenges. Investing in a new website in 2024 can help increase your company’s competitive edge, uphold your brand and support your overarching business growth goals. 

As you put your goals for 2024 into action, consider these five compelling reasons to redevelop your website this year.

1. A new website stays competitive on search

Google’s search engine algorithm changes frequently—approximately every six months—so the target for performance is constantly moving. Today, Google prioritizes things like high-quality content and page load speeds. 

Publishing helpful and reliable content is key. There was a time when content was written for search engines, with loads of keywords stuffed into paragraphs in the hopes it’d rise through the ranks showing first on results pages.

The outcome was awkward-to-read, unhelpful content that didn’t inspire users to engage. Google has recently turned the tables and now prioritizes content written by humans for humans. If your web pages contain easily readable content designed to help readers solve problems or access information, your site will likely rank higher.

Search engines also value websites that load quickly. Why? Because people do not want to wait for content. They’ll quickly move to a website that provides information faster. Modern web development practices factor in page load speeds across all device types to create a better user experience.

Continuing to use older, unsupported themes, plugins or technologies (like Flash, Page Builder or PHP) will slow down your website and frustrate users. Better to streamline with a complete rebuild. Check out how your website performs on Google’s PageSpeed Insights, and consider upgrading in 2023. 

2. A new website will be more secure

Cybercriminal activity is rampant. It’s become a part of our everyday lives, and it’s something that every business owner should factor into their plans and strategies for growth.

If your website runs on an old, unsecured platform or uses unsupported plugins, you’re at a much greater risk for a data breach. Don’t give hackers easy access to your IT environment through an insecure website. 

Instead, invest in adequate security to ensure all the technology supporting your website is always up to date.

Building and hosting a new website on a trusted, leading platform—like WordPress, Shopify, Marketo, HubSpot, etc.—is a solid strategy for ensuring your website stays safe, secure and updated at all times. 

3. A new website will amplify your brand

Your website is a tool that should function as an extension of your team. It should look, feel and sound like your brand. It should guide users through workflows designed to convert visitors into customers and help your company be a thought leader in the marketplace. 

If your company is considering a rebrand in the coming year, a new website should be part of the brand launch. A rebrand is a perfect time to solidify your company personality, voice and values, all of which should come through loudly and clearly on your website.

If you’ve already developed a strong brand, it is important to make sure your website exemplifies it. Does your website content and imagery accurately speak to your target audiences, using phrases and terminology that are understood by both your team and your customers? Does the look and feel align with your brand standards?

It definitely should! A new website can help take your existing brand to the next level with a modern look, feel and functionality that leaves a great impression on every user. 

4. A new website offers a flexible user experience

Today’s consumers browse the web on many devices, sometimes simultaneously. HubSpot has some interesting insights into how consumers are using their devices and understanding how your audience browses can help inform your website’s design and functionality.

How many times have you pulled up a website on your phone and had to dig out your laptop to complete the task at hand? If users have to zoom in to be able to read or click the exact right spot, they’re likely frustrated with the experience and less likely to visit again. 

Websites designed today incorporate multiple breaking points, so elements can shift into places that make sense on various screen sizes. When you pull up a site on your phone, tablet or computer, each version will display the content in the most user-friendly way for each device.

This is a fantastic solution to create a seamless experience that upholds your brand and delights your visitors, no matter how they access your website.

5. A new website supports your business growth goals

Q1 is well underway, and any of us are thinking about how to grow our respective businesses in the coming year. Here are a few ways that a strategic partner can tailor your new site to support your sales, market and product goals:

  • E-commerce functionality. E-commerce features allow users to purchase products quickly and easily from your site. 
  • Updated design and content. Incorporating strategically crafted visuals and content will appeal to specific target demographics and audiences.
  • Public relations. Launching with a supporting PR push will help increase awareness and buzz for your company’s new site. 

It all fits together if you do it right. 

At Giant Voices, we take the time to intimately understand our clients’ business growth goals so that we can support them with every aspect of their new website builds.

We build every site from the ground up, and you won’t find us executing cookie-cutter websites. We customize each website to meet our clients’ needs and measure our success with analytics aligned to specific KPIs. We’re here to help our clients run successful business operations. 

Transform your website with us! 

If you’re ready to transform your web presence in 2024, we’re prepared to help your business succeed. For a snapshot of our website work, check out our website portfolio.

Reach out to our office any time to schedule a discovery call so we can better understand your project and goals.

3 Essential Strategies to Keep Your Website Compliant

Posted on September 22, 2022 by - Website Development

The digital world is evolving quickly, and it is increasingly important to make sure all users have a great experience on your website.

With competition growing daily and new technologies constantly emerging, creating an excellent user experience is a smart strategy for increasing website engagement and strengthening your brand.

Does your website meet industry standards? Giant Voices can help in several key areas to ensure your website adheres to best practices while attracting and converting visitors.

3 Essential Strategies to Keep Your Website Compliant | Giant Voices

Embrace the Block Flow

WordPress is currently beta testing a new site editor, and it’s fantastic. Instead of a complicated backend that is difficult for anyone but a web developer to navigate and use, WordPress has created a streamlined and simple way for users to edit their websites. 

WordPress’s new site editor has embraced the idea of building web pages with a series of blocks. Much like the small, interlocking bricks we all loved as children, blocks are a straightforward way to arrange different types of content sections on a web page. 

This is not a replacement for the Giant Voices web development team–not by a long stretch. We custom-create sets of interchangeable blocks for our clients, taking special care to uphold brand standards and provide a wide variety of block styles.

The best part is that all the blocks fit together beautifully to create a visually appealing, easy-to-navigate page—and once the blocks are designed, clients can add sections and move things around as needed.

For example, if a featured product isn’t performing well because it’s buried at the bottom of the page, simply use the editor to move the block up to a more prominent position. 

The Giant Voices web development team is well-versed in creating block flows, and we’re excited to share the many possibilities with our clients.

Prioritize SEO and Google Analytics 4

It should come as no surprise that Google is changing things up with Google Analytics 4 (GA4). The differences between Universal Analytics (UA) and GA4 are pretty significant.

Everything from SEO implementation to data collection and dashboard views will be different. According to Google, GA4 will:

  • Collect both website and app data to better understand the customer journey 
  • Use events instead of session-based data
  • Include privacy controls such as cookie-less measurement plus behavioral and conversion modeling
  • Offer guidance with predictive capabilities
  • Offer direct integrations to media platforms 

It’s essential to incorporate GA4 onto your site before it fully rolls out in July 2023. UA will stop collecting data in July 2023, but will be available to access legacy data for approximately 6 months.

However, you can run both simultaneously as you get comfortable with GA4’s analytics. The sooner you implement GA4, the better. Without it, you won’t be able to pull accurate metrics on your website’s performance and user activity.

The Giant Voices web development team can help set everything up correctly, so you’re ready to rock next summer. Reach out to our team or browse Google support for more more detailed information. 

Accessibility is Everything

Website accessibility is covered under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which provides qualified individuals with disabilities equal access to programs, services or activities. Ensuring your website is accessible to everyone elevates your brand and improves searchability and search engine rankings.

That’s right: ADA-compliant sites perform better on search engines. Web accessibility is in everyone’s best interest.

The Giant Voices team develops websites that incorporate several key accessibility factors, including (but not limited to) image alt text, flexibility with colors and fonts, video captions and a simple design.

1. Image Alt Text

Visually impaired users depend on image alt text (short descriptions) to decipher and understand photographs, charts, color-coded information or other graphic elements on a webpage. Making sure all visual elements are accompanied by a short description is critical.

2. Flexibility with Colors and Fonts

Not everyone sees the world the same way. Many people can navigate websites better if the font and background are highly contrasted or if they can increase the font size or change the style. Ensuring your website can be modified on individual users’ machines means that more potential customers can access your content and interact with your brand.

3. Video Captions

Video has become an essential component of the web, and videos with full captions or descriptions are infinitely more accessible. Whether someone is hearing impaired or simply in a location that isn’t conducive to playing audio, captions make all the difference.

4. Busyness Creates Distractions

Busy, interactive websites can be very fun, but they can also be frustrating to navigate. Studies estimate that 15-20% of the population is neurodivergent, which means they process media differently.

Flashing, blinking, moving elements or congested web pages can be distracting and can drive prospects away instead of closing a deal. Developing with simplicity in mind creates a better experience for all. 

Take your website to the next level by implementing these web development best practices. Reach out to the Giant Voices website development team to get started.

Is it Time to Redo Your Website?

Posted on May 5, 2020 by - Business Tips, Website Development

Quick question: do you know if your website is adequately secure?

Cyberattacks happen every day and protecting your company from end to end is the best strategy for fending off these bad actors. You’ve likely covered your bases with email security, firewalls and data backups—but what about your website?

Is it Time to Redo Your Website? | Giant Voices Blog

Your business’s website is another potential entry point that must be secured. Giant Voices cares about our clients’ web security, which is why our strategic web development services include building on the WordPress platform and hosting through WP Engine. We’ve found this to be the most robust, available, secure and cost-effective solution for our clients.

WordPress recently shared the following best practices to improve your chance of staying safe from a security incident or malicious attack. We recommend taking a look at your web security protocols and adjusting your practices wherever necessary.

Top Website Security Tips

Create a Strong Username and Password 

For each user on WordPress and WP Engine’s User Portal—and do not reuse these credentials on other services. These logins are the gateway to the administrative controls of your website.

If anyone were to gain unauthorized access to your site, it could be a recipe for disaster for your company and your brand reputation.

One last note—don’t share passwords or accounts; this will only increase opportunities for risk.

Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Use MFA as a security best practice for all logins. WP Engine makes enabling MFA easy, so there’s no reason to overlook this important step.

MFA ensures only authorized users can access your site by adding a simple extra layer of security beyond a password. With a randomly generated code sent to you via email or text, you’ll protect your website and your company.

Enable Seamless Login 

From the WP Engine User Portal to WordPress Admin, you can utilize seamless login. Seamless login will securely log you in from the User Portal with one click, without requiring a password. This option increases security while simplifying the login process.

Keep Plugins Up to Date

Ensure that the plugins on your website are always current and remove any plugins that you don’t use anymore. This eliminates any potential security weaknesses or gaps that could be caused by outdated plugins. To make things easier, the Smart Plugin Manager can do the heavy lifting by updating plugins on your behalf.

Thinking About Redesigning Your Website?

Maintaining a strong web presence is more important now that it has ever been before. With federal and state mandated restrictions on person-to-person interactions, consumers are naturally turning to digital means to connect with products, services and brands.

If you’ve been considering a website overhaul, there’s no time like the present. Your website is now your first point of contact with customers and prospects—is it an accurate representation of your brand? Are you conveying the right messages to convert prospects into leads?

Giant Voices has helped hundreds of clients create strategic, lead-generating websites over the past two decades, and we’ve found four key elements contribute to successful website performance.

Intuitive Navigation

When your website is easy to navigate, it sends a strong message that your business cares about offering a great customer experience from start to finish. 

Mobile-Responsive Design

People are always connected via mobile devices and offering a seamless experience between desktop and mobile versions of your website makes it easier for customers to access the information they need.

On-Brand Content Strategy

Your website provides the first introduction of your brand to new customers – that means the content should reflect the voice and tone of your brand and your team.

Clear Offers

This is where you make your website work for you. Every page of your website should provide a clear path to conversion – what action do you want visitors to take? What offers are you providing?

The Giant Voices team kicks off website development projects with a deep dive into our clients’ goals, so we can be sure to deliver a website that will drive success and growth. During our proprietary Website Vision Sharing™ session, we gain a deeper understanding of desired user behavior, and then we get to work.

We develop an intuitive sitemap that streamlines navigation and drives users through the website. We get to work on beautiful designs and visual components, and we draft clear, concise content with compelling calls to action (CTAs) that drive conversions.

Then we build, test and launch powerful websites. We’ve helped many incredible clients articulate their brands and offers with beautiful and effective websites, and we’re proud of each project we’ve completed.

Check out some of our recent website development work and get in touch with us for more information on our website redevelopment process.