Now Wix Online Programs We're really excited about Wix Challenges! Wix Challenges allows Wix site owners to create new challenges over numerous days with fixed or flexible start dates. A challenge is pretty easy to create, edit and build on desktop or mobile and you can create more than one! The picture below demonstrates some of the pre-set challenges by Wix, but you can create your own very easily by clicking 'Start Fresh'.. A really interesting feature is that you can charge for your challenge - great if you want to develop your service into a more engaging offering (we're currently developing one about optimising your website, and building your brand). Alternatively, you can make these available for free - great for a fun challenge or to gain followers. If you're thinking of new ways to engage your customers in something a little more interactive than shouting 'visit our site', then it's worth exploring Challenges. You can save them in draft form and work on them on your phone so a really life-friendly offering that allows you to develop these gradually. You can also build in a feedback element to ask your challengees questions or seek feedback. To use Wix Challenges go to Add apps in your Wix account, add the app and launch it. You'll see the 'create challenge' button. Wix will walk you through setting it up then (more info here: https://support.wix.com/en/article/about-wix-challenges ). People knock Wix but with business friendly solutions such as this it's really settings itself apart (which is there plan to be a wider business solutions provider!). We can help you on your Wix journey - if you need. Your participants will need to use the Wix app to follow the challenge. That could be a good thing though - the app when customised is pretty impressive and allows for push notifications. If you've built your site using the Wix ADI then Wix Challenges isn't currently available. We never use ADI for our Wix sites so our clients can use Wix Challenges no problem. If you need any support then do let us know. We offer bookable coaching sessions with us here: https://www.esmecreative.com/wix-coaching

We recently worked with.a business owner who wanted a website but who didn't own a computer. We went on to develop a solution that meant she could update her website on a mobile app. Using Wix, we developed a site that used blog, gallery, and store elements, all of which can be updated using the Wix app. Whilst her site was initially built by us using Wix she can take sales, response to queries, add images and update her blog using her phone. So 'Yes' - you can have a website if you don't have a computer and can keep this updated. If you'd like to explore this with us then please do get in touch hello@esmecreative.com

We've really enjoyed working with language services company, Bilingual Solutions Ltd to refresh their existing website. They wanted to update the look and feel of their existing website. Here's the before and after:

This is the reason I initially trained in graphic design! My PhD was in evaluation and in evaluation we write a lot of reports. I was keen to set myself apart from others by being able to present these Uber-effectively. If you're not used to designing on the likes of Adobe software then a good starting point for infographics is on a dedicate app or software, or on Canva: The likes of PiktoChart and Venngage offer free options if you're not making too many infographics but these are watermarked/branded. Canva offer a free version and a range of templates for infographics, it's easy to change the colour, and add and edit text, and you can export/share your design in a range of formats (pictures, pdfs, custom embed): https://www.canva.com/create/infographics/ If you're used to more professional design packages such as Adobe Illustrator then there are a great deal of stock template vector files that you can use as a starting point - https://www.freepik.com for instance. Our Tips if you're making infographics for a report Consider shapes, fonts and colour that you're using in your document - have you used sharp boxes, or circles? A particular colour palette or heading font? Try to tie your infographic into your report style more generally (or if you have to, why not try styling your report around your stunning infographic?) Use icons Small icons can make the world of difference to your data presentation. A relevant icon with a text box underneath and voila - we'll let you class that as an infographic! How might you use the icons in the image below to make an infographic? What might the icons represent? Knowing when to give up Sometimes your design just isn't going right. Do you use it, knowing it's ineffective? Or, use it because you've invested the time and effort? That's your call - but remember - you're exploring infographics to better serve your audience - if your infographic isn't meeting that need then is it of value? ESME Creative provide bookable Canva coaching: https://www.esmecreative.com/canva-coaching

We recently took the Media Works and York St John University short course on digital marketing. It was really terrific covering earned, bought and owned media. We see they're running another and registration is still open. Find out more here: https://digital.yorksj.ac.uk/short-course-overview/?fbclid=IwAR3q-EwrgJdK4usz-YiL9uvpKTBnlWwaq8XIbD3TGzUGw3z7onPTiA5LAUY If you're after support with your marketing then please do explore what ESME Creative can do for you.

Today alone we've listened to two people tell us that they've heard that Wix's SEO is a bit rubbish. That's not our experience. Yes - when we look into the SEO of those with Wix sites we often find the site owners have not optimised their site to get found well on Google - but in the hands of someone that knows what they're doing your Wix site can feature in top results. We have clients who work in very competitive sectors who rank top with their Wix site. For instance, beauticians in cities ranking top against thousands of others. But don't underestimate the amount of off-site SEO work to get you there. One tip for any Wix site owner is to make sure you have a Google My Business account setup and verified and be actively accepting/encourage reviews, By their own admission, a few years ago, Wix weren't up to scratch with their SEO, as a website builder this was a critical flaw for them and they've spent much time investing in their SEO capabilities and we believe they have it right. If you're not sure what you're doing we offer SEO services or the Get Found by Google feature in your Dashboard (under Marketing and SEO) is a great place to start. In an awesome battle between Wix lovers and haters, the Wix team won at getting a particular keyword string ranked highest: https://www.wix.com/partners/post/wix-seo-lovers-marie-haynes-consulting-wins-25k-in-wix-seo-battle . Let me repeat that Wix won at SEO in a high stakes competition! For more on Wix SEO see here: https://www.wix.com/features/wix-seo

We are delighted to have worked with video production company, Apple Tree Media to enhance their website. Here is the before : And the after :

My latest article with Chartered Occupational Psychologist, Dr Cathy Brown is now published in Career Development International's, Career Matters. We explore how mid-life career reinvention can feel challenging for many. This seems particularly relevant at the current time with many jobs and businesses facing uncertainty. You can download and read here: For support with your career I'd certainly recommend Cathy, www.evolve.eu.com . If you're looking for support in getting your business off the ground, embracing the right technology and developing your brand then we can help here at www.esmecreative.com

Have you a Google My Business Profile? It's free and can help your get found locally and beyond. Some of our Wix Coaching clients have had great results. Three simple steps to making use of Google my Business Set up an account, making sure it's on the same email as your Wix Get Found on Google email. Verify your account Encourage your clients to leave reviews on your account ...there's lots of other features you can check out on it too including posts, setting business hours and adding photos.

The Wix Blogs feature now allows you to set certain content to be viewed by those who have a pricing plan with you. Here's a video on how this works. It's really simple as you can see. If you have pricing plans already set up then click sell subscriptions in the left tab of your new blog post and set the plans you want that post to be available to.

Many business owners don't realise just how much they can do on the Wix App. Such as: - manage your shop products and orders, and use the app as a point of sale system. - add photos to your media manager and shop. - manage your bookings including arranging appointments, editing appointments, marking clients as checked in/no shows. - manage Wix challenges. - see details of your Wix paid plans holders. - create events. - create and edit blog posts. - answer messages via the Wix inbox. Apart from actually editing the look of your website, the app will handle most things. Downloading the app is easy - just head to your App Store and search for Wix and download. The app works on iPad too. Log on using the same credentials you use to login to your Wix Dashboard. Need a coaching session to get the most of the app? Get in touch.

Can't see this post? This is a premium post for our lovely subscribers. If you're on a Wix Business plan and use features such as Wix Pricing Plans, you can set automations or these may already be set for you. 2 automations are included in the standard business unlimited package but if you have pricing plans active then standard automations such as informing clients they have signed up to a pricing plan, or that it has expired are also included. If you're using Wix pricing plans: You'll find that you have several automations set but that you can personalise. Head to 'Customer Management' then 'Automations' to see the automations that you have. From here you can edit the email that gets sent to your clients for instance changing the style, backgrounds, text, and adding logos, links and buttons. This is a great way to personalise the communications your clients receive and explain further the value you'll add and how your plan will work in more detail (for instance, forms you'll need them to complete, member resources they might be interested in). Other automations: Automations can be used for a host of things, although there are likely only 2 included in your plan unless you upgrade to one of the premium Ascend packages. The Ascend packages do remove the 'Ascend by Wix' branding and allow multi-step forms, more email mailshots, payment by form and better chat functions (among other things). With your 2 automations you might wish to setup notifications to yourself (when a client does something on your site), or to clients, but there are a host of options. To build an automation: Select the Wix function you want to trigger - for instance - you want to add an automation to a form submission. Next, select what happens - for instance, you receive an email or the client receives and email. Next, there are customisation options (such as formatting your template), Finally, you can select when this triggers - straight away? an hour later? etc. If you need support then we've developed many, many automations and can support you.

When you create booking sessions or pricing plans you are given the opportunity to add each to the other. Often when a client asks us to discover why their pricing plan customers can’t book onto their services with their plan we will find that the booking service hasn’t been added to the plan. To solve: Go to pricing plans then Manage pricing plans. Select the plan you need to attached booking services or classes too. Next, check which booking services are selected. It’s likely there are some missing. Or here's a video tutorial:

There are lots of applications that expect you to pay to feature your Facebook messenger on your website. However, you can do it for free. This video will show you how...

As you may know, I was first and foremost a business educator and consultant and spent much of my career working with businesses and professionals, teaching professional university programmes and working on live business improvement projects with organisations in my former role of Head of Research (Business) and working in a university Centre Leadership and Organisational Change (Teesside) and Business Improvement (Derby). Moving to run ESME Creative and ESME Organisational Development (now FindBookPay), and my other University Consultancy, HEIER , has really been a passion project. A life decision to pursue my own interests, commit more time to the charities close to my heart and with a bit of a nudge from past clients and contacts. This month things have really gathered pace and we've been busy with a range of projects: Interim Director of Business Development for a Project Management Firm I have been spending a day and a half with a construction project management firm (that I originally helped to found in 2013). I have been examining efficiencies the firm can make and have identified a great deal of failure demand. Failure demand is demand that is created from 'getting it wrong/not getting it right first time'. By implementing training and improving communications I'm hoping we can lessen the load on staff there. Business solutions I've worked with around 16 small businesses over the past month with 11 concerning the implementation of booking, CRM and email marketing systems. This is more than just building websites and includes consideration for the customer journey, retention, their wider business and marketing strategies, and how we can reduce administrative burden (and thus cost) for our clients. Since this is predominantly Wix-based I've taken the brave step of updating our monthly subscription plans so that we can formalise a way of offering support beyond our initial development. Our Wix On-Call Support plan will provide Wix users with 1 hour of support each month - whether that's calling us up with a Wix emergency or offloading some web admin to us. It's an exciting development and I've been trying to recruit someone to support me to deliver this. Making Wix Marketplace and Icon Partners We reached a Wix Partner level (that we very nearly paid to reach) through organic growth). This really has opened a door for us means Wix have assessed our portfolio and they direct lots of Wix Marketplace enquiries to us daily. This has been so successful that we've really had to restrict the parameters of our offer (you won't see our graphic design services offered on Marketplace but don't worry we do still offer this). It's been great to meet lots of lovely Wix clients coming to us through the Marketplace - thank you for trusting us with your website needs. https://www.wix.com/marketplace/wix-partner/esme-creative-(uk)?fbclid=IwAR30B2siouFK8rEKCz3ug64xxfnIEdnkft3aZ51_-gCtL8zLLbiXM4pxwFE Charity Governance I've been undertaking pro-bono work with a few charities to introduce policies and modernise ways of working and support their digital marketing. One of the charities has had a particularly successful 14 months as I've helped cut their annual expenditure by 50% and increased income by 50% against the previous year. A lot of this involved interrogating unnecessary cost, identifying new revenue opportunities and developing 'customer' communications. I also offer pro-bono support through the Digital Boost scheme but this has been quite quiet this month (although we've a few organisations who have now returned as clients). Writing I've been working on a few papers and books. Working with the wonderful Cathy Brown of Evolve we recently published an article on Positive Psychology and Careers. We've written a fair few articles together now on career mobility (I supervised Cathy's PhD a few years ago and her research was fab). UK Evaluation Society I'm a Director of the UK Evaluation Society and it's an interesting time for us at the moment. COVID has resulted in us cancelling this year's conference and next year remains uncertain. Instead, we're moving a lot of our offer online so I've been busy working with the other Directors and sub-groups to make arrangements for these. I'm also a member of the regional Midlands Evaluation Network and we've a Midlands Evaluation Showcase on in a few weeks that we are busy planning. If you've an interest in evaluation or impact practice then do join us. w ww.evaluation.org.uk Giving Back I continue in my role as Charity Trustee for a Village Hall and CVS/CVO and match every paid hour of website work with volunteering. The Month ahead October is looking like a busy month for us. We've just signed several larger websites and we are just launching our on-call support offer. We've some interesting discussions with local organisations and may even be sponsoring a girls football team (which I'm so passionate about after playing myself for many years). We're full for October but would love to explore any November projects so please do get in touch. hello@esmecreative.com

...and proud We've seen a lot of debates on social media lately about lots of things Wix. Is Wix SEO good enough? Why would you want support for your Wix website (rather than DIY)? As Wix Marketplace partners it bothers us a bit to see Wix put down. We wanted to put together a quick post for those new and perhaps a bit confused about building their Wix website. It contains a little bit of Wix myth debunking and advice. SEO Wix's SEO was a bit iffy a while ago but it's come on at great pace since with lots of great SEO tools now built in and advanced SEO tools available for those that know what they're doing. The ease at which Wix now integrates with Google is suggestive of a positive relationship there too. Take a search for Wix lovers vs haters. A competition where Wix developers and other web developers go head to head to get a site ranked most highly. In the last round Wix developers won! So why would people 'dis' Wix's SEO? Well, first the legacy left behind from when it wasn't so good. Second, there's a lot of amateurs on Wix - they make a site look ok but none of the technical aspects are seen to and they go on to blame Wix (so many people expect to build a site then rank first!). Third, your Uber-professional agencies are not going to strongly advocate a DIY builder when they can throw Wordpress and all it's really difficult, ever-updating-and-breaking plug-ins at you (that they'll charge you to maintain each month)! We know Wordpress and we just don't enjoy it or feel it's a sustainable web solution for our clients (those less computer savvy who want a cost-effective solution for their business). Wix Marketplace Partners We're Wix Marketplace Partners and, whilst there is a route to pay to get into that marketplace, we earned our position there. We submitted our portfolio for review after working with enough clients to become eligible and our portfolio made the mark. We see a lot of people offering help on Wix without much credibility of identity. Look out for Wix website designers who feature on the Wix Marketplace, it may be worth limiting your searches to your country (there can be variations particularly around payment providers), and try to find someone/an agency who has expertise in your field (again there are variations in styles, and in some areas like CBD and pharmaceuticals there are limited payment provider options). If you're looking for low code Wix designers who can help with Wix Ascend solutions and Wix's Bookings, Stores, Pricing Plans/ Subscription and Events then you're in the right place. ESME Creative specialise in Wix Business Solutions offering. Not only that but with extensive experience in business leadership we understand more than just the website build - how do your customers think? how can you work more efficiently and save time? We try to add value to our clients businesses. I thought Wix was free? We hear this a lot. You can have a free .wixsite.com domain but you'll be limited in the functionality just like free versions of other business and marketing favourites such as Canva, MailChimp and Typeform. If you're wanting to go somewhere with your business we'd at least suggest paying for your own connect domain plan so that you can get your Wix site found on Google and it looks that little bit more professional. I can't get my Wix website to look great? We do a lot of tidy up work! And we love it. Populating your Wix site and giving it an initial look and feel is one thing but often it's not technically well built and that can mean it doesn't respond in some browsers or on some devices, other times it means the SEO hasn't been set. It can be worth exploring someone to spend an hour or two tidying up your Wix site. We offer tidy-ups at £35-40 per hour and have received such glowing feedback about the results. To take your site from unpolished to professional for circa £80 might be money well spent! Check out one of our Google reviews: " Tracey was so easy to work with; professional, personable and she did an incredible job of making my website look and work brilliantly. After months spent faffing around trying to 'do it myself', Tracey seemingly effortlessly and incredibly quickly worked with it to create something I just couldn't have" (Lucy, Client) Is Wix worth it? We're biased but of course we believe 'Yes'. We believe it provides business owners with a site they're better able to control and afford. It requires less technical expertise than the likes of Wordpress. However, we would highly recommend that you hire someone to review your Wix website to ensure it's technically setup too. We're yet to see a site that ticked all the boxes. If you're looking for Wix design support please get in touch: hello@esmecreative.com

We were really struck by how many neighbours in our local community didn't have access to printers during lock-down. This had the potential to impact home-learning and services that were no longer being undertaken at a distance. We've been exploring how we deliver document print and lamination/encapsulation services around Swadlincote and Burton and are delighted to introduce our Print and Deliver solutions. We can also deliver to those further afield. Feel free to get in touch with us to explore your printing and delivery needs (feel free to use the Messenger Chat or email us at hello@findbookpay.com - remember we can also design logos, brochures and other graphics.

As you might expect, we are pretty pro-kids getting in to all things creative and tech. Our two, aged 5 and 8, are certainly huge fans of using iPads and computers to entertain themselves, and when used creatively they can be hugely educational and positively engaging. We’ve put together a few ideas of how you can get your kids to engage in creative technology whilst having fun. These include using: - Canva to develop their own branded merchandise or magnets - Canva to make jewellery gifts - Making their own movies with Animation apps and packages - Wix or other free website builders to make their own website. Whether you're on lockdown and are looking for activities to keep the kids busy, or need some fun holiday activity, we hope we can show how creativity and technology can help you achieve that. Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Canva Canva is a free website and app that puts design in your (or your kids) hands. You can adapt their templates or start from scratch and they’ve a range of preset sizes for common media types such as A4 documents, Facebook cover images and presentations. Idea 1: Your own merchandise using Canva to design Grab some specialty paper such as magnetic paper or iron-on t-shirt transfer paper and design your own magnets or branded clothing. We had a fab day with our kids last half-term pretending we were making some of our own merchandise (like the YouTubers do!). We took to Canva and designed our own logos, and badges before downloading them and printing onto T-shirt transfer (remember to print in mirror mode so it flips your design). You’ll need: A Canva account: https://www.canva.com/join/nice-blotch-insight (referral link) A printer Transfer paper (around £7 for 10 sheets)(such as: https://amzn.to/3etkFID ) A garment to iron the transfer onto and an iron (steamless). We’ve used these t-shirts: https://amzn.to/3oSRWlh and hoodies: https://amzn.to/3jY1WG5 ) or, for magnets use magnetic paper (such as: https://amzn.to/2HQpqAj ) It's really important to read the instructions carefully especially print instruction, drying instructions and transfer instructions. As you can see from the picture below, I ended up with some black marks on ours! Idea 2: Using Canva to make jewellery gifts Christmas is coming up and the kids could spend hours on Canva tinkering with all their Christmas clipart. A few years ago, I started to craft little keepsake gifts using Canva to make cards to place jewellery on (see picture). It was great fun to buy a selection of jewellery and find novel ways to present them on a card. If you want to polish them off then use heavy papers, round the edges of the paper and package them in a wrapper to gift. You'll need: A Canva Account: https://www.canva.com/join/nice-blotch-insight (referral link) A printer: We have two - both HP instant inks (it's great not to run out of ink). The first is great for everyday use: https://amzn.to/3p1EmfG and good value especially with free ink. The second is a bit heavier-duty but if you're printing lots it's fab and quick: https://amzn.to/36cyXJS Jewellery items: There's so many to choose from but here's some we've tried and like: - Christmas earrings (cheap): https://amzn.to/3oUG8iq - Kids earrings: https://amzn.to/38guwQQ - These polymer earrings are also cute: https://amzn.to/2TWw36z - Pin badges: There are some great designs and these can appeal a bit more to boys and can be based on themes (dinosaurs, bikes, animals etc): https://amzn.to/2GCTtLa Heavy paper or card (https://amzn.to/3k1u3oa) (be careful with some glossy papers - some are too glossy for the printer). Photo paper works well too. A guillotine and corner snipper (optional): We think the rounded edges give it that something: https://amzn.to/3esT62h Cellophane wraps (optional): https://amzn.to/2Ib7eAR (We like printing our cards at 10cm x 10cm). There are recycled options available too. As you can see from the example below, we wanted to play on the astronaut theme so used a cute quote and moon graphic. Once printed it's just a case of trimming and piercing a hole for the jewellery item (pin badges work well too) What ideas do you have for yours? Tag is on Instagram with your finished products @esmecreative Animation There are a range of animation opportunities and don’t worry if you‘re not too technical. Firstly, they’re usually not too tricky. Secondly, kids usually find this stuff super intuitive. There are a range of apps on the Apple and Android stores (look up Stop Motion and Lego Movie Maker) which allow you to use your phone. You can also get comprehensive animation kits with cameras, props and guide books included (such as https://amzn.to/3kSA4oc ). Some props to work with would also be ideal. Lego have Movie Maker sets (for instance: https://amzn.to/3epXZcj ). One thing we found - I was as into it as the kids! Free websites It's been really interesting to work with the kids to design their own websites. It's really got them talking about their interests, how we spell certain words, what their site purpose is and who their audience is. Since ESME Creative are Wix partners you wouldn't expect us to use much else than Wix and they've found it really intuitive (Wordpress would be a good alternative). The Wix app also lets them draft blog posts on the go. We've ended up with one website about dragons and another about gaming. Some questions we've explored with their website are: what would you like it to be about? how do you think would want to visit it? what would they expect to see and read? what do you think it's important to tell them? does all the information go on one page or is there a way we can organise it? which pictures work well? (They spent ages picking pictures) what do certain colours mean? (is red angry/danger for instance) if we could have a domain what would it be? (e.g. mywebsite.co.uk/.com) Let us know what you like to do using technology!

If, like me, you love your Apple MacBook but hate the lack of flexibility it offers in terms of creating an email signature then you might want to try: https://si.gnatu.re I've tried many other signature builders out there but often there's hidden costs which stop you getting the signature that you want - you add a social media link in and suddenly that's a premium feature and chargeable! I recently stumbled on Si,gnatu.re it's easy to use and free if you're editing in the first few days. After that there's a small charge to edit your signature (or you could just alter the code in the text edit file I'll outline below). There's two parts - making the signature and getting it into Mail. Here's what I did: Head over to https://si.gnatu.re and create your signature. I previewed the output file in Chrome as it suggested as some browsers including Safari sometimes don't work well (according to the https://si.gnatu.re instructions). I headed into mail then preferences > signatures > and created a new place for my signature to go added some random text then came out of the new entry. I went to Finder and in the menu selected Go > Go to Folder. I then entered ~/Library/Mail/ so I could find my mail files. I selected the most recent 'v' file (mine was v7) I then went into signatures and searched the most recently amended file ending I'm .mailsignature (this will be the one we created in step 3). I right clicked then selected open with and opened with 'text edit'. I went back to https://si.gnatu.re and copied my html code I deleted the code section in text edit (delete the text too) and copied in my html. The code I pasted began with a table format I saved the text edit (File > Save) then locked the text edit (click the title then select the locked checkbox). I restarted Mail, started to compose a new email and voila! My new attractive and professional email signature was ready and waiting. Hope it works for you!