Neva Masquerade

05/14/2025

Imagine a pipe burst and your house is now flooding. You whip out your phone and search for an emergency plumber. You find one and see a phone number on their website, but when you tap it, nothing happens.

What do you do?

A. Look for a piece of paper and a pen to write down the phone number, and then dial it.

B. Switch between the browser and phone app multiple times to type it in piecemeal.

C. Return to the search and find a different plumber who is easier to contact.

This is an extreme example, but you get the point. Any amount of friction on your website can irritate people and cause them to leave.

A tappable phone number may seem like a small detail, but minor inconveniences add up. Don't give people a reason to go to your competition.

Fortunately, it's very easy to fix this issue. In your content management system, highlight the phone number, then add a link. In the URL field, type "tel:" followed by your phone number without spaces. It should look like this: tel:5712007010. Save the update and you're done.

What's your website like on your phone? Are you easy to contact?

05/13/2025

Have you ever wondered how people with visual impairments experience content online? Many people use assistive technology to read what's on the page, but what happens when there's a non-text element, such as a great cat meme? How do you read a photo?

The answer is alt text. Alt text is a written description that accompanies the image. When a screen reader encounters an image, it looks for alt text to read to describe it. Alt text also benefits sighted people if the image fails to load.

A lot can go into writing good alt text, but fortunately, it is easier than herding cats. Some key points are that it should be:
• Concise (less than 140 characters)
• Tells the image's purpose and context
• Relevant (don't add unnecessary detail or excessive info)

Conversely, bad alt text is:
• Long (more than 140 characters)
• Overly detailed
• Irrelevant, suffers from keyword stuffing

Next time you upload a photo to your website or social media, look for the option to add alt text. On Facebook, click "Edit photo" then go to "Alt text." It may seem minor, but it has a huge impact on the people who need it.

Alt text ensures that everyone can understand your visuals. It's a purrfect way to be inclusive!

PS. Sometimes the alt text feature may glitch. You can also embed alt text directly in your post as a fallback to be 100% confident it'll be available for everyone.

Alt text: Graphic of good alt text (concise, gives purpose & context, relevant) vs. bad alt text (>140 characters, overly detailed, irrelevant).

05/12/2025

Did you know that 91% of Americans own a smartphone? Or that 15% of Americans are "smartphone only" Internet users.

At least half of your website's traffic uses a phone for their visit. Does your website look and work as well on mobile as it does on desktop? If it doesn't, you're in trouble.

Check out our blog post on why mobile matters to learn more about this critical topic. We explore:
• local search engine optimization,
• mobile vs. desktop needs and how and why to design for each,
• Google's mobile-first indexing policy, and
• mobile first development.

https://nevamasquerade.design/blog/mobile-first-matters/

Don't let your website cost you business. Read our guide to gain insights into what separates a blah website from a fantastic one.

Your customers use smartphones! Don't lose them to a bad website. Mobile-first design & optimization boost local search rank & convert visitors into sales.

05/09/2025

Did you know that roughly 1 out of every 4 Americans lives with a disability?

Disabilities are complex. We can categorize them by type:
• visual (sight),
• auditory (hearing),
• cognitive (thinking), and
• mobility (moving).
They can also be situational, temporary, or permanent.

Everyone experiences a disability at some point in their life.

Accessibility helps people get through life despite the obstacles. It isn’t limited to physical supports like wheel chairs and hearing aids. Websites also require accessibility.

This article notes that accessibility lawsuits are increasing and explores the pitfalls teams fall into concerning accessibility.

Accessibility should never be an afterthought.

https://buttondown.com/access-ability/archive/dangerous-accessibility-assumptions-that-put/

Three strips of intersecting yellow and black “warning” tape. Accessibility isn’t an extra feature or a nice-to-have add-on. It’s a foundational requirement...

05/08/2025

How long do customers wait for your website to finish loading? Tick. Tick. Tick. The answer might be costing you sales. (Are they getting a little im-paws-ient?)

For most people, it's not long. Studies show that 40% of people abandon a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. You lose more people each second it takes.

Don't let a slow website cost you sales. Use Google's PageSpeed Insights tool https://pagespeed.web.dev/ to check your website's health. If your performance score is yellow or red, your website is lagging and needs work. It's not quite purr-forming as it should.

Finding a low score can feel overwhelming. If you're ready for expert help to get your website loading fast, let's chat. Book a free consultation: https://nevamasquerade.design/contact/



Alt: A graphic asking "How long do you wait for a slow website?" followed by the stats "3 seconds" and "40% users." Branded for Neva Masquerade Branding and Web Design with a photo of a cat.

05/07/2025

You know how annoying it is to wait for something? Like being stuck in traffic, on hold, or for Christmas when you're a kid? That's exactly how people feel waiting for a slow website to load.

And like how waiting in line costs you time, a slow website is costing your business customers. More than you might think, too. It drives them away and even hurts you on Google—bad websites don't rank well.

This blog post dives into:
- why website speed is such a big deal,
- what makes sites slow (hint: not all websites are equal), and
- the hidden costs of long load times.

Ready to stop losing customers to a sluggish site? Read the full story:

https://nevamasquerade.design/blog/slow-website-lost-opportunity/

Is a slow website driving away customers? Long load times annoy visitors, raise bounce rates, and hurt search rank. Faster sites attract leads & grow profits.

05/07/2025

Is your website sending folks running for the scratching post?

Bad websites cost more than money. Poor design, weak content, and tech issues lead to lost opportunities. This can hurt sales and search rank without you even knowing.

We've identified 9 common ways websites fail. Learn to spot these pitfalls and strengthen your online presence.

Ready to make your website work smarter, not harder?

Read our latest blog post: https://nevamasquerade.design/blog/9-ways-websites-kill-business/