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If you’re new to website design, you’ve likely already discovered that there’s a lot to learn. The good news is that you don’t have to know everything all at once. Digital design gives you time to learn as you go.

Get yourself started on the journey to becoming a great website designer with a little light research. Take a quick read through these simple business website design tips for beginners.

Design for ease of use

A good website design is easy for web users to understand. When users intuitively know how to get from point A to point B on your site, they are more likely to engage with your company.

Certain aspects of your design will be more pivotal than others. For instance, your navigational setup should be something everyone can use without trouble. A simple stationary navigation bar along the top of your pages will suffice.

Encourage communication

Being visible on the internet is all about communication really. You’re using the platform to connect with a wider consumer base. Your website should encourage visitors to communicate in some fashion to help build new connections for your business.

Make sure your contact page has several different methods of communication laid out for users to explore. This company that produces specialty industrial products got creative with their contact page design. Take notes from various example pages, and build a contact page that really hits the mark with your audience.

Build for mobile users

Whenever you are working on building digital content, it should always be created with mobile users in the forefront of your mind. Mobile users are the main component of today’s online traffic, making mobile optimization more of a standard these days.

Dig into the specific aspects of your design that make your pages more appropriate for mobile screens, and build a website that serves the mobile community online.

Include social media

Speaking of inclusion, you don’t want to exclude the popularity of social media from your website pages. Social media is a busy place, and you want your business to be a part of the wide open marketing opportunity.

Adding a simple touch to your pages will help link social media to your business. Social media sharing icons are familiar enough to today’s web users that they know just what to do when they see them. Add the icons in strategic places on your pages, and all interested users to do some of your marketing work for you.

Learn the value of SEO

Finally, dig into the concepts of SEO before you even begin your design. Search engine optimization will lead you down a path to better visibility online. When you know what the search engines are looking for, you can design to please.

If you have a small, local business, it can often feel like you’ve tapped out your resources and your community. But if you still have dreams of growing bigger and even potentially taking your business outside of your immediate area, you’re going to have to put in the work necessary to become a big business in your small pond.

To help you see how you can quickly and easily do this, here are three tips for growing your business in your local area.

Make Smart Hires

While it’s important for any business to make sure they hire the right person for the job, the right person for each job opening that you have might be a little unique to corporate hires.

Along with the importance of being able to do the job effectively and efficiently that your staff has been hired to do, when you’re a small, local business, the personal connections of your employees can be just as important to you. Knowing this, you may want to look to hire people who have been in your local area for a while, have deep connections to people or organizations in your area, or are willing and able to help you with networking in order to grow your business even more.

Make Yourself More Visible

If the physical area that you’re marketing your business in is relatively small, like a small town or a specific neighborhood, making yourself more visible can be quite easy. All you may need to do is increase your marketing budget a bit and start displaying your name more prominently. But if you’re covering a larger local area, you may need to get a little more creative.

One thing you might want to try is branding your vehicle with your company information. This way, whenever you’re driving around, people will be seeing advertising for your business. Another thing you could do is seek to become more involved in events in your area, like trade shows, fundraisers, activities, and more.

Offer Something Unique

When you own a business that focuses on selling to a local market, you may find that you have less immediate competition. But to continue setting yourself apart from other businesses in your area and big box retailers that can ship anywhere, you’ll still want to be able to offer something unique to your local customers.

If you’re able to, try to fill a hole in your local market, be it with a product, service, or offering. By doing this, you’ll become something that people in your area need and rely on, which can create an incredible amount of loyalty and help you grow your business even further.

If you’re a local business that wants to continue growing and expanding, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you accomplish this goal.

The interior of your business says so much about you as a business owner and also about the business itself. Therefore, getting the interiors right is imperative. To make sure the interior of your business location looks as good as you want it to, you need to invest both time and money. Making changes that have the right impact is important. As a business of any size, you only have one chance to make a positive impression, so getting it right is crucial to the success of your business. So, what should you be thinking about when it comes to designing an interior that will show your business in the greatest light possible?

The Color Scheme

A color scheme can have a profound impact on anyone that enters your location. So, it is important that you think about what impact you want to make before you open a tin of paint. For example, do you want to reassure visitors to your business location? Or, are you looking to win people over and perhaps get more sales? The colors you use will subtly affect the results you achieve. So, always have in mind what you want to achieve before you even pick up a paintbrush. For example, warm colors are inviting and welcoming, whereas darker colors can be seen as cold and dominating. A location that is warm and welcoming will definitely want to adopt a color scheme that is calming and reassuring.

The Finishing Touches

From the wall art to the metal handrails taking visitors up to the next floor, the small touches will make all the difference. Take the two examples mentioned. When your visitors see great artwork, it will give them something to admire or discuss, but it also shows that your business cares. With handrails, you are improving mobility in your building and making your business accessible to all. These can effortlessly work with the rest of your interior but add purpose.

The smaller details and those finishing touches can be easy to glaze over, but in reality, they can potentially be seen as little triggers or warnings if they are not thought out.

Seek Assistance and Support

Creating or enhancing an interior on your own can be extremely difficult, especially if you are busy trying to run and grow your business. Seeking support, advice, and input is important. If you employ staff, get them to voice their opinions and get their input. Staff input is vital especially if they use the site every day. Staff input makes employees feel good, and it makes them feel valued.

Also, do not be afraid to seek professional support and assistance as and when you need to. Interior designers will know what works within a successful business interior, and they will know what is needed in a space, and, perhaps, what is not, so never be afraid to reach out for guidance. It could make the difference between creating an interior excelling and not.

Human services professionals work in a wide range of roles that are primarily centered around providing services and care to the people who need it the most. There are several different roles to consider within human services work that you might be drawn to if you want a career that allows you to be there and make a difference to the lives of others. Since human services work will often involve working with people who are the most vulnerable in society or people who are going through incredibly tough times, somebody who wishes to work successfully in one of these roles will need to possess a certain range of skills that they will use on the job.

Human service professionals work in a range of roles including social care, healthcare, community support and more. They often work in a collaborative manner to assist other social and human served providers to provide client services in a wide range of different fields such as rehabilitation, social work, psychology and providing support. In addition, they will often work to assist clients in obtaining and identifying the benefits and support that are available to them. Many work closely alongside other professionals in the development, organization and leadership of human services programs to help clients resolve a range of problems such as relationship issues, dependent care, substance abuse, rehabilitation and more. Some of the most in-demand skills for professionals working in human services include:

Communication Skills

Communication is a crucial skill that is needed to work in a human services career. In these roles, you will often be spending time speaking to your clients and communicating with them regarding plans and programs that are put in place to help them with their situations. In addition, human services professionals often need to communicate clearly within teams and with other professionals in order to ensure that clients’ needs are met. Communication in this role may be used in a wide variety of different ways including written and verbal, along with the ability to communicate to wider audiences such as entire communities to provide them with further information regarding where support can be found.

Active Listening

Active listening skills are an important communication skill that every human services professional needs to possess. Active listening refers to being able to take notice of what is being said to you and taking an interest in the information, allowing you to further analyze it and understand what is being said. Since human service professionals will often work very closely with their clients to facilitate plans of action for improving their lives and making sure that their needs are met, this will often start with active listening on the part of the practitioner who will put these skills into place to ensure that they have a solid understanding of what the client is currently experiencing and the type of help that they are in need of the most.

Critical Thinking

In a human services role, it’s often important to think critically. This will usually be essential if you are working in a position where you are dealing with a crisis situation or emergency and need to remain calm under pressure, think critically and make the best snap decisions on your feet, keeping your clients’ best interests at mind. Critically thinking throughout communication is also important as human services workers will often need to be able to read between the lines and figure out if there is anything that their client might not be telling them that might be important to the help, support and care that they are able to provide.

Decision Making

Many human services professionals will need to have keen decision-making skills. They will often be tasked with assessing situations on a one-to-one basis and coming up with personalized care and support plans to help individual clients get the best help with their situations and ensure that their quality of life is improved. Because of this, many human services professionals need to be people who are skilled in making the right decisions while taking all of the facts into consideration. The wrong decision could have a huge impact on a client, so it’s important for human services professionals to understand the impact that their decisions have and the amount of weight that they carry.

Empathy

Empathy, which is the ability to put yourself in the shoes of another person and see things from their perspective, is a hugely important skill for those working in the role of a human services professional to possess. In these roles, it’s often important for human services professionals to be able to imagine how their client might be feeling at the time and what their biggest worries and concerns might be, even if this is not something that the human services professional has experienced on a personal level themselves. The ability to empathize with others will not only enable human services professionals to make better decisions when it comes to client care and support, but also help them when it comes to communication and encouraging their clients to trust and confide in them.

Team Work

Human services professionals will often be spending their time working alongside other professionals in this field in order to provide a complete program of healthcare, support, social care and other services to the clients that they work with. For example, substance abuse counselors might work alongside doctors, nurses, behavioral therapists and mental health therapists to ensure that their clients have the support that they need in various different aspects of their life that are contributing to the situation that they are currently in. To be effective in the work that they do, the majority of human services professionals need to be excellent team players dedicated to getting the best results alongside the other people that they work with.

Non-Judgmental Attitude

Human services workers are not very often the type of people who will judge others. Whether they are working with somebody who is struggling with substance abuse issues, mental health disorders, poverty, homelessness or other social issues, a human services professional will have too much empathy and compassion for their fellow human beings to judge them for their situations. They know that all too often, whether or not somebody finds themselves in these situations can be a matter of luck and are more interested in finding out more about the events that have led to these circumstances in order to ensure that their client is provided with the help and support necessary to overcome them.

Desire to Help Others

One quality that all good human services professionals share is a main desire to help others and make a difference to the world, which is the driving force behind the work that they do. Many human services professionals are selfless and caring individuals who do not get into this career for the money or for the opportunities for themselves; these are simply additional touches on top of the fact that they are working in a career path where they can be there for and make a difference to the lives of others. You might be an ideal fit for a career in a human services role if you are the type of person who enjoys helping others and never passes up a chance to be there and support somebody else when they need it the most.

Creative Thinking

For many human service professionals, thinking outside of the box is just a normal part of their career. While you don’t have to be hugely artistic or crafty to succeed as a human services professional, many of these careers will require you to think creatively and come up with new ideas and different solutions in order to help your clients get the best results for the care and support that they are receiving. In many human services career options, you have a lot of freedom when it comes to the care and support that you provide for your clients, giving you the chance to think creatively and come up with a plan of action that is tailored to fit the needs of the individual.

Integrity and Ethics

Finally, human services professionals need to be people who always do the right thing, even when nobody is watching. Since many human services career paths involve working with some of society’s most vulnerable individuals and communities, it’s important for all human services professionals to adhere to a strict set of ethics at all times and conduct themselves with integrity wherever they are working and whoever they are working with. Most human services professionals are people who have a strong sense of what is right and what is wrong, and are the type of person to always strive to do the right thing both in their personal and professional life. You wouldn’t catch them not handing in lost property or keeping cash if they’re given the wrong change – it’s just not in their nature.

Human services cover a wide range of professional career options that are dedicated to helping others. In human services roles, it’s important to possess a wide skillset for success.

The social work field is a very challenging but exciting one where you are responsible for improving the lives of many people from different walks of life. Social workers need to learn about counseling, mental illness, addiction, family abuse matters and so much more.

As many social workers evaluate the job market, they may be thinking about upgrading their bachelor’s degree to a master’s level. Read on to understand the specific advantages of upgrading your degree and why it could be the right choice for you.

Higher Earning Potential

The earning potential between a bachelor’s and a master’s is quite different. A specialized social worker can earn a substantial amount more than a general social worker. To put this into perspective, a social worker with a master’s specializing in child abuse can earn at least $20,000 more than someone in the same field with only a bachelor’s degree. It may take more years of hands-on practical experience but it’s entirely worth it for the paycheck.

With an increase in salary for a social worker, the profession automatically demands more respect and credibility in the field as it shows that the person is more experienced and can tackle harder social work cases.

No Shortage of Demand

The demand for social workers increases each year, whether due to increased substance abuse cases or the negative effects of the economy. In 2019, the need for social workers to assist those less fortunate became paramount to deal with the stresses of unemployment and COVID-19.

In the United States alone there are 700,000 social workers in the industry, but research indicates that this number will increase by 112,000 in the next five years. The same statistics are evident across the whole world, and in Europe, almost 20% of the workforce is made up of social workers with specialized master’s degrees.

Increased Specialization

A social worker with a bachelor’s degree will only be able to work in the general field of the industry. While this is okay for many social workers, some will find that as they progress in their career that there is an area that they would like to specialize in. In these cases, a master’s degree is essential and more credible than a bachelor’s.

If a social worker wants to become licensed in the clinical sense and open a practice, they have to have a master’s degree in social work. Specializing in a particular field allows a social worker to become more experienced with specific types of people and backgrounds. This includes cases of substance abuse, depression, and unemployment issues. If social workers want to elevate their career, they should consider transitioning their bachelor’s to a master’s of social work.

Cost-Effective

The truth is that a person doesn’t need a bachelor’s degree to earn a master’s; they can start with a higher degree from the very beginning. This is one of the reasons that social work makes up such a large percentage of the market. Instead of studying towards two separate degrees, prospective social workers can jump straight into a master’s degree which saves them money in the long term. The cost of an average master’s degree in the U.S is about $3200 per year, which is substantially less than many other degrees.

The prerequisites to apply for a master’s in social work include a minimum GPA that is determined by the individual university. In many cases, with enough experience, a simple motivational letter is sufficient enough to enroll for a master’s degree.

Less Time Consuming

To earn a bachelor’s degree, social work graduates have to study for a minimum of four years at an accredited institution, whereas a master’s can be completed in only two years. This is great news for anyone changing careers or looking to fast-track their professional career. Many bachelor students will study for a minimum of four years and then apply for an advanced course that will take an additional one year to complete.

By jumping straight into a master’s, social work students can cut their study time by half and save a ton of money in the process. The program itself will be harder to achieve but with the right attitude and drive to complete your degree, you can get into a steady career much quicker by opting for the master’s qualification.

Many Career Choices Available

A social worker doesn’t need to remain in one particular field for their whole career. If you find that you work better with medical facilities or within a community, these careers are more than obtainable. A graduate with a bachelor’s degree can work as a patient care coordinator, whereas a master’s degree will allow them to work as a specialized mental health care counselor.

The professions available with a master’s degree are immense and there are tons of different fields you can go into depending on where your strengths and weaknesses lie.

More Fulfilling

Social work is not an easy job, and oftentimes counselors will need to handle very uncomfortable family situations, such as removing a child from an abusive home. This takes quite a bit of sacrifice on the social worker’s part to make that child’s life better and offer them an opportunity at some form of normalcy. Even though this work is extremely tough, it can be even more rewarding at the end of the day to see that you have made a tangible difference in someone’s life.

From the current 700,000 social workers in the U.S, most have situated themselves in the family, child, and school environment because this is where people seem to need the most help. Master’s degree-holders use this expertise to enter more non-traditional professions such as mediators and family counselors.

More Challenging Subjects

With great challenges comes great knowledge and experience. Without the necessary grunt work to understand the intricacies of sociology and psychology, social workers would not possess the proper skills that effectively help people deal with their situations. The difference in coursework between a bachelor’s and a master’s degree is very important because it validates that your knowledge and understanding are on par with what the world needs.

Social workers are also great researchers and they contribute a lot to how psychology works and our understanding of political science, emotions, and mental welfare. Social workers are subjected to some awful situations, but learning to deal with those problems is why these professionals are in such high demand. It takes a special type of person to assist a broken home or help a parentless child get their life back.

You Gain Different Skills

Studying towards a bachelor’s degree in social work will prepare you for various scenarios that you will deal with, but it doesn’t cover every possible case you may encounter. Earning a master’s degree will give you the upper hand and a greater advantage in tackling those difficult cases, but the experience will be the main factor.

There will be many times when a particularly difficult situation may present itself, and it could be one you have never encountered before. By working with these cases, you will develop essential life skills that aren’t easily taught in an educational setting.

The Field is Always Expanding

Just as there is no shortage in the demand for social workers, there is also no sign that the field will ever go away. Everyone in the world can benefit from a social worker’s help, whether it be to improve their career opportunities or to get through a stressful period of their lives. Since economists have predicted that more than 100,000 jobs will become available over the next five years, there is also no shortage of job opportunities. For those on the fence about studying towards a social work master’s degree, it’s a viable field to enter, but you have to be disciplined.

The profession itself can take a lot out of a person because you are subjected to all kinds of negative situations, and it will be your responsibility to make people’s lives better.

Forgotten Student Loans

One of the biggest advantages for social workers is that, depending on their position and the firm they choose to work for, many can have their student loans nullified. This is based on the notion that social workers are part of public service, and some may be classified as government officials who are eligible for debt relief.

To qualify for this incentive, you will need to work at a community-based site for at least two years, in an area where social workers are in high demand. You will be put onto a Health Professional Shortage program where you may get up to $50,000 of your student loans taken away completely.

The world needs people who want to make it a better place to live, and social workers are exactly that. They are skilled experts that understand sociology and psychology in a way that can only be learned through experience and a dedication to improving people’s lives. The experience you gather will be the most important reason to earn a master’s degree, simply because it opens up many doors to different career options, and is much quicker to achieve than a bachelor’s degree.