Jennifer Shaheen: Technology Therapist
If you want a website that's both on time and on point, you'll have to plan accordingly.
Every time I give a presentation on developing a website, a popular question always comes up: "How long does a website take to create?"
There are many factors that come into play when developing a website, and each element can have an effect on the time it will take to design and build your website.
Sitemap, Planning and Research
Before you begin designing your website, you need to outline the sections you'll need on your website. We call this your sitemap. This process will help you outline the content and the flow of the website. Next, I recommend creating a wireframe to illustrate where you want your information to be placed and the functions your website will need. Before you start picking out images or writing your text, it's a good idea to research your competition and identify the right keywords for your website. Depending on how much time you can devote to them, these steps can take a few days or a few weeks.
Design and Copy
Have you ever heard the saying "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" When building a website, you often have to ask a similar question--which comes first, the design or the copy? I don't have a hard and fast rule on this because everyone works differently, and some people need a design to write their content to match. Another approach is to sit down write all your website content first, and through this process you'll find the inspiration for the design in the words. The important point is that you have an alignment between the two areas. Your copy and design need to feel cohesive.
You don't have to have all your copy finished to start the design, but having a sizable percentage will help you have a strong idea of the direction you want for your design. If you're doing all of this yourself, commit to tackling your content for an hour or two every day. Use your wireframe and sitemap as a guide to help you cross-reference the material and create marketing call-outs for the design.
If you've decided to use a pre-designed template instead of a custom designed look for your website, you may want to spend time finding some fresh stock photography to add to your website to help differentiate the look and enhance your content.
Coding and Content
Custom-designed websites will need to be converted to the code that makes them work online. This process may take a few days to a few weeks depending on the complexity of the code for your custom website. The next step is to drop in all the content. This isn't just copy and paste, but also styling the text and creating cross-links within the copy.
When using pre-packaged solutions you'll still want to spend some time looking over your content and finding ways to make it work on the screen.
Don't Forget to Test
No matter how your website is built, you should always make time to test its functionality. Browser testing is one of the most important items to check--is your website looking and acting correctly on Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and Chrome?
If your website uses security, is it working correctly? Do three or four test orders and make sure the transactions are working properly.
How much time does it take to build a website? As you can see, it depends on many factors. Set dates and milestones, and be sure that they're realistic. Remember to leave time for revisions and testing. Most important, a website is meant to change, so it's OK to launch your website even you feel like it's not completely finished, provided all the function and testing is done. You can always add more content or products as you go. This will keep you motivated and give you some new things to e-mail your customers about.
Jennifer Shaheen, the e-marketing and Technology Therapist, has more than 10 years experience working with small- to mid-sized businesses on their e-marketing and web development needs. You can learn more about her by visiting her web site, TechnologyTherapy.com
Showing posts with label Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tips. Show all posts
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Make Your Website a Daily Destination
5 simple strategies to keep people coming back
Every small business loves the exposure, empathy and sense of community that having a website that's a daily destination for consumers can generate. But getting people to visit on a regular basis can be a challenge, especially if updates are infrequent or all you have to offer is the occasional monotone press release or product announcement. Thankfully, building a website that's “sticky” enough to keep users engaged and coming back doesn't have to require investing thousands or reinventing yourself as the next online media empire. All it takes is a little elbow grease and personal touch, as indicated by the simple strategies below, each designed to send your homepage's daily number of visitors soaring:
Connect and Communicate: Make no bones about it: Blogging should be an essential part of any modern website. After all, a few clicks is literally all it takes to post updates in real-time around the clock, creating a steady stream of content that promises something new and exciting with every visit. Better still, professionals at all experience levels have the capability of readily doing it, and the practice also helps put a personal face on your organization, shining the spotlight on the individuals behind it. However, to really captivate an audience enough to keep them returning, take note: You'll also need to provide content that's dynamic, unique and offers measurable informational or entertainment value, plus speak in a language that all can understand. In short, the occasional pre-approved sound bite from the HR guy or gal won't cut it. Rather, you need to address audiences like you're having a normal conversation, and provide content with meaningful substance to the reader. Making-of articles, features detailing how to get more from your products, partner profiles, project diaries, step-by-step how-to guides, interviews with notable personalities or internal stakeholders: All present compelling ways to connect with audiences while also keeping them interested and informed, providing ample incentive to keep coming back.
Emphasize Community Building: As social media insiders well know, creating a sense of community around your website is one of the most powerful tools for engaging and ultimately enthralling prospective fans. But doing so doesn't simply mean throwing up a sponsored message board then leaving it to stagnate, or e-mailing customers sporadic newsletter updates that regurgitate existing material easily found elsewhere. Rather, you have to not only encourage discussion and actively take part in conversations by dedicating internal time and resources, but also make customers feel as if they truly have a voice in the discussion by listening to their concerns, responding and sourcing feedback at every opportunity. Implementing programs that recognize and reward valued contributors is also vital, as is creating fan-based initiatives that allow community members to contribute and share ideas, concepts and creations of their own. Even simply giving enthusiasts the chance to submit designs for your next fundraiser's logo or arranging times where they can chat with top execs to provide input on upcoming ventures won't just engender goodwill. They'll also excite and empower a legion of amateur brand ambassadors--an essential source of free ongoing updates and constructive conversations, which will both attract users to and keep them enamored with your site.
Design for Mass Distribution: Sharing is good--even more so if you've got a message worth spreading and it winds up in front of millions of eyeballs. As such, you should be not only updating your website with unique pieces of content (surveys, research reports, custom editorial clips, guides to solving common problems, unique looks behind-the-scenes, etc.) designed to grab viewers' attention, but also making everything from blog posts to pictures, photos, PDF documents and videos shareable, embeddable and ready to be commented upon or re-tweeted via social media platforms. When it comes to corporate assets, the tendency--especially among hyper-competitive start-ups--is always to tightly hold and control. But often, the more powerful strategy is to design pieces of content with the specific idea in mind of seeding them throughout the user community, as it's a great way to build brand awareness. Beyond heightened exposure and additional media mentions, using your website to disseminate unique, specially branded pieces of content can also lead to improved search engine optimization results through a larger number of incoming links. And, more important still, generate heightened word of mouth surrounding your homepage, letting countless potential readers know exciting things are happening there on a regular basis.
Focus on Value: Exclusive specials, contests, promotions and timed discounts can all be powerful drivers of website traffic, especially in these cost-conscious times. By offering direct bargains and rebate programs on both an ongoing and sporadic basis through your online headquarters, you can keep customers' interest piqued, and generate additional sales. These marketing programs become even more valuable when coupled with Facebook, Twitter and other social marketing tools, which have the potential to help news spread like wildfire online. Just make sure that the only place such bargains can be found is on your homepage, and be consistent in terms of the pages to which you drive this traffic, to establish in shoppers' minds the importance of regularly checking a certain destination. Similarly, establishing relationships with key bloggers and members of the media can also help reinforce the message, as can a regular series of e-mail or newsletter updates designed to inform current and prospective buyers. Customers get to save on purchases while you benefit from enhanced publicity and heightened sales, creating a win-win situation for all.
Use Targeted Demonstrations: While special membership options, premium subscription packages and frequent buyer programs can all prove great incentives, services that you freely give away are often just as important as those that you reserve for more exclusive clients. Whether you're looking at offering complimentary computer virus scans by having users visit your homepage, providing a suite of free continuing education resources or simply hosting an archive of complementary, corporate-branded webinars on software engineering, realize: Providing helpful services or information at no charge that solve pressing, evergreen problems or answer important questions can all serve to generate a steady source of online traffic, and provide a ready supply of leads to upsell on premium services. Sometimes you have to give in order to get. It may seem counterintuitive, but ultimately, the practice makes a ready way to demonstrate your organization's capabilities to a potentially lucrative client base, while also giving them a taste of the benefits to be had by partnering on more advanced or long-term services.
credit to : http://www.entrepreneur.com/ebusiness/expandingyouronlinepresence/article206322.html
Every small business loves the exposure, empathy and sense of community that having a website that's a daily destination for consumers can generate. But getting people to visit on a regular basis can be a challenge, especially if updates are infrequent or all you have to offer is the occasional monotone press release or product announcement. Thankfully, building a website that's “sticky” enough to keep users engaged and coming back doesn't have to require investing thousands or reinventing yourself as the next online media empire. All it takes is a little elbow grease and personal touch, as indicated by the simple strategies below, each designed to send your homepage's daily number of visitors soaring:
Connect and Communicate: Make no bones about it: Blogging should be an essential part of any modern website. After all, a few clicks is literally all it takes to post updates in real-time around the clock, creating a steady stream of content that promises something new and exciting with every visit. Better still, professionals at all experience levels have the capability of readily doing it, and the practice also helps put a personal face on your organization, shining the spotlight on the individuals behind it. However, to really captivate an audience enough to keep them returning, take note: You'll also need to provide content that's dynamic, unique and offers measurable informational or entertainment value, plus speak in a language that all can understand. In short, the occasional pre-approved sound bite from the HR guy or gal won't cut it. Rather, you need to address audiences like you're having a normal conversation, and provide content with meaningful substance to the reader. Making-of articles, features detailing how to get more from your products, partner profiles, project diaries, step-by-step how-to guides, interviews with notable personalities or internal stakeholders: All present compelling ways to connect with audiences while also keeping them interested and informed, providing ample incentive to keep coming back.
Emphasize Community Building: As social media insiders well know, creating a sense of community around your website is one of the most powerful tools for engaging and ultimately enthralling prospective fans. But doing so doesn't simply mean throwing up a sponsored message board then leaving it to stagnate, or e-mailing customers sporadic newsletter updates that regurgitate existing material easily found elsewhere. Rather, you have to not only encourage discussion and actively take part in conversations by dedicating internal time and resources, but also make customers feel as if they truly have a voice in the discussion by listening to their concerns, responding and sourcing feedback at every opportunity. Implementing programs that recognize and reward valued contributors is also vital, as is creating fan-based initiatives that allow community members to contribute and share ideas, concepts and creations of their own. Even simply giving enthusiasts the chance to submit designs for your next fundraiser's logo or arranging times where they can chat with top execs to provide input on upcoming ventures won't just engender goodwill. They'll also excite and empower a legion of amateur brand ambassadors--an essential source of free ongoing updates and constructive conversations, which will both attract users to and keep them enamored with your site.
Design for Mass Distribution: Sharing is good--even more so if you've got a message worth spreading and it winds up in front of millions of eyeballs. As such, you should be not only updating your website with unique pieces of content (surveys, research reports, custom editorial clips, guides to solving common problems, unique looks behind-the-scenes, etc.) designed to grab viewers' attention, but also making everything from blog posts to pictures, photos, PDF documents and videos shareable, embeddable and ready to be commented upon or re-tweeted via social media platforms. When it comes to corporate assets, the tendency--especially among hyper-competitive start-ups--is always to tightly hold and control. But often, the more powerful strategy is to design pieces of content with the specific idea in mind of seeding them throughout the user community, as it's a great way to build brand awareness. Beyond heightened exposure and additional media mentions, using your website to disseminate unique, specially branded pieces of content can also lead to improved search engine optimization results through a larger number of incoming links. And, more important still, generate heightened word of mouth surrounding your homepage, letting countless potential readers know exciting things are happening there on a regular basis.
Focus on Value: Exclusive specials, contests, promotions and timed discounts can all be powerful drivers of website traffic, especially in these cost-conscious times. By offering direct bargains and rebate programs on both an ongoing and sporadic basis through your online headquarters, you can keep customers' interest piqued, and generate additional sales. These marketing programs become even more valuable when coupled with Facebook, Twitter and other social marketing tools, which have the potential to help news spread like wildfire online. Just make sure that the only place such bargains can be found is on your homepage, and be consistent in terms of the pages to which you drive this traffic, to establish in shoppers' minds the importance of regularly checking a certain destination. Similarly, establishing relationships with key bloggers and members of the media can also help reinforce the message, as can a regular series of e-mail or newsletter updates designed to inform current and prospective buyers. Customers get to save on purchases while you benefit from enhanced publicity and heightened sales, creating a win-win situation for all.
Use Targeted Demonstrations: While special membership options, premium subscription packages and frequent buyer programs can all prove great incentives, services that you freely give away are often just as important as those that you reserve for more exclusive clients. Whether you're looking at offering complimentary computer virus scans by having users visit your homepage, providing a suite of free continuing education resources or simply hosting an archive of complementary, corporate-branded webinars on software engineering, realize: Providing helpful services or information at no charge that solve pressing, evergreen problems or answer important questions can all serve to generate a steady source of online traffic, and provide a ready supply of leads to upsell on premium services. Sometimes you have to give in order to get. It may seem counterintuitive, but ultimately, the practice makes a ready way to demonstrate your organization's capabilities to a potentially lucrative client base, while also giving them a taste of the benefits to be had by partnering on more advanced or long-term services.
credit to : http://www.entrepreneur.com/ebusiness/expandingyouronlinepresence/article206322.html
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Add columns to Blogger Footer: How to Add Three Columns to Blogger Footer Section?
credit to http://hubpages.com/hub/Add-columns-to-Blogger-Footer-How-to-Add-Three-Columns-to-Blogger-Footer-Section
-----------------------------------------------------
The default Blogger template has only one column footer. If you surfing Internet frequently, you will see that many websites and blogs has three column footer. This three column footer is becoming very popular and spreading rapidly in Web 2.0. It's quite easy to implement this type of three column footer in your Blogger template. Moreover, if you do so then you will see some of the good advantages like:
-----------------------------------------------------
The default Blogger template has only one column footer. If you surfing Internet frequently, you will see that many websites and blogs has three column footer. This three column footer is becoming very popular and spreading rapidly in Web 2.0. It's quite easy to implement this type of three column footer in your Blogger template. Moreover, if you do so then you will see some of the good advantages like:
- You will get enough valuable space for your widgets.
- You can add/replace more gadgets/widgets.
- You can rearrange all the gadgets/widgets.
- If you place all the biggest gadgets at the footer section, the main content will be loaded faster.
- It will also contribute your blog design as the modern Web 2.0.
Steps to add three columns to Blogger footer section
Follow the following steps to add three column to Blogger footer section:
Step 1: Back-up your existing blog
Before any type of modification of your blog template code, it's very essential to back-up your existing blog template. You may take backup only the template or the widgets (gadgets) only or you may take the complete back-up of your blogger blog. I already discussed the process of back-up in other pages. To know the process of back-up, you may follow the following pages:
Step 2: Remove all widgets (gadgets) from the footer section
Before doing any change of your Blogger template code, go to your blog's layout and just see whether there is any widget to the footer section. If there is any widget (gadget) then please remove them from the footer section. Alternately, you can drag-and-drop all the widgets form the footer section to anywhere (sidebars or below the main blog post etc.) to the template. After removing all the widgets from the footer, follow the following steps.
Step 3: Adding CSS code for the footer section
This section of code will be the definition of your blog's footer column. All these are used for all the columns design. In this page, I just mentioned the code of the footer columns. You may customize according to your wish by using several colors, lines etc. All these will be discussed in the next tutorial.
Now, go to your template code section. For details, How to find and edit blogspot template code?
Before adding CSS code to your blog footer, first find the following two lines of code:
Now, go to your template code section. For details, How to find and edit blogspot template code?
Before adding CSS code to your blog footer, first find the following two lines of code:
You may use Ctrl + F key to find those texts in Firefox. Please, copy the following code and paste the code before the searched texts i.e. the code ]]> .
- ]]>b:skin>
- head>
- /*
- Code is developed by:
- http://hubpages.com/_rt3/profile/blog
- Blogspot Tutorial Index:
- http://hubpages.com/_rt3/hub/blog-index
- Code Description:
- Codes for adding columns (3 columns) in the blogger footer section
- */
- #footer-columns{
- border-top:1px dotted #999999;
- clear:both;
- margin:0 auto;
- }
- .column1{
- padding: 0px 5px 3px 5px;
- width: 30%;
- float: left;
- margin:3px;
- text-align: left;
- }
- .column2{
- padding: 0px 5px 3px 5px;
- width: 30%;
- float: left;
- margin:3px 3px 3px 5px;
- text-align: left;
- }
- .column3{
- padding: 0px 5px 3px 5px;
- width: 30%;
- float: right;
- margin:3px;
- text-align: left;
- }
- .addwidget {
- padding: 0 0 0 0;
- }
- #footer-columns ul {
- list-style:none;
- margin:0 0 0;
- padding:0 0 0;
- }
- #footer-columns li {
- margin:0;
- padding-top:0;
- padding-left:0;
- padding-bottom:.25em;
- padding-right:15px;
- text-indent:-15px;
- line-height:1.5em;
- }
- body#layout #footer-columns {
- width: 100%;
- margin-left: auto;
- margin-right: auto;
- }
- body#layout .column1 {
- width: 32%;
- float: left;
- }
- body#layout .column2 {
- width: 32%;
- float: left;
- }
- body#layout .column3 {
- width: 32%;
- float: right;
- }
Step 4: Add containers to hold all the footer columns
After adding CSS code, it's time to add the containers for the footer. To add container, first search the following code:
- <b:section class='footer' id='footer'/>
Select the above line of code from your blog template and delete the entire line from the template code and paste the following lines of code there:
- <div id='footer-columns'>
- <div class='column1'>
- <b:section class='addwidget' id='col1' preferred='yes' style='float:left;'>
- b:section>
- div>
- <div class='column2'>
- <b:section class='addwidget' id='col2' preferred='yes' style='float:left;'>
- b:section>
- div>
- <div class='column3'>
- <b:section class='addwidget' id='col3' preferred='yes' style='float:right;'>
- b:section>
- div>
- <div style='clear:both;'/>
- div>
- <b:section class='footer' id='footer'/>
Step 5: Save the modified template's work
After successfully finishing the above tasks, save the modified code by clicking Save Template button to save the whole modified code. Now, your blog has three columns in the footer section.
I think, you are successful and finished adding three columns in your blog footer section. If you face any difficulties then send your feedback in the comment section. I will try to solve your problem.
Live View
I already have implemented the above tutorial into a blog. The codes are exactly same and there is not medication inside the code. You may see the effect of three columns footer section, by following the following link:
Click here to see the live effect of this page tutorial.
Click here to see the live effect of this page tutorial.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Creating 'After the jump' summaries
After the Jump is a feature which lets you create expandable post summaries in your blog posts, so longer posts appear as an intro with a link to Read More
Creating jump breaks in your blog posts can be easily done right from the post editor, without the need for any HTML changes. First, decide where in the post you want to create the jump break, and place your cursor in that position:
Once your mouse cursor is placed at the jump point, simply click the Insert Jump Break toolbar icon:
Clicking the icon will insert a grey bar at the cursor point, illustrating where in the post your break will appear. The bar can be dragged though, so you can always re-position it after insertion.
If you don't use the new post editor, you can still insert a jump break in Edit HTML mode by adding
Creating jump breaks in your blog posts can be easily done right from the post editor, without the need for any HTML changes. First, decide where in the post you want to create the jump break, and place your cursor in that position:
Once your mouse cursor is placed at the jump point, simply click the Insert Jump Break toolbar icon:
Clicking the icon will insert a grey bar at the cursor point, illustrating where in the post your break will appear. The bar can be dragged though, so you can always re-position it after insertion.
If you don't use the new post editor, you can still insert a jump break in Edit HTML mode by adding
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