Picking a Vendor for your Site
Posted on January 21, 2009
Recently, I found an article in the local paper on choosing a web site vendor. The article has a lot of good points. I would divide them into two categories: those that the customer does and those done by the web designer.
It often surprises my clients that they have work to do on their web site. Like anything related to marketing your business, you should define the goals and objectives. And, you are responsible for the content. The web designer is responsible for the overall design, under your direction. And they provide the technology and usually the hosting.
Do your homework by defining your web site’s goals, preparing your content and asking your web designer questions.
Contact bwh Web Designs today to get your web site started!
Got Flash?
Posted on June 10, 2008
Have you checked for a mobile device?
I recently went to Toyota’s web site with my iPhone. Guess what? Nothing. All I saw was a message that said I needed to install Flash. Well, now. That’s not going to happen. I went to the site later from a computer and discovered there isn’t much to see at all if you don’t have Flash.
Which is fine if I’m on my computer. For years, there was an attitude that if someone didn’t have Flash then they could just lose out. But that doesn’t work so well now. With the growing use of mobile devices, a site that uses Flash should have something to serve up to the mobile world. Something better than a useless message that I needed to install Flash.
In fact, maybe your web site should check for a mobile device even if it doesn’t use Flash. Be friendly to the mobile world. If it’s a site for a restaurant, you could serve up (pun intended) phone numbers and the take out menu.
If you don’t have a mobile device that can get to the internet, borrow one and see what your site looks like. Your visitors will be glad you did.
Web Site Directories
Posted on May 13, 2008
Inbound links are an excellent method for getting your site known on the internet. Authoritative links are even better. Web site directories are a good source for such links. I’ve listed several of them below. When submitting your site, be sure to check each directory’s rules first. You may also need to ensure that your site isn’t already listed as some directories really frown on multiple submissions.
- Open Directory Project – DMOZ
- Jayde – The B2B Search Engine
- Web World
- TurnPike Emporium Directory
- Directory Vault
Are You Following the Rules?
Posted on January 6, 2008
Do your newsletters include an opt-out mechanism to allow recipients to unsubscribe from your newsletter?
Do your newsletters include a physical postal address (either physical location or PO Box)?
These are just two of the provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act. Are your email newsletters in compliance?
I get e-mails frequently from well-intentioned companies that are in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act. Can your business afford such a violation? For starters, each violation is subject to fines of up to $11,000! Ouch!! 
In addition, deceptive commercial email is subject to laws banning false or misleading advertising.
There are a couple of ways to avoid those penalties. One is to read up on the CAN-SPAM Act. Which would mean monitoring changes and keeping up to date with the changes in the law.
The other is to use an email marketing company such as VerticalResponse or ConstantContact.
Here are just a few of the functions they provide:
- Keeping current with anti-spam laws. Such as the requirement to have an address and an unsubscribe link.
- Reviewing your email for common spam elements.
- Allow recipients to view your newsletter online – for those recipients who can’t see it in their mail program.
- Communicating with major ISPs to help ensure your newsletter doesn’t get bounced or put in a junk folder.
- Campaign tracking – See who opens your newsletter and what links they click. You can also see bounces and unsubscribes.
bwh Web Designs researched several of these companies in 2006. We now use and recommend VerticalResponse. Here’s just a few reasons:
- A reasonable price, based on the number of addresses to which you send a newsletter.
- Ability to maintain completely separate mailing lists.
- Flexibility in newsletter design, including uploading your own HTML to coordinate with your website.
- Ability to send postcards through the U.S. Mail.
You can sign up with VerticalResponse through this link:
Email Marketing from VerticalResponse
Our favorite feature is being able to maintain separate mailing lists. We use one VerticalResponse account to manage mailing lists for 3 separate websites. One of our clients uses it to track customers by geographic location. She can target a newsletter to let people in one area know when she’ll be in their area.
Contact bwh Web Designs today to get your mailing list started!
Opening Links in the Same Window
Posted on August 16, 2007
Many people have commented that, on my websites, none of my links open in a new window. The only exception is when a client, having heard my reasoning, still insists on opening links in a new window. I’ll do it for them, but it’s really not the best practice.
Those who argue for it will tell me that I am driving my potential customers away. Maybe, but if they leave that easily, they probably weren’t all that interested anyway. With modern browsers, someone interested in staying on my site can open the link in another tab, at their choosing. I do that all the time.
There is another school of thought on the subject. It has mainly to do with accessibility issues. While it may be obvious to you that a new window opened, it isn’t to everyone. Some people have their browsers maximized so that they can see it better. When you open a new window, they may not realize it. And so, when they try to go back using the Back button on their browser, the back button doesn’t work. Also, people with poor or no vision use readers such as JAWS to read web pages and are likely to miss the fact that an entirely new window has opened. Furthermore, they have lost the ability to use the Back button.
I’ve done a lot of research on this topic and have made the decision to make my websites accessible to as many people as possible. While I’m well aware that I could lose a visitor by not opening a new window for an external link, I’m also thinking of those who will encounter problems BECAUSE I opened a new window. So for my sites, I choose NOT to open a new window.
Most browsers make it easy to open a link in a new window, or as a tab. Someone who is truly interested in my site is likely to do this if they want to follow another link. I’m also likely to irritate a visitor by opening a new window.
If you’re interested, here are just a few places that talk about this issue:
Not opening new windows – from Dive Into Accessibility
Top 10 Mistakes of Web Design – Points 1 & 2
Strict HTML 4.01 doesn’t validate when you open links in a new window
Assurance For Your Visitors
Posted on August 8, 2007
In today’s world, the savvy online visitor wants to be sure they are dealing with someone reputable. Here a couple of things you can do to assure your online visitors that you are who you say you are.
First, if you use PayPal, are you verified with PayPal? If so, it should say verified when you log in. It looks something like this:
If you are Verified with PayPal, then you can get the seal and have it put up on your website. It will let your visitors know that you’ve been verified with PayPal. Here’s what the seal looks like:
When a visitor clicks on the seal, they will see a page similar to this (they have to be logged in to PayPal to see it):
Another thing you can do to provide an extra level of assurance to your visitors is to have your domain certified. I’ve actually had people contacting me wanting to know how they could be sure I was legitimate. There’s a fee associated with this, but it’s fairly cheap and is good for 2 years. The process involves confirming that the contact information in the WHOIS database is correct and points to a real person. It’s simple to implement. You’ll then have a seal to put on your site that looks something like this:
When a visitor clicks on the seal, they see a page like this:
Contact bwh Web Designs today if you’re interested in either of these options.
Ten Things I Hate To Find On Websites
Posted on July 27, 2007
This is a list of items that I, and many others, do not like to see on websites. Consider this when you’re designing a site, because it’s important. So what if someone doesn’t like it? Well, there are tons of websites out there, and unless you’re the only website selling your product or service, you should care. Some things on this list will cause me to automatically leave a website, regardless of what is on it.
- Under construction signs – Why? Why do you want to take a visitor to a page that only contains a message that there is nothing on this page? Better to have a message when they hover that tells the visitor that option is not yet available. Or, perhaps leave the option off entirely until it’s ready. Just don’t make me go to a page for no reason.
- Stock pictures of people made out to be employees or customers. I don’t even know why websites think this will attract my attention.
- Ad pages that you’re forced to view when you click on a link. I may stay on a site that does it, generally because I need to be there. But still, I find it irritating.
- Splash pages. In the early days of the web, these were common. I even confess to having created one many, many years ago. But they truly serve no purpose. To those who think they impress the visitor – They don’t.
- “This site best viewed in ” – This sentence is usually completed with some version of IE. I don’t know why they would create a site that is best viewed in only one browser. That just speaks to the shortcomings of the developer. And it doesn’t take into account the fact that many people can’t or don’t use IE. I work on a Mac. The last version of IE created for a Mac is 5.2. It has a copyright date of 2001. Microsoft has decided not to update IE for the Mac. Because of its age, IE for Mac no longer works well with most sites. And that’s just the Mac users. There are other operating systems as well as other people who prefer other browsers to IE.
- Sites that feel the need to adjust your browser’s window size. I think these sites are misguided in their intent. They are trying to accommodate lower resolution PCs by making the window larger – so that the entire site can be seen. But it irritates me when they do that. I have a fairly high resolution monitor. I like my screen arranged the way it is. If you insist on messing with it, I’m going to insist on going elsewhere.
- Sites that check if you are running IE and won’t let you in if you aren’t. I’ve even heard that some sites are already insisting that you run IE7. This is an extension of item 5, but it is worse. Suggesting that a site is best viewed in IE is one thing. But not letting me in unless I’m running IE? I cannot imagine a website that I would want to get to bad enough that I would change computers in order to visit. This is further evidence of developers with a limited knowledge of web development.
- Flash and other moving things – even animated GIFs. This is much more than a preference. I suffer from migraines. The motion on a page can trigger a migraine for me. There are also many people that are bothered by motions for other reasons – such as those with epilepsy and cognitive disorders. If your website has much motion on it, many people, myself included, will have to leave your site immediately.
- Websites that play a video ad when you first get to them. This is so annoying. If nothing else, consider the fact that your visitor might be somewhere that they don’t want sound playing – at work, a coffee shop, etc. There is a local website that had a video ad for a car dealer on it. It took me several visits before I even associated the voice with the ad. So, not only was it annoying, but it was ineffective advertising.
- Music and Sound – If you’re a musician, I can understand having music on your site. Even then, it’s annoying if I’m not expecting it. If you have music, provide me an option to turn it off. Better still, provide the option to turn it ON and leave it off by default. And please, never have someone start talking to me. I’m not going to listen anyway because I’ll be busy hitting the Back button! More importantly, consider those who are visually impaired. They use screen readers such as JAWS in order to ‘view’ a website. If you have sound playing automatically, it could interfere with their reader. This would make your website inaccessible to those with vision problems.
If you notice, many of the items on my list refer to advertising. It annoys me that advertisers are turning the web into an commercial nightmare. There are better ways. Use text ads or ads with static graphics instead. If you have an annoying ad, I’m likely not to buy the advertisers product, and I’m likely to leave your website. Remember, your website is not unique. If people don’t like what they find on your website, they can easily vote with their feet. And your left wondering why you have no sales…
That’s my 2 cents, your mileage may vary. Have something else you find annoying? By all means, leave a comment.
