Both mobile as a new medium, and a much deeper expectation of websites by very sophisticated users, means designers have to think in new dimensions, the experience and journey of the user being key.
We seriously urge clients to let us do a mobile version of their website. They may pooh pooh the proliferation of mobile devices but we know at the very least someone’s going to be sitting in their parking lot and pull your site up to check on your suite number. (more…)
Unlike their B2C counter-parts, many B2Bs treat their websites as an online brochure. While it should showcase all that is unique about your company and express what you have to offer, it should also be treated as a lead generating tool with a focus on conversion.
In a full service marketing approach most, tools lead to the website. When we do Marketing Map sessions, invariably the website shows up as the second last and therefore most important step in a prospect’s path to that action step you want them to take to reach a sale. Does your site prompt them to take action? (more…)
Websi
tes used to be seen as online brochures, you just needed a presence. No need to really drive people there, they’ll find you. After more than ten years of websites like that, and the more recent socialization of the internet we now know how important it is to be found. Would you build a big, beautiful building in the wilds of the Greater Toronto Area and expect people to just stumble in? There’s a lot of competition out there and visitors want to be engaged. You need to give them a reason to go to your site. (more…)
I recently talked with a sailing buddy who had the idea that we were only a design company and couldn’t do websites. We’ve faced this misconception before: clients who have us do everything else, then take their website to a web development company. (more…)
Many firms offer SEO and PPC advertising, either as their specialty or a value-add service (like Rapport does). Most price it the same way – an ongoing monthly cost, and it can seem high. So, clients and marketers wonder what goes into that cost.
If you want to create a website that is strategically smart AND helps you get better search engine (Google) rankings, we have come up with 10 things you should do to make your website a success.
This list is a blend of overriding principles for site creation and best practices for SEO. Use it for a site refresh, or site creation.
I know in my last blog I said content didn’t have to change for mobile, but it warrants consideration. Ideally you’d only update content in one place and see it magically appear across-the-board, but you might consider the opportunities afforded by the different behaviours of mobile surfers. (more…)
Yes, most definitely. B2C companies always seem to be ahead of B2Bs when it comes to adopting new technology. While B2B companies don’t have the same opportunities as consumer-oriented companies or retails stores do, like take advantage of geo-locating on smart phones to give special offers, there are plenty of reasons to work it into your marketing arsenal.
In it’s most basic form, it’s a website built with closed-source technology that the developer owns and 
controls. You essentially license it and often continually pay for access to it, and that access is very limited.
The more common ones were originally developed to answer a very real demand. A few years ago businesses began requesting the ability to update their websites themselves. This meant building a user-friendly interface for them to do it through. Because it was new, they had to be custom built, which was costly and buggy. A few savvy companies popped-up with content management systems and frameworks to build websites on.
Otherwise, there are companies who built frameworks and technology to make the websites they build better in some way or easier for them to build and manage internally. The client doesn’t necessarily benefit from it as a feature.
These days there are open-source solutions for content management out there supported by large communities that are very flexible. Examples are WordPress and Drupal, both of which also have many useful widgets and modules like e-commerce, client login areas, polls, event management, etc. The modules and widgets still need to be customized to your needs and design, but it’s much less expensive to add include in a web project.
Know what you’re buying. Before committing to the project, make sure the coded site will belong to you once you’ve paid your bill. You should be able to take it elsewhere and not have to have them make changes if you wish. You don’t want to do all that work and then not have rights to it.
Also, make sure you have control of your domain and hosting account. It’s not uncommon for web companies to set these accounts up and manage them year after year, but make sure they do it in your name, you have all the access codes, and the whois lookup for your domain has your contact information.
