Google yesterday released a new browser onto the already over populated market.
Can I dare to ask; why?
Monday, September 8, 2008
Why Does SEO EXIST!
Hello everyone out in the cloud!
Recently I have been reflecting on the world of web, considering SEO, flash, where the cloud is moving and how technologies are changing. Where my thoughts headed rested around so what is holding us back, what dictates the future, and how are we going to progress forward past the present.
Search Engines dictate where we are headed far too much, should search rank not be a completely natural process? The monster of Google has unintentionally conceived an entire industry focused on 'higher page rank', 'more click throughs' and inevitably better sales from online focus.
But how? How did they do it?
10 Years ago, on Googles birth... there created was a system, formula, structure of ranking popularity and importance of any website compared to another for 'keywords'... it is quite honestly very complex and highly sophisticated. Over the years it has grown and developed more and more, gathering more data, making more comparisons. From all of this, does it create a more accurate result for what you are after?
Let me be the first to admit that web searching is important, it is key to provide a search that accurately returns results for information you are after on the internet, but should there be a baise for an industry of SEO-ers out there to promise better results?
My response: no way.
SEO holds us back, it is a fixed structure that 'pleases' the search engine/spider, but heres the bad news... too bad its the world we live in. We don't have a choice for the moment about how we connect to the majority of online users needing our products and service.
My solution: I have ideas but someone large and influential needs to implement a new system to compare sites, something that doesn't tie the industry down to a fixed set of rules, structure etc.
Here are a handful of technologies already sorely impacted by search engines; AJAXs, Flash, User Events/Interactivity, CSS Builds.
At The Digerati, we know a lot about search engines, ranks, SEO, and technologies. Should you consider SEO, YES! However, conventional marketing can potentially be far more effective. Should Google be so evil creating these set of rules, absolutely not... but unfortunately the present is as it is.
Talk to us today.
Recently I have been reflecting on the world of web, considering SEO, flash, where the cloud is moving and how technologies are changing. Where my thoughts headed rested around so what is holding us back, what dictates the future, and how are we going to progress forward past the present.
Search Engines dictate where we are headed far too much, should search rank not be a completely natural process? The monster of Google has unintentionally conceived an entire industry focused on 'higher page rank', 'more click throughs' and inevitably better sales from online focus.
But how? How did they do it?
10 Years ago, on Googles birth... there created was a system, formula, structure of ranking popularity and importance of any website compared to another for 'keywords'... it is quite honestly very complex and highly sophisticated. Over the years it has grown and developed more and more, gathering more data, making more comparisons. From all of this, does it create a more accurate result for what you are after?
Let me be the first to admit that web searching is important, it is key to provide a search that accurately returns results for information you are after on the internet, but should there be a baise for an industry of SEO-ers out there to promise better results?
My response: no way.
SEO holds us back, it is a fixed structure that 'pleases' the search engine/spider, but heres the bad news... too bad its the world we live in. We don't have a choice for the moment about how we connect to the majority of online users needing our products and service.
My solution: I have ideas but someone large and influential needs to implement a new system to compare sites, something that doesn't tie the industry down to a fixed set of rules, structure etc.
Here are a handful of technologies already sorely impacted by search engines; AJAXs, Flash, User Events/Interactivity, CSS Builds.
At The Digerati, we know a lot about search engines, ranks, SEO, and technologies. Should you consider SEO, YES! However, conventional marketing can potentially be far more effective. Should Google be so evil creating these set of rules, absolutely not... but unfortunately the present is as it is.
Talk to us today.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Gift Registry Design Awards
Our Gift Registry team has recently awarded a handful of Design Awards to Gift Registries around the world. Congratulations everyone :)
If you would like more information about our award, please contact us.
Don't forget, Gift Registries are perfect for birthdays, baby showers and weddings!
If you would like more information about our award, please contact us.
Don't forget, Gift Registries are perfect for birthdays, baby showers and weddings!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
The Digerati
Digerati provide a variety of products and services to a world in need of web services, but what is our direction? Where are we going? Why are we special?
There are lots of buzz words and unknowns associated with your website and the internet. Trust is almost required to get by, but who to trust and why?
At Digerati, with a mixture of changes in house, we endeavor to set a firm focus and vision for us and our clients in the future. Stay tuned for what we have in store in this exciting, innovative context, we all call the internet.
If you would like any information on what this might mean for you? Or would like any more goss, please contact us!
There are lots of buzz words and unknowns associated with your website and the internet. Trust is almost required to get by, but who to trust and why?
At Digerati, with a mixture of changes in house, we endeavor to set a firm focus and vision for us and our clients in the future. Stay tuned for what we have in store in this exciting, innovative context, we all call the internet.
If you would like any information on what this might mean for you? Or would like any more goss, please contact us!
Free Gift Registry in Media
Free Gift Registry has been recently talked about in our local area. Read the article on Free Gift Registry here;
http://stgeorge.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/caught-by-his-web/1242221.aspx
http://stgeorge.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/caught-by-his-web/1242221.aspx
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Moving On
It's been a very fast 18 months, but sadly our senior designer and project manager Nathan will be moving to the USA as of the 14th Aug 08. He'll be moving with his wife Kellie and baby daughter Isabelle back to live near Kellie's family in Michigan.
THE GREAT NEWS is that although he'll be across the otherside of the world, the wonders of the internet allow Nathan to remain our senior designer and usability advisor.
Unfortunately the time difference makes it a little difficult for Nathan to remain our project manager, so that role will be taken over by Tim Kirkman, who many of you will have met from other projects.
Nathan's last day in the Digerati office will officially be the 8th August.
THE GREAT NEWS is that although he'll be across the otherside of the world, the wonders of the internet allow Nathan to remain our senior designer and usability advisor.
Unfortunately the time difference makes it a little difficult for Nathan to remain our project manager, so that role will be taken over by Tim Kirkman, who many of you will have met from other projects.
Nathan's last day in the Digerati office will officially be the 8th August.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Layout Options - Part 2. Navigation Style
In my last article I discussed the use of the full-width design style and have received mixed feedback. Some sent me some good examples of full-width designs and some agreed that it's probably not the best solution unless you're using flash, in which case you have a lot more flexibility.
Today I'm going to discuss something a lot less controversial, but something that is an issue of debate for almost every new website. Website navigation styles can include options such as text, graphical, flash or a combination.
Text Navigation
Text-based menus are mostly found in the corporate or online application website market. This is due to a number of reasons.
1. It's much simpler to update / change
2. It allows a menu to be completely dynamic and can be updated from a CMS
3. There is minimal download time
4. Text can be resized by visitors with vision difficulties
5. There are no issues with printing
6. Search engine following is virtually guaranteed.
7. It's fast for developers to build
The list is quite long - and justifyably so. From my view, the only reason you would opt NOT to use a text menu is if you wanted more design flexibility, or you wanted to hide content from text crawlers (such as search engines and spam robots).
Generally you will find that the larger companies using text nav's are ensuring website loading times are as low as possible
Examples (at the time of writing):
http://www.digeratisolutions.com.au/
http://www.pwc.com/
http://www.microsoft.com/
http://www.ebay.com/
http://www.ato.gov.au/ (although poorly designed)
Unfortunately in these days graphic designers are having a lot more input into web designs, the text-based menu is being replaced by graphic or flash-based (eye-candy) navigation styles.
Graphic Navigation
This style of menu is becoming more and more common as people are making the move to broadband internet, and download speeds mean a lot less than they used to. Generally graphic menus should only be used when there are only a handful of options. The last thing you need is 40 menu options loading a graphic for each.
Graphic menus are best used when tying in graphical elements of a brand to the page layout. You will find that a lot of medium-large brand-heavy companys will take this option for their home page but switch back to text navigation on the internal site pages.
With a few techniques, graphic menus can be used for search engine optimisation, however the code to make it layout just right can be tricky to avoid lengthy code (which slows the page down as well).
Examples (at the time of writing):
http://www.apple.com/
http://www.mcdonalds.com.au/
http://www.kfc.com.au/
http://www.toyota.com.au
http://www.myer.com.au/
You can tell with all of these that the graphical style menu allows them to use the menu itself as a branding agent.
Flash Navigation
Flash menu systems expand on graphical menus and allow a greater amount of flexibility in terms of design and interaction. Where graphic menus allow a graphical style to be implemented, flash allows movement and user interaction.
Flash not only allows a developer to add some form of animation or movement to a menu, but it can even include full video and music. As you can imagine, the drawback of the flash menu is that it takes significantly longer than a text menu, but can be quicker than a graphic menu.
In order to view flash you need to have the flash client installed in your internet browser, and although most new computers come with this installed by default, the majority of people will have to manually install the client before they can see your flash. This becomes an issue if your main navigation requires the user to install software (and maybe restart the browser) before they can use your website.
2 or 3 years ago it was common to see a HTML site with a flash navigation bar, but these days companies are more likely to do all or nothing. Although Adobe flash
The drawbacks of using a flash menu include;
1. Making changes requires the entire flash file to be changed
2. People using older browsers may not be able to install the currnet version of the flash client.
3. Slower
4. Site owners need the original flash file to make changes.
Examples (at the time of writing):
http://www.nike.com
http://www.diadora.com
http://www.billabong.com/au
http://www.lennykravitz.com
As you can see from this list, the entire site is in flash, and although they dont want visitors to have to wait a long time, they generally all target niche markets of younger internet users - the majority of which use broadband internet and will wait for content to load. A big name like Lenny Kravitz can afford to make fans wait, but an up-and-coming unknown artist would probably not have the same success.
Overview
With the variety of clients Digerati have, we have been able to suggest each of these solutions for different solutions - and for different reasons. Even some clients in the same industry suit different navigation styles, and even the same client may warrant changing styles at different points.
The key thing is to look at your target market, and make sure your website remains accessible by those people. There's no need to allow for text resizing if your tarket audience is 12 year old boys, but at the same time you probably need to make the menu simple to use and appealing to the eye, where a website targeting 70 year old guys would need to be quite simple and clear of graphical distractions.
There is generally always one style which will suit your website, so please feel free to talk to us about what we would recommend for your site.
The staff at Digerati Solutions have been providing online solutions for over 10 years, and we keep on top of the current technology to ensure that we can always suggest an appropriate solution for your needs.
Today I'm going to discuss something a lot less controversial, but something that is an issue of debate for almost every new website. Website navigation styles can include options such as text, graphical, flash or a combination.
Text Navigation
Text-based menus are mostly found in the corporate or online application website market. This is due to a number of reasons.
1. It's much simpler to update / change
2. It allows a menu to be completely dynamic and can be updated from a CMS
3. There is minimal download time
4. Text can be resized by visitors with vision difficulties
5. There are no issues with printing
6. Search engine following is virtually guaranteed.
7. It's fast for developers to build
The list is quite long - and justifyably so. From my view, the only reason you would opt NOT to use a text menu is if you wanted more design flexibility, or you wanted to hide content from text crawlers (such as search engines and spam robots).
Generally you will find that the larger companies using text nav's are ensuring website loading times are as low as possible
Examples (at the time of writing):
http://www.digeratisolutions.com.au/
http://www.pwc.com/
http://www.microsoft.com/
http://www.ebay.com/
http://www.ato.gov.au/ (although poorly designed)
Unfortunately in these days graphic designers are having a lot more input into web designs, the text-based menu is being replaced by graphic or flash-based (eye-candy) navigation styles.
Graphic Navigation
This style of menu is becoming more and more common as people are making the move to broadband internet, and download speeds mean a lot less than they used to. Generally graphic menus should only be used when there are only a handful of options. The last thing you need is 40 menu options loading a graphic for each.
Graphic menus are best used when tying in graphical elements of a brand to the page layout. You will find that a lot of medium-large brand-heavy companys will take this option for their home page but switch back to text navigation on the internal site pages.
With a few techniques, graphic menus can be used for search engine optimisation, however the code to make it layout just right can be tricky to avoid lengthy code (which slows the page down as well).
Examples (at the time of writing):
http://www.apple.com/
http://www.mcdonalds.com.au/
http://www.kfc.com.au/
http://www.toyota.com.au
http://www.myer.com.au/
You can tell with all of these that the graphical style menu allows them to use the menu itself as a branding agent.
Flash Navigation
Flash menu systems expand on graphical menus and allow a greater amount of flexibility in terms of design and interaction. Where graphic menus allow a graphical style to be implemented, flash allows movement and user interaction.
Flash not only allows a developer to add some form of animation or movement to a menu, but it can even include full video and music. As you can imagine, the drawback of the flash menu is that it takes significantly longer than a text menu, but can be quicker than a graphic menu.
In order to view flash you need to have the flash client installed in your internet browser, and although most new computers come with this installed by default, the majority of people will have to manually install the client before they can see your flash. This becomes an issue if your main navigation requires the user to install software (and maybe restart the browser) before they can use your website.
2 or 3 years ago it was common to see a HTML site with a flash navigation bar, but these days companies are more likely to do all or nothing. Although Adobe flash
The drawbacks of using a flash menu include;
1. Making changes requires the entire flash file to be changed
2. People using older browsers may not be able to install the currnet version of the flash client.
3. Slower
4. Site owners need the original flash file to make changes.
Examples (at the time of writing):
http://www.nike.com
http://www.diadora.com
http://www.billabong.com/au
http://www.lennykravitz.com
As you can see from this list, the entire site is in flash, and although they dont want visitors to have to wait a long time, they generally all target niche markets of younger internet users - the majority of which use broadband internet and will wait for content to load. A big name like Lenny Kravitz can afford to make fans wait, but an up-and-coming unknown artist would probably not have the same success.
Overview
With the variety of clients Digerati have, we have been able to suggest each of these solutions for different solutions - and for different reasons. Even some clients in the same industry suit different navigation styles, and even the same client may warrant changing styles at different points.
The key thing is to look at your target market, and make sure your website remains accessible by those people. There's no need to allow for text resizing if your tarket audience is 12 year old boys, but at the same time you probably need to make the menu simple to use and appealing to the eye, where a website targeting 70 year old guys would need to be quite simple and clear of graphical distractions.
There is generally always one style which will suit your website, so please feel free to talk to us about what we would recommend for your site.
The staff at Digerati Solutions have been providing online solutions for over 10 years, and we keep on top of the current technology to ensure that we can always suggest an appropriate solution for your needs.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Free Online Gift Registry Service - for ANYTHING
Digerati Solutions has developed a software product free for the world to use. You can create your own gift registry to request the gifts you really want! There are no pre-selected gifts; choose any gift from any store. You can invite friends to use it by collecting their emails from your online contact lists. Customize the look and feel. Plus, and best of all, you can have people contribute $$ to bigger gifts via PayPal. www.FreeOnlineGiftRegistry.com Please give us feedback.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Monday, April 14, 2008
Layout Options - Part 1. Scalable Full Width Design
When starting a new site or redeveloping an old one, you need to evaluate the target market and the content you want to show them. These two factors alone will usually dictate the layout style (not the design style) of your site.
The key aspects of the layout include;
Page width: 800px, 1024px, Mobile Devices or Scalable Full width.
Design Width: Fixed block, Repreated Background Over a Fixed Block, Full Width or Fixed Block with Graphic Edging.
Navigation: Horozontal Bar, Vertical Bar, Buttons or Dropdowns.
Navigation Style: Text, Graphics, Flash or a combination.
Over the next few weeks I'll discuss the sections above, but today I'm going to discuss the disadvantages of using scalable full width design.
Scalable Full Width Design
Scalable or 'stretched' designs are becoming increasingly rare, but we're still receiving requests for them irregularly so I thought this article might be a useful resource for people out there that prefer this style of design.
As a general rule Digerati Solutions rarely recommend full-width websites and will usually suggest away from them for a few reasons.
1. Scalable full width designs make it difficult to place content and elements because the size of each block will change depending on the size of the monitor being used.<
2. Generally readable text is no wider than around 600 pixels at 12pt. Anything wider than this makes it difficult to read because our eyes can't track back to the start of the next line efficiently over that distance. On a widescreen monitor at say 1440px wide, the text content section (even at 70%) is still over 1000 pixels wide. Even using a standard 1024 layout, 70% is still over 710 pixels.
To combat this, you generally have to create many text columns (similar to a newspaper), however if you then need to view the page on a smaller monitor (say 800x600) the columns become very thin and again unreadable.<
Click Here to see a readability comparison
3. With only minimal content you can end up with content that fills the width of the page, but only covers around 20% of the page height, leaving a lot of unused space on the page.<
4. Elements can get quite spaced out on the page and related items can look disjointed, making it difficult for visitors to follow.<
5. Often to keep ratios relative, larger images are used to fill space. Any time you use larger images you're ingreasing the file size and slowing down your page.<
Generally the people that prefer the stretched layout style are only thinking about their own viewing experience on their own computer. Often it's a simple matter of education that will convince someone that this is not a good option to allow maximum viewing pleasure for the majority of visitors to your website.
Note: I need to admit that flash can alleviate some of these issues and I remember seeing 1 flash site that used full screen design to good effect. As a ratio however 1 out of thousands is not enough for me to warrant it as a viable option.
Please feel free to leave comments if you disagree with me.
Thanks to: East of the Web and Ellena Ashley for the sample text from the children's story The Dragon Rock. To read the story in full, please visit
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/DragRock.shtml
The key aspects of the layout include;
Page width: 800px, 1024px, Mobile Devices or Scalable Full width.
Design Width: Fixed block, Repreated Background Over a Fixed Block, Full Width or Fixed Block with Graphic Edging.
Navigation: Horozontal Bar, Vertical Bar, Buttons or Dropdowns.
Navigation Style: Text, Graphics, Flash or a combination.
Over the next few weeks I'll discuss the sections above, but today I'm going to discuss the disadvantages of using scalable full width design.
Scalable Full Width Design
Scalable or 'stretched' designs are becoming increasingly rare, but we're still receiving requests for them irregularly so I thought this article might be a useful resource for people out there that prefer this style of design.
As a general rule Digerati Solutions rarely recommend full-width websites and will usually suggest away from them for a few reasons.
1. Scalable full width designs make it difficult to place content and elements because the size of each block will change depending on the size of the monitor being used.<
2. Generally readable text is no wider than around 600 pixels at 12pt. Anything wider than this makes it difficult to read because our eyes can't track back to the start of the next line efficiently over that distance. On a widescreen monitor at say 1440px wide, the text content section (even at 70%) is still over 1000 pixels wide. Even using a standard 1024 layout, 70% is still over 710 pixels.
To combat this, you generally have to create many text columns (similar to a newspaper), however if you then need to view the page on a smaller monitor (say 800x600) the columns become very thin and again unreadable.<
Click Here to see a readability comparison
3. With only minimal content you can end up with content that fills the width of the page, but only covers around 20% of the page height, leaving a lot of unused space on the page.<
4. Elements can get quite spaced out on the page and related items can look disjointed, making it difficult for visitors to follow.<
5. Often to keep ratios relative, larger images are used to fill space. Any time you use larger images you're ingreasing the file size and slowing down your page.<
Generally the people that prefer the stretched layout style are only thinking about their own viewing experience on their own computer. Often it's a simple matter of education that will convince someone that this is not a good option to allow maximum viewing pleasure for the majority of visitors to your website.
Note: I need to admit that flash can alleviate some of these issues and I remember seeing 1 flash site that used full screen design to good effect. As a ratio however 1 out of thousands is not enough for me to warrant it as a viable option.
Please feel free to leave comments if you disagree with me.
Thanks to: East of the Web and Ellena Ashley for the sample text from the children's story The Dragon Rock. To read the story in full, please visit
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/DragRock.shtml
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
It's here - myCMS4!
Digerati Solutions are excited to present the latest version of our Content Management System to our new and existing customers. We have collated and included over 100 suggestions from clients and staff in order to make the myCMS product even easier to use while providing more functionality!
In our innovative new system, Digerati have committed to producing a system that is simple to use, quick to perform changes and keeps data secure.
myCMS4 has a new intuitive interface that will enable you to:
MyCMS4 is also more customisable for sites that require custom functionality such as appointment scheduling, stock control, customer management, event management, order reporting, testimonials, email marketing and photo galleries to name a few.
We have implemented the latest features and technologies to provide our customers with a system that is quick to use, seamless and intuitive. We have streamlined our processes and code to reduce reloads, added tab browsing on page options, update boxes as well as drag and drop features.
If you would like a demo of myCMS4, feel free to contact Digerati and arrange a meeting.
In our innovative new system, Digerati have committed to producing a system that is simple to use, quick to perform changes and keeps data secure.
myCMS4 has a new intuitive interface that will enable you to:
- Browse pages to update much quicker than before
- Administer your website structure and navigation (depending on the design of your site)
- Store and manage website resources
- Securely manage your contributors actions
MyCMS4 is also more customisable for sites that require custom functionality such as appointment scheduling, stock control, customer management, event management, order reporting, testimonials, email marketing and photo galleries to name a few.
We have implemented the latest features and technologies to provide our customers with a system that is quick to use, seamless and intuitive. We have streamlined our processes and code to reduce reloads, added tab browsing on page options, update boxes as well as drag and drop features.
If you would like a demo of myCMS4, feel free to contact Digerati and arrange a meeting.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Inefficient Technology
Firstly, AJAXs or XHTML content is the functionality which makes appearances seamless, smooth and fancy. It uses complex methods that pull information as you are viewing the website, creating an experience becoming popular with experienced developers on the internet.
Over the years, technology has evolved quickly and has been put under the test of the market place. Some products that were developed have failed to deliver as expected, or the market place has grown so much that the current applications are different to it’s initial purpose.
A good example of its application is the new apple.com.au website - more specifically the http://www.apple.com/trailers/ webpage where Apple are displaying items in the table at the bottom. Have a flick through the different pages. Notice its “nice” transitions, the seamless transitions between the information, and the webpage doesn’t need to reload.
For a drawback of this technology on the same site, click the buttons at the top that include: Just Added, Exclusive, Just HD etc. Watch the animation that holds the page until it loads the content. The information that is displayed at this point will not be found on Google or any Search Engine.
The reason for this is because Google (as with most common search engines) only caches the initial html server response and reads it on a text level. If you have data loading on complex runtime procedures or through time delayed methods via javascript, not in html (ajaxs and xhtml), your information will not be found in the search engine cache.
Apple developers have been intuitive enough to understand this downfall and have employed a solution similar to our approach of including alternate sources for search engine data collection.
Although the new technology of AJAX, XHTML, Flash and advanced javascript can ultimately make any website look great, it takes an experienced development company to be able to use these yet concurrently keep the fundamental functionality of user accessibility, search engine optimisation and W3C standards compliance.
Talk to Digerati today about your existing (or new) website and whether it is an effective presence to search engines, or how we can assist you with the effective integration of new technology.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Keeping Up Appearances
If I told you that I listen to all of my music on cassette tape you would probably laugh at me. Similarly, if I told you that my portable file storage format is a packet of 5.25” floppy disks (you remember the big black ones?), you would no doubt label me an eccentric and probably shield me from any by-standing children in case my disease was contagious.
If you are using Internet Explorer 6, Netscape 8, Firefox 1, Opera 8.5, Safari 2 or any versions before them, then you’re among approximately 35% of the internet population using outdated browsers (according to w3schools.com stats of Dec 2007). If you have you screen resolution set to 800x600 pixels or less you are one of around 17% of internet users operating below the standard screen size.
As with the cassette tapes and floppy disks, there may be a time and place for each of them (it’s hard to see where, but I’ll allow that there may be some situations), however the vast majority of the world has moved forward, and as a general rule it is accepted that both of these formats have been superseded by far superior alternatives.
The issues of browser type and screen resolution are the 2 most frustrating aspects of the internet to any web design and development studio, large or small. These areas are the most significant contributors to the internet being unable to move forward at the speed of innovation and technology – and in most cases, it doesn’t need to be the case. Many older browsers (such as Internet Explorer 6 and older Safari versions) do not support technology which is becoming widely used, and as such many agencies will need to forego some ‘features’ in the pursuit of compatibility. This reluctance to leave internet users behind is causing the internet to evolve slower than it could, and is in turn reducing the potential effectiveness of the internet as a whole.
Online technology is increasing exponentially. With the arrival of the .Net framework almost any developer (web or not) can now produce powerful online applications in whatever language they are most comfortable with, which means a lot more people are developing, and a lot companies are trying to ‘get more out of the system’. In all cases, the product is useless unless the end user is able to actually ‘use’ the products that are being developed, and to allow for this, browsers are constantly adding support for new technology - from code provision to file support. When a user upgrades to the latest browser, they are allowing their computer to effectively use the best of what is currently available.
Unfortunately, not all browsers support all new technology, and some have opted not to support some that they probably should have. This in itself causes significant friction for developers trying to offer bigger, powerful and faster online tools because they have to start adding work-arounds to support the shortcomings of a specific browser or bite the bullet and not support a browser all together.
New browsers such as Firefox 2 and Internet Explorer 7 are able to self-update, to avoid falling behind the crowd, so once you’ve installed the latest version, you can sit back and forget about having to update because it will take care of itself.
Some of the features supported in the newer browsers but not the older ones include; semi-transparent PNG files, RSS reading, custom toolbar, advanced javascript support and default inclusion of plugins such as flash and java. Some features that are waiting to be included in soon-to-be-released browsers include; CSS3, increased RSS feed services, support for new Silverlight (Microsoft’s answer to flash) files and advanced file download management to name a few. These tools will all allow added flexibility to design and functionality, and ultimately make the users experience a lot more effective and enjoyable.
Some usability features such as tabbed browsing and integrated search toolbars have been introduced into newer versions as well which don’t really affect the page itself, but offer a less cluttered approach to the tools that are commonly used.
In fairness I need to note that as with all new technology there will be some teething issues and a bug here or there, and I don’t recommend upgrading as soon as a new version is available. I do however believe that 6-8 months is more than enough time to allow for significant problems to be resolved and an ideal time to upgrade.
I would recommend having at least 2 browsers installed on each computer to allow for quick transfer to an alternative if needed. This may be necessary if care hasn’t been taken during development to ensure cross-browser compatibility.
Below is a list of the current versions of the 4 major browsers, and a link to a page where you can view the upgraded features and download the necessary files.
Internet Explorer 7 was released in November 2006
Note: You will need a verified version of Windows to install IE7.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/ie/getitnow.mspx
Firefox 2 was released June 2006
http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/products/firefox/
Opera 9 was released in June 2006
http://www.opera.com/download/
Safari 3 was released in June 2007
http://www.apple.com/safari/download/
Monday, September 10, 2007
Interface Perfomance Vs Pleasure
Operating Systems (Windows XP, Vista, OSX) have been constantly been improved over the years to please visually. Whether it's funky transparency, anti-aliasing, lively navigation or animated effects, this all uses the computers resources to make your experience of the interaction more enjoyable.
How much does the designer consider the interface to be enjoyable, more efficient for work, performance friendly and simple? Does a navigation that expands smoothly over your mouse help your computer experience or is it a detriment to your efficiency and the computer's performance. Like everything, an important balance is required.
Being a business that rests a heavy focus on great Web Design, we need to consider the separation between an operating system and the web, two very different platforms, with two different purposes and interaction expectations.
We have been closely watching some design trends by extremely talented individuals producing navigation, page interaction, and rich graphical interfaces that match the style of screen found in new operating systems. Flash integration was the only way of achieving such navigation in the past, but now-a-days it is critical that websites are search engine compatible and that you can be indexed by search engine spiders.
Cast your eyes on this: http://www.ajaxdaddy.com/demo-css-dock-menu.html does it not look like OSX's navigation?
In our eyes (Digerati), this is the now future of Internet interaction, except we can't leave behind the fundamentals:
How much does the designer consider the interface to be enjoyable, more efficient for work, performance friendly and simple? Does a navigation that expands smoothly over your mouse help your computer experience or is it a detriment to your efficiency and the computer's performance. Like everything, an important balance is required.
Being a business that rests a heavy focus on great Web Design, we need to consider the separation between an operating system and the web, two very different platforms, with two different purposes and interaction expectations.
We have been closely watching some design trends by extremely talented individuals producing navigation, page interaction, and rich graphical interfaces that match the style of screen found in new operating systems. Flash integration was the only way of achieving such navigation in the past, but now-a-days it is critical that websites are search engine compatible and that you can be indexed by search engine spiders.
Cast your eyes on this: http://www.ajaxdaddy.com/demo-css-dock-menu.html does it not look like OSX's navigation?
In our eyes (Digerati), this is the now future of Internet interaction, except we can't leave behind the fundamentals:
- The user must have an expectation of how to use the website.
- It must be conventionally structured (layout).
- The resolution (screen size) needs to fit 99% of your audience.
- The performance required needs to be low as possible.
- It must be usable by most browsers.
Talk to Digerati Solutions Sydney, Web Design, Website Production, Sydney Australia today about effectively livening your only presence.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
An exciting time for good designers
The boom of Web2.0 web design has left the internet a much better place to look at, BUT, do you get the impression that websites are starting to all look the same? The green gradient is becoming so over-used that I'm starting to wonder if my monitor is starting to show signs of age and just tint everything to a pale hue of grass.
The overwhelming response to the 2.0 look should have web design forecasters rubbing their hands because any mass take-up of any design based schema will actually be its own downfall. Looking back though history, design fads quickly became dated (frangipanni flowers in from the early 2000's, airbrushed artwork from the 80's, thick brown & cream stripes fromthe 70's, etc..). The reason for this is that people don't want to be the same as everyone else. They want to stand out and be noticed among their competitors. If they all look the same, then there is no difference. As soon as a fad is set, the wheels are set in motion to begin breaking the mould, and its the few companies that probably started the trend in the first place that are also the first to leave.
The good news is that designers with vision are in an ideal position to produce work that is modern and visually appealing but at the same time, quite different from the Smiths down the road (who still hopefully look the same as everyone else).
By looking through a designers portfolio you should be able to see diversity and evolution. Any web design company who recycles the same 'look' for multiple sites probably doesnt have the vision to 'see' something beyond the fad.
At Digerati, we pride ourselves on our evolving designs and fresh looks for each of our clients. Each new project, we start with a clean sheet, so that each site is a new work of art that we can proudly display in our portfolio.
Please contact us if you'd like to chat about how we can help you take your website to the next step.
The overwhelming response to the 2.0 look should have web design forecasters rubbing their hands because any mass take-up of any design based schema will actually be its own downfall. Looking back though history, design fads quickly became dated (frangipanni flowers in from the early 2000's, airbrushed artwork from the 80's, thick brown & cream stripes fromthe 70's, etc..). The reason for this is that people don't want to be the same as everyone else. They want to stand out and be noticed among their competitors. If they all look the same, then there is no difference. As soon as a fad is set, the wheels are set in motion to begin breaking the mould, and its the few companies that probably started the trend in the first place that are also the first to leave.
The good news is that designers with vision are in an ideal position to produce work that is modern and visually appealing but at the same time, quite different from the Smiths down the road (who still hopefully look the same as everyone else).
By looking through a designers portfolio you should be able to see diversity and evolution. Any web design company who recycles the same 'look' for multiple sites probably doesnt have the vision to 'see' something beyond the fad.
At Digerati, we pride ourselves on our evolving designs and fresh looks for each of our clients. Each new project, we start with a clean sheet, so that each site is a new work of art that we can proudly display in our portfolio.
Please contact us if you'd like to chat about how we can help you take your website to the next step.
Monday, July 2, 2007
When too much experience is limiting
It is frustrating working with someone that knows it all isn’t it? I especially feel this when their opinion, that has been so affirmed, is out-dated or redundant.
It is easy to do. You have found your niche, the system that makes money and it works but how old is it? Has it been out-dated? Does it still have that efficient edge? Is your style still fresh?
The internet evolves at a rate that it is hard to retain a website that is cutting edge for more than a year. Working in a medium that demands openness and awareness is not found in many other industries. Does your web service company produce fresh products? Does your website still look as attractive as the new sites that are being released?
At Digerati, the team combined has around 20 years experience in designing and producing websites. We know what has come and gone, but we especially know what works and the fundamentals that are timeless. We design in the WEB 2.0 style and functionality, this is constantly changing and growing into a theme suited to how the user best knows how to use the internet.
Talk to us today about what we think of your website. We can tell you how we can improve design, layout, language, sale tunnels and rich functionality assisting the users experience.
It is easy to do. You have found your niche, the system that makes money and it works but how old is it? Has it been out-dated? Does it still have that efficient edge? Is your style still fresh?
The internet evolves at a rate that it is hard to retain a website that is cutting edge for more than a year. Working in a medium that demands openness and awareness is not found in many other industries. Does your web service company produce fresh products? Does your website still look as attractive as the new sites that are being released?
At Digerati, the team combined has around 20 years experience in designing and producing websites. We know what has come and gone, but we especially know what works and the fundamentals that are timeless. We design in the WEB 2.0 style and functionality, this is constantly changing and growing into a theme suited to how the user best knows how to use the internet.
Talk to us today about what we think of your website. We can tell you how we can improve design, layout, language, sale tunnels and rich functionality assisting the users experience.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Usability & Aesthetics
Since the introduction of Web2.0, cutting edge website aesthetics seems to have taken a turn for the better. The minimalist look has come into fashion somewhat, and animated clipart seem to be appearing less. Unfortunately however with the increasing prevalence of broadband, the cross-link between aesthetics and usability seems to be weakening just as rapidly. Designs are becoming a lot more visually oriented, but people are taking less care in areas such as efficiency, speed and most importantly simplicity for website visitors.
According to Nielsen online research (March 2007), users spend on average 45 seconds at each website they visit. If this is the basis of comparison, then your visitors need to find what they're looking for on your site within at least 30 seconds (giving them time to actually read the information). If your website takes 20 seconds to finish loading, you're going to hope your visitors can find the page they're looking for within your site within 10 seconds. Once you start to apply these times to actual use, you can start to see how much difference it makes to have an efficiently built website. The difference between a page that loads in 5 seconds and one that takes 20 can be the difference between a visitor leaving to look elsewhere or providing what they need.
Far too many modern web designers have come out of college with graphic or multimedia design degrees and a load of experience producing eye-candy. Unfortunately these designers are also damaging the functionality of the world wide web. A website needs to be designed differently to a brochure or catalogue, the graphic heavy, high resolution, wow-factor designs are usually the same designs that make visitors sit and watch numbers tick away before they're allowed to start sifting through content. A website needs to be seen as a lot more than just a pretty picture. Efficient design takes into consideration the user appreciation for the branding of the company (ie that the site looks nice and visually pleasing), while not detracting from the performance of delivering content to the screen.
Visitors will visit a website because they want something, and the majority if the time this will have been determined before they even start typing your URL or the keywords into their favourite search engine. It may be as simple as finding a phone number, it might be to place an order, or it might be to research your company's work to learn something more of what you do. Whatever the reason, you want to make it clear how to find the information they're looking for. Pre-emptive design is a focus of the work Digerati Solutions offer. This style of design looks at the 80 percent brackets. Target the style, layout and function of your site so that 80% of your visitors will be able to find what they're looking for with 1 click (or at least know they're on the right track with 1 click). This involves adding aids such as quick link boxes which will allow visitors to jump directly to an area of interest.
The website visitor always needs to be the focus of any website. Your target demographic may determine the style of the design, but essentially, the functionality and 'flow' of the site (how the menus work) need to be intuitive and not stray too far from familiarity. People enjoy what is natural and obvious, so it makes sense to design and develop with that in mind.
According to Nielsen online research (March 2007), users spend on average 45 seconds at each website they visit. If this is the basis of comparison, then your visitors need to find what they're looking for on your site within at least 30 seconds (giving them time to actually read the information). If your website takes 20 seconds to finish loading, you're going to hope your visitors can find the page they're looking for within your site within 10 seconds. Once you start to apply these times to actual use, you can start to see how much difference it makes to have an efficiently built website. The difference between a page that loads in 5 seconds and one that takes 20 can be the difference between a visitor leaving to look elsewhere or providing what they need.
Far too many modern web designers have come out of college with graphic or multimedia design degrees and a load of experience producing eye-candy. Unfortunately these designers are also damaging the functionality of the world wide web. A website needs to be designed differently to a brochure or catalogue, the graphic heavy, high resolution, wow-factor designs are usually the same designs that make visitors sit and watch numbers tick away before they're allowed to start sifting through content. A website needs to be seen as a lot more than just a pretty picture. Efficient design takes into consideration the user appreciation for the branding of the company (ie that the site looks nice and visually pleasing), while not detracting from the performance of delivering content to the screen.
Visitors will visit a website because they want something, and the majority if the time this will have been determined before they even start typing your URL or the keywords into their favourite search engine. It may be as simple as finding a phone number, it might be to place an order, or it might be to research your company's work to learn something more of what you do. Whatever the reason, you want to make it clear how to find the information they're looking for. Pre-emptive design is a focus of the work Digerati Solutions offer. This style of design looks at the 80 percent brackets. Target the style, layout and function of your site so that 80% of your visitors will be able to find what they're looking for with 1 click (or at least know they're on the right track with 1 click). This involves adding aids such as quick link boxes which will allow visitors to jump directly to an area of interest.
The website visitor always needs to be the focus of any website. Your target demographic may determine the style of the design, but essentially, the functionality and 'flow' of the site (how the menus work) need to be intuitive and not stray too far from familiarity. People enjoy what is natural and obvious, so it makes sense to design and develop with that in mind.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Stretching Web Concepts
As an graphic interface: HTML, Javascript, CSS and concepts such as AJAX, SEP and Table-less Design are a fairly limited in terms of there use. However, companies such as Google.com, Microsoft.com and most ISP Homepage sites rely heavily on all these technologies to achieve interactivity and customizability. Would this be considered true WEB 2.0, community based customizability on the Internet.
What happens to users with old browsers which do not support Javascript but Gecko? Users don't have width optimised to their 1024 resolution? CSS isn't enabled or Javascript isn't enabled? A user has a slow Internet connection? Or their colour depth doesn't reach their graphic needs.
I am sure these companies have considered these ramifications however, there is a point you leave a customer out and there experience of the service you provide online is not meet. We at Digerati understant there is a time for these features however I do not believe it is time for such improvements and demands on machines.
WEB 2.0 can be achieved well before these demands are placed on a users system.
If you feel your web development service provider has limited your site to resource high users, please chat to us and we can perform some analysis on your website.
What happens to users with old browsers which do not support Javascript but Gecko? Users don't have width optimised to their 1024 resolution? CSS isn't enabled or Javascript isn't enabled? A user has a slow Internet connection? Or their colour depth doesn't reach their graphic needs.
I am sure these companies have considered these ramifications however, there is a point you leave a customer out and there experience of the service you provide online is not meet. We at Digerati understant there is a time for these features however I do not believe it is time for such improvements and demands on machines.
WEB 2.0 can be achieved well before these demands are placed on a users system.
If you feel your web development service provider has limited your site to resource high users, please chat to us and we can perform some analysis on your website.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Crowd-Sourcing - What the crack?
Recent trends on the Internet have been to use the crowds. mySpace use crowds, YouTube use crowds, every WEB 2.0 application relies on users, community and customisable features.
The newest concept using WEB 2.0 is the Federal Police in the UK. The government have published cold cases in the hope that the public can help them crack the cases. Video have been uploaded to YouTube, information on what, where, how and who is all public. By using the Internet as a means to build a collaborative environment, now-a-days is the only way is Crowd-Sourcing. Can you imagine how popular mySpace would be if no one uses it? It's the cornerstone of it's purpose.
So how does this relate to you?
The newest concept using WEB 2.0 is the Federal Police in the UK. The government have published cold cases in the hope that the public can help them crack the cases. Video have been uploaded to YouTube, information on what, where, how and who is all public. By using the Internet as a means to build a collaborative environment, now-a-days is the only way is Crowd-Sourcing. Can you imagine how popular mySpace would be if no one uses it? It's the cornerstone of it's purpose.
So how does this relate to you?
- Need a collaborative environment?
- Need to bring people together?
- Got a cause and need to constructively build movement?
Talk to us today about the range of applications we can use to capture the Crowd-Sourcing concept into your required solution.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
The Google Story
I recently read the Google Story and if you haven't heard it before, it is seriously amazing. Two guys, the founders of Google, while at Uni doing their PHD learned that there was no relevance in current search engine results, there was no formula of rank to determine which page is more important than others. Over that year the two guys set out to download the Internet, index the results and return highly fast & relevant results. The conclusion of that year saw google.harvard.edu available on the Universities' intranet.
Googles' name comes from a spelling mistake of Googol. (Great name though!)
Over the next two years Larry and Sergey set out to make Google public on the global scale and meet the demand of searches the had gathered. They used old computers in a complex array of load balancing to achieve this. But in the end they had no money to continue. Of course they didn't, they didn't have any income opportunity providing free searches.
A few angel sponsors and seed funding went by but it wasn't until they meet up with the founder of Cisco Systems and other large corporations in Silicon Valley did they invent another ground breaking way of how information is sort and marketing is performed.
Sit back at this very moment and consider, what if there wasn't Google, what if they wasn't relevant ad marketing on Google. This product has changed the way we use the Internet.
There's a few motives for me writing this article, mainly to just tell you a good story but here are a few take home points.
Googles' name comes from a spelling mistake of Googol. (Great name though!)
Over the next two years Larry and Sergey set out to make Google public on the global scale and meet the demand of searches the had gathered. They used old computers in a complex array of load balancing to achieve this. But in the end they had no money to continue. Of course they didn't, they didn't have any income opportunity providing free searches.
A few angel sponsors and seed funding went by but it wasn't until they meet up with the founder of Cisco Systems and other large corporations in Silicon Valley did they invent another ground breaking way of how information is sort and marketing is performed.
Sit back at this very moment and consider, what if there wasn't Google, what if they wasn't relevant ad marketing on Google. This product has changed the way we use the Internet.
There's a few motives for me writing this article, mainly to just tell you a good story but here are a few take home points.
- Meeting the niche in their market. This is the best way to be successful. Find something, be DAMN good at it. This is Googles approach.
- Google started with nothing and achieved lots. Do you have a great idea? Lets help you make it a reality.
- We know how Google ranks, we know it as good as the best. Come talk to us about eMarketing your website.
- Digerati Solutions are on the fringe of producing a very big product. Want to support us? Please contact Digerati.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
What the deal with SEP?
Most people are now familar with the term SEO or Search Engine Optimisation, but theres a new wave of cutting-edge developers that are now offering SEP or Search Engine Preparation.
SEP is a style of web development which supports SEO in the fact that it is essentially a subsection of SEO, but it also makes the job of optimising your website a lot easier.
In short, SEO is the whole package, a seemingly unlimited number of steps to take to ensure that your website can be indexed and listed by search engines. SEP is a subset of SEO in the fact that it's still focusing on the same end result, but while customer-side SEO usually focuses heavily on content and the text in your pages, SEP is the code and the development behind the website, that you dont usually see.
As an example...
If you've done research on SEO you'll be aware of how header tags work, and how important they are in terms of making specific text 'relevant'. SEP takes this a step further, and can make images have the same impact, but with more keywords.
With advances in CSS and the evolving WC3 and browser standards, its important to ensure that your website is developed with all of the new technological tools, but at the same time you cant afford to compromise compatability, speed and efficiency. The team at Digerati Solutions pride ourselves on our advanced SEP development and customer-centric functionality.
The content you add to your website is always going to be crutial, but when combined with SEP, you've got the whole page working for the same cause, and not just 1 small text area.
So next time you talk to your developer - ask them if they understand the fundamentals of SEP web development.
SEP is a style of web development which supports SEO in the fact that it is essentially a subsection of SEO, but it also makes the job of optimising your website a lot easier.
In short, SEO is the whole package, a seemingly unlimited number of steps to take to ensure that your website can be indexed and listed by search engines. SEP is a subset of SEO in the fact that it's still focusing on the same end result, but while customer-side SEO usually focuses heavily on content and the text in your pages, SEP is the code and the development behind the website, that you dont usually see.
As an example...
If you've done research on SEO you'll be aware of how header tags work, and how important they are in terms of making specific text 'relevant'. SEP takes this a step further, and can make images have the same impact, but with more keywords.
With advances in CSS and the evolving WC3 and browser standards, its important to ensure that your website is developed with all of the new technological tools, but at the same time you cant afford to compromise compatability, speed and efficiency. The team at Digerati Solutions pride ourselves on our advanced SEP development and customer-centric functionality.
The content you add to your website is always going to be crutial, but when combined with SEP, you've got the whole page working for the same cause, and not just 1 small text area.
So next time you talk to your developer - ask them if they understand the fundamentals of SEP web development.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Online Design Funamentals
The question that has annoyed me for many years as a web designer is 'Why don't people think like a customer when they build websites'?
Design fundamentals have been around forever. Nature works on the principals of instinct and 'the desired outcome for the least work'. We need to start to think this way when we design online services. We need to think like a consumer when we sell, not the other way around.
Online shoppers are much more fickle when it comes to purchasing than their in-store counterparts. Generally we walk to the back of the supermarket to buy our bread and milk, simply because the store owners know we will walk past hundreds of other products on the way there. Online shops do not, and can not expect to operate the same way.
I've put together a list of 8 fundamental design rules that all websites (shops or otherwise) should adhere to.
1) Make it FAST. This covers not only the time it takes for the pages and images of the website to load, but the whole process of using the site should be extremely fast - especially for the shopper who knows what they want. The majority of online shoppers will continue to shop at the same place as long as they feel that they are getting what they need, and can get it without a fuss.
2) Keep it simple. Don't try to be all things to all people. Pick your market, and do it well. This doesn't necessarily mean that you only sell 1 product, but it means that if you're starting to compromise usability and speed for diversity - you will usually lose.
3) Navigation should be simple and clear. Theres nothing worse than a website that is hard to find what you're looking for, especially if you know it's there. Fancy fonts and buttons have their place, but it's NOT in the navigational part of the site.
4) Don't give people too many options. Find the 3 or 4 main things that people want to do on your site, and build your site around those things. Move everything else out of the way. Just think - if a visitor came to my site and i only wanted him to look at 2 things, what would they be? Generally the answer to that question should be the overall target of our website.
5) Invest in the design. Knowing 'how to use Photoshop®' is not enough to give someone the ability to design a website. Generally, I find graphic designers are some of the worst web designers because they think in terms of design and aesthetics, not functionality. A good web designer understands how customers think and how elements need to join together. A good design will win you a large chunk of the market initially, so spend that bit extra to give your site the edge over your competition.
6) Don't take a 'set and let' approach. Having a lot of content on your site can be great, but if you never update it, never change it, never show any sign of moving forward, then your customers will notice. Don't add a 'newest products' section if you're only going to add a new product every 6 months, and don't add a 'latest news' section if you don't intend to keep on top of keeping it current. Some people spend thousands of hours and dollars developing their site, then leave it to do its own thing. All of the effort dies once it starts breathing. I'd go as far as saying that businesses should be redesigning their whole site look every 2-3 years.
7) Don't expect to get rich overnight. Online users are cautious about new services that cost money. Trial periods are a great way for people to try-before-you-buy. Especially with websites that require a huge userbase. Theres no point charging $100 to be a member of a networking site with 3 other members - theres no pull, and no initial incentive. Get the in the door & show them how good it is first.
8) Make sure its a good idea. Too many online ideas are only half-baked. Generally as a designer and online advisor, I will try to persuade some people to develop an idea further before talking to me. I have told at least 4 clients that they should not go ahead with their project. 2 have listened to me and 2 have not. Of the 2 that did not, they have both lost substantial money in development costs and ongoing fees that have not been recovered.
These pointers can be - and generally should be overwhelming to the average business owner. This is why a team such as Digerati Solutions, a team that doesn't just 'do websites', will be your best friend. The team of professionals at Digerati can help to guide you through the complex world of online business, as well as show you some groundbreaking ways of doing your business more efficiently and to a wider market.
Don't waste your investment. Use the internet to make your business better, faster and more efficient. Every day you delay - your competitors could be stealing your clients one at a time.
Design fundamentals have been around forever. Nature works on the principals of instinct and 'the desired outcome for the least work'. We need to start to think this way when we design online services. We need to think like a consumer when we sell, not the other way around.
Online shoppers are much more fickle when it comes to purchasing than their in-store counterparts. Generally we walk to the back of the supermarket to buy our bread and milk, simply because the store owners know we will walk past hundreds of other products on the way there. Online shops do not, and can not expect to operate the same way.
I've put together a list of 8 fundamental design rules that all websites (shops or otherwise) should adhere to.
1) Make it FAST. This covers not only the time it takes for the pages and images of the website to load, but the whole process of using the site should be extremely fast - especially for the shopper who knows what they want. The majority of online shoppers will continue to shop at the same place as long as they feel that they are getting what they need, and can get it without a fuss.
2) Keep it simple. Don't try to be all things to all people. Pick your market, and do it well. This doesn't necessarily mean that you only sell 1 product, but it means that if you're starting to compromise usability and speed for diversity - you will usually lose.
3) Navigation should be simple and clear. Theres nothing worse than a website that is hard to find what you're looking for, especially if you know it's there. Fancy fonts and buttons have their place, but it's NOT in the navigational part of the site.
4) Don't give people too many options. Find the 3 or 4 main things that people want to do on your site, and build your site around those things. Move everything else out of the way. Just think - if a visitor came to my site and i only wanted him to look at 2 things, what would they be? Generally the answer to that question should be the overall target of our website.
5) Invest in the design. Knowing 'how to use Photoshop®' is not enough to give someone the ability to design a website. Generally, I find graphic designers are some of the worst web designers because they think in terms of design and aesthetics, not functionality. A good web designer understands how customers think and how elements need to join together. A good design will win you a large chunk of the market initially, so spend that bit extra to give your site the edge over your competition.
6) Don't take a 'set and let' approach. Having a lot of content on your site can be great, but if you never update it, never change it, never show any sign of moving forward, then your customers will notice. Don't add a 'newest products' section if you're only going to add a new product every 6 months, and don't add a 'latest news' section if you don't intend to keep on top of keeping it current. Some people spend thousands of hours and dollars developing their site, then leave it to do its own thing. All of the effort dies once it starts breathing. I'd go as far as saying that businesses should be redesigning their whole site look every 2-3 years.
7) Don't expect to get rich overnight. Online users are cautious about new services that cost money. Trial periods are a great way for people to try-before-you-buy. Especially with websites that require a huge userbase. Theres no point charging $100 to be a member of a networking site with 3 other members - theres no pull, and no initial incentive. Get the in the door & show them how good it is first.
8) Make sure its a good idea. Too many online ideas are only half-baked. Generally as a designer and online advisor, I will try to persuade some people to develop an idea further before talking to me. I have told at least 4 clients that they should not go ahead with their project. 2 have listened to me and 2 have not. Of the 2 that did not, they have both lost substantial money in development costs and ongoing fees that have not been recovered.
These pointers can be - and generally should be overwhelming to the average business owner. This is why a team such as Digerati Solutions, a team that doesn't just 'do websites', will be your best friend. The team of professionals at Digerati can help to guide you through the complex world of online business, as well as show you some groundbreaking ways of doing your business more efficiently and to a wider market.
Don't waste your investment. Use the internet to make your business better, faster and more efficient. Every day you delay - your competitors could be stealing your clients one at a time.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Online Payments - Are they safe?
Of course its safe! Do you think major international banks would be willing to allow websites to interface with their customers money if it wasn't? Highly doubt it. I believe the question, "Are they safe", reflects more on Store than the payments itself.
New research has uncovered that 70% of Adults are willing to make purchases over the Internet and will spend over $228 billion. For retail businesses this is great news! So what factors change a users perception of what is 'safe'?
I believe it is an increase of awareness and public/media approval of large online stores such as Amazon, eBay and Dell has helped this margin. Users don't necessarily look for an SSL Certificates, Policies and Terms; don't get me wrong these are important but I feel to get more of the public interested in Online Payments we need to look at it from a different perspective.
I believe retail stores need to focus on these fundamentals first:
New research has uncovered that 70% of Adults are willing to make purchases over the Internet and will spend over $228 billion. For retail businesses this is great news! So what factors change a users perception of what is 'safe'?
I believe it is an increase of awareness and public/media approval of large online stores such as Amazon, eBay and Dell has helped this margin. Users don't necessarily look for an SSL Certificates, Policies and Terms; don't get me wrong these are important but I feel to get more of the public interested in Online Payments we need to look at it from a different perspective.
I believe retail stores need to focus on these fundamentals first:
- The Products Marketing - Do you sell it to them?
Can you imagine a Online Shopper finding a product they need so bad they have an anxiety attack not being about to find their credit card? Security, policies, terms ain't being considered. - Shopping Cart - Ease of use
Does your Shopping Cart have clear instructions? Are the buttons clearly labelled or positioned? Does it collect too much information about a customer? Do you use the bouncing ball approach to progress?
What are the potentials that stop someone continuing, you need to remove all of these to ensure your product is actually sold. - Word of Mouth - Buyers selling
"I went to x inc. Online Store yesterday, it was so easy! I found what I needed, put my details in, paid and it arrived next day. I also got all these e-mails about its progress. You gotta check it out!" This is your best form of marketing. Friends to friends. Your customers selling for you. Do a good service and you will reap the benefits. - Deliver what they expect
A user will only have a expected experience if they are satisfied. How are they satisfied? You meet their expectation. Do this by using normal web techniques of shopping carts, processes, e-mails and service.
You will only be successful if you deliver.
We at Digerati Solutions have developed a product that meet all commerce needs and more. myCommerce is a product that we deploy into websites that require any transaction or ordering process for their customers.
Chat to us today about building your online store to what it should be because we build online potensial.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
The product set launch
Digerati Solutions are about to release all our products into one myCMS.com.au package. This Content Management Tool, is a lot more comprehensive, a whole lot easier to use and its the one stop complete website tool for Marketing, Tracking Customers, Selling Online and Updating your website.
This myCMS package includes:
This myCMS package includes:
- The base myCMS - Website building tool.
- myCommerce - Sell Online
- myCustomers - Customer Relations Management
- myCampaign - Market to your clients online via email, measurably!
This launch is occurring in the next month or two. Please contact us for more information. In the meantime if you need the straight myCMS product with Web Design, Application Development or Hosting, also contact us.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
CSS based SEO Improvements - does it work?
Of course it does, have you ever thought of the fact that your logo is an image? And google doesn't read the text of an image to determine your company name. I understand there is also the title, the domain, the text which has your business name but what about the all important h1 to h6 tags.
At Digerati Solutions we deliver HTML Cutup Solutions that don't just have images as buttons but actually as text. And when the page is loaded, CSS imports the image.
We haven't seen any CSS problems with browsers, only that a:hover tags may get mixed up and the button/image flickers on global hover attributes.
Chat to us about how we can SEO optimise your website to be true HTML in the eyes of google.
At Digerati Solutions we deliver HTML Cutup Solutions that don't just have images as buttons but actually as text. And when the page is loaded, CSS imports the image.
We haven't seen any CSS problems with browsers, only that a:hover tags may get mixed up and the button/image flickers on global hover attributes.
Chat to us about how we can SEO optimise your website to be true HTML in the eyes of google.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
eMail Campaigns aka. "Spam/Junk Mail"
I've been hyping up our new product, myCampaign to all our customers on our existing myCMS product. And every single person commented on the use of a marketing terms for what they know as spam. I find it interesting... with all the laws, all the filters and all the misconceptions people aren't willing to sell their products to their clients via email (anybody out there, come chat to me, we have a great product!)
I want to take this short opportunity to explain the pro's/con's of email marketing and hopefully get you to reconsider your conceptions of this means. Let's begin with the pro's:
I want to take this short opportunity to explain the pro's/con's of email marketing and hopefully get you to reconsider your conceptions of this means. Let's begin with the pro's:
- It's direct - target a very specific market and your guaranteed to hit it.
- It's measurable - you can track openings, bounces (hard/soft), link clicks and unopened.
- It's attractive - HTML & CSS are great tools to build an ascetical appearance.
- You can unsubscribe to the spam, whenever!
Now for the con's:
- Misconceptions of spam (email campaigns complying with law requires two step sign up).
- It's annoying.
Let me know if you think of more con's, I'm stuck for now.
Hopefully this pro/con explanation of email Campaigns might help change your thoughts. If you would like to chat to someone about this great medium to market with, contact us at Digerati Solutions.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
AJAX - huh?
It's not the cleaner, so what is it? AJAX stands for: Asynchronous JavaScript and XML.
It isn't some new technology but it is a new way to use existing methods to build rich, user-friendly, desktop style of interacting with a web page.
A good example of an AJAX application is Digerati's Shopping Cart build into myCommerce for Goodbuddy Sports website. Notice the page doesn't 'reload' with information but appears to be working in the background? This is pro, it becomes RICH.
Javascript triggers an XML request to the server in the background and makes XHTML/CSS changes in real-time. You don't have to install it, you don't have to enable it and it doesn't have browser compatibility issues.
Technologies it uses are:
It isn't some new technology but it is a new way to use existing methods to build rich, user-friendly, desktop style of interacting with a web page.
A good example of an AJAX application is Digerati's Shopping Cart build into myCommerce for Goodbuddy Sports website. Notice the page doesn't 'reload' with information but appears to be working in the background? This is pro, it becomes RICH.
Javascript triggers an XML request to the server in the background and makes XHTML/CSS changes in real-time. You don't have to install it, you don't have to enable it and it doesn't have browser compatibility issues.
Technologies it uses are:
- JavaScript
- XML
- HTML
- CSS
- Dynamic Server Side Technology (ASP.net, ASP, PHP, JSP etc.)
SEO - Search Engine Optimisation, Whats the fuss?
It is a huge fuss, and here's why:
- People Search Yahoo 200 Million times/day
- People Search Google 350 Million times/day
- People Search LookSmart 75 Million times/day
Insane numbers! This just proves that your ranking in the major search engines is critical to build your online potential!
Most recently, the highest keyword searched was "valentine's day".
What if you had the highest rank? What if you had an online store which converted leads to sales effectively? What if you made a lot of money from simply pursing the art of SEO.
At Digerati Solutions, every site we build, we consider the effects of SEO. If you want to build your online potential, talk to us about how we can build the monopoly of SEO pages, Adwords, Blogs, Website Keyword Considerations and Web Building Techneques to build up your position.
Talk to Digerati about SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) Today!
How do I choose a Web Design/Development Company?
I must admit there are a lot out there! But which one is the right one for you? How do you know? How do you trust them? They all focus on different niches, what am I trying to achieve?
The last question is key? What are you trying to achieve? Do you want the website to:
The last question is key? What are you trying to achieve? Do you want the website to:
- Generate Sales/Leads and How
- Market via Email and Search Engines
- Hot Graphic Design
- Reliable Functional Development
All companies will SAY they do all of the above, but how good are they? At Digerati Solutions we strive to build your online potential through considering all of the above. It is critical that before you start talking to a Web Development Company you do the following:
- What is the market you are trying to target?
- What are you attempting to achieve in this market?
- If you have a current website, what is currently working?
- Ensure marketing campaigns line up the website.
- How do you want to maintain it? Would a Content Management System be helpful?
The solution to the above is really important, it helps us, it helps you and we WILL find the right solution.
Talk to Digerati Solutions today and Contact Us, we look forward to working with you!
Tim Faase
- Digerati Solutions - Web Design, Development and Hosting.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Are you riding the next wave?
During the web boom of 1999/2000, everyone needed a website. No matter how it looked, its purpose, the information it displayed or how it ran in line with your business, you needed a website.
A lot of large website companies grew during this period of "Gotta be on the wave to make it" but did they produce what you required? Does it line up with your branding/products? Does it generate sales/leads? Is it worth while?
Digerati Solutions are servicing the next wave of refurbished websites. We build sites that maximise your online potential focusing on:
A lot of large website companies grew during this period of "Gotta be on the wave to make it" but did they produce what you required? Does it line up with your branding/products? Does it generate sales/leads? Is it worth while?
Digerati Solutions are servicing the next wave of refurbished websites. We build sites that maximise your online potential focusing on:
- Lead Generation/eCommerce
- Brand and Strategy Alignment
- Search Engine Optimisation
- Website Design
- Production
- Product Integration
- Hosting
Chat to us today about how to get blood out of your stone (website), measurably. Digerati solutions provides the complete online solutions.
eCommerce - Does it work to put my business online?
eCommerce is a funny market, businesses are on the fence in terms of going down this track and not. There has been plenty of success stories, regrets, mistakes and unknowns.
Lets just have a look at the top 3 online businesses in American during 2004:
- amazon.com = $5.3b US
- dell.com = $3.2b US
- officedepot.com = 3.1b US
Information sourced from; "Internet Retailer - 2005 Edition".
Digerati Solutions are in the progress of building our third software product myCommerce.
Our product will be on the market for sales in late March 2007. Please contact Digerati Solutions for more information.
Content Management System (CMS) - myCMS
I could guess there are more than thousands of CMS products out in the market. But what do they deliver? What product best suits my needs? And what is most cost effective.
To start... what even is a CMS? A CMS is a Content Management System, this product is designed to update the information, pictures, video, links and web pages in a website. The best example of a CMS is mySpace.com. Users can change the information on their website to what ever they wish.
SO... why would I want one? Control. Affordable long term. Effective.
Why wouldn't I want one? Don't want responsibility. Expense. Can't find Product. Unknown.
myCMS, a product by Digerati Solutions handles all your Content Management Needs.
Just to note a few:
To start... what even is a CMS? A CMS is a Content Management System, this product is designed to update the information, pictures, video, links and web pages in a website. The best example of a CMS is mySpace.com. Users can change the information on their website to what ever they wish.
SO... why would I want one? Control. Affordable long term. Effective.
Why wouldn't I want one? Don't want responsibility. Expense. Can't find Product. Unknown.
myCMS, a product by Digerati Solutions handles all your Content Management Needs.
Just to note a few:
- myCMS Web page, Site Navigation and Publishing Control.
- myCMS Template Control
- myCMS Time Delayed Changes
- myCMS Administrative Publishing Approvals.
- myCMS Easy Content Changing, just like Microsoft Word. No, EASIER!
- myCMS Real file resource management
- myCMS Comprehensive User Management
- myCMS Integrated Reporting - Geo Location, Visits/Hits, Referrals, New/Returning.
Our product handles all your needs, if you don't believe us! Contact us!
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Web Design - New Benchmark
Web design has changed over the years, constantly the industry is producing the "next best". How does Digerati Solutions provide the best looking websites? We are constantly looking out for this next best.
We believe the next best is: www.microsoft.com
It's the best because its open/sharp, inviting, easy to navigate. It also has been optimised for 1024px resolution and uses the latest technology, ajax. Plus a very consistent brand appearance
But what are the down sides you ask? Graphic intensive (slow to load), Relies of Javascript (navigation would break), Not Perfect (W3c HTML & CSS Not Compliant) and Scrolling Can be Required (1024 is wider than most monitors).
At Digerati Solutions, we consider all pros and cons technically and aesthetically when exploring your interface's appearance. Web Design for your Website is critical to get right, talk to us!
We believe the next best is: www.microsoft.com
It's the best because its open/sharp, inviting, easy to navigate. It also has been optimised for 1024px resolution and uses the latest technology, ajax. Plus a very consistent brand appearance
But what are the down sides you ask? Graphic intensive (slow to load), Relies of Javascript (navigation would break), Not Perfect (W3c HTML & CSS Not Compliant) and Scrolling Can be Required (1024 is wider than most monitors).
At Digerati Solutions, we consider all pros and cons technically and aesthetically when exploring your interface's appearance. Web Design for your Website is critical to get right, talk to us!
mySpace - Affordable and "Professional?"
A recent client of mine expressed some interested in developing a professional community (WEB 2.0) site where youth can be involved in the life's of people doing it tough BUT had no budget to work in.
I felt the light bulb go in my head: mySpace! or myCMS!
a. The Market already exists for their niche.
b. It's customisable with various mediums (HTML, Pictures, Video, Blog).
c. PayPal can be integrated for donations.
d. It's Free! (Except for our Consulting and Development Time :-) )
There are a LOT of WEB 2.0 resources out their which focus on community building. So what is WEB 2.0 your asking. In a nutshell it's a web-based application that builds community, user innovation and integration. You may have heard of these applications being sold to Google?
The project hasn't been completed as yet but I'll assure you we will give you the stats on the outcome.
Talk to us today about how Digerati Solutions can build your online environment with an affordable and strategic solution. myCMS - Content Management System is a highly recommended tool for managing the interface for your website.
Friday, January 5, 2007
Digerati Solutions
Digerati Solutions
Digerati: Web Consulting - Website Design - Development & Hosting
First off, Digerati Solutions is a Web Consulting - Design - Development & Hosting company from Sydney, Australia. Focusing on web applications designed to help you manage and grow your business and potential. We have a few products... myCMS: Content Management Software - myCampaign: E-Mail Marketing Software - myCustomers: Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Please feel free to contact our Digerati web staff on our website for more information, we would LOVE to chat with you.
We endeavour to put to paper what our company is wrestling/learning/growing in. I hope that this is an environment in which we can find out what others are struggling with also.
Cheers,
Tim Faase
- Digerati Solutions
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