Kevin Webster says, “Refreshing the look and feel of your website is an important business process with far reaching implications. While there are many things to consider during the transition, it’s important to consider web analytics, to track the effects of your changes.Whether you are embarking on this journey with your own staff, or you’ve engaged an outside vendor to do the web redesign for you, here’s some important web analytics points.URL Structure and Page TitlesSome web redesigns only affect look and feel, and all URLs and page titles remain the same. If however you are... [...]

Veteran marketer Shawn Casey (he’s been in this business over 10 years) has been involved in all kinds of online marketing, from software development to webinars to “you name it”. Now, he has something new and potentially game-changing.Casey has just announced Tsunami Sites, and through the weekend, it’s on a grand opening sale. Early Monday, the price goes up.Facebook drives millions of visitors daily to media websites (sites with videos, funny pictures, etc.) For example, it sends about 4 Million visitors to BuzzFeed.com daily. It sends nearly a half-million to Upworthy.com... [...]

Roy Chomko says, “When a business approaches a development firm looking for a new website or mobile application, the first thing they typically want to know is the end cost. But, providing a fixed price is more challenging than one might think. Even with similar technology and end-goals, no two projects are exactly alike. There are always unforeseen challenges and bugs that must be accounted for.That’s why demanding a fixed price right off the bat often leads to broken sites, apps and client relationships. For this reason, it’s important for clients and their development partners... [...]

Allison Howen says, “Businesses that have finally finished their new websites are generally really excited to see what kind of sales they will generate. However, just because a website is done and looks “awesome” doesn’t necessarily mean a company is going to get positive return on investment (ROI) out of it. A truly “awesome” website is not so much defined by its stunning design as its stunning results, and even the prettiest website is useless to a business owner if it isn’t generating ROI.If you’re out of ideas for how to take your website to a level where it is sure to... [...]

Dan Stasiewski says, “This may be a case of confirmation bias, but last month, I was excited when a new corporate style guide update with a new homepage design for one of our enterprise clients landed in my inbox.The update eliminated three commonly used—but rather useless—features requested over and over again when we design new websites: homepage sliders, tabbed sections and news feeds.I’ve long been a proponent of eliminating all three from website designs. They serve little purpose from a user standpoint. In my opinion, the only useful thing they do is keep people inside your... [...]

Jonathan Pavoni says, “Today more than ever your website is the face of your organization. Many times it’s the first impression that prospects have with your brand, and it will leave a lasting impact whether positive or negative.In addition, your website should play an integral role in helping you grow your business. Specifically, it needs to help you: generate qualified leads, educate prospects through the stages of the sales cycle, and finally help you deepen existing customer relationships.The sad news is that there are many websites out there that are still “brochureware”. These... [...]

Shari Thurow says, “An optimized website is easy to navigate. In fact, one of the main reasons that people switch to a competitor site is navigation difficulty. So I created this navigation checklist to help web professionals ensure that their site’s navigation system is effective for both humans and technology.In Part 1, I went over the following navigation design and architecture best practices:Website Navigation Supports & Enables Task CompletionWebsite Navigation Supports & Reinforces The Site’s Information ArchitectureWebsite Navigation Should Be Noticeable & Distinguishable... [...]

Erez Zundy says, “Most companies spend thousands (and thousands) of dollars looking to give their Web designers the tools they need to do their jobs efficiently and successfully, but are they spending their money on the right tools?There are some staples in every designer’s toolbox that should stay and some others that deserve a first look. Here are nine crucial tools for Web designers.1. GITHUBBoth individuals and teams can benefit from the features offered by GitHub. Sometimes you are not exactly sure how to integrate your next design idea, so asking for independent”.9... [...]

Pete Prestipino says, “Minimalist Web pages have been popular among designers for quite some time, but the trend is evolving in some elegant and sophisticated ways. Today, for example, you might see standalone websites use video backgrounds on these often sparse pages. One incredibly lightweight (coming in at just 3.6K) jQuery plugin to check out, if a Web page video background appeals to your design sensibilities, is Vide.The plugin works on all modern desktop browser (including IE9+), and while it has some trouble working on iOS and Andoird devices”.Create a Video Background... [...]

Don VanFossen and Andres Tobar are releasing the latest version of Serp Shaker.These two are a natural pairing. People have made money with Don’s products. And Andres has proved that he build useful tools, too. In fact, using Serp Shaker (not selling it to other marketers; using it himself) he reports that he made over $600,000 last year.Serp Shaker evolved from an original plugin that was released byTobar and VanFossen, along with a former partner. That original plugin was called Local Page Ninja.. Thousands of copies of Local Page Ninja were sold. In many cases, buyers were excited... [...]