But none of those is really the best reason. What really matters about having custom Facebook and Twitter pages is that it’s kind of like having a brand-new, freshly painted sign in front of your store –something that just makes your business seem more professional and trustworthy.

Numerous polls have shown that the biggest obstacle to finding new customers online is also one of the biggest obstacles to finding customers everywhere else: It’s hard for them to trust you if they haven’t bought from you before. Believe it or not, the difference between success and failure – a completed order and a click away from your site – is very often that simple.

In fact, one of the biggest reasons that companies of all sizes undergo web designs and redesigns is to make their business seem more reputable. More often than not, it works. Given that up to a third of all the online purchases that will be made in the next few years will originate from social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, doesn’t it make sense to get a custom page and give yourself every possible advantage?

Custom Facebook and Twitter pages represent such a small investment, compared to a business website redesign, that a lot of business owners don’t take them quite seriously as they should. If you’re interested in finding more customers online, then make the easy decision and invest in pages that truly represent your company.

Here are some of the most annoying aspects of e-mail, followed up a great info graphic courtesy of ccLoop (Infographic by: ccLoop )

1. Don’t CC me your entire address book – I am still baffled by how many people do this.

2. Do not e-mail to confirm whether or not I received your e-mail. If I read it, you will know, if I did not I wont respond.

3. Keep it short please – Do not send me a novel, if you must do so, then attach as a word doc.

4. READ before you respond – I am astonished by the people whom do not even read the e-mails.

5. Don’t be reactive – If an e-mail pisses you off, do reply right away. Take a break, review and think how you will respond.

6. Group e-mails – If you must copy 10 people, please make sure you leave a note NOT to reply to all.

7. E-mails will be answered when I am ready – I am not an e-mail robot, nor do I have time to read through all of your e-mails.

8. Compress and zip files – Do not attach 10 documents, but put them in a folder, zip it and send it.

9. Images – Do not send me 10MB photo’s. If you have high res images, use FTP or Yousendit.

10. BE NICE – DO NOT WRITE IN ALL CAPS. You are yelling at me and I will delete your e-mail.

Infographic by: ccLoop

Claremont from Colin Blackshear on Vimeo.

If you are looking for an easy way to maximize the conversions on your e-commerce website – and one that doesn’t require you to redesign it from the ground up or make huge changes to your programming – then try this: Add more search features for your customers.

A startlingly high number of online stores are difficult to shop, if only because you have to know things like product numbers or sizes to identify what you’re looking for.

That’s fine for customers who already have a good idea of what they want to find, but can be difficult for those who aren’t well-versed in the category, or simply want to comparison shop.

By adding search features, and especially keywords to different product pages, you make finding solutions faster and easier. That means an online store that’s more usable and customer-friendly, or everything you could want to turn more shoppers into buyers.

There aren’t a lot of simple changes you can make to an e-commerce site that make a big difference, so take a moment to examine your search structure and see if it could be a little bit easier to use. And don’t forget to call us if you think it’s time to start improving your online store in a major way.

There isn’t much a new business website can’t do for your company. In fact, if you meet with a company like ours, you’re sure to hear about increased sales, better search engine positioning, the potential to find new customers via the Internet, and so much more. This isn’t just a big pile of marketing hype – most web designers want your business, but we also get excited about the possibilities that exist once we start working for our clients.

It should be noted, however, that there are a few things that a new business website can’t fix, no matter how badly you or we want them to. If you have one of the four problems below, it’s a good idea to resolve them before you work on a new web presence, since you’ll be a lot more successful in the long run:

You have a terrible product. The first rule of business is that you have to sell something people want. Unfortunately, we do come across the rare business owner who has a product or service that just isn’t up to par and hopes that a better website will bail them out. It might in the short term, but eventually quality always wins out, so take care of any of those issues first.

Your reputation for customer service is awful. In the same way, if people just plain don’t like buying from you, then going online isn’t going to make a big difference. Regardless of how your reputation got tarnished, or whether it was deserved or not, don’t expect a redesigned website to change people’s minds quickly.

A new competitor has come to your area. Sometimes, having a new competitor in the area or industry can drive a company to be more aggressive than it was in the past and grow the business. Unfortunately, it can also lead people to “fix what isn’t broken.” There are almost always improvements to be made to an older business website, but don’t throw away what’s working just because someone else opened up shop.

Your business is deeply unprofitable. Again, a new website can help you grow your business, but if it’s on its last legs, then a “Hail Mary” online marketing plan could make things worse. That’s because it often takes time to get a new site up and running; the last thing you or your web designer needs is the added pressure of a sea of red ink.

For all that we love about the business web design and online marketing process, our reputable team doesn’t want to be hired for the wrong reasons. If your business is suffering from one of these problems, that doesn’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t get a new site, just that you shouldn’t count on it to fix things right away.

For decades, the government has been relying on deficits as a way to work and maneuver within the American economy. Now, with a couple new faces in office, the political mood has changed and suddenly we’re asking a whole new set of questions. A few observers might have studied the elections and predicted this situation, but it came to most of us out of the blue.

What does this have to do with finding customers over the Internet? Possibly more than you would think. There was a time, not so long ago, when companies like Netscape and America Online were “can’t miss” cornerstones of the growing Internet business world. These days, they’ve taken a backseat to Google, Facebook, Twitter, and others. A year or two from now, some of those names may have changed.

What this should tell concerned the business owner or online marketer – even an experienced one – is that it’s always good to keep one eye on the horizon, and to never assume that things are going to stay the way they were before. Just because one technique or tactic is working for you today doesn’t mean that it always will in the future, and relying on any one marketing avenue for all of your revenue is almost always going to come back to bite you sooner or later.

Only time will tell whether the current discussion on federal government will turn out to be a productive starting point or not. For those of us who have businesses to run, however, it’s a wake-up call that reminds us just how quickly things can change.

Photo Credit: Renjith Krishnan

Making Assumptions

Web designers sometimes take on assumptions about the user. We think we can predict the behavior of website visitors because we understand their wants and needs. We also read into information supplied by the business commissioning the website and arrive at the wrong conclusions. If a specification is ambiguous, we will sooner draw on our assumptions than check with the client.

Incorrect assumptions can greatly affect the success of a design, so what can you do to avoid missing the mark? Ensure that you have done your homework: research the intended user and draw up a user profile. Customer service representatives, working for your client, can provide the information you are looking for. Alternatively, call up previous customers yourself to check that your assumptions are right.

Ignoring User-centered Design

It is natural to design something that you yourself feel comfortable with. Many web designers find it difficult to put their own tastes and preferences aside when working on a project. However, the user is the most important person involved in a web design project. The user must be at the center of every stage of the design process.

Remind yourself that you are not the intended audience of this particular website, and let your user profile inspire every decision you make. Have users try out the design before final implementation if testing is possible within the budget of the project. User testing can save you a lot of headaches, and your client a lot of money, later on.

Failing Communication

A successful design project starts with a clear briefing. There is no room for misunderstanding or ambiguity. If you start your design based on a misinterpretation of what was said in the briefing, you are headed for disaster. After the initial briefing, draw up a representation of the project in your own words. Send this to the client to make sure you are both on the same page.

You can also take notes any time you talk to your client on the phone. Then you can summarize what was said and follow up with an email containing the gist of the communication. That way the client can react if something is amiss.

Avoiding Responsibility

In situations where many people are working together on one project, some designers find they struggle with not having enough control. When you feel you can’t control the direction of the project, it can lead to you shirking your responsibility instead of standing your ground during group discussions. When this happens, remind yourself that the ultimate judge of your design is the user, and the final goal is a successful design that you can add to your portfolio.

You can talk more confidently and be more persuasive when you are behind the design 100%, so make sure that you can defend your design choices and that the design is well thought out. A demonstration of enthusiasm and knowledge can help you to gain more influence during the project.

A web design project can only be successful when it fully meets the needs of the intended audience. As a web designer it is part of your job to defend those needs. Paying extra attention to potential misunderstandings during the process of the project will result in a better outcome for both your client and your client’s customers. 

Sign-off Agreements

Getting closure on a project by using a sign-off document

A Sign-off Agreement is simply a document both client and technology supplier sign at the end of a project. In essence, it signifies that a client is happy with the work they have paid for.

You could say the Sign-off Agreement officially marks the end-point of a project, generally trailing behind UAT (also called System Acceptance). Could you close a project without a Sign-off Agreement? Of course, you may be thinking this process is overly bureaucratic, and that may be true for certain situations.

So, what’s the point of the Sign-off Agreement? One reason behind it is to give everyone involved in the project a sense of closure. I would say this idea of closure is a good thing, for one it gives the development team a feeling of achievement. Another important aspect is it sets up a boundary relating to version control (i.e. version 1 is done). The concept of versions for web software is somewhat meaningless because of the ease with which updates can be delivered. However artificial, versions can be good for creating dividing lines between a delivered software package, and its next batch of features.

Probably the best answer on whether you should use a Sign-off Agreement on your project is ‘maybe’. It comes down to a few key factors; the type of project you have, the kind of client you are working with, and the situation. For instance, if you are dealing with a government body then a certain degree of governance and process is to be expected. As often as possible, do try and use aSign-off Agreement, but if you are in a situation where you need to concentrate more pressing tasks, then this process is a good candidate for culling.

An important aspect of the Sign-off Agreement is to make a statement about your Software Warranty. This is where you say how long you will be fixing bugs for free, and also what your definition of a bug is. Another way to think of this is as a rudimentary service level agreement (but without any commitments on turn-around time). Failing to discuss the idea of Software Warranty with your client leaves things open to interpretation and can setup the wrong expectations (e.g. a client may just assume you will be fixing bugs forever). How many months should you offer a warranty for? I don’t know, that is really up to you. I have seen 3 months, 6 months, but I also know someone who basically fixes bugs for free no matter how long ago the software was delivered.

I like to keep the Sign-off Agreement to one page since I believe people have better things to do with their time then read long documents. I start with my Document Purpose section so someone picking up the sheet of paper can understand what it is about within a few seconds. The format of Sign-off Agreement I use is not designed to be water-tight from a legal perspective, that is not its purpose.

Towards the start of the document, I have a block called Agreement Parties, this just makes it clear who the client is and who the technology supplier is. The statement about the Software Warrantyfollows soon after.

The bulk of the document is the Terms section. The main point here is to say that your company has fulfilled all its contractual obligations and that the client is happy with what you have produced for them.

Something you may wish to discuss in the document is a maintenance rate for feature additions post-launch (also putting a time limitation on this quoted rate). I will probably be moving away from this style of agreement in favour of more flexible system involving Maintenance Blocks, but this is a discussion for future, after I have had a chance to road test the concept.

The last part of the document is an area for one of your company representatives to sign and date, and an area for the client to do the same (it is called a sign-off agreement after all).

A good tip for using a Sign-off Agreement is to give your client plenty of notice before presenting them with the document. It looks kind of legal, so it may make a client feel as though they are being backed into a corner and are about to relinquish control over their project. It’s important to explain what it is early on, for instance, just before or after UAT.

Reviewed by Patras Surna. Rev. 02.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/sign-off-agreements-4610651.html

About the Author

Louis Marshall, Senior Web Architect
www.bravowebpackage.com

Here is a brief overview.

Thousands of free plugins available to WordPress users give you the ability to design a website with custom features that meet your specific needs. However, searching through and choosing from those thousands of choices can be a painstaking and time-consuming process. Most website developers have the same basic goals that include ranking well in search engines, having regular traffic, and earning some money. These seven WordPress plugins can help you do just that, even if you are new to search engine optimization (SEO) and website development.

AddtoAny: Share/Bookmark/Email Button

This plugin provides your website visitors with an easy way to share your site or individual posts with others through all the popular social bookmarking sites including Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Yahoo Buzz, MySpace, Reddit, and others. Sharing through email and bookmarking functions are also part of this plugin.

Once installed this plugin’s link will show up on your dashboard under your “Settings” menu as “Share/Save Buttons.” In the menu, you can select from several options for how the button will look on your site. This includes size options and which types of posts and pages you want it displayed on. Once your menu options are set, all your current and future posts will automatically show the share button at the bottom of the page.

All in One Adsense and YPN

This plugin is all you need to add Google and Yahoo ads to your blog or website. To start you’ll need to set up accounts with Google Adsense and/or Yahoo’s Publisher Network. You can choose to have only one set of ads (Google or Yahoo) on your site.

When you obtain your advertising ID, enter the number in the appropriate text box of the plugin’s menu, which you’ll find under the “Settings” menu listed as “Adsense.” In the menu, you’ll have several options for the ad size, number, color, positioning, and pages to exclude ads from. Once the menu is set up, every current and future post will display ads per your preferences. You can however, customize each post with a code to either exclude that individual post from displaying ads or start the ads below a particular point. These two codes are given at the bottom of the All in One Adsense and YPN plugin menu. Simply copy and paste the appropriate code into your post or page text as needed.

All in One SEO Pack

With the All in One SEO Pack plugin you don’t need to be a search engine optimization (SEO) expert. You just need to be able to fill in the text boxes this plugin provides for you. Once filled in, your website and each post will be optimized to help your site place higher in searches.

There’s two parts to this plugin that you’ll need to pay attention to. First, in the “Settings” menu, under “All in One SEO,” fill in the text boxes that relate to the theme of your blog or website. The “Home Title” and “Home Description” will show up as the title and description of your website in an internet search, so use your main keywords wisely while making it interesting to make people want to click on your site to learn more. In the “Home Keywords” box, enter your main site keywords, starting with the most important. Other options in this main menu will have default settings. If you are a novice to blog and website building, leave the default settings.

Next, you’ll see the All in One SEO Pack box in each page and post you create. This allows you to create a title and short description of that particular post using your main keywords. Like the main website title and description, this will be used by search engines when displaying that individual post in search results.

Easy Privacy Policy

If you have Google Adsense on your blog or website, then per the Adsense terms and conditions you much also have a privacy policy on your site. Google’s terms specify that the privacy policy “clearly discloses that third parties may be placing and reading cookies on your users’ browser, or using web beacons to collect information, in the course of ads being served on your website.  Your privacy policy should also include information about user options for cookie management.” The Easy Privacy Policy plugin takes care of this requirement for you. Activate this plugin and there’s nothing more you need to do. Although, you can edit the terminology of the statement as needed.

Fast Secure Contact Form

With the Fast Secure Contact Form installed, you’ll have a ready-made email form for website visitors to fill out and send to you. Using this plugin helps reduce spam as your actual email address is not made public. It also employs the use of CAPTCHA, the program that requires you to type in a given word to prevent mass emails and Akismet, which checks each email for spam. Installing this plugin places it under your “Plugins” menu as the “SI Contact Form Options.” In the menu, you can create a custom introduction, email address, and change some Askimet and CAPTCHA options. To place the contact form on any page you will need to add the given code (via copy and paste) to that page.

Google Analyticator

The Google Analyticator plugin puts a Google Analytics Summary directly on your WordPress dashboard. To set up this plugin, you’ll need to go to its menu (found as “Google Analytics” under “Settings”) and add your Google Adsense ID. Here you can also make any changes to the settings such as preventing the tracking of administrators and others who have access to the website as a contributor. The summary includes information from the last 30 days such as number of visits, bounce rate, average time a visitor spends on the site, top five pages visited, top five keywords searches that bring visitors to your site, and the top five referrers. This gives you the information you need right on your WordPress dashboard to understand where you website traffic comes from.

Google XML Sitemaps

Having a sitemap is important for search engines to better index your website or blog. The Google XML Sitemaps is another plugin that takes care of a key part of your website for you with only minimal effort on your part to initially set it up. In the settings, which you can access by clicking “XML-Sitemap” under the “Settings” menu, you can make changes to how your sitemap gets created. However, the default settings are usually fine for most people. This plugin will also notify Google, Bing, Ask.com, and Yahoo (if you have an application ID for Yahoo) about any updates and changes to your website.

When working with these plugins, don’t be afraid to experiment with the options and settings that each offers. If the results are not what you need, you can always start over with the plugin’s default settings or even uninstall the plugin at any time. Only by installing the plugin, changing its settings, and viewing the results on your website can you learn how these plugins work and how each can help you develop your website.