Testing for Errors
Checking for issues with your website code is very important. One tool that can be used is the W3C HTML Validator. By placing a link in the form and hitting ‘check’ the crawler will test for errors based on the version of HTML that is specified in the header of the HTML webpage. Any warnings or errors that are displayed should be addressed as they may be causing browser compatibility problems for your users.

Adobe Browserlab
Adobe currently offers a free service for viewing your website in multiple browsers and on multiple operating systems (example: Firefox 2.0 on a MAC vs. IE on Windows 7) called Adobe Browserlab. This is a great tool for seeing if there are any visible differences between the various browsers.

Many websites that have not been touched in years will have visible errors when testing due to the number of changes in HTML structure and browser intelligence over the years. If you are using an outdated website, it is recommended that you test using these tools. A website redesign may be the best fit for fixing your issues.

Don’t Forget Smart Phones
Smartphones are increasingly popular and each company runs its own operating system and browser version (IOS, Android, Blackberry, etc.). Testing the display of your website on these devices is also critically important.

To create an FAQ page, you first need to determine what the top 10-20 most frequently asked questions about your business. The key is to make the questions very simple and generic. Polling some of your current customers and recording what they ask on a regular basis is another way to determine the most common questions.

Important questions that you will want to answer for your customers in the FAQ include things like defining the terms that are relative to your business. For example:

Q: What is internet marketing?
A: Internet Marketing is the marketing of products and services over the internet including things like websites, blogs, email marketing, paid advertising, search engine marketing, and video marketing.

As you can see in the example above. the question is very simple… as users scroll through the questions in the FAQ it should be very easy for them to decide whether it is important to them. Short questions allow them to find what they are looking for faster and easier.

After your FAQ page is created, it is important to give it the proper placement in your site structure and navigation. One of the most common places is in the top or side navigation on your website, but it also can be linked in the ‘About’ section of your site. If there are specific FAQ pages for various products or services, than it should be linked from the corresponding produce page.

If your FAQ section will be more than 20 or so questions than it is recommended that they are separated in sub-categories and divided into several pages. It is also a good idea to incorporate a search feature so that specific questions can be easier to find.

For more information on designing FAQ pages for your website, please contact CPD.

The marketing strategy for Toms is very different than any other clothing or shoe company. Because of the nature of the business which involves giving, Toms Shoes is marketed very well by word-of-mouth advertising. Everyone who buys a pair and wears them is likely to share the story of their business model and promote the company (similar to this very article). Because of the power of word-of-mouth, Toms shoes has been able to spend a significantly less amount of money in traditional advertising (such as television, magazines, radio, etc.). This has allowed Toms to keep their products at a relatively affordable cost as well as to cover the cost of the pair of shoes that they are giving away.

The shoes are sold exclusively through their online store and are a very unique Argentinean style. The unique style further adds to their word-of-mouth approach because they commonly become the center piece of conversation for someone who has never seen a pair.

There have been other components to the success in this charity mixed with commerce marketing approach. Ralph Lauren has partnered with Toms Shoes because of their giving to design a pair of Toms Shoes, something he has never done before, yet has incredible marketing power. Additionally AT&T ran a commercial that featured Mycosckie and his story while promoting the wireless network that works around the world.

Visit the Toms Shoes Web site to learn more about their story or watch this interview between Mycoskie and President Clinton on the business model that has become a huge success.

Here are some interesting facts that support the need for kids shoes in third world countries:

• In many countries kids without shoes are unable to attend school.
• Walking is often times the primary source of transportation and kids often walk miles a day to get food.
• Foot diseases spread very easily and have become a large problem in places like Ethiopia.
• Wearing shoes prevents feet from getting cuts and sores on unsafe roads and from contaminated soil.

This means that you will see domain names in Chinese, Japanese, Arabic and manty other languages that are non-Latin.

ICANN has provided a video on the impacts of IDNs provided here.

The way to test is easy, pull up your website in each of the 4 major browsers and look for any differences in the page design. A well coded website should not display any differences. If you come across major elements of a page being out of place, it is directly related to a poorly coded website.

Another great testing tool is a new free product put out by Adobe called Adobe BrowserLab. This service allows you to look at any website as it would appear on multiple browsers at the same time. This gives you a great visual of how your site looks across all the major web browsers.

Changing any issues involves the knowledge of a web designer or developer that is familiar with the standards set up the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). For more information on correcting website browser issues contact CPD.

A favicon can only be 16×16 pixels, which is very small. Here are some tips to keep in mind when designing your favicon:

1. Do not use too many colors

2. Do not use too much detail – less is more

3. Do not use more than 1-2 letters – will be too hard to read

4. Keep the background transparent – browsers have different color backgrounds

5. Test your favicon on as many browsers as possible before publishing

Take a look at some of the larger companies on the web and notice the simplicity of their favicon. Here are a few that are recognizable even if you don’t realize it: Craigslist.org, Google.com, ESPN.com, CNN.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

For assistance in designing or installing a favicon on your website, contact CPD by emailing info@crownpointdesigns.com

1)      Airfare deals – The tool searches all flights from the major carriers and provides them in order from the lowest cost. The intuitive search tool allows you to specify your travel times and specific needs. This is similar to other flight searching sites like Kayak, Orbitz, and Priceline.

2)      Forecast Technology – Along with each search results, Bing’s forecast technology predicts whether airfare costs are expected to drop further or rise within the next 7 days. This is based on the seat availability and flight offerings of your particular search.

The price predictor is a great tool for finding the best deals and planning ahead for your travel dates. This is one of the many new tools that is allowing Bing to gain a foothold in the search engine market.

How it Started
Facebook was started with the intention of connecting college students from all areas to keep in touch with old friends. Members used to be exclusively college students based on whether their school allowed it. If we look back only a generation ago, people used to go off to college and not have contact with their old high school friends until coming back for thanksgiving, Christmas break, or summer vacation. Remember that it was a time when nobody had cell phones or email and communication was a lot different.

Enter Facebook, a tool that allowed you to keep in touch with your childhood friends, teammates, and peers. You could see pictures of them, send messages, and learn about their new interests. It also allowed you to connect with people that you otherwise would not have had more than the casual greeting with. The classmates that you may not have associated with, you could now get to know a little better through a comfortable online atmosphere.

In the early days Facebook was THE HYPE, very similar to the current seen of Twitter. It was a new tool that solved a communication barrier and hit a significant tipping point.

Why it is Still Successful
It is interesting to step back and consider why Facebook has not died off and lost users interest. Here are three good reasons for its lasting internet footprint:

1) Like any successful business Facebook has been able to adapt to the latest trends in online communication before they have reached their maturity. During the boom of YouTube in 06-07, Facebook saw the need to incorporate video as a resource for sharing. The current Facebook design is based around the success of Twitter and the idea of “status updates.” This adaptation and foresight has been the single largest factor into the current success and user growth.

2) Over the years Facebook has taken on new internet applications that have enhanced the user experience. An open source framework has allowed programmers to create applications and content that the company itself had not thought of.

3) It is also important to consider the multiple site re-designs that have taken place. Each re-design causes users to complain and “demand the old Facebook back” due to the new training that must occur. This however has been one of the strongest attributes to the sites longevity. Users do not get board, there is always new content provided by people they know and in various formats.

Will it Last?
The question is now whether or not Facebook and other social networking sites can maintain and continue to redefine content presentation, user experience, and future trends. Only time will tell…

Each of this web applications can be integrated into Dreamweaver CS4. The great part is that the exchange can be accessed directly from Dreamweaver CS4 as well. Just go to the application bar and click ‘browse to web widgets’. Couldn’t be easier …

Tutorials for each of these widgets are available on Adobe TV. This is a great resource to learn tips and tricks on every Adobe product and stay up to date on the latest best practices. If you are in the market for Adobe CS4, this is a great place to start and view the new features.

Have you ever browsed through the Internet looking for some information and become frustrated by the music playing on a website, waiting for a flash page to load, or needing to fill out your email address to get something you want? These are the types of things that drive people away from your site. Think about how you use the Internet when browsing for information. If you are like most people, you cruise the Internet fairly quickly not spending too much time on any specific page. Then, if you find something you like, you stop and give it more attention. This is the type of mind set that you need in your website design. Let the user be in control.

Here are a couple of tips to avoid:

1) Avoid music on your website.
Since not everyone likes the same music, it is impossible to make your website’s musical selection appealing to all users. People are generally annoyed when music automatically starts on a website (especially if they are at work, trying to watch TV, etc.) If you are going to use audio files, let the user press the play button.

2) Avoid video clips that automatically play.
Like everyone, I enjoy the advancements in multi-media on the Internet (thank you YouTube). The same rule applies to audio files however, let the user press play.

3) Don’t use pop-up windows.
I used to believe in the school-of-thought that when there is an external link you should use a new window, so the user never leaves your site. Since web browsers have improved to include multi-tabs (which we all love), this practice has just become annoying. If users want to browse back to your website, then they will.

4) Conserve the amount of flash used.
The larger a flash file becomes, the longer it takes to download and start playing. A general rule is that flash should last around 3-7 seconds to play unless used for a special situation. NEVER use a flash index page that users need to watch and wait for an ‘Enter Site’ button to appear.

5) Keep form information to a minimum.
Every business is trying to capture leads to gain potential customers. When users are browsing a site they generally avoid filling out information to get something unless they are very interested. Think about it, if they are very interested, then won’t they reach out to you in some way? Using forms is an easy way to leave a negative impression, and have users leave your site. As a general rule, don’t require information unless what you are giving them is too valuable to avoid it.