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 If you are using an outdated website, it is recommended that you test using these tools.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.

A brief comparison of Google Profile and Facebook, followed by the 1,2,3 strategy Google can employ to take over the social networking world.

How GoogleMe Can Win “Web War III.0″

Let’s start by looking at both Facebook and Google from an overall utility perspective. Almost everyone agrees that of any tool that is available online, search engines are by far themost widely and extensively used. With that in mind, Google is considered the Cadillac of search engines. It is fast, runs clean and has all the geeks wanting to work on its engine. Facebook on the other hand, can arguably be described as the Mazda Miata of the web… It has sold very well for a few years running now, looks kind of nice, girls love it, boys love girls so they love it too and it to top it all off it is easy enough for grandma to drive.

The problem for Facebook here is that short of its chintzy retractable roof and great sales figures, there is nothing really special about it. Google can and almost certainly will use this lack of broader utility to launch a loud beta of their own social network, recently dubbed GoogleMe. With this product, Google has the opportunity to make its network’s users entire web experience more social, seemless and informative. Here’s how:

Imagine you are trying to find information on effectively marketing your business online. As of today, most of your searches lead you to company websites and blogs that are vague, incomplete and ultimately try to make you buy something. Now imagine that when you were a member of GoogleMe and searched for this information, you got relevant data from members of your social network and found out that your best friend from High School is an internet marketing expert. Touch of a button later you are connecting with an old friend in a meaningful way that is not really practicle today.

This would not only improve Google by making searches social, it would also represent a major improvment to social networking as a whole and provided there are no major buckles in the nuts and bolts of their regular social networking interface sign the eventual death toll for what is currently the largest social club in the world. Barring Google being nice and partnering with Facebook, there is really little that can be done to save it if the rumor of Google’s latest project is true. 2-4 years from now Facebook will look like MySpace, Google will be bigger than the Catholic Church and I will hopefully be sipping hurricanes on a beach somewhere here in sunny San Diego.

Want to learn more about Google Profiles? Click Here.

June 8, 2010 – San Diego, CA

A large effort in the new design is to demonstrate how to tie together social media with corporate branding. We provide links to the CPD Facebook Fan Page, YouTube channel, Blog, and Twitter throughout the site in an organized way. The site also serves as a great example for user experience. Through several rounds of user testing, we centered the design around simplicity, organization, and design modern design components.

We are very excited about the new launch and hope to hear from you all soon about your design and marketing needs!

www.crownpointdesigns.com

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…