Is Your Website Mobile Friendly?

Posted on October 5, 2012 by dzineit

The mobile web is growing at a phenomenal pace.  Chances are you are reading this on a handheld device such as a tablet or smart phone.   Just a few short years ago, it was a good bet that you would read articles like this one on your PC or laptop.  More and more people are accessing the internet on a wireless mobile device – so it is vital that your website be mobile friendly. So what ARE the things you can do to optimize your website for mobile devices?

1. Have a fast-loading site. Many mobile-web users who are using their phones to access the Internet are using a slower 3G connection. You can help these users out by making sure your website code is clean, which will not only make for a faster-loading site, but faster downloads as well.

2. Don’t use flash. Not all mobile devices can see flash. Make sure you have an alternate HTML version of your site as well.

3. Have simple navigation.  Mobile users are viewing your site on a small screen. In addition, there is no mouse and not all mobile devices are equipped with a touch screen. Keep the number of links to a minimum and make overall navigation easy and intuitive. Links are not always easy to “click” on a smart phone, so a cluttered navigation scheme may be frustrating.  Mobile users typically won’t browse for more than a few minutes. Most just want a specific piece of information. Make sure major services, major products, phone numbers, addresses are easy to find and view.

4. Don’t use too many images.Images are important for a website but when you have too many they can overwhelm and slow up loading on a small screen. So use images, but be selective about what you use.

Lastly, be sure to check out your site on a number of devices. Never assume your site looks great or works well across multiple platforms and devices, because it may not — and if it doesn’t, you may lose potential customers.

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Peter Crisafi (Peter Crisafi dzineit)
dzine it, inc. +1.212.989.0813
26 West 23 Street
New York, NY, 10010 U.S.A
Specialty:
IT Technology; News; Web Design Info; Web Programming

Importance of Updating Website Content

Posted on October 3, 2012 by dzineit

Content is critical for any website.  Whether it is information or new products – what you have on your site is key to generating traffic.  Users want and expect to see or learn something valuable each time they visit.  Updating your site frequently will attract both visitors and search engines.

Search engines reward websites that update often by moving them up the rankings.  If a website is updated often, then search engines consider it a consistent source of new information and awards it some points that can help move its listing up in the search results.  Conversely, if your website never changes, search engines may penalize you by moving you down in the rankings.

It’s the same with visitors.  If your website never changes, why would someone who has already read it want to come back?  If I came to your website today, then came back next month and nothing has changed, I would probably think that nothing is really happening with your business or you have the same old products.  Giving your visitors a reason to come back with new information and new offers will increase the chance of closing a transaction.

Updating content allows you to track what affect the changes have in your website’s performance. Knowing what works and what doesn’t in terms of attracting traffic and customers can help make a website successful.  If your website never changes, then how do you know if it is operating at its peak performance?  To learn what that is you can analyze your data, make changes, and track the affect the change had on performance.  Who knows, that one piece of information that currently is not on your website may draw in a whole new type of customer.  But you’ll never know if you never post it.

Web content and maintenance is a process.  Many people create their website and forget about it.  Updating your site and reviewing your strategies can enhance your success.

 

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Peter Crisafi (Peter Crisafi dzineit)
dzine it, inc. +1.212.989.0813
26 West 23 Street
New York, NY, 10010 U.S.A
Specialty:
Digital Marketing; Interesting Articles; News

Twitter’s New Features

Posted on September 28, 2012 by dzineit

Twitter has added some new features.  The social media site announced that it will allow users the ability to upload what the company calls a header photo. The photo, which gets a lot of screen space at the top of the user’s Twitter page, sits above the tweets. The cover photo spans the width of your tweets, and appears whenever someone views your profile.  The profile picture and bio are still visible, but the larger cover photo has prominence.

According to Twitter – it’s another way “to express yourself instantly, anywhere.”

The redesign also adds photo streams to its mobile apps, enabling users to scroll through thumbnails of others’ photos or click on them to see a full-size image on both iPhone and Android platforms.

Keeping with their new theme of adding focus to images, Twitter is putting more emphasis on the photos you’ve recently tweeted in two ways: they now have their own box on the left side of your profile page, and they appear directly below your tweets on Twitter’s official mobile apps.

Twitter has also completely revamped Twitter for iPad, building it from the ground up and including such features as in-line tweet expansion and support for photos, videos and web settings.

Many think these changes look familiar – they are similar to what Facebook users can add on the top of their new timelines.

These moves are an effort by Twitter to personalize the site.

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Peter Crisafi (Peter Crisafi dzineit)
dzine it, inc. +1.212.989.0813
26 West 23 Street
New York, NY, 10010 U.S.A
Specialty:
Digital Marketing; IT Technology; News

What You Need to Know About Web Hosting

Posted on September 26, 2012 by dzineit

Every website needs a place to call home.  This home is called your web host.   Your web host provides data center space for your site and allows it to be accessible to others via the web. The scope of web hosting services varies.  Storage or server space, speed, traffic and bandwidth are some of the factors to consider when deciding on a web host.

Your first consideration is space. When you upload your website, you are actually uploading all of your files to a server that is always connected to the internet. This requires enough memory to store all of your files. When someone goes to your website, their computer reads the files from the server, and that’s how your website appears on their computer screen. Most personal websites and small business websites use shared hosting. Small hosting plans usually give you a limit on the amount of memory or storage space your website can take up. Shared hosting tends to be less expensive because everyone is using the same server and the cost of buying and maintaining the hardware is shared among all users. The other kind of hosting is dedicated hosting, which is where your website has its very own server. This kind of hosting is more expensive because provides you with your own space which means more room and often more speed too.  Dedicated hosting is best for large businesses, large websites or anyone who needs to run a company database on the server. Regardless of which kind of hosting you have, it is important to ensure that you have plenty of space for your needs.

Another important consideration is the amount of traffic or bandwidth your website is allotted. Every time someone visits your website, the files on the server must be downloaded to their computer. That’s how they see your page on their screen. In order to do that, the server must send a copy of the files across the internet. Most small and medium-sized hosting plans set a limit on how much traffic or bandwidth you get per month, that is, how much information can be transferred to your visitors. For this reason, it is important to have an estimate of how much traffic you think your website will be getting. Personal websites and very small company websites may not get an overload of traffic.  But some e-commerce websites, company websites with blogs, and other types of sites that will grow with time should plan ahead for spikes in traffic to be sure that service is not interrupted.

Regardless of what kind of site you have, the best way to ensure all of your hosting needs are met is to research your options and understand what to look for.

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Peter Crisafi (Peter Crisafi dzineit)
dzine it, inc. +1.212.989.0813
26 West 23 Street
New York, NY, 10010 U.S.A
Specialty:
IT Technology; News; Tech Help

Blogging for Your Business

Posted on September 24, 2012 by dzineit

Running a good blog is a lot of work. Yet if done right, blogging can be well worthwhile and beneficial for any business.  Let’s take a look at some of the benefits – and consider how to make them even more effective.

A blog provides visitors and potential customers with insight and knowledge of your products and services.  Establishing yourself as an expert in your field can be a valuable tool for gaining authority with your audience and garnering their confidence to do business with you. Link the articles in your blog throughout your website, to demonstrate your knowledge to potential customers.  You can also link out from your site as well.

Blogs can also be a place to post company news and let the public know of the latest industry developments. Regular blogging provides a signal that you are running a reliable business and are making the effort to reach out.
Blogs can help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and increase your search rankings.  Websites with blogs tend to get more links. Blogs also allow you to add search-targeted content and are great for sharing on social media (which increasingly influences search engine rank).

Blogging creates lots of content. Publishing regularly to your blog gives you more to talk about on your social media accounts. If you write a good article, or have some interesting news, be sure to share it with Facebook/Twitter /LinkedIn followers.

Whether you’re just going to start posting some company news or plan on becoming the recognized #1 expert in your industry, blogging can be a great way to market your business and build a connection with customers. If you’re willing to make a serious attempt and put in the time, a business blog could become a key piece of your online marketing strategy.

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Peter Crisafi (Peter Crisafi dzineit)
dzine it, inc. +1.212.989.0813
26 West 23 Street
New York, NY, 10010 U.S.A
Specialty:
Digital Marketing; News
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