They should be worried! A new study by Pew Internet & American Life Project made headlines in the Global Post, on March 14, 2012,revealed that 10% of people unfriend on Facebook due to contrary political beliefs.

So how can business people handle Facebook posts so they don’t offend or cause unfriending?

Choose One- Profile or Business Page?  Facebook is all about boundaries starting with who you “friend” and where – on your personal profile or on your business page. It’s important to decide how you want to “friend” business associates and some experts say its’ safer to connect with these contacts on your business page. If you think this doesn’t work, you need to check out Elmer Laydon on Facebook who has 1600+ followers on his personal page (he only friends people he knows) and more than 300,000 followers on his business page The Whisper of God.  

Set Your Boundaries.  Some people can’t decide, so allow anyone who “Likes” them on Facebook to be their “friend.” However, if you don’t want business associates who are “friends” to see political or religious discussions on Facebook, then click the public link below your post and select which group of “friends” will see your post.  Yes, before you can do that you need to visit each of your friends’ profiles, click the blue friends button (it’s on the top right of the profile screen), and commit each person to a friends’ list.

Set Your Limits. It’s funny how sensitive conversations about politics, religion, sex, etc. fare better in person than a curt remark on Facebook. Like email, Facebook doesn’t fully express the tone of the content and sometimes context is lost for the reader. That’s why having limits to what you post is a smart idea. If you’re concerned about how the comment will be “read”, then don’t say it. Remember too what you say has a very wide audience– when you comment on someone else’s post or photo, your “friends” and all their “friends” will see what you wrote.

Regardless of your political views, Facebook is a savvy way to expand your business’s web audience. Contact me if you want Facebook to work in harmony with your website or blog marketing.

©2012 Design to Spec. All Rights Reserved.

“(Apple CEO) Timothy D. Cook, said the iPad last quarter outsold the number of personal computers sold by any individual manufacturer.”
NY Times, March 7, 2012

Announcing the release of the iPad 3 on March 7th, caused us to look back on one of our most read posts from our blog, “Is Your Website Smart Phone Friendly?” It’s hard to believe that the iPad was introduced to consumers in January 2010. Sales have been out-of-the-ballpark as well of sales of other brands of tablets like the Kindle Fire and Nook. How well your website performs on a smart phone is also true for the slick and wildly popular new tablets.

The tide has changed in how people view the internet. The business world and home usage has been populated by the desktop personal computer, up until very recently. Desk top computers were relied upon to surf the Internet and view websites. When a computer died or aged out, it was replaced with another desk top. When a new innovation was released (like the latest version of Windows), users would flock to buy a new computer.

However, and this is a huge turn of events: Forrester Research forecasts that desktop computers will only be 20% of computer sales by 2015.

We all know that change will be greater and faster than predicted, as that’s the way of the technology sales and conversion. Now, here’s why this matters to you and your website: What do smart phone and tablet users see when they visit your website?

Now more than ever, it’s essential to look at your website on your own phone or tablet – borrow a friend’s if you have to. You want to make sure that the important elements can be readily viewed and accessed.

These timely tips are a “one-two punch” to keep hand-held users engaged on your website, improve your website and the mobile device experience.

Text Phone Number

Open up your website online (on your PC or Mac is OK). Mouse over your phone number. If you can highlight one number at a time, then you can be sure it is “text”. If the whole number highlights or a larger area highlights, then it’s likely your phone number has been created as an image. Phone users rely on text phone numbers because they can simply click or touch the number to dial it. Wouldn’t you like customers to be able to easily call you? They cannot do this if your phone number is a graphic image.

Flash Dead Zone

Handhelds cannot display “Flash” software. Neither does the iPhone or it’s big brother, the iPad, No Flash. If your website uses Flash, all these users see is “a dead zone”, an empty box with nothing in it! I worked with a client last year whose entire website was developed in flash. It’s turns into a white page on a white background without having Flash. Even the navigation menu is in the Flash file. Phone users see it as a white screen with no links to go to any of the secondary web pages. That won’t help you get any new business!

Your successful Internet Marketing begins with being seen online… on desktop computers and now more than ever, on smart phones and tablets!

Is your site ready? Call Vanessa at Design to Spec (203-364-4030) to ensure your website can be seen on all hand-held devices like the smart Phone and tablets and don’t lose potential business.

©2012 Design to Spec. All Rights Reserved.

Today many Internet websites are joining together to protest laws that the Federal government is seeking to enact. These laws are drafted to stop piracy of copyrighted material through web censorship  Some of the largest content providers like Google and Wikipedia are protesting this legislation. These sites provide information– anyone can post an article or update an article on Wikipedia and Google picks up content from millions of website making it available to any searcher through their search engine.  At times you may not like these companies — maybe you’ve found incorrect information on Wikipedia or Google has become “big business” and you don’t like the big guys.  But they have worked to keep information available online and have spent a lot of their own money to make legal precdence in a new technology age that has not precedence. Check out Google’s page that explains their position on these laws and offers a petition to sign.  (go to Google)

I’m a WordPress user and many of my clients use WordPress to publish their ideas online. Blogging has become the town square, the marketplace, the world’s library of periodicals. I looked at blogger.com and didn’t see a protest (by the way they are part of Google). However, WordPress.org has posted their protest for today. As a blogger and WordPress user I’m happy that they defend our right to be seen and heard.

Blogging is freedom of speech.

©2012 Design to Spec. All Rights Reserved.

To test how easily they could be found online I did a Google search and searched for them in Facebook. Google turned up several results, however although they had a lively personal profile in Facebook, I couldn’t find them.  The search for what they DO was the most disappointing in Facebook because my search got results for their local competition, not my client.

It’s easy to miss, but the one thing that wasn’t on the client’s personal  Facebook profile was what they DO. What you do should appear at the top of your profile under your name.  Here are 3 things to do to make a fix to your profile that will have big impact on getting found.

1. Click on Edit Profile and then select Education and Work to add your employment info.
2. If you are a small business owner, you need your own Facebook page so you can link to it when completing this portion of your profile.
3. If you work 2 or more jobs, be selective. Pick the job you really want to promote online because even if you add multiple jobs only one will appear on your profile.

Making the right choice when you first set up your Facebook profile or making a tiny fix now will help people find your business on Facebook.

©2012 Design to Spec. All Rights Reserved.

Many smart phone users are familiar with apps. I use an iPhone and am continually amazed by the expanding number of apps and how there really is an app for just about everything. It seems that every time I look at WordPress Plugins that the number of Plugins grows as fast.  

While a user may upload a new Plugin expecting a hieghtened web experience , alas, not all WordPress Plugins are safe nor sane. I hear from clients who have installed a new Plugin only to find they have shut down their website, resulting in just a white error screen.  There are numerous independent developers of different talents, strengths and attention spans who are creating these Plugins. Some developers are quite diligent about updating, while others haven’t updated for years (usually stopping after a major WordPress update). Some Plugins are quirky and fail to work well with other Plugins right from the start. And some Plugins are new and working fabulously and stir up a lot of buzz online because they do their job and work successfully with other Plugins.

The safest way to select and install a Plugin is to first be aware of which version of the WordPress software you’re running on your site. Then when looking for a Plugin, read the right-hand column to see if the Plugin is compatible with the version of WordPress you use.

The bottom of the right-hand column will also reveal the current “chatter” about the Plugin. Under the words “See what others are saying…” are the latest questions and comments that have been posted to the WordPress users’ forum. Some Plugins with known glitches have very telling comments in this area that should ward off any user.

Doing this little bit of research when selecting WordPress Plugins will save you time, money, and aggravation for your small business website.

©2012 Design to Spec. All Rights Reserved.

If you have a storefront business you can’t ignore the power of Google.  A Google search can bring a customer right to your door! Now Google has added more definition to their search results.  When you claim your local business listing in Google Places (www.google.com/places) web users will see a red landmark “pin” on Google maps and at the top of the search results. If you haven’t claimed your business listing then put it on your “must-do” list.  You can bet that your competitors are in Google Places and are already being seen in the search results.

Not only can you claim your Place, but Google has now made it easier to climb in ranking in the search results.  Create a Google ad for your business and when it’s found in a Google search, web users will now see a Google blue pin on the map. The Google blue pin is now another way to move your business into a more visible position in the search results and reach more web users.

©2012 Design to Spec. All Rights Reserved.

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

©2012 Design to Spec. All Rights Reserved.

If you are a small business who has a website created exclusively in Flash, it means your site will continue to be invisible on smart phones, pads and other mobile devices. (see my 2008 post “Flash: Is It the Web’s Invisibility Cloak?”).  All the hot smartphones like the iPhone and Blackberry and all the new pads do not have a Flash player and it looks like with Adobe’s announcement they will never have one.  If a small business has a Flash site and wants to be seen on the growing number of mobile devices, they must convert their site to HTML or HTML5.

Yes, Flash will live on because it still has useful applications. It’s a good program for building games. It can handle complex web functions: Steve Shankland on the CNET.com news blog pointed out that Flash is used to upload multiple file attachments in Gmail. Games and advanced functions are seldom part of a small business website.

My advice remains the same as in the past: whether starting a new small business website or to reclaim your visibility on the web—limit the use of Flash and be seen online!

©2012 Design to Spec. All Rights Reserved.

Web technology also dies and is replaced by newer and more innovative technology. This point had clarity recently when I got a call from a client who had left their website for about four years – four years without any review. When they finally turned their attention to their website, hoping to stimulate business, they found that technology had moved forward, leaving them and their website at the curb.

So, what are the top 3 things to ignore that can make your website look and act like a relic?

1. Failing to Act When Notified. Do you have a shopping cart or an online payment method? If you ignore emails from these companies that urge you to renew or update the underlying code, your cart and payment buttons may become non-functional, failing to act when notified can make your ability to handle online sales disappear.

2. Ignoring the Trends. Everyone talks about blogs. There’s good reason to be excited about blogging as it’s a sure-fire way to increase your online content and attract more visitors to your website. If you think blogging isn’t for you, you’re missing out on a nifty technology that can benefit your website and in turn benefit your business.

3. Forgetting Social Media. So you’ve adopted one or several forms of social media, but do your website visitors have a way to find your social media accounts? It’s important to connect your website and your social media accounts so your visitors can stay engaged with you and your products. When links to your social media profiles are missing from your website… it’s like an aerial pointing at the need of a website update!

I hope this post inspires you to review your website. I’m also happy to do a website review to make suggestion on how to freshen your website. Don’t forget to like Design to Spec on Facebook to get more posts with our web tips.

©2012 Design to Spec. All Rights Reserved.

Last week I was at a networking group meeting. They’re a terrific bunch of people, but more on that at another time.  One person stood up to talk about their business and apologized for not having all they offer on their business card.  I looked at their card which described three diverse and clear services. I understood what they did—anything more would be overkill.

There’s an old saying, “Jack of All Trades, master of none.” I thought of that when I took this photo of a business sign in California.  I wondered “what business?” Is this a donut shop? Is it a hamburger joint? Is it an ice cream parlor? OH NO, MR. BILL! Seeing an overdone list is a great way to comprehend the need for a good edit. When you try to be too many things it dilutes what you do and confuses your customer or clients… they have no idea what you really do best.

My advice is to get a visual of your services, a written list.  When you can see it in print you’re on the road to understanding how to can see yourself the way others will see it.  Get out the red pen and don’t be afraid to edit.

Would you like to read more blog posts by Vanessa Wood from Design to Spec? “Like” the Facebook page to keep up with my blog posts.

©2012 Design to Spec. All Rights Reserved.