5 Steps to Improve Your Website’s User Experience (UX)

Posted on May 22, 2013 by WebServes

In our last Marketers’ meeting at WebServes, we talked broadly about the importance of User Experience and how it defines major aspects of Branding and Marketing. This got me thinking about how we can make the improvement of User Experience (UX) a step-by-step process; starting with website design.

Whenever we talk about why we should improve our websites, the first reason that comes to mind is ‘better SEO’. While this is a very important reason, it is just a part of the process aimed at the end-result which is ‘happy customers’. A basic rule of thumb in business is ‘Customer is King’ but sometimes, we get so caught up in ensuring that our websites appear in relevant searches, that we forget how important it is to ensure that once users do arrive at our website, what kind of User Experience are we giving them?

According to User Experience Consulting firm Nielsen Norman Group,

“User experience” encompasses all aspects of the end-user’s interaction with the company, its services, and its products.

This is a very broad definition and it is practically impossible to outline all the ways you can improve your UX in just one blog post. I really do believe that there can be a four year course focused on improving UX in all aspects of an organization! So for the sake of brevity and do-ability, I will focus on how you can improve certain aspects of your website (the User Interface) to improve your Users’ Experience.

1. Faster Page Loading Time

“Improving speed to make something 25 percent faster is a much more valuable feature than a brand-new feature.“
- Jason Fried

Have you ever tried opening a web page and abandoned the site entirely because it was taking too long to load? Some people are more patient than others, but a whopping 40% said that they abandoned a website that was taking longer than 3 seconds to load. With just 3 seconds to make a good impression, it is no surprise that many websites go unnoticed. So how can you improve the loading time of your website? Luke Clum of Tutorialzine says first use a site speed testing tool to assess how your website is currently performing and then do the following:

a) Resize or remove large images and files

b) Reduce the number of plug-ins in your site

c) Eliminate flash files, which greatly weigh down performance

d) Cache your site so that it won’t have to take time to fully assemble every time a user accesses it

2. Clickable logos that redirect to the Home page

Sometimes, when I visit a website, I visit so many pages that it becomes hard to click on the ‘back’ arrow on the browser to go back to the Home page and this is when I appreciate a site that has a clickable logo that takes you back to the Home page, as is the case with our WebServes website. It is an easy addition that makes for a great UX.

3. Mobile optimized view

People are increasingly browsing the internet on their mobile devices and the thing with these devices is that people use them during ‘in-between times’ as I like to call them.

For example, browsing on the phone as you wait for the bus, or during the time it takes for your meal order to materialize into the food itself.

Since these time periods are relatively short, the need for instant gratification overtakes our minds such that as many a 30% of mobile web users said that they would wait for only 6 to 10 seconds before abandoning a webpage. It is therefore important to ensure that your website is optimized for mobile view so that it loads faster.

4. White space

Text is good and we all know that pictures speak a thousand words, but of what use is content that makes no impact? You need to absorb all this information and white space helps you do just that. Note: White space does not have to be white; it may be of any color as long as it is empty.

Make your website an aesthetic work of art by simply including some white space. In addition, having white space increases the prominence of the points you want to highlight. For example, enough white space around your mission statement ensures that it stands out.

‘Connect a million minds‘ has a clear website with lots of white space that clearly highlights their mission and the call to action; ‘Pledge, Connect, Share’

5. Search bar

Having a Search bar makes it easier for users to find what they are looking for instead of combing through every page and using the browser’s ‘Find’ function.

It is better to have a user who finds what he/she needs, takes action and leaves happy, rather than having a user who spends a lot of time searching for what he/she needs and leaves unhappy.

These tips just scratch the surface in terms of improving a website for better User Experience. Do you have more to add? Share your thoughts with us!

~Ramya

Prezi: A New Way to Make Presentations

Posted on May 17, 2013 by WebServes

Prezi is a new, more interactive way to make presentations. It is like a Powerpoint presentation and an Infographic in one.

I love infographics and a lot of other people do too; they are everywhere and they are a buzz word in many blogs these days. Logically, Infographics have become more and more interactive, with clickable content, and embedded information that pops up when your cursor hovers over an aspect of the picture, but now, Prezi has combined the look of an Infographic with a Powerpoint-like presentation strategy. Prezi says:

Seeing is believing and a picture can tell a thousand words, but a picture doesn’t tell an entire story. A visual story has a flow and narrative, where images and words work together to present an idea or lesson.

Prezi allows users to create a presentation with pre-made templates, or the user can create one from scratch. If their is a Powerpoint that has already been made, it can be imported and parsed out into a newer visually stimulating adventure.

With a basic template and a few minutes of content writing, I made one Take a Journey with WebServes:

There are many more intricate things that can be done. Videos can be embedded. Links can be added. Graphics can be uploaded. And the best part is that Prezi is aiming this medium toward schools and educators. These presentations will keep kids’ attention much more readily than the classic overhead projection of boring Powerpoint slides.

Show us how you are using Prezi. We’d love to see them.

~Josef

Check-in For Good: Pay It Forward Year Round

Posted on May 9, 2013 by WebServes

Over the last week and a half I have noticed a lot of tweets and Facebook posts about Pay It Forward Day or Week. The span of time is different depending on the post. Some say it is April 25^th and others say it is the last week of April, but my vote is that Pay It Forward should be everyday. Enabling someone or a group of people to be able to do something that may not have been available to them previously should be a mantra that everyone strives for everyday.

So, in the mindset of Pay It Forward, I went looking for a way that small businesses and large businesses, alike, could give back to their community or favorite charity and I found Check-In For Good.

This company brings passive giving to any business that wants to participate with no setup or initiation costs. Check-In For Good was founded in 2011 and has headquarters in Clearwater, FL. It is like Foursquare for a cause.

When a business or organization signs up, it can:

· Set the times and days customers can check-in

· Choose a monthly maximum for donations

· Choose the amount to donate per check-in

· Use optional check-in verification (using a QR code)

· Approve check-ins during review period

So, let’s envision your local supermarket; now no longer will there be a can on the checkout counter with the local youth baseball team’s logo on it asking for donations. In the new Check-in For Good scenario, customers will be able to check in with the app on their smartphone or by scanning a QR code. Each time that a check-in occurs, a micro-donation, up to a certain amount that is preset by the supermarket, is made to the local sports team. Everyone wins, supermarket gets more customers and the sports team gets monetary support.

The focus is on raising money for charities or organizations, but the businesses that sign up to accept check-ins and make the donations get some hidden business advantages, too.

Built to be “Social” – the business gains the reach of social media because when their customers check-in they immediately alert all of their followers and friends that they checked-in, in turn, passively donated to the local charity or organization. Word of mouth advertising on an exponential scale.
Gain clout in the community – the organization or charity that the business is supporting will funnel customers in that business’ direction in order to help their cause, and the patrons that check-in will identify the business with a feeling of community and giving. Charity breeds charity.
Trackable ROI – included in the business’ dashboard is the ability to get real analytics about how well the campaign is doing and how much the business is helping the community.

It only seems fitting in a world of check-ins, online coupons, and text-to-donate campaigns that an app could make it easier to Pay It Forward all year round. When one part of the community thrives it can help the rest of the community thrive around it. Here are some Check-in For Good campaigns that are active right now:

Career Wardrobe – empowers unemployed women in the Philadelphia area to transition back to work.

Top Dog Readers’ Club – “In October 2010, the Mike Peterson Foundation partnered with Grove Park Elementary School in Atlanta, GA and Home Depot, to build new KaBOOM! playground that changed the entire landscape of the once baron ground outside Grove Park. “ Help keep these efforts growing.

Kicks For Kids – Tara Costa’s Inspire Change Foundation uses the donations from Check-in For Good to buy athletic shoes for kids in New York who can’t afford them. The foundation is also helping kids displaced by Hurricane Sandy that need sneakers to stay active and healthy.

Play a positive role! How will you Pay It Forward Year Round?

~Josef

NY Tech Day: An Adventure in Innovative Culture

Posted on May 2, 2013 by WebServes

NY Tech Day, on April 25^th was an exciting experience for a Marketing Tech Agent, like myself, representing WebServes (WS), my organization, and wholly myself as a burgeoning marketer in the tech industry of New York. Sensory overload was the first reaction that I had after registration and being handed a bag of promotional materials, along with a guide to the companies and organizations that were exhibiting.A first look into the bag revealed a new blueberry flavored Red Bull (one of the sponsors)and my first reaction was, “maybe I need that to handle the amount of information, people, exhibits, and tech that I will see. Then, I realized that I had already drank two cups of coffee and Red Bull was definitely not going to make me sharper of intellect.

Once I took a few pictures to share on WebServes’ Twitter and Facebook pages, I ventured into a daunting room that was brimming with anticipation and innovation. From the list in the NY Tech Day Brochure and from my research beforehand on the NYTechDay.com website, I saw some big names that stuck out to me like: Mediabistro, Zipcar, Seamless, TheLadders, Learnvest, ZocDoc, Vimeo, and OkCupid to name a few. Each one of these large names had a booth that was the same size as every other company, which made it much more approachable, and also decidedly made me gravitate toward smaller companies and names that I had never seen.

Startup and Company Spotlight

Kaltura

Kaltura was another exhibitor that I was excited to talk to, even though they are not as small as some other startups that exhibited, because I enjoy their technology. Kaltura is an open source video platform that “enables any site to seamlessly and cost-effectively integrate advanced interactive rich-media functionalities.” Some of the best examples are learning and training videos that allow everyone in a company or classroom to get the same information on procedures, systems, etc. and the best part is that it allows them to interact and comment with questions and suggestions. Everyone working for a better internal culture, is the best way to run a business.

Fitmapped

Fitmapped caught my eye because I have been looking for a way for my wife and I to find activities and fitness classes to do together and to make our workouts more fun. The women at this exhibit booth were great and informed me that they will be “Gamefying” their app and website soon; Nothing like a little competition to make a workout more fun.

FitMapped Booth

Digital Ocean

Another exhibitioner that I would like to highlight is Digital Ocean. Their bio for NY Tech Day said, “DigitalOcean is the simplest cloud hosting provider on the market.” This, of course, peaked my interest since WebServes does a lot of web hosting for our clients, and cheaper, and faster is always an appealing idea to both WS and our nonprofit clients especially. With a $5 per month option, which includes 512MB RAM, 20GB SSD Disk, and 1TB Transfer and other options all the way up to an $80 per month which includes 8GB Memory, 4 Cores, 80GB SSD Disk, and 5TB Transfer, Digital Ocean has a price point for everyone.

Digital Ocean Booth

As I commented on Twitter that day, “The vibe in the room is about creation and bettering ourselves and our world.” This was absolutely true. NY Tech Day succeeded in bringing the excitement of innovation and the wonderment of new technology to a setting that included, marketers (like me), web developers, and techies alike.

WebServes is an organization that is committed to empowering nonprofits, small businesses and start-ups, and NY Tech Day is a platform that embodies the same promotion and nurturing of tech that WS strives for.

This journey through NY Tech Day is in no way complete. There are other organizations that will be covered in future blog posts. Stay tuned…

NY Tech Day Swag and Info

~Josef

Empower your people for a successful marketing strategy

Posted on April 23, 2013 by WebServes

Have you ever read an article or some bit of information and felt like saying ‘I knew that already..it’s common knowledge’? But have you reflected upon why the author may have written the article even though there is a wealth of information on the same topic? I recently underwent the ‘reading and reflecting’ process after reading an article titled ‘People are the new channel’ in the Harvard Business Review and realized how much the message in the article resonates with WebServes’ mission of ‘Empowering through technology’.

The authors talk about how the world of marketing has changed and that people are the new channel. This is not necessarily new information in itself. I mean, we know that the concept of Marketing (pardon my textbook-ish analysis for the next few lines) has evolved through some stages from the initial Production Marketing (which was based on creating products and hoping there is a demand for them) to the Societal concept (which focuses on delivering value to a customer in a sustainable way).

However, the way in which the authors put the information across is interesting. They talk about how people are replacing the ‘pipes’ that delivered messages to the audience. What was once a one-way street is now a network of traffic flowing to and from all directions; the sources and destinations being people who are using technology at a rate it has never been used before!

What the authors stress upon is the fact that the most important marketing gimmick that an organization can have is how they empower their people to do the marketing with them. The authors gave a few suggestions for the same:

Externally, empower your clients to become brand advocates. You can do this by asking for reviews, requesting to be tagged in photos, starting conversations and asking for comments, sharing information and requesting your clients to share it with their networks. In short, use your existing clients’ networks to spread the word.

Internally, treat your entire organization as your marketing team. Give everyone the ability and opportunity to own the brand they work for and increase its awareness. This includes creating awareness through social media, representing the organization at events and opening up lines of communication.

This empowerment of people is made possible through the use of technology; especially the internet. While it is true that technology cannot replace people, the opposite holds true too. The key is to have a balance and the authors give a very good formula for achieving the harmony; mix one part technology with an equal part humanity!

How do you empower your people? Share your ideas with us!

~Ramya

Twitter Advertising Introduces Keyword Targeting

Posted on April 17, 2013 by WebServes

Twitter announced today that advertisers would have the ability “to reach users based on the keywords in their recent Tweets and the Tweets with which users recently engaged.” This step is a logical step in the progression of targeted advertising. Google has done this with its banner ads. It has happened to everyone: search for a pair of shoes through Google search and then later that evening the banner ads are for Amazon Shoe Discounts.

The “promoted” tweets that Twitter has been running for months are less specific and do not target specific consumers or users. With Keyword Targeting Twitter says that users will tweet about their interests like a brand of shoes, to pull from my earlier example. If a certain brand is mentioned, that keyword can be targeted by the manufacturer or by a specific vendor and eventually a advertising tweet will appear in the users Twitter feed. Twitter is careful to point out, however, that user experience won’t be interrupted by extra ads:

“Users won’t see any difference in their use of Twitter — we’re not showing ads more frequently in timelines, and users can still dismiss Promoted Tweets they don’t find relevant. In fact, we believe users’ experiences with ads will improve as a result of this feature as they see more relevant Promoted Tweets.” -Nipoon Malhotra

Twitter provides this helpful tutorial on how to set up a keyword targeting advertising campaign:

Marketers can already specify the geographic location, gender, and device type of the user they want to target, but now marketers will have the ability to specify the keywords to target; advertising on Twitter is now going to be fully customized.

How could this make for a better user experience?

Relevance – It might make the ads matter more.
Money saving – Targeted Campaigns could cut down on the cost of advertising, because now the advertiser knows that the ads are not just blanketing an arbitrary population of Twitter users.

Will you use it for your organization or small business?

~Josef

Google Fiber and the “Internet-For-All” Mentality in NYC and Beyond

Posted on April 10, 2013 by WebServes

On April 9^th, Mashable reported that Google would bring its “Google Fiber” to Austin, TX.

“The Internet is still in its early days and has so much more potential to improve our lives,” Google said. “Communities that are connected to the Internet grow stronger because there’s greater potential to create jobs, drive economic growth, and help businesses succeed. We believe the Internet’s next chapter will be built on gigabit speeds, and we hope this new Google Fiber city will inspire communities across America to think about what ultrafast connectivity could mean for them.”

Google’s first cities to receive Google Fiber were Kansas City, KS and Kansas City, MO. According to the Google Fiber website the services are still being rolled out, but included is Free internet –after a $300 construction fee- which works out to be $25 per month for 12 months. The option is available to get faster Internet for a monthly fee and there is another plan to also add television to the plan for a bit more. While Google is making fast internet available, the hope is that these infrastructure changes will draw businesses to open up shop in Kansas City and in Austin.

Watch more here:

Access is the main theme of cities all over the country and the world. In New York City, the Digital Roadmap was rolled out in the Spring of 2011.

NYC explains that “Universal Acccess to the Internet is the foundation of a truly connected city and an essential part of New York’s digital roadmap. With a focus on bridging the digital divide to serve all New Yorkers, Mayor Bloomberg is committed to expanding the reach of high-speed internet across the five boroughs.”

NYC now has 26 parks served by AT&T WiFi and has plans to bring cell phone reception to the subway. New York boasts that 72 schools have been empowered by “connected learning grants” that have serves 16,000 students.

For all of NYC’s proposals you can read about it here.

Whether it is Google, or AT&T, or NYC Digital Roadmap, it is clear that in order to improve schools, to build the businesses of tomorrow, and to create jobs, the Internet, and more importantly, the access to it is extremely necessary.

NYC Industry Impact

How is your city meeting the needs for the future of business?

~Josef

4 Steps to Keep Your Organization Creative

Posted on March 26, 2013 by WebServes

Sometimes it is difficult to pinpoint the qualities that make a creative endeavor work, but rest assured that these steps are involved in all of them. The list appears simple and straight forward (and it is), but it does take practice and determination to create.

Be Disruptive

The most lucrative and forward thinking companies disrupt the norms of the culture. Apple, for example turned a floundering computer company in the mid-90’s into a powerhouse i-everything super-corporation by changing the way the music sharing and computer hardware game is played. Change the way you see your organization and others will change how they see you too.

Control Your Emotions

Disagreement is the key to learning because the testing of innovative ideas almost always goes against common conventions, but no advancement is made if shouting is the outcome (sounds like our Congress).

Presentation is Everything

If an idea is first dismissed, it is important to assess the issue, and present the idea in a different way if you still feel strongly about its merit. Sudhir Venkatesh of Fast Company interviewed Shaun Abrahamson, an investor about ZocDoc in a recent blog post (How To Use Conflict To Unlock Creativity). Abrahamson said that:

“Creativity arises when you consciously seek opinions from those who are different or force you to revisit your assumptions.”

In this case ZocDoc knew that they were attempting to create a network of patients finding doctors that had already failed in the past, but that criticism was a starting point for their presentation of how they could do it differently.

Be Self-Aware

Every company or organization must know what it is capable of achieving. This is set out in business plans, and it is most recently prescribed that social media interactions be mapped out and a “voice” branded into the fabric. Knowing where your limits lie will make it easier to break the framework of convention with the allocation of resources toward the end goal.

How do you spark your creativity? What do you do?

[Infographic] How to Lead a Creative Life

Fast Company Infographic

Special Thanks to Fast Company Co.Create for the inspiration
~Josef

How to Rank Better in Search Engine Results

Posted on March 20, 2013 by WebServes

Content can, literally, make or break your website….just as good content drives traffic to your website, bad content not only drives traffic away but…here comes the important part…it could lead to your website being penalized!

Yes, you read it right. Google plans on launching a crackdown later this year to look at the quality of websites and to make sure that low quality websites do not rank higher in the search results. According to Danny Sullivan, Founding Editor of Search Engine Land, this isn’t the first time Google has done a crackdown. In his article, ‘Bad Merchant? Google May Drop Your Rankings Later This Year’, Sullivan talks about how in the year 2010, Google incorporated an algorithm into its search rankings to detect the merchants that were providing an extremely poor user experience but were still ranking quite high in their search results. Google did not reveal what factors it used to issue the penalties but said that users were going to get a better search experience as a result of the algorithmic solution.

This got me thinking as to how people can ensure that they rank higher in search results without being penalized based on their websites’ content. I recently read an article, Lessons from the Pros: Rank better in Google and Bing in which the author highlighted the key points covered during an interactive presentation by a panel of leaders in the search engine world; Google, Bing and Search Engine Land. The author talked about how ‘one should make website content the ingredients for a good search engine recipe’…a nice analogy, I must say!

Throughout the article, the author stressed the importance of good content; be it the words you use, the links you have, or the meta tags and descriptions you have in your website.

So, content is good only if it is done right. In the spirit of welcoming Spring, here are a few tips to spring-clean your website and make sure that it moves to the top of the search rankings without the risk of being penalized:

1. Choose Quality as opposed to Quantity

The Social Media Gurus talk about how important it is to have a lot of content so that you cast a wide net that will enable your content to show up in search results. However, a lot of low quality content is good as no content at all. With Google’s impending policy changes such poor content could prove detrimental to your website. The best thing to do is to delete such low quality content from your website and have fewer high-quality pages. This could actually help to drive up your ranking.

Run a spell check on the content you are posting. Many times, when we receive emails with poor spelling and punctuation, we regard it as a danger sign and dump the mail in our spam folders. This is the impression that users will get if they see too many mistakes in your content.

This tip applies to the links on your website too. Incoming links are a great way to maximize your SEO but the quality of the websites you are getting the links from matters quite a bit. Therefore, have a few high quality links on your website instead of crowding all your pages with useless links that search engines disapprove of.

2. Delete duplicate content

Google only shows the most relevant and original content in its search results and omits duplicate content. So if you are directly posting from other links, chances are your content will not feature in the search results. Focus on having original content to rank higher.

3. Focus on Relevant content

What does your user want? What do you think they are searching for and how can you make sure your website appears in their search results? These are the questions you should keep in mind when filling out your meta descriptions so that you have the correct keywords that describe your organization.

Search engines are constantly changing their algorithms to provide the users with the best experience because it is a competitive market for them too and they need to stay on top of their game. The above tips are a few ways to help your website’s ranking in search engine results but there are other techniques too. Do you have any other tips? Share them with us!

~Ramya

Optimizing your Facebook Page for Graph Search

Posted on March 13, 2013 by WebServes

In our previous posts, we have stressed on the importance of SEO and how essential it is to your nonprofit’s marketing efforts. In this post, we’re back to talking about optimizing for the latest search tool in town; Facebook’s Graph Search.

Released in January 2013, Graph Search is an enhanced version of Facebook’s existing search tool. With the new Graph Search, one can search for users based on keywords (such as location, likes or interests). For example, say someone searches for ‘My friends who like nonprofit technology service providers in New York City”, then a list of all such service providers in NYC will be displayed and since these keywords match what we have on our WebServes Facebook page, our organization will be a part of the search results too and this way, we can broaden our reach.

The key to this search is that it is only as good as the amount of content that has been publicly shared by the users. For instance, if one does not share their content publicly then it would be hard to search for such people.

Keeping that in mind, here is a list of to-dos that will help you make sure that your Facebook page is optimized for Graph Search.

1. Have complete information about your nonprofit

For starters, your Basic Information section should be complete and up-to-date. Make sure all the fields on this page are filled out with the correct keywords so that traffic is directed to your page. The Place Sub-Category section is sometimes overlooked; so pay special attention to this field and fill it out with keywords that define your nonprofit.

2. Have a distinct username

The default URL for your Facebook page is SEO unfriendly and a bit of an eyesore to look at too. For example if your page URL reads something like this: www.facebook.com/pages/webserves/123456789, then you must create a username which will be good for your overall SEO. The process is very simple. Just go to http://facebook.com/username and follow the instructions to have a nice URL like this one:

3. Tag your photos

A picture says a thousand words and wouldn’t it be a pity if a great picture is left out of search results just because it wasn’t tagged or didn’t have a description? As a nonprofit, you would be having a wealth of information in terms of photographs so don’t let that go to waste. Tag your photos with your Page name, add a location and a description with keywords. In addition, encourage people to tag themselves in pictures of an event, for example. Remember, the more the information, the better the SEO.

4. Research your content

As is the case with social media, we are trying to constantly post content but not all of it resonates with our followers. Some posts are more ‘liked’ and ‘shared’ while some might be viewed by just a handful of people.

For Graph Search, the ‘Like’ concept is very important because the more the likes, the higher the chances are that the content will show up in the search.

So what you need to do is sit down and analyze your past posts to see what your audience likes. What is it that makes your audience sit up, read and share your content? Once you find this out, channel your efforts in posting more of this content. For example, if your audience ‘likes’ your original content (such as blog posts), increase the frequency of such posts and get people talking about them.

5. Continue creating great content

Last but not the least, keep up the efforts of creating relevant content for your Facebook page to give Graph Search more to work with!

This list is by no means an exhaustive set of the ways in which you can optimize your Facebook page. Do you have any other tips to add on to the list? Share them with us and let’s keep the conversation going!

~Ramya

WebServes Blog

Empowering through Technology

5 Steps to Improve Your Website’s User Experience (UX)

Prezi: A New Way to Make Presentations

Prezi is a new, more interactive way to make presentations. It is like a Powerpoint presentation and an Infographic in one.

NY Tech Day: An Adventure in Innovative Culture

Startup and Company Spotlight

Twitter Advertising Introduces Keyword Targeting

Google Fiber and the “Internet-For-All” Mentality in NYC and Beyond

4 Steps to Keep Your Organization Creative

How to Rank Better in Search Engine Results

Optimizing your Facebook Page for Graph Search