Knowledge Base

To expand on our original blog entry on terminology frequently used in the web industry here are some more terms that everyday users may not be familiar with.

Image Use

JPEG

Probably the most widely used image file type on websites is the Joint Photographic Experts Group format. Commonly referred to as jpeg or jpg files and using either a .jpg or .jpeg file extension this format is best suited to images with large numbers of colours such as photos.

GIF

The Graphics Interchange Format or GIF file contains a maximum of 256 colours and is best suited to flat images or graphics type files such as logos which may only use a few colours. These files have a .gif extension, generally are small in file size (weight) and therefore are not suitable for photos.

PNG

Ideal for images that have transparent backgrounds the Portable Network Graphics or PNG format has become increasingly popular as an all-round image file type. PNG files have a .png extension.

Navigation

Menu Bar/Navigation Bar

A list of links that connect the various pages of a website. Usually displayed as a row of labels or tabs at the top of each web page and common to all pages in a website. Menu items are commonly used to divide website material into important categories that may also include sub-categories available through drop-down or fly-out sub-items.

Home Page

The first and main page of a website. The homepage can be accessed by using the website address (URL) in its most basic form e.g. www.netmaintain.net and is the page a visitor is returned to after clicking on a “home” link or button.

Landing Page

A specially designed page that can be substituted for the home page or act as an additional page targeted specifically as part of a promotional campaign or advertising strategy. Landing pages can be used to track visits to help determine the success of advertising or provide information as part of the campaign and may only be referred to in advertising material produced as part of that campaign and might not appear in the website menu.

Redirection

Used where a website visitor is automatically sent to an alternate page. Most commonly used when a website has moved, changed name or a specific page has been removed or replaced.

404 Error

A website page that displays a message stating that the website page you were trying to view is no longer available or does not exist.

iFrame

Used to display the content of another webpage within the one you are currently viewing. The content can come from the current website or from an entirely different website and can be displayed in a way that the user is not aware of where the content originates.

Layout and Design

White space

A term used to refer to empty or blank areas of a web page that are left free of images or text to provide space around content. The use of white space is a design technique that provides focus to the content by presenting it in an uncluttered way.

Above the Fold

Above the fold – refers to the part of a web page that is immediately visible in the users screen without the need to scroll down.

Below the Fold

Below the fold – refers to the part of a web page that is only visible once the user scrolls down past the material initially visible i.e. past the fold.

Usability

The degree to which a user can manage to use a website functions and features including ease of navigation, ability to find information and how the content displays on the users device relative to the intended use of the site.

Front End

The parts of a website, including text and images, that are publicly visible – sometimes called the user interface.

Back End

The parts of a website that are not publicly visible and may consist of programming code, databases and other resources.

General

CMS

A CMS or ‘content management system’ is a type of web application that allows users to edit and update website content through a web interface that does not require technical expertise in web design and development.

Cookies

Cookies are tiny files stored on your computer by a website you have visited. Cookies are commonly used to remember preferences you have selected while at the website so that you do not need to select those options again on your next visit. A common use for cookies is to remember login usernames.

Meta Data

The details stored in the source code of a web page. Not displayed visibly on the page, meta data can contain information such as a description of the pages contents and keywords relating to the information on the page.

Plug-ins/Widgets

Standalone functionality that can be added to a web page without the need to modify the underlying core of the page code. Examples include Adobe Flash Player and QuickTime video players.

Spider

The means by which search engines “crawl” the internet. A software program initiated by search engines that follows links from website to website indexing content for use in search engine search results pages.

There aren’t too many businesses these days that don’t have a website and the ones that don’t are usually new businesses and start-ups. So what are the steps involved if this is your first trip into the online world?

Unfortunately setting about getting a website can be a daunting task especially when you are trying to cover all the bases with one hand while getting a new business off the ground with the other.

What do I need to do?

This is something that your web developer can help you with. Most developers will have a design brief they can supply you with that will cover key areas of content, what material is required and who will need to supply/source that information and the corresponding resources.

What will the web developer do?

Like the question above there is no definitive answer to this question. The important thing is that you and your web developer agree at an early stage as to where the boundaries are situated between your tasks and theirs and the timeframe for the delivery of each.

Importantly, take the advice of you web developer, they will have the knowledge and experience to steer you in the right direction.

How long will it take?

Again, this will vary with the project. The functionality required for your website, the ability for you to be able to supply material required by the developer and the volume of work the developer has, will all have a bearing on the timeframe from design to launch.

How much will it cost?

It’s a bit like buying a car – there are numerous models each appealing to a specific use and buyer. You can’t compare the price of a top-of-the-range off-roader to the latest economy size fuel miser because they provide different functionality and therefore have different price points. Unfortunately one of the biggest traps you can fall into is comparing prices from different developers who aren’t quoting to provide the same functionality in a website.

Once it’s up, is that it?

Unfortunately not. In the early days of ecommerce a lot of companies, big ones included, assumed they could make a modest investment in an online presence and sit back waiting for the phone to start ringing and the cash to pour in. A lot of those shortsighted bandwagon passengers are still smarting from the hip-pocket pain.

With more and more focus on content management marketing and social media marketing you can’t just launch a website in isolation. A strategy for managing content, attracting traffic and engaging with your target market will be integral to your online success and give you a guide as to where effort will need to be directed, not only in the first months following launch but going forward for the life of the business.

Of course neglecting this aspect may mean the life of your business is short, the upside being it will save you a lot of work.

It all sounds over-whelming!

There is no doubt it does take some effort, forward planning and thought to build and launch a successful website, but by being aware of the process and taking one step at a time you can work through the steps at a pace that will allow you to give each phase the attention it needs.

For more information read our “Getting Started” checklist for details of each step in the development process.

It’s difficult to find anyone advocating that social media engagement is not worthwhile to your business. The problem though is whether the time and resources, and believe me it takes a sizable investment in both, make it more worthwhile than other forms of marketing? What most marketing guru’s, especially those of the social media kind, fail to consider, is the size of the dog in the fight.

If you are a large organisation with a defined marketing budget, your own marketing team made up of dedicated professionals working fulltime to put your brand in the faces of a market analysed to the point of knowing their every waking move, then it’s a no brainer – allocate a sizable portion of your marketing spend to driving social media engagement and it won’t be hard to find someone to tell you that you’ve done the right thing.

But what about the rest of us?

For the average small business, already stretched to the limits trying to match finite human resources with an increasingly competitive market place, it can be difficult to allocate even a few hours a week to a new task that may have results difficult to quantify. Does that mean we can afford to ignore social media? Not at all, it just means we need to be smart as to how we address the need to be involved so that the best return is obtained for those precious hours spent tweeting, pinning, posting, blogging, watching and chatting.

If you don’t think you can effectively manage keeping a solid strategy working for half a dozen social media forms then don’t even try. You will have far more success if you dedicate your efforts to one or two platforms and actually achieve creating a relationship with your market than you will if you use a scatter gun approach and target every social media channel but fail to engage your users.

Social Media

To help with your choice of social media channels use the following points as a guide:

  • Facebook – need a fan club? Facebook is the place to be. Because it has such an enormous following you have the ability to create strong relationships with a wide demographic. The flexibility to add links, photos and put a more personal face on your business makes Facebook a leader in the social media scrum.
  • Twitter – for instant involvement or anything that is happening ‘now’. Events, news and messages that can be sent and responded to quickly is ideal for use with Twitter.
  • Pinterest – because it is a very visual platform is well suited to businesses that rely heavily on creating visually appealing messages e.g. products that need to be seen, such as holiday destinations and accommodation. Pinterest is especially useful to markets with a female audience due to the proportion of female users.
  • LinkedIn – provides easy ways to become connected with other businesses. So if you are in the B2B market or networking is important then LinkedIn should be high on your list.
  • YouTube – is another highly visual media and by producing content in-house can allow you to display video of products without the need for enormous production costs. YouTube is also a great way to support products with instructional and demonstration videos.

Still not convinced?

If you still aren’t sure that you can dedicate the effort required then there is always the outsourcing alternative. Have a program developed that includes regular posts, articles or whatever level of engagement is necessary to ensure a targeted approach to becoming involved in the social media phenomenon and you are unlikely to be disappointed.

One of those terms that seem to be commonly associated with technology that the average person doesn’t fully understand is “the cloud”, so let’s see if we can help by describing in simple terms what the cloud is and how it is used.

Possibly one of the reasons that most people don’t understand what the cloud means is because it doesn’t just refer to one thing.

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage or storing your data on the cloud basically refers to storing your files outside your own device, whether that is by using a third party storage service like Dropbox or Google Drive or through a virtual private network or Internet connection to a server or data centre located locally or internationally.

If you own an iPhone and use the iCloud service to backup your photos, email, or music using the storage supplied by Apple then you are using the cloud. The same is true of Gmail, Yahoo Mail or any other hosted mail service where your messages are stored on the servers of the service provider.

Using the cloud for storage purposes isn’t a new concept and has actually been around for many years, it just hasn’t been referred to using the terminology that is popular today. It is sometimes also thought that you need to be utilising a series of linked, load balanced, and publicly facing or virtual servers, but cloud storage is not limited to that scenario.

Cloud Computing

In a similar fashion to cloud storage, cloud computing is using software or applications that are not installed on your device or require at least some form of Internet connection. Some very simple examples of this are Facebook, Twitter or Google Apps where your content (posts, messages and the like) is stored on computers belonging to the suppliers of those services.

The concept of using software that is provided over the Internet via a subscription (as opposed to purchasing a physical copy on a disk), also known as SaaS or software as a service, is a form of cloud computing because some files and applications may be stored on your local device while the initial program and subsequent updates are delivered over the Internet. Some of these require a working Internet connection in order to operate at all and others have an offline version with varying degrees of functionality but require an Internet connection to be kept up-to-date or synchronised.

Advantages

The advantages of using cloud services, either for storage or computing, is that access can be from anywhere an Internet connection exists.

For storage solutions, using the cloud means the cost of providing in-house storage hardware can be replaced with the, generally cheaper, use of cloud storage providers.

For computing it also means that hard copies of software are not required and updates are handled automatically and seamlessly meaning no more out-of-date software to worry about.

Disadvantages

Security seems to be the biggest concern that most people have with using cloud based services and while there have been security breaches they are probably no more common than any other privacy related issues. Most unease seems to stem more from not having your files under your direct control, although for some people that is a definite plus.

Of course the other big disadvantage for some people is the reliance on an affordable, reliable and fast internet connection.

Conclusion

The cloud isn’t going away and with time, improved internet connection speeds and fears about security fading the use of cloud services is set to grow exponentially. Embrace it.

The first thing to do when building a marketing database for use with email campaigns is to ensure you are familiar with the legal requirements so that you know you are complying with the Spam legislation. For information on the Spam Act of 2003 visit http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/sa200366/

This is especially important with regard to providing opt-out provisions in your mailing campaigns which will also help maintain the integrity of the addresses in your database.

Because a database of customer email addresses should be made up of entries that are already pre-disposed to dealing with your business or the products/services you provide it can be a valuable asset that helps to generate incremental revenue.

 

Building and maintaining a marketing database will take time and effort but if used well can give you the edge in a competitive market place.

Marketing Database

How do I build a marketing database?

You may already have a database of client details, especially if you have account customers. If this is the case simply asking customers for a contact email address and adding it to the records you already have is a good starting point.

Enticing customers to give up their email address can be difficult but by offering something in return such as entry in a competition, the chance to receive special offers or advice provided only to subscribers of an email newsletter are a few ways.

You can also add a subscription form to your website and promote membership to the mailing list by making special offers or providing incentives.

It is also possible to expand your list through conventional means such as post, advertising and direct customer contact if you work in a retail environment.

Who should be included?

Any current customer, potential customer or past customer is a good starting point for generating your database. Your list should only consist of authentic, legally obtained addresses of people who would reasonably expect to hear from you.

Do not include random entries made up of family, friends and acquaintances as these will just dilute the results of your mailing campaigns.

How do I use it?

There are a number of methods for generating email newsletters but ultimately it will depend on the size of your database.

  • Newsletters for small lists (usually less than 50 addresses) can be sent directly from your email client, but be aware that you should follow correct email etiquette (read this blog post) and most ISP’s monitor their clients mail usage for signs of bulk mail and will block or limit accounts seemingly doing the wrong thing.
  • Use a third party service like MailChimp for larger lists (over 50 addresses). Third party services are available free for low volume mailers and have scaling rates for bigger mailouts. These services also provide tools for building your newsletter, monitoring the results and ensuring you don’t fall foul of the spam filters.

How do I ensure that it works?

  • Offer incentives
  • Give real value for people on the list don’t just offer them the same specials that everyone can get
  • Provide subscriber only information, tips or free advice
  • You don’t have to provide everything yourself, sometimes it is sufficient to provide links to other material or directions on how they can find information that could be valuable to them as subscribers
  • If you can become the go to authority then your mailing list will grow along with your business
  • Monitor the results so that you can fine-tune future campaigns using methods that have proven successful

What shouldn’t I do?

  • You should never broadcast your email newsletter or campaign to anyone who is “not” in your database or you will risk becoming branded as a spammer.
  • You should follow normal email etiquette at all times.
  • You should never just put a list of email addresses in the “to” field of your mail program and blast away – this is guaranteed to bring you to the attention of spam filters and ISP’s as well is making you unpopular with any legitimate clients in that list.
  • Never ever purchase a database of email addresses no matter how industry specific that list promises to be. These lists are generated by professional spammers and are guaranteed to ensure you wind up on a spam blacklist in quick time.
  • For the same reasons, never sell or give away your database of email addresses.
  • If you do the wrong thing, even unknowingly and make it onto a spam list it can have serious repercussions for relationships with your customers, your ISP, and the authorities and can make it difficult to use any form of online marketing in the future.

Conclusion

Used well an email database can add a very cost effective means of marketing that will pin-point prospective buyers without the scatter gun approach of other methods.