JonJu Tech were really pleased with how, once they had some training, they could easily update and edit their articles and add pictures.  They also loved being able to add the page description which appears in the html code and is very important to SEO they can also add keywords which are not so important.  This gives the user real power to control the content for their customers and for search engines.

Jon Ju Tech also sent me pdfs of handwritten notes which they wanted their customers to be able to comment on. So I found a plugin and component from the Joomla extensive extensions directory and I was able to embed the pdf with a comment system below. I think it’s a good solution and you can see it if you got Knowledge Base / Design Decoded Notes and then click on the one the subjects in the list.

See their site at http://www.jonjutech.com/

We were there for the Carmarthenshire Tourism Awards 2011 and with 11categories with at least four or five nominees in each.  So the room was full of very nervous and excited people.  Fortunately our category was the first to be announced – Supplier Business of the Year.  We have a tiny foothold in the tourism sector and have only created a small number of websites for the tourism sector
(www.typoethcottage,co.uk; www.talgoedcottage.co.uk; www.arlandir.com; www.llandysul-ponttyweli.co.uk) so it was incredible that we were even nominated so that’s thanks to our wonderful, and vocal clients. So with that in mind, we were quite shocked to get anything at the ceremony and we are really pleased with our Bronze award.

Is this important? Well so far, we’ve been a bit underwhelmed by Google+, but now things might have changed as businesses have been invited to  create a page for themselves. See the BBC news report.

This maybe a new adventure in social media, creating new links with new and old clients.

Might Google+ take over from Facebook? Nothing is impossible, take a look at the sales figures for Android smartphones and the iphone.

The Solutions Factory has set up a Google+ page, it took minutes. As ever, preparation is key, have your logo ready for upload, and contact details.  Have information ready about your business and also have  something to post.  You can add a Google+1 link to your web pages with the code which they give you.

Then it’s a matter of finding people to follow you… Speaking of which, here’s our link:

https://plus.google.com/115371922099632236843

If you need a Google+ invite to join, let me know and I can send you one.

The site owner only has a small business but wanted a modern looking site which reflected her business. It has been developed in Joomla 1.6 content management system using a JoomlaShine template, which has been brilliant.  The site has also been set up for smart phones, so it opens as a simple, non graphic site on smart phones but the option is there to view the site in its full glory.

Take a look at www.arlandir.com.

The look of the site was designed by their graphic designer inline with their branding and packaging, using the Solutions Factory ecommerce and order processing system.

 See the site at http://www.brookegreenenglishorganics.com

I’m not going to pretend that I am anywhere near an expert on this topic but I do Tweet (personal account so it’s a mix of friends, F1, Joomla! and typical social network moaning @TiggerCub if you dare).

On Facebook, I rarely write on my wall, but I do ‘like’ and I volunteered to be an administrator on the Pwerdy-Powerhouse page which is a local Community and Arts Centre.

I’ve also proved that I’m not a great blogger. How many days since I last updated this site? I’m surprised that WordPress haven’t thrown me off for laziness.

However, in for a penny etc here are some of my comments / suggestions.

• If  you decide to use social media to promote your business you are putting yourself in front of the public.
• Your ideals, your reputation: people will react if you are controversial, people will react if you are interesting.
• Remember, whatever you put on the web it is there forever for good or for bad.
• You will be aiming to have conversations with your past, present and future clients.
• You could give tips regarding your business or general information.
• You may find out more about your clients’ wants and needs as they ask you questions, they may even trust you.
• You may not be comfortable writing so why not try audio or video?
• Finally, for now at least – enjoy communicating with people.

I’ve just had a shock.

I’ve just remembered the exasperation of waiting for a website to materialise on my monitor.  The same experience I had for years because the web was slow because I had to use dial up modems, and I had to watch the Netscape icon swirl around whilst I waited for a website to appear. When it did, the page would slowly load as there were too many large graphics and animated gifs and mostly the sites were ugly. Why have I been so rudely reminded of the past? I surfed the web on an HTC mobile device, and experienced the web as it was a decade ago.  I’ve not had access to a PDA before and I never wondered how the web looked on a small screen.  I really hadn’t thought about the web on the PDAs and iPhones until I actually had a look.  It was like going back in time.

I’m not alone, have a look at this article: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/mobile-usability.html

All websites are designed for bigger screens and even the simplest website will need to be designed to be more accessible for a mobile screen. Is it worth it?  More people are buying these mobile devices as they are becoming easily affordable.  These people could be your customers.

My next (unpaid) job will be to make our Solutions Factory site accessible for the mobile web, so that might take a little time as I have paid jobs to do, and with those I will be persuading our clients that they need a mobile web site.

Use this tool from Google to view your website on a mobile phone screen and also look at a website optimised for a mobile phone such as the BBC:

http://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/mobile/default/search.html

So, how do we make the consumer trust our website and buy from it?

Design
The design of the website must be consistent. And interestingly, consistent, simple design is very appealing without the need for any fancy graphics. Keep the design simple and keep the design clean, take a look at some blank screen, for example Google.

The branding, the logo etc must be on every page. The layout of every page must be consistent, as should fonts, font size and colour.

Navigation must be the same on every page. It’s no good loosing your consumer in your site, they’ll move on. If you have so much information on your site why not integrate a search engine onto the page and always have a sitemap? This will help with navigation.

Words
If the site is selling online and credit or debit card details are needed, make sure the security of the system is identified to the consumer.

You may want a newsletter or a registering process for more information. Therefore email addresses will be collected and stored. Again, make it clear they will be kept securely and not sold on to a third party.

The Human Touch
Recommendations are now becoming more common and really useful. But then you have to trust complete strangers… If there are many comments or recommendations then it is possible to form an opinion, but maybe not when there is only one or two.

I always add our sites onto the human directory www.dmoz.org. When a site is suggested to this directory, a human being, with an understanding of the business of the suggested site will check it out and then add it to the directory. The major search engines also take notice of this site and periodically get update from this directory and add it to their own.

I always suggest that our clients make their contact details very obvious, sometimes on every page. Personally I won’t buy from a site if I can’t see any contact details. I want to see a real address and a telephone number. If the company is a limited company I want to know and of course it is law that a Limited company’s details are on the website. Basically, no matter where the company is in the world, I want to know that if I chose to that I could knock on their door.

To me then, trust seems to come down to the human element. But perhaps that’s old fashioned, what do you think?

The article is at http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/04/29/men-want-it-fast-women-want-it-all and it’s also worth reading the comments at the bottom of the page.