What is a mobile website?

When mobile devices first started getting smart you needed to create a special mobile version of your website so visitors could see things properly on their tiny, little device screens. Then more devices started getting smarter so you needed to have multiple versions of your mobile site – in addition to your “real” website – so that they rendered properly on all the various smart devices.

Now, design standards are getting smarter and developers are turning to what’s referred to as “responsive design.” Responsive design allows website designers to create one website that will respond to media queries and render the page in a device-appropriate way. So if you are visiting a page on your desktop you may see two columns with a full menu across the top of the page. If, however, you are using your iPhone you may only see one column with the menu displayed as a list under the content.

Here are some great examples of responsive design at DesignModo.

What is an app?

An “app” is an application that is designed to let users perform specific tasks much like a software on your computer. There are two kinds of apps; mobile and native.

A mobile app requires internet access and works like a specialized website. A native app does not require internet access and runs on the device operating system.

For more information, you can see a side-by-side comparison of mobile vs. native apps on WebMonkey.

Which do I need?

Arguably, a website is a must for your business or nonprofit. It’s how you share your message with your audience and how you establish your credibility.

A mobile app can provide your audience with a great tool, improved user experience and potentially provide a revenue stream.

The first thing you’ll need to do when evaluating whether to update your website or have a custom app developed is to decide what your goals are. How will either better serve your audience and make their life easier, more enjoyable or more productive?

If you don’t know the answer to that, don’t waste your time on either.

It’s one of the first questions most folks ask when they begin thinking about redoing their business website.

Fair question. We all live in the real world and we don’t have money to burn.

To answer the question lets begin by looking at what you’re “buying.”

What kind of website are you getting?

It may be a robust, dynamically generated website based on a content management system. It may be a basic, brochure-type website that requires you to go through your developer to make edits and add content.

On the surface, both are tools to help you market your products or services. But the investment – and value – of each are very different.

A content management system provides a greater value because you are more likely to make those changes or add content. When you need to go through a third party – and write another check –  you might say “Mheh, I’ll wait. It’s not that important.”

This however creates an opportunity cost. You forgo maintaining your website – content becomes outdated, search engine results go down – and as a result lower the return on your investment.

(For more information on content development systems, go to: Content Management System: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.)

How much flexibility are you getting?

You may be getting a website where the page layout is based on the type of information on the page. You may be getting a one-size-fits-every-page template.

One of the most important aspects of effective website design is creating a website that is not only attractive but easy to use – for your readers. Often this means creating one type of layout for your “About Us” content and another type of layout for your “What’s Happening” section.

Trying to make your square-peg content fit into your round-hole template may cost usability – which will likely cost you visitors.

(For more information on website usability check out: Website Usability: Website Navigation and Website Usability: Wayfinders to help users find their way.)

Are you buying more than you need?

Just as often as clients ask for too little, they ask for too much. You may be getting a content management system that will allow you have an unlimited number of layouts “just” in case. This is the ugly cousin of the one-size-fits-every-page template.

You can burn through your budget creating a structure for every potential eventuality. Or you can make a reasoned assessment of what you need what you will need over the short to mid-term and build for that.

Paying too much for features you don’t need will, in all likelihood, cost you features – or other marketing initiatives – that would help you grow your business.

(For information on combating this issue, read WHY SCOPE CREEP IS YOUR FAULT (AND WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PREVENT IT) from Newfangled. Its from the perspective of the website designer/developer but worth reading.)

So how much should I spend on my website?

How much should you spend on your car? It depends.

It depends on:

• what you need it to do
• what features are important to you
• what kind of service you want/expect
• how long you expect to keep it
• what you can afford

When you are interviewing website developers about your project and you ask what a website costs, make sure you understand what that really means.

Like many concepts, however, “content” has become something of a buzz word that often defied definition, much less concrete examples. Practitioners often like to keep concepts a bit hazy so as to maintain the sense that they are among the elite and have access to something the masses do not; knowledge.

I don’t much care for that approach. So when I came across the following slide show with 100 examples of great content marketing campaigns, I just had to share.

Yorktown Heights, NY, (March 7, 2012) - Marketing Cafe announced the launch of its most recent website development project, GarageDivision.com a division of Chaos Commandos.

The new site, GarageDivision.com, the first part of an ongoing project, creates an online portfolio for Chaos Commandos to show off the high-end projects they’ve managed for clients.

“Over time time we’ll be adding a blog, a client communications piece and of course, we’ll continue to highlight the great work that Rob [Mizrahi] does for his clients,” explains Jann Mirchandni, Owner and Chief Marketing Officer of Marketing Cafe.

I headed down to New Rochelle to the WVOX studios to talk about how businesses can use online marketing to grow.

We talked about how online marketing might work with traditional marketing, social media marketing and email marketing. We covered a lot of ground in 30 minutes!

In case you missed it you can listen to it right here!

Listen to interview on “Westchester Means Business”.

What’s the answer? In a word? YES. Yes, you do need to learn how to speak social media. Your clients and prospects and business partners expect you to be there. It’s a simple as that.

So consider this your Foder’s Guide for social media.

Learn The Culture

Just like you might become acquainted with some of the customs of a foreign country you might be visiting, you should learn the customs of the social media channels in which you will be moving.

To do this, spend some time hanging around to get the lay of the land. How are other businesses using Facebook? What are your competitors doing with Twitter? How about LinkedIn groups? YouTube channels?

Like, Follow, Connect and see what’s happening.

Learn The Language

There are some terms that are common across channels and some colloquialisms that are unique to each. You might post on Facebook and LinkedIn but you’ll Tweet in Twitter.

If you want to “speak” like a native than go ahead and immerse yourself. “Tag” friends and associates in Facebook to share the love. Create a hashtag in Twitter to follow a conversation topic.

Try some of these sources to learn more:

• Check out Facebook’s own glossary.
• Here’s a good listing of Twitter lingo.
• For YouTube I found a nice list at Yahoo! Answers

A quick Google search will yield tons of results.

Make Your Travel Plans

Don’t wait until you know it all; by then it will have changed. Go ahead and make your plans and GO! You will do more harm to your business by not engaging in social media than you will by trying something new.

Expect those “lost in translation moments.” It’s OK! If something doesn’t go as planned, acknowledge and adjust. Think of the Red Cross Twitter fail. Social media is exactly the place where it’s OK to be human.

Become A Frequent Flyer

Don’t visit just one time. Your social media channels should become your home-away-from-home. The more you use it, the more you’ll become familiar and comfortable there.

Learning Social Media as a second – or third or fourth – language is an important aspect of marketing your business. It shouldn’t be your only tool, but it should certainly be one of them! Happy Travels!!

Yorktown Heights,NY, (January 24, 2012) ­ Marketing Café recently launched the new website for the “Worst Of Westchester” contest winner Yonkers Partners In Education (YPIE). The site, YPIE.org, went live on January 23.

The quirky contest was designed to celebrate Marketing Café’s own rebranding by paying it forward and helping aWestchesterbusiness with their website. The winner received consultation on effective web marketing, a website redesign, including a new blog and implementation all at no cost to the organization.

“The process [of rebranding and redesigning our own website] was challenging but ultimately such a valuable exercise. We wanted to share that with others,” says Marketing Café’s Jann Mirchandani.

YPIE’s winning entry emphasized the important work they do for the Yonker’s Community as well as a vision of what they wanted to achieve. That was a winning combination, says Mirchandani. “It demonstrated an understanding of how they could leverage their website to help them achieve their goals; they just needed help putting together the tools to make it happen. We’re delighted that we could do this for them.”

“We are so thrilled with the gift that we received from Jann Mirchandani from Marketing Café! Our new website is sophisticated, beautiful and easy to navigate. We are incredibly grateful to Jann for her brilliance, skill, patience and generosity. Who would have thought that being the Worst of Westchester would result in making us among the best! YPIE’s goal is to increase the number ofYonkersstudents who complete a post-secondary program and this new website is a wonderful tool for us to reach the public.”

For more information about Marketing Café contact Jann Mirchandani at 914 806-7720 or visit www.westchestermarketingcafe.com.

Read the case study and see the site: YPIE Case Study.

8 Easy Ways to Boost Your Website on a Budget

Visit YPIE.org

Whatever the case, Wikipedia and many other websites have “gone black” in protest over the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP ACT (PIPA). Google’s doodle was hidden in support of the protest.

“SOPA, the House of Representative’s version, and PIPA, its Senate counterpart, target foreign websites that intentionally steal copyrighted material and intellectual property for their own profits. The bills are strongly backed by the U.S. film and recording industries.

Legislation already enacted — the Digital Millenium Copyright Act — protects intellectual property and provides for that content to be removed from sites when its use is unauthorized. SOPA and PIPA are different in that they would allow the government to punish sites that publish the unauthorized content.”

Read the whole article from FoxBusiness.com

What does this mean for us?

Well, as a web marketer, I advise all my clients to create content and share it widely and generously for there is no profit in being a well kept secret.

But what happens if, in your honest and earnest attempt to educate your readers, you inadvertently link to a site with any links to any material that infringes on copyrights? Your site could be shut down if this legislation goes through.

Small business owners’ edge is their size and nimbleness. But if they need a team of lawyers to make sure they are not held liable for the actions of a foreign website not only do they lose their ability to act quickly but the very act of running a business online becomes cost-prohibitive.

Internet piracy is a very real threat, and I recognize the need for music and entertainment companies (the primary backers of this legislation) to protect their material from illegal downloads. However, many feel the language of the bills is far too broad and threatens legitimate business conduct as well as acts of piracy.

Here’s a great primer from The Guardian.

As this debate rages on can anyone really believe that the politicians and corporate backers of this bill are concerned with the concerns of the small business owner? Only if we make them.