(woooh!)

The date the article is being published?  20th December 2010!

Although it’s horribly scary to think of Christmas whilst still enduring this awful wet excuse of a summer, every business person needs to remember that NOW is the time to market your website in magazines, newspapers, industry journals, trade papers, Christmas newsletters and even the 2011 New Year promotional media resource.

At Access-by Design, one of the saddest parts of our job is watching a client who has;

• thoughtfully and carefully created their website copy
• embraced our design ideas and contributed excellent ones of their own
• diligently taken on board all the training
• met every deadline in the design schedule

…but after their website is launched

• stops writing their blog
• doesn’t add news items and
• overlooks any form of marketing for their website

No press releases are sent out; No promotional offers appear in the media.; Not a handout or a sticker is seen on anything, be it a billboard or a car bumper.

Here is the basic fact.

It does not matter how great your website is, how many pages it has, how many special effects or gizmos it has…or even how far up the search engines you are, if you do not

a) keep your website up to date and

b) market it

it is unlikely that your website is going to grow your business.

It is VERY RARELY the case, if a site is dynamic and has strong SEO ,that what it needs is more SEO or that the website is somehow ‘broken’.

• What have you done on your website to prepare for the busiest period of the entire year?

• What have you done outside of your website to make sure people know about you and your business/organisation?

Here are 10  quick things you can do RIGHT NOW to raise the profile of your website.

• 1) Write a news item (200-500 words)  in your website describing something special you have done in the last 6 months (as if your did it yesterday!)
• 2) Write a blog entry (if you have one) on your website. Make it about 100-300 words giving your views on something in your industry. For example;
  • If you are a retailer, talk about ONE new item that you sell that  you PERSONALLY love and give reasons why we should buy it NOW;
  • If you are in the hospitality or leisure industry, write YOUR thoughts about the chilly, bright sun and cold windy days to come and why booking a holiday, break, visit or daytrip NOW is a must;
  • If you are a service provider, talk PERSONALLY about why booking your businesses services will make your clients’ lives easier this Christmas and why they should book NOW;
  • If you are a sole trader, talk about something funny (withholding names and dates) to illustrate how your actions/interventions/talents/skill saved the day and why people should hire you or your products NOW because of it!

• 3) If you sell a product, create a press release suggesting that your product would make an excellent present and send it to the media that best suits your industry from glossy mag to industry newsletter.
  If possible include some human element in it for example:
  • has your product helped someone overcome a difficulty?
  • Are you a ‘rags to riches’ business person who has a great story to tell?
  • Did your business beat the odds in these hard times?
  • Are you a designated contractor for the 2012 Olympics?
  • has someone in your company won an award, got a fantastic grant, been given an amazing  qualification?

• 4) As magazines and journals gear up for Christmas and the New Year have you got a product that is original, innovative and can’t be bought on the High Street? If the answer is yes, find a name in the magazine/journal and tell them about it.

• 5) Start a Christmas countdown group as an offshoot in Facebook and add a product a day.
• 6) Join Twitter, get an app on your mobile phone and try and ‘tweet’ once a day NB ONLY ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS – NOT  trivia.
• 7) Join linkedin and get yourself found (this is particularly good for sole traders).
• Organise your Christmas event NOW whist a few good venues are still free and invite the key people you want as clients NOW before they get 50 other invitations to similar events.
• 9) Invest in a short run of postcards. (One of our printers has just done a run of 250, double sided glossy postcards for £20. Call us today to see if this was a one-off or if we can talk them into doing it again!) and spend a day:
  • putting them through every letterbox of every house that looks like it belongs to the kind of client you would like to have
  • putting them in every corner shop and post office between Brighton and Portsmouth
  • giving them out on the Friday market (with council permission) which is the only day that a person  holding leaflets is not treated like a leper!
• 10) Spend a day ringing as many existing clients you can and offer them a free ‘add your product here’ if they can get you one new client.

There is no need to use language that makes you sound like you are auditioning for a role in “The Apprentice”. Keep it real.

Everyone who is in business or has a website has a skill, talent or simply a story to tell. This is what you use to bring in customers/clients/readers.

Your website becomes important ONLY WHEN IT ATTRACTS VISITORS. And that, quite simply is up to you.

Finally

Remember – a website is not just for Christmas. It’s for life.

Now get going and market it!!!

* btw If you are lucky enough to be picked up by a glossy magazine do NOT expect payment and be prepared to be shown the way THEY want to show you.

The presentation covered the four primary website  problems businesses identify as the most critcial;

• My website content is out of date…
• My website is nowhere on Google…
• My website doesn’t always work…
• My products/services don’t sell online…

We have added the Powerpoint presentation here which offers help and solutions to these problems – please see the notes for more information.  We can also provide this information in audio format on request.

• Powerpoint (pptx) for users of Word 2007+
• Powerpoint (ppt) for users of Word  97-2003
• Plain Text Transcript

If you have any problems with your website – why not call us today to see if we can advise you. We also offer for accessibility audits  will REAL help and advice to make you website more accessible and ‘disability friendly’.  Contact us on 01243 514454.

Getting more business from your Website.

Website problems and how to resolve them.

Presentation created by Clive and Jess Loseby ©2009 Access-by Design (www.access-bydesign.com) Distribution allowed only for non-profit and with full accreditation please.

Common Problems 1- 4

• My website content is out of date…
• My website is no-where on Google…
• My website doesn’t always work…
• My products/services don’t sell online…

These are the four main problems identified by the business community that effect the performance, capability and effectiveness of their website.

Problem #1: My website content is out of date.

If your website is out of date – find a way of editing SOMETHING.

Ideally, you would have a dynamic website that you could edit yourself, but if not there are other ways of adding new content – even if you are not ‘allowed’ to make changes to your website yourself.

• Get a blog – there are lots of free blogging portals that can be added (almost) seamlessly to any website so you can add news and events yourself.
• Use social networking. All sites such as facebook, twitter and myspace allow you to make ‘badges’ so people can visit your page and talk to you.
• Use online image portals such as flicker or video such as youtube. All can be added as links or attachments to your website.
• Add testimonials – add via a blog, mailinglist or free guestbook. People buy services from business they trust.
• There are many newsletters and/or mailing lists available (often free) to keep clients up-to-date with products and services. You can refer to your website via links to highlight key areas/products.

Dos & Don’ts when using additional features such as social networking and free are:

• Keep it Professional. Only use a personal blog if your personal activities are relevant to your business – you have a reputation to maintain which can be shattered by a misguided ‘joke’ posted by a ‘friend’. Also remember that most social networking site carry adverts – some may directly contradict your company ethos or even be by your competitors!
• Keep it Focused. You might well ‘be’ your business but your customer will probably still not want to see pictures of your last holiday or read ‘funny’ comments left by your friends.
• Think about Longevity. Nothing looks worse than an out of date news page or blog. Only start something if you KNOW you have the time to keep it going.

Problem #2 My website is no-where on Google.

People tend to forget that Google is a business too and it wants to look GOOD. Any search engine is only as good as its results. It tailors its own search index criteria too look for websites that will show how effective IT is as a search engine. If you don’t give it want it needs – you won’t make the front page. Google looks for four main aspects to a website. Presently these are:

• relevancy
• traffic
• activity
• and classification.

So – why SHOULD Google visit your website? Give it a reason!

Reason #1) You have added a new entry to your blog.

• Every time you add a blog entry Google revisits your website (providing it has been set up correctly, of course).
• Blogs talk about your business in a way that can be clearly identified as relevant.
• Blogs create activity and traffic.

Reason #2) Your RSS Feeds.

• RSS feeds show Google your website updates regularly.
• RSS feeds help contextualise your business within a global/national market.
• RSS create activity, traffic and classification.

Reason #3) Google sees that people are using your links as a general resource.

• Links create communities and customers.
• Well selected links classify and legitimize you by contextualisation and association.
• Links create activity and traffic.

Reason #4)

Google identifies your site as have interesting, well labelled images.

• Images have the same properties as textual content (Only if ‘alt’ tag is used).
• Images classify and contextualise by descriptions.
• Images can be ‘tagged’ which create relevancy and are independently searchable.

Google Dos and Don’ts are;

1) Keep Professional.

• Don’t use methods such as ‘squeeze’ pages, javascript redirects to ‘bump up’ your hits, auto refreshing pages, multiple ‘copy and paste’ for extra content or spam people with ‘news’ emails or you WILL be marked down by Google.

2) Keep Focused.

• If you use Adsense, make sure you choose adverts that are relevant to you.
• Don’t use single words as meta tags. Think about relevant phrases instead.
• Don’t overuse keywords/phrases. or you WILL be marked down by Google.

3) Think about Longevity.

• Do check links regularly as websites change and delete pages all the time,
• check RSS feeds are working regularly
• and don’t take on a Blog if you can’t keep it up-to-date or you WILL be marked down by Google.

Problem #3 My website doesn’t always work.

Problems with websites are often caused by incompatibility.

Not only are there lots of internet browsers now – there are lots of versions too.

Most websites are only designed to work on one version of Internet Explorer – but there a 3 versions in high use in the UK and they are very different. Other popular browsers in common use are;

• Safari
• (Mozilla) Firefox
• Google Chrome
• Opera
• Flock (watch out for that last one as it is created for social networking addicts and set to be a big hit.).

There are usually around 3 versions of each browser in use at any one time. Are you sure your website works on these? This chart usually makes businesses scared.

Be VERY scared!

The following is a list of browsers/internet ready devices that are in common use in the UK.

Web Browsers:

• Internet Explorer 6-8.
• Mozilla Firefox (3 versions)
• Safari (3 versions)
• Opera (3 versions)
• Google Chrome (Beta).

On mobile devices the most used browsers are;

• Windows Mobile
• Safari Mobile
• Opera (SSR – Small Screen Rendering)
• Firefox Mobile (Beta)

plus a range of brand-specific browsers such as;

• Polaris
• JB5,
• BOLT
• Blazer
• Skyfire.

Monitor screens now range from;

• 1280 x1024+ / Widescreen  – which is the currently the most commonly used monitor size in the UK
• 1024 x 868+ which has previously been standard screen size across all age groups,
• 800 x 600 which still covers between 10 and 20% of internet users in the UK and all new Netbooks
• 640×480 – which is estimated to still effect between 1-5% of UK internet users but vitally, is STILL the default resolution on low-end screens such as those used by patients in hospitals and within the public sector departments.

As well as these screen sizes and resolutions, most mobile web devices display web pages on portrait NOT landscape screens.

Other new considerations include;

• Internet enabled HD-TV (often powered by Yahoo)
• Internet enabled Sky + boxes
• Internet enabled Wii and X-Box 360
• Wireless internet enabled games consoles such as Nintendo DS, PSP and Ipod Touch.

(PS there are 40+ other web browsers in common use not mentioned here…)

How to make your website work on everything!

The good news is there is one complete solution.

The best (and possibly, only) way of making your website work on all these browsers and devices is to adopt modern and word wide web standards which cover design and accessibility across all technologies – both now and those that may emerge in the future.

• The most well known of these is called WC3 Guidelines (Word Wide Web Consortium) , which in spite of being published over 8 years ago, are still widely ignored.
• The second are the WCAG, which are the Word Wide Web Consortium Accessibility Guidelines, which promote web accessibility
• Lastly is Web 2.0 – which separates how a website looks from its content, enabling and encouraging worldwide distribution and freedom to access information – whatever you are using to view that information.

Many business (and sadly, even web designers) do that think that the either the demand or need is there to adopt these accessible web design techniques. However, it is precisely these techniques which ALSO allow your website to be viewed all the browsers and platforms we previously listed.

Why limit who can see your websites and buy your products and services simply because your website doesn’t work? Don’t settle for second best – ask your designer to adopt accessible web design techniques.

Problem #4: My Products/Services don’t sell online.

To identify what your products or services are not selling online its often easiest to look at successful e-commerce websites and ask yourself what makes them different to you?

Research has identified four solid facts about successful online shops all have to do with the clients ‘shopping experience’.

1) Clients feel safe and secure.

Research has shown that If a client;

• feels they have left the website they were on;
• feels that their personal details may be unsafe;
• can’t clearly see confirmation of what they have bought (and when it will be delivered BEFORE paying)
• can’t easily get help if they get stuck during the shopping or checkout process ;

that they will stop and leave the shop.

2) Clients feel calm and at ease.

If a client feels at all;

• unsure
• panicked
• frustrated due to slowness or complexity of the process

then they will leave the website (even at the very last stage of checkout).

Check your shopping experience from start to finish on a someone else’s unfamiliar computer – would YOU buy from you?

3) Client can see clearly what they are buying.

Images on many web shops are terrible!

• Look at eBay to see images by the most popular sellers.
• Look at the ‘big boys’ shops and how easy the image options they offer are.
• Contact your manufacturer – most will provide high quality images free for web distribution.

4) Clients feel they have options.

Successful online shops usually have most(if not all) of the following options:

• visible contact information;
• an FAQ or Help page;
• optional telephone payment;
• one-click buying option;
• optional account sign-up;
• instant email confirmation and shipping details;
• instant, accurate stock information;
• pictures of their products IN the shopping cart;
• multiple shipping/Postage options.

Check your shop site and make sure you follow these examples of good practice.

In conclusion.

To resolve your website problems take the following action:

• Help clients FIND you
• Make clients feel WELCOME
• Make clients feel SAFE
• Make clients feel INTERESTED
• PROVIDE clients with the ability to choose you and your services.

For any help and advice with what you have read here, please contact Clive Loseby on 01243 514454

©Access-byDesign 2009

• In this article the <> around the mark up has been removed so it does not get applied to the text.

Although, with more designers adopting Web 2.0 principles, the idea that a document structure only has one main heading h1 has ‘sunk in’ (with a co-sponsoring dramatic drop in designers using h1 purely to change the text size) h2 elements are still used, even on the most accessible of pages, as general and multiple mark-up to indicate not a second heading but  any subheadings on the page or to simply make a title bigger. A webpage with several divided areas might have several h2 elements as a title.

Quite simply, this is a basic misunderstanding between the structural mark-up and semantics. A second heading (mark-up) is the second heading of the document content e.g:

h1 A New Look at Web Accessibility /h1
h2 How correct use of mark-up aids understanding of content. /h2

• Remind yourself of  why Web 2.0 is important by watching the video below:

[youtube]6gmP4nk0EOE[/youtube]

Instead Most designers are using h2 as general ”secondary” heading e.g.

h1 This Look at Common Web Design /h1

h2 The Use of Html/h2
p Some writing on html /p
h2 The Advantages of PHP /h2
p Some Writing on php /p
h2 Accessibility and the use of Headings /h2
p Some writing on this subject/p

If it is used multiply on a page an h2 becomes simply a secondary heading or a subheading – all equal. This confuses the user whose browser of assistive technology uses mark-up to aid document comprehension. These elements become irrelevant and the user is unable to gain any indication or item priority or document structure or navigation from their use. It is also confusing for the designer. If the all h2 are equal, where and why do we use h3 or h4..?

To keep a document structure clean and its visual design separate use h2 only if it really is a second heading. For lots of secondary headings (i.e separate titles to areas) use other methods mainly, CSS colour, size or capitalisation and hidden navigational aids or (where accurate and appropriate) the title=”" tag.

A well-worded, textual title or CSS hidden navigational element used to identify page areas and navigation can be invaluable to everyone from those using screen-readers or even those using mobile phone that have a non-standard mobile browser.

We offer training for clients, designers and bespoke accessible design packages for members of the public, businesses and organisations.

Additional client training sessions are usually 1 hour and can be booked in groups of up to 5.

Titles include;

• Create your own online forms (clients only)
• Create your own interactive galleries (clients only)
• Make your images web friendly (Open to all)
• An introduction to basic  web accessibility (Open to all)
• Adding audio to you website (clients only)
• Additional Web Training (topic of choice)
• How to take better digital pictures (Open to all)
• An introduction to Photoshop
• An introduction to Flash
• An introduction to Flash Video
• An introduction to Video Editing
• An introduction to DVD creation
• An introduction to interactive CD Creation

OS Commerce

We are pleased to offer a full OS commerce shop.  Linking seamlessly to any existing dynamic site created by us, or simply to replace a tired old website entirely, a full e-commerce  shop is the best and most comprehensive way of getting your goods and services sold and widening your customer base.

• Our shop sites link seamlessly with  our  normal websites allowing you to have FULL control over your business on the web – from images to prices, you decide. We take care of the contemporary and stylish design and all the technical stuff!
• Our shops allow you to keep track of your stock, manage your orders, highlight new products and manage Sales and cut-price products
• Our shops allow clients to pay with any credit or debit card or even telephone through orders
• Our shops are fully encrypted with state-of-the art security
• Our shops have generous bandwidth on a private dedicated server only for Access – by Design clients, allowing lots of products and lots of buyers without any crashes!
• Our shops require a merchant account. Sadly, as is the case with all web designers, we cannot set this up for you or even give you current prices (as the banks will only talk to customers directly). However, remember you can use ANY bank for your merchant account -not just your usual one.  Shop around for the best deal for your shop!

Downloads Only

Our download e-commerce shop is perfect for those looking for a simple, easy-to -manage shop where customers can download items – be it music, spoken word, meditations, courses, documents etc.

• Our download shop is integrated completely with your website allowing you full control of your orders and layout
• Our download shop is (obviously) only suitable for downloadable goods.
• You can highlight special offers, have multiple categories and keep track of stock.
• The download store DOES NOT require a merchant account. However, we currently only support Paypal and Protex as secure payment gateways
• The shop has a set-up fee and a small monthly payment. Ideal for those who need real value for money.

Add to Cart Buttons

For many businesses, only a few of their range of products are suitable for on-line purchase or postal delivery.  Also, for community groups and charities their products are actually gifts sold simply to support their charity, or group  such asT-shirts or Mugs.  For these kinds of clients, we recommend simple ‘Add to Cart’  or ‘Buy Now’ buttons via Paypal.

Yes, we DO know many people are worried about using Paypal for their checkout system because of the horror stories regarding internet security of a few years ago. However, remember now that it is exactly BECAUSE of those horror stories that  Paypal has had to tighten its security so much that now it puts many OS Commerce gateways to shame.

• Paypal can be set up in just a few hours and be ready to accept online payments
• A basic business Paypal account is free to join for business, charities and groups.
• We can customise the online gateway so clients feel safe that they are checking out from YOUR shop
• Button can be customised and allow size and price variations
• Charities can use gift-aid as if it were a ‘real’ shop
• There is no need for a merchant account and NO monthly fees. Paypal take a percentage on payment. Please see their website for the latest costs.
• Clients no longer have to be members of Paypal to pay – they can use any credit or debit card
• We can add automatic server-side redirects to bring clients back to your wbsite after they have paid online and customised, printable success or failure pages so they are sure their payments have been received.
• Paypal  buttons are FREE to run after the initial set-up fee + the usual Paypal transaction charges

Other Options

We can also offer;

• Paypal donate buttons (charities can claim  gift aid as usual)
• Paypal Subscribe buttons – including a renewal process that can be set to a specific time (e.g. annually or bi-annually)
• Paypal Express Checkout – all the benefits of the above but a three-click payment process (supported by higher transaction charges, please see their website for the latest costs.)
• Paypal Invoicing -  Invoice clients and get paid online!
• E-bay store intergration.

All of the above require a basic set-up fee to create and add the buttons, visually integrate payment gateways,  and create success and failure pages for each product/service. From then on Paypal  buttons are FREE to run beyond the  usual Paypal transaction charges.

Using our in-house, broadcast quality studio your business can commission him to write a jingle, a theme or the perfect music for your new product showreel.

Because everything is in-house – from composition, to recording, to finished media, you will be amazed at how affordable this service is for every sized business, community group, charity or even local school.

Want something really big? How about an orchestra?  Access – by Design works with L.B.W. – an international group of professionals wh0 just happen to have an orchestra to hand!

As you can see – nothing is too big or too small for music at Access – by Design. Whether you are just looking for background music for an online corporate video or you are a theatre looking for an orchestrated score  at half the normal fee for your next production we REALLY can do anything…

Call us on the studio number for more details or an informal chat…01243 514567

We offer a professional photography service using the latest digital techniques to produce crystal clear images that are suitable for all media – not just the web. Compared photo to photo, a bespoke shoot for your company costs a fraction of the price than purchasing the same quality stock photography.

Our photographer has a portfolio that you are welcome to view. We also have two amazing specialist photographers we can recommend who work with macro-detailed product shots, architectural and even aerial photography.

Please tell us about your needs today and we can find a photographic solution that suits your branding, your ideas and your wallet! Telephone 01243 514454 and ask about our photographic services…

We have a professional, broadcast-standard, in-house studio where you can create and professionally record the spoken word (such as poetry, writings and meditations) or music (all genres) without the London prices.

With a background including writing and recording for Universal studios to the BBC, Clive Loseby will technically lead your session and mix your work to broadcast standard using the latest recording and digital media as well as tried and tested studio techniques.

Once created, we can help you distribute and/or sell your work as downloadable files. We can even make them ready for i-tunes distribution!

This service is also available for video which can be delivered online as streaming or downloadable files or even played straight from youtube to save your bandwidth!

Call us today on the studio number of 01243 514567 about your project. We are unbeatable on prices  in comparison with any other professional recording and distribution packages!

Seminars and workshops are led by Clive and Jess Loseby, who  are confident and friendly speakers with  national and international experience of leading seminars and workshops for ages two to eighty years! Both have been invited to speak at business platforms,  conferences  and forums of every size, from small groups  to gatherings of as many as five hundred people.

Jess is a respected digital art and media trainer  who has worked as senior associated lecturer  and visiting lecturer in a number of universities and academic conferences and widely across schools in Sussex and Hampshire speaking on  disability awareness for KS1,2 and 3.

We are fortunate to have the use of a fantastic conference area which can provide training and workshop facilities (including PCs and internet access) in Hampshire where we can present bespoke seminars and workshops primarily based around  understanding  accessibility and the internet.

These presentations and/or workshops are useful and informative across a wide range of business, community and academic settings including;

• An introduction to basic  web accessibility
• Accessible techniques, language and attitudes for data entry for the web
• Helping local authorities  to ensure web accessibility
• Parish Councils and accessible community websites
• Accessible web techniques for school websites – teachers and/or administrators
• Helping teachers support accessible web design techniques and language with children (KS2 and 3)
• Accessible techniques for use on community websites
• Accessibility websites and charities
• How to meet  and exceed your legal accessibility obligations for accessibility on you website
• Business websites and the DDA
• Accessible design and marketing – how to reach your maximum audience.
• Accessible web techniques for students studying entry level web design (KS2-MA level)
• Accessible web design for people and small businesses who design and run their own websites
• How to combine visuals and text online to aid understanding of concepts and programmes.
• How to provide cheap but effective alternative media for people with visual or audio needs.
• How to be dyslexia friendly in web and print.
• How to use inclusive language in your web  writings.
• How to use inclusive language in your printed material.
• “Why make my website accessible?” The BIG question.
• “I don’t have disabled customers”. Web accessibility and the small business.

We also offer software and web techiques including;

• How to take better digital pictures
• Make your images web friendly for use on your website
• An introduction to Photoshop
• An introduction to Flash
• An introduction to Flash Video
• An introduction to Video Editing
• An introduction to DVD creation
• An introduction to interactive CD Creation

These are just a few titles that we have found helpful when training local business, community groups and students. However, all seminars and workshops are bespoke and we are happy to discuss any of your ideas for disability training and the internet.

Prices are individual but start from £500. Contact us for an informal chat today on 01243 514454!