U.S. NetworX

We’ve previously posted the Top 10 signs you’re using a bad site/email hosting company, so it’s only fair to post the signs your website needs to be redesigned. Watch out, folks, we are trained professionals…just not in comedy.

1.    You forgot you even had a website or what it looks like.
2.    It has a hit/traffic counter at the bottom of the page. (Congrats on your 20 visitors.)
3.    There’s an animated stick figure in a hard hat, with flashing “Website Under Construction!” text.
4.    Your homepage has an address like http://yourISP.com/home/~yourusername.html
5.    The site is built entirely in Flash.
6.    When you call your host, the call goes straight to voicemail, which is currently full or has not been setup.
7.    Audio or video automatically plays when you visit, but you can’t turn it off.
8.    Menu options read Page 1, Page 2, Page 3 …
9.    Your host says the design can’t be viewed on your iPhone.
10.    It’s hosted at MySpace.

Gather ’round, kids. Here’s some interesting things I’ve come across in the shortest month of the year.

Did Google catch Bing’s hand in the cookie jar?

Earlier this month, Google posted on their blog about what they charge Bing doing: surreptitiously taking Google search results and branding them as their own. Reading through their blog, it’s an interesting experiment as to how Google created nonsensical search results and let staffers search for those “loaded” terms. Within time, the fake search results (nonsense terms that lead to even crazier results) were finding their way to Bing. Google alleges that there looks to be some sort of connection of either Internet Explorer 8 or the Bing Toolbar that is taking Google search results and forwarding them to Bing for use.

Universities reaching out to social media for student retention

Colleges are looking at social media tools, including customized Facebook apps, to help stymie an up to 40 percent loss of students after the freshman year. NPR reports that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (yes, that Bill Gates) are investing $2 million in Inigral for the work.

Design commentary for single-page websites

You’ve seen them before – single page sites, sometimes called single-serving sites. This SitePoint article looks at some of the better designed ones, and what makes them “work.”

Got a question? There’s a site for that

The New York Times delves into a new batch of question-answer websites that are giving existing Q/A sites a challenge. They report that sites like Quora, Stack Exchange and VYou are working to dethrone other sites, like WikiAnswers and Yahoo Answers. As a disclaimer of sorts, I’ve used (and had much success) with Ask MetaFilter for crowd-sourced help.

It’s all about the content, baby

And now for something completely different. Two cartoons have caught my eye that delve into the difference in what site owners want vs. what the end-user/public wants. The Oatmeal beats up on restaurant websites, while XKCD thrashes college sites.

And now for something completely different…

Enough serious and topical discussions; it’s time for a laugh. Our topic this time? The top 10 signs and warnings your hosting company won’t be around next year.

1. The CEO’s email ends in @gmail.com, @aol.com, or an ISP’s domain, like @comcast.net or @bellsouth.net
2. Their website has an animated stick figure wielding a shovel with the words “Under Construction!” blinking under it.
3. You get a popup that suggests you download the company’s official screensaver.
4. Their contact page doesn’t work and the phone number has been disconnected.
5. You see a note that the website was “Optimized for Internet Explorer version X, at Y by Z resolution.”
6. They swear up and down you’ll have unlimited disk space and/or bandwidth.
7. They recommend adding a publicly viewable counter to your site design so you can track visitors.
8. Once you load their website, music auto-plays. And it’s probably unlicensed.
9. The English language isn’t their primary tongue. Or secondary, for that matter.
10. They have a MySpace page.

I’ve given two of Google’s products a spin recently, and here are some thoughts and notes I’ve collected. By no means am I CNET-caliber in covering online technology, but an above-average Internet user. So maybe I have an idea of what to expect and how things should work.

The Chrome browser

At home, I was frustrated with the slow download of photos from a photographer’s website. I had previously tried Chrome at home (Hey, that rhymes!) when it was released, but I deemed it too buggy and some sites didn’t react too well to it, so I returned to Firefox.

With the current version of Chrome, though, the speed increase over an updated Firefox was noticeable. Chrome loaded more quickly and didn’t stall and eventually crash like FF did. Winner, winner, chicken dinner! With that result, I’ve started using Chrome at the office as my go-to browser. It’s only crashed once on me; probably the good ole PEBKAC issue.

The other bonus for me was the search function, especially when I need to find a word in a long post or list of links. Firefox does it well enough, but I noticed that Chrome not only highlights the word, but also adds little notches in the vertical scroll bar to help say, “Hey! Look! Go up HERE to see another instance!”

Only thing I’ve seen as an issue with Chrome was a Flash website that took longer to run and didn’t match the look of the same site in Firefox. Honestly, I don’t know how much of that is a Chrome bug vs. that site developer not taking Chrome into consideration.

Verdict: It’s worth a try if you feel like experimenting with a browser that’s Internet Explorer or Firefox. There is a speed difference in your favor, too.

Next time: Google’s Wave

In light of recent economic occurrences (we’re in a recession — or not, depending on who you listen to), it’s understandable to keep a tighter rein on the company funds.  However, don’t sacrifice cost-efficient ways to promote your business, i.e.  your website.  Now, I know I am in the web business, but the facts speak for themselves:

1.  An e-commerce site is waaaaayyyyy more affordable than a brick and mortar store.

2.  Why spend a fortune for an ad in a magazine or newspaper or a television commercial that only a few people will see a limited amount of times, when you can have a website that is available globally 24-7?

3.  Yellow Page ads?  You’re still doing those?  What happens if your ad gets printed wrong (happened to us!)  They’re not going to print a retraction, you know.  You’re stuck with it a whole year.  If you’re going to advertise in the Yellow Pages, at least do it online!

4.  How many of you store owners are working at midnight?  Okay, maybe some of you.  But with an e-commerce store, you can sell while you sleep.  If you’re like me, you work in your sleep anyway, might as well get something out of it.

5.  How many of you that have websites have a way to edit the content?  If you don’t, then call your web developer today.  Talk about an inexpensive way to promote your company – just a little bit of your time.

These are just a few facts.  I’ll add more as I think of them.  And, if you have some cost-saving tips of your own, shoot us an email or give us a call!  I’ll post them on our blog!

With the launch of the new USNX website, I began thinking about the different ones that we’ve been through in the past 9 years – basically a new site every 2 years – and the thought crossed my mind,  “Why do we change our website so often when other companies keep the same old thing they’ve had for years and years?  What do we know that they don’t?”

Well, let’s see…

The same old thing gets boring after a while (don’t tell my husband I said that). Why not at least update the pictures?

Sometimes, your message and your image changes.  Your website needs to reflect those changes.

Technology has come a long way in 9 years.  There are some great features out there like text messaging and online payments that most companies aren’t utilizing.  Why?????

What was great years ago, is outdated and ugly now (think the 80′s and big hair – my apologies to all those who still have big hair, but really…)

Most importantly, if your website is old, then it is not fully optimized for search engines.  And, if search engines can’t find you, then you pretty much don’t exist.  Let’s face it, search engines rule the Internet world and they like to change the way they do things – and OFTEN.  If you want to make it in this market, you’ve got to change with them.

So, in summary, variety is the spice of life, search engines rule the world, and websites are like hair – you gotta keep it styled and up-to-date.

In keeping with Keith’s topic of KISS (don’t get any ideas, Keith), I would like to rant and rave a little about Flash websites. You know the ones with all the animation, things flying around, menu options jumping all over the place. Yeah, they’re cute at first, but geez… I just want to know where you’re located. I don’t need some frog jumping out of a pond onto a lily pad that uses his tongue to spell out the street name. And, is that really professional?

Please people, let’s keep the exploding volcano that shoots out lava that turns into Christmas ornaments that gets hung on an ocean Christmas tree (an ocean Christmas tree????) to a bare minimum. Repeat visitors don’t want to go through that every time they go to your site – especially if they are there to buy something. Put your most popular items within easy reach, just as you would a brick and mortar store and leave the exploding volcanoes to the amateurs.

KISS. We all know that it means to “Keep it simple, stupid.” But knowing and doing are two different things, especially around websites.

What I’m referring to are websites that make you hunt for that little nugget of information that most people are looking for. And often, it’s requested constantly yet easy to present. So why not show it?

How often have you had to click around to find just a phone number or an email address? You could put that info as part of your overall website template, so every page has at least a phone number. On a similar note, put your hours of operation if you’re a store or a retail location.

You can also take a good, hard look at your homepage. What does it say? Is it full of web 2.0 and e-speak terms or how pro-customer you are, or the synergistic relationships you maintain? That’s lovely, but if folks just happened to find you via Google, how about you quickly explain what you offer and do. You need to make me stick around by telling me what you can do or help me with. Can you help me save or make money? If so, explain to me early on how you can do that.

Another arrow in the KISS quiver would be adding an FAQ section to the site. That way, you can put your five or 10 most commonly asked questions right out there. Just think: it might save some phone calls and email correspondence if folks can refer to a page on your site.

Thinking back to traveling twice this summer for family trips, one thing that grinds my gears are restaurant websites and their lack of usability. OK, don’t get me wrong, Joe’s House of Bratwurst off Route 9 shouldn’t commit $7,500 for a one-time visit from a “usability expert,” but they shouldn’t forego thinking like their audience.

Here are some issues I’ve seen on restaurant websites:

PDF-only menus
I appreciate having your menu available to view and peruse, since I have a picky-eater daughter. But do I need to run Adobe Reader just to find out if you have a PB&J sandwich for her or not?

Solution: list the menu in typical HTML fashion, and have a link to the PDF if I want to print it. That way, there’s one less click I have to make to see what you offer. You can also consider that Google and Bing are more likely to index your menu if they don’t have to dig inside a PDF file. (And if the PDF is basically a scanned graphic, chances are they can’t see you extolling the taste of your new chocolate ganache.)

Auto-loading Flash video or music
This isn’t a restaurant-only complaint, but this is commonplace on the sites I’ve researched while traveling. I take it you’re proud of your wine cellar or the beautifully lit dining room, but can I use your homepage without a full-on media assault? Oh, and why is the Skip button usually so hard to find?

Solution: embed a Flash video or a YouTube player in part of your template. If I feel the need to watch a tour, I can, and on my own terms. But remember that there is still a large U.S. audience who doesn’t have home broadband and might not be able to view your large files.

Welcome to U.S. NetworX’s blog!

You might be thinking, “Oh, great … a web firm that’s going to copy and paste various industry articles that I can find on my own.” Au contraire, dear reader; that’s the last thing we want to do. What we want to post here are our various thoughts, comments and associated STUFF that comes up.

We’ve got a large enough staff with a wide variety of interests that our posts are going to go in lots of directions. There will be some comments you might like and others you won’t. And we’re OK with that; really, we are.

So, keep your eyes peeled for what we say next.