A Virtual Reality

We at YellowDawg have begun to wonder what’s next. What will be the future of the web design business? How will YellowDawg remain competitive as more and more web design companies emerge in the Victoria, BC, market? Of course, as always we hold a strong devotion towards customer service and client interaction. But what about our end product? How can YellowDawg deliver websites that meet and exceed our client’s wildest imagination? The key, we believe, is to find new ways of understanding our clients’ visions.

Is it no secret: to run a successful web design business you’re going to have to find ways to make your clients thrilled with their new websites. Knowing their vision and understanding their ambitions play an essential part in this. However, this is no small feat.  Differences between our clients’ vision and our own vision may differ. Two different parties can, nevertheless, see things in completely different ways – especially considering many of our clients come from backgrounds completely different than our own. To counteract his we have adopted new communication technologies like Jing, and relied on Skype to relay quick messages when necessary. Of course, these will never take the place of meeting with a client in person, but they do, we think, markedly improve communication and contribute to the positive customer experience that has long set us out from the competition. 

But, getting back to my original question, what’s next? What can YellowDawg and its clients look forward to in the future? One slightly Orwellian answer might come from the good folks at Japan’s ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories. It is here that scientists have developed brain analysis technology that can reconstruct the images inside a person’s mind and display them on a computer monitor.  No…seriously. No joke.

Although only currently able to reconstruct peoples thoughts in small measures of black and white dots, scientists believe that with further development the technology may soon make it possible to view other people’s dreams while they sleep, and – more importantly to us, be utilized in the world of art and design.  In fact, they posit that it might even become possible to quickly and accurately access images existing inside an artist’s head (or, in our case, a client’s head). 

So, fear not people, one day YellowDawg might even be able to read your mind and anticipate your deepest website desires even better than we do today!

Check out the link for the full article: http://www.pinktentacle.com/2008/12/scientists-extract-images-directly-from-brain/

4 Reasons why textual content is pivotal to the development of your website

The importance of a website's textual content, or 'copywrite' as it's called in the biz, is embodied in the very same reason you're reading this sentence. Visitors read your website. However, whether that's for 2 minutes, or even 2 seconds, has a lot to do with the care and thought you put into making your written content count.

In the better interest of mankind, here at YellowDawg we've compiled a list of 4 important reasons why your website's textual content is pivotal to its development.

1. Usability

How many times have you visited a site and spent more than 30 seconds trying to find out what it is you're looking for? If you have, chances are you don't even recall what the purpose of that website was – never mind bookmarking, signing-up for their newsletter or recommending it to a friend.

In a society where time is money, good textual content gives your visitors a reason to browse your website. In fact, it will not only capture your visitor's interest, it will help them navigate and enjoy their browsing experience. By carefully considering vocabulary, placement and structure, textual content will direct your visitors to the information, products or services you're trying to communicate and/or or sell. And, quite frankly, nothing about your website is more important than that.

2. First Impressions

Perhaps it's due to my liberal arts background, but nothing puts me off more than finding misspellings and/or grammatical errors while browsing through a website. Granted, the proverbial 'typo' does happen - we're all guilty of them. However, a website is not your average email or Facebook wall-posting, rather it is the transmitter of your company's first impression. And call me crazy, but I'll guess that your intended first impression does not involve incompetence.

In many ways the content on your website is like the cover letter on a resume. It should be intriguing, informative, to-the-point, and have some sort of well-structured flow. Negating this jeopardizes your chances of making that positive first impression.

3. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

With the rise of Google, SEO has become a preeminent lion of the internet kingdom. Simply stated, the more conducive your website is to Goolge's search engine algorithms, the better chance it has of showing up at the top of a search page. 'The lions share' of this conduciveness is achieved through your website's textual content – both in terms of quality and quantity. Key words, for instance, have a large degree of influence, but simply writing down as many of them as you can is not as effective as incorporating them into a constructive piece of writing.

If you're thinking of looking to web traffic as a significant part of your business plan, pick up a book on SEO. From what I've read thus far, Search Optimization for Dummies gives you a great general overview of the topic and will have you content-crazy in no time. Check it out here

4. Be distinguished

A website with well-written textual content is miles ahead of websites which have otherwise. Much like a good newspaper or magazine, it will endure time and people will look to it as a reliable source of information or advice. If you're a company launching a new website and your competitors already enjoy a strong web presence, well-written content is a great way to distinguish yourself.

If you're interested in learning more about how to create distinguishing content, drive traffic, improve first impressions, and make your website 'sticky', we at YellowDawg can help.

Call (250-391-6406) or email us with your questions, we'll be glad to answer them for you!

Effective communication: using new technologies to bridge the gap

Hello there, my name is Owen Perry. I’m new to the Yellow Dawg team here in Victoria, BC. Over the next little while I’ll be bringing you stories about interesting trends in the web design business and how Yellow Dawg is continually trying to improve value for their customers.

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Effective communication: using new technologies to bridge the gap

       Having worked in the Systems and Technology division of Canada’s largest telecommunications company, I certainly know useful email can be. On the flip side, however, I also know what it’s like to be up to your neck in it. In fact, I vividly remember a point during a major system release where I sat motionless, gazing in awe as a steady stream of new email populated my inbox in an almost intravenous-like fashion. Was there substance behind every single message? Of course not. Most of them were minute-by-minute updates from our PMO team, or contained impertinent information from adjacent departments having absolutely nothing to do with the projects at hand.

        I guess the point I’m trying to make here is this: while it’s clear that email occupies an ever more pivotal role in our daily communications, it can often be a little overwhelming.  And this, in turn, brings up a important question: is email the best way to communicate your key messages or ideas these days? More tangibly, can you be sure your email will stand-out amongst the hundred or so other emails flooding your client’s inbox? Will they pay attention to what you have to tell them? As of late, the happy elves of YellowDawg.com have been considering just such questions and are busy at work brainstorming new and unique ways the drawbacks of email can be alleviated.

        “Time and time again,” says James Manke, owner of YellowDawg.com, “our most successfully designed websites are those where good communication exists between us and our client.” Exploring ways to augment this vital communication, without bombarding clients with truckloads of requests or approvals via email, is of chief concern. One way James and the team believe they can accomplish this is through a new software called Jing.

        At its root, Jing allows James and the team to instantly capture screen shots or record desktop videos of the projects they’ve been working on for clients. These images and video can then be uploaded to a temporary website where Yellow Dawg clients can view their emerging project and provide direct feedback at a time of their choosing. “It cuts down on email, phone and in-person consultation, yet improves transparency for our clients,” says James, “Clients want to be a part of the creation of their website’s design and functionality. Jing’s ‘Visual conversation’ technology empowers them to do this.”

Watch the official Jing video to learn more about this exciting technology:

http://video.techsmith.com/jing/latest/demo/introvideo/index.html?keepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=440&width=640

Stock Images for your web site

Finding the right imagery for your site is so important! The photos should have meaning, tell a story to your viewer and at the same time following your brand. A lot of our clients ask us where to find the best pictures for the best price. Check out istock photo. This is a great resource and images are as low as $1

Tell Google Your Business Location

Google wants to know your business location. Why not help them out (and yourself) by filling out their online application ?
Go to the Google Local Business Center and fill out all the necessary information. Shortly after you submit your details, Google sends you a postcard in the mail. On the postcard is a PIN number, which you input back into the Google Business Center in order to be verified.

It says on the postcard that your business will be listed in about 6 weeks, and you can check its status by returning to the Local Business Center.

The postcard also comes with a coupon for "Free Google Advertising Credit". If you've been thinking about giving AdWords a try, then here's a bit of incentive. Google recommends a budget of about $25 / month, to start an AdWords campaign. The campaigns are easy to setup and the ads only appear to those in your target area.

This ties in with an announcement made by Google on February 2, 2007 to start personalizing search results. Basically this means that there could be different search results for different people. A great article by Dave Davies outlines a few of the possible scenarios which could arise from this change.