BriscoWeb http://www.briscoweb.com Internet Marketing and Web Design Mon, 27 May 2013 10:02:46 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Responsive Website Design in Charlotte http://www.briscoweb.com/responsive-website-design-in-charlotte/ http://www.briscoweb.com/responsive-website-design-in-charlotte/#comments Fri, 18 Jan 2013 11:23:06 +0000 Brian Holzberger http://www.briscoweb.com/?p=859

In the 90′s, learning to create your own website would involve learning HTML. At that time, HTML was quite the beast to tackle, but today it is much more simplified, but if you really want to reach a wide audience, you will need to employ responsive website design.

Web Platforms Todaymobile-tablet

Right now, there are plethora of platforms in use, most of which are mobile. For example, many people are employing iPads or Android tablets for their everyday web surfing needs, while others prefer to use mobile phones. The way we access the internet is changing rapidly, and with that being the case, the way we design our websites also needs to change.

Responsive Website Design

By looking at the different mobile devices, it is easy for you to see that different resolutions are being employed. You will essentially need to create alternate version of your website for the following devices:

  • iPhone
  • Android Phone
  • Windows Phone
  • Android Tablet
  • Windows Tablet
  • iPad
  • iPod
  • Android mp3 Players

iphoneThis of course is only a basic outline, and as new devices enter the market, you will need to consider your various design options. For example, how will the menus work on a smaller screen? Will all of the website’s content be available on the mobile version of the website? It is well known that websites like Facebook provide mobile versions but with scaled back functionality. Will your website fall to the same fate? If you want to have a successful launch, you will need to design several versions of your website, and if you cannot offer certain functionality, make sure you can offer alternatives that accomplish the same thing. Also bear in mind that mobile version of your website will need to be touch friendly. The vast majority of mobile devices no longer use keys to navigate, so your links will need to be easy to touch. This is definitely something to consider when you are creating your website and employing responsive website design.

The Bottom Line

2013 is going to be a new era for web design. As people move away from the desktop computer, they migrate toward mobile devices, ensuring that they are always connected. It is important for web designers to adapt and explore different technologies as they become available. This is a new world, and it’s time for a new web.

]]> http://www.briscoweb.com/responsive-website-design-in-charlotte/feed/ 0 SEO SEM – Internet Marketing Explained http://www.briscoweb.com/seo-sem-internet-marketing-explained/ http://www.briscoweb.com/seo-sem-internet-marketing-explained/#comments Wed, 02 May 2012 13:48:18 +0000 Brian Holzberger http://www.briscoweb.com/?p=606

 

In recent years, search engine optimization, or SEO, has become a familiar term to many in the business world, especially for website designers and content writers. Alongside SEO, there has evolved another term, known as SEM, or search engine marketing.Search engines use keywords to tell it what a particular site is about, and categorizes it accordingly. If a particular site is for a company selling custom furniture, then it might use the keywords “custom built table.” Web developers and content writers take advantage of the search engines by inserting keywords in the site content. These keywords, relevant to the site, snag the search engines so that they come up in results when someone does an internet search for those terms. This is known as “search engine optimization.”SEM takes it a step further, actively using keywords and search engines to market the website. Search engine marketing, sometimes shortened to simply “search marketing,” works to publicize a website and make it more visible so that it gains more traffic. Search engine optimization is the first step. Used effectively, SEO can noticeably increase a website’s traffic. Internet surfers perform a search using a particular set of terms, which bring up a list of relevant websites. Proper use of SEO increases the chances of a particular website to not only show up in the results, but to appear high in the listings so that the user is more likely to see it.The second part of SEM has to do with paid advertising. It still takes advantage of internet searches, but this time the website shows up as a paid advertisement alongside the search results. The business pays the search engine, such as Google, to allow a site link to appear high up in the results, making the site more visible to customers. These ads are not a part of the actual search results, but are instead set apart, perhaps above the results or to the side of the page.

There are two types of SEM paid advertising, referring to the way that advertisers pay for the ads. These are PPC and CPC. PPC stands for pay-per-click, while CPC is written out as cost-per-click. These same type of ads also often appear on websites similar to the product or services being advertised. In the search engine results, they are usually clearly set apart from the “organic” listings, in the interests of keeping the search results natural.

While it is possible that a business can grow and gain traffic without using any SEM techniques, the growth is minimal, and far short of what it could be with proper use of SEM. In today’s technologically-driven world, an online presence is a must. Phone books and paper business directories are quickly becoming outdated as more and more businesses move online. It is more than just having a website for your business. What is the point of a website that no one sees? SEM drives traffic to your site, increasing your overall business growth.

SEM is important for a good online presence, but poorly done, it can in fact do just the opposite. A poor keyword density, such as keyword stuffing, can lower a site’s page rankings, decreasing traffic. A good SEO company is not focused on just the keywords, but on making the business grow. This includes adding just the right amount of keywords, placing them so they are relevant to the site content. The success of a good SEO company is seen in your site’s increased rankings and traffic.

]]> http://www.briscoweb.com/seo-sem-internet-marketing-explained/feed/ 0 Google Chrome Browser of Choice http://www.briscoweb.com/google-chrome-browser-of-choice/ http://www.briscoweb.com/google-chrome-browser-of-choice/#comments Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:36:50 +0000 admin http://www.briscoweb.com/?p=416

Google Chrome is gaining ground on Internet Explorer and Firefox, and it is showing no signs of stopping. Google Chrome has many benefits, which makes it a good choice for casual Internet users and more advanced users who use the web for work or research. Comparing traffic data from the month of August for two consecutive years, Chrome shows nearly a 200% increase in traffic, while Firefox and Explorer lost users.

When comparing traffic from August 2010 to August 2011, Google Chrome rose from 6.46% to 12.64%, an increase of 196%. Internet Explorer dropped from 63.13% to 50.62%. Firefox, which has long been the favorite browser of web savvy users, dropped from 20.83% to 18.90%. Safari and Android Browser both saw slight increases due to web browsing on Smart Phones where Explorer, Firefox and Chrome are not available. This data suggests that Internet Explorer and Firefox users are switching to Chrome for its features and ease of use.

Both Explorer and Firefox are clunky browsers that use a lot of your valuable system resources. Chrome was built for speed, and it outperforms other browsers in speed tests. It launches within seconds of double-clicking the icon, so you’re ready to start browsing before other browsers even open. Pages open quickly thanks to WebKit rendering engine, an open source program built into Chrome.Chrome runs a faster Javascript engine, so web applications open and run faster than they do on other browsers. Google is continually updating the Javascript engine, so Chrome gets faster with each update. Search and browse faster with the Omnibox. Now you can search directly from the browser without going to Google.com. The Omnibox will suggest sites and search terms based on your history, favorites and user data.

Google has many free services available to users, such as Google Maps, GMail, Blogger and more. Google Chrome is designed to work seamlessly with these applications and web pages. Chrome can even translate a web page within the browser without the need to navigate to another web site.

Web apps and extensions make it easy to customize Google Chrome. One of the main advantages of using Firefox is the ability to add extensions to customize the browser. Now, users can install extensions in Chrome to make their browsing faster and customized to their needs.

]]> http://www.briscoweb.com/google-chrome-browser-of-choice/feed/ 0 BriscoWeb Investigates Google’s New Apache Module http://www.briscoweb.com/briscoweb-investigates-googles-new-apache-module/ http://www.briscoweb.com/briscoweb-investigates-googles-new-apache-module/#comments Sat, 06 Nov 2010 16:09:55 +0000 admin http://www.briscoweb.com/?p=330

A new Apache module has just released by the Google Development Team. This module is expected to increase page load by 2X. More information here. BriscoWeb is currently testing this module for reliability and performance.

]]> http://www.briscoweb.com/briscoweb-investigates-googles-new-apache-module/feed/ 0 Professional Website Design Offer http://www.briscoweb.com/five5-page-website-design-for-695/ http://www.briscoweb.com/five5-page-website-design-for-695/#comments Wed, 09 Jun 2010 10:44:38 +0000 admin http://69.175.109.141/~briscowe/?p=58
  • Logo and Theme Design
  • Google Analytics Account Creation
  • Dmoz submission
  • 1 Year Domain Register
  • 1 Year Website Hosting
  • SEO Ready Layout
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