Connected Web Solutions - Harrisburg Web Design

So after reading a few articles on Google’s Website Optimizer tool I thought I would do a little test with the CWS site.  Basically the website optimizer allows users to run A/B or multi-variant tests.  I won’t go into A/B (split) testing or multi-variant tests but I thought I would try 3 variations on text in a call-to-action button to see which one generated the most click-throughs.

The set up process took about 30 minutes to create the new buttons, pages, and inserting the necessary javascript code.  You install 1 piece of javascript in the original  and then another piece in the variations.  The 3 variations are below.

And now the results after letting it run for a few weeks.

As you can see the 2 variations have both outperformed the original at this time.  This simple test shows how useful this free service can be.  It will prove invaluable when testing call-to-action buttons, text, placement, forms, and just about anything else you can test.

This won’t be for everybody but for those that understand it, it can be another powerful weapon to greatly improve click-throughs and conversions.

I will probably let the test run a few more…

I am very proud to announce that we released our first official product on Monday this week.  alumLINK is an alumni networking and management app aimed at affinity groups.  I am in no way trying to compete with the big boys (Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, etc) but trying to provide a way for alumni from a specific group to network easily without all that social network “noise” you see with them.  I know you can create Facebook or LinkedIn groups but I feel like this is overkill for the niche I am trying to reach.  Each instance of alumLINK is secure to its own group or team (unless customized otherwise upon installation).

3 years ago when starting the company I saw the need for this kind of product.  We had no good way of communicating with all the soccer alumni that went through my school.  We always thought it would be nice to have a way to communicate with all of them and provide job opportunities and a way to mentor the younger alumni or even current students.  alumLINK now makes this possible.…

Happy days to web designers and developers across the world.  There have been quite a bit of posts lately about dropping em values as font-sizes and switching back to pixel sizes.  This will definitely save headaches for lots of us.  Cameron Moll’s article explains some of the reasoning behind this but it makes all the sense in the world to us.

I also heard on a recent Boag World podcast that this would probably be adopted for the host’s company as well in their future developments.

Yes, em values as font sizes will scale the text larger when you set the browser’s text size larger but many modern browsers have replaced the shortcuts for this with page zooming instead.  Yes you run the risk of zooming in so much there is horizontal scrolling but I think if your text size is large enough overall you can eliminate this problem.

No need to go into further detail but you can read the full article and listen to the podcast using the links above in the page copy.

What are you other designers/developers going…

I thought I would write a little post about how jQuery can be used for little usability enhancements and effects.  Now I would never recommend using jQuery without some prior Javascript knowledge but you can definitely jump right into jQuery if you want.  I was fortunate enough to learn enough Javascript over the past year (see DOM Scripting by Jeremy Keith) where I have really been able to use jQuery to its full potential.  For those of you that don’t know jQuery is a Javascript library that takes out a lot of the tedious coding that is required in Javascript.  The packed version is only 19kb so the added functionality is definitely worth it.  Now onto some examples.

One of our most recent clients, MVP Software Inc., wanted to make use of some scrolling and fading elements.  Now a year ago I would have used some simple flash elements.  I know now that this is just overkill.  Using jQuery and the InnerFade plugin we were able to successfully rotate the client testimonials (RANDOMLY)  in the header (see the header on any page)…

It’s been too long since my last post but I was struggling to find a good topic for a post.  I have since realized that in the last 3 years I have been able to successfully freelance and bootstrap my business into a successful web design agency.  I thought that I would pass on what I have learned over these last 3 years.

1. Do your homework
   I was fortunate that I had someone to ask a handful of questions (the former GM at my pro soccer club) about starting a business before I took the plunge but that is not the case for all of you.   Learn about the appropriate paperwork to fill out in your state.  Figure out what kind of business entity you want (LLC, Corporation, Nonprofit).  Learn about registered trademarks and copyrights if they apply.  There are tons of books out there but I recommend contacting SCORE with a list of pre-made questions you have about starting a business to get your answers quickly.  SCORE is an amazing FREE service that is basically a bunch of retired business owners that offer their advice to people starting or

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