Monthly Archives

July 2015

Jul 03
2

Why Responsive Design is Paramount

By | Mobile, SHOUTBLOG, Web Design

What is responsive design? Why is it important to your business?  Is your current site responsive?  If not, what are your missing out on?!

These are very important questions that need to be discussed when approaching your next re-design.  Responsive Web Design is a simple concept to grasp but it’s implementation requires careful planning, thoughtful design, and thorough testing.  In a nutshell, Responsive Web Design is site design that responds to it’s environment. Environments like your desktop monitor, the ipad your mom is glued to every evening (YES YOU MOM!!), or the smartphones that your entire customer base feels absolutely naked without.  A truly well designed responsive site will retain beautiful aesthetics, functionality, and user experience regardless of the device.  We strive to be environmentally agnostic when designing for our clients.  We want your brands and offerings to shine bright in everyone’s pocket and purse, home and office desktop, smart TV, and every new screen-bearing gadget available.

Responsive Design is paramount for your business because it is paramount for your customers.  60% of internet access is mobile driven, 90% of U.S. adults own a cellphone, 58% of the 90% have smartphones, and 42% of U.S. adults own a tablet.  You may be reading this very article on a mobile device right now!  The point is, your business site has to offer a great experience and foster interaction on every device platform or you  are discouraging growth.  Aesthetics and user experience speak to the user like a referral from a trusted friend.  If your site is outdated, has limited functionality and a  poor user experience on across devices, you are giving yourself a bad review.  In the minds of your demographic, your website is a direct representation of the quality of your goods, services, offerings, and trustworthiness.  Even though the negative impressions are not an accurate reflection of your business,  The lesson to be learned is this… Put the same amount of pride and energy into your web presence as you do in your storefront, office, goods, or services.  A bad website is not going to make your loyal customers go astray, but it may deter a slew of potentially loyal customers from giving your business a chance.

In Conclusion/On a purely nerdnical note…SEO is King

While we all fight for good search engine visibility, sites that are not mobile friendly are being shunned by the almighty google.  It’s 2015 and “Mobilegeddon” is here.  As of April 21st, google is altering its algorithms to optimize visibility for content and sites that are mobile friendly.  Since internet and search engine traffic is being taken over by mobile users, google wants to modify their bread and butter to continue to serve the masses.  In short, Your business and brand needs to be visible, responsive, mobile friendly, and google friendly (Test Here).  We scored an “Awesome” from google, how did you do?

 

 

Jul 01
0

B&W Heavy Truck Parts – A Solutions Tale

By | SHOUTBLOG, Web Design

We’re proud to announce the soft launch of  B&W  Truck Parts this month.  B&W has been a staple in the used and recycled heavy truck parts industry for over 50 years.  Family owned and operated since 1956, the company recently underwent a changing of the guards when the founder’s grandson, Ryan Martin, took the reigns as owner at B&W.  We had the opportunity to be a part of big changes at B&W.

With the future in mind, Martin has partnered with iSoft data systems to integrate a full service inventory management system into the business. Aside from the benefits this type of system provides to the internal workings of Martin’s operation, this was also an opportunity to create a public facing, web-based inventory to serve customers and extend to a demographic beyond their geographic region.  When asked to integrate such a solution into the new site, we jumped at the challenge.  With help from both B&W and iSoft, our end product provides customers with uber-granular search options to aid in finding exactly what they need ( Test Here) . The best part about this solution is the level of web integration with iSoft IMS.  This is a time and money saver for B&W. They do not have to enter inventory in one system and then re-enter on their site for public consumption.  When parts are inventoried on-site, they are updated in real-time on the website.  Essentially, the ever-changing inventory that is the lifeblood of B&W Truck Parts is readily and rapidly available to the public, all while being managed in-house, within one system.

This is was a great opportunity for us to learn new things, new systems, and forge new relationships.  The folks at B&W Truck Parts will be around for many years to come and we are excited to be a part of their journey.