Website Strategy

Will Your Website Redesign Generate Traffic and Leads?

Friday, March 19, 2010 by Brandon Coppernoll

A website redesign may be a part of your web based strategy, but is it in your strategy for the right reason? Search engine optimization, inbound marketing and lead generation should be the purpose of a website redesign. Before you employ a website design company, think to yourself, "Will the new look be able to help me generate leads?"

Search engine optimization is one of the most cost effective ways to generate traffic and leads. A website design full of flash elements, graphics and with little to no content will not assist you in these goals. I'm not condoning ugly websites because there must be something pleasing to the eye, but when a customer goes to a search engine looking for information about a product, service or vital information on your industry, you want your business to be found.

Fusework Studios can help you form a plan structured to create leads through inbound marketing and SEO value. Give us a call, and let's talk.

Fusework Studios Launches AAFECI.org and Creates ADDY Awards Presentation

Friday, March 12, 2010 by James Hueston

Fusework Studios has played a major role in the new marketing for the American Advertising Federation of East Central Indiana (AAF ECI). Specifically, Fusework Studios Project Manager, Laurie Foster, recently completed a new website for AAF ECI (www.aafeci.org), which launched just before the 2010 ADDY Awards Banquet. The timing was great! The community saw not only the new face of the organization at the Awards Banquet, but also were reminded of Fusework Studios' offerings in Muncie as a website design company.

In addition, we volunteered to create the mainstage presentation for this year's ADDY Awards ceremony. This was a great opportunity to support several of the advertising agencies in Indiana, and the work they have done for their clients. We started months in advance, and I personally enjoyed working with Executive Director, Anne Condran, and Addy Chair, Christy Jones, in crafting the detailed presentation.

The presentation of the 2010 Addy Award Winners is on the new website for all to see, but I have also included it in my post below, so you can take a quick look.

A third-party service called SlideShare facilitates the display of PowerPoint presentations on any website in a very user-friendly format.

As a social media marketing company, we encouraged AAF ECI to alert their fans and followers of their new online presence, which they did on Facebook. Now the organization is setup online to further fulfill their mission to:

CONNECT members to other advertising industry professionals and resources;
Encourage, support, and recognize members in their quest to CREATE the very best in advertising; and
INSPIRE young professionals to enter the advertising profession.

Many thanks to the Board Members of AAF ECI for selecting Fusework Studios to partner with for their recent marketing needs. Best wishes for continued success.

Importance of Search Engine Marketing in a Full Web Based Strategy

Friday, March 12, 2010 by Brandon Coppernoll

A complete web based strategy can be an excellent forefront to a solid Internet marketing strategy. The goal should be to be able to reach all of your customers through different "vehicles" to promote your products, services and even your customers. The focus the past year has been on social media marketing, and the year before that there was a great increase in email marketing. This year, the focus has shifted to search engine marketing, and it is important to include this in your strategy.

Here are benefits to good search engine marketing:

Search engines are the number one resource for people to find websites
Targeted search engine marketing can have a high conversion rate
Search engine marketing can be completely free (do not have to use pay per click)
You win search by writing about what people are looking for

If your website is not winning the traffic through search that you're looking for, contact Fusework Studios about putting together an Internet marketing strategy including search engine optimization.

Indiana Website Development Spotlight: ProCLAD, Inc.

Friday, March 5, 2010 by Brandon Coppernoll

Indiana website development has been improving year after year as the competition gets thicker and as businesses understand the web's capabilities better. As an Indianapols web development company, we get many projects that really allow us to use the dreaded "think outside the box" cliche. We recently completed a project for ProCLAD, Inc. that challenged our team to be creative and in the end achieved amazing results.

The website design was complicated and built in many layers. There was a need for a rotating image section on the home page and the placement of a flash piece representing the ProCLAD engineering wheel. Additionally, there were many angles incorporated into the design that would make any developer cringe.

One of the immediate challenges we addressed was the ability for ProCLAD to be able to easily update the rotating images on the home page. To save the client trouble from using Photoshop or other photo editing software, a transparent image was placed over the top of the slideshow to create the angled look while the full images are located below the white angle. The photo gallery module was implemented with a JQuery rotation script for smooth transition from image to image, and the client is in full control of the imagery that is implemented.

The site is also tied into a content management system to allow the client to fully customize the content that is entered from page to page and to allow control over search engine optimization properties including page title, keywords, description and web URLs.

Fusework Studios is proud to work with ProCLAD, Inc. on this project, and as a team, we love to be challenged. We hope this is one of many Indiana website development spotlights to come. Check out the new site at www.procladinc.com.

Sign Up Now - Muncie Lunch and Learn - March 5th

Wednesday, February 24, 2010 by Bruce McClain

Do you ever wonder about search engine optimization and how to improve your Web site's ranking? Have you heard about Pay-Per-Click campaigns, but are not sure how they work? Are you you unsure what people are talking about when they mention organic search? Well, join us next week at our Muncie office for an informative "Lunch and Learn."

After we have some lunch, I will try and answer all those questions for you plus many more. We will talk a little about Business Blogging, SEO, and how to incorporate winning search into your web based strategy.

We have made it very easy to sign up. Just click on the link below, fill out a few questions and you are good to go.

We look forward to seeing you next Friday, March 5 at the Rutter Communications building in Muncie from 11:30am-1:00pm.

It's Not the CMS That Counts; It's How You Use It!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 by Brandon Coppernoll

Inevitably in this business, I get pulled into the never-ending debate on what is the best content management system (CMS). I get asked which are best for search engine opimization, social media community integration and flexibility. Every website design or website development company has their preferred CMS they design and implement for. Some of these are proprietary, but most are likely third-party provided. At Fusework Studios, we have a proprietary software, but there are some cases in which we go with third-party integration.

Almost all content management systems now have tools for search engine optimization and other tools to complement your web based strategy. A company can spend from nearly no money to thousands of dollars for the top-of-the-line CMS. Unfortunately, all that money will do no good without a keyword and search marketing strategy behind your content.

Tips to utilize your CMS' capabilities:

Title your pages with keywords in mind
Use keywords in your links
Use keywords early in your content (first or second paragraph)
Use keywords in header tags
Create inbound marketing by generating buzz or links to your content (preferrably with keywords) by utilizing your social media community tools
Utilize business blogging to drive traffic to your site

For a successful web based strategy, you cannot rely solely on one marketing medium. All of the tools around the web, including your CMS, play an integral role in Internet marketing.

Contact Fusework Studios for tips or if you have questions regarding search engine optimization and your content management system.

Is Your Web Site Social?

Monday, February 22, 2010 by Bruce McClain

Last week, Gigaom.com posted an article titled, "Facebook Driving More Traffic Than Google," that I found very interesting. While there are many stipulations to their research, the fact remains more and more traffic is being generated by the "social web," and business need to adapt to this thought process.

Think about it. How many times each day do you log into Facebook or Twitter and see one of your friends or followers commenting on a story or sending out a link to something interesting? What do you do? You click on it because you want to check it out, too. After all, your friend thought it was important enough to share. This is all part of the social web.

As I look at analytics each day for my clients, I see the same reflection. Search traffic isn't necessarily down, but referral traffic is way up for almost every client. Where are these referrals coming from? In almost every case....social networks.

This is why it is so important to make your site social. Can visitors subscribe to a feed of your news? Do you have buttons that allow them to share your content on their social sites? Can they email interesting articles to friends or coworkers? These are just a few of the ways you can make your web site more social.

Now I am sure you found this blog post extremely interesting, so go ahead and click the "ShareThis" button below this post and share it with your friends.

Fusework Studios Launches Web Site for IU Kokomo

Thursday, January 21, 2010 by Nellie Stout

Original article by Indiana University Kokomo: http://www.iuk.edu/news/?naid=19&ncid=.

Kokomo, Ind. - Indiana University Kokomo has launched a new and improved Web site, www.iuk.edu, featuring easier navigation, online video, vibrant flash images, and socia media integration.

"The new site will allow us to share IU Kokomo in a more engaging and dynamic way. It brings with it a content management system that allows us to better manage updates and changes, as well as the ability to implement analytics that measure site usage and give us the tools to make constant improvements that better serve our users," said Katrina Janes, director of the Office of Communications and Marketing at IU Kokomo. "The redesign and launch of a new university Web site is a huge undertaking, and we are very excited to unveil this new Web presence to the students, campus and community that we serve."

The site, developed by Indianapolis-based Fusework Studios, provides easier navigation for the user, improved search functions, and a consistent look, design, and feel. The first step in the redesign was an audit of the old Web site that included an evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses. This evaluation enforced the need for IU Kokomo to clearly indentify and match target audiences with specific marketing objectives, as well as the need to transform the site from a static information source to a dynamic and engaging marketing tool.

This direction is supported by a recent TeensTALK®survey of high school sophomores which found that 74 percent of the respondents conducted general college research on the Web, and 67 percent visited a specific college Web site. It is clear that higher education institutions are positioning their Web sites as a primary marketing tool and relying more on electronic communication tools. The average Web user today is highly skilled and able to communicate through many technological formats, from text messaging to IM to Twitter. This is particularly true for prospective and current college students.

"This was a huge project and encompassed two years from vendor selection to launch. Every unit on campus participated," said Paul Nowak, vice chancellor for external relations. "A special recognition is due to our marketing and IT departments, and especially Rudy Kizer, our campus Web manager, and Katrina Janes."

Indiana University Kokomo serves a seven county, primary service area in north central Indiana. The campus offers more than 40 academic programs including four graduate degrees.
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Fusework Studios provides service in Business Blogging, IT Services, SEO Indianapolis, Indiana Website Design, Indiana Website Development, Web Based Strategy, Social Media Marketing, Indiana Video Production, Email Marketing Strategy, Corporate Blog, Internet Marketing Indianapolis, and much more.

The next phase in Indianapolis Web development: Part 2

Thursday, January 14, 2010 by Brandon Coppernoll

Previously, I discussed how Indianapolis web development has changed, and I provided a theory on what the next trend will become. I talked about how business blogging and social media community interaction has become the latest trend in providing relevant information to customers. Now we will see search engine marketing at the forefront in how web development is approached for businesses.

Search is even more important than before.

Customers have been using search to find goods and services rather than looking for specific businesses. While it is important for your business to be visible (e.g. Fusework Studios) in the search engines, it is even more important that your business is found for specific keywords based on your goods and services.

The next phase in Indianapolis web development will be about playing an integral role in search engine marketing and finding ways to get new content out and fast for what customers are looking for. Search engines are looking for sites and blogs that update often and have relevant content to what their users are searching for. It's not about "if you build it, they will come" anymore.

Early on in web development, it was about telling your story -- the whole story. Unfortunately, this requires time and money to be able to put all that work together. When print marketing is put together, it is customary to hand out a brochure, poster or some form of quick communication about the product or service. I recommend you actually follow suit for initial website release, and over time, you can add the additional content you probably would have initially included before.

The reason is Google and other major search engines value up-to-date content. New content is very important. The sites and blogs that are most active about putting content up for their visitors are getting special treatment because they are viewed as more likely to be current for their customers - those people that search. There is no magic tool or button you can use to get these results. It's about building upon a foundation to be found in search.

Contact Fusework Studios for more information about building a strong foundation to win customers through search and inbound marketing.

The next phase in Indianapolis Web development: Part 1

Thursday, January 7, 2010 by Brandon Coppernoll

The year 2010 brings on new opportunities for businesses across the country including Indianapolis. The economy is slowly on the mend. Jobs are starting to come back. Businesses are strategizing on how to attack their marketing plans and grow. Indianapolis, in my opinion, is no different from this trend.

When I first came onto the web development scene, it was primarily about having a website. Your website was more of a brochure. There was little thought to a full web based strategy or social media community involvement for businesses. The primary focus was having a great looking web design and plenty of content for people to read.

Then came the next phase which was to measure the analytical data provided for your website. Soon, it was found that people often didn't spend more than 1-2 minutes on the site. This didn't help support the theory to have more than twenty pages of content. The next step was to find a way to convert those visits into money by creating calls-to-action. These calls-to-action were provided as forms, buttons and/or videos.

The most recent trend is how to use social media marketing and business blogging to benefit your business. Search engine marketing is taking the forefront, and more businesses are implementing corporate blogs and social media as a part of their web strategy. I believe this trend is going to add a new twist to how websites will be developed beginning in 2010.

With Google Live Search and the rise of blogging as the premiere method in getting recent and relevant content, the next trend is all about flexibility and the process of getting search content out to the masses. It will be about monitoring what people are looking for and providing that information. Businesses will be taking an ever-more increased role in talking WITH their customers (not just TO their customers). Websites and strategies will be taking on a new look to feed how people will find out about their business(es), goods and services.

I will be touching on how to take advantage of this new trend in my upcoming post. For now, I wanted to get you thinking about how sites will be developed differently with this in mind. I'd be interested in hearing some thoughts from you on what you see coming in the next year.

Practicing discipline in a Web based strategy

Monday, January 4, 2010 by Brandon Coppernoll

Discipline.

For most people it's an ugly word. It makes you think of a dog that misbehaves, an athlete making wrong choices during a sporting event or sometimes even more frustrating of a child that just won't listen and needs...discipline.

Discipline is an important intangible in your Web strategy.

Throughout 2009, I spoke of many different ways to utilize tools and third-party programs to enhance your web based strategy, and I spoke in many ways how Fusework Studios is a great Indianapolis web development company that can help touch all facets of an effective strategy. In 2010, I want to focus on things that are a little more intangible.

By now, most of you know about the tangible objects that go into a web based strategy such as business blogging, web development, website design, social media communities, search engine optimization and an email marketing strategy. When used correctly, all of these tools work, but there are things that are never seen that go into a successful strategy.

Discipline is accepting a challenge and having the fortitude to see it through. When embarking on a new marketing strategy, whether it's television, radio, print or the web, you will never know the true extent of its results until you see it through.

What are ways you can practice discipline in your web based strategy?

Make a plan. A web based strategy is a plan to achieve a goal. Put it on paper and keep it where you can see it.
Make a habit. Practice working on your strategy every day until that goal is achieved.
Do it when you don't want to do it. Some days it feels like too much work to participate in a social media community for your business, but those days are probably the most important to do the work.
Have a coach. Even professional athletes have a coach to help set goals and achieve them.
Form a team. Don't try to do this alone. Find skill sets that are needed to accomplish your goals, and find the people with similar discipline and passion to achieve your goals.

Find the intangibles that make your web based strategy great. I certainly hope this can energize you when you embark on 2010.

Need a coach or a team? Contact Fusework Studios today to discuss your goals and ambitions in 2010 and to create a web based strategy to work for your business.

Indiana Website Development: When to use a professional

Monday, December 7, 2009 by Brandon Coppernoll

There are various tools that you can use to build your own website. This would be a very long post if I tried to list all of them. Indiana website development has taken on many different faces during the economic downturn as individuals and other businesses have taken use of the many content management systems (CMS), social media tools and most likely one of the many Google tools available. There are some good results, but then there are some very bad results.

Field of Dreams with Kevin Costner spoiled us with the notion "If you build it, they will come." There is still a common misconception of Indiana website development that as long as you have a website you will experience a boom in traffic and knowledge of your online brand presence. This is hardly the case. Here are common pieces of a web based strategy that are often overlooked:

Search Engine Optimization through keywords and content
Social media community awareness
Conversion funneling
Analytical data and marketing decisions based on that data

As we approach 2010, I urge everyone to look at their online brand presence and future plans for website development. Talk with Fusework Studios about your future plans. We can help answer your questions and advise you on some steps to take with your web based strategy.

Google Real Time Search Makes Social Media a Lot More Relevant

Monday, December 7, 2009 by Kevin Hood

This is not only huge for organic search engine optimization, but also for your social media optimization. Google just announced a real-time search feature integrated near the top of every Google search results page. It features the latest news from major newspaper websites, popular blogs and even Twitter. If you search for "tigers mistress," you will currently see a link to a news site, a link to Perez Hilton's blog and random Tweets from people talking about the recent Tiger Woods scandal on Twitter.

Imagine if someone searched your company name and found an interesting Tweet near the top of Google from you, and decided to follow you? Getting followers from search engines, pretty cool right? But what if someone mentioned your company name in a negative light on Twitter, and it showed up on the first page of Google?!

Social media is real folks; you just can't ignore it anymore. Google has also worked out deals with Facebook and MySpace to include public feeds in the real-time search results. If your corporate Internet marketing strategy does not include social media, maybe you should consider working with a social media marketing company. You need to advertise. You need to monitor your brand reputation, and you can make new relationships all at the same time.

Are you spending a lot of money on PPC Marketing? Why not throw a few of those dollars towards a social media marketing optimization plan and get even more search engine results in the top area of Google.

People can now find live information about you on Google. Does this sound scary? Maybe, but should you put your head in the sand and ignore it? No way! Take advantage of this new form of search engine marketing and free social media advertising in the place everyone wants to be - the top of Google!

What Would You Do for a Twitter Follower? Win a Samsung 32" HDTV!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009 by Bruce McClain

Remember the old slogan, "What would you do for a Klondike Bar?" Well, I started thinking it ought to apply to social media. I have seen people offering all sorts of things to get followers, friends, fans and pals on their social networks.

I have seen several people offering to shave their heads. Jason Calacanis offered a MacBook Air if he were to get the number one spot on Twitter, and of course, we all know about the Ashton Kutcher/CNN battle of a year ago.

I have decided to do an experiment with the social media world in Indianapolis and see if this practice works. My general impression is that yes, I will add more users. However, I wonder if they will be legitimate followers or people following just for the contest? Will they quit following me after the contest, or will they enjoy my tweets and continue to follow? These are the questions I want to answer as I begin my quest to become one of the 10 most followed people in Indianapolis.

Now for the contest guidelines:

I will use the website, wefollow.com, as my measuring tool. (There may be better ones out there, but Kevin Rose helped develop this one.)
I will set a deadline of one month. This will be January 3rd.
If I am in the Top 10 most followed people in Indianapolis, I will give away a prize. Currently, I would need around 5,000 followers to make the top 10.
On January 3, I will pick a winner randomly from my followers.
I will tweet the winner's name from my Twitter account.
They will have two hours to tweet me back.
If there is no response after two hours, I will pick another winner until someone claims the prize.
You do not need to live in Indianapolis or Indiana to win. I am just going to use that a measuring stick.
Now, for the big giveaway...if all this happens, the winner will receive a:

Samsung 32" Flat Screen HDTV

It is that simple. All you have to do is follow me on Twitter, and you can win a TV. How simple is that? Let the contest begin. By the way, my Twitter handle is @brucemcclain. Stay tuned for updates and for the results of the experiment!

Web Based Strategy for the Indianapolis Prize

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 by Nellie Stout

As the Indiana website development provider for the Indianapolis Zoo, we have had the pleasure of taking on a complete web re-design of the Indianapolis Prize, the visible component of the internationally recognized conservation efforts being undertaken by the Indianapolis Zoo.

The Indianapolis Prize is the largest individual monetary award for animal species conservation in the world and is given as an unrestricted gift to the chosen honoree. The Prize is given every other year to an individual who has made extraordinary contributions to conservation efforts involving a single animal species or multiple species.

For many nonprofits and small businesses in Indianapolis, online marketing is becoming increasingly competitive, so the Indianapolis Prize web based strategy was focused on embracing the social media community, creating a clean and direct design, and engaging users through video production.

Fusework Studios is proud to be a part of this project, both for the impact the Prize has on conservation and for adding to the great examples of Indianapolis web development.

Stay tuned for information on the 2010 Indianapolis Prize Gala that is scheduled for September 25 at the Westin Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. Visit the new site at www.indianapolisprize.org.

It's 4PM...Do You Know Where Your Domain Name Is?

Monday, November 23, 2009 by Bruce McClain

Do you know who owns your domain name? It's a simple question and usually very easy to find the answer to. Surprisingly, in a lot of cases, your web development company owns your domain name. This isn't really a problem unless your web company was owned by a high school friend of your son's who graduated and moved to the Antartic.

Why is this important? Well each and every year you are required to pay a fee to use your domain name. Of course, you can prepay for years ahead of time (which, by the way, can help SEO). However in almost all case we see, the domain has been set up to renew each year.

What happens if you don't pay? You can lose control of your domain name. You know that name you have printed on every business card, piece of paper, billboard, and vehicle. The domain name you have spent perhaps tens of thousands of dollars marketing to make sure people remember.

Please, please, please find out today who owns your domain name and how can you get control of it. If you are with a reputiable web company you probalby don't have anything to worry about, but it is still good to know.

What else should you ask:

What service was used to register your domain?
When does your domain name registration expire?
Is your registration set to auto renew?
How often does it renew (every year, 2 years, 5 years, etc.)?
How can you access my domain name at the registrar? (What is your username and password?)
Who is listed as the registrant, the technical contact, and the administrative contact? (These can all be different, so make sure you are comfortable with it.)

If you can't find the answers, you can use the website, http://www.domaintools.com/, to help with your search, or of course you can contact us, and we will be happy to help.

New Indiana Video Production Tools for Nonprofits from YouTube

Friday, November 20, 2009 by Kevin Hood

Online video is just in the infancy stages of tracking analytics and encouraging conversion, but YouTube just took the progress a step further with the addition of their new video tools for nonprofit organizations. Fusework Studios has probably done more Indiana video production work for nonprofits than any other corporate video production agency in the State of Indiana. Nearly all of our nonprofit clients want to share those videos on their website, so even little steps towards improving engagement, conversions and donations are a big deal to us.

YouTube has a nonprofits division that has been introducing extra features just for not-for-profit organizations. If you are a 503C you can sign up for the YouTube Nonprofit Video service here. The first new tool may not seem life changing for your nonprofit organization, but if you have ever been stuck with a stupid expression on your face (as the thumbnail for a video), you should be interested. Instead of only being able to use select screen shots that YouTube picks for you, you can now upload your own image to use as the video thumbnail. No more half closed eyes, awkward title screens or goofy smiles!

The second YouTube video tool is what inspired this blog post for nonprofit Indiana video production. YouTube recently announced annotation tools for all YouTube users. You can display notes and pop-ups anywhere in a video. Fortunately for our Indiana nonprofit clients, they also have the ability to link to specific URLs outside of YouTube! This is huge for videos that could link to landing pages, donation pages and event pages for optimal conversion. Now you can link a "donate now" graphic at the end of your video to the donation page on your website. If you would like to update your current online videos to increase conversion, or produce a new on-line video for your Indiana nonprofit organization . . . we're up on the latest technology to allow you to do just that.

Three Easy Steps to Objectively Approach Any Web Based Strategy

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 by Brandon Coppernoll

As Director of Internet Services at Fusework Studios, I have the pleasure of working with many different parties on any given project: project managers, designers, clients, executive staff and other developers. Whenever you have many different intelligent people working on any given project, there are tendencies in which opinions can cloud an objective web based strategy. The goal of any project should be what needs the project addresses and the long-term plan after completion to carry on the goals.

My colleague, Jim Switzer, approached the sometimes difficult task of designing by committee with a great article. Many of the steps are no different.

How can you proceed on a web development project with an objective mind set?

1. Follow the leader.
Much like picking a leader in design, you must be willing to follow the direction and leadership of a project manager or head. They have to make the tough decisions, but their goal should be to ensure all parties are working to the final objective.

2. Know the full web based strategy.
No matter what your role is, you must be aware of what the team is trying to accomplish. Every cog in a clock is working to keep time. Each cog has a specific role, both small and large, to reach success.

3. Communicate.
This can be the most difficult task of any team environment. The left hand must know what the right is doing. Lay out a to-do list for everyone. Set some milestones and make sure everyone is aware. This is similar to creating a site map, but you are creating a map for a successful web based strategy and team.

Each member of the team must be committed. When hiring a company to assist you, be sure they are as completely vested in the project as you are. Contact Fusework Studios for an expert team of web consultants to develop a solid website strategy for your business.

The Eight-Minute Website Strategy Workout

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 by James Hueston

I woke up today tired and late. There are several things I could have done, but exercise was the only thing that I needed to do. With forces against me, I mustered up the strength to push play on the VCR.

A slow march ensues, and soon my eyes are opening. Stretching begins rejuvenation, and with only seven minutes left, the program takes flight. Several exercises with kicking and punching and other sweat producing moves bring me to full awakening. The instructor's rhythmic tone and encouraging energy move us through multiple sets of rapid exercises. Before I know it, the time's up, and I enjoy a cool down and some water.

After the workout, I'm glad I spent the time and notice that I'm more ready to start the day than I would have been. I recognize my need to work out different muscle groups for longer periods, and I'm now more engaged to push for a stronger routine.

So, why did I throw "website" in the title today? I wanted to encourage you who may be tired with your online presence and know it's not living up to its potential. You don't have time to adequately address your entire web based strategy from stem to stern in one sitting, and I agree. But, I contend that you can make progress on a fresh web based strategy in the next eight minutes, and here's how:

1. Copy the four questions and text below between the lines and paste them in a new email.
2. Answer the questions in short responses, and
3. Send the email to two or three people that can provide valuable feedback.

Suggested Body for Email:

I was just thinking today about our web based strategy, and I've outlined a few thoughts below. Please tell me what you think:

1. What is (or should be) the purpose of our website?
ie. Increased Revenue, Reduced Costs, or Improved Customer Satisfaction or Loyalty

2. Is our website accomplishing its purpose?

3. What is frustrating with our website?

4. What do we like about our website?

I know we're all busy right now, but I just wanted to send some quick ideas to see what you think.

Thanks,

YourNameHere

Send the email, and you're done!

Resist the temptation to write a book or expound because you have a lot going on today. Keep it simple and just start the conversation. You're on your way to rejuvenating your website strategy -- how does that feel? I'd say pretty good!

In fact, I'd love it if you would post a comment below after you send the email just saying "I did it!" and we can celebrate your eight-minute website strategy workout with you.

Photo Sources:http://www.flickr.com/photos/elpatojo/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 http://web.mit.edu/ryangray/Public/Gnus/thumbs_up.jpg

Indiana Website Development Trends

Friday, November 13, 2009 by Brandon Coppernoll

Since I graduated in 2005, I immediately found a home as a database programmer for a local Indiana website development company. The company's primary focus was to build new websites using their proprietary CMS, and everything had to revolve around this software. The problem with this tactic and approach is that rarely does one piece of software accomplish everything you can dream about.

We live in an age where SEO, social media communities and Internet marketing reign as kings, and website development becomes only a part of the overall web based strategy. To some, this may seem as a threat to the existence of traditional website development, but I do not feel any personal fear that this is the case. The role has changed, but the need is still very real.

More and more now the "custom development" tag and approach is becoming less prominent. Most ideas have been put to code before. The trick is how do you utilize or critique these tools from several third-parties and create something spectacular. One of the easiest examples of this trend is the inclusion of social media communities with corporate websites and corporate blogging. Unless your need is so specific, you're likely going to be using a third-party application already created for your corporate blogging needs.

Talk to Fusework Studios about website development and about creating a winning web based strategy. We would love to help your business be on the cutting edge of your online web presence.