HistoryTunes.com site lauched: a site which helps you to learn American history through 50 pop songs. Educational pop music designed to enhance the learning of US History and improve test scores. Interactive lyrics with extensive vocabulary, leveled questions and test prep enrich the listening experience to provide a full rounded US History curriculum. Sample free songs and explore supplemental materials free of charge.
The site has already been featured at:
CSS Based
CSS Design Yorkshire
CSS Cookie
CSS Discovery
Pros:
• One in three online users read blogs at least once a month, while 18% comment on them. Blog readers as a group grew by nearly 50% over this past year. (Quoted from Forrester Research: October 20, 2008)
• Blogs influence purchases: One half (50 percent) of blog readers say they find blogs useful for purchase information.
According to the study, blogs factor into critical stages of the purchase process. (Quoted from BuzzLogic: October 28, 2008)
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is probably one of the biggest advantages of having a blog. Because blog content is updated frequently, blogs have some built-in search engine benefits.
• You can establish a more personal connection with your potential customers and keep them informed about your products and services.
Cons:
• Maintaining a blog is a big commitment. Make sure you can post at least 2-3 entries per week, which means you have to have someone with good writing skills available to manage the process. If your blog gets neglected, it will reflect poorly on your business. A lot of larger companies hire professional writers.
Blog options:
Free blogging platforms. Ex. Blogger - generic, no integration with your website.
Simple custom blogs. No archive, comments or social media integration, but has a unique look that is consistent with your brand. Ex. Boxerwallah.
Fully personalized blog. Ex. Stationers Guild.
• Be specific as to what you want but don’t micromanage.
• Point to the problems rather than offering the solutions yourself. Chances are, you will end up with a better end product because a professional designer will have offered more creative solutions to your problem.
• Hire a designer who is capable of creating a unique and memorable look.
• Why design by committee never really works—watch a clip.
• Be prepared: have your texts and images ready.
• Have a realistic budget. Understand what determines the cost of a website.
• Make sure you know what type of work the designer does.
• Even if you have the right budget, do not assume that the designer will automatically take your project. There are other factors involved, such as: time line, the scope of your project, etc.
• Being nice always pays off.
We have just launched a new site for Brooklyn-based art dealer Heidi’s Gallery. The e-commerce option allows the gallery to sell their limited edition prints in a way that is easy to use and well integrated into the design of the site itself. We tried to keep it clean, playful, and user-friendly.
The list of websites that are ditching Flash in favor of Web standards is growing every day. Even if these decisions are driven by the iPad and iPhone’s lack of Flash, they’ll soon reap the other benefits that Web standards bring.
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