Atilus Internet Marketing & Web Development

You just want a simple email newsletter right? Well… it ain’t so simple. For years designers have struggled with multiple versions of websites or of their code (html & css) to appease different browsers.

But, email newsletters are a larger beast. You have to contend with multiple different platforms and ways to render an email. Different software will render your emails very differently as they support different technologies and ways to style things. Few people truly understand this, but the great crew over at Campaign Monitor have broken it out into detail. So, if you’re having trouble with your email newsletters displaying correctly I highly recommend you check out the following article:

A Guide to CSS Support in Email

Here’s a snippet:

Since the rise of Internet Explorer, web designers have had to test their designs across multiple web browsers. No one likes it, but we’ve all copped it on the chin, written a few hacks and moved on with our lives. After all, 3 to 4 browsers aint that bad - and they finally seem to be getting their act together.

If Internet Explorer is the schoolyard bully making our web design lives a little harder, then Hotmail, Lotus Notes and Eudora are serial killers making our email design lives hell. Yes, it’s really that bad.

16 Jun | Post by Zach Katkin. Filed under Design, Email Newsletter, Enewsletter.

How much does a website cost? Well… that depends. How much does a building cost? “Ballpark figure. If you had to give me a number?” All buildings are different. Is this a manufactured home you’re thinking of? A commercial building? Perhaps a beautiful lake front mansion with marble Romanesque columns. I guess the answer should be… it depends. And web development is not much different.

I can’t believe that it would take a company apparently as professional as yours upwards of 12,000 to make a blog. Either you’re ripping customers off or you’re incompetent. One framework could be re-used thousands of times, saving you time and your customers money. Yes, each site needs its own modifications, but if you build a solid framework you can run pretty much anything off it.

I’ll address this comment later, but first of all I would like to thank Scott for writing and publishing his great article on our blog – to which the above was a comment - just a few weeks ago. He was really able to sum up “what does a website cost.” Without going into full detail on everything mentioned here is just a brief break down of what was discussed regarding the cost of a good website:

• $1000-$2000 Basic Design Website
• $3000-$7000 Custom Design Websites – visually attractive, completely unique design
• $7000- $12,000 Content Management System (CMS) Websites
• $12,000- $100,000+ - totally custom situations, implementation of more advanced design & programming, etc.

Visit the Complete Article - What Does a Website Cost?

Internally we had discussed the idea at length – writing an in-depth article about how much does a website cost – and, finally decided to hit “publish” after weighing everything. We effectively laid all of our cards on the table, allowing our audience, the web developer community, our competition and future clients to understand how much this web stuff costs. The truth is the biggest thing we were concerned with in writing and publishing an article like this would be backlash from the web community or independent developers. Ultimately, the benefits outweigh the negative – we have to educate the community on the steps, time, and price involved in a proper web presence.

Personally, I am sick and tired of hearing two things from new or potential clients:

Read the rest of this entry …

13 May | Post by Zach Katkin. Filed under Business, Design, Web Design.

As you read this there are people working on furthering the advancement of web design. You know, like CSS3 and stuff. Well here is something that will really knock your socks off. Webkit is the next generation of web design. Here is a rundown of some of what it can do already:

CSS Gradients
No more will you have to rely on a solid background color or having to create an image to get a background gradient. Webkit allows for CSS gradients. You will be able to style any type of gradient you desire down to where the color stopper is placed (just like Photoshop).

CSS Transforms
Think of an image that you have on your page. Now let’s say you have this crazy idea of rotating it 10 degrees, or maybe even the whole site 30 (because you’re just that insane about rotations). Well Webkit allows for CSS transformations. This entails not just rotations but resizing and skewing as well. It makes the image and keeps its relative position and makes the transformation without disrupting the rest of the content around it. SWEEEEET!

CSS Transitions
Stark rollovers are a thing of the past with CSS transition. This allows for smooth rollover transitions. For example, let’s when you rollover the white background link on your page it will fade or “transition” to any color your heart desires. This can be combined with other Webkit CSS features. Anyone in the mood for a square blue link to transition to green while rotating 15 degrees and getting twice the size. Crazy! Yes. Cool! Double Yes.

And finally…
CSS Masks
This code allows you to mask images to any shape you can think of. An image can be masked by another image, an SVG vector graphic, or even CSS gradients (see above if you forgot already). But let’s say you want to mask something else on your page (because your web design madness has run wild). Well you can. Masks can be attached to any HTML element, including forms and video.

OK, time to calm down and come back to reality. Don’t look for this type of technology to run rampant all over the internet. Webkit is still under production. Plus it can only be implemented under certain browsers and other applications. Neither IE nor Firefox is on that VIP list, but Safari is.

So the future is here, but still out of reach (does that make sense). If you are still at the edge of your seat wanting more you can visit WebKit and get all the latest news and information about what is going on with this new technology.

Cliché of the Week
Wearing clothes in public

28 Apr | Post by Jacob Giesler. Filed under Design, Web Design.

First of all, let’s get this out of the way… you need a website. Period.

And not just any ol’ website, but a great website with clear, crisp professional, easy to navigate design with superb user ability and functionality. Furthermore, you need a website that is just as easy for you to use administratively, as it is for your site visitors to use.

It doesn’t matter if you are a national corporate brand, a smaller brick and mortar with ‘plenty of business’, a brick and mortar with only local business, or an ice cream shop that only sells to people between 5′10 and 5′11 wearing baseball hats before 3 pm only… you still need a website! Your business can be broad or niche, it can be large or small, and despite what you may believe… you need a website!

Now, what does a website cost?

Read the rest of this entry …

10 Apr | Post by Scott L. Clark. Filed under Blogs, Business, Design, SEO, Search Engine Optimization, Web Design, social media.

Have you ever wondered where to get great color ideas for websites or for anything for that matter? Well look no further. There is a great website you can check out located here: http://kuler.adobe.com/ (make sure you have the latest version of Flash).

This handy site was created by Adobe to start a whole online community of color themes that anyone can use. There are thousands of themes located here for you to browse through (if you have nothing to do for a whole weekend). Each color theme has a unique and clever name that captures the essence of the colors (i.e. Cherry Cheesecake, Tech Office).

The Kuler color community allows you to create, name, submit, comment, rate, and download any color theme you desire. You can even base color themes on pictures that you can upload to the site. All it requires is for you to create a free Abobe.com account (don’t worry it’s quick and painless). Check this one out for yourself. I know you’ll have fun with it.

Cliché of the Week
Milk with cereal

01 Apr | Post by Jacob Giesler. Filed under Design, Web Design.

Answers the question: How do I add my logo to a browser’s address bar?

It’s been awhile since I first installed Mozilla Firefox. One of the things I noticed was a fancy logo next to the address bar in the browser. Then with tabbed browsing I saw a logo for each web site. Microsoft added this ability when it introduced Internet Explorer 5.5. Now with IE7 you can see the logos in tabbed browsing as well. Here’s how you can place your logo next to the address bar. It will also show up when someone bookmark’s your site or adds it as one of their favorites.

I should clear up that the logos are referred to as favicons and it’s full file name is normally favicon.ico. Click here for Troubleshooting tips for favicons

First create a favicon

Here are a few places to create favicons for free. You will need the image that you like to show up in the address bar. Make sure to name the file favicon.ico

• Genfavicon - used to create our favicon
• - Favicon Generator
• Favicon from pics

After you have created the favicon, download it to your computer and follow the next steps.

Next upload the favicon

The best place upload the .ico file is in the root directory of your web site. In most cases this is the same place where your index file is.

Finally, link your favicon.ico file

Link this on every page of your website. If you have a header file (header.php or header.asp etc.) then this will just take a few seconds.

Copy and past this link between the head tags (<head></head>) on your pages.

<link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico" />

This is a common way to link the icon using XHTML and the one that we use on our site.

Here is another way:

And yet another way:

Troubleshooting and Tips

What if the favicon you just added isn’t showing up? Here are some things that may help if you cannot see your favicon:

• Make sure it is uploaded and the link is in the proper place
• Try deleting your browser’s history and cached Internet files - How to delete usage history
• Try restarting your browser, this should be done after you delete your browser’s history
• Try adding a question mark after your favicon link:
  <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico?">
  This will force the server to look for a new favicon every time the page loads.

If you follow those steps you should see your new logo appear in the address bar of your favorite browser.

01 Dec | Post by Jermaine Primus. Filed under Design, Web Basics, Web Design.

In today’s marketplace, it is almost no-brainer for a business to have some kind of web presence. I think of it this way:

• Your Customers and Potential Customers Expect It
• Your Business Stays Open 24/7
• Keep Abreast or Ahead of Your Competitors
• Unlimited Marketplace
• Attract New Business
• Instant Information to Prospective Clients
• Interaction with Customers

No matter what type of industry or business you are in, we can always benefit from the web.
The point to be made here is that you should, at the very least, have a presence on the web so that customers, potential employees, business partners and perhaps even investors can quickly and easily find out more about your business and the products or services you have to offer.

Here are some beneficial points:

Your Customers and Potential Customers Expect It
People will ask you about it. I recently was contacted by a local company who tried to sell me some new windows for my house, even though it was a cold-call, I was nice about it and politely asked the nice lady on the other end of the phone if the company has a website so I can see their products. “Sir, we don’t have website”, she replied. ‘Well, how can I see your product and services’, I asked. And she explained, “You can come to our showroom”. Now think of it for a moment, why should I drive 30 minutes to a showroom, when I can search, find, see, and order everything online within 5 minutes.

With a Web Presence, Your Business Stays Open 24/7
Having an ‘Internet’ presence is like having your store front in every corner of the world open 24/7. Your online presence helps you find customers from every location on this planet.

Help to Keep Abreast or Ahead of Your Competitors
Don’t just trade locally with your competition, surpass them, have your shop front on the Internet and let your business expand across the boundaries of regions, states or countries.

Unlimited Marketplace (International Markets Open)
With a website you can instantly globalize your business.

Use Search Engines to Attract New Business
Today most research for business and/or services are done online. By having your website listed on the top search engines, customers from anywhere will be able to access your website.

Instant Information to Prospective Clients
With a properly planned website, your customers have instant access to the information, sales, and service materials they need to make a decision. This frees up your and your sales or marketing team’s time to focus on what you do best, running and growing your business.

Make Interaction with Customers Easy
Through a website you can interact with clients via online newsletters, message board (forum), polls, chat rooms, and special deals.

Last Note:
It’s better to have no website at all than to have one that makes your business look bad. Your site speaks volumes about your business. If it is not done right, customers, visitors and web surfers will know. I am sure your cousin neighbor’s sister’s friend’s son can put together a website, but what purpose will it serve if it cannot be found and is not well structured?

11 Oct | Post by Harry Casimir. Filed under Business, Design, Internet Marketing, Web Design.

I blogged about the three things required for your website to be truly effective. In order to build a powerful web presence these are the three major items you must consider:

• Keyword Selection
• Search Optimized and User Friendly Web Site
• Links

(sounds easy doesn’t it)

But I realized these are also applicable to general business growth and development. By keeping these three ideas in mind, at all times, not only will you grow your website you will also grow your business:

Read the rest of this entry …

26 Sep | Post by Zach Katkin. Filed under Design, Internet Marketing, Web Design.

As a web designer I love and I hate the following words:

I don’t need a redesign. My website is pretty good and it’s much better than my competition. You should see the sites of my competition…

I love these words because, if I can actually convince you that an upgraded or revised web site will help solve your company’s woes (which it just might) then the bar is low. I know my team can wow you with a great design and it will really help drive traffic for your industry, for your region, and help get the contacts, calls or solve some of your problems.

I hate these words because I know it’s difficult to convince you otherwise. You are sure your website will suffice, and maybe in some ways it has. And… after evaluating your competition, you’re right, their websites really are deplorable.

But… if we both stopped there we would both be making a big mistake, a mistake I was making until I had a recent epiphany on the nature of web design:

Your website isn’t competing against websites in your industry or region.

Your website is competing against ALL websites!

Your website is competing against Yahoo, Google and Digg for the eyeballs and attention of your visitors.

If your website isn’t visually attractive and differentiated, visitors accustom to well designed, easily-navigable mega-sites will immediately turn away.

Visitors aren’t just measuring your company against the other local mom-and-pop shops online. They are also measuring your website and the investment you’ve made in treating them right on the web. Your visitors’ only tools of evaluation, their only gauge on the legitimacy of your company is your website.

Sure, your website may kick your competition to the curb, but is it as nice as it could be, is it as easy to navigate as it should be? If not, you are alienating visitors who are accustomed to sites that are.

06 Jul | Post by Zach Katkin. Filed under Design, Internet Marketing, Web Design.

I have been a big fan of Dr. Jakob Nielsen since I started designing websites back in 1999. And I have always found his tips and comments on web design very useful.

Recently, he released the “10 High-Profit Redesign Priorities” which clearly outline every reason to think about your current and future web presence and how to market your business.

Several usability findings lead directly to higher sales and increased customer loyalty. These design tactics should be your first priority when updating your website.

But I want to take it further and outline some of the reasons I think a web presence is so important.

In Today’s Market, You Customers Expect It
In today’s business world, the Internet is the fastest growing source for information. Without a web presence, your business risks never being found by prospective customers.

With a Web Presence, Your Business Stay Open 24/7
A brick and mortar business can be expensive to open, operate and maintain. Comparitively, a basic web site is very quick, easy, and inexpensive to start. Operating costs are miniscule and, unlike a physical business, a website is open and available to customers around the globe 24/7! With a website, customers are able to view your products and services long after your normal operating hours. If you decide to sell products online, the sky is the limit. With automated shopping carts and purchasing systems you can accept orders from any part of the world at any time.

Your Competitor Most Likely Has One
If your competitor has one and you do not then they have an advantage. If he/she does not have a site yet, then get ahead by having one first.

Email Address - Your Most Critical Contact and Networking Tool.
Emails are quickly replacing phone calls and letters as a businesses most common tool for communication, and rightly so. Are you currently using an email address from your ISP or a free email account for business contacts? Has anyone ever asked for your business email address? The status and branding for your business can be raised with an email address that includes your company name or services. For example: your-name@your-web-site.com or info@your-web-site.com, etc.

Find Out What Your Customers Really Want (Survey)
People visit your website for a purpose and/or an interest in your products, services or information. But you want to find out exactly why they came or what they’re looking for? Unlike brick and mortar business online transactions, visits, and activity are easily gathered and can be quickly referenced when making a customer oriented decision.

Increase Net Sale by Selling Your Products and Services Online
Have you seen or heard about some of the most successful online stores like eBay.com or Amazon.com or Half.com. Although these companies have huge infrastructures and massive marketing programs to drive their online business, it is possible to set up an online store in much the same way. If you have a retail product that can be shipped via UPS or FedEx then you’re a great candidate for an online store.

Unlimited Marketplace (International Markets Open)
A website is accessible 24 hours a day from anywhere on Earth with an Internet connection. Soon after the launching of your site, you can start doing business all over the globe, at any time of day.

Use Search Engines to Attract New Business
Search Engines have changed the way we gather information. Today most researches for business and/or services are done online. By having your website listed on the top search engines, customers from anywhere will be able to access your website. For example, if you’re selling running equipment and someone searches for “running watch” your site could be the first selection listed under the results. You guess it right. He/she will most likely to click on your link from the search result.

Instant Contact Information to Prospective Clients
With a website, you give customers instant access to some of the most important part of doing business. It helps deliver details about your business to anyone with an Internet connection. It gives customer directions to your business; tell people your hours or which product lines you carry. This frees up time to focus on what you do best, running your business.

Easy to Interact with Customers
One of the best ways to keep customers coming back is to keep in touch with them. Through a website you can interact with clients via online newsletters, message board (forum), polls, chat rooms, and special deals. When you keep in contact it shows customers that you care.

There can be many more reasons why you need a new a website and need it now, but these reasons above should give you an idea of where you stand with you business in a technological prospective.

28 Mar | Post by Harry Casimir. Filed under Design, Enewsletter, Internet Marketing, Web Design.