Why should you care about web accessibility? Many people, especially those with disabilities, may face difficulty using your website if it’s not adapted to accessibility standards. According to the United Nation’s data, 10 percent, or 650 million, of the world’s population and 19 percent, or 56.7 million, of people in the USA, as the Census Bureau reports, have a disability. This condition may be permanent physical, intellectual, visual, auditory, or age-related. But, it can also be temporary due to accidents or medical problems. Some people with disabilities may use assistive technology and visual, manual, or voice-operated tools to help them navigate the Web. They rely on your website’s accessibility in their daily lives and jobs.

Web accessibility benefits both users and website owners, and these examples speak for themselves:

• Greater and equal access and use of all information
• Improved online experience for people with disabilities
• Better outreach to all parts of population
• Reduced or avoided discrimination and legal responsibility
• Greater compatibility with various devices and browsers
• Better reach to mobile technologies
• Improved or regained reliability and professional image

How to adjust to web accessibility standards? Keeping the following general rules in mind when designing your website may help you reach this goal:

• Know the ways people with disabilities use the Web
• Offer text to visual and audio content and vice versa
• Use good contrast between your texts and backgrounds
• Create a simple and consistent design throughout your website
• Use specific headers not color codes to provide information
• Avoid flashing images and bright colors
• Adapt your website for mobile and assistive technology use
• Use Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and standard Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML)
• Familiarize yourself with these vast lists of accessibility tools and resources

Web accessibility matters because people matter! Equal web access is not only everyone’s human right, but it’s also the law, outlined by the U.S. Section 508 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It’s also a wise and professional business choice, considering current statistics of our increasingly varied population. So, creating accessible websites should be prioritized at your company for your website’s success and business’ sake!

The post Web Accessibility 101 appeared first on PlanMySite Blog (@planmysite).

For those who are not aware, Google and Apple are officially at war with one another. The division has occurred, as Google has increasingly become a major player in the world of mobile devices. In addition to manufacturing and selling the Nexus, Google has also developed the powerful Android system that is used by an increasingly growing number of phone makers.

As a result, Google has become Apple’s biggest competitor when it comes to smartphones. In fact, phones containing the Android system surpassed iPhone sales in late 2010, prompting Steve Jobs to lament that “we didn’t go into search” and “we are not going into search.” Although jobs did not call for removing Google search boxes from Apple devices at the time, the company has since had a change of heart.

The reasons for the success of the Android system are numerous. First, while Apple only allows Apple-approved apps to be used on its devices, Google gives Android away to phone makers. The phone makers are then free to modify the system to suit their needs, so long as they maintain a basic set of standards that allow an app built for one Android phone to be used on another. While Google tends to launch products while they are still in the Beta version, Apple is far more controlled and typically releases a product only after it has been thoroughly tested and the company is sure it will be a success.

In the world of technology, there is room for both the Google and the Apple approach and the competition has lead to numerous innovations. Today, the companies do compete with their browsers of Safari vs. Chrome. Both companies have also launched their own photographic software, e-mail and cloud computing. Google has also recently launched Google Music, which directly competes with Apple’s iTunes. Similarly, Apple has now launched iAd, which is a mobile-advertising platform that will compete directly against Google’s primary source of income.

Given the ongoing battle between the two companies, those who have been keeping a close eye on technology may not have been too surprised when Apple decided to drop Google Maps from the iOS 6. While some may think this was simply a smart business decision, the reality is that it is the user who suffers. Furthermore, the decision may prove to backfire on Apple, as many have grown to become dependent upon Google Maps and the driving directions it provides.

Here at PlanMySite, we love technology and are proud to be part of the technology age. Therefore, we hate to see major players such as Google and Apple and odds with each other. Not only does it hurt the consumer, but also it slows progress within the field. Hopefully, this issue will be resolved quickly and the two companies will learn to work together as they compete for their share of the marketplace.

The post Apple’s Battle with Google Results in One Loser: The Consumer appeared first on PlanMySite Blog (@planmysite).

Receiving recognition for a job well done is always a great feeling, so just imagine how wonderful the PlanMySite team felt after receiving 2 silver awards from International Academy of Visual Arts W3 Awards program. The W3 Awards, which honors outstanding websites, web videos, web marketing and mobile apps, recognizes the best designers, creators and interactive agencies around the world. Therefore, earning two silver awards for two different websites was certainly an honor.

Thanks to the unique format of the W3 Awards, everyone from small firms to Fortune 500 companies and international agencies have the opportunity to be recognized. This doesn’t mean that competition isn’t stiff, however, as W3 Awards officials have reported that more than 3,000 entries from Public Relations Firms, Ad Agencies, Interactive Agencies, Graphic Designers, Web Designers and Web Enthusiasts were reviewed by the panel of judges.

“This year’s W3 Winners demonstrate the out-of-the-box thinking and creative execution that exemplifies what the Web is all about,” said Linda Day, who is the Executive Director of the IAVA in a recent press release.

The two Silver ratings awarded to PlanMySite were in recognition of the site our team created for Brooke M. Barnett & Associates law firm and for the Kwahuman Association of New Jersey. While the Brooke M. Barnett site was included in the Law & Legal Services category, the Kwahuman Association site was judged in the Non-Profit category. Brooke M. Barnett & Associates offers criminal defense services in a friendly and helpful atmosphere, while the Kwahuman Association is a socio-cultural organization dedicated to promoting education and preventative health in New Jersey and in the Kwahu Traditional Areas in Ghana, West Africa.

Both of these clients were a pleasure to work with and we feel honored to have been able to create websites to suit their needs while also being recognized with the prestigious W3 Award. We hope to repeat this same success with every single one of our clients.

The post PlanMySite Awarded Two Silver W3 Awards by the International Academy of Visual Arts appeared first on PlanMySite Blog (@planmysite).

With the new Facebook Cover feature, you can add another element to your e-marketing campaign by linking your profile picture to the upper banner with the help of QR codes. The Facebook Cover can also be used with advertising campaigns or to help with taking social action, such as “The Anti-Drugs Timeline” launched by the Israel Anti Drug Authority. Here are just a few great examples of how you can creatively change your Facebook profile in order to take full advantage of the new Cover feature.

1. Mohammad L. Azzam

2. Aly Moffatt

3. Antonio Fadda

4. Emanuele Bartolomucci

5. Eyal Shahar

6. Jerome Vadon

Facebook Cover

If you are interested creating your own Facebook Cover, you can download Facebook Timeline Cover Template we created to help you get started. It includes Photoshop file, Action Photoshop and JPG with dimensions of Timeline Cover. Each of these files offers the perfect dimensions and guides to be used as a Facebook Cover. All you need to do is place your photograph or other graphic into the guide and then save your file in the jpg format.  After you add this file to your Facebook album, you can select it to be your new Facebook Cover. Offered in conjunction with the British Moo service and Facebook, the first 200 thousand people to visit the Facebook Cards site http://uk.moo.com/products/facebook-cards.html will receive a total of 10 million of these unique and innovative cards.

Clearly, you do not need to be a graphic designer in order to take full advantage of the Facebook Cover feature. Even better, if you really like the design that you create, you can take your Facebook Cover offline and share it with your friends with Facebook Cards. Or, if you want to go mobile with your Facebook Cover, use the new Timeline on Adroid and iOS and through m.facebook.com.

If you don’t have the new Facebook Timeline, but you want to take full advantage of all that it has to offer, simply visit http://www.facebook.com/about/timeline and click on “Get Timeline.” You will then find all of the information you need to receive the new interface!

The post How to Use Facebook Timeline Creatively? appeared first on PlanMySite Blog (@planmysite).

At PlanMySite, we can’t help but get swept away by the Christmas spirit. So, in an effort to show just how much we appreciate all of our site visitors, we are pleased to provide free Christmas wallpaper this holiday season. To show you just how much we appreciate you (and because, frankly, we really enjoy creating Christmas wallpaper designs!), we have created three different wallpapers to select from. Each of these wallpaper designs is available in 8 different resolutions, so you are sure to find the wallpaper design to suit your needs.

Since our Christmas wallpaper is available for free, we also encourage you to share our wallpaper with your friends and family. The holiday season is about giving and sharing, so feel free to share our free Christmas wallpaper with as many people as you like! Have a wonderful holiday season!

Merry Christmas Wallpaper
1280×800, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Xmas Gift Wallpaper
1280×800, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

Christmas Tree Wallpaper
1280×800, 1280×1024, 1366×768, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1080, 1920×1200, 2560×1440

The post Get in the Spirit with Free Christmas Wallpapers appeared first on PlanMySite Blog (@planmysite).

While some business owners may think there is no point to jumping on board another social networking site, Google+ has much to offer to a business. First, whether we like it or not, social networking is here to stay. Therefore, it is in the best interest of any business owner to take full advantage of the networking sites that are available. Not only do social networking sites make it easier to connect with customers, they also aid with performing market research, gaining new customers and creating a brand image. Furthermore, as would be expected from any product launched by Google, Google+ offers plenty of tools that can be quite handy to the business owner. Here’s a look at some of the tools and how you can use them for your business:

• Circles – makes it possible to group your followers into smaller audiences according to specific characteristics or traits, which then allows you to share messages with just a specific group of people.
• +1 Button – allows users to recommend your page directly to their friends.
• Google+ Badge – allows users to add your page to their circles and to start receiving your updates without needing to leave your main website

Google is also working on a way for businesses to link their Google+ Page to their AdWords campaign. In this way, all of your +1s will show with your brand wherever it appears, including in ads, in searches and on your website. For those who are using AdWords Express from a Google Places account, ads can be easily linked to the Google+ Page by simply selecting the appropriate option and entering the URL of the Google+ Page into the appropriate field.

Another feature that Google+ has added for businesses is the Direct Connect feature. With this feature, someone can simply put a “+” before the name of your business or organization when performing a Google search. This will automatically redirect the user to your Google+ Page. While this feature will not work for everyone, it is a nice touch for those businesses for which it works.

Already, a number of companies have created a Google+ page to help them connect with their customers. Some of these include Pepsi, Good Morning America, Macy’s and even the Dallas Cowboys. If you are ready to create a business page for Google+, visit plus.google.com/pages/ create to get started.

Please join us at Google Plus.

The post Google+ Now Open to Businesses and Organizations appeared first on PlanMySite Blog (@planmysite).

Known as the Protect IP Act, the bill will implement some firewall features that are quite similar to those found in China. Through the bill, the attorney general will have the power to unilaterally create a blacklist of sites to be blocked by Internet service providers, payment providers, search engines and advertising networks without having a court hearing or a trial. The House version, known as the Stop Online Piracy Act, will even allow private companies to sue service providers who unknowingly host content that infringes upon copyright, even if it is up for only a short period of time. This will represent a significant change from current legislation, which protects service providers so long as they remove the content immediately after being notified.

While the legislation has been proposed in an effort to protect and enforce copyright, the implications of the bill are quite frightening. For user-generated sites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, the bill could result in a complete shutdown. After all, if the bill goes into effect, these sites will face legal action if users put copyright-protected content on their sites. Rather than hiring thousands of people to monitor their content, many of these companies may have simply cut their losses and go offline. Yet, many well-financed organizations are currently backing the bill. These include:

• The American Federation of Musicians
• The Directors Guild of America
• The International Brotherhood of Teamsters
• The Motion Picture Association of America
• The Screen Actors Guild
• The United States Chamber of Commerce

Unfortunately, even if companies are willing to spend the money to have their sites monitored, research has shown that employees have a tendency to over-censor. Rather than take the risk of something being free for public use, employees choose to block content in order to be on the safe side. As a result, citizens of the United States face the possibility of extreme online legislation of the bill manages to pass. For this reason, many companies have expressed their opposition to the bill. These include google, Twitter, Facebook and other major online companies.

To make your voice heard in opposition of the Internet Censorship bill, visit the American Censorship website. Here, you will be directed to a simple form that will allow you to voice your opposition to lawmakers. You can also access simple HTML code, which you can use on your site to temporarily show your site as “blocked” in order to raise awareness when people visit your site. Tumblr has also made it easy to call your congressperson by simply visiting the Tumblr’ web page, or you can sign this online White House petition.

The post Proposed Bill Has the Power to Significantly Censor the Internet appeared first on PlanMySite Blog (@planmysite).

Originally founded in the summer of 1998, the Association focuses on the people of the Kwahu, including those who live in New Jersey as well as those in the Kwahu Traditional Areas in Ghana, West Africa. In addition to supporting charitable causes and developing health and economic programs to support those in the Kwahu Traditional Areas, the Association also works toward supporting the social well-being of New Jersey communities. This support is provided in a number of ways, including:

• Providing assistance through an Education Fund, which supports students in New Jersey and in Ghana
• Establishing preventive healthcare measures and providing affordable healthcare to members and others in the community
• Bringing child immunizations and healthcare education programs to Ghana

The Association also emphasizes the importance of love, family and encouraging others. By creating a website with a custom content management system, the PlanMySite team made it possible for the Association to share information with members, to receive donations and to find other ways to encourage interaction among members. We also created a logo and other items, such as stationary, that the Association can now use to further its initiatives while creating an identity that will be easily recognized in New Jersey and around the world. We are more than happy to be able to help and offer logo, identity, and website design for non-profit organization in New Jersey.

To get more information and screenshots, please visit our clients section. Here is the link: Kwahuman Association of New Jersey Project.

The website is already launched: www.kwahumannj.org

The post PlanMySite Helps Kwahuman Association Spread Message Across New Jersey and West Africa appeared first on PlanMySite Blog (@planmysite).

This past May, PlanMySite was awarded the Silver Award of Distinction for its work on the Gemkin Millworks logo design. With more than 6,000 designs from around the world being entered into the program each year and is judged by some of the leading professionals in the business, including professionals from Disney, Estee Lauder, The Ellen Degeneres Show, HBO, MTV, Ralph Lauren, Victoria’s Secret, Yahoo!, Monster.com and more. As such, the Communicator Awards is a highly-competitive awards program that focuses on recognizing creative excellence in the field.

“We were once again amazed at the high level of work we received for this year’s Communicator Awards,” said Linda Day, who is the director of the IAVA, in a recent press release. “With this year’s entries we found an increased awareness and reflection of the digital world in which we live, and our entrants always seem to find new and creative ways to push the envelope of possibilities across all mediums.”

Each of the logos was evaluated on distinction in creative work, with each being scored on a ten-point scale. In general, those that received an Excellence award received a score of 9.0 or greater, while those that received a Distinction award received a score of 7.0 to 8.9. To view a full list of winners, visit the Communicator Awards webpage.

The post PlanMySite Client Logo Receives Silver Award of Distinction in 2011 Communicator Award appeared first on PlanMySite Blog (@planmysite).

While Google Analytics Premium does require paying a “nominal” annual fee of $150,000, the service increases the power of the free edition while also providing more information to aid in decision-making. Some of the features found with the Google Analytics Premium edition include:

• No data limits – whereas the free version has data limitations, the premium version allows you to track billions of hits per month
• Variable customization – the premium edition of Google Analytics allows you to create 50 custom variables, allowing you to gain more information about site visitors
• Attribution modeling – allows you to gain a deeper understanding of your marketing campaigns as you learn more about the various channels within your media mix

In addition to offering these added features, Google backs its new premium edition with a guarantee. In fact, if your site activity is not reliably and accurately recorded and made available to you, Google will pay you back. Some of the information you can expect to receive through the premium program include:

• A Service Level Agreement of 99.9 percent in any given calendar month
• Data freshness, with data being no more than four hours old 98 percent of the time
• Guaranteed reporting of 99 percent in any calendar month

With the information provided to you through these reports, you can react more quickly to the needs and demands of consumers.

If all of this sounds a bit confusing to you, you will be happy to know that the Google Analytics Premium package also comes complete with custom training and support. In fact, each subscriber to Google Analytics Premium gets his own account manager who will serve as a natural extension of the web development and marketing team. This expert is available to provide your company with technical training and can even provide webinars and on-site training.

A Google specialist will also help your company transfer from your existing installations to the upgraded functions and features the premium package provides. This way, you can be sure to obtain a full and reliable data set. Even better, if you encounter problems outside of normal business hours, Google has actually provided a 24/7 emergency support hotline that you can contact for help.

With all that Google Analytics Premium has to offer, it is certainly something that is worth a second look for any corporation that is serious about creating a strong Internet presence and getting the most out of an online marketing campaign.

The post What Does Google Analytics Premium Have to Offer? appeared first on PlanMySite Blog (@planmysite).