SYDCON Web Development

QR Codes & The Importance of Quality Landing Pages

noreply@blogger.com (SYDCON Web Development) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 20:44:00 +0000

So, everyone is talking about QR Codes these days, from Mashable: "Why QR Codes Are Poised to Hit the Mainstream" & "City of New York Blankets Time Square with Giant QR Codes" as well as many other sources.

If you just use your imagination, you can find all sorts of creative ways to use QR Codes to the benefit of your company. Take for example the article in Search Engine Land: "QR Codes Are You Ready for Paper-based Hyperlinks?" They have some great ideas on how to use QR Codes. Even Ralph Lauren has used them to show off limited edition collections or launch lines of clothing. And Dick's Sporting Goods put QR Codes on the JumboTron during a football game to offer special discounts on their website! Many firms are adding them to their business cards and mailers too. Even Realtors are putting them on property fliers to direct potential buyers to the online property listing.

QR Codes can offer your company valuable tracking information on how your advertising dollars are working, and where they are working best. They can help you track how well promotions succeed in certain areas, for example, did your promotion work better in the store or on the web?

Something to keep in mind though when using QR Codes, to implement them seamlessly, is the landing pages the QR Code is directing the customers to. Make sure they are well designed, mobile ready, have great content and most of all, are functional. If your landing pages are not in order all the effort you went through to come up with the campaign, get the codes and distribute them will have been for nothing.

Most companies that are using QR Codes are creating micro-sites for the landing pages. If you are thinking of running a QR Code campaign, let's talk about what is going to back that code up, the landing page or micro-site. Contact us today for a Free Consultation on how we can help your QR Codes Campaign succeed!

Are there 2 SYDCON Web Development Blogs? Nah, we are moving the blog pardon the dust!

noreply@blogger.com (SYDCON Web Development) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 19:24:00 +0000

Find 2 blogs for SYDCON Web Development floating about? We are in the process of moving from Blogger to Wordpress so thats why you might find 2 different addresses. All posts are currently on both, while we make the new one pretty! Please bear with our dust!

As always feel free to view our site or contact us. In the mean time, if you are new to our blog, Welcome! Enjoy your look around, comments are always welcome! Thanks!

Customer Service is key right? So are you always going the extra mile?

noreply@blogger.com (SYDCON Web Development) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:06:00 +0000

Lately I have seen a few articles about small business vs. their big business competitors or David vs. Goliath. One common thread in a lot of the comments on these articles is customer service and just what the advantage is that small business has.

A main goal for a business should be customer service or 100% customer satisfaction, right? I realize that we live in a world where in many places customer service is lacking, it is one way we strive to be different, to be better.

Something we have encountered over the last year or so is partner firms going the extra mile to help their clients in anyway possible, even if that means referring them to someone else. Yes, you heard me, referring them elsewhere! And, no I am not crazy!

Face it, there are going to be times when your client comes to you with a request that is out of your realm, but a major factor for them. What do you do? Well, we have encountered a few different scenarios. One time our partner firm ignored their clients pleas for information on who worked on their project, the client had a specific need that they knew our partner couldn't deliver, and they were OK with that, but were pleading for their help to be pointed in the right direction. Our partner refused to do so, but luckily their client found their resource on the first try, it ended up being the resource our client was trying to hide.

Another scenario we encountered, is a new partner came right out and said we know we don't have the tools to offer our clients certain solutions, we would rather partner with someone or be able to offer them a referral than to loose the client! That's putting your clients first.

And yet one last scenario, is a personal experience. We had a client make a request for something we had no experience in, but it wasn't an unusual request either, since we work in a ever changing environment of tech. We asked for a bit of time to review the specs and offer a solution. In a short time it became apparent that due to lack of proper documentation from our clients vendor, we could not do what our client needed. We came back to them quickly and honestly, that unfortunately we couldn't do the project. Our client while obviously was now faced with the task of finding a resource for this single issue, appreciated that we didn't drag out the process, and that we were honest that it was beyond us at this time. They appreciated our honesty and recognized that we realized the importance of the issue to them and acted in a timely manner.

This is how I see it, you can either hide, and make excuses or stall when you cant help your clients or you can be a strong, confident business and not be afraid to say this is something we don't offer, but we can with confidence refer you to our partner or help you find a competent resource and assist you in any way going forward!

Customer service is about putting your client first, it will gain you repeat business in the end, and maybe some new business from partner referrals. Go that extra mile!

Ding-dong the Web is dead! Wait, What? No....

noreply@blogger.com (SYDCON Web Development) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:37:00 +0000

So I am sure you have seen one of the slew of articles around lately saying the web is dead and Facebook is the killer. Nah, not happen', don't buy it! Here 's a few reasons why I think this is like the Y2k panic...remember that?!

Last week it was Wired declaring "The Web is Dead" - but also telling us not to rush out the coffin. Today it's Adage "What Happens When Facebook Trumps Your Brand Site", and there are many other articles/blogs too. But, is it really dead, is your site really trumped?

This is how I see it, and heck I may be 100% wrong, but first of all, technically, Facebook IS A WEBSITE! So, therefore it's not going to kill the web, right? Second, are you really going to give all your power to Facebook, or anywhere for that matter? You are not seriously going to give them all the control and forget about the website that your company owns and can do with what you please? No way! Why would you, to boost Facebook? What happens if it is down, goes away or is no longer the place to be, like MySpace?

Many of these article talk about new ads with Facebook tag lines, sending people to brand Facebook pages, and how many fans brands have. Yeah, OK....so to me you know what that means? It means your advertising is working. Whether it be your commercials, social media campaign or radio spot. If potential clients are following the tag line to your Facebook page it means your ad campaign is a success- you grabbed their interest enough to give them simple directions "Go to Facebook page A" and they go! So, congratulate yourself, you accomplished something, you did, your company did...NOT Facebook! If you made your website or mobile app interactive you might just see the same turn-around of "like" that Facebook is showing you.

Is Facebook an important part of your marketing campaign, YES, absolutely! But, don't give them the keys to your kingdom. Don't make your Facebook page more important than your company or brand website. You own your company, you own your brand, you control your website and your domain. We have seen the fade of MySpace and the surge of Twitter, but its your website, you call the shots, you make it your own, just like your business. Facebook has rules you will need to abide by as well as limits to what you can and can't do.

So, my take? By all means embrace Facebook, just like Twitter and LinkedIn and whatever else you are using to get your name and message out there, but don't ever give up your individual control or conform your brand identity to someone else. Learn something from it, be interactive; whether on your website or mobile app or through social media. Businesses surge and survive because of their product, their message, their customer service, let's not forget that!

How equipped are you to handle your clients changing needs?

noreply@blogger.com (SYDCON Web Development) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:45:00 +0000

Let's face it, the current economy is changing the way most business' function. Many are re-assessing their plan of attack, changing how they focus their marketing and advertising campaigns . While also making sure they are positioning themselves for the now as well as setting themselves up for the business world recovery.

Your clients needs are changing, so therefore, so are yours. If you run a Marketing, Design, Ad, PR or even social media agency you know that the way you promote your clients is moving in a new direction. Are you prepared to help them advance not only socially but technologically as well? Can you point them in the right direction of current web standards, or mobile apps? Even if that's not your strong suit or specialty you should still be able to offer guidance, assistance or maybe even a partner to help.

Are you uneasy when it comes to discussions that are not in your typical list of services offered, yet fall under a similar category? For instance are you a marketing firm that doesn't have a deep programming capabilities? Don't be hesitant to get in the ring, programmers, especially web and mobile programmers go hand in hand with marketing firms and the like. Don't feel as though suggesting a partner or business associate to help meet your clients needs is a sign of a weakness in your firm. Think of it as showing your strong suit, showing you understand how important all your clients needs are and that you are there for them and will help them in anyway you can. We believe it takes a strong, confident business to make effective partnerships or offer successful referrals. So next time you find your self out of your realm, or wanting to expand your services, reach out to your social network, or industry related firms to help conquer client needs. Face it, things just work better when we help each other!

The best solution is a individual solution!

noreply@blogger.com (SYDCON Web Development) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 20:26:00 +0000

Customer satisfaction - we all strive to deliver it 100% of the time. And, as we all live and learn, we find out there are many ways to help meet the goal of "Customer Satisfaction!".

Here at SYDCON we always strive for Customer Satisfaction. We always want to give our customers the best solution for their needs. One way that we believe helps us attain that goal is to find not just the best solution, but an individual solution. We believe each business is unique no matter what you sell, how many competitors you have or how big or small your business is.

When we speak with potential customers, our goal is to offer the best solution, a CUSTOM solution. What works for your competitor may not give you the same results. So, while we want to talk to you about your competitors, see how your site matches up, our goal is to create your own unique presence. Our approach is not one size fits all!

Our belief is that by offering a complete custom programming and design solution, we are offering our clients the best for their specific business needs. By offering custom design we are bringing to life the spirit of the company, helping to continue the branding that usually is pre-existing while keeping the look fresh. But we go further, by offering totally custom development your site works for you and your clients! When we develop a site you get the functionality you need, while not having to work around the ones that you don't.

If you are looking for the best individual web solutions for your business, let's talk and help move your business forward.

Sometimes it does "Take A Village"....

noreply@blogger.com (SYDCON Web Development) — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 16:24:00 +0000

We have all heard the saying "It takes a Village". This saying can be applied to many things, from raising children to improving our climate and our world. But, it can also be applied to business. As we all know, running a business is a complex thing. We all strive to make our clients happy and deliver the best solutions we can. Sometimes in order to deliver the best solution we need to call on our Village or expand our Village.

There are many ways to make your Village work for you and your client. SYDCON's Village is vast, and growing everyday. Our Village consists not only of our staff and clients, but also our partners. In the current economy partnerships help us all help each other. Its hard to staff employees for every task you may have, especially when certain tasks are not a part of each and every job or client.

Our partners get a wonderful benefit from being part of our growing village. They can utilize our expertise when they need us, and we are off helping others when they don't! They are not paying for a full staff of developers all year when maybe 1 in 5 of their clients have development needs. And, staffing 1 developer may not always be the answer, with so many languages and databases out there, working hand in hand with a development firm gives you the advantage of a staff at your fingertips for usually less than the cost of 1 developer.

Our partnerships work both ways too, since SYDCON is a custom development shop, we do on occasion have client needs that exceed our area of expertise, and our first reaction to help meet our clients needs is to reach out to our Village for support.

Having a deep and reliable Village will help us all. If we are to survive this economy we all need to work together, increase our services offered and better yet give our clients the BEST solution to their needs.

Interested in becoming a SYDCON Villager? We are always open to hear new ideas and welcome Villagers to our fold. Let's talk about it!

Websites, Mobile Apps and iPhone Apps "Oh My!"

noreply@blogger.com (SYDCON Web Development) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 19:22:00 +0000

Feeling a bit like Dorothy lost in the woods?? Websites, Mobile Apps and iPhone/iPad Apps too? Wondering which is more important, which should you tackle first, what will get you the best results?

iPhone Apps are all the buzz, your doing all the social media you can get your hands on, but is your site content and navigation keeping your new traffic engaged? Is your website mobile ready?

If your website is in good shape (clean design, great content, easy navigation), have you checked it out on mobile devices and the iPad? There are 44+ million iPhone users alone, then there are Blackberry's, Droids and more! Are you reaching those clients? Mobile Apps are different than iPhone Apps, you need a developer who can optimize your site on all devices. Everyone you know is mobile these days, are you losing potential clients because they tried to view your site on their phone, and it didnt deliver?

In the world of social networking, reach out and ask some of your connections to view your site on different devices (offer to do the same in kind), ask for and offer honest opinions. We all have to help each other in the current economy, and offering constructive criticism when asked can help us all. Check for things like how does my site deliver my companies services and approach, is the navigation easy? Can you tell without much digging what it is that we do? Then move on to checking it in all browsers and then of course mobile devices!

With so many things to consider and the ever changing world of look and functionality, SYDCON Web Development is offering free mobile web apps* to accompany any new web site* we develop! Also, we are offering a 10% discount on any website to mobile optimization for pre-existing websites! As always we offer Free Consultations, so let's talk about taking your site to the next level and making sure it is mobile ready!

*Restrictions apply.

A key element to consider before launching a Social Media Campaign

noreply@blogger.com (SYDCON Web Development) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:32:00 +0000

Social Media is all the rage. Everyone one wants in on it, and everyone wants to see great results (us included!). We are far from social media experts, but we are web experts. As web experts we are contacted by Social Media Experts as well as firms of various sizes and varying industries who are either just embarking on social media or knee deep in a plan that isn't producing the expected results. Perhaps, a key element needs to be considered before launch....the website that will be the back-bone of the campaign.

Whether you are the Social Media/PR Expert outlining a social media plan or you are the CEO/Marketing Director of the firm hoping to capitalize on the campaign, the website should be a big part of the focus! In our experience we have been witnessing firms who have a great campaign outlined, but the website that supports it is lacking! Or we have firms or experts come to us because the campaign is in full swing, traffic is sky-rocketing but the bounce rate is huge, and the site isn't bringing in new business, thus making the overall campaign a failure.

Perhaps if both the Social Media/PR experts and the CEO/Marketing Executives evaluated the website prior to launching a new campaign, better results would be achieved. Consider having a web professional evaluate the website to make sure it can handle a influx of traffic, retain the visitors, communicate with the visitors and pave the way for increased revenue.

SYDCON offers free consultations and can provide website evaluations for both Social Media/PR Experts and their clients or for individual firms looking to spruce up their website prior to working with a social media expert. Your website should be your number one salesperson, and offer the same high quality first impression the executives would offer in a face-to-face meeting. If your website is poorly designed, out-dated, not utilizing best practice, or just has plain bad functionality, you will never see the great results you desire!

A key thing to consider before launching into social media is to remember that it always goes back to how strong of a web presence you have!

How do you choose a firm? Testimonial, Locals, Better Business Bureau?

noreply@blogger.com (SYDCON Web Development) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:31:00 +0000

I am curious, how do you choose what firms get your business? How do you know, especially in the current climate that the firm you choose is reputable? Do you stick only with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), or maybe the local Chamber of Commerce? But, how do you know, wouldn't you be better checking references?

I spent sometime thinking about this recently. The BBB wants a fee to be listed, so can't anyone pay to be listed so long as no one takes the time to complain to the BBB a company can appear reputable. How about the local Chamber of Commerce, you pay to join those too, and you can pay more to be a featured business or a Platinum or Premier Member. But does that make one firm better or more reputable than another? Does the local Chamber or BBB only accept fees and list firms they check references on? Maybe some, but I doubt they all do. But, I think that they should. Sure, it's time consuming, but these types of organizations are asking for consumers to turn to them and use a firm they list. Some consumers might take that to mean these are honest reputable firms, not just someone who paid their annual dues.

I don't know of an organization that actually checks references on businesses, I know I have heard of a few online places where individuals can rate contractors, which has promise if they are not anonymous ratings. I think it would be a great idea for the BBB and Chambers to check references prior to accepting new members and regularly check them on existing members. We have had the unfortunate experience of using local businesses, high-lighted in the Chamber as well as being in the BBB, only to find they are not reputable at all.

Do you have a way of selecting a firm that honest and reputable? Do you use word of mouth, check references, or something else. I think in the current economic/business climate we all need to help each other. If that means offering a testimonial or reference for a firm that has done a great job for you I think we all as business owners can take the time to do so....doesn't the future of all of our businesses depend on it?

Do you have web development needs outside of a new website?

noreply@blogger.com (SYDCON Web Development) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:26:00 +0000

If so, SYDCON Web Development can help. Yes, we are a custom web development firm, so one is safe to assume we offer web development! What we also offer is Application Development and Maintenance Plans designed to meet the needs of firms that do not staff developers full-time, or are looking for a new alternative (Partnership) because they may not have needs that require a full-time employee.

SYDCON offers a variety of solutions to meet your needs. Do you need regular maintenance, maybe 10 hours a week or 10 hours a month? Are you tired of trying to find a dependable freelancer who is available during business hours or is reliable? We can meet your needs, no matter how big or small, and in a timely, efficient manner. We can create custom applications to supplement an existing site or to streamline your business. We can edit code, tweak design elements or add functionality. Our language base is wide, ranging from PHP, ASP, .NET, ColdFusion, etc. Whatever your needs or ideas to make your business function better or increase your revenue, contact us to see how we can bring your ideas to life!

Check out our Services page at www.sydcon.com to see what services we offer that can benefit your business.

Is Monthly Fee Web Software Cost Effective?

noreply@blogger.com (SYDCON Web Development) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:28:00 +0000

So, more and more I am seeing monthly fee "web software" out there. Are these tools really so useful that they are worth a never-ending monthly fee to use? Do you think you can customize them for that steep monthly fee? Maybe--but doubtful. Is maybe worth a monthly fee that translates to hundreds or thousands of dollars over the course of its use? Probably not!

There are all kinds of software titles available, from actual web site creation software, to software that adds customer reviews to your site. And rest assured, these one-of-a-kind problem solver applications don't come cheap! We just heard of one today (that shall remain name-less) that starts at $80 per month....PER MONTH! That's $960 a year...for 1 year! This is software to add reviews and/or testimonials to your website.

Part of what we here at SYDCON have to offer that falls under the term "Custom Development", is that we can make additions to your current site, add functions, create custom applications that may not even be been seen by your customers. Applications that make your daily business life easier and more cost effective....and, we won’t charge you a monthly fee to do it either! Want to add customer reviews or customer testimonials to your site? Well, it won’t cost you $80 a month indefinitely to do that with us!

Another aspect of the custom difference you find here at SYDCON versus monthly fee applications is that you are probably limited in how it looks and what fields are available, etc. Not with us! When you ask SYDCON to add functionality to your site, you get what works for you, you can name your fields, have varying fields based on your business and only your business. You get what you need not what somebody else decided they think you need to help your company, then mass produce it and sell it to every other firm interested for $X a month. We create it your way, give you a fixed price and once its done it’s done, and you will probably be surprised to see that it will be at a fraction of the cost of these boxed type solutions.

So, in a nutshell, if you need a custom application, whether it be to showcase your business by way of reviews. Or maybe you need an application to make your business run smoother, contact us and ask us how we can make it easier and more cost effective for you! Best of all...we have references to back it up!

Understanding the Lingo

noreply@blogger.com (SYDCON Web Development) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:14:00 +0000

Custom Development, Web Developer vs. Web Designer....what's the difference?

For prospective clients, there is a lot of lingo out there, and the definitions can vary based on who is selling the answer. We get asked often "what is custom development", or "what's the difference between a web developer and a web designer?". I will try to differentiate those here.

Custom Development

What is custom development? Well from SYDCON'S perspective, it is everything entirely from scratch, hand coded for each specific project, based on each specific clients needs.

You may say "all shopping carts are the same, can't I just use the plug-in from yahoo?" Well, here at SYDCON we create our e-commerce sites based entirely on your products and target consumers, making it "custom" to your business.

You may also ask, "how long will the site take to build?" Well, if you want it to work and be exactly what you asked for, then the old saying "Good things come to those who wait" is fitting. When we give a time-line, it is based on creating your site from scratch based on your detailed specification, customization and quality testing, these things take patience.

Web Developer vs. Web Designer

What's the difference between a developer and a designer? We were once told that they are one in the same, but in reality that couldn't be farther from the truth!

A developer is a programmer or a coder, a technical person...some may say a geek! A designer is artsy/creative person...basically the old right brain vs. left brain theory. Essentially you will need both for website creation, however some designers can do minimal code, enough to get by, but nothing custom or detailed.

So, which do you need then? BOTH! Here at SYDCON we have a talented staff of developers skilled in a multitude of languages to suit your needs as well as designers to bring YOUR ideas to life. Another aspect of "Custom" is that here at SYDCON our designs are products of your ideas/direction. It is YOUR website for YOUR business, why should it look the way we want it too?

Deciding between firms?

When you are shopping for your website needs, ask yourself if the firm that is selling you "quick turn-around" based on a system where you can "plug in" your own information and PRESTO your site is up in a few days vs a custom site, is what you want. With the "box plug in" your site is in most ways a copy of another. Your business is unique, and your website in many cases is your 1st impression, do you want it to be just a copy of another with a different cover?

Here at SYDCON, we don't use any premade templates, design or programming. So, you won't see your site anywhere else (unless someone loves it so much they hire someone to copy it!). So, the bottom line is, if you want it your way, and want it right and unique give us a call. If you want a 5th edition copy of a best selling novel with redesigned cover that is done in a few days with limitations, maybe call the other guy.

noreply@blogger.com (SYDCON Web Development) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 23:38:00 +0000

Why website statistics are important?

Monitoring website statistics are essential to running any website. Highlighted below are a few reasons why they are important and what information you can gain from them.

Page Popularity
Web statistic software will log every page that is viewed on your website. Knowing this, you can display important information or special offers on the most popular pages.

Referrals
Referrals will tell you exactly what website your visitor came from. This is extremely important if you run pay per click (PPC) advertising.

Search Engine Keywords and Phrases
If your visitor came from a search engine, your statistic program will log what keyword(s) they entered to find you.

These are just a few items you can use to determine how successful your website is and expose areas in need of improvement.

noreply@blogger.com (SYDCON Web Development) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:13:00 +0000

Welcome to the SYDCON Web Development blog! It is our hope that this blog will get some of our ideas out there, give some insight into the world of web development, and show you what sets SYDCON apart from the rest.

I think it is safe to say you will find a wide variety of topics discussed here, which will help current and future clients relate to us and gain a better understanding of who we are and what we do. You may find topics on websites in general, world news, life and what-not, maybe some sports topics, or anything else that peaks our interest. In the mean time, I invite you to view our site at www.sydcon.com to see what we have to offer, and then check back here with us soon!