Everything Internet Blog

We Need Your Input

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Mullican) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:14:39 PDT

CWS regularly receives requests to offer training and consultation on various subjects. Because everyone has different needs, we'd like to learn what topics and formats make the most sense for you. We've set up a very quick survey (just four questions), and we'd really appreciate a couple of minutes of your time so we can better meet your needs:

Take the survey here

Thanks for your help!

Contribute Training Reminder

noreply@blogger.com (Alan De Keyrel) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:13:25 PDT

Our monthly Contribute training classes are scheduled for next Tuesday, July 7th. If you're in need of a refresher course or would like to learn how to use Contribute's advanced features, these classes are an excellent opportunity to learn more.

Each month, you may attend one (or both) sessions based on your needs and current skill level. Here are the topics which will be covered this month:

Basic Session @ 1:00 pm (4 seats left for 7/7/09)

Getting Started
Editing Pages
Inserting Links
Working with Images
Using Tables
Adding New Pages

Advanced Session @ 2:00pm (2 seats left for 7/7/09)

Using the Draft Console
Using Anchors
Adding Paypal Buttons
Adding Google Search Fields
Adding HTML Snippets
Using Shared Assets
Adding Movie Files
Working With Blogs

As always, we'll continue to offer our Contribute Training on the first Tuesday of each month at 1:00 pm. To register, simply call Sara at 507-216-6649 or email sara@cws.net. Here is the list of upcoming training sessions:

July 7th, 2009 = 1 pm (Basic) & 2 pm (Advanced)
August 4th, 2009 = 1 pm (Basic) & 2 pm (Advanced)
September 1st, 2009 = 1 pm (Basic) & 2 pm (Advanced)

All classes will be held at the CWS Office and will start promptly. Hope to see you there!

July 4th Holiday

noreply@blogger.com (Alan De Keyrel) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:10:51 PDT

Our office will be officially closed on Friday, July 3rd in observance of the Independence Day holiday. If interested, you can read the official document declaring our independence.

The crew at CWS will be spending the day with our friends and family in observance of this national holiday. Our support team will respond to an emergency if needed. If there is one, please call (888) 426-7793. If you have a non-emergency issue, let us know by sending us an email.

May your travel be safe, and your good times plentiful.

Best Wishes, The CWS Team

Launch: Premier Security, Inc.

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Mullican) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:14:33 PDT

Premier Security is a provider of protective services headquartered in Rochester and serving the entire state of Minnesota. With a radio-dispatched fleet and over 150 trained officers, the organization is well equipped to respond to a variety of security situations and committed to total client satisfaction.
It was a pleasure to work with Dan and Jacob on this project. We've also had the opportunity to work with Premier Security on other community events, such as Rochesterfest, that were in need of their security services. Each time, Premier Security has been there for our community and they deserve recognition for their efforts. Please check out their website and keep them in mind if you find yourself in need of security services.

Launch: Total Masonry and Construction, Inc.

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Mullican) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 07:43:55 PDT

CWS has recently launched a new website for Total Masonry and Construction, Inc. of Rochester. With a large presence in the Southern Minnesota construction industry, Total Masonry strives to combine quality craftsmanship and pride with competitive pricing to achieve excellence in both residential and commercial masonry projects. The company is also distinguished by a commitment to continuing education which, combined with many years of experience, makes them a leader in the industry.

Our Goose Is Loose!

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Mullican) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 18:15:45 PDT

The city of Rochester recently launched a public art project to support the Rochester Arts Council, coinciding with the beginning of Rochesterfest. Eighteen five-foot statues representing our area's ubiquitous Canada geese have been placed around town, sponsored by local businesses and designed by local artists.

The CWS goose is themed around the Rochester Honkers, our local baseball team. We developed new logos and identity graphics for the Honkers a few years ago.

We're excited to participate in this community project and invite you to stop by and check out our design, which is displayed outside the CWS offices at 3014 Allegro Park Lane.

See photos of the work in progress here.

Ask CWS: How do you safeguard my data?

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Mullican) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:06:37 PDT

In the past few weeks, we've been asked several times how we protect the data stored in our facilities (particularly for websites) from loss. Here are a few of our safety measures, organized in two broad categories:

Redundancy

Our critical systems operate with redundant backups. In the event of a power failure, we have a natural-gas generator which can operate our facility indefinitely until power is restored. Battery systems keep the servers online while power is transferred to and from the generator. To ensure that this system works as intended, we run a live test every month and operate on generator power for a full hour.

Our links to the Internet leave Rochester in different directions to protect us from a physical cable cut. We have duplicate routers and firewalls for failover in the event of a hardware loss. We have two primary cooling systems for the server room and a third on standby. And of course we monitor all of our systems continually; our staff is notified the instant any issues are detected.

Backups

All of our servers are backed up every 24 hours at minimum. This includes website files, database contents and configuration files. These archives are stored on a central backup server, and we maintain a week's worth of data readily accessible there. That server is itself backed up to a dedicated data protection appliance, which records changes to the backup files and allows us to reach farther back in time if necessary (within reason). That appliance is mirrored to an identical device which is located offsite.

Whenever technology is involved, problems will eventually occur. But in most cases you will never notice (or the customers who rely on your website). We understand the importance of reliability and do everything humanly possible to maintain the integrity of your data stored at our facility. If you ever have any questions about our systems, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Site Launch: KellyDomaille.com

ryan@cws.net (Ryan Schmidt) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 06:50:13 PDT

CWS congratulates the Kelly Domaille Team on the launch of a new website at www.KellyDomaille.com.

The Kelly Domaille Team is led by REALTORS Kelly and Bruce Domaille, a residential real estate team working in Rochester and Southeast Minnesota. Their team is committed to your complete satisfaction. Whether buying or selling a home, they promise to listen to you and meet your individual needs.

Their new site includes features to help make the home buying and selling process smooth and hassle free, including a community info page, where newcomers can learn what the Rochester and surrounding communities have to offer. There are buyer and seller resource pages to help prepare you for the process and keep things moving smoothly from start to finish. You can learn more about the Kelly Domaille team here.

Article Published in A List Apart Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Mullican) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 06:51:09 PDT

I'm excited to have an article published in issue number 285 of A List Apart magazine. ALA is a flagship publication for the Web development industry with a wealth of high-quality content. My article describes how following best practices in database design directly affects the quality of the user experience (which is, after all, the reason we build these things).

Internet Explorer 8: What You Need to Know

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Mullican) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:25:54 PDT

Not long ago, Microsoft released Internet Explorer version 8 through the Windows Update facility. Overall, the new browser is similar in appearance to version 7, but under the hood, the software is built with much stronger support for Web standards. This comes as a source of great relief to a development community that's been pushing Microsoft in this direction for a long time.

However, the move to greater support for standards isn't altogether painless. IE8 includes a new feature that's important for people responsible for websites to understand. The quirks of earlier versions of IE often led developers to rely on some very esoteric coding techniques (otherwise known as "hacks") to get pages to display as intended. Greater compliance in IE8 means that those same techniques may now lead to unexpected results. The most likely areas of concern will be the behavior of stylesheets and JavaScript.

IE8 includes a feature known as "compatibility mode" which causes it to display pages as IE7 would have. What makes this interesting is the different ways that compatibility mode can be triggered. First, Microsoft maintains a global list of major sites that are known not to render well in IE8. This list will not be of concern to most of us and the behavior should be fairly transparent.

Second, users can select compatibility mode at any time using a new button on the toolbar (look for a "broken page" icon). If a user finds a page that doesn't seem to be displaying properly, this button may help. However, as a new feature it may take some time for people to understand and comfortably use it. As researcher Jakob Nielsen points out:

"When we actually study real users, we see how slowly they learn about technology and how little their ability to use fancy websites has improved. And, most important, we see how little users care about learning fancy Web techniques. People just want to get in, get their stuff done, and get out. They don't want to learn."

With this in mind, it pays to understand the third method of triggering compatibility mode. Developers can preemptively specify the desired rendering mode by setting a custom HTTP response header for IE8. This can be done at the server, site or page level. Where setting these headers isn't feasible, it's also possible to set this preference in the metadata for a page.

A drawback to the user button is that once a site is marked as needing compatibility mode, the browser doesn't automatically know to return to its standards-compliant mode after the underlying issues have been addressed. Fortunately, the header (or metadata) value takes precedence over all other settings, and this works both ways, either setting compatibility mode or enforcing standards. Ultimate control, therefore, is in the hands of website owners, but the first step is understanding how your site performs in IE8. It's better to address rendering issues long before adoption of IE8 is widespread and users begin to complain that a site is "broken."

If you need help assessing your site's performance in any way, CWS is at your service as always.

5 Seats Remain for Mentor Class

noreply@blogger.com (Alan De Keyrel) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 08:07:58 PDT

Registration for my 6 week mentor course will close on Friday, June 5th. The 6 week course will start next week on Thursday, June 11th and will run each Thursday from 1pm-2pm. Sessions will be recorded just in case you can't make a session.

During this class, you will learn everything I know about using social media for making money and building key relationships. Using some of the same techniques (shown during my seminar), I will go in depth over Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn- teaching you to become a social media expert.

In addition, you'll also have private access to a "students only" discussion board where you can collaborate with the other students. Each week, you'll have an opportunity to ask me anything you want about social media and how it affects your organization.

Space is limited and offered on a first come, first serve basis. Register Now.

Free Contribute Training Next Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Alan De Keyrel) — Tue, 26 May 2009 12:53:50 PDT

Our monthly Contribute training classes are scheduled for Tuesday, June 2nd. If you're in need of a refresher course or would like to know more about how to use Contribute's advanced features, these classes are an excellent opportunity.

Each month, you may attend one (or both) sessions based on your needs and current skill level. Here are the topics which will be covered in each session:

Basic Session @ 1:00 pm (6 seats left for 6/2/09)

Getting Started
Editing Pages
Inserting Links
Working with Images
Using Tables
Adding New Pages

Advanced Session @ 2:00pm (5 seats left for 6/2/09)

Using the Draft Console
Using Anchors
Adding Paypal Buttons
Adding Google Search Fields
Adding HTML Snippets
Using Shared Assets
Adding Movie Files
Working With Blogs

June 2nd, 2009 = 1 pm (Basic) & 2 pm (Advanced)
July 7th, 2009 = 1 pm (Basic) & 2 pm (Advanced)
August 4th, 2009 = 1 pm (Basic) & 2 pm (Advanced)

All classes will be held at the CWS Office and will start promptly. Hope to see you there!

Are You Making Money With Facebook?

noreply@blogger.com (Alan De Keyrel) — Tue, 26 May 2009 12:44:33 PDT

Last week, over 140 people participated in my "Facebook Era" marketing seminar. By popular request, the seminar video and the presentation slides have been posted online for your review. If you missed the seminar (and don't understand why Facebook is important to your business), you can now watch the full length video online!

In addition, registration for my 6 week mentor course is now available. During this class, you will learn everything I know about using social media for making money and building key relationships. Using some of the same techniques (shown during my seminar), I will go in depth over various topics and teach you to become a social media expert.

The course will start the week of June 8th (Tuesday/Thursdays 1pm-2pm) and will also be recorded just in case you can't make either session. In addition, you'll also have private access to a "students only" discussion board where you can collaborate with the other students. Each week, you'll have an opportunity to ask me anything you want about social media and how it affects your organization.

Space is limited and offered on a first come, first serve basis. Register Now.

Watch E-Marketing Seminar Online!

noreply@blogger.com (Alan De Keyrel) — Mon, 18 May 2009 10:38:48 PDT

The demand for our free seminar entitled "Marketing Your Business in the Facebook Era" has exceeded the room's capacity and we are unable to accept any more participants. However, we are now streaming the event LIVE at http://live.cws.net, so you still have a chance to participate! Every business owner and/or marketing manager should plan to watch this one-time event on Tuesday, May 19 online from 8-10am CST.

The past decade has been about the World Wide Web of information; the next decade will be about the World Wide Web of people. Social websites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are changing everything we thought we knew about sales, marketing, and product development -- and they're also giving businesses new tools, insights, and the ability to build true partnerships with customers and employees.

This seminar will explore ways you can take advantage of today's Web landscape to increase brand awareness, reach new markets virally, and transform your existing customers into a loyal sales force.

If you would like to watch, simply point your browser to http://live.cws.net at 8am CST tomorrow!

SEO and Your Business in 2009

noreply@blogger.com (CWS Blog Team) — Wed, 13 May 2009 07:52:01 PDT

The secret to performing well in search engines is usually not sheer luck, black-hat scamming, or preferential treatment by the search engines. Rather, it's a combination of using best practices to build the site along with some diligent effort to increase visibility.

Search engine performance matters because your investment into a website will never achieve a return unless the right people actually use it. It's also important to remember that SEO is an ongoing process -- today's top ranking for a particular term may be on page 3 tomorrow.

Blogger Ian Lurie offers some predictions about the future of SEO in 2009 on his Conversation Marketing site. Among others:

Clickthrough rates will become increasingly important -- higher CTRs may lead to better rankings from Google.
Greater emphasis will be placed on the length of time visitors spend on a site. If the user bounces back to Google after clicking through to your site and keeps searching, it may negatively impact your ranking.
Social media actions will matter. Links in Digg, Delicious and other social networks may start to carry greater weight.

The mobile Web will also play an increasingly large role over the next year. Web-enabled devices are becoming more sophisticated, but at the same time the way people interact with these devices is different than a full-sized computer. Search phrases are likely to be much more compact and less detailed, for example. A site that wants to attract mobile users should take these differences into account. Mobile search may also be tied to GPS location, so it's important to be sure that business location information is accessible and up to date.

The search engine landscape is in a constant state of change, but the dominance of search as a primary means for consumers to access the Web is one factor that's unlikely to change anytime soon.

Last Chance for e-Marketing Seminar

noreply@blogger.com (Alan De Keyrel) — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:52:30 PDT

Next week, nearly 100 people will be attending my free seminar entitled "Marketing Your Business in the Facebook Era". Due to the overwhelming response, we have expanded the venue- which means you still have a chance to attend! Every business owner and/or marketing manager should plan to attend this one-time event on Tuesday, May 19 at the Ramada Hotel and Conference Center in Rochester, MN from 8-10am.

The past decade has been about the World Wide Web of Information, the next decade will be about the World Wide Web of People. Social websites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are changing everything we thought we knew about sales, marketing, and product development -- and they're also giving businesses new tools, insights, and the ability to build true partnerships with customers and employees.

This seminar will explore ways you can take advantage of today's Web landscape to increase brand awareness, reach new markets virally, and transform your existing customers into a loyal sales force.

If you would like to attend, please RSVP to sara[at]cws[dot]net or call 507-216-6649.

Site Launch: People's Cooperative Services

ryan@cws.net (Ryan Schmidt) — Mon, 04 May 2009 10:59:01 PDT

We are proud to announce the launch of People's Cooperative Services (PCS) new website.

Founded in 1936, PCS is a member owned electric power utility serving approximately 17,000 members in the rural areas surrounding Rochester, MN. Their mission is to provide reliable electricity to customers, while providing superior customer service and innovative energy solutions at a reasonable price.

The site was designed to serve citizens in rural MN who may not have access to high speed internet, while still presenting a modern and creative look. As a co-op, it was also very important to PCS that their members be able to access the website and quickly find everything they may need.

Examples include budget billing, which evens out your monthly electric bill to keep things predictable. You may also find safety tips such as what to do in case of a power outage and home safety tips. The site also helps save members money by offering energy conservation tips and rebates.

It was a pleasure working with People's Cooperative Services, and we look forward to their continued success as they continue to expand their online presence.

Contribute Training Tomorrow

noreply@blogger.com (Alan De Keyrel) — Mon, 04 May 2009 07:53:42 PDT

Our monthly Contribute training classes are scheduled for tomorrow, May 5th. If you're in need of a refresher course or would like to know more about how to use Contribute's advanced features, these classes are an excellent opportunity.

Each month, you may attend one (or both) sessions based on your needs and current skill level. Here are the topics which will be covered in each session:

Basic Session @ 1:00 pm (3 seats left for 5/5/09)

Getting Started
Editing Pages
Inserting Links
Working with Images
Using Tables
Adding New Pages

Advanced Session @ 2:00pm (Session FULL for 5/5/09)

Using the Draft Console
Using Anchors
Adding Paypal Buttons
Adding Google Search Fields
Adding HTML Snippets
Using Shared Assets
Adding Movie Files
Working With Blogs

May 5th, 2009 = 1 pm (Basic) & 2 pm (Advanced)
June 2nd, 2009 = 1 pm (Basic) & 2 pm (Advanced)
July 7th, 2009 = 1 pm (Basic) & 2 pm (Advanced)

All classes will be held at the CWS Office and will start promptly. Hope to see you there!

Social Media Marketing Seminar

noreply@blogger.com (Alan De Keyrel) — Mon, 04 May 2009 09:07:19 PDT

Less than 15 seats remain for Alan De Keyrel's free seminar entitled "Marketing Your Business in the Facebook Era". Every business owner and/or marketing manager should plan to attend this "sell out" event on Tuesday, May 19 at the Ramada Hotel and Conference Center in Rochester, MN from 8-10am.

Social websites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are changing everything we thought we knew about sales, marketing, and product development -- and they're also giving businesses new tools, insights, and the ability to build true partnerships with customers and employees.

This seminar will explore ways you can take advantage of today's Web landscape to increase brand awareness, reach new markets virally, and transform your existing customers into a loyal sales force.

If you would like to attend, please RSVP to sara[at]cws[dot]net or call 507-216-6649.

But hurry, seats are going fast for this one time event!

FREE Web Marketing Seminar

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Mullican) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:36:11 PDT

CWS owner Alan De Keyrel will be presenting a free seminar entitled "Marketing Your Business in the Facebook Era" on Tuesday, May 19 at the Ramada Hotel and Conference Center in Rochester, MN from 8-10am.

Social websites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are changing everything we thought we knew about sales, marketing, and product development -- and they're also giving businesses new tools, insights, and the ability to build true partnerships with customers and employees. This seminar will explore ways you can take advangage of today's Web landscape to increase brand awareness, reach new markets virally, and transform your existing customers into a loyal sales force.

If you plan to attend, please RSVP to sara[at]cws[dot]net or call 507.289.2229.

Site Launch: PompeiiPainting.com

ryan@cws.net (Ryan Schmidt) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:38:57 PDT

CWS is pleased to present Pompeii Painting's new home on the web.

The new site was designed with a focus on the user experience, efficiency and search engine optimization. Simple navigation and a larger reading area improve findability, while a direct, minimalist approach to graphics makes the site responsive and steps out of the way of the business-oriented content while underscoring the quality of the work performed by Pompeii.

Check out the site for information on commercial and industrial painting services, a project showcase, safety information and more.

Launch: Digital Business Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Mullican) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:43:38 PDT

Last week the Rochester Convention & Visitors Bureau unveiled a new sales tool produced by CWS. Each of the five RCVB sales managers has been given a "digital business card" in the form of a packaged USB drive that can be given to potential clients. The drive contains a video introducing the sales manager in a personal and unique way. At the end of the sequence, the viewer is invited to click through to additional information available on the RCVB website.

These tools will help the RCVB sales team to be memorable and to build the personal relationships that are crucial to success in business. The drives also contain some features to help measure how they're being used.

The videos are also available for viewing online (though for performance, the image and sound quality are not as high as the USB versions):

CWS shot and edited all the video footage and also designed the USB drive packaging. We wish the RCVB great success as they continue to drive growth in our community.

CWS Welcomes Joe Milbach

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Mullican) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:00:37 PDT

Joe is joining the CWS production team as our newest Web developer. Originally from Cedar Rapids, IA, he recently relocated to Rochester with his wife Anna. Together they enjoy travel and spending time outdoors. Joe has experience in both print and multimedia design and will be completing a degree in visual communications from Brown College this year.

We are pleased to welcome Joe to the team. He can be reached by email at joe[at]cws[dot]net or by phone at 507.289.2229, extension 207.

CWS Welcomes Tom Novak

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Mullican) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:01:48 PDT

Tom is joining CWS as a sales specialist. He lives in Oronoco, MN and is married with three children. Tom holds a degree from the University of Minnesota and his varied interests include meteorology, sports, history and geography. When not at work, he spends as much time as possible with family. Tom and his wife Anne believe that a healthy family life is the foundation of a positive childhood. We are excited to welcome him to our team.

Tom can be reached by email at tom[at]cws[dot]net or by phone at 507.289.2229, extension 209.

What's Your Call to Action?

noreply@blogger.com (Lyle Mullican) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 08:04:08 PDT

Producers of television commercials usually try to present a clear call to action because they only have a few seconds of the viewer's attention. The same is true on a website -- you have a very short time to connect with people, so it's crucial to clearly define what action you hope for them to take. Here are some examples of typical calls to action (for a website that doesn't sell products directly):

Phone Call. If your major goal is getting the customer to pick up a phone, make it as clear and easy as possible. Don't bury the number on a contact page, but feature it on every page of the site. Use action language in your copy, like "Call us at 1-800-555-5555 today to speak with one of our expert team members."

Filling out a form. Web-based forms can be a great way to pre-qualify sales leads and collect essential information in a nonthreatening manner. If your goal is to have the customer fill out a form, be sure to communicate the value of doing so. For example, if you have an RFP form, you might promise a response within 24 hours. Keep forms as simple as possible and ask for only as much information as is really needed to handle the request.

Visit to a Physical Location. If your website exists to support a physical location and you want to drive foot traffic, give the customer a reason to make that visit. Use the site to promote special events or offer an exclusive coupon. Make sure the site offers clear, accurate directions to the location.

You can't determine the success of any marketing effort unless you know what the goal is. Making a clear call to action on your website not only communicates your value proposition to customers but also gives you an effective metric for success.