Hello readers and welcome back to the Silentblast Toronto Web Design News Blog. Today we are going to talk about your website. In particular, is it time for a new website design.

The vast majority of Silentblast Interactive’ clientele is from businesses that had some form of previous website presence. A lot of our clientele had web design and development done on average 5-6 years ago before seeking a new web design and re-thinking their business strategy on the internet.

A lot of our clientele’s websites were not getting the web traffic they were expecting and often there are many reasons for that and it always doesn’t point to design but from a design perspective if the site is not user friendly and functional, your previous visitors will not return.

So what are the some the indicators that you may be in need of a new web design?

Logo and Branding

If your logo and branding has changed; a new web design to promote your current logo and brand is a given. Don’t just slap up your new logo on the website. If the logo and branding follows a theme the entire website should follow suit.

Service Verticals and Products

Your service verticals or product offerings have changed. If your website has not been updated without some form of news; the chances are that little has changed on your website. You are also not contributing to your own success on the internet when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO). Search engines such as Google like content and if you don’t add regular content; your ranking can suffer.

Information Overload

Content on your website needs to be organized in a way that makes sense. All too often we have had clients come to us that have an impression that if the entire content of their website is not on the homepage; users won’t find it. Actually, if you jam your home page with too much information users will not find the information they are looking for because you have over-whelmed them right from the start; and not in a good way.

The Do It Yourselfer

It is really awesome that you personally like your website with the midi music (probably Mission Impossible theme); twinkling stars, and flowing flags that are animated gifs. I think at one time or another if we go back in time; everyone had a GeoCities account; where you could make a website for free.

Times have changed. The midi music in the background, twinkling stars and flowing animated flag gifs are gone… well, not entirely, but gone from a web design perspective. If you are in a business that has a brick and mortar presence, when a customer walks through the doors does a song play when they come in? If so, is it the same song, all the time? That would get annoying.

Social Media Interaction

If your web design was done 5-6 years ago, the chances of some form of social media interaction such as a blog, Facebook; Twitter or Linkedin type exposure on your website are probably not there. All are modern methods of promoting your business and marketing efforts.

Cross Browser Compatibility

If your website was designed 5-6 years ago, there is a good chance that your website has not been coded or optimized for the current choice of browsers such as IE 7 and 8, Firefox and Chrome.

Search Engine Optimization

The possibility that your website if designed 5-6 years ago; is probably not optimized for the search engines. Users searching for information or businesses in particular search more localized to a given geographical area such as specific cities or regions. If your website has not been optimized for SEO with content that speaks to finding the average user who wants and needs your services; then your website will have little success in attracting visitors.

Silentblast Interactive - Toronto Web Design

Canadian owned and operated, Silentblast is a professional web design and development company in Toronto serving small and mid-sized companies in the GTA, Brampton, Vaughan, North York, Markham, Mississauga, Oakville, Richmond Hill, Scarborough and Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Silentblast also develops mobile web site design and development and mobile applications for the iPhone and other mobile phone platforms.

Website – www.silentblast.com

Silentblast Blog - www.silentblast.com/blog

Twitter - http://twitter.com/silentblast

Welcome back to the Silentblast Toronto Web Design News Blog. Today we are going to give some pointers in your blog development. Blogs for business purposes are gaining significant traction as a useful tool for web sites to gain popularity both in media circles and as an search optimization method within a given website. We have gleaned through many articles on this topic and have found some useful tips that one should keep in mind while developing their blog.

Logo and Branding

If you don’t have a logo, get one designed for you. It is part of your overall marketing strategy and creates brand awareness.

User Comments

To have or have not; is up to the creators of the blog and depending on the purposes of the blog overall as part of your marketing and awareness strategy; you can continue to use your blog without comments being allowed.

Show Consistency

Probably the hardest part of blogging overall. Write to the audience that is visiting your blog, while serving your own purposes in your marketing strategy. Try to set a goal as well to continually add to your blog. You don’t have to write 20-30 blog articles a day; but you should show you are contributing on a regular basis or your readership will fall off the map.

Proper Writing

Unless you’re backed up by an editorial department proper writing can be a coin toss. If you can’t write fairly decently, get someone to do it for you.

Simplicity

One topic per post if at all possible. Short paragraphs.

Categorize and Tag

When possible categorize and tag your posts. Great for SEO and great for your users to find specific categorized topics they may be looking for on your website.

Social Media

Use social media such as Facebook, Twitter and other mediums to promote your blog and allow others to promote your blog and articles.

Silentblast Interactive - Toronto Web Design

Canadian owned and operated, Silentblast is a professional web design and development company in Toronto serving small and mid-sized companies in the GTA, Brampton, Vaughan, North York, Markham, Mississauga, Oakville, Richmond Hill, Scarborough and Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Silentblast also develops mobile web site design and development and mobile applications for the iPhone and other mobile phone platforms.

Website – www.silentblast.com

Silentblast Blog - www.silentblast.com/blog

Twitter - http://twitter.com/silentblast

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Silentblast Web Design Blog. We’re going to discuss today some of the benefits of having a CMS; Content Management System built within your web design.

The design and development of a business website allows a business owner the opportunity to bring their business not only at a localized level but should they so choose, to a global market. The internet is continuously and rapidly expanding. Mobile phones are also playing an extensive role in the expansion of the internet and what it can mean for a business.
The visibility and acquisition of business opportunities to rise above your competitors must be designed well in order to spread awareness effectively through your website. The importance and consideration of a Content Management System (CMS) in web development and web design is one of the factors to consider that can provide for timely content that is under your control that can be updated at regular intervals in order to provide visitors to your website with updated products or services verticals you offer.

Some of the immediate benefits of a Content Management System are:

1. Cost Effectiveness – imagine if you constantly had to update photo galleries of a given product. To go to your web design and development company to update pages would prove over time more costly than the initial investment of a CMS system that handles the updating of photos in a gallery you control.

2. Simplicity – gone are the days of end-users trying to figure out code to update their website. This can prove to be problematic to your overall design. There is no need to read manuals or “how to” FAQ’s. If you can use a word processer, you can use a Content Management System.

3. Access Anywhere – the Content Management System is online. If you have access to a computer and the internet, you have access to your CMS system.

4. Dynamic CMS – Changes are instantaneous. There is no waiting.

5. Dynamic Navigation – Through proper coding of the CMS the generation and adjustments in the navigation are done dynamically. Easy navigation makes the pages of your website search engine friendly, promotes users to explore your website more; thus keeping them attracted to the products and services you are offering.

Silentblast Interactive - Toronto Website Design and Development

Canadian owned and operated, Silentblast is a professional web design and development company in Toronto serving small and mid-sized companies in the GTA, Brampton, Vaughan, North York, Markham, Mississauga, Oakville, Richmond Hill, Scarborough and Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Silentblast also develops mobile web site design and development and mobile applications for the iPhone and other mobile phone platforms.

Website – www.silentblast.com

Silentblast Blog - www.silentblast.com/blog

Twitter - http://twitter.com/silentblast

Welcome back readers to the Silentblast blog. In this blog entry we are going to discuss the more introductory basics of search engine optimization or SEO. We will also add more blog articles specific to search engine optimization over the next while, as the realm of SEO is quite extensive.

At Silentblast we receive a lot of requests from potential clients regarding SEO but normally it is phrased as “getting found on the internet.”

A lot of times when our potential clients come to us, there is no strategy for the website they currently have or wish to have. All they know in layman’s terms is the site is not doing much if anything and the belief that if like a house; they throw up a fresh coat of paint, it will cure their websites issues. Not so.

Like the website itself, there has to be a strategy behind the search engine optimization plan. If you have not planned or discussed this with your web design and development company your website strategy; than your search engine optimization hopes will not really come to light. You can of course PPC (Pay Per Click) but if the basis again of your search engine optimization strategy or plan is not well thought out, even PPC can have mixed results.

Remember that the ultimate goal of both your web design and development and search engine optimization strategy is to bring potential clients to your website. What they do once they have arrived on your website will be based upon the goals of the website based on the strategy behind the goals of the website itself. Will your site be informational based, provide leads, act as a service and support mechanism to your current service and products verticals. Will it be some elements of that or all? Is there physical support mechanisms in place to support the goals of the website?

A good search engine optimization plan needs to address many factors. What are your products and services? Who is your current competition? Do they market the same brands or products as you do? Is their geographical area they market to the same as yours? What is good about their online presence; what is not so likeable about their website. Are they present on social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook? Do they contribute to their continued search engine optimization efforts with such media as News and Events, Blogs, Video or Photo galleries on a regular basis. What are the keyword phrases your competition is currently being found on the search engines with? Are they the same potentially as you wish to use?

A lot of factors to consider. Search Engine Optimization is not as simple as a check-box that you want to throw into the web design and development of your website. Like the website; you have to have some form of strategy or business case for search engine optimization as there is going to be a cost in doing so.

At Silentblast Interactive we meet our clients to discuss their Internet business strategy from all elements. A website and elements such as search engine optimization is a business strategy that requires thoughtful planning.

Silentblast Interactive - Toronto Web Design and Development

Canadian owned and operated, Silentblast is a professional web design and development company in Toronto serving small and mid-sized companies in the GTA, Brampton, Vaughan, North York, Markham, Mississauga, Oakville, Richmond Hill, Scarborough and Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Silentblast also develops mobile web site design and development and mobile applications for the iPhone and other mobile phone platforms.

Website – www.silentblast.com

Silentblast Blog - www.silentblast.com/blog

Twitter - http://twitter.com/silentblast

As web developers and designers in Toronto one of the issues we face with some clients is in the area of display resolutions. There are some misconceptions as to the trends and this is often based upon a client knowing someone or themselves for that matter who has not followed the trend that the vast majority of computer users are moving towards or in fact a business that continue to use monitors that may suit their specific needs.

The truth is you will not satisfy every potential visitor to your website. With browsers and add-ons to browsers the viewing real-estate for a website can be hindered depending upon the specific browser settings and additions that a user has implemented.

What can be reinforced however is that statistically since January 2010 as highlighted in this report from http://www.w3schools.com is that 1024 x 768 pixels or higher is the standard. In fact as the statistics will show, over 70% of computer users use settings that is higher than 1024×768 pixels.

640×480 and 800×600 are pretty much non-existent in usage for general Internet browsing. While monitors may support it; with widescreen monitors continuing to be the norm with 19” inch wide screens being considered now the entry level bare minimum; the use of lower resolutions no longer make sense or apply.

With 1024 x 768 pixel resolution holding out at 20% of overall user’s settings for monitor resolution as of January 2010; it is easy to surmise that by January 2011 that number will easily be at 10% or less.

Silentblast Interactive - Toronto Website Design and Development

Canadian owned and operated, Silentblast is a professional web design and development company in Toronto serving small and mid-sized companies in the GTA, Brampton, Vaughan, North York, Markham, Mississauga, Oakville, Richmond Hill, Scarborough and Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Silentblast also develops mobile web site design and development and mobile applications for the iPhone and other mobile phone platforms.

Website – www.silentblast.com

Silentblast Blog - www.silentblast.com/blog

Twitter - http://twitter.com/silentblast

Silentblast Interactive - Toronto Web Design and Development

Hello readers I came across this excellent article Social Networking Ranks as Fastest-Growing Mobile Content Category and there are some interesting facts that reinforce an earlier blog article where Mobile Websites were discussed.

As recent as April 2010, as much as 78% of smartphone mobile users accessed the web via their devices. 80% of smartphone users used the devices directly with some form of application with Social Media Sites presenting the greatest share with apps for Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and so forth leading the charge.

While the statistics in the article reflect US based users and mobile phone providers the comparisons to Canadian usage is in all likelihood similar. With 73 million smartphone users in the US that used their smartphone browser to access social networks, news, sports, weather as well as retail and business information that is a significant market for businesses that wish to expand in the US; let alone the potential within Canada.

With double digit growth in the use of smartphones to access information on websites or via applications; businesses should consider a mobile strategy in their business model.

Silentblast Interactive - Toronto Web Design and Development

Canadian owned and operated, Silentblast is a professional web design and development company in Toronto serving small and mid-sized companies in the GTA, Brampton, Vaughan, North York, Markham, Mississauga, Oakville, Richmond Hill, Scarborough and Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Silentblast also develops mobile web site design and development and mobile applications for the iPhone and other mobile phone platforms.

Website – www.silentblast.com

Silentblast Blog - www.silentblast.com/blog

Twitter - http://twitter.com/silentblast

Welcome back to the Silentblast Blog. Hope everyone is enjoying the summer months. At Silentblast Interactive we have been busy with some very exciting projects that will be highlighted in our revised Press Room area, which is currently a continual work in progress for us in between our web design, and development projects at Silentblast.

We have also been working on our web design blog over the past while in providing our clients exposure but also showing potential clients that not only do we enjoy working on their web design, development, logo’s and search engine optimization; we also like talking about them and their business.

One of the key service verticals we offer is mobile web design. Essentially that is the porting of your current website to a version that is viewable by a smart phone such as the iPhone as an example or iPad.

As the popularity of mobile devices continue to grow in Canada and abroad we see this as a virtually un-tapped market for our clients to lean towards. At this juncture it is estimated that up to 20% of all search related Internet surfing is done via a mobile type device. People are more mobile now than ever before and embracing that type of technology is important, coupled with social media such as text messaging and Twitter type methods of communication.

Another program we are going to roll out soon is the Silentblast Newsblast. This will be a Newsletter sent to all our current customers and those interested in joining our mailing list. In the Newsblast we will be highlighting projects completed by Silentblast, Whats’ Hot with respect to the Internet as well as exclusive offers to Silentblast clientele.

Silentblast Interactive - Toronto Web Design and Development

Canadian owned and operated, Silentblast is a professional web design and development company in Toronto serving small and mid-sized companies in the GTA, Brampton, Vaughan, North York, Markham, Mississauga, Oakville, Richmond Hill, Scarborough and Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Silentblast also develops mobile web site design and development and mobile applications for the iPhone and other mobile phone platforms.

Website – www.silentblast.com

Silentblast Blog - www.silentblast.com/blog

Twitter - http://twitter.com/silentblast

Particepts Medical - Silentblast Interactive Web Design and Development

Hello and welcome back to the Silentblast Blog. Silentblast Interactive continues to perform recent web design and development projects in the Toronto area. Particeps Medical is a recent website design and development launch within our portfolio.

Particeps Medical provides key support medical products to the hospital, EMS (Emergency Medical Systems) and air ambulance services sectors.

Silentblast Interactive was selected by Particeps Medical to provide branding, web design and development of a client area within the website. A very unique project for a unique and exciting industry and service.

Silentblast is proud to have Particeps Medical as one of our established clients and we look forward to the development of their business.

To visit the Particeps Medical website please go to www.particepsmedical.com

Silentblast Interactive - Toronto Website Design and Development

Canadian owned and operated, Silentblast is a professional web design and development company in Toronto serving small and mid-sized companies in the GTA, Brampton, Vaughan, North York, Markham, Mississauga, Oakville, Richmond Hill, Scarborough and Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Silentblast also develops mobile web site design and development and mobile applications for the iPhone and other mobile phone platforms.

Website – www.silentblast.com

Silentblast Blog - www.silentblast.com/blog

Twitter - http://twitter.com/silentblast

Ask A Mortgage Pro - Mississauga Ontario

Hello and welcome back to the Silentblast blog. Recently launched from the Silentblast Interactive team was Ask A Mortgage Pro’s website. This project was an outstanding project to work on with the team at Ask A Mortgage Pro who are located in Mississauga Ontario but are launching a mortgage and financing strategy that will be Canada wide. When Silentblast met with them; there was already a significant investment in a previous website that was not thoroughly designed with the strategy and vision they had hoped to achieve. The business strategy to a degree also had to be refined and with the combined efforts of the Ask A Mortgage Team and Silentblast Interactive the decision to redesign and development the website from the ground up was decided.

The Ask a Mortgage Pro website features several CMS Content Management System modules that allow brokers and agents to register and create a profile for themselves. This CMS facilitates the requirement based on Ask A Mortgage Pro’s vision for coast to coast representation of mortgage professionals on their website. A CMS was also structured that facilitated the addition of Lawyers profiles to the website. Legal partners of Ask A Mortgage Pro can now register and sign into the system and can create a profile for end users; website visitors, to see.

A major grouping of partners are the lenders that are featured on the Ask A Mortgage Pro website. As lenders form strategic partnerships with Ask A Mortgage Pro, they will be added to the system to be displayed on featured profiles.

A News and Events CMS (Content Management System) was also designed and developed for the team at Ask A Mortgage Pro’s and this facilitates them to add mortgage and financial news and headlines that can help those seeking a mortgage or mortgage financing within Canada. Also added within the CMS that facilitates the entry of articles of interest within the mortgage and mortgage financing industry is their Mortgage Blog.

Since launch the team at Ask A Mortgage Pro’s have been adding News and Blog articles to their website and this will help in their SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategy which Silentblast Interactive has also been commissioned to develop.

To visit the Ask A Mortgage Pro team please go to www.askamortgagepro.com

Silentblast Interactive - Toronto Website Design and Development

Canadian owned and operated, Silentblast is a professional web design and development company in Toronto serving small and mid-sized companies in the GTA, Brampton, Vaughan, North York, Markham, Mississauga, Oakville, Richmond Hill, Scarborough and Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Silentblast also develops mobile web site design and development and mobile applications for the iPhone and other mobile phone platforms.

Website – www.silentblast.com

Silentblast Blog - www.silentblast.com/blog

Twitter - http://twitter.com/silentblast

Silentblast Interactive - Toronto Web Design and Development - Twitter

Hello and welcome back to the Silentblast blog. We have been doing some internal updates on our website, blog and recently Twitter which is an excellent Social Media Networking tool to keep it touch with family, friends and business associates.

We suggest to all our clients to use the social media networks to bring about their brand awareness, news and events and other happenings within their company.

Using Twitter is a good way to send out a quick message to your contact list to visit a particular product or service where there has been recent changes or an update to a blog or a news and events system that is built in to their websites.

To checkout the Silentblast Interactive Twitter feed simply just go to https://twitter.com/silentblast and start following us.

Silentblast Interactive - Toronto Web Design and Development

Canadian owned and operated, Silentblast is a professional web design and development company in Toronto serving small and mid-sized companies in the GTA, Brampton, Vaughan, North York, Markham, Mississauga, Oakville, Richmond Hill, Scarborough and Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Silentblast also develops mobile web site design and development and mobile applications for the iPhone and other mobile phone platforms.

Website – www.silentblast.com

Silentblast Blog - www.silentblast.com/blog

Twitter - http://twitter.com/silentblast