Category Archives: Website Strategies

Website Strategies

What 3 Browsers Should You Most Pay Attention To When Building a Site?

Drew Hannush by Drew Hannush (7 Sep 2010)  |  Leave a comment

A very interesting question that is posed to me from time to time.  Logic would say Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari.  We’ll if you talk to a lot of my Mac friends, they will tell you that Safari is not their preferred browser.  And the stats back that up.

According to W3Counter (as of June 2010), Internet Explorer 8 holds the lead in the market with 26.17% of the market, followed closely by Firefox 3.6 at 23.11%.

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Website Strategies

Get Your Web Developer to Share Google Analytics

Drew Hannush by Drew Hannush (30 Jul 2010)  |  Leave a comment

If your web developer has been emailing you reports from Google Analytics, you can actually have him add you to his account.  Its this simple.

First, sign up for your own Google Analytics account (you must associate it with a @gmail.com address so you might want to sign up for that first).

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Website Strategies

How to send to Hotmail accounts if they block your email address

Drew Hannush by Drew Hannush (14 Jan 2010)  |  Leave a comment

A question I hear occasionally from people is, what do I do if I get the following message when sending emails to a Hotmail or MSN account?

Permanent Failure: MAIL FROM: <youremail@yourhost.com> 550 REPLY: 550_SC-004_Mail_rejected_by_Windows_Live_Hotmail_for_policy_reasons.
_A_block_has_been_placed_against_your_IP_address_because_
we_have_received_complaints_concerning_mail_coming_from_that_
IP_address._If_you_are_not_an_email/network_admin_please
_contact_your_
Delivery last attempted at Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:43:07 -0000

If you get this, you can write to Microsoft and explain your situation and ask them to reinstate you.  They actually will take action on this without charging you…unlike if you have a computer problem.

http://windowslivehelp.com/community/15.aspx

Hope that helps!

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SEO Tips | Website Strategies

Why You Should Avoid Building Flash Websites

Drew Hannush by Drew Hannush (12 Aug 2009)  |  1 Comment

It happens occasionally.  I’ll get a client who asks about getting a website developed that is high on creativity…inevitably leading to the question of using Flash for the site.

My answer is usually not as simple as just “avoid it.”  I like to give advantages and disadvantages to my clients so they can make an informed decision.

So with that in mind, I also looked for some credible resources to feed their opinion on the subject.  In a world where SEO techniques are growing more and more in demand, I find that drives the decisions of most people.

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Website Strategies

Understanding Google Analytics

Drew Hannush by Drew Hannush (4 Aug 2009)  |  Leave a comment

As we start our journey into teaching classes on Google Analytics, it is interesting to note that the first step after installing Google Analytics is learning what to do with all of this juicy information.

I have the advantage of seeing many of my customer’s Analytics reports and so I can view and keep up with trends.  In addition, this is my job.  For most of my clients, they are business people with ROI, customer issues, and payroll to worry about…not web stats.

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Website Strategies

Web-based Stores Face Fines

Drew Hannush by Drew Hannush (20 Jul 2009)  |  Leave a comment

Yes, its true.  Your little Mom and Pop web store may be facing fines from the very companies that provide the process for you to receive your customer payments.  If you haven’t heard about it yet, it is called PCI Compliance and while it is not a law,  it is real and something to be concerned about.  One year from now your store could be facing fines from the credit card processing companies (Visa, MC, Amex, etc.).

But wait, don’t let me scare you completely.  Big brother is not going to come crashing down upon everyone and there are a lot of good reasons for this program that benefit you and your customer.

So what is PCI Compliance?

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Website Strategies

How Often Should You Redesign Your Website?

Drew Hannush by Drew Hannush (15 Apr 2009)  |  Leave a comment

This is a question I get quite often from my clients.  And my answer is…it depends.

I once heard a rule of thumb was once every 2 years.  I am less likely to look at the passage of time and more at whether your website is effective or not.

The first question you should ask yourself is, are you getting the results you are expecting from your website?  If the answer is yes, then you might look at some ways to incrementally improve your website by changing content that is outdated or adding information about some new promotions, products or services you have added.  If search engine optimization is your main concern, then maybe a change in technology behind the scenes is the key to a successful redesign.

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