We launched another great site for ITW Texwipe at http://www.texwipe.com! This site seamlessly blends the functionality of Hannon Hill’s CMS (the Products, Industries and Technical Data menus) with a full-featured ecommerce store (the Buy Texwipe menu), with shared navigation and design. This is the first project that integrated both products at the same time and, thanks to hard work by pretty much everyone on the software dev team at one point or another. 

BEFORE

AFTER

Other interesting features of the site:

• Ability to “hide” pages from different geographical regions, based on the “region” selection of the visitor in the footer.

• Transition of transactional applications from old system to new
• Email verification required to place order

We’re proud to announce the release of the Greensboro Housing Authority redesign!  As always, Beacon was right on-time with our deliverables, which is always our goal.  The client chose a soft launch date of December 1, 2011 because they wanted to show the new site to their Board of Directors at their annual meeting that day.

Their Web site was designed and constructed in-house several years ago, which meant that it was time for a completely new look.  The site also had content that was very out-of-date, so the client took it upon themselves to do a complete rewrite of the content, and restructure the site to be more intuitive.  Also, they wanted to get away from having to update the site by-hand using HTML, and wanted it in a content management system.  Finally, they wanted a new Web hosting partner.

Enter Beacon:

• We provided them with a brand-new graphical design;
• Developed it to display perfectly in multiple browsers;
• Implemented the new site into Cascade Server (content management system) to allow multiple users to update the content with an easy-to-use solution;
• Incorporated a new search feature;
• Imported approximately 60 pages of content, including 20 fact sheets about each of their properties;
• Transferred their Web site to a shared hosting package here at Beacon.

Several Beacon staff members made this project a success:

• Wendy:  Without much direction from the client, Wendy put together a design that they liked on the first try, which is phenomenal.
• Stephanie:  She was instrumental in getting the project off the ground, attending the initial meetings and providing meeting notes, the business requirements, and proposed site hierarchy.
• Zed:  He was thrown into the fire, as this was his first development project here.  He developed the front-end HTML/CSS/jQuery, and implemented the site into Cascade Server (which he picked up on very quickly), and entered most of the content.
• Tiffany:  Provided assistance and training to Zed.
• Justin:  Project Management and Cascade Server documentation & training.
• Beacon’s Technical Support Group (TSG):  And finally, no site hosting transfer is complete without the efforts of TSG, specifically Caleb and William, for setting up the hosting and troubleshooting some DNS issues over a weekend.

This is another high-quality design to add to our portfolio, and another non-profit site we can be proud of.   Thanks to everyone involved!

Before

After

Beacon is pleased to announce the launch of Framingham State University’s Academics section redesign.

NEW Academics Section

After completing a redesign of Framingham State University’s main website in the summer of 2010, the client contracted with us to address the Academics section such that it would be more effective in reaching prospective and current students.  Well, we are proud to announce the launch of the newly redesigned Academics section and all department sections as well.  The client had a very tight deadline for this project in order to have the new site launch coincide with a planned ad campaign.  Beacon’s Web Development Team juggled its resource plan to complete this project on time and within budget (again)!

NEW Department Section

Justin Klingman managed the project and Wendy Honeycutt, worked directly with the client to create the beautiful design.  Keana Lynch completed the template and Cascade development a little early and perfectly, and Thomas Brinegar customized the jQuery homepage slideshow on the Academics homepage.

Here’s a very nice article about website navigation from our partners over at Hannon Hill, the developers of our preferred content management system Cascade Server:  Designing Your Navigation – Hannon Hill Corp.

I’ll also add a content matrix template that I use to record a site’s current and redesigned structure during the analysis phase of the project, before development begins.  There are two tabs in the spreadsheet– one for “current site” and one for “redesigned site.”  The redesigned site is pretty self-explanatory, but the current site information is often neglected in anticipation of starting the new project.  While it may seem superfluous to annotate a site that will be redesigned, documenting the current site ensures that no sections are “lost” during the transition (note that unless the current site map is maintained dynamically, these are rarely kept up to date).

I have seen time and time again that the success of a redesign can often be determined in the first few weeks of a project by how carefully the site is cataloged in advance.  As Kat notes so well in her article:

I cannot stress enough how crucial it is to map out the structure of your website prior to designing the navigation, especially if you are implementing one of the most powerful capabilities of a content management system, namely content reuse in the form of dynamic navigation.

Happy mapping!

I recently came across an article that really made me think. We all know you can find just about anything on the Internet (whether it’s true or not, malicious or not, etc.). But have you ever stopped to wonder how many Web pages actually exist out there?

Well, as is the case with most curiosity-minded people, someone’s ponying up the capital to find out.  Apparently a group named the World Wide Web Foundation is getting a $1 million grant from Google to find out.  The article can be found here.

The results are supposed to come out early next year.  I’m very interested to see the final number.  Apparently the founder of Wired magazine estimated that there are approximately a trillion pages.  The problem as I see it is, the Internet is growing at an exponential rate, right?  Doesn’t that mean that the second that they finish counting, their data will be severely out-of-date?  It’s like buying a new smartphone, and the next day, they come out with a new version of it.  Blast!

Keep in mind that Google and other search engines are indexing most of these pages.  Given the sheer number of pages out there, it has to make you wonder, “Are my pages getting lost out there?”  This is another reason why web marketing grows in importance every single day.

Whatever the number may be, I’m proud to be part of a company that has contributed a large number of good-looking Web pages to the Internet mass.  Fortunately, content management tools like Cascade Server have allowed our clients to also easily contribute to that number.

Come to think of it, we have a tool here that will tell us how many pages exist on a particular Web site (also number of images, PDFs, etc.). Maybe I can start a scan of the Internet with it to count pages. It’ll probably finish scanning in 2016.

Our website hasn’t been updated in 3 years.  Way too long, but updating our own website always takes a back seat to our client work – which thankfully has been plentiful during this period.  The last design was fantastic and I struggled with the idea of replacing it.  However, it was time.

When I consult with businesses about web technology and marketing, I always talk about the “leap of faith” that exists for a buyer when choosing a vendor.  No matter how you look at it, there’s an element of trust here.  Can the vendor really do what it says and deliver as expected (on time and within budget)?  I believe you narrow this “leap of faith” through credibility, which is something we wanted to emphasize with our new site.  Additionally, we wanted to practice what we preach with ties to social media, video, map features, case studies, dynamic phone tracking and web marketing tactics.  As with any website (and as a good marketing approach), it’s important for visitors to quickly understand how our services will help their business, rather than just see a listing of services.  Simply put, it’s about what they get, not what we do.

I’ve been in the IT business a long, long time.  Prior to starting Beacon in 1998, I was with AT&T for 15 years, the last few years of which, leading the development of its global corporate intranet (custom-integrated into Peoplesoft).  The growth in web technology businesses has been incredible since then, which certainly isn’t a surprise.  However, I’m surprised at how many web companies profess to be experts by using their websites to list all the things they “can” do without any strong credibility references.  Hey, I completely understand that any new business has to earn and build up credibility.  Been there.  Done that.  You just don’t start with it, so consequently, you must market the expertise of your staff because that’s all there is.  But at some point there has to be a shift.

I guess that’s why I’m so proud of this new website.  It represents 13 years of hard work that has led to growth, stability and credibility.   We removed the flash content and made the message very straight forward.  Web Development, Web Marketing & Web Hosting.  Automate, Grow & Connect your business.  The map on our new home page shows our reach across the United States.  It clearly accentuates our valued relationships with strong, well-known companies like Google, AspdotnetStorefront (ecommerce system with thousands of implementations), Hannon Hill (Cascade Server CMS, used by hundreds of Universities and businesses), Bridgeline Digital, Dell, LabTech and TW Telecom.  SEO friendliness has been improved through better page sculpting.  You will also see links to a few of our prominent clients in each area of our business.  Over the years, Beacon has also had the pleasure of serving as a subcontractor for Accenture, Lockheed Martin and KPMG Consulting.  Although these relationships certainly lend credibility, we elected not to highlight these because we no longer focus on federal government projects.

I particularly like how our web design team integrated social media into the new site.  Our blog is very active with regular, diverse posts from our staff.  Our video really shows the personality of our team.  And of course, we connect to the world through Facebook and Twitter as well.  On the lower tier pages, you will see some of our clients highlighted in each section and, if you mouseover any of their logos, you will get a few details of what we do for them.  We also included a section for links to pertinent content related to each section, which we initially connected to many of our blog posts.

Our website is a sales and marketing tool.  When prospective clients come to our website, I want them to know that we’ve been doing this for a long time, we are good at it, we don’t outsource, we have a good track record, we are a long-term web technology partner and we have many credible, recognizable clients that can attest to this. 

Cascade Server CMS has built in tools, called Connectors. These connectors allow Cascade Server to connect directly to 3rd-party applications. Currently, there are two Connectors available to choose from, WordPress and Twitter. Once a Connector is setup correctly, any page you publish using Cascade can automatically be posted to your twitter or blog. This can reduce the hassle if you manage your Twitter, WordPress blog, and website content separately. Both of the Connectors are easy to setup.

To setup a new WordPress Connector:

1. Navigate to Connectors in the Site Administration area
2. Click “Create Connector“
3. Choose “WordPress” as the Connector type
4. Click “Submit“
5. Fill in the WordPress Connector’s name, parent folder, and URL (pointing to the WordPress instance to be used)
6. Fill in the Username and Password for your WordPress account.
7. Fill in the Content Type (under “Content Types” tab). Note: Each Content Type determines which Page Configuration is published to the WordPress post.  The Content Type also maps Metadata fields to Categories and Tags for the post
8. Click “Submit” to save your WordPress Connector.
9. You need to verify that the connection with WordPress is successful. Click on the “View” tab, and click the “Verify” link.

To setup a new Twitter Connector:

1. Navigate to Connectors in the Site Administration area
2. Click “Create Connector”
3. Choose “Twitter” as the Connector type
4. Click “Submit”
5. Fill in the Twitter Connector’s name, parent container, destination (The Destination to which a Page must be published in order for a tweet to be generated)
6. Fill in the Content Type (under “Content Types” tab).
7. Under “Parameters” tab, fill in the Hashtags (eg. #BeaconBlog) or Prefix that will be published with each tweet.
8. Click “Submit” and save your Twitter Connector
9. Click on “Click here to allow and Verify again.”
10. A new window will open up, type your Username and Password and click “Allow”.
11. Close that window, and go back to your Cascade Server Connector window. Click “Verify” again and it will be all set.
12. You need to verify that the connection with Twitter is successful. Click on the “View” tab, and click the “Verify” link.

If you need further help, check out Hannon Hill’s Knowledge Base at: http://www.hannonhill.com/kb/Connectors/ OR leave a comment below.

Recently we ran across formatting an RSS feed pubDate in Cascade Server. We quickly realized are normal date format would not work in this situation given the date is formatted as ‘Thu, 06 Jan 2011 19:00:04 +0000′. The following is the XSL we used to convert the date to January 6, 2011.

<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">
 <xsl:output indent="yes" method="xml" omit-xml-declaration="yes"/>

 <xsl:template match="/">
  <xsl:variable name="date">Thu, 06 Jan 2011 19:00:04 +0000</xsl:variable>
  <xsl:call-template name="format-date">
   <xsl:with-param name="date" select="substring-before($date, ' +')"/>
  </xsl:call-template>
 </xsl:template>

 <xsl:template name="format-date">
  <xsl:param name="date"/>
  <xsl:variable name="day" select="substring-before(substring-after($date, ' '), ' ')"/>
  <xsl:variable name="day2" select="concat(translate(substring($day,1,1), '0', ''), substring($day,2,1))"/>
  <xsl:variable name="monthName" select="substring-before(substring-after(substring-after($date, ' '), ' '), ' ')"/>
  <xsl:variable name="year" select="substring-before(substring-after(substring-after(substring-after($date, ' '), ' '), ' '), ' ')"/>
  <xsl:variable name="month">
   <xsl:choose>
    <xsl:when test="$monthName = 'Jan'">January</xsl:when>
    <xsl:when test="$monthName = 'Feb'">February</xsl:when>
    <xsl:when test="$monthName = 'Mar'">March</xsl:when>
    <xsl:when test="$monthName = 'Apr'">April</xsl:when>
    <xsl:when test="$monthName = 'May'">May</xsl:when>
    <xsl:when test="$monthName = 'Jun'">June</xsl:when>
    <xsl:when test="$monthName = 'Jul'">July</xsl:when>
    <xsl:when test="$monthName = 'Aug'">August</xsl:when>
    <xsl:when test="$monthName = 'Sep'">September</xsl:when>
    <xsl:when test="$monthName = 'Oct'">October</xsl:when>
    <xsl:when test="$monthName = 'Nov'">November</xsl:when>
    <xsl:when test="$monthName = 'Dec'">December</xsl:when>
    <xsl:otherwise/>
   </xsl:choose>
  </xsl:variable>
  <xsl:value-of select="concat($month, ' ', $day2, ', ', $year)"/>
 </xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>

I have been in the information technology world since 1981 when I wrote my first programs as a student at Wake Forest, then later as an intern at the NC Dept of Agriculture and throughout my career with RJ Reynolds, AT&T, as a student at Kansas State and now with Beacon.  In 1998 when we started Beacon, there were a few web development companies out there, but now they are EVERYWHERE!  All of them claim to be the best.  I know, I know.  That’s just business.  I have talked with hundreds of business leaders with respect to web initiatives over the years.  To no one’s surprise, the four main factors that drive the decision to select a web development/consulting firm are (1) Price, (2) Experience/Capability, (3) Delivery Time, and (4) Relationship / Support.  I believe we are very good at what we do, but by no means are we perfect as there is always room for improvement.  But having been in this profession for over half my life, I thought it might be worthwhile to share some of my experience-based thoughts on what good web development entails.  Of course, this isn’t all inclusive, but a solid foundation.

Website Development Facts:

1. For business purposes, it is NOT so simple that “a caveman can do it”.
2. Every website is a custom website.  Cost increases with the level of customization and volume of content/products.
3. You get what you pay for.  Cutting corners, having your nephew build the site, trying to build it yourself when you have time usually produces poor results.  Take the time to do it right.  Prioritize all your requirements and desired features.  Establish a realistic budget and share it with your vendor.  Ask them to provide as much as they can with that budget without sacrificing quality.  Push lower priority requirements to a future release.
4. Every website has a “Blueprint” Phase and a “Construction” Phase (most expensive of the two).  A good blueprint keeps the construction costs down and prevents re-work, so take the time to do it right.  Breaking these two phases into separate projects (contracts) works best.
5. Web development, hosting and marketing depend on each other.  It is a BIG advantage to have a single vendor that is strong in all 3 areas with good customer support.  One number to call for any web-related issues.

 Website Types:

1. Marketing (Informational, lead-generation)
2. Storefront (Ecommerce, online revenue generation)
3. Activity-Based (Custom Applications, Blogs)
4. Mix of the above

 Website Development Differentiators:  Good firms will not only discuss your specific needs, but will also share current trends, brainstorm new ideas and proactively cover the following (at a minimum), while constantly providing ideas and consultation.  If your web development company is sitting there waiting for you to tell them what to do, find another firm.

1. Cross Browser Compatibility:  Will your website operate in ALL the most current popular browser versions?
2. Updates to the website:  I’ve NEVER seen a website that didn’t need updates from time to time.  How will updates be handled and priced?
3. Content Management:  There are many, many content management systems on the market.  Of course, they vary in price based on features and functionality.  One size doesn’t fit all.  No reason to put a monster engine in a VW bug, nor a 4-cylinder into a Corvette. 
4. Coding for search engine visibility (SEO):  It’s one thing to create content for a web page, but a whole different thing to make the site search engine friendly, using meta tags effectively, the right keyword density, SEO landing pages, internal linking and much more.  You can’t just build a website and expect the world to find it.  You have to know how to construct it so the search engines “like” it…and I’m not talking about a Facebook “Like”!
5. Professional/Creative Web Design:  The old saying is quite true… You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.  Your website represents your business.  People don’t read content as much anymore.  This is why using the right imagery with easy navigation is important.
6. Calls to Action:  Ask yourself, “What do I want people to do when they come to my website?”  Is there a strong call to action that facilitates this?  And how will it be tracked?
7. Analytics:  I frequently say, “you can’t manage what can’t measure”.  MAKE SURE you have some sort of analytics tool (preferably Google Analytics) to track visitors, conversions and much more.  Your website is another Sales Rep – make sure it is performing well.
8. Site Search:  Is a site search tool included and is it appropriate for your site?  It is vitally important.
9. Hosting & support:  If your vendor also hosts your website, can they also host your email and provide spam filtering?  Are redirects being used appropriately?  What happens if a page isn’t found?  Do they check for broken links regularly?
10. Local web marketing:  Will your vendor help with optimizing your listings in Google Local, Places, Maps…and other standard local venues?
11. Integration:  Does your website need to integrate with 3^rd party or back office software?  Accounting?  Shipping?  Order Management?  CRM?  Will experienced engineers be available to discuss critical requirements.

 Choosing a Website Development Partner:  When you select a website development firm, there is always somewhat of a leap of faith.  Like any profession, there are good firms and bad firms. Minimize this leap by considering the following:

1. How many years have they been in business?  Demonstrates financial stability, success and peace of mind that they have not only been providing these services, but will be around when you need them in the future.
2. Look at their portfolio.  There are so many firms out there that showcase relatively unknown clients.  There’s a reason for this – especially if they have been around for a long time.
3. Read their blog and Facebook page.  It will tell you a lot about their breadth and depth of skills, their people and their personality.
4. Do they outsource or do everything in house?  Nothing against outsourcing, but I’m a big believer in minimizing the number of costly middle-men.
5. Ask about who’s doing the work.  Does one person handle project management, creative design, development, testing, SEO and implementation?  I have yet to meet a person who is an expert in all of these areas.
6. Ask for example deliverables.  Can they provide examples of a project plan and any other deliverables that are created prior to development?  The website is NOT the only deliverable.  Houses aren’t built without a blueprint, neither should your website.
7. Ask about communication.  Will your primary point of contact be a Project Manager or a Developer?  Can you meet this person?
8. Ask about the creative design process.  How many design-and-review iterations do they provide with respect to the website design – so that you can see the creative design(s) and request modifications?
9. Ask about the CMS and eCommerce software options.  Are they locked into only one of each or do they have more breadth of experience and alternative options to meet your price and functional requirements?
10. Ask how they test the website before it is launched.  Do they have a formal “User Acceptance Testing” process – so you can check everything out before it gets launched?
11. Is the firm a good fit for your business culture?  Does the relationship “feel” good & honest like the firm cares about the success of your website?  Or do you feel like you are just part of an assembly line.
12. Ask about post-launch support.  Who to call?  Pricing?  Expected response time?  After hours?  Ticketing system to insure your request is logged and monitored to completion?
13. Do they really provide their own hosting services or do they use a 3^rd party?  Ask this 3-part question:  Where is the web server located that houses my website?  How often is server maintenance performed and who performs it?  I’ve seen a lot of finger pointing between hosting firms and development firms over the years.

 Website Development Budget:  For us, every project is quoted separately  There’s always exceptions, but here’s a “Rule of Thumb” table that I have put together based on several hundred projects we’ve performed over the years.  I hope this helps to some degree with your approach to web development firms.

*Small:  option to pay monthly
**X-Large: businesses w/ large product catalogs, universities, etc (thousands of pages) that require careful planning and coordination with internal decision-making groups. Many times these projects require integration with existing legacy systems and/or 3^rd party software.
***Duration is dependent on the availability of resources, number of resources working concurrently and the client’s availability & delivery of content.

I’m trying to be clever and match my daughter’s use of acronyms.  Yeah, I made it up.  But the first thing that came to my mind was “Wow!  What a Week!” as I sit here on the plane retracing my steps back from San Fran to Atlanta to Greensboro.

FIRST STOP:  Cascade Server Conference (Atlanta)

Four of us (John Scaramuzzo, Justin Klingman, Brad Henry and myself) jumped in a car on Sunday to head to the first stop, Hannon Hill’s Annual Cascade Server Conference in Atlanta.  Those guys really know how to do it.  They put us up w/ great accommodations, provided great information about their current products and got everyone excited about some cool features they have planned for the coming year.  Since many of our clients use Cascade Server, we had the opportunity to chat with some of them that attended the conference (like Silverpop, Los Alamos Labs, Rollins College, University of Hartford).  The Cascade Server CMS product remains strong and well supported as David Cummings, their CEO/President reminded us that Cascade Server has now been out for 7 years and has over 200 clients  (primarily in the Higher Ed vertical).  Pretty amazing for a small company!  It’s interesting to note that Beacon is one of the few Partners that have attended every annual user conference.

Brad Henry and I presented right after lunch – Web Marketing Tactics w/ Cascade Server. (I will provide a link to the video once it’s available).  Brad was certainly the headliner after I gave a quick overview of Beacon.  As always, Brad shared valuable SEO tactics with the audience – tactics that they could take back, apply and make an immediate impact.  However, the highlight was the results of two SEO Audits that Brad provided live for current Cascade Server customers that were in attendance – Auburn University and Health Network System.  He provided very specific advice on areas that can be improved along with confirming areas that were setup well for SEO.  Of course this sparked a nice Q&A session during the last 10 minutes of the presentation.

I also had the pleasure of having lunch with David Klanac, Hannon Hill’s COO, which gave us time to discuss growing our partnership over the coming year to further improve their products and continue providing services to Cascade Server customers.

NEXT STOP:  Google Analytics Certified Partners Conference (Mt. View, CA)

Our presentation ended around 2:30 and Brad & I were off to the airport to catch a flight to San Fran for the Google Analytics Certified Partner (GACP) Conference in Mountain View.  This is Beacon’s FOURTH year of attending this conference and as always, it started off with a bang as Avinash Kaushik, Google’s Analytics Evangelist, delivered another captivating keynote address pointing out that GA is a critical tool in supporting the business decision process, but not the only one.  The real key…the real way for consultants to make money w/ GA is NOT to “puke” data back to clients, but to truly partner with clients.  Roll your sleeves up.  Show ROI.  Develop strategies to grow online conversions and identify the right key performance indicators to clearly show VALUE!  I encourage you to check out Avinash on YouTube or at www.kaushik.net.

We heard from many of Google’s engineers, product managers and marketing staff.  Even more importantly, with ~260 attendees and over 190 GACPs worldwide now, the folks at Google LISTENED to us – about issues we were having with the product, clients, marketing, etc. During one session, we actually lined up and presented desired features and/or changes and the entire group voted on whether each should be a high, medium or low priority.  There are several new development projects underway that will change the landscape further.  Our NDA with Google prevents me from providing any details.  However, I will say the Google Team seems more enthusiastic than ever and they certainly have embraced the GACPs.  The first conference had ~15 attendees; the second, ~30 (which I attended) and now, to see nearly 200 partners is truly amazing.  Momentum is growing.  2011 will see more major advances in GA.

On the personal side, I had to take in a Giants-Dodgers game.  AT&T Park is awesome.  Nothing like sitting in a ballpark next to the bay with a hot dog and a cold one.  It was a blast hearing the packed house chant “Beat LA!  Beat LA!” as the Giants won 2-1.

LAST STOP:  Home…which there is no place like!