Mobile

Encoded Messages?

encodedmessages.info is a microsite that was designed to accompany an exhibition titled Encoded Messages: Reading African Art, by SMA African Art Museum in Tenafly, NJ.  The site development process was fun and delightful.

Robert J. Koenig, the director of the Museum wrote us:

“Thank you for your splendid work on the SMA web suite for our exhibition ‘Encoded Messages: Reading African Art’. We are very pleased with encodedmessages.info. The instructors at Bergen Community College are incorporating aspects of the show into their courses of study. The web site, available to students on their mobile devices as well as on computers in the library, is a great asset to them in their study of African art…”

encoded message site home1

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Food supplement: Peruvian Ginseng

Food supplement is a huge market, more and more consumers are health-conscious, willing to pay for the supplement if it works. The competition is fierce.

We built this “mobile-friendly” e-commerce site that utilized a PayPal solution, not only cost less, client is in business sooner than he expected!

macajoy homepage

Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test

While Google is still testing and fine-tuning its Local search page’s info structure and User Interface (UI), it is obvious that Google values “Mobile-friendly” as one of the major website attributes because it will offer a much better User Experience (UX) on mobile devices.

On a 11/18/2014 post by Google: A mobile-optimized site will get a “mobile-friendly” label on  mobile search results, “We see these labels as a first step in helping mobile users to have a better mobile web experience. We are also experimenting with using the mobile-friendly criteria as a ranking signal” (source: Helping users find mobile-friendly pages)

To test if your website is “Mobile-friendly” by Google’s standard

Simply type your site’s URL in Google’s Mobile-Friendly Testing Tool, it will give you indication if the URL meets the requirement, it may even provide extra findings for you to address.

For example, below is a screenshot of our website homepage testing result:

google's mobile-friendly test tool screen

Best Time to Grow Local Business Online!

We added “Business Local” Website + Online Marketing service in 2014 because the internet/user environment and the necessary tools are all maturing. For businesses focusing on local consumer market, NOW is the best time to take action.

Please see our approaches (#1 & 2 below) and our comprehensive development steps (#3) in detail:

1. Develop an Actionable Online Marketing Plan

  • Local search on mobile devices and PCs are opening up marketing opportunities that have never existed before.  (That is, a “game changer”. See 2014 Local search survey by moz.com)
  • Regarding social media: “Social (media) has proved it’s not just another fad and has proven to be a long-term online marketing solution. Each day you wait, you are missing out on new ways to engage new and existing customers” – LocalVox
  • Various online marketing tools and services are out there. Pick the ones that best fit your business.
  • The best part about social media and local advertising: many of them are FREE, some are “pay-per-use”, and all can start small until you are ready to scale up to meet larger needs.
“Google Places” case examples. Now named “Google My Business”, it’s one of the free tools.

2. Use a Flexible Web Tool that Can Adapt to the Fast-Evolving Online World

Websites are the hub of many online activities. More and more online functions and controls––many of them marketing related––can be integrated into websites. WordPress, the open source web-building environment, is the leading example with such adaptability. (See infographics and the video below).
We started using WordPress since 2010 and we highly recommend it:

  • WordPress is the fastest growing web platform, already powering millions of websites worldwide, including many FORTUNE 500 companies’. It is here to stay!
  • Its Content Management System (CMS) is great for site owners to have direct content control.
  • WordPress has thousands of plugins to extend website functionality. As a result, site development is often faster, more flexible, and less costly than other methods.
A super-brief intro of WordPress, listen to what “websmart” people has to say about it!

3. We Will Build Your Website within this Context

Business owners know their products, services, customers, and promotion methods best; but very often, they do not know enough about how to make use of online market drivers.

GRIDNYC, with more than 12 years of website-building, online marketing, branding, and UX/UI design experience, is now offering a unique service to small businesses and entrepreneurs in the Metro NYC, Queens, and surrounding areas.

  • We will co-develop with you, a website structure to meet your business requirements.
  • We will develop an understanding of your marketing needs, ideas, and even your marketing “wish list”; brainstorm other possibilities with you and identify/evaluate online marketing components for your website.
  • We will assist you in registering your own domain, hosting, setting up email and other accounts, if necessary.
  • We will suggest marketing and branding oriented site content, text and visuals, if necessary.
  • We will build your website in stages and fine-tune the site, all while promoting efficiency in establishing your website.
  • We will guide you through the CMS (Content Management System) so you will be able to update your website and have direct control of the site content
  • We will guide you through SEO* (Search Engine Optimization) basics and teach you the marketing concept behind it.
    *SEO involves high level marketing strategy and is fundamental to online marketing. It is beneficial for the business owner or the head of marketing to understand the basics.
Business Local Website Pricing

 

Call us at 917-957-9323 or use email form to arrange a Free consultation!

Mobile goes Mainstream…

Take a look at the stats on mobile growth trend, and you’ll see why we should not ignore them:

  • Smartphone users worldwide will total 1.75 billion in 2014. (Source: emarketer.com, 2014)
  • 24% of total website traffic came from mobile devices in 1Q 2013—up 78% from 1Q 2012.
  • 75% of Americans bring their mobile phones to the bathroom. (Source: Digiday, 2013)
  • 50% of smartphone shoppers use a GPS/mapping app to find a retail location; 44% access the site of a retailer where they typically shop; 24% search for a coupon to use at checkout. (Source: Nielsen, 2012)
  • The number of US mobile coupon users will rise from 12.3 million in 2010 to 53 million in 2014, driven by the rapid adoption of smartphones. (Source: eMarketer, 2013)
  • Mobile searches related to restaurants have a conversion rate of 90% with 64% converting within the hour. (Source: xAd and Telemetrics, 2012)

Consumers ( your customers! ) are driving the market . . .
Shouldn’t you be where your customers are?

As online marketing specialist and web developer, we see unprecedented business opportunity especially for local merchants… see details in “Business Local” section.

mobile-device-growth-worldwide
Graph reference: AppStudio