Times have changed. Our contemporary society has come to expect every legitimate organization, business, non-profit, or ministry to have a well-designed website presence. When it comes to being found by your community, being available to your members, and providing information to both, you must be accessible on the web. In fact, most modern church plants are scrambling to get their site up before they even begin services. It’s almost as important as getting a meeting place arranged. Even established churches are revamping their websites to provide tools for members on-the-go. But as we become more and more dependent on smart phones and tablets to keep up with the crazy, rushed lifestyle we’ve developed, having a church website may not be enough to effectively connect with your church family. A website that fails to contain up-to-the-minute information often gets negle...
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As a church, service company, charity, or retailer, are you getting the most out of your eCommerce website? With Christmas behind us, I reflected on my own spending trends. About 90% of my holiday purchases were made online. TIME Business & Money says that I wasn’t alone – online store spending increased over 17% from the previous year’s numbers! Online shopping has become an undeniable appeal to consumers, who can save time and often money by using virtual stores. Truth be told, Andy Chandler of the YCP team says that he hardly ever sees a “standard e-commerce site.” Most clients are unique, requiring custom solutions. “Many of our websites are services driven or are donation based. For example, some of our clients are only selling digital products, so shipping and inventory don't play a role - but secure delivery does. Backstage is designed to handle any type of sto...
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Did you get a shiny new tech-toy for Christmas? My dad and stepmom did. They proudly FaceTime-ed me from their new iPad, and when I "hung up," they were busy trying to wrestle the device back from my 18-year-old sister. Tablets and smart phones easily transcend generational barriers. In fact, data collected by NPD DisplaySearch projects that tablets will outsell notebooks by 2016. Why does this matter? I'll give you a hint . . . your website! Problem? Solution. Ethan Marcotte explains the problem this way: "We’re faced with a greater number of devices, input modes, and browsers than ever before." While it's possible to design separate packages for each of the different platforms (desktop, tablet, smart phone, mini-tablet), there's a better solution, and we predict you'll hear a lot about it this year. The solution is responsive web design, in which we create an attrac...
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Before you put your fingers to the keyboard to start creating that profile, you should think through the main purpose of your profile. What is your main purpose and how would a LinkedIn profile specifically help you accomplish your goals? What audience are you trying to reach? Thinking through these foundational questions will help you accomplish your goals and develop a successful LinkedIn strategy. 11 tips for creating a successful profile: Grab your personal url and add that to your e-mail signature. Here's some steps to doing that: http://www.handshake20.com/linkedin.html Make sure you have listed your correct website and e-mail address (use your corporate account). Add links to your twitter account and company blog (if applicable) LinkedIn recommends the following strategy as you think through your profile's headline (the section that appears at the top of your p...
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