Internet Marketing Blog

Unique Features of a Successful eCommerce Website

September 2, 2010 – 2:19 pm

E-commerce websites are mainly designed to sell products and their success is very essential for better business results. When designing and developing an e-commerce website, a designer has to face so many challenges in order to deliver the best of all. Hence, it is very essential to analyze all the areas of the process to ensure delivery of a good product. E-commerce is a unique topic in online business with various beneficial features, including global audience reach, high standards, user interaction, valuable information, and customization.

There are a range of essential factors that influence the look and feel of e-commerce websites. The top features include quick & easy navigation, product related simple design for increased visibility of product, effective branding, specific product images, displaying related or recommended products, listing popular products, offers & discounts, simple checkout process, and complete website search option.  

The navigation of product pages should be carefully designed with more options for the users to locate the product easily.  This feature of the site requires thorough user experience testing to ensure all navigational issues are addressed properly. With the help of some simple design approaches, the site will give better visibility to the product, as selling is the key point of any e-commerce website. For better performance of the website, the design should be related to the style of products available and thus making a direct connection with the brand.

Your firm should include product specific photos, especially in different angles.  This will help the user get a feel of the product and to make an easy purchasing decision. They should also make use of the homepage and help the users to find something really interesting by adding offers, popular products, new arrivals and other discounts. Displaying a list of related products on the product details page to the user may result in increased sales of those products as well and serves as a promotional tool for similar products. Users may find it difficult to land with the particular product of their interest even with good navigation, so in order to avoid this and help them gain easy access to the product, it is advised to include search box with range of options.

In total, e-commerce websites with all the above good features provides advantages for small and medium businesses in developing countries reducing operational costs and increasing efficiency.

Posted by Mohamed Mohideen
Posted in 7 Pillars of Internet Marketing, Interactive Marketing, Marketing Agencies, Offshore Outsourcing, Photography, Small Business, Website Design, eCommerce, web 2.0, web development | No Comments »
Tags: eCommerce, Internet Marketing, Mohamed Mohideen, new york web development agency, small businesses, web analytics, web design, web development

Agile Methodology In A Web Design Era

August 11, 2010 – 5:25 pm

Common folk who know little about their software besides the name think of the world agile as the physical characteristic they had during Pop Warner days.  It could also describe your abilities when you were a star shortstop in the Babe Ruth or American Legion leagues.  Maybe you were the cheerleader that jumped above the rafters with pom-poms dotting the air.  The prior definitions of agile do not apply in this piece.

We are discussing the agile methodology, which is growing as the choice for web development.  IT professionals have been going back and forth between the waterfall and agile developments.  The waterfall development is a classic linear, sequential approach to software design.  It is a methodical, fastidious approach for product building.  A glitch in the system can crumble a waterfall approach, and new code must be developed again.  A project’s capital structure crumbles if bugs consistently surface.  

Agile methodology fits the namesake like a glove.  The adaptability comes with a low overhead costs and is efficient for smaller teams.  These teams range from the project to the deployment, and break a project into separate puzzles that are affixed into a final portrait over time. A client, therefore, must be willing to take more initiative in the final product.  The rate of software development has increased, especially with mobile technology, and platforms must be ready for the synchronicity between desktop and mobile.  It’s coming by the nanosecond, and project development needs to be agile in a shift age.

In short, waterfall development is good if you have a client with clear, strict guidelines and the resources to cover any potholes in the langorous process.  Once these elements are in doubt, then the agile methodology deserves a review.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Interactive Marketing, Website Analytics, Website Design, blog, web development | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, agile development strategy, agile methodology, bllueliner marketing, Blueliner, new york web design agency, new york web development agency, waterfall development strategy, waterfall methodology

Little Words Mean A Lot

July 19, 2010 – 1:22 pm

The developers at Smashing Magazine are versed in all programs and the transient dynamics of code.  Nobody can keep up, and that’s just factual.  We all know, however, that two sides exist to every coin, even the Canadian ones.  As Niels Matthijs notes, developers can slip up and make errors.  He feels that naming conventions and constructing better HTML templates will translate into better websites.  I’ll highlight a sample of subtopics for the uninitiated.

The Bare Necessities Of Semantics

Nowadays with Google Caffeine, content must be recognizable to all kinds of crawlers and search engines for full SEO optimization.  The engine just debuted, so its effectiveness must be intensely tracked in order to make a proper assessment. If Google Caffeine hits, then surfing the internet will be a much greater experience and e-commerce stands to benefit.

Think Components, Not Pages

Websites should have common components that fit together than a jangled collection of pages. In order to achieve this feat, developers need to focus on a single component at a time.  When one needs to write the HTML code for a product, check each wireframe for product variations.  Then one can write a code that handle the existing variants.  This model will be solid and can be used anywhere.

For more information on semantics, click the photo.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Website Analytics, Website Design, blog, web development | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, Blueliner, Blueliner Marketing, coding semantics, html coding, niels matthijs, smashing magazine, web development, web programming

Threadless Weaves Marketing Dreams

July 2, 2010 – 3:23 pm

Threadless has gained praise nationwide for their masterful use of online communities to drive sales.  The Chicago-based company does not have professional designers nor online advertising agencies and other distributors to pirate income.  It took them some time for the open source movement to generate results, but they have commemorated it this year with a 10th anniversary campaign.  The Tour Kick-Off Sale ends July 2nd and includes various price points for men, women, and children that fit anyone’s budget.  They will be in a caravan that covers the nation while stopping at the Pitchfork Music Festival and other points in between to Washington D.C. in October.  Here are the dates.

The company’s tight relationship with its community allows for an amalgam of creative designs and products that allow for test marketing before the product is pushed to the website.  The website is also optimized for clean click navigation, search indexing, and a full board of social widgets.  I believe that the crispness of their website is key to their success.  One receives feedback immediately on their designs from the network while making income for their gifts.  It’s a relationship that benefits the consumer and merchant without a lot of database research or bureaucracy.

Threadless has begun to develop partnerships with Griffin Technologies and Havaianas Footwear to stretch their product portfolio into smartphone cases and flip-flops, amongst other things.  With a rich community of designers and a 10-year anniversary book to cement brand equity, Threadless is an emerging force. Heavyweight marketing executives have wondered for some time about the open source model, and now see it come to fruition.  They should be very afraid.  For more details on Threadless, read this interview from VP of Marketing, Cam Balzer.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Business News, Interactive Marketing, Marketing, Website Design, blog, green marketing, web 2.0, web development | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, Blueliner Marketing, cam balzer, griffin technologies, haivaianas, Interactive Marketing, new york interactive marketing agency, pitchfork music festival, social media, threadless

Damjan Speaks at The iFRONT Conference

June 15, 2010 – 4:17 pm

Our colleague, Damjan Arsovski, spoke last week at the Second Annual iFront Conference in Belgrade, Serbia. The iFront collective is aligned with Front, a design and brand agency from Belgrade that provides business services to clients for their events and conferences.

The conference was just one day, located at The Bitef Theatre, and emceed by Jasna Maltic, the Serbian Minister of Information Society.  It discussed the implementation of internet services to business operations, divided into four areas such as mobile software, web marketing, digital public relations, and the web as a new business platform.  Damjan presented during the web marketing section. His presentation talked about the trends in the digital economy, how they changed the world for the present time, and the importance of users. He felt the audience was engaged overall. Here’s a slideshow of the presentation.

Along with those, I’ve dropped a few pictures from the event below.  Enjoy.  

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Business News, Website Design, web development | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, Blueliner, Blueliner Marketing, Damjan Arsovski, FRONT serbia, iFRONT 2010 Belgrade, The Bitef Theatre, web business development

Internet Week, Sponsored By Yahoo!

June 10, 2010 – 1:03 pm

Yahoo’s Internet Week has been going on since Monday here in New York, showcasing the city’s vibrant tech community. The expo, as expected, is a smorgasbord of media platforms, complete with Twitter feeds and a live stream from the headquarter site in Chelsea. The website also has an abundance of information on workshops, press releases, and photography. Those interested in attending the HQ expos can do so for a $10 fee. Since the corporate sponsorship is filled with heavyweights, the gifts may be real interesting.  If anyone attends, please post your thoughts.  Click the apple to reach the website.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Business News, Interactive Marketing, Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Video Sharing, search engine marketing, web development | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, Blueliner Marketing, Interactive Media, internet week chelsea, internet week new york, new york interactive marketing agency, yahoo internet week

HTML5 Bickering

June 9, 2010 – 1:42 pm

I spoke a little bit about HTML5 some time ago, but now the moniker is getting heat in the tech press.  According to The Register, Britain’s tech site,  Chris Blizzard has fired strong vitriol against Apple and Google. His anger comes from the belief that Apple is using their new products such as the Safari web browser and Macs to prove that they are the leaders of open source standards when the reality is otherwise.  Chrome, Firefox, and Opera offer extensive support for open sourcing.  One could assume that this is Steve Jobs using his marketing prowess to introduce software which Blizzard believes they do not fully use. Google does the same thing with Chrome being dubbed ‘the fastest web browser on the planet.

All in all, I feel that this is just a bunch of boys throwing mud at each other in the sandbox.  Or as Shakespeare would say, much ado about nothing. I think the story is crucial for web development so that the future vision of an application store model can come to reality.  Those web programmers will get paid handsomely for their work, rather than be limited by browser specifications.  Wouldn’t it be nice?

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Business News, online advertising, web development | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, Blueliner Marketing, chris blizzard, html5, new york web development agency, open sourcing, the register uk

HTML5 Is Here

May 28, 2010 – 11:37 am

The battle between Adobe and Apple over Flash has been intense. Its implications for the future of web development loom larger. For over a decade, HTML 4.01 was the standard base for building websites. Nowadays, with improved media sources such as video, audio, and animation, an upgrade is coming. HTML 5.0 is the next wave.  Some of the elements have been changed, eliminated, or stayed the course. New APIs are being created as well. Google has pushed the movement forward through its web browser Chrome. This video presentation, courtesy of Derek Bender, provides more insight.

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in web 2.0, web development | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, API news, Blueliner Marketing, derek bender, google chrome, html5, new york web development agency, the future of the web

Coding With Poetry

May 14, 2010 – 4:18 pm

WordPress has been good to me, as a manager of web content platforms and a blogging site.  I cannot begin to rave about the boundless plugins that exist on the dashboard.  I would rave even more if I knew how to use them properly.  I think that since I’m an aspiring master of written language, I need to learn the science of digital coding.  Coding is fundamental for becoming a quality web designer, and like poetry, it seems to need proper execution at different points in time.  I will provide one parallel between the two subject, then let this article from Smashing Magazine go into more details for the real design experts to debate and discuss.

Example:  Robert Frost, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep

But I have promises to keep

And miles to go before I sleep

And miles to go before I sleep

Poetry carries a dual meaning of surface semantics and clandestine thought, or observations.  Frost, as a master of his craft, does this to perfection. Here’s an example the author gives with code:

1<p>The Wasteland</p>

1<h1>The Wasteland</h1>

Similar to poetry, he states that code (or HTML) creates meaning for both semantics and structure as well.

For those interested in reading more about this connection, click on the Smashing logo:

Posted by Abdul Fattah Ismail
Posted in Website Design, online advertising, web development | No Comments »
Tags: abdul fattah ismail, Blueliner, Blueliner Marketing, coding, robert frost, smashing magazine, web design, wordpress

Turning Prospects into Buyers with Content Marketing

May 13, 2010 – 12:13 pm

What do most marketers need when they want to attract, acquire and engage customers and potential accounts for their business? Consistently sharing information about their products or services can keep existing customers and the potential ones informed, thus creating a unique brand awareness which can result in increased sales and customer loyalty. In order to do this, you need to create and share informative and valuable content about products and services via different media.

This form of marketing is often referred to as Content Marketing, which is defined as “words and data to create unambiguous content that support meaningful, interactive experiences”, is now evolving as a new discipline. In addition to all your traditional marketing techniques, this form of marketing uses content to achieve higher sales through profitable actions from the customer and prospect sides.

What it takes, is an effective content strategy. Content development, delivery and administration are the three major points that need to be kept in mind when you define content strategy for any marketing plan. Rachel Lovinger explains more about content marketing in her article, Content Strategy – The Philosophy of Data. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Mohamed Mohideen
Posted in 7 Pillars of Internet Marketing, Blog Marketing, Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Interactive Marketing, Interactive PR, Marketing, Marketing Agencies, Mobile Marketing, Photography, Podcast Production, Public Relations, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Video Sharing, Website Analytics, Website Design, World, online advertising, search engine marketing, web development | 1 Comment »
Tags: Advertising, Blueliner Marketing, Content Marketing, digital marketing, Interactive PR, Mobile Marketing, Mohamed Mohideen, social media