Category: Web Development

Case Study Responsive Web Design for Capital Medical Society

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We would first like to thank Capital Medical Society for giving us the opportunity to help them build a more user friendly and powerful website.

Capital Medical Society came to us with a few concerns:

  • The Doctor’s Directory was lack luster
  • Website was not mobile friendly and had very poor performance outside a desktop computer
  • A non-inviting design – It lack direction and was very plain
  • Lack of editability – Client had some access, but overall making even the smallest changes were a pain

After several discussions with Capital Medical Society talking about functionality, design and editability, we turned their old Doctor’s Directory into a powerhouse of information for their users that are looking for that perfect Doctor. We included aspects of their old website that their users loved and created a more inviting/user friendly design that promotes usability and allows for mobile responsiveness. Finally, one of Capital Medical Society’s biggest concerns was the ability to edit their content without relying on a developer. Luckily this was an easy one, we build all of our websites on CMS platforms, which allow for full editability.

We look forward to helping with future projects and continuing to build a strong relationship with them. We would like to give a big shout out to Pam Wilson, Shannon Boyle and the whole Capital Medical Society team for making this a wonderful experience.

Google is going to a mobile first index soon!

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With the numbers of mobile users’ sky rocketing out of the atmosphere, it’s no surprise to anyone that mobile searches have surpassed desktop and at this point we do not think there is any turning back. With today’s world needing information instantaneously, a desktop just does not do and a laptop is a bit annoying to lug around with you. This is exactly where mobile devices and even tablets come into play. These devices allow the consumer to get the information they want, at the moment and it allows brands’ opportunities to be ‘near’ their mobile users. Per a recent Pew Research report, 46% of respondents said they could not live without their smartphones.

Micro-Moments

Google has coined a new term: ‘micro-moments’. Micro-moments are essentially a question or questions that a consumer has in an instant and wants to answer within that same instance. These moments are broken down into 3 stages: Immediate Action, Demand for relevance, Loyal to needs. Let’s define each of these per Google.

Immediate action – Smartphones allow us to act on any impulse at any time. We take immediate action whenever we want to learn, find, do or buy something.

Demand for relevance – When we act on our needs in-the-moment, our expectations are high and our patience is low. This makes the quality, relevance, and usefulness of marketing more important than ever.

Loyal to needs – Our preferences and purchases are shaped in these micro-moments. Ultimately, the brands that do the best job of addressing our needs in each moment will win.

As you can see these micro-moments are a make or break chance for your company to gain a loyal customer who will in return become a promoter of your company, so long as you continue to treat them with quality, relevant and useful content.

What you can do.

Identify a set of key moments in a buyer’s journey that you want to win or can’t afford to lose. Examine these moments of your buyer’s journey when they want to find inspiration, learn about your product, make a quick purchase or anything in between. For each of these moments put yourself in your buyer’s shoes. Ask yourself, “What would make this faster and easier? What content and features would be the most helpful?” Ensure your buyer’s journey is optimized across the board and that there are no hiccups along the way. You can never afford to under-serve your buyers, while every moment may not yet be directly measurable, you cannot allow anything to fall through the cracks.

What Google is doing?

Back in April, the 21st to be exact Google released an algorithm update that impacted mobile search results worldwide for mobile searchers. This update improved rankings for sites that provided a mobile-friendly experience to searchers on mobile devices, and, by association, demoted sites that did not. Well, Google is at it again and they are not joking around this time. Googler Gary Illyes announce at Pubcon that Google will be switching from a desktop index to a mobile index. This is a huge change. Google has always used a desktop version of a page for ranking, even when serving results to users on a mobile device. Big note, this mobile first index is not currently live. This is currently a pre-announcement/pre-warning to all site owners to get prepared for the upcoming changes.

Why Google why?

It’s simple with all research pointing towards a mobile first world it only makes sense to make this change. Now this is not something Google is coming out of left field about, Gary Illyes hinted at having been in testing for a little over a year now. Since mobile searches continue to sky rocket – this move is not a surprise.

How much time do I have, Doc?

Unfortunately, Gary Illyes did say that he will not give firm dates for this because dates can change. He did say though that Google will be announcing it with a blog post, which will include details about when the mobile first index is to take effect. It is also worth mentioning that Google has given site owners plenty of notice about these changes, such as when they made the plan to add a mobile friendly ranking boost. Now is the time to take your buyer’s journey and mobile experience seriously. With the current trends and Google moving forward with a mobile-first index it is not the time to sit idly by, it is the time to schedule your free consultation and see how we can help your business and your buyer’s journey improve.

What is Whitespace and How can it Help?

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What is Whitespace?

Whitespace is one of the most overlooked aspects of design and it is often pushed to the side for the sake of fitting as much information as possible into the space provided, whether that is digital or print. It does not always have to be white, that is why some designers call this space “negative space,” which just means “space left blank.”

Whitespace is divided into two categories:

  • Active Whitespace: the space that was left white on purpose to drive home a message or create emphasis on a design element.
  • Passive Whitespace: the space that was left white naturally while making the layout of the design.

 

How Can Whitespace Help Your Design?

 

1. Whitespace Improves Readability

We have all seen designs that look too busy, this often clutter look makes it hard for us to understand the message quickly and easily. This is usually because of the lack of Whitespace. These designs aren’t necessarily bad, the designer may have done this on purpose, but if you’re ever wanting people to quickly and easily read and understand your message, you may want to increase the Whitespace.

 

2. Creates Professional and Sophisticated Designs

Take into considerations some of the world’s most recognizable brands, such as Apple or Google. All these brands share a very similar design aspect: simple, clean, and lots of Whitespace. Let’s look at Apple’s website, both of these are great examples of how Whitespace can portray a professional and sophisticated personality about the Apple brand.

 

3. Creates Emphasis on Your Product

Looking back at Apple’s website again, you are immediately drawn to the center of the page where you see their newest product. Having a large amount of Whitespace around the focal point of the design helps the reader quickly find what you are trying to convey and often makes it much more impactful. Don’t forget, as Dictionary.com said, “Whitespace is as effective in a layout as type.”

 

Are Your Users Getting the Message?

These are just a few major impacts that Whitespace can have on your buyers. It is getting more and more difficult in today’s online world to make your business stand out and draw buyers in. Having the right amount of Whitespace can help, so take a look at your web design and ask, is this getting the message to my buyers? Is it portraying the professional feel that it should? Is my product or brand standing out or falling behind my competitors? If you are unsure about any of these or answered no, contact us for a free consultation to see how we can help make sure your brand is making waves.

Flash Is Dead

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Have you ever visited a website, either on your mobile device or on your desktop and get an error asking you to install Adobe Flash? Most people have and it is extremely frustrating.

While the web industry has been slowly phasing out support for Flash over past few years, Adobe announced on July 24th that the once internet standard will be phased out entirely in favor of more open current standards like HTML5. All support for Flash will end by 2020. That seems like a long way off but in the internet and technology world it is right around the corner.

Flash was once king of video and rich interactions, this final decision to end development and support comes as a result of a few big issues. There were no standards for Flash development, as a result lots of poorly developed Flash gave users poor experience. As Apple embraced the early iphone poor experience was not acceptable and so they refused to support Flash on iOS. Finally Adobe failed to adequately maintain the security of Flash for users, dooming it to be blocked by default on most all modern browsers.

What this means to business and site owners is that it is time to begin transitioning to safer, more standard solutions for rich interaction and video. Curiosity is always looking towards the future and using the best technology. We’re here to help you replace Flash elements on your site with current, standards driven solutions.. We have a deep experience with the latest techniques in HTML5 animation, interaction and video playback,  allowing us to recreate what in the past could only be found in Flash. A big added benefit is that by using web standard solutions, the old concern of “Will my site be viewable?” becomes a thing of the past. Just like Flash.

It is also worth mentioning that updating your website shouldn’t be exclusive to those that still leverage Flash. Updating your site can help boost your search engine rankings and increase traffic. It just so happens this is also something we specialize in and would be happy to assist with. Contact us today to see what we can do for you.

Our hats off to Flash, an innovator in its’ day, now headed toward a well earned retirement.

Time For A Check-Up: 5 Elements All Sites Need

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A business website is often overlooked or forgotten about. Most businesses forget to update them and the website is put on the back burner. It’s very important that your website be updated regularly and reflect your business’s current state and brand image. Here are 5 Elements your site needs – and if it doesn’t meet these 5 elements  it may be time to renew your website and bring it up-to-speed.

  1. Strong Brand– Having a consistent brand can set you apart from your competitors. Sending the same message to your clients will increase memorability and make sure your company is always your company. Your website is like an extension of your business. Think of it as your virtual office. When a visitor ‘stops by’ will they know they are at your business or does your website look like an outdated version of your business? Look at your site and make sure your colors, fonts, and imagery match the message you want to send.
  2. Content– Like we said above, this is your virtual office. Is your potential customer going to find the information they need while visiting your site? Furthermore, is the content relevant? The customer is looking for information and the information needs to answer the question “How does this apply to me?” Having the content up front is great but having them move deeper into your site is better. Strike a balance that gives them enough information but keeps them moving.
  3. Navigation– Your site’s navigation (also known as a nav bar) is usually at the top of your site. This is how your customers will navigate through your site and it should be simple and easy to use. It’s tempting to place all your pages in the top level of the navigation bar but this causes issues of a content overload and mobile responsive nightmares. It’s a good idea to group like-topic pages in drop downs to help the user identify where they want to go and then dive deeper.
  4. Call to Action– Call to Actions (also known as CTAs) are the buttons or links that grab attention and moves the customer deeper into the site. An example of this would be the button under the home page’s About section urging the customer to “Learn More.” Not having these in crucial locations can leave the customer stranded and ditch your site. Remember – it’s all about keeping them moving.
  5. Mobile Responsive– Not having a mobile responsive site is a website-killer. This is important because 55% of web traffic is from mobile devices and tablets.  Google now ranks websites based on whether they are mobile responsive or not [LINK TO MOBILE FIRST POST].

So, how does your website stack up against the 5 elements needed? Does your website need improvement? Acting now instead of waiting can help boost your site visits and increase customer conversions. This might be a big undertaking for most businesses but we are here to help. We are one of the area’s leading marketing and digital design firms and are experts on these subjects. Contact us today to see how we can help grow your website into the powerful resource is should be for your business.

Curiosity Becomes a Silver HubSpot Certified Agency Partner

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We are happy to announce that we are now a Silver Level HubSpot Certified Agency Partner. HubSpot, the world’s leading inbound marketing and sales platform, works hand-in-hand with Agency Partners to grow their clients’ businesses through inbound software, services, automation, and support.

Our Channel Rep was nice enough to give us a testimonial as well. Oscar Zamorano said, “We have been thrilled to work with Curiosity as a HubSpot Partner. Their savvy, sophisticated, and innovative approach to inbound makes them a company that businesses everywhere can learn from. Watching them transform their agency and their clients with inbound has been a rewarding experience!”

Over the past 2 years, we have grown businesses by incorporating inbound strategies to attract, engage, and delight customers. Our mission is to continue helping companies and people harness technology for effective marketing, to collaborate and ask insightful questions, to create excellent stories that connect brands with the world, and to improve ourselves and our clients through continual learning, exploration, and teaching.

If you would like to learn more about Inbound Marketing and the approach we use. Schedule a free consultation. We would love to explain the process that works for us and our clients.

Adobe XD – A Game Changer

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Adobe is always looking for ways to offer its customers new, effective, and innovative tools to help their workflow, and they hit the nail on the head with Adobe XD. In case you missed it, XD stands for Experience Design and was released about a year ago, on Apple devices as a beta program and has recently been released to Windows 10 users. The whole point of XD is to help designers and developers prototype websites for the production team and clients to see their website in action.

Currently, when a design firm, like ourselves, begins a new project it goes through six stages before launching; Research, Wireframing, Design, Prototyping, Proofing, and finally, Development. The current workflow from research to launch often involves bringing in a developer to code the prototype for review, which increases time and cost of the project.

Not any longer! This is the game changing part; with Adobe XD the new workflow is like this: Research, Wireframing, Design / Prototyping, Proofing, and then Development. That’s only five steps from start to finish! XD has changed the way the web development process works.  The designer is now the team member that prototypes the design.  As they design, the program builds a prototype and the assets for the development stage are being produced at the same time. The prototype can then be sent to other team members and the client where they can comment on the pages as they review them.

This program is currently still in beta, and Adobe has promised loads of features to be added, but we at Curiosity are already using this program because we want to make sure we are offering the most innovative design techniques and services to our clients.

If you have questions on our process and how we can use it to help you with your digital marketing campaigns, contact us today!

Does my website need an SSL Certificate?

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In 2017 the answer is yes.

In 2014 Google announced it would start giving a higher quality score for sites that showed a call for HTTPS in the address bar.  Over the past couple of years it has been more of a suggestion than a requirement but that has changed.  Let’s review what SSL and HTTPS are.

What is SSL?

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is the standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This link ensures that all data passed between the web server and browsers remain private. In other words this tells your site visitors you care about their information.

What is HTTPS?

Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is the secure version of the standard web call HTTP, the protocol over which data is sent between your browser and the website that you are connected to. The ‘S’ at the end of HTTPS stands for ‘Secure’. It means all communications between your browser and the website are encrypted. Essentially this is telling your site visitors that the SSL Protection is in place.

 

What is the cost?

In aspects of business and the amount of clout this gives your site in Google’s eye? Minimal. Depending on the level of encryption and the person applying the security to your site, the certificates range between $75 – $150 per year.  Overall not a big drop in the bucket considering what business expenses can be these days. Depending on the information that your site shares will decide what type of certificate and level of encryption your site needs.  When selecting the SSL certificate consult with your web host or agency on selecting the right one for your business.

 

Why is this so important?

Now that we understand what these terms mean, why is it important?  Although Google originally announced that they will give more credit to sites with SSL in 2014, in a recent article on their security Blog, Google made another announcement; They are moving to a more secure web.

As of January 2017 Google started tagging any sites not running an SSL Certificate and showing HTTP as a non-secure site.

In this article, Google states that they have conducted studies that most web users do not consider the absence of a security as a need to avoid sending content through a site. This is a problem Google is working to fix as they move towards a safer web.  Your standard contact form may not be an issue yet. But based on the article, we can see this being affected in the near future.  Being proactive may be the best solution moving forward.

 

What’s next?

If you are ready to move forward with switching to HTTPS, contact your Web Host provider or agency about getting this in place. At Curiosity we always strive to stay on the forefront of development and strategy. Since this change every new website project or new WordPress build will be requested that the site have an SSL certificate in place. Clients may go against our judgement, but we suggest you require it as well.

 

If there are any questions on how Curiosity can help, please reach out and we would love to continue conversations.