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https://kennbivins.com creative thinker and do-er Mon, 01 Sep 2014 16:39:51 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Designing For Smartwatches: Tips and Tricks https://kennbivins.com/designing-for-smartwatches/ https://kennbivins.com/designing-for-smartwatches/#respond Mon, 01 Sep 2014 16:39:51 +0000 https://byra.vamtam.com/?p=6748 Wearables present challenges unlike other design projects. Function is a primary concern, as is size with what will be one of the smallest screens designers have ever worked with. The key is creating a design that is visually pleasing but is user-friendly and provides a functional experience. Here are 10 things to consider as you...

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Wearables present challenges unlike other design projects. Function is a primary concern, as is size with what will be one of the smallest screens designers have ever worked with. The key is creating a design that is visually pleasing but is user-friendly and provides a functional experience. Here are 10 things to consider as you design for a wearable interface (with examples other designers are already imagining).

Think Minimal Design

One of the biggest trends in design in general is perfect for wearables – minimalism. The very same design practices you use for websites or even minimal-style print or packaging design are perfect for wearable and watch-type devices. (Here we are mostly talking about watches because of the visual design element they present.)

Everything from color to typography to imagery should be simple, straightforward and easy to read at small sizes. Use some of the concepts from flat design as well to add to the minimal style, such as bright color, high contrast and elimination of design embellishments.

Use Vibration

Wearables come with features that you may not have designed for in the past. Vibration is one of these. Simple buzz or movements can be an ideal way to design an interaction when it comes to something that a user will have against the skin.

But you need to think carefully about how these interactions work. Vibrations should be soft and happen in a way that is obvious but will not be uncomfortable or scare the user when they happen. Vibration-style interactions also need to happen infrequently. If a watch buzzes every minute, the user will quickly become frustrated and abandon the product.

Voice Controls are Essential

While we have talked about designing for tap and touch interaction for a while because of smartphones, now the conversation will shift to voice activated controls. Think about it this way, with a screen that small, who is going to want to tap it? Voice is easier.

When designing the interactions of your app or website that will appear on a watch-style device, such as the Apple Watch, voice should be a top consideration. Voice is an essential part of the Apple design, for example, with Siri as a native app that activates and waits for a command every time you raise your wrist. This feature provides a convenience factor that you must take into consideration.

Type Needs to be Simple

Repeat after me: Sans serif. When it comes to type on wearable devices, that is all you need to know. It may sound boring, but a simple sans serif with a uniform stroke width is one of the easiest and most readable options.

Avoid typefaces that are ultra light or condensed because the light coming through the watch face may not be enough to ensure readability. Conversely, be careful with super thick, black or bold styles. Stick to a typeface with a moderate stroke with and somewhat wide letterforms. (Helvetica is an ideal, albeit overused, option.)

Colors Need to Have High Contrast

Every color on a small screen needs meaning. Part of this meaning will come in the form of contrast and making elements easier to read.

Colors can be used to represent tappable elements that demand interaction or as a backdrop for a text command. The key is sharp contrast. Consider the environment in which these devices will be used – in sunlight, in dark rooms – and design so that every letter is easy to read in any condition.

Avoid pastels or colors with low saturation. Bright hues and highly saturated colors will work best. Pair these with white or black type for optimum readability.

Make It Easy

Every wearable device will be a little different. Consider the interface and physical components for each as you design. The Apple Watch comes with a “digital crown,” a wheel that can zoom or scroll through information on the screen.

The design should work with all the physical parts that a device includes. It should be easy to look at and more importantly easy to use. Function should be intuitive.

Visuals Should Mirror Design In Other Places

The visual plan for a watch screen should mirror the design interface of other devices. Yes, the screen will be limited and interactions will focus on a single action, but the overall aesthetic should have a similar look and feel.

It goes back to the popularity of minimalistic design. It’s a technique that works on both types of devices. The same is true with many principles of flat design. For this reason, these trends will continue to stick around and become key factors for designers creating for these tiny screens.

Make It Cool and Trendy

This may not sound like a big deal, but wearables are something that users connect to their identities. Not only does the actual device need to have a certain look and feel, but the interface needs to match that style.

The information on the screen has to be as nice as the device itself. With the Apple Watch, the interface is super-simple, has clean lines and very few bells and whistles. The interface for watch apps should use the same model, so that the information on the screen looks like it actually belongs there.

One Visual Thought Per Screen

Every pixel matters in a way that is hard to explain. There just is not enough room on a watch-sized screen to include every element from a desktop or mobile design. So think about what you don’t need.

These screens can range in size from 320 pixels square to 128 pixels square. This is too small to just shrink the design; you have to fully change it for a wearable device. Use this concept: One visual thought per screen.

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]]> https://kennbivins.com/designing-for-smartwatches/feed/ 0 Essential Pieces to Creating Optimized Website Pages https://kennbivins.com/essential-optimized-website-pages/ https://kennbivins.com/essential-optimized-website-pages/#respond Wed, 28 Aug 2013 21:23:54 +0000 https://byra.vamtam.com/?p=1525 Adams also came to understand how important it was that his carefully crafted photos were reproduced to best effect.

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Content optimization is one of the key elements of SEO, or search engine optimization. SEO is often very complex and difficult to understand. However, the steps and pieces to creating an optimized website page is one of the easier elements to understand, especially if you are only getting started with the basics of SEO.

First and foremost, let me explain to you how SEO works. If you go to Google search results, for example, and type “women’s tops,” the first thing that pops up are web pages that utilize Adwords over SEO. While Adwords has the ability to bring you to the top of search engine result pages overnight, SEO takes time to build. The differentiating factor, however, is that Adwords shows users that the website or link being advertised is, in fact, a paid “ad” with an “ad” symbol. SEO, on the other hand, produces organic search results, meaning that it boosts your rankings organically through link building, offering consumers a trust factor in deciding to choose your site over a paid, advertised one.

Now, in order to have a well-optimized page, you need to have good content. It’s not as simple as writing a blog post and publishing that earns rankings on search engines. There needs to be reasoning behind your content, like educating your audience on a topic, to drive more social engagement or generate leads.

So how can you make your website content optimized perfectly? Here are a few essential elements.

Select a Target Keyword

Every piece of content created should begin with a specific target keyword. This keyword will serve as the foundation for your content, the main topic being discussed, and should be seen in many places within your content. However, while you want to use this keyword a certain number of times within your content, you do not want to “overstuff” your content with the targeted keyword. Search engines will view this as “keyword stuffing,” which will negatively affect your campaign. Having a targeted keyword will also allow you to build additional keywords around it to support the content and influence other parts of your page.

Create a Search-Engine Friendly URL

What is an SEO friendly URL? When creating a blog post and saving it as a draft, you may notice that the URL created for the new post defaults to something like this - http://www.vamtam.com/?p=123. To effectively rank in search engines like Google, a URL that contains three to five words, including the focus keyword, can make a huge difference. Consider the default URL above with this one, which is search engine friendly — https://www.vamtam.com/essential-optimized-website-pages.

Include a Title Tag

A title tag is as it sounds. It’s the title of the page, but not on the webpage itself. In your browser, when you visit a website, you don’t see the URL in the open tabs of your browser, you see a title tag. The title tag uses the focus keyword first and builds out the rest of the title with additional elements of the content. For example, a business owner in Philadelphia may have a title tag with a focus keyword describing his business, but also include his location and top product or service to enhance the title tag.

Include a Meta Description

There was a time when meta descriptions were part of Google’s ranking algorithm. Even though this is no longer the case, a meta description on your content is still very important for your ranking. Think of a meta description like a social media post where you are describing what the page is about. You have a limited number of characters to promote your content with the targeted keyword and draw in consumers and improve your click-through rate.

Enhance with Images and Video

Building your content around a focus keyword is important, but there are other ways you can enhance your content that can help optimize your page. Content is easier to read when images and video are included. These elements increase dwell time, the amount of time a visitor spends on a page, and can increase engagement as well. To best utilize this, use high-quality, optimized images and embed videos from YouTube or another platform.

Internal Links

It’s always important to link to other related content within your own website. It helps both website visitors and search engines easily navigate through your content as a whole. If the topic you are writing about has its own page on your website, link back to that. Obviously linking to pages within your own website makes sense because it keeps visitors on your website.

Social Sharing

Social media sharing does not factor into search engine ranking at all, but it is a way to connect with your visitors and allow them to make more connections for you. If your content is good, visitors will want to share it. Include share buttons so that content can be easily shared.

Looking for help optimizing your site with keyword research or content marketing? Look no further than the experts at VamTam. We work with clients to build a successful SEO campaign with carefully selected keywords to help your eCommerce website succeed. Contact us today!

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]]> https://kennbivins.com/essential-optimized-website-pages/feed/ 0 Is Your Website Slow? Try These Tips https://kennbivins.com/is-your-website-slow/ Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:30:23 +0000 https://byra.vamtam.com/?p=12483 Nobody online today is slow. Nobody. Everyone wants the quickest experience possible, and if they don’t get it, they opt out. Imagine the last time that you were trying to download a page and it took more than five seconds. Did you freak out? Did you assume that your phone was broken? You probably exited...

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Nobody online today is slow. Nobody. Everyone wants the quickest experience possible, and if they don’t get it, they opt out. Imagine the last time that you were trying to download a page and it took more than five seconds. Did you freak out? Did you assume that your phone was broken? You probably exited out of the page. That’s what’s to be expected when your website is slow. For many, this is a single factor that leads to negative impact on sales. You’ll lose conversions and sink to the bottom of the internet in no time; so what’s to be done?

When it comes to changing the speed of your website, you need to be on top of several factors. There are plenty of ways to turn your site into The Flash, but we’re going to focus on a select few. In order to maintain a site that’s up to par with Roadrunner, you’re going to need to upgrade your hosting package, optimize your videos and images, and implement a page-caching plugin.

Upgrade

Sometimes, this isn’t an option. We’re sympathetic to the fact that some businesses don’t have the money to spend. However, any website that’s gaining a ton of traffic is going to have the money to do so. If you have that much traffic, we can assume you’re doing okay. If you’re doing okay, there’s virtually no reason to save money on your grid or shared hosting platform. You need to focus on a serious web hosting platform that utilizes the resources necessary to keep your site at top speeds. If you don’t, you’re actually losing the same money in sales that you could be spending on it.

Images/Videos

You need to consider both the size and amount of videos/images that are on your page. When that amount exceeds necessity, you sacrifice speed. To a certain degree, this can actually be the largest factor that attributes to your slow load time. That’s right, pictures can be the main culprit. How do you change this? Well, there are a few aspects that you need to assess.

For one, your images need to be sized accordingly. There’s no reason for you to upload a 4000 pixel x 5000 pixel image if it’s going to be downsized to 400 x 500 on your actual site. Change the file size by changing the actual size. JPG is a fantastic way to do this, as it compresses the image in order to use the least space. PNG is only relevant when transparency is involved. BMP and TIFF are utterly useless in this application. No matter what, when you’re done, compress the photo. The end game is to change the file size, and even if you change the actual size, you can further diminish it with compression. The same goes for videos. The one thing that we recommend for videos is to embed them with a third party platform, like Vimeo.

Last, but not least, limit the amount of media on your page. If you have 100 images, it’s going to impact your page no matter what. Don’t go overboard; be concise.

Caching Plugin

You don’t have the time or experience to lend to your page speed. That’s why there are plenty of plugins that do the work for you (at least the harder parts). With page caching, you can immensely improve your page’s load time. We won’t bother with the details; it’s easier to explain it this way: A cached web page is going to load faster than other web pages. Plugins that cache pages for you are easy to download, especially if you’re a WordPress user. We highly recommend this as a number one strategy.

Byra Can Help

Does any of this sound like a daunting task? We’ve barely gone in depth on any of these processes, and that’s because they’re only a few of the ways to increase your page speed, and there’s much more to each. Byra can easily do this for you, and we highly recommend you give us a call. We’ll make sure that your site is up and running at full capacity, and if not, we’ll get it there in no time. Contact us today, and let’s get started on a brand new speed-oriented website!

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]]> Could Your Business Use the Help of Cooperative Marketing? https://kennbivins.com/could-your-business-use-the-help-of-cooperative-marketing/ https://kennbivins.com/could-your-business-use-the-help-of-cooperative-marketing/#respond Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:22:46 +0000 https://byra.vamtam.com/?p=12448 Louis J. Erickson co-founded the company with me in 2000. We each own 50% of the company. I am the Chief Executive Officer and he is the Chief Operations Officer. Louis and I have been best friends for over 30 years.

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Benefits of Co-Op Marketing

When money is tight, it’s important to exhaust all possible options for your business. Even if your business thrives, there’s nothing to gain but excellence from implementing smart business practices. Cooperative marketing is a way for manufacturers and their retailers/distributors to form a bond of mutual gain. If your business works with a manufacturer, it’s important to consider this as an option. Depending on your sales, your hookup may be willing to literally “hook you up”. Let’s talk about why.

So, you’re probably wondering, “what mutual gain could I find with my manufacturer other than the already in place factor of them providing me with products and me selling them?” Well, it’s an extension of exactly that. With cooperative advertising, your manufacturer will chip in a portion of advertising costs, whether SEO, PPC, or print, and you’ll both benefit from the increase in sales. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your manufacturer will pay for all of your advertising, but, depending on your relationship, it very well could!

Are There Downsides?

Short answer: Yes. In some instances, you’ll be dealing with a manufacturer that has a restrictive program. Although it’s important to factor co-op marketing into your advertising budget, it’s also important to understand that this could limit the style of your advertisement. It’s also possible that your manufacturer won’t chip in as much as you’d like, but hey, free money is free money. Overall, the positives massively outweigh the negatives, which is why this is a prevalent tactic for most retailers in most industries.

What Are My Best Chances?

Cooperative marketing always goes to the retailers that are diligent and communicative. You need to stay on top of your advertising methods in order for this to happen; let’s discuss a few useful tips. For one, you should always be carefully documenting the amount purchased from your supplier. You want them to know that your relationship is truly symbiotic. That means, if you want to try out a new or risky ad, you need to first ask for approval from your manufacturer.

A huge issue, and we cannot stress this enough, is to not tough this out alone. Advertising is an industry in and of itself for a reason; you need professionals to help you. Without their help, you risk utilizing poor tactics and dealing with the fallout. Hot tip: Always keep your business’s name as the focal point of your advertisement. You’re not trying to sell your manufacturer’s products as much as you are your own brand. That way, people will come to your brand for your manufacturer’s products, and the win-win of cooperative marketing will be standing right before your eyes.

If your manufacturer doesn’t have any sort of co-op program, that’s no reason to back away. You can still pitch your campaign; many businesses will be receptive to the idea of further sales. In a way, they’ll still be paying for their own advertising through your business, so don’t hesitate to ask. Lastly, always follow up. Make sure that they know you’re serious about your business; they’ll be less inclined to dish out money to anyone who isn’t actively trying to acquire their help.

What Could I Use It For?

Well, the obvious use would be towards your advertising and any creative expenses. It’s important to consider this an actual factor in your entire marketing plan; you should be including the expenses that you’ll gain through cooperative marketing (when you know what they are) when making advertising decisions.

An obvious choice would be to dive into a hard-hitting SEO or PPC campaign, but that’s not the only option. If you’re considering putting up a billboard, why not find out if your manufacturer will pay for it? Looking to post an ad in a magazine? Contact your supplier. The beauty of co-op advertising is that it’s incredibly versatile, helpful, and will absolutely increase your sales for a smaller price.

Need Help?

Maybe you’re already aware of the benefits of cooperative marketing, but you don’t exactly know where you’d like to put your money. Byra is a digital agency that operates on success, and we’d like to bring that success directly to your business. A fantastic way to spend your suppliers offer is on an aggressive SEO campaign. Once you’ve climbed the ranks in organic search results, you and your manufacturer will see the rise in sales. Byra has the best SEO experts around, as well as content writers that can craft the beautifully written language to promote your brand.

We don’t just focus on SEO; you can utilize us for PPC or even email marketing. No matter what you’re looking to do, Byra works with all things eCommerce. Use our writers to draft a beautiful social media or email campaign, or utilize our PPC experts to drive your products all over the internet through AdWords. With Byra, the possibilities are endless, and with cooperative advertising, all your options just got a lot cheaper! If you’re interested in boosting your sales, contact Byra today.

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]]> https://kennbivins.com/could-your-business-use-the-help-of-cooperative-marketing/feed/ 0 Calling All Spa Professionals: We Want to Hear Your Stories https://kennbivins.com/calling-all-spa-professionals-we-want-to-hear-your-stories/ https://kennbivins.com/calling-all-spa-professionals-we-want-to-hear-your-stories/#respond Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:18:58 +0000 https://byra.vamtam.com/?p=12445 Offer what people want to buy, not just what you want to sell.

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]]> https://kennbivins.com/calling-all-spa-professionals-we-want-to-hear-your-stories/feed/ 0 4 Tips To Make Your eCommerce Site More Trustworthy https://kennbivins.com/4-tips-to-make-your-ecommerce-site-more-trustworthy/ Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:01:38 +0000 https://byra.vamtam.com/?p=12438 Many factors go into making a successful eCommerce site. One of those factors is making sure that your targeted customers view your site as trustworthy. If people do not trust your website, then they are less likely to buy your products. If you search online for how to make your eCommerce website more trustworthy, you’ll...

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Many factors go into making a successful eCommerce site. One of those factors is making sure that your targeted customers view your site as trustworthy. If people do not trust your website, then they are less likely to buy your products.

If you search online for how to make your eCommerce website more trustworthy, you’ll come across many different articles and websites with ongoing lists about all of the steps you need to take. In this article, however, I’m going to cut through all of those steps and give you four tips to make your site a more trustworthy eCommerce site.

Design

Think of your eCommerce site as the face of your business. It’s the first thing people see when they search for your business and your brand. If your website’s design is outdated and not up to par, it could mean losing potential customers. In addition to the look of your website, navigation and usability are key. With roughly 5 seconds to capture their attention, if a consumer lands on your website and has a hard time finding what they are searching for, they will bounce and head directly to a competitor’s site.

Mission

If you can’t initially grow your business by word of mouth, how are you going to get people to invest in what you are trying to sell? The answer: your mission statement, about us page, story, etc. No matter what you call it, having an informative and open ‘About Us’ page, ‘Story,’ or ‘Mission Statement’ will give consumers insight into who you are, what you are selling, and your reasoning behind it. Many people tend to skip over this part of building a website, dedicating more time to other aspects and leaving this section with the bare minimum. However, if you want to build a successful eCommerce website that people deem trustworthy, personalization and background is the way to go.

Reviews

Ratings, reviews, testimonials, you name it. The number one thing to convert consumers into customers, besides design, mission, and your actual products, is customer reviews. New companies and businesses that don’t have a huge customer base need to rely on actual customer testimonials and reviews in order to build their reputation. Incorporate these customer testimonials, ratings, and reviews on your product pages, ‘About Us’ page, email campaigns, and more. Potential buyers will be much more receptive to the positive experiences of your customers rather than the claims you make about your own business.

Policies and FAQs

Last, but most certainly not least, policies, badges, and FAQs. Before displaying your badges and implementing your policies and FAQs, the first step you should take to make your eCommerce site more trustworthy is utilizing an SSL certificate. After this, you should implement your policies and create a FAQs page. This will give people an idea of the kind of business you are running and should answer their questions about ordering, shipping, paying, returning, etc. It’s also a good idea to display any certificates and badges you may have that would assist in instilling trust in potential buyers.

In conclusion, the four most important steps you should take to make your SSL certified website more trustworthy to consumers are stellar design and a great user experience, an informative and personalized “About Us’ page and mission statement, highlighted customer reviews and testimonials, and an easy to find policies and FAQ’s page. Consumers won’t put their personal information on a website they can’t immediately see is secure and they won’t waste their time searching for products on a messy and outdated website.

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