Web Impakt

Security when browsing the web is a big concern for many website visitors. One way to instill a feeling of security to your website guest is to install a Digital Certificate. Digital Certificates use SSL to offer authentication. SSL is an acronym for Secure Socket Layer, it is a protocol used to manage secure message transmission via the Internet.

When data is sent over an SSL it allows the users web browser and the web server exchange data over a 128-bit encrypted connection. Anyone who purchases an SSL must prove their identity to the Certificate Authority. Therefore, when you view a website that has an SSL you can trust that they are who they say they are.

The Jensen-Jewelers website is an example of a site that has an SSL Certificate installed.   Note the padlock and HTTPS in the URL.

Anyone who has an E-Commerce site must have a Digital Certificate. Also any website that collects sensitive information like credit cards or social security numbers also needs to have a SSL Certificate installed.

You can purchase a digital certificate from webimpakthosting.com

More information about SSL can be found at the Microsoft website here.

This is a pretty bold statement considering I don’t know what your business does. If you are in business today, having a website is essential. Websites are the business cards of this era. It is often the first place people go when making decisions on whom they should do business with. Thousands of companies have websites and you can be certain that your competition already has one.

Other benefits of a website include:

*  Allows your business to complete in a global market

*  Allows you to provide more company and product information

*  Is less costly than any other type of media

*  Allows you to change your product and service info for less money than reprinting catalogs and brochures

*  Allows you to reach potential customers 24/7/365

According to this comscore press release, a massive 772 million people were online in May of 2007. Don’t let these users pass you by. Web Impakt can help you design a functional website that will get these customers contacting you!

*DEAFENING MUSIC*

*AMAZING DISPLAYS*

*MIND-BLOWING TECHNOLOGY*

You might think I am describing the last rock concert I went to, I’m not. I am describing the last Flash site I went to. I left the site shortly after getting there because I was annoyed at the loud music and having to wait for the menu to show up.

There are times when interviewing customers for a new site, they are sold on the idea that their site needs to be created in Flash. Macromedia Flash (now Adobe) is animation software that web developers use to develop interactive and lively interfaces for web sites. Flash sites are very showy and web customers love them. Visitors and potential customers to their sites usually don’t.

Flash sites pay a high price for their dynamic nature. They usually come with longer loading times, higher costs and less accessibility. Back in the day of dial-up-modems, we were used to waiting for a page to load. Today, with our speedy DSL connection speeds’, waiting for a page to load is out of the question. Most users will hop back out to Google and find a play they can get their information quicker. Another disadvantage of a flash solution is cost. Web Impakt charges 3 – 4 times as much for a full flash site then we do for a html based site. Finally, a huge drawback of flash is that it isn’t tremendously accessible to users or search engines. In order for a user to see your super expensive flash site, they have to download a flash player. Search engines will by pass your site unless you have made huge concessions to help them index your site.

The answer to having a cool website with all the Flash benefits is simple. Web Impakt, has found that a hybrid site is the answer. A nice mix of html and flash gives our customers the cool look they want while allowing users and search engines to quickly find what they are looking for. 

Le Ritz Hotel, in Idaho Falls, is an example of a Web Impakt hybrid site.

Remember, next time you are thinking you want to have your site done 100% in Flash, refer to this flow chart by theGoogleCache.com.

SEO is a daunting task for even the most experienced web designers. Many businesses pay huge fees every month to ensure they stay in the top rankings for specified key words. For those of us who don’t have the money to spend on reaching the top of the search engines, this article is for you.

Below is a list of specific items that we at Web Impakt build into each site we create for clients:

Title Tags – The title of each page should be a short description of the page content. This is one of the most important and basic fundamentals of SEO.  The title tag is displayed at the top left corner of the browser.

Meta Tags – These are hidden tags that the SEO spiders use to help index your site.

Heading Tags – Your web designer will use these in all of your pages. Important keywords like your business name should be enclosed in <H1> tags with secondary words followed up with <H2> tags.

Search Engine Submission – Each time Web Impakt completes a site we submit it to the top engines.

If you don’t go through Web Impakt for your web site creation, make sure your web development company has completed the above tasks.  These are very rudimentary tasks that every web design firm implement.

The SEO work is not complete after the web site is created and posted.  The following is a list of SEO tasks that non-technical people can accomplish to boost search engine rankings:

Inbound Links – SEO spiders measure the popularity of your site by calculating the number of incoming links to your site. Be aware that there are good and bad backlinks. Keep all of your inbound links coming from reputable sites.

Quality Content – Quality content will skyrocket you to the top of the search engines. Web Impakt provides content writing packages but most of the time our customers opt to provide content. After all, the customer knows about their product and what they want to say. As noted in our business blog posting, a blog can assist with the content portion of SEO.   When writting content, make sure to include your keywords.  Go here or here for keyword suggestions.

Search Engine Optimization is a delicate operation. You can’t use any of the above methods to much or they will lose their effectiveness. Good luck and may high search engine rankings be with you.