Author: Raffye Memon

Web Development Trend 2018: Static Site Generator

Static Site Generators provide an easy way for people looking to create a website to get one online without much of the content management system-based site complications. These site creation tools are a growing web development trend in 2018 because CMS-based sites are overkill for the needs of many website owners.

Static Site Generators

A static site generator is a service that creates web pages through a series of customizable templates and user data entry. Static sites generate pages when the owner makes changes to them and hosts the page as a pre-made set of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files1. This contrasts CMS-based sites, which look for updates and build pages when a visitor accesses them. Static site generators essentially abandon updating websites through a back-end system and no longer requires server processing to generate pages. Instead, generators create and update pages through an editor and save the updated versions to the hosting platform. 

Why Static Site Generators are catching on

Static site generators are catching on because they offer a simple execution for sites that don’t take advantage of CMS capabilities. It’s common for businesses and individuals to create a website to have an online presence, but rarely make changes or updates to those sites. CMS-based sites are excellent for constantly updating websites that continue to implement new features; however, a site doesn’t benefit from the CMS if it’s not using those capabilities. CMS platforms offer powerful capabilities but do so by being far more complicated to use than static sites.

In terms of real-world benefits, static site generators can get better load times because the server doesn’t have to generate a page on request, it’s already done2. Generators also offer better site security because there’s no server code running behind the scenes for hackers to exploit1. Static sites are easier and often cheaper to host then CMS sites because static sites don’t require as complex of hosting capabilities1.

Static Site Generators and the Future of Website Development

Static site generators aren’t going to replace CMS sites, but small business and personal websites will likely transition to static sites. Static sites can’t replace a CMS for all websites, especially ones that require substantial user interaction including e-shops like Amazon.com 2. However, static site generators are positioned to create a web where CMS-based and static sites co-exist. 

Looking for a web development company that can assist in developing a static website? Contact The frank Agency today for unparalleled web design and development.

 

Cited Sources

  1.  FreeCodeCamp https://medium.freecodecamp.org/static-sites-are-back-24d01a01f11a
  2. DavidWalsh.name https://davidwalsh.name/introduction-static-site-generators

Facebook Makes Updates to News Feed

There are a variety of ways in which we can receive our news about what’s going on in our local communities or collectively as a nation. Gone are the days where television serves as the only source for this news. It is becoming more common for many of us to reference our social media channels for quick updates on recent news stories. Among these social platforms, Facebook is viewed by users as a go-to source for news.

It would be remiss to say that all news publishers we’ve seen on Facebook are one-hundred percent trustworthy. Facebook is aware of this situation and they are actively making efforts to help improve the user experience. In January of this year, Facebook announced that they will be looking to prioritize news content deemed trustworthy from a group of Facebook users. According to Facebook this group of users that they surveyed were “a diverse and representative sample.”

So how does this newly implemented survey impact what news Facebook users will see? The idea is that “publications deemed trustworthy by people using Facebook may see an increase in their distribution” and “publications that do not score highly as trusted by the community may see a decrease.”

In the coming year, Facebook has made it clear that they are looking to put focus on prioritizing news from publications that are trustworthy, news that people find informative, and news that is relevant to people’s local community.

To learn more about new social media updates or how to incorporate social media into your business contact us at The frank Agency.

Reinventing The Sales Team

If there’s one principle that carries across industries, it’s that positive impressions are everything. Companies who rely on a sales force to conduct business often face difficulty penetrating the market. The challenge is how to be seen as more than “just another sales rep.”

The frank Agency pioneered a sales force reshaping strategy with a client that delivered overwhelmingly positive results.

The Challenge

Our client needed help getting their foot in the customer’s door. They lacked the capacity to compete with larger competitors, and they were frequently beaten to deals. They were not penetrating the market because decision makers had pre-existing relationships with other reps and were reluctant to add another sales meeting to their schedule. They needed a new strategy to get their reps “in the game” and position their brand as a significant player. They partnered with The frank Agency for help in shifting perspectives and taking action.

The Strategy

While the client’s salesforce was small, their team was highly knowledgeable. We started with a complete rebranding of this team, capitalizing on their knowledge to reinvent them as “solutions consultants.” More than a name change, this was a total mindset shift. Now, the salesforce would provide resources, offer targeted insights, and help the customer – not just sell products.

Once the rebranding was complete, we knew it was time to change the public perception from without.

This objective was accomplished through a special program designed to show potential customers how the reps could advance their business interests. A recent LinkedIn study showed that 90 percent of B2B buyers are more likely to engage with companies who are perceived as thought leaders. To cultivate thought leadership, we encouraged solutions consultants to offer technology evaluations to current and potential customers, which would allow them to present useable advice and insights.

Offering something valuable and useful for free established credibility. This elevated the conversation to a real partnership, instead of a sales rep-customer relationship.

To build awareness, the new program was accompanied by marketing campaigns that used strong visuals and impactful messages to demonstrate effective thought leadership.

sales-team-3

The Results

After implementing these strategies, our client saw a 300 percent year-over-year sales increase, with $1.1 million in sales generated directly from the campaign. What’s more, customers perceived the salesforce as true partners and experts in the industry.

The next year, we tweaked the program with an all-new creative theme. This led to $3.5 million in new revenue and a 520 percent return on investment.

The frank Agency sales results

Takeaways

The most successful results are nothing if they are not replicable and translatable across industries. In developing this strategy for our client, we discovered actionable insights that apply across salesforce-driven industries.

Impressions matter more than size. Thus, rather than focus on building capacity, organizations should create a strong impression.

When reps show customers that your company offers value and expertise beyond products, you can change your impression and boost conversions. Clients will perceive your reps as partners who provide resources other sales teams simply cannot.

To gain valuable customers, you must first provide value. The sales relationship is all give and take – but perhaps some breakdown in this relationship has occurred due to a long line of reps that take up the customers’ time without actually offering any perceived value in return.

As we saw in this study, by first offering your own time and resources solely to benefit the customer, you can gain lifelong allies that will return to you again and again. The value you provide can bring value to your own business – and not only that, it can become a way to elevate your brand to the status of an industry leader.

For more insight into rebranding your sales team, contact the marketing strategy experts at The frank Agency. We’ve been digging into data, formulating strategies, and delivering measurable results to our clients that sell through sales reps for years, and we can do the same for you.

Nick Barkman, VP Business Development
nick.barkman@thefrankagency.com
913.901.2124

5 Ways to Enhance your Mobile Site’s User Experience

Enhancing your website’s mobile user experience is an excellent way to leverage your content over your competition. An excellent user experience is one of the most important things for bringing visitors back to your site. Mobile web needs to be a priority for web designers because it now brings in more traffic than traditional desktop traffic. According to StatCounter mobile traffic accounts for 54% of total internet traffic. The following five tips can help your site enhance its mobile experience:

Tips for Enhancing Mobile User Experience

  1. Get Rid of Your Mobile Site and Develop a Responsive Site: Responsive web design is a technique that enables website content to adapt to the size of a visitor’s screen instead of the type of device they’re using. This means every device will use the same site and web staff only needs to worry about maintaining one site.
  2. Adopt a “Mobile-First” Philosophy: “Mobile-first” means building your mobile site as the primary experience and scaling the content up to be displayed on other devices. Approaching website design with the smallest screen first insures that all content will be accessible on all devices; therefore the “mobile site” is a full-fledged experience instead of a pared-down compromise.
  3. Eliminate Non-Mobile Features: If a website feature doesn’t work on mobile devices it should be replaced. Neither iOS or Android support Flash content, so it should be replaced with HTML5 features. Additionally, the user-interface should be adapted to accommodate both touchscreen and mouse interaction. For example, replace “mouse-over” based features with tap/click interaction. You can still use mouse-over for visual effects on a desktop, but it should never be an essential feature.
  4. Improve Load Speed with Optimized Images: Inefficiently formatted images can cause a page’s data footprint to triple which means longer load times. The more visitors wait for pages to load the more likely they will leave. Therefore, you can make a huge impact on improving load times by making sure images take up as little space without sacrificing much in the way of quality. It’s best to use the JPG format whenever possible and format images for the maximum possible displayed resolution based on the design.
  5. Give Video Space: Video content can be a great traffic driver as long as visitors intend to view it. Your site can get faster load times by keeping video off of navigational pages like the homepage. Instead, place the video on dedicated “content” pages.

Does your business need mobile web development services? Contact The frank Agency today for unparalleled website development 913-648-8333.

Choosing the Right Content Management System

Choosing the right Content Management System, or CMS, for your business is a very important process because your website success depends on it. Your business could have the best products in the world, but if the CMS makes it impossible to provide a good delivery experience for your customers your platform will not do well. A lot goes into the decision-making process and there’s not really a “perfect” option, but the goal is to find a platform that addresses as many of your needs as possible. Your staff should consider the following when making a decision:

  • All Stakeholders should have a say: Everyone who uses the CMS including IT, marketing, sales, your web development agency and content creators should have a voice in the decision. Stakeholders should come up with a list of “needs” and “wants” to bring to the table.
  • Decide if Software as a Service, cloud-hosted, or on-premise hosting is best: Make the call on how your business is going to host the site early because this requirement substantially trims the vendor list.
  • Compatibility: The CMS needs to support all of your necessary third-party tools or be compatible with a replacement.
  • Ease-of-Use: The CMS should be practical, and easy to use. Developers need to be able to write code for it, staff needs to be comfortable managing content, and it needs to display content well for site visitors.
  • Capabilities: The CMS should provide the tools your business needs, which includes allowing developers and IT staff access to the elements they need. Some CMS systems provide a lot of functionality out of the box while others do not. Some systems allow for minimal customization whereas others allow for incredible customization. These needs can vary depending on your business.
  • User-Interface: Stakeholder personal opinions on the CMS user-interface matters. If your staff doesn’t love the interface, they should at least not hate it.
  • Single or multi-site friendly: If your business runs one site its needs are different than if it runs many sites. CMS features can cater to single-site implementations or broad implementations over several sites. Wide-implementation friendly systems may take more work to configure but can make it easy to implement changes over dozens of sites at once. However, these multi-site systems can make running a singular site more work.
  • Vendor support quality: Your business should be confident the vendor can help you when you have a problem.
  • Price: Determine if the CMS is worth your money and is in your budget. Don’t overbuy if your needs are practical.

Once your staff has looked at the options, compile a list of the front-runners and have a focus group of stakeholders discuss which option makes the most sense. It’s important to discuss with all affected parties before holding a vote or making a final selection.

Does your business need help with integrating a content management system? Contact The frank Agency today for premium web development services.