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Friday, May 28, 2010
MJS Web Solutions Launches Alameda R.A.C.E. Website
MJS Web Solutions is happy to announce the official redesign of the Alameda R.A.C.E. website.
The new website includes rotating images of past races and an enhanced layout that simply aligns and structures the content into a more readable format. (view the old design)
 The Alameda Mayor's July 4th Parade R.A.C.E. The Ralph Appezzato Charity Event (R.A.C.E.) helps support the Midway Shelter for Homeless Battered Women and Their Children.
Come out and show your support on July 4th. Run or walk.
Have a wonderful Memorial holiday weekend.
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 2:53 pm
Comments: None | Filed under: News
Monday, May 24, 2010
How Intelligent is Your Website Target Audience?
 Not as smart as you may think.
When writing content for the web, it’s always a good idea to create a few customer personas.
While writing personas one of the criteria is determining your audience’s age, demographics and education level.
You may think you need to write smart. Guess again.
“federal government sites must take extra steps to be easy to use. The sites need to use sixth- or seventh-grade-level language” says Bill Gribbons of Bentley University.
Gribbons also says, “Studies show health care sites for the public, for example, are written at 12th-grade level and above”
Read more at Federal Gov’t Web Sites, Good And Bad
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 5:27 pm
Comments: None | Filed under: Writing For The Web
Monday, May 17, 2010
Google Analytics Not Working With Magento
 We were having a heck of a time trying to figure out why Google Analytics wasn’t capturing any data with a new Magento eCommerce (V 4.1) website we just built.
We added the Google Analytics account ID within the admin area, but no results.
We then noticed the error:Â _gaq is not defined being displayed from the browser.
Searching through the Magento community, Google search and blogs we were given various fixes and advice that suggested replacing the original code or updating the Magento core files. We did not want to change the existing code or core files because we wanted our client to be able to use the eCommerce portion of Google Analytics with Magento and we’re suspect about some of the fixes.
So we took matters into our own hands.
Since the error was not being defined, we defined it.
- Open /app/design/frontend/default/yourtemplate/page/html/head.phtml
- Add the code
var _gaq = _gaq || []; on line #38 to the head tag of the head.phtml file after var BLANK_IMG = '<?php echo $this->helper('core/js')->getJsUrl('spacer.gif') ?>';
- Refresh your Magento Cache
- In a few hours Google Analytics should start registering your data.
I hope this helps others who may be experiencing the same issue.
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 4:55 pm
Comments: None | Filed under: HTML, SEO, Web Design
Thursday, May 13, 2010
MJS Web Solutions Offers Email Newsletter Campaign Services
 MJS Web Solutions not only offers custom website design, but also transforming your website design into a custom email newsletter campaign that gets results.
MJS Web Solutions will deliver a complete email newsletter campaign that is consistent with your branding and image. This includes strategic planning, design, HTML conversion and testing thoroughly on multiple email clients and platforms.
Email Newsletter Campaigns and Landing Pages
Email newsletters are not just for weekly or monthly updates. Email newsletters can be used for marketing campaigns, like announcing a new product or service.
MJS Web Solutions also develops the landing pages that complement your email newsletter campaign. For example, if you were announcing your new product in an email, you could add a link to a sign up form on your website (i.e. landing page) that would capture the recipient’s data (i.e. email address, name, etc.) and automatically send them a coupon for free shipping.
Contact us to learn more.
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 12:30 pm
Comments: None | Filed under: News
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Design Your New Website in 3 Simple Steps
 So you need to get your website up and running fast or you just want to know how it’s done?
A website can usually be broken down into 3 simple steps.
- Get a Domain Name
- Setup Web Hosting
- Design Your Site
1. Get a Domain Name
Whether you use your business as the domain name or choose a vanity domain name (i.e. ilovesushi.com), you will need to have it registered. A fun and useful tool for researching a variety of domain name ideas is BustaName.com. After you decide on a domain name, register it at GoDaddy.
2. Setup Web Hosting
Hosting is fairly straightforward. Two important considerations are web server uptime and customer service. It’s hard to find out if the company you’re choosing will keep your site up, but contacting customer service shouldn’t be a problem. Two companies I trust and work with exclusively are Westhost & Alentus.
3. Design Your Site
Whether you choose to design it yourself, go with a pre-designed website or hire a professional, you will need to have something available online (A one page website can be sufficient). There are many do-it-yourself choices: GoDaddy Website Tonight, Homestead, etc. You can also purchase a pre-designed website and have a web company or web designer set it up for you. Or you can hire a professional web design company and get the exact website for your business. Hiring a professional should offer you a completely customized website design, giving you a design that showcases your business and is well represented by your customers.
In our experience, a website will usually consists of these 3 steps.
If you have any questions or you would like assistance on setting up your own website, please contact MJS Web Solutions. We’re here to help.
Posted by: Michael Swartz at 5:32 pm
Comments: None | Filed under: Business, Web Design
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