Website Design
HTML, which stands for Hypertext Mark-up Language, is the dominant mark-up language for web pages. HTML elements are the building blocks of most webpages. Your web browser reads these HTML documents and uses the information to compose web pages. It tells web browsers, for example Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome how to display texts as well as the formatting that controls the look and layout of a website. HTML4 was deemed the official language for web page development in 2000, and nearly a decade later HTML has introduced the newest generation of HTML – HTML5. HTML5 will allow website design programmers to build websites that will act more like downloaded applications.
What Does HTML5 Do That HTML4 Doesn’t?
HTML5 will reduce plug-ins, such as Adobe Flash. Devices that do not support Flash (Safari or the iPhone) will benefit greatly from HTML5, as it will allow more applications to run on more devices. HTML5 also supports offline data storage where users can access websites without being connected to the Internet, and features drag and drop functionality, built-in video, document editing, and geolocation functions. The best part? Users won’t have to install another plugin to listen to a song in a blog or watch a video on YouTube!
How Does HTML5 Change How Websites are Built?
HTML5 requires web designers and developers to build sites in a new way, and has the potential to simplify tools that programmers require. Furthermore, HTML5 will reduce our reliance on media plug-ins (Flash and Silverlight). Website designers and developers have already begun working with HTML5, and it may be implemented across browsers as soon as the end of 2011. Google is using HTML5 for its mobile version of Gmail, which has allowed them to develop an application that works on the Android and iPhone.
Benefits of HTML5
HTML5’s greatest features include media playback and offline storage. When using HTML4, sites normally have to reach Flash or Silverlight in order to show a video or play music, whereas HTML5 will allow users to directly watch or listen to the video on the site through simple HTML tags, for example
When Can I Start Using HTML5?
Safari, Google Chrome, and Firefox 3.6 all support elements of HTML5 already, and many Google products use features from the newest HTML as well. For Safari or Chrome users, you can check out the experimental version of YouTube that uses HTML5’s video features. Sites that are listed as iPad ready use a number of HTML5’s video features, for example The New York Times, CNN and CBS. Interested users may also check out the experiments from Mozilla that show what HTML5 can do, and design roundups show how it is helpful for web designers and typographers.
Are you excited for the future of HTML?
The term “call to action” means, well, just what it sounds like – it’s instructing someone to do what you want them to do, or calling them to action. For example, a successful call to action can motivate a customer to click on a link at the end of a blog post, reply to an e-mail, or “like” your post on Facebook. After your readers have finished reading your content, a call to action provides web visitors with the next step, leading them one step closer to converting from a visitor to a customer. Whether it’s completing a sale or downloading an article, a strong call to action is an important part of any marketing strategy.
Why is a Call to Action Important?
A call to action forces participation from a reader, either in the form of leaving a comment, sending a re-tweet, and so on. Some readers may only comment if they are told to comment, so a strong call to action encourages readers that it’s ok to share their thoughts. A call to action motivates people to respond to a post that they know the solution to or have a strong opinion about. When people see that others have understood the call to action and are expressing their opinions, they are more likely to do, as they know the site is trusted and fun to participate in.
How to Write a Call to Action
When writing your own call to action, it is important to keep things quick and simple with the addition of a question or comment. This way, people are not discouraged or confused by how to respond. The call to action should not take up a great deal of time or require instruction, as users should be able to easily respond without any confusion. Make your call to action obvious; let your users know exactly what you are asking of them
Call to Action Techniques
When creating your own call to action, remember to keep it simple. It is important to make it obvious what you are asking the reader to do and make it clear where the call to action is. Your call to action should also be obtainable, as the simpler it is the more likely that people will participate. Your call to action should stand out, and encourage readers to interact with your article or website. It is also helpful to put the call to action in bold or even use a different font or a quote box so that it will stand out and look different from the rest of the text. A call to action is also effective when it is urgent, and demands the readers to do what you want, when you want them to do it. Using phrases like “buy now”, or “click here”, encourages readers to respond immediately.
A call to action is a fantastic tool to generate traffic on your website and to gain opinions and comments from your readers. How have you mastered the art of eliciting a response? Share your techniques below!
If you have never played Farmville before, congratulations – you’re smarter than 90% of Facebook users you may not understand what the hype is all about. However, if you are a committed Farmville player, you’re all to familiar with the addictive nature of the game, and likely find yourself constantly feeding chickens and building barns. Whether it is the altruistic impulse of helping your friends, or the fact that you just can’t bare to see your crops (your fake, digitize crops) dying, there’s just something about Farmville that keeps you coming back for more. And while Farmville is, for all intensive purposes, a complete waste of time, the game does have a few kernels of marketing genius mixed in. When creating the strategy for you own website, remember your cute pixelated chickens and use the following Farmville marketing methods.
1. Time Sensitivity
Most people have become addicted to Farmville due to the fact that it is time sensitive – if you stop playing your crops may die and you’ll lose the game. By mimicking this characteristic in your marketing strategy, businesses can utilize time incentives in order to keep people coming back to their site. By offering time incentives, you can encourage people to keep coming back and checking in so that they do not miss out.
2. Collection Method
On Farmville, users love being able to collect things, such as gold, ribbons, farm animals, neighbours, and so on. You can use this tactic in creating your marketing strategy for your website by offering your visitors the ability to collect points every time they visit your website, which can build up to offer an incentive or discount at your business.
3. User Progressions
Users are able to become more experienced in the game of Farmville as they move up levels. The more time they spend immersed in the game, the more levels they are able to complete, and thus the more access they have to different elements of the game. Businesses may use this tactic to allow website visitors to earn a reward for the time spent visiting the website. Consider building your site that it monitors the amount of time that a user spends on browsing, or how often a visitor returns over a certain period of time, then offer a reward or incentives to loyal shoppers.
4. Make it Personable!
Users have become so addicted to Farmville due to the fact that the game allows users to personalize their experience. Farmville allows users to design their farm their own way, as well as the ability to see how different users have designed their spaces differently according to their personal interests. Businesses may mimic this characteristic by allowing each user to design their own account and place their favourite items on their personal page, or offering products that they may be interested in based on their previous purchases. By customizing your website to be directed at each user’s personal interests, they are more likely to become a loyal member and visit the website more frequently.
5. Social Aspect
Farmville users become successful by being social with other users. Farmville rewards you for adding your neighbours (Facebook friends) or helping neighbours out. As well, users are given free gifts that they can share with fellow farmers. Businesses may use this tactic for their website by rewarding users when they refer the website to a friend or family member. You’d be surprised how many people will opt to forward a message to their friends when there’s the possibility of winning a prize or the promise of a discount involved.
Farmville has become a favourite game among Facebook users, and the tactics that Farmville uses in order to captivate game participants has proven to be extremely effective. And while I don’t condone spending hours planting pretend fields, I can certainly see the method behind Farmville madness.
What are some of the other way’s that businesses can market using the Farmville model? Please share your thoughts below!
