Insights
7 Ways To Make Your UX Stand Out in 2017
It’s easy to be satisfied with a site that “gets the job done.” For a business whose site maybe isn’t their biggest driver of sales, or who doesn’t count on a digital storefront as the natural first point of contact, the thought of putting time and money into a website redesign may seem unnecessary. That’s a perfectly fine assessment - unless, of course, you actually want your business website to continue to grow, succeed, and reach new customers. If so, then improving your user experience isn’t just a great idea - it’s imperative, and failing to do so can leave your site struggling to keep up with the competition.
Using Content Silos To Organize Your Site and Improve Your Rankings
It seems like anytime we discuss content creation, there’s one overarching idea that goes almost unquestioned: everything should go on the blog. But in the face of an evolving Google and changing SEO practices, the classic “everything-on-the-blog” approach may not stand the test of time - and that’s where content silos come in.
The Science of a Well-Placed Call-to-Action
A well-executed call-to-action - part of any solid inbound marketing strategy - offers a unique value to your website: although built to be unobtrusive, a good CTA slyly grabs your attention precisely when you start looking for it. Unfortunately, this vital tool has also been debated, re-created, and overused ad nauseam, and failure to keep up with best practices for CTAs may actually end up doing your business more harm than good.
Google is Requiring HTTPS For All Secure Sites on Chrome
If your site collects data like names, emails, phone numbers, or credit card information, you’ve probably already put a good deal of thought into security. But if you haven’t taken the steps to protect your visitors and your site with an SSL certificate and migrated your site to HTTPS, that data may not be as safe as it could be - and Google is taking action.
What You Should Expect From Drupal 8 - One Year In
For just over a year now, we and the rest of the tech world have been intrigued, if not a little mystified, over the capabilities built into Drupal 8. That’s thanks, mainly, to its impressive collection of over 200 new features - the result of Drupal’s starting development from the ground up for this newest version. With a wide array of custom development options combined with a mobile-first mindset, Drupal 8 offers tools some developers can hardly contain their excitement about. Others, however, may still be left feeling like it’s not yet fleshed out enough for full implementation.
Google Is Automatically Launching Call Extensions in All Mobile AdWord Ads
Google’s long-heralded “mobilegeddon” has finally arrived, and Google is ready for businesses to get on board the mobile-first mindset - even if they have to force a few hands in the process. We’ve already talked at length about the huge and growing influence of mobile search on Google’s search rankings, as well as Google’s steps to make connecting with businesses through text messaging that much simpler.
A Custom Product Configurator On A Mobile-Friendly Site: Our Drupal Developers Show Their Skills
Our developers are amazing - especially when we really flex our muscle. For example: we recently built a new, custom Drupal site and storefront for Granite State Grave Markers, who have provided custom-engraved grave markers to customers across the country for decades by offering shoppers the chance to design their own unique stone using a simple online interface. But needing an upgrade to both their marketing site and their online ordering platform, they called on Altos to take on a custom design.
2016 At Altos: Looking Back On A Great Year
For all its surprises, positives, and negatives, 2016 is a year we definitely won’t be forgetting any time soon.