Why Ruby on Rails is an Ideal Web Development Enviroment…
Ruby on rails is largely gaining ground in the web development world, due to its flexible and dynamic nature allowing for instant web development. In absolute synergy with the times, the ROR developers have been consistently gaining extra edge over other developers. Rails gives optimal utilization of highly effective web development strategy. The embrace of this winning feature leads to a Win-Win situation for both the clients and the company.
Benefits of Using Ruby on Rails for Web Development
- Seamless integration: With Ruby on Rails there is nice integration between Active Record (the Rails persistence engine) and the model-view-controller (MVC) framework. For example, you can write three lines of code, create a table, and then immediately generate a user interface for that model.
- Convention over configuration: Unlike Java frameworks that maintain massive, pervasive configuration files. “Rails” simplifies this method by assuming a common project directory structure and simple, common naming conventions for methods, classes, tables, and columns. As a result, Rails applications need a fraction of the configuration code of Java counterparts.
- Low repetition: Don’t Repeat Yourself, or DRY, is a common buzzword within the Rails community. DRY means that information is located in a single unambiguous place. Rails framework developers seek to abstract out repetitive tasks with methods that often look like extensions of the Ruby language.
- Immediate feedback: By using Rails, you can get immediate feedback in the earliest stages of the development process. You write a line of code and save, and your change is active when you load your next web page. Migrations can instantly show you the changes. This immediate feedback of this test-driven development shortens the testing stage of development and increases the speed to quick an application can be deployed.
Ximda was one of the first adopters of Ruby on Rails (RoR) in the Dallas Area. Our TagMyCity.com and ThingsICanDo.com projects are live models of our deep experience and knowledge in RoR web development. By creating a unique web based software solution tailored to fit your requirements, our web developers can make the most of your web presence.
Web 2.0: Becoming a Mainstream Business Practice
A few weeks ago I posted about Web 2.0 and Social Media that explained that social media is changing the way company’s can interact with potential customers and employees. The post also examined useful social media tools. Now that we know that Web 2.0 and social media are NOT web trends that will quickly be a thing of the past, but are a force that will continue to change the way companies do business. Web 2.0 is finally emerging as a mainstream player in the corporate business world. Companies are finally using Web 2.0 applications and social networks to spread news, connect, create buzz, interact and socialize with others.
While this lack of control startles upper management, businesses are already becoming aware of these new trends as the next Generation, Gen Y or the “Millennials,” as they are sometimes called, enters the workforce. Many forward-thinking managers have already integrated 2.0 tools both to solve present business problems and also to prepare their workplaces to meet the expectations and, more importantly, best utilize the skills of next-generation employees.
As companies continue and sometimes struggle to adapt to this new trend in order to deal with both their employees and customers, the business of social media consulting has gotten a boost as consultants teach the old school executives how to navigate in the new tech savvy world. And adapt they must because the number of companies who are already integrating Web 2.0 technologies into their businesses processes and I.T. infrastructure is on the rise. A study by Forrester on this topic points to hard numbers that back this up.
In fact, the adoption rate of Web 2.0 technologies by I.T. is actually stronger in enterprises than it is in SMBs, with 42% of enterprise businesses now utilizing Web 2.0 technologies like AJAX, Flash, Flex, etc. to 32% of SMBs. Additionally, there is growth in the areas of Web 2.0 app investing, with a number of companies investing, piloting, or considering investment in Web 2.0 technologies like RSS, podcasting, wikis, and blogs.
Ultimately, companies ignoring this change will be left behind, unable to compete on the new business stage. The numbers don’t lie: your customers have adapted and your competition has adapted - pay no heed to the new changes and prepare to you’re your market share. Does your company need a Web 2.0 crash course or just a Web 2.0 update?? If your business wants to keep up and even win over the the competition, contact us today for a free consultation to see how Ximda can increase your market share and gain a competitive advantage.
Mobile: Mobile Media Optimization
In recent years you may have heard of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). In recent months you may have head of Social Media Optimization (SMO). As wireless and mobile media grow in use and popularity you will start to hear more about Mobile Media Optimization (MMO).
The purpose of Mobile Media Optimization (MMO) is to modify digital content so it is more visible & higher ranking in mobile media and mobile media search results as well as easier to tag, share, link to and republish.
Here are some key Rules of Mobile Media Optimization (MMO):
- Put your best content first - Include your most important concepts phrases and keywords within the first 20 words (including title)
- Optimize for short keyword phrases - Since it takes longer to type on a mobile device, mobile users often search for shorter phrases — so optimize your mobile site for 1 to 2 word keyphrases
- Make mobile content bite sized - A good rule of thumb for editing text from print for use on the web is to cut it in half. Similarly, when moving/editing content from web to mobile media, try cutting it down in length or duration by at least 50%
- Make mobile content tagging and bookmarking easy - Encourage and enable your mobile content users to tag and bookmark your content with the most popular social mobile media sites and tools. Add mobile bookmarking and tagging links and widgets to every page of your mobile site
- Make mobile content sharing easy - Ensure you have send to a friend and forwarding options enabled for all of your mobile content
- Make mobile content repurposing easy - Encourage your users to use your mobile content (mocontent) for their own mobile websites (mosite) or mobile blogs (moblog) mobile applications (moapp) and in any combination of the above (mobile mashups: momash)
Ximda's mobile media consulting services can help your business reach the mobile audience and optimize the mobile media experience, contact us today for a free consultation.
E-Commerce: Choosing the Right Shopping Cart Application
You’ve decided to move you company ahead and establish an eCommerce website. One of the most important decisions involving eCommerce websites and one that has a long-term impact on your success is selecting a shopping cart platform. Choosing the best platform for your business is crucial, switching from one to another can be costly and very time-consuming.
With an abundance of shopping cart software out there, the right decision may be a bit frustrating to make. There are key essential features to compare and look for when making your shopping cart platform decisions.
If you don’t know what features you’re going to need for your site just yet, just think about the products or services you’re selling and think about the properties of them. Do they have variants (colors, sizes, etc.), or kits, are they drop shipped? These types of questions will help identify what kind of features your business will need. Here are a few other high priority items related to eCommerce sites.
Key Shopping Cart Platform Features:
- Integration: This means orders placed on the website come directly through to ERP, with customer information available for CRM functionality, and of course real-time inventory and product information coming directly from the warehouse, and accounting and sales information all running out of the same system.
- Extensibility: What we mean by extensible is that the solution allows for the integration of add-ons and third party tools. This allows for the platform to be more scalable and flexible to meet your needs.
- One-Page Checkout: Even today many of the shopping cart platforms still don’t have this feature. Just by having a simplified one-page checkout without requiring users to register, shopping cart abandonment rates are dramatically reduced.
- Design Flexibility: Usability and accessibility should be important factors when it comes to the design of any website, including eCommerce sites. What exactly does this mean? CSS based website designs allow your site to be more compliant with both of these standards. Many shopping cart platforms today use hard-coded table based designs that are often difficult to modify or are even impossible to design around a complete CSS framework.
- Custom URL Rewriting: Most shopping cart platforms today included this feature, URL rewriting. In fact, having a platform that allows URL rewrting is a must. URL rewriting allows you to have “pretty” URLs, that your potential customers or users can understand. And they are “SEO friendly”, which can generate more traffic.
- Custom Meta Info: Having the ability to have customized titles, and description tags for each page on your site is another must. Having the same title on every page is not advisable from a SEO standpoint.
Our E-Commerce Consulting services can assist the success of your business by building powerful customized e-commerce applications that will enhance your customers’ online shopping experience and assure your business goals. If your ready to help increase sales, improve profitability, and ultimately, ROI through Ximda’s E-Commerce Consulting Services, Contact us today for a free web consultation.
SEO - Keyword Selection Mistakes to Avoid
The success of your online marketing campaign depends on selecting appropriate keywords that your potential customers will be using. Whether you engage in organic SEO methods, Pay-Per-Click campaigns or a combination of the two, both depend on the thought and effort put into selecting your keywords. Choosing the wrong keywords can seriously diminish the effectiveness of your online campaign, while costing you unnecessary losses of money. Avoids these common mistakes to ensure a successful search marketing campaign..
Common mistakes companies make when selecting keywords:
- Targeting keywords people never use. Far too often companies select keywords that are so common in their corporate lives that they forget that not everyone uses corporate or insider jargon.
- Overlooking keyword appropriateness. Keyword popularity should not be confused with keyword appropriateness. Keyword popularity doesn’t always mean that it will be popular for your company. For extremely competitive keywords the PPC bid prices will be higher and achieving a top organic rank position will require more work because more competitors are targeting that phrase.
An alternate approach, especially for a small business would be to pursue more focused, more relevant terms that are less popular, but be better choices because they return a higher conversion rate.
- Targeting single word keywords. In most cases, single terms are highly competitive and expensive, giving you a lower return rate than more focused phrases. The broadness of keywords rarely targets the right customers.
- Not examining competitors. Many companies select keywords and do not consider how competitors are ranking for those phrases on the web. Put potential keywords into google, yahoo, or what ever search engine and see how competitors’ sites are ranking for the keywords or phrases.
- Failing to review keywords after implementing campaign. Reviewing keyword performance is key to knowing if your campaign is working or not. Keywords that are not performing well might need to be tweaked or dropped. It could indicate they are inappropriate to your campaign and your money would be better spent on different terms.
Starting your online marketing campaign right by selecting appropriate keywords will save your company time and money. Whether you are starting your online marketing campaign or need to revise your existing campaign, Ximda’s SEO consulting services can help you in achieving a successful online marketing strategy, for your free web analysis contact us…