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I can’t think of another time in history when your reputation was so important. Especially if your success relies on your reputation, as so many businesses and organizations do.

With the explosion of content on the web and then enhanced by social media, your reputation can spread quicker than ever. And the web isn’t necessarily fair – your reputation can spread for good or bad and what’s actually true isn’t a concern.

If your success relies on your reputation, then it’s important that you manage your online reputation with great care.

Be in the know

You should actively monitor your online reputation. Regularly search for your name or business name to see what context it’s being mentioned within. Set up tools and alerts to notify you when your name is mentioned and keep an eye on those at least every few days. For more tools to help you build and monitor your reputation, see Andrea Richeson’s article.

Join the conversation

If you do notice your name mentioned, make your best effort to join the conversation. If someone wrote a bad review about your business, address the review promptly and in the most professional way possible. Never get in an online argument with a customer – it will only hurt your reputation. If someone says something nice about you, make sure you acknowledge the comment. If your name is mentioned in a blog post, comment on the article – it will let people know you’re listening and you care.

Encourage online feedback

If you’re like most professionals, you come in contact with many people on a daily basis, both offline and on. Encourage those that you interact with to mention you online – especially if you’ve provided them with a great experience. Ask clients for reviews, encourage readers to comment on your blog posts, and politely ask for a re-tweet or a Facebook share every now and then (most people say it helps if you don’t overdo it).

Mind your search engine optimization (SEO)

If people are searching for your product or service, chances are they will go to search engines first. This is where your online reputation can really help or hurt your business. If you don’t practice good SEO (Search Engine Optimization) on your website, then the comments of other people will show up first. Chances are, you’d rather let potential customers hear what you have to say before they read the comments of others. Follow SEO best practices so your own content isn’t lost in all the noise.

The conclusion to managing your online reputation is to stay involved. Actively monitor mentions of your brand and join in when others talk about you. Improving your online reputation will help your business grow and you’ll have more connections (and potentially more customers) before you know it

1. Develop a mobile strategy

If you haven’t done so already, think about your mobile strategy. With more and more people accessing information using their mobile devices, your website may need to play some catch up. Consider developing a mobile version, offering important information to people on the go. Or develop a mobile app to gain some marketing exposure and give your customers a more interactive experience.

For more information about developing a mobile strategy see my recent article Mobile App or Mobile Website?.

2. Set some goals around key metrics

Take a look at your website’s performance over the last year and set some goals for improvement. If you have an analytics package installed, such as Google Analytics, take a look at some key metrics such as visits and conversions and set some goals around increasing these numbers. Consider changes to your website that will positively impact these metrics and make a resolution to go to work on your goals early in the New Year.

3. Consider an SEO makeover

If you haven’t looked at your search engine placement in quite a while, there’s no better time than right now. Consider downloading Google’s SEO Starter Guide (4MB PDF Download) and implementing some of their recommendations on your website. If you’re already following most of their guidelines, consider how you can make improvements to your current strategy to see better results. You may also want to give AdWords or other online advertising networks a try in the New Year. These cost money, so if you have some room in your budget, consider setting some aside to try online advertising if you’ve never done so before. Make it a resolution to have better search engine optimization in the New Year.

4. Upgrade old technology

The New Year is a great time to get your outdated technology up to speed. Give your website a good test in all the latest browsers to make sure it still looks and works great. Adobe BrowserLab is an easy-to-use tool for testing your site across various browsers.

If your website still uses Flash for animation, consider upgrading this as well. Flash isn’t supported on iPhones and iPads, requires a browser plugin to work and typically takes longer to load than other types of content. Nowadays, most animation can be achieved using more universally supported technologies such as HTML 5 canvas and JavaScript. If this is a priority, check out two articles we released late last year: What’s Killing Flash? and 5 Interactive Elements that Don’t Need Flash (But Used To).

5. Build something useful

Finally, consider building something useful next year. Your website is a tool that should help your organization run more efficiently. Think about all the manual, offline tasks that you engage with every day and make plans to automate some of these online. Do you have paper forms that you have employees or clients fill out? Turn these into online forms. Do you receive paper checks for invoices? Consider offering your customers a way to pay online. The possibilities are limitless so consider spending time and money only on applications that will have a true impact on your business.

Check out Andrea Richeson’s article for advice on prioritizing your new year’s resolutions.

What’s the difference? How do we decide? What costs are involved in each strategy? Read on and I’ll try to answer those questions for you.

What do you mean by “the mobile Web”?

When I say “the mobile Web” I’m talking about the World Wide Web as it appears on mobile devices (smartphones and tablets). The mobile Web can take the form of a mobile app, a mobile website or a regular website that is displayed on a mobile device. It’s important because users interact with the mobile Web differently than they interact with the regular Web (the one on your full-size computer). On the mobile Web, visitors hang around for a shorter amount of time, view content on a much smaller screen, don’t use a standard mouse or keyboard and are typically interested only in things they need when on the go.

You need to know what the mobile Web is because, as someone who runs a website, you need to decide if catering to mobile users is a wise investment for your organization.

If you decide that building content specifically formatted for mobile devices is the way to go be prepared to decide if you want to build a mobile app, a mobile website or both. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages and the choice should be made carefully.

Building a mobile app

Delivering your content to users by way of mobile app has several advantages. Apps interact with the hardware and software of the device. So if you need to allow the user to do something that will require a camera or their smartphone’s GPS, then developing an app is the way to go. Apps also allow full control over the user interface including custom navigation controls and application options. This can be an advantage if you don’t mind building this yourself or a disadvantage if what you need done could be accomplished within a browser anyway. Finally, offering a mobile app may increase your exposure. Not only can users find out about your content from the web but they can also learn about you from the place where apps are acquired (the AppStore, the Android Market, etc.).

For all the advantages that offering a mobile app has, there are plenty of disadvantages that should be considered carefully. An app is a piece of software that must be downloaded and installed by the user. That right there is a significant barrier between the user and your content. In fact, some research by Pinch Media shows that less than 5% of downloaded apps continue to be used 20 days after being downloaded. Apps are also not compatible with mobile devices running different operating systems. This means that, if you want to offer your app to as many users as possible, you have to build a version for the iOS (iPhone and iPad), Google Android, Palm, Blackberry, etc. As you can see, offering a cross-platform app can be very expensive and time consuming.

Building a mobile website

Offering your content by way of a mobile website is another option you have available. In this method, instead of building an app that users must download, you’re delivering your content using a mobile-friendly version of your website, through the web browser built into the device. This method also has its advantages and disadvantages.

First of all, users don’t have to think much about how they access your content. If developed correctly, users will visit your website and will be presented with a version formatted for their mobile device. You also keep the content up to date, just like you do for content on your regular website, and the user never has to install an update to get the latest version. A mobile website can also be built to be platform independent. This means that an iPhone user will see the same content as a Blackberry user without you having to create different versions. As long as the phone they are using has a web browser, your content can be viewed across any mobile device.

The disadvantages of a mobile website are covered by the advantages of a mobile app. You’ll lose some exposure because your content can only be found within a browser and won’t be located in the AppStore or Android Market. It’s also more difficult or impossible to get a mobile website to interact with features of the mobile device (such as the camera, address book, etc.).

So which one do I build?

Deciding between a mobile app and a mobile website would be an easy choice if you had all the money and time in the world. In this case, my recommendation would be to do both. However, if you’re like the rest of us, deciding which way to go depends on many factors. First, consider the type of content you’re delivering. If your content must interact with the device such as use information from the camera or pinpoint a location using GPS, then develop an app that allows for this functionality. However, if the content you are delivering is informative and less interactive, then a mobile website could suit you just fine. Also, consider your target audience. Will the people you’re trying to reach be more willing to download an app or just visit your website on their smartphone? The answer will tell you which one to develop.

Whatever you decide, delivering your content to the mobile web is an important step in reaching a wider audience. For more information on how to design for the mobile web, check out Jeff McAllister’s article.

Responsive design is the principal that one design can be created to accommodate many different mediums. It’s not a new concept and it isn’t limited to web design. Rather, it stems from a concept called “responsive architecture.” Responsive architecture is driving some of the most modern building designs being created today. It’s the concept that buildings should adapt to various spaces and the people using them. You can see responsive architecture in buildings that change shape, walls that flex and art installations that move. There aren’t that many examples in the real world yet, but there will be.

Responsive design extends this philosophy to the web. It’s the idea that web designers can create websites that adapt automatically to the devices they are being viewed on. For example, one coded home page can be viewed one way on a desktop computer and another way on a smart phone. Images and shapes flex and change size to allow for proper display on the medium of choice. Without responsive design, a separate website would need to be created for each device. It’s a revolutionary idea that’s sure to change (and simplify) the landscape of web design as more devices are introduced in the future.

Several sources say that mobile browsing is predicted to outpace desktop browsing in just a few years. This combined with many new types of devices coming on the market, including ones we haven’t even thought of yet, means that responsive design will have a significant place in web development for years to come.

Want more information on implementing responsive design into your next project? See Andrea Richeson’s article about responsive strategy.

QR codes (short for “Quick Response” codes), are two-dimensional bar codes that can easily be scanned. All the consumer has to have is a mobile device with a camera and an (often free) app that can scan QR codes. Once scanned, the QR code instructs the mobile device to do something such as download contact information or visit a web page.

Marketers are using QR codes to provide passers-by with the opportunity to learn about a business, enter a contest, register for an event or download a coupon. QR codes have become popular because they are easy to create, cheap to print and marketers can easily calculate their response rate so that they can be tied to a direct return on investment. All that and they look pretty cool too, which is always a bonus when marketing to the young and tech-savvy.

If you’ve decided to explore using QR codes in your marketing, think very carefully about who your target audience is. Remember, QR codes have to be scanned, which requires a high-end smart phone and a downloaded application. If your primary target audience is made up of Jitterbug users or Vaudeville enthusiasts, QR codes may not be the best way to invest your marketing dollars. However, if you are marketing to tech-savvy smartphone users, QR codes may be a wise investment that comes with an easy-to-justify ROI.

So how do you get a QR code for your business?
There are any number of free web applications that will give you the ability to create a QR code of your own. Simply input the text or URL you want to tie to the QR code and your two-dimensional, scannable bar code will be ready in seconds.  It’s smart to tie your QR code to something that looks great on a mobile device, such as a simple page with contact information or small image of a coupon.

Here are some online services that offer free QR code creation:

• http://qrcode.kaywa.com/
• http://www.qurify.com/en/
• http://www.qr.net

Once you create your QR code and start using it in the marketplace, it’s important to track the results. Some QR code services offer tracking options, but a simple statistics package (such as Google Analytics) on the target URL will tell you if it’s being used.

If your target audience is tech-savvy consumers, and you’re looking for inexpensive advertising that provides measurable return on investment, QR codes may be a wise marketing decision.

Current Browser Market Share¹

¹As of March 2011, according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Usage_share_of_web_browsers)

	Browser	Version	% of Market
	Internet Explorer	All	45%
	Internet Explorer	9	1.04%
	Internet Explorer	8	34.41%
	Internet Explorer	7	7.87%
	Internet Explorer	6	10.9%
	Firefox	All	29.15%
	Firefox	4	6.49%
	Firefox	3	22.92%
	Chrome	All	15.95%
	Safari	All	6.3%
	Opera	All	2%

If you’re like most website owners, you want your site to be accessed by the widest audience possible. Casting a wide net means that your website will attract the maximum amount of traffic and that visitors will have the best possible experience when they do land on your site.

In order to cast a wide net, your site must be cross-browser compatible. This means that your website should look and function relatively the same across all major browsers. The term “all major browsers” is up for interpretation because there are literally hundreds of browser types and versions on the market that your site could be made compatible with. As a rule of thumb, our team makes sure the sites we build are compatible with the latest two versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari. This covers over 99% of internet traffic. However, you may decide that your particular audience needs your site compatible on a different browser type or version. I recommend using an analytics package (such as Google Analytics) to judge the most popular browsers for your specific target audience. If most of your users are accessing your site with Internet Explorer version 6, then making your site compatible with IE6 should be a priority (I’m sorry).

So how do you test your site for compatibility? The best way is to download every version of browser that you need to test and go through the site, just like a user would. This approach, however, isn’t always practical. A more efficient approach is to use one of many online browser testing tools. For a great tool we recently learned about, see Andrea Richeson’s Useful Thing for this month. If you really want to be diligent about it and make sure your site is 100% cross-browser compatible, then load up every page in the browser testing tool and make sure that every display element and function works the same. If you notice inconsistencies and you don’t feel comfortable making styling or functional changes yourself, report these to your web developer and ask him or her to work out the differences.

Making your site cross-browser compatible with a variety of popular web browsers means that you’ll attract the most amount of traffic, and users of various browsers will experience your website in the same way. In this regard, cross-browser compatibility is good for business.

For some practical information about the latest version of Internet Explorer and Firefox, see Gina Hollis’ article and video blog.

What’s so great about HTML5?

HTML5 will allow web developers to do what they’ve wanted to do for a long time. HTML5 introduces some pretty nifty ways to format content, even quicker and easier than before. For example, there’s a and tag packaged with HTML5 that will allow web developers to embed video and audio content without the need for a third-party player. There’s also a tag called “canvas” that will allow for the rendering of high-quality, dynamic graphics and animations. Before HTML5, JavaScript, Flash or some other animation technology had to be used. HTML5 also introduces many other features, some of which will take time for all browsers to adopt.

How will my business be affected?

If you own a website that uses HTML4 elements instead of HTML5 elements, it will start to become outdated as HTML5 gains in popularity. Don’t worry, you’re website won’t suddenly become obsolete – all browsers will still support most HTML4 elements for quite some time. However, if your competitor’s website utilizes the new standard, then chances are their website will load faster, will rank better with search engines, will be more accessible to people with disabilities and will be more user-friendly for anyone who has a modern browser.

Luckily you won’t have to scrap your existing website and start over. But you should start thinking about incorporating some HTML5 elements where it makes sense.

What steps should I take?

Reading this article is a good first step. Hopefully it’s given you the basics of what HTML5 is and why you should be concerned. After finishing this article, there’s not much else to do right away. HTML5 won’t be fully supported for quite some time, but when Internet Explorer 9 comes out later this year it will mark a major milestone. Even after IE9 comes out, it will be quite a while before enough people have upgraded their browsers for you to care.

What you can do in the immediate future is start to research HTML5 and determine what elements will be useful on your current website. You may want to call up your web developer and ask how you can be prepared to take advantage of the new technology. If you plan your budget far in advance, you may want to prepare for some upgrades in 2012 so that you can stay ahead of the competition.

HTML5 will open up a world of possibilities to web developers and these possibilities will trickle down to business managers who rely on the web. Hopefully this article has given you a jumpstart to thinking about HTML5 and you’ll be prepared to take advantage of it when the day finally arrives.

For a more technical overview of all HTML5 has to offer, see Steve Garcia’s article: HTML5: The 4 “W’s”