Over-sharing

Today we're tackling over-sharing - not the TMI kind - but the other kind, where businesses post on every sharing site out there whether or not it's relevant to their business.  You may have seen them - industrial businesses posting pictures of mechanical equipment on Pinterest, or financial companies that tweet links to photos on Instagram.  Some companies do this because they are so eager to market their brand that they want to cover every possible online venue.  They erroneously think that they have to use every available site in order to be visible in the marketplace.  But beware - just because a site exists doesn't mean it's an appropriate way to marketing your specific company.  Think about whether or not posting to a site like Pinterest or SmugMug is really right for your company before you leave your customers wondering why you posted a picture of concrete.

Should You Optimize Your Site for Mobile Devices?

More and more people are accessing the web on their phones or tablets, and at some point everyone will have to consider whether or not to optimize their site for mobile devices.  Because people often use their phones to shop online, locate stores, view restaurant menus, get directions, and look up store hours and info, most of the mobile-optimized sites are stores (online or brick-and-mortar), restaurants, and business-to-consumer sites.  But what about business-to-business sites, or those that don't have a brick-and-mortar storefront  - do they need to have mobile-optimized sites too?  The honest answer is that right now, it depends.  Some factors to consider are:

Demand: How much of your traffic actually comes from mobile users?
Use: What would you want customers to be able to do on your mobile site?
Benefit: What will your business gain by mobile-optimizing right now?
Budget: Do you have funds to have your site mobile-optimized?

Google Analytics provides a view of how much traffic is visiting your site from mobile devices; this tool can help you decide if you should  optimize your site for mobile devices now, or if you can afford to wait a little while longer.

Under Construction

So you're all set to put up a web site for your business - and you get most of it done - so you publish it and it's "live" on the Internet.  Half-done.  For months.  Or worse, years.  A good rule to follow is to make sure you have everything you need to finish the site, from images and logos to copy and contact information, before you even begin.  f you don't have time to finish your site (you still have a business to run after all), make sure you can find someone to do it for you - it's awful for your visitors to get to your site only to find that every link they click on brings them to an "Under Construction" page.   So do like your mom always told you - "finish what you start".