Happy Friday!

Posted on October 19, 2012 by chrisb

As is the case with every job, school, or other activity that you complete on a daily basis, at some point you’ll see people trudging to and from, even if its something they enjoy! This was no exception where I attended higher learning, at Ball State University (up in Muncie, IN). As the days wear on and the activities take on an air of monotony, you can start to feel down in the dumps and struggle to just get through. Every so often though, something will come along and lift your spirits, and reinvigorate you to power through!

On a fateful day in between classes my freshman year, I happened to hear a rousing voice cry out “Happy Friday!”, and a man dressed in thrown-together superhero attire rode by on a motorized scooter, tossing out candy. This individual came to by known as “Happy Friday Guy”, and became an unofficial mascot to the Ball State campus. He would liven people’s spirits and give them a little incentive to press on, because Hey! The weekend was here!

Sometimes you just need a break from what you’re doing, and a little extra to instill a spark back into you. With that in mind, I present to you “Gangnam Style” by PSY. Even if you’re already one of the 500 million views to this particular video (or have no idea what he’s saying), it’s still nice to bring a little smile to you and watch someone be crazy as he horse dances through the streets :-)

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How Does Adaptive Design Work?

Posted on October 16, 2012 by chrisb

As a follow-up to Seth’s latest post, I thought I might do a bit of a breakdown on a type of responsive website, called an Adaptive website, and why it’s beneficial.

First and foremost, a full-sized adaptive website will function exactly like any regular desktop website. The main difference is that the styles (and sometimes content) adjust according to the device its being viewed on. This is accomplished through the use of filters called “media queries”, which help split the views of the website into ranges. Say for instance you wanted to target a modern smartphone device. You should happen to know that most smartphones in portrait mode (straight up and down) are roughly 300 pixels in resolution. With that knowledge, you can target styling by setting a media query of max-width to 300 pixels, meaning that any stylings you put under that filter will only show up when the site is viewed at a width of 300 pixels. Normally people don’t view a website on their computer at such a small width, so the only time those styles will be seen are on a handheld device.

From there, it’s simply a matter of targeting the various “break points” (aka the resolution cutoff points between different devices), and applying styles specifically toward each view. Perhaps you want to hide a sidebar on a tablet device. Simple! Just put a style of “Display:none” inside the tablet media query, and voila!

So, how does this help your online presence? For starters, it keeps your site contained as one entity. Instead of using duplicated content for a mobile site, search engines only see the single site and all the traffic pointed at it. Secondly, it can allow you to fully utilize ALL of your content (or pick and choose) from your full desktop version, rather than arbitrarily having to decide what you think is most important to your customers/audience. Finally, it makes maintaining the site vastly easier, without having to make sure changes on one site also get updated on your mobile version. No muss, no fuss!

If you’re looking to get a new website developed that appeals to your customers and is easy to view across all modern devices, be sure to check out our website packages page, and contact us today! We are always happy to assist you in making the most of your business online!

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Responsive Website Design

Posted on October 12, 2012 by sethm

I came across a good article the other day regarding responsive website (Article) design and it got me thinking. For those that are unaware what responsive design is; It is a method of developing a website in a way to adapt the layout to the viewing environment. Along with using fluid proportion-based grids and flexible images. In English, it adapts to all the devices we can now view a website on, rather it is a iPhone,  iPad, Tablet, Blackberry, Android or an old fashioned desktop computer. Not only are devices now days in the traditional Landscape Orientation, but now they are also Portrait as well.

So I started thinking about how important this type of development method is becoming in Web design. Every client needs a mobile version of their website, and if you think you don’t need one, think again! Over 20% of users are on a mobile device and that number is just going to climb with new inventions, new devices and new technology. Having a site that adapts to devices is the imminent future of web designing and is a skill that every designer must have going forward. The “madness” of technology will never stop growing and being in the field of web design we are on a constant learning curve.

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Good is Good

Posted on October 11, 2012 by chrisb

While browsing through my weekly readings, I happened upon an article titled What if Doing Good Was Good For Profits?, by Nicolas Bordas. In it, he describes that CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiatives are experiencing a large boom, as brands attempt to show their customers that they have a set of ideals they hold themselves accountable to.

In the article, Bordas mentions Procter & Gamble’s advertisements that were shown during the 2012 Summer Olympics, which chose not to focus on promoting their various brands of products, but instead focus on the ideal of family and particularly moms. It was a step away from the norm, and P&G was lauded for its efforts.

The main crux of the article is that companies that focus on their core values and the people they sell to, rather than only the product they are selling, tend to do better and thrive. In fact, a study of 50 megabrands over a 10 year period showed that those which “created meaningful relationships with people” were performing higher than the brands on the S&P 500.

So what does this mean? I take it simply as an example of “Do good business, and your business will do better”. If you want to bring in new customers, show the ones you’ve got that you care about them, and that they are appreciated for their support. In my opinion, it’s a good way to look at life :-)

 

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Content is King

Posted on October 11, 2012 by michael

I recently read a story about the Drudge Report and how it recently eclipsed one billion page views per month. That’s a ’1′ followed by nine zeroes. Ridic.

The funny part is how it got there. Look at the website!

That’s it. There’s text (courier bold) and photos. THAT’S. IT. And it’s awesome. Drudge has built a cottage industry based on a link farm and ran with it.

However, this does prove a very valuable point: it’s all about a clean, simple look combined with interesting, relevant information. No matter what your website looks like, if people are interested in what you have to say, they’re going to listen. As a business, this means constantly updating your website using a clean look, as evidenced by Drudge’s three column approach.

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The Added Benefits of A Mobile Friendly Website

Posted on October 8, 2012 by chrisb

Nowadays, a vast majority of the web is viewed through handheld devices, such as iPhones, Androids or Windows phones. But if your website is not mobile friendly, what are the chances that you’re losing customers and possible business?

Well, according to a survey by Google, titled What Users Want Most From Mobile Sites Today, “50% of people said that even if they like a business, they will use them less often if the website isn’t mobile-friendly”.  That same survey found that “79% of people who don’t like what they find on one site will go back and search for another site.” What does that mean for you? It means that if your website doesn’t help them find what they need fast and effectively, they will go elsewhere to find it. In essence, your website could be sending customers to your competitors!

At TXAD Internet, we’re always working to keep you up to date with the very best technology, so your potential customers don’t wind up on your competitors’ sites. We offer a variety of mobile website packages to give viewers all the information they need, and an easy solution to contact you quickly! Whether you want to provide a simple, slimmed down version of your website, or the full site modified to display nicely on a smart phone or tablet, we can work with you.

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TXAD Internet Services goes live with four more websites

Posted on September 11, 2012 by admin

CROWLEY, Texas — Four more stand-alone websites, both campground and non-campground related, built by TXAD Internet Services have gone live over the last few weeks to close out a busy summer.

The campgrounds sites now live are Emerald Oaks RV Park in Monroe City, Missouri (www.emeraldoaksrvpark.com), who also received a .mobi website version, and Admiralty RV Resort in San Antonio, Texas (http://admiraltyrvresort.com/).

“While the Emerald Oaks website was brand new, Admiralty was a re-design of an older looking site they had. What we did was make their site more consistent with their overall marketing strategy,” said Seth Morris, Web Director at TXAD Internet Services. TXAD’s sister company AGS Guest Service Guides also markets and produces Admiralty’s site maps.

While a majority of the websites built and hosted by TXAD Internet Services are campgrounds, they have several clients in different fields. The two latest ones include Phil’s Roadhouse and Grill in Montgomery, Texas (www.philsroadhouse.com), which also included a .mobi version for those patrons on-the-go, and Don Brown’s Tax Service in Fort Worth, Texas (http://donbrowntaxservice.com).

“I had a website I wasn’t happy with and wanted to upgrade the look and feel,” said Don Brown. “TXAD Internet Services more than accommodated my requests and I was very pleased with the results.”

TXAD Internet Services combined forces with AGS Internet Services in 2011 to provide website design and hosting and maintenance services. TXAD Internet Services, like AGS, is now a division of Texas Advertising which serves 817 RV parks and campgrounds in the US and Canada. For more information please call General Manager Michael Moore at 817-426-9395 or visit www.TXADInternet.com.

SOURCE: TXAD Internet Services press release

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TXAD develops three new campground websites

Posted on July 31, 2012 by admin

CROWLEY, Texas — Three more stand alone websites built by TXAD Internet Services have gone live over the last week and are already paying dividends, the company reported today.

The three campgrounds with new websites include Scenic Hills RV Park in Millersburg, Ohio (http://scenichillsrvpark.com); Catskill Adventure Resort in Wurtsboro, N.Y. (http://catskilladventureresort.com); and Oak Creek RV Park in Weatherford, Texas (http://oakcreekrvpark.com).

“We got e-mail responses almost immediately as soon as the site was up and running,” said owner of Scenic Hills, Samuel Hershberger. “TXAD did a beautiful job on the design and even got a WOW from a customer.”

All three campgrounds websites had been hosted by TXAD Internet Services but were looking for a more contemporary look. They all are classified as ‘Deluxe’ websites that come with search engine optimization and website changes included for the first year. In the case of Catskill Adventure Resort, they also included a .mobi version of their new website.

For Oak Creek, a new look was imperative. “We purchased the park a little over a year ago and decided right away that we needed a new look,” said Eric Erdmann who oversees a group of RV parks in Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma including Oak Creek. “We’re very happy at how it turned out.”

The three sites continue a busy year for TXAD Internet Services which recently added more web designers to accommodate the influx of business. “We’ve recently gone live with a couple dozen websites ranging from .mobi versions to our biggest premium packages,” said TXAD Internet Services director Seth Morris.

TXAD Internet Services combined forces with AGS Internet Services to provide website design and hosting and maintenance services. TXAD Internet Services, like AGS, is now a division of Texas Advertising which serves 813 RV parks and campgrounds in the United States and Canada.

For more information please call General Manager Michael Moore at 817.426.9395 or visit www.TXADInternet.com.

SOURCE: TXAD Internet Services press release

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TXAD Internet takes three new websites live

Posted on July 10, 2012 by admin

CROWLEY, Texas — Three more stand alone websites built by TXAD Internet Services have gone live over the last week and are already paying dividends, the company reported today.

The three websites include:

Christopher Run Campground manager Kristy Bazzanella explained, “We originally had a flash page when you first pulled up our website but not everyone could see it, especially on mobile devices. So I picked TXAD Internet Services to design a new, more accessible site and could not have been happier with the entire process.”

“Apple products especially are not conducive to flash software so we created a site that would accommodate any kind of device,” said TXAD Website Director Seth Morris, who also used to work at Apple.

The three sites that went live follow three additional sites designed by TXAD Internet Services just last month.

“To say we’ve been busy this year would be an understatement,” added Morris.

TXAD Internet Services recently combined forces with AGS Internet Services to provide website design and hosting services. TXAD Internet Services, like AGS, is now a division of Texas Advertising which serves 810 RV parks and campgrounds in the US and Canada.

For more information, call General Manager Michael Moore at 817.426.9395 or visit www.TXADInternet.com .

Source: RV Daily Report

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TXAD goes live with three new campground sites

Posted on June 26, 2012 by admin

CROWLEY, Texas – Three more stand alone websites built by TXAD Internet Services have gone live over the last week and are already paying dividends, the company reported today.

Santa Cruz RV Resort in Scotts Valley, Calif. (http://www.santacruzranchrv.com) and San Francisco RV Resort in Pacifica, Calif. (http://sanfranciscorvresort.com) are both owned by Len Otley where a consistent design was desired.

“Both properties needed their own information but we really wanted a similar look and feel,” said TXAD Website Director Seth Morris.

The third website was for Palestine Pines RV Park and Campground in Flint, Texas http://palestinepines.com/). New owner Debby Davis was anxious to get started after visiting TXAD Internet Services booth at the Texas Association of Campgrounds Owners trade show May 8.

“I chose them because I had heard they were easy to work with and had reasonable pricing,” said Davis. “Now I have a new website after only six weeks and couldn’t be happier with the results.”

TXAD Internet Services recently combined forces with AGS Internet Services to provide website design and hosting services. TXAD Internet Services, like AGS, is now a division of Texas Advertising which serves 810 RV parks and campgrounds in the US and Canada.

For more information, call General Manager Michael Moore at 817,426.9395 or visit www.TXADInternet.com.

SOURCE: TXAD Internet Services press release

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