unaboutique

Do you send customer surveys out by mail? - gasp! (smile) or Have you been creating online forms by hand via html? If so, you will find this tutorial on creating an online form / survey using Google Docs to be especially helpful. Before we begin, here is an example of a form I created using Google Docs. I remember when I learned how to create an online form in Dreamweaver. It was quite possibly the most difficult task to master for me. Even now, after a few years of building online forms, I find each time I have to create one, I am slightly overwhelmed and quite honestly, do not enjoy the task at all. I’d heard about Google Docs and even used shared docs in the past, but had never created an online form using Google Docs before. After watching the handy video below (by Google) on how to build such a form, I was ready to go! If you don’t already have a Google account, signing up for one takes just a few minutes and you can use an already existing email address. C...

Typography has always fascinated me. I admire those designers who are rather brilliant with their use of fonts/colors/etc. to achieve a flawless look. Working on my use of typography has been a goal of mine this year...practice makes perfect (as an aside, I can't wait to unveil an official logo for this blog...long overdue). My favorite font this week is called "Sketch Block", and it's free for your download (as long as it's for personal use). I created the header using this font over on my " Favorite Things This Week" blog , a place where I share things that are inspiring me (hence, "favorite things") at the moment. I am really enjoying the way the Sketch Block font commands your attention but isn't too uptight or boring. It's a font that isn't afraid to get its hands dirty! Here's the look I was able to achieve in my header (thanks to the new font) Hope you enjoy it, too. Laura Tweet

Where are you with your mobile site? Do you have one? Even if you don’t per se, people are visiting your website using their mobile devices. I wonder if the need for a dedicated mobile version of your website will go away in a few years as mobile devices progress? Not to mention those who predict the web will be fully “appified” (as in apps) in the coming years, which is an entirely different ballgame. Until then, however, it may certainly be worth your time to develop a mobile site and strategy. In the spirit of being transparent, I haven’t built a mobile website before, and don’t claim to be a mobile expert. That said, in my former life at WIStv.com, I would help clients develop a mobile strategy and would also oversee their mobile ad campaigns. I’m sharing 4 things I learned below, and encourage you to visit my friend’s blog (Tim Gluth) for his tips as well. He’s built a mobile site and is quite brilliant, too! A few things to consider when building your mobile website… 1. Make you...

Have you added your blog to NetworkedBlogs yet? Or, are you following blogs on facebook using the newtoworked blogs “follow” feature? More importantly, what exactly is NetworkedBlogs, and could it benefit you? I came across NetworkedBlogs a few months ago on facebook when I started to notice that several friends had begun promoting their “networked” blog on their facebook page. With the traffic that Facebook gets, it certainly makes a lot of sense to "network" your blog there. According to their website, NetworkedBlogs is the “coolest blog directory on the web.” That could mean many things, but here are their three main bullet points: - Get Found: If a blog is not read by anyone, does it really exist? - Visual Blogroll: Show off a thumbnail image of your blog on your Facebook profile - Discover: Find top blogs in humor, politics, technology, and more. They boast 300,000 blogs (and growing). I would imagine most people come across NetworkedBlogs on facebook, instea...

Do you have a business and are ready to create a business page (formerly known as a Fan page) on Facebook? The actual creation process only takes a few minutes, but there are a few important things to consider/include on your business page before you begin officially promoting the page (and before you begin inviting your friends and customers to “like” your biz page). First things first, if you haven’t created a business page on Facebook, follow the steps below… 1. Login to Facebook 2. Paste this link into your browser: http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php and begin creating your page. Now that you’ve created your page, there are many things you can do to really set your page apart. Below you’ll find a quick rundown of these tweaks and “things to consider” before applying them to your biz page. 10 Tips on Taking your Facebook Business Page Up a Notch! 1. Name with Care Remember that the page name you choose for your business can't be changed later, so name with care! If you are...

The most popular post in the past few months on this blog has been the How to Create a "Grab A Button" Blog Box With Corresponding Code tutorial . Have you had a chance to follow this quick tutorial and create your own "grab a button" box to promote YOUR blog? Not to worry, the tutorial doesn't require html know-how. Everything is very straighforward and even colored in red and black. If you're not sure what I mean by "grab a button" blog box, I can explain. If you are a visual learner, you can see below how I've created my very own "grab a button" widget on this blog. You will find it on the right-hand side of this blog just below the "Labels" section. Here's the rundown...Many bloggers have found a great way to grow traffic is by asking their loyal readers to endorse their blog. More specifically, this endorsement is made by asking the reader to quickly grab a "button" by way of a string of code that is t...

I built a website using SquareSpace last night and wanted to share the experience in case you haven’t checked SS out yet. It was the first time I’d used SquareSpace to create a website (I usually build websites using Dreamweaver). Quick background on my typical website project….I’ve designed 15 or so websites in the past few years. Most are 5-15 page websites and the build-out/design/launch takes me a few weeks. If I really push it, I can crank out a website in a weekend, but it’s one of those “didn’t leave the house, lived at the computer” kind of weekend that isn’t much fun at all (I don’t recommend this approach…stop the madness!). I’d contemplated building my own website (web design/social media consulting) on SquareSpace, but somehow felt like that would be “cheating”. After all, a “real” designer/programmer would never do such a thing, right? Would I look less legit in doing so? This week a client needed a website fast, and I mean “can you have it up by tonight?” fast. The...

I've been to several presentations lately where the speaker has two screens setup at one time. The first has their powerpoint slides, the second displays a live stream from twitter. Usually guests at the seminar (and those that couldn't attend) are asked to include a specific hashtag in their tweets, and this is what is displaying LIVE on-screen. For those who may want to accomplish this effect but are set-up challenged (myself included), there is a great tool available via a free download that you may want to test out! If you are on a Mac, check out KeynoteTweet instead (thanks for the tip, Michael !) image courtesy of SAP Web 2.0 Tweet

Heads up to those who want to learn more about managing/monitoring your mobile website! Gomez is hosting a free webinar about “7 Common Mobile Web Experience Mistakes…And How to Fix Them” on Wednesday, August 18, 2010 1:00 pm EST. Here is a brief rundown in their words: Join mobile experts Vidya Drego, Senior Analyst, Forrester Research and Matt Poepsel, VP of Performance Strategies, Compuware Gomez to learn: • Common mistakes that prohibit companies from capitalizing on the mobile opportunity • What growing mobile Web adoption and rising customer expectations mean for mobile service owners • How to identify and resolve mobile service experience issues - before customers are impacted • Best practices to deliver quality mobile Web experiences to all end-users I’m going to register for this free webinar (you can, too!) and look forward to sharing a bit of what I learn with you here. Have a great rest of your week! Laura