Welcome everyone, we are undergoing some changes here at Fingertech and one of the first is to provide more insight for potential customers and current customers alike to research and educate themselves on various aspects of the Internet and web design. We are providing this blog as a resource for anyone and everyone and encourage everyone to offer their opinions and knowledge to enhance the conversation.
Programming for PayPal
November 30th, 2007
Selling goods over the Internet is certainly not a new idea, but using simple services such as PayPal to provide instant, secure, and simple transactions across the Internet is a bliss for both developers and site owners alike. We are currently developing some eCommerce solutions for customers utilizing PayPal as the payment gateway, this reduces overall costs in numerous ways.
First and foremost, development is much more straightforward for developers than other payment gateways, this allows for quicker programming thus reducing the overall cost of a project. Reduced project cost, also implies that the complexity of the website is reduced, thus making further expansion of the site that much easier later on down the road. Secondly we can look at the cost of other online payment gateways, which are usually comparable to the fees PayPal charges for a Premier or Business account. In comparison to the cost of complex programming; the fees PayPal charges are competitive and their extensive list of additional services can make your PayPal account more than just a payment gateway.
So far, we have developed simple to use applications for our customers to sell their items online with the convenience of PayPal. Look for more to be written in our Programming for PayPal series.
Tips for a Powerful Website
October 28th, 2007
A website should reflect the objective of your business. Today that goal has become lost in a world where the Internet is full of flashy movies and catchy names. A website should offer your visitors an experience that makes them want to come back over and over, not necessarily because your product is unique, but because you offer simplicity and ease of use that they cannot find elsewhere.
Don’t get me wrong, a flashy website with lots of animation and effects looks amazing, however it is easy to distract potential customers from the main objective of your website. The end goal is to have a site that establishes who you are, what you are providing to them, and do all of that while providing them with a well-designed, easy to navigate, user friendly interface.
These are just a few ideas to think about before you launch a new website.
Understanding the Search Engine Monster
October 10th, 2007
When it comes to visiting websites, no one ever thinks twice as to use a search engine such as Google or Yahoo!. It is almost second nature to simply enter a few words, find the first result (usually on the first page or two) that matches, and be done. The only way for a site, especially one that thrives on online shopping, to live is to be in a search engine. However, it isn’t enough to simply be listed in a search engine, it requires being proactive in getting your site ranked high up in the search results.
As for getting to the top of search engine rankings, it takes both patience and knowledge to outsmart the beast Google has become. A new website for example can typically take Google up to a month to fully index, and once indexed that alone doesn’t guarantee that people will find you. The information on every page of your website must be relevant to the site, and at the same time, must also lure customers that do happen to find your site to continue shopping around. Flashy animation and graphical websites also hurt your ranking with Google because GoogleBot cannot read text and information contained within graphics on your website.
Assuming your website is setup properly and you have a good mix of graphics, to make the site visual appealing to your visitors, and textual content, to make the site accessible to GoogleBot. You also need to be known on the Internet to promote your search engine rankings. Having websites that are “known” by Google and the like will help Google to better trust your site. Think of it this way, would you trust someone that you have never seen before trying to sell you random items on the street? Probably not! However, if someone whom you have known your entire life were to tell you that the salesman was legitimate, honest, and trustworthy; then you would be likely to believe what the salesman had to say. Google works on the same principle. When a new site is discovered by Google, it examines if any other sites on the Internet link to this newly discovered website. If there are no links to the site, then Google assumes that the content is not very important in relation to other available websites and your site will not be easily found on Google. However, if your site is linked to from a very well known site, for example Microsoft.com, then Google beings to trust that the content on your site must be more relevant because a very well trusted site is linking to you.
These ideas are just some of the basic concepts that most new website owners don’t realize. Knowing how some of these features work can help you to make better decisions when it comes to your website’s design, features, and content.
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