It is much the same with building websites. It often seems to people that the first step in creating a website would be to design how it looks. It seems at first that it might be obvious what goes on the page, what goes where, and how the content flows. However, once you dive in, you’ll discover that there is a lot of thought, planning, and testing that needs to be done to figure out those basic things first – before doing any design or build.

Here is how one thing leads to another.

This is the prototype we used for our 435 Digital website, showing the desktop view.

This is the prototype we used for our 435 Digital website, showing the mobile view as seen in an iPhone. We had additional views and full smartphone layouts, as well. However, this is one example.

This is the final design that you see on the site today, in the desktop view.

And this is the final design in the mobile view, as a screenshot captured on an iPhone.

It brings the prototype to life. The designer was free to focus on font and color and overall look – all the elements of design – without getting distracted by changes to the actual elements that would appear. And our business and web development teams were able to work together to decide on specific elements and placement in an efficient and cost-effective way.

There are multiple ways of doing prototypes. They can be simply sketches, they can be online and interactive, they can even include some design. The most important thing is to do the prototype early in the web development process – before the design and before the site development.

If you begin building your new kitchen without a blueprint, you are going to make many more trips to the store for wood and tile and cabinets than you would if you had everything specified ahead of time. For building websites, the designer needs to know the layout and flow, and the developer needs to know the layout, flow, and functionality in order to write clean code efficiently. All of this means a reasonable cost for the business and a better website in the end.

The post Website Prototypes: Blueprints of the Web appeared first on 435 Digital.

Have you considered what might happen if a website was entered into the Employee of the Month contest?

We aren’t expecting to see a picture of a URL hanging at the entrance of buildings any time soon, and we’re not downplaying the value of hard working employees. We will, however, make a case that a website could be one of your most valuable employees.

A good website is available to answer questions, field requests, and generally be of assistance 365 days a year. Even if we ignore sick days, vacation time and National holidays, it would take three full-time employees to provide the same coverage as a website. Even at minimum wage and not including benefits, this is a $45,000 value per year.

Additional Responsibilities

Even a relatively simple non-ecommerce website is routinely ready to undertake these additional responsibilities:

• Be the First to Meet Most Potential Customers
• Establish Credibility by Presenting a Clear Value Proposition
• Engage People and Provide Timely Customer Service to their Requests
• Reinforce Brand Identity by Making Direct Presentations
• Qualify Leads, Build Trust and Help Close Sales
• Assist Human Resources and Recruiting

Plus a website will perform all these duties simultaneously and without error.

Undervalued Employee?

What would you expect to pay if you were looking to hire a person who could perform these responsibilities? Given the above requirements, you’re not likely to find one person who could handle the work load an effective website will carry with ease.

At the same time, especially within medium to small sized businesses, budgets for websites are routinely less than the cost to hire even one minimum wage employee. This surely is a limiting factor on those companies’ bottom lines.

Successful businesses — both those with and without bricks and mortar — need to understand the inherent leveraged value of a website. They also are well advised to benchmark against their known competitors and carefully monitor how potential and existing clients interact with this amazing employee.

Breaking through the limited budget barrier for a website is essential.

Thinking in terms of a website-to-employee comparison can be a helpful exercise for people who are struggling with the idea of investing in an improved website.

So the next time you walk past the Employee of the Month plaque, remember your website and the leveraged value it represents. Not to mention that it rarely complains and almost never eats your favorite doughnut in the break room!

The post Is Your Website Your MVP? appeared first on 435 Digital.

If you haven’t already heard, the release of iOS6 for Mac products will be missing a very important app – YouTube. Don’t fret, just because your phone or tablet won’t automatically include the app doesn’t mean that you won’t have access to it. Google announced last week that the new and improved YouTube app will be available through the App Store. Phew!

Facebook took a step outside of its usual ad placements today by testing its own mobile ad network, which allows advertisers to place ads on other apps or websites based on your Facebook data. This isn’t the first time that Facebook has stepped outside of its own platform to place ads in front of Facebook users’ faces and will likely be just the beginning of their ever-expanding ad offerings, as they look for new ways to generate revenue without disrupting the user experience.

Also this week, Amazon announced the Amazon Maps API, causing many to speculate whether this meant that they, much like Apple, would be kicking Google Maps to the curb. Amazon hasn’t officially said either way, but considering they’re working on their own mapping technology, we imagine it’s only a matter of time.

Twitter has a mobile-first strategy, and yesterday was the launch of several updates that take advantage of the iPad display. You can update your own profile now, adding a big image. Will we see the same kind of creativity we’ve seen with Facebook cover photos? Early indications say “yes.” If you’re having trouble coming up with a big image that fuly expresses your degree of awesomeness, check out these “big image” tips from Mashable.

And because who doesn’t love a good bit of smacktalk on a Wednesday morning, check out what Twitter CEO Dick Costolo had to say about Apple and Facebook:

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, fresh from a day of smartphone Twitter app releases, said Tuesday night that his company saw Apple as a “mentor” to Twitter.

“Apple is in many ways a mentor company for us,” Costolo told PBS interviewer Charlie Rose. He said the companies had “a great relationship.” Facebook, by contrast, got this chilly description: “We’re very different companies.”

Facebook was pursuing symmetric networks, Costolo said, but Twitter saw the world as asymmetric. They were fundamentally opposed, and competed for ad dollars.

Buuuuurn. Our guess is we won’t see Costolo in a hoodie any time soon.

Have a great Wednesday!

The post What We’re Reading: Wednesday, September 19, 2012 appeared first on 435 Digital.

We decided to take a look at what internet browsers people are using to check out ChicagoTribune.com. You know, just for fun.

We didn’t expect the answers to be so terrifying.

Netscape? Are we the only ones who had forgotten about Netscape?

The post Infographic: A Look at Browsers on ChicagoTribune.com appeared first on 435 Digital.