Have you ever been stressed out when trying to complete tasks during a busy day? Yea, us too! Jacobito Design uses OmniFocus (a Mac specific program) for this very reason… We like to cruise through our day with the least amount of stress, moving easily from task to task, without thinking, “what needs to be done next?” It’s all easily managed with Omnifocus. Continue reading “Are you Omnifocused?”
Even before choosing a web designer, it can be a real challenge figuring out where to start. That’s why we want to share three pointers that will help you visualize what kind of website you want and what features to best showcase your business.
Your first easy step is to writing down who your target audience is. Ask yourself what age groups would be attracted to your site? Think about their general social structures, how they interact with one another, and how they might use your site. Start thinking of how you want your site to be perceived and what type of color theme you want.
Visit similar sites within your industry. List all the web addresses you visited. Make a sub-list of all your likes and dislikes. Pay attention to the features they have within… Do they have a photo gallery or video? Do they participate in social networks such as Twitter or Facebook? Ask yourself what you’d do differently and how it could work better by having a different navigation structure or color theme. Lastly, Ask yourself if you got frustrated with their site, and what made it so frustrating?
While visiting these similar sites, what keywords did you type in to find them? Write down all the keywords you anticipate your visitors typing in to find you products or services. Is your business a local company or a national business?
By following these steps, you’ll not only be well on your way to the brainstorming stage of your new website, but you’ll also have notes that will aid your chosen web designer in estimating you envisioned web project.
The concept behind Google Docs is the same as an office suite, only it’s free. It’s a web-based program, so it can be stored virtually, not on your hard-drive. Google Docs works with most popular file formats, including DOC, XLS, ODT, ODS, RTF. As an added feature users can view docs on their mobile devices and view and edit spreadsheets they’ve created. Pretty convenient, don’t you think?First, you need to start an account with Google. You don’t necessarily have to start a Gmail account (those familiar with Gmail, the interface with Google Docs is similar to that of Gmail); you just have to use an existing email address. From there it is all pretty self-explanatory.
No, once you start using Google Docs you will find an “Offline” link in the upper right-hand corner of your homepage. Click on the link and you will get a dialog box that prompts you to “Get Gears now”. By downloading Gears you will add a browser extension that in turn adds offline functionality to your browser. This way you can edit documents without an internet connection. There will be an “Offline help” link in the upper right-hand corner of your homepage once the download is successful.
This is a huge yes! Not only will you be able to email documents created, Google Docs also lets you share documents by inviting people to see your document. You can also share links so people are just one click away! Google Docs also can be set so that people can have full editing privileges.
So, if you want to have an office suite such as Microsoft Office, but with more options such as mobile editing, we overwhelmingly suggest Google Docs! Google Docs is free, easy to set up and use, plus you can share the documents you create!
Instapaper is definitely one of Jacobito Design’s favorites of 2008. This easy to use bookmarking tool is perfect for those who don’t have time to read every web page visited, but due to a special interest, need to read at a later time.
Instapaper is super easy to set up and free! First, you want to go to www.instapaper.com and register to set up an account. You’ll want to give Instapaper either a login or email address to set up the account (It’s advised to enter your email just in case you forget your login at a later date). Once you have done this, you’ll be directed to your account page that prompts you to drag the “Read Later” icon button to your bookmarks bar. This way next time you’re on a page that you want to read later, just click the “Read Later” icon and it will be added to your Instapaper reading list… Super easy huh? We also advise that you bookmark the actual account page next to your “Read Later” icon.
If you’re like Jacobito Design and you read a ton online, it’s not necessarily conducive to just bookmark everything you want to read online. First of all the bookmark bar only has so much spatial room to have folders and bookmarks. Second, you may forget where you put that bookmark. Lastly, Instapaper gives you an account page to sift through pages you have selected to read later. This keeps your bookmark bar free from clutter and unnecessary bookmarks.
Yes! Instapaper is great for organizing the pages you have come across, so you can easily find and read any subject your little heart desires. You can organize folders per subject. You can star pages you’ve read, so you can either trash those pages or archive them for later. Instapaper makes organizing your tangled digital web a snap.
Oh yea!!! iPhone does have an app for that. It costs $5 dollars and works just like your account page, only in an iPhone-friendly format. This app is especially handy while waiting at the doctor’s office, commuting in mass transit, or whenever you feel you have a little down time.
We at Jacobito Design highly recommend Instapaper. It’s made our lives easier and we can’t tell you how many minutes it’s saved us in keeping up to date with what’s going on in the tangled web we weave.