Tag: Wayland MA Web Design

10 Useful Online Tools for Website ManagementMay 28th, 2023

As someone who manages websites, people often ask me about what online tools I use. Here are 10 online tools I use on a daily basis that help with all the webmaster tasks I perform.

• WhatTheFont :: Sometimes you need to figure out what font is used in a logo or graphic. This tool is pretty good at figuring out what font is used and gives options.
• (Item Removed) The tool we had here no longer has a secure connection, so we removed it
• Sauce Labs :: I used to like Adobe’s Browser testing. But they shut it down. Sauce Labs is picking up the slack and you can see how your site looks at in many different browsers.
• Character Counter :: If you write several tweets at once, it helps to make sure you stay under that magic 140 number. This simple tool counts for you, so you don’t have to open up word or other software.
• Convert Case :: Many times clients send me docs, or emails all in upper case. This tool lets you convert to various cases, such as lower case, sentence case, etc.
• Lorem Ipsum Generator :: When you are building a website, you often need placeholder text. This allows you to grab some text, based on how many words, paragraphs, bytes, etc.
• Sucuri SiteCheck Malware Scanner :: Malware is the plague of our time. It is often hidden where you can’t find it. This tool identifies if you are infected. And the company can assist cleaning your code.
• Google Translate :: For those of us who manage websites in multiple languages, the Google Translate tool comes in handy. While the translation isn’t perfect, it is pretty good and handles the chore well enough for most instances.
• SSL Checker :: This tool tells you if a server has a secure certificate, who issued it, and when it expires.
• Network Tools :: This tool allows you to perform many tests, such as: Traceroute, Ping, Domain Name Server (DNS) Lookup and WHOIS.

Added Online Tools :: 5/28/23

We have some more online tools we have now added to this list:

Embed Responsively:  :: this tool allows you to embed videos, images and content that will respond to the size of your visitors’ screens.

Optimizilla :: This free online image optimizer uses the best optimization and lossy compression algorithms to shrink JPEG, GIF and PNG images to the minimum possible size while keeping the required level of quality.

ChatGPT :: We’ve all heard about AI, and this tool can be very helpful in website management.   While we don’t recommend you have it write all your blog posts and use it word for word, it does come in handy when you’re looking for things like hashtags for posts, or for generating ideas.

Twitter Fonts Generator :: Spruce up your social media post with this fun little tool. Despite its name, it works on other social media outlets as well.

As we are always discovering new online tools to help make our job more efficient, we will be updating this post. Please check back. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

Real Estate Firms Not Utilizing QR CodesOctober 16th, 2015

I went for a walk the other day and went by a few houses for sale. Some of them even had URLs on their signs. But none had a simple QR code. Someone driving by could just click on it go right to the webpage and learn more about the property. I figured maybe this was just an anomaly, but over the last week I’ve been driving around and I did not see a single QR code on any signs.

Let me take a step back.  For those of you who are not aware of what a QR code is, I will explain.  QR codes are Quick Response codes. These are barcodes, that can be read by free apps on your smartphone. The barcode example on this page takes you to my website. They can send someone to a website, and perform many more functions. Here is a list of the functions a QR code can do.

Website URL
YouTube Video
Google Maps Location
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
FourSquare
App Store Download
iTunes Link
Dropbox
Plain Text
Telephone Number
Skype Call
SMS Message
Email Address
Email Message
Contact Details
Digital Business Card
Event (VCALENDAR)
Wifi Login (Android Only)
Paypal Buy Now Link
Bitcoin

So why would a real estate company not put a QR code on their signs? I can’t really answer that, truthfully it boggles the mind. My guess is when real estate markets are strong, they get a bit lazy. The problem is this isn’t hard, you generate a code in seconds. You can go to free sites like: http://www.qrstuff.com/ or http://www.qr-code-generator.com/.

In business, there are few things that are free. So when something free and beneficial comes your way, take advantage of it. And this just doesn’t apply to Realtors. Here are some examples:

I put a barcode on my business cards. I know other people that link to a vCard so somebody not only gets their cards, but they automatically add this person to their address book. That is a valuable commodity. With a business card you keep them for a while and typically throw them away. But if you’ve added that person to your address book chances are it’s going stay there for a while.

Are you a business that sends snail mail or hands out paper flyers? Then consider this: You can send somebody your flyer with the picture and all the information about your product and then have a barcode which takes them to PayPal to buy your product (see image).

Do you do email marketing? Say you are having a sale. Use a barcode with a google map. They can then take their phone and grab map and navigate to your sale.

Bottom Line: Real Estate companies absolutely need to use QR codes on signs and marketing collateral. But your business, no matter what it is, can benefit as well. If you have any questions, you can always contact us for assistance.