Archive for the ‘Helpful News’ category

The Best Cyber Security Advice from Experts.

February 22nd, 2017

Some great advice from PC World Online.

  1. Set up two-factor authentication to protect their internet accounts, especially email. It can be particularly useful when stopping hackers who are trying to steal login passwords from users, whether through malware or email phishing schemes.
  2. Businesses need to first think about what assets they’re trying to protect from cyber threats, as opposed to blindly buying the latest security products.
  3. Many people still think hackers will never target them, but that assumption is wrong. Everybody’s information is valuable.
  4. When a company gets hacked, it’s largely because there’s a computer, a box, a website that they didn’t know they owned.

Read the full article here:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3171280/security/experts-at-rsa-give-their-best-cybersecurity-advice.html

 

Think Your Computer Might have a Virus?

February 15th, 2017

Yes… It happens. How can you be sure though?

We found this great article on the Kaspersky website and we thought we would share it with you this week. Here it is:

There is a number of signs or symptoms indicating that your computer is infected.

If you have started to notice weird things happening on your PC, such as:

  • unusual messages, images, or sound signals;
  • CD-ROM tray opens and closes voluntary;
  • programs start running without your command;
  • messages are displayed informing that one of your programs is attempting to access the Internet without your command.

Then it is likely that your computer is infected with malware.

Additional signs of email infections:

  • Your friends or colleagues tell you about having received emails sent from your email box which you did not send;
  • A lot of messages without a sender address and subject in your mailbox.
  • It must be admitted that such signs are not always explained by presence of malware. They may have some other explanation. For example, the issue with weird emails may be the result of somebody sending infected emails with your sender address from some other computer, not necessarily yours.

Read the rest at: http://support.kaspersky.com/us/790

Guest Wi-Fi Can Measurably Improve Customer Engagement for Brick and Mortar Businesses

December 19th, 2016

guest wifi brick and mortar
Brick and mortar companies that want to access the same level of customer insights as online shops need look no further than their own Wi-Fi networks. Advancements in Wi-Fi engagement and analytics tools can unlock goldmines of data on customer behavior, preferences and sentiment to support businesses’ marketing and sales programs.

Online shopping for retailers, mobile ordering for dining franchises, and online booking and mobile check-in and out for hotels. These are just a few examples of ways brick and mortar businesses have lost a direct connection with their customers. Unlike online businesses, organizations with physical locations haven’t traditionally had access to data on traffic, conversions and other analytics to help optimize their marketing and sales programs. However, since the vast majority of the world now carries a Wi-Fi-enabled device at all times, brick and mortar business can access all kinds of invaluable information on shopper, guest and employee behavior.

With the right Wi-Fi management tools, store-provided wireless access can help businesses successfully carry out initial engagement, engagement analytics and targeted marketing. Following are a few examples of in-store marketing powered by Wi-Fi….

Read whole articel by  https://www.secplicity.org/2016/10/18/guest-wi-fi-can-measurably-improve-customer-engagement-brick-mortar-businesses/

 

Now is the Time for Mobile Websites… and Here’s Why.

July 27th, 2016

Mobile Commerce and Engagement Stats

  • More than 56% of American adults are now smartphone owners.
  • 75 percent of Americans bring their phones to the bathroom.
  • Mobile now accounts for 12 percent of Americans’ media consumption time, triple its share in 2009.
  • 27% of companies worldwide planned to implement location-based marketing in 2015.
  • Of the 70 percent of shoppers who used a mobile phone while in a retail store during the holidays, 62 percent accessed that store’s site or app and only 37 percent of respondents accessed a competitor’s site or app..
  • Retailers’ apps with store mode gather five times more engagement.
  • Last year,only 12% of consumers bought anything through social media.
  • By the end of 2013, there will be more mobile devices on Earth than people.
  • The number of US mobile coupon users will rise from 12.3 million in 2010 to 53.2 million in 2014, driven by the rapid adoption of smartphones.
  • International media and marketing executives see mobile as the most disruptive force in their industry. 65% of U.S. shoppers research products and services on a PC and make a purchase in-store.
  • 48% use or would like to use a smartphone to shop while in-store or on the go.
  • 80% of smartphone owners want more mobile-optimized product information while they’re shopping in stores.
  • Nearly 50% of shoppers believe they are better informed than store associates.
  • iN five years, half of today’s smartphone users will be using mobile wallets as their preferred payments method.
  • Time spent with mobile apps starting to challenge television: consumers are spending 127 minutes per day in mobile apps–up 35 percent from 94 minutes a day in the same time last year–and spend 168 minutes watching television per day.
  • Mobile Searches related to restaurants have a conversion rate of 90% with 64% converting within the hour. By 2013,
  • three-quarters of Americans age 43 and under now use a smartphone
  • The smartphone market is now larger than the PC market. Smartphones outsold PCs in Q4 of 2014 101 million to 92 million

The Computer Company addresses a full range of marketing needs, including mobile ready apps, email,  content and social media marketing—creating a winning synergy that delivers  quantifiable results. Want a free no  obligation consultation with our experts

Contact us today:

the Computer Company, Inc

(860) 635-0500

(800) 418 2358

Posted by Don Thurber

What eManagerSite Can Do For Your School

February 24th, 2016

Manage Your School’s Website With Ease

eManagerSite is the perfect website builder for schools, colleges, and community organizations. Manage staff, notify parents, schedule events, integrate blogs and social media, and so much more. eManagerSite CMS is a complete website editing tool that fits any need – and any budget.

Unique Features for Schools:

  • Handle The Latest Designs with advanced scripting and more
  • Simple To Use for everyone – tech-savvy or not
  • Intranet & Extranet Sites for managing staff & students
  • Easy Payment Portal for school lunches, field trips, & more
  • Pre-built Forms including Contact and Payment forms
  • Unlimited Storage for all your pages, photos, and files
  • Mobile Ready Design automatically resizes to tablets & phones
  • Send Out Newsletters & Alerts using our mass email tool
  • Unlimited Number of Blogs for teachers and students
  • Change User Permissions – users can only edit certain pages
  • Schedule Events & Get Registrations using built-in calendars
  • Have Interactive Learning with podcasts, built-in video & more
  • Bid List & Bid Results pages that can be easily edited and updated
  • Lifetime Support available through phone, email, and in-person
  • Free Trial with no risk or commitment

Review the Features below to learn more!

  • Calendar & Registration
  • Emails and Alert System
  • School Store & Payment Portal
  • Mobile- and Tablet- Ready Design
  • Downloads & Resources Center
  • Blogs & Social Media
  • Security and Unique Permissions
  • Try It for Free!

Calendar – Event Scheduling, Registration & More!
Now you can keep students, parents, and faculty in the loop with our integrated Calendar tool.

Easy To Use:

The Calendar tool functions like any other calendar tool you’ve seen: double-click to add an event, enter in the details, and press “OK”. You can have several calendars, and can limit access to calendar editing to only certain individuals.

Add & Manage Events

Events can store as much information as you need – exact timing, pricing, PDFs, images, Google Map of the location, and of course anevent description that can be edited just like the rest of the website – with font color and style choices included. Multiple events can be scheduled in a day, and events can be set to only be viewable by certain people. We give you full control of what you need your calendar to be like.

Registration & Payments

Our events are fully interactive and integrated with the rest of your website. Events that require registration will send that information to our Customer Relationship Manager tool, and events that require payment will send that information to our eCommerce tool. This is done automatically – all you have to do is check off boxes like “Require Registration” and “Require Payment”.

Email & Alert System – Send Out Updates and Newsletters

Know how to use Microsoft Word? Then you know how to create and customize your own email templates for newsletters, school closings, and general updates. Our email system is easy to use and can handle thousands of emails being sent out a month.

Just Start Typing

Our email tool has been engineered to be as simple as our website editor. All you need to do is click and do whatever you want – add text, insert images, create hyperlinks, and more. Even those who are not computer savvy can become email masters with our tool.

Use Our Templates or Start from Scratch

Your email system comes with several email templates pre-made for you already. Use those, or make your own using our easy “what you see is what you get” editor. Things like background colors or header images can be easily changed based on the situation.

Manage Email Recipients Easily

Want to have an email blast sent out just to teachers? Have a writing club that wants to email a monthly poetry newsletter? You got it. eManagerSite’s email system was made for full customization in terms of who gets your emails and how often. You can create an unlimited amount of email lists (such as “Teachers” or “Third Grade Parents”) and then send out emails specifically to those groups.

Store & Payment Portal – Sell Items and Process Payments

Your website comes equipped with an amazing store that can be used for any purpose you can imagine. Sell tickets or merchandise, and then collect payments all through your site.

Go Paperless

Tired of nagging kids to fill out permission slips and payment forms? Enter the digital era with our built-in payment portal. Add your field trip or prom event to your unique eCommerce store, and then have parents and students safely and securely purchase those items through your site. There is no third-party tool, so everything is easy, safe, and fast.

Sell Merchandise and Events

Now anything can be sold through your website – Valentine’s Day roses, school merchandise, prom tickets…anything you can think of, you can sell through your site. Our eCommerce tool makes everything automated so you can focus on the important things.

Secure Payment Portal

Our Payment Portal is easy to use and guaranteed to be hacker-resistant. Users can pay through debit, credit, or check and have peace of mind knowing their information is secure.

Mobile- and Tablet-Ready Design – Your Site Works On All Devices

Once your website is in our eManagerSite CMS, it will work in all browsers and devices – so anyone looking on a smartphone, tablet, or desktop will be able to view your site and get the information they need.

For Phones

Parents or kids that need to look up homework assignments or field trip prices can do it all through their phone. Your website will shrink and adapt itself to any size device. Text, images, and links will format themselves automatically to be the most legible and usable to whoever is viewing your site. Your menu will switch to one long drop down that makes it easy for a mobile user to get where they want to go – and fast.

For Tablets

Tablet users get the best of both worlds when it comes to viewing your site. Images and text appear large and crisp on the site, while the site reformats itself so that every page is easy to navigate to. Just like for phones, contact information and important links will always display prominently on the page.

Accessible for Everyone

Having a mobile-ready resizable website means that anyone anywhere can view your site. Now students can feel engaged and interested about school events, and parents can get quick access to grades, fees, and other useful information. You can even decide that certain information should be shown only to mobile users or only to tablet users. Maybe a student is primarily looking for test dates when they’re viewing through the phone, so you can make that link appear near the top. Your site can be easily altered dependent on the situation.

Downloads & Resources Center – All Your Files in One Place

eManagerSite CMS comes free with a Downloads and Resources Center. Your forms, PDFs, menus and more are now in one easy-to-maintain area that matches the rest of your website design and allow for users to easily access anything they need.

Store All Your Files

Our sites are engineered to be fast and store huge amounts of files. Putting your forms and other files on our site is a quick process – and having students and parents download them is just as quick!

Accessible on Phones and Tablets

Your Downloads and Resources Center adapts itself to any browser or device, just like the rest of your site.

Beautiful Design

Forget clunky tablets and ugly hyperlinks. Your files will be displayed as beautifully as the rest of your website. Our designs are user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing, so you can get the best of both worlds.

Blogs & Social Media – Stay Modern and Interactive

To have a truly great presence on the web, a school needs a blog and social media integration. eManagerSite CMS has got you covered.

Start Blogging

Tired of nagging kids to fill out permission slips and payment forms? Enter the digital era with our built-in payment portal. Add your field trip or prom event to your unique eCommerce store, and then have parents and students safely and securely purchase those items through your site. There is no third-party tool, so everything is easy, safe, and fast. Our blogs work just like any other blog tool, so you can categorize your blog posts, allow readers to post approved comments, add images and links, and allow various people to post on the same blog.

Integrated Social Media

Now your social media can become an extension of your website. You can embed buttons that lead to your social media networks, or you can even embed tweets and postings from your networks onto your website. Your blog can also be hooked up to your Facebook or Twitter so that everyone can keep up to date.

Full Customization

Unlike other blogging tools, your blog will truly look like a part of your site. No one will ever have to leave your site to visit your blog, and it will blend in flawlessly with the rest of your site. You also have complete control over how the blog acts, who can comment on it, and what it will look like.

Security and Unique Permissions – Have Full Control and Peace of Mind

You have enough to worry about – eManagerSite CMS lessens the burden by making sure your site is ultra-secure. You have control over who gets access, what they can touch, and what changes go live online. We support you with backups and automatic security features that safeguard against a wide variety of potential mishaps.

Latest SAS Security

eManagerSite CMS hosts all our websites on our own secure servers. This not only means that your site is virtually “unhackable”, but that it is also safe against unintentional disasters such as accidental deletions or even weather-related incidents. Nightly backups and stringent security ensure that your site can never be “lost”.

Limit Access

Limit access to certain sections or even pages using our detailed Settings panel. Assign roles to staff, block off areas for certain groups, and best of all, ensure that nothing is added to your site withour your approval.

Peace of Mind

Our CMS’ security infrastructure is automatically implemented – there is little to no work on your part to protect your site against the unknown. Private information can be stored on your website – either on a webpage or entered into a form – without concern for if someone can steal that data and use it against you. Credit card data, medical records, and more can be kept in your site’s database without worry.

Free Trial – What Are You Waiting For?
eManagerSite CMS has a lot of great benefits, and we want you to experience it without having to worry about the commitment. Try us for free – and then decide for yourself if we’re the best CMS tool for you. (We might be biased, but we think we are.)

Try For Free

You can keep your website – with your blog, store, emails, calendar, and all – in our CMS tool during the trial. All the features you’d normally have on the plan can be accessed during the free trial.

Monthly Billing If You Buy

If you do decide to continue with us, billing will occur monthly without any long-term commitment requirements. That means you can stay with us for 3 months or 3 years.

Lifetime Support Included Free

An eManagerSite School package includes a variety of support options for the lifetime of your plan – training videos, phone calls to our help desk, online support, and even in-person support! The eManagerSite team is always here to help you with any issues or questions you have.

Contact Us Now To Try eManagerSite Today!

Portfolio

Schools and Educational  Websites

Rocky Hill Education Website

Sawyer School Website

Fairfield Schools Website

 

 

The WebInteractive Marketing Words You Should Be Using

January 22nd, 2016

Savvy business owners, copywriters, and designers know how language influences emotions and persuades action. Certain words and phrases are time-tested to boost response and conversion rates almost across the board. Of course, different motivating words and phrases work better in different situations, and it’s up to you to figure out which work best for your business. It isn’t all that difficult to figure out, though: If your intuition doesn’t tell you, your customers will. Test the following WebInteractive Marketing Words in your next email, social media or blog post, on a direct-mail postcard or website to see which yields the best response.

You – Write as though you’re speaking to the customer and about the customer, not about yourself.

Because – Give customers a reason why they need to take action.

Free – “Because” we all like free things, right?

Value – This implies customers are getting something versus losing something (i.e. money when you say “cost” or “price”).

Guaranteed – Give customers a guarantee to minimize risk perception, so they feel they have everything to gain and nothing to lose.

Amazing – Customers will respond to something that is incredible.

Easy – Make it simple for customers to take the next step in the purchasing process, and let them know how much easier life will be with your product or service.

Discover – This implies there is something new and unknown to the customer, something that has supreme benefits and gives them an edge.

Act now – Motivate an immediate response with a limited-time offer.

Everything included/everything you need –This establishes that your product or service is all your customers will have to buy in order to achieve their goal.

Never – Point out a “negative benefit,” such as “never worry again” or “never overpay again.”

New – Your product or service is the cutting edge in your industry.

Save – The most powerful word to showcase monetary savings, or even time savings.

Proven – Remind customers that your product, service or business is tried-and-true.

Safe and effective – “Proven” to minimize risk perception for health and monetary loss.

Powerful – Let customers know that your business, product or service is robust.

Real results/guaranteed results – Your customers want results, after all.

Secret – Not everyone succeeds, and there are secrets to success. Let customers know you can reveal those secrets.

The – This implies your solution is the “end-all-be-all.” Consider the difference: “3 Solutions for Marketing Success”/”The 3 Solutions for Marketing Success.”

Instant –Instant access or downloads are more appealing than waiting.

How to – Start off with a solution so customers read the rest of your copy.

Elite –Your customers are among the best in the world. Invite newbies to join a highly desirable club.

Premium – Premium helps denote high quality.

Caused by – If your marketing literature builds a case for your product, transitional phrases such as “caused by,” “therefore,” and “thus” can help reinforce the logic of a purchase.

More – Do you offer more than your competitors? Let your customers know, because they want the best deal, after all.

Bargain – Because customers want a great deal, remember?

No obligation – Create a win-win situation for your customers.

100% money-back guarantee – Again, no risk.

Huge – A large discount or outstanding offer is difficult to resist.

Wealth – If you’re selling products and services related to money, wealth is a desirable word for customers.

They key to success is to combine these words into phrases that trigger buying behavior. For example: “Get real results instantly – 100% money-back guarantee – act now!” Keep your copy short and sweet, play on emotional triggers with these words and phrases, and you’ll increase your conversion and response rates. For a free no obligation consultation let WebInteractive assist you. Want to learn more today contact

WebInteractive
A division of the The Computer Company

800 418 2358

info@computercompany.net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sources: Forbes, 60 Second Marketer]

What does the end of Windows Server 2003 mean for you?

May 28th, 2015

Support for Windows Server 2003 ends on July 14, 2015.
Organizations still running windows Server 2003 should plan their migration. There’s not much time left and the migration process will involve more than just installing a new server. Though you can continue using the 2003 server after support ends, it is not recommended and will cost you more time and money in the long run on performance, security, and server management issues.

Small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) running Windows Server 2003 will run into vulnerability issues once support ends and can lose business due to compliance issues.
Businesses still running the 2003 server that handle regulated data like those in healthcare and payment card industry (PCI) data will face fines or be cut off from key trading partners like VISA, MasterCard or American Express that are looking to protect their own regulatory compliance status.

Customers reluctant to migrate out of 2003 servers will inevitably deal with having personal and clients’ information stolen. Your IT staff may not be able to fully restore information from malicious attacks or electronic data loss from cyber-security risks on an outdated server.

Upgrading from the Windows 2003 server means not only having to move on to a new up to date server but upgrade to new hardware as well to support the system. Though the upfront cost may seem expensive it is more cost effective in the long run than to deal with irretrievable data loss, security issues, and maintenance issues while dealing with frustrated clients.

Companies with about 100 servers can expect the process to be around 3 months or more to be fully migrated into new servers. Those more technologically savvy should work quickly, Microsoft’s end-of support website for Windows server 2003 is a great place to get started in accessing how many 2003 servers systems you currently have plugged in to move forward into the migration. A great resource is Microsoft’s Server and Cloud Blog at TechNet with informative posts like this multi-part migration guide (Parts one, two, and three).

There you can follow the four steps of migration planning:

  1. Discover: Catalog your software and workloads
  2. Assess: Categorize applications and workloads
  3. Target: Identify your destination(s)
  4. Migration: Make the move.

You can contact The Computer Company Inc., a Microsoft Licensed Partner to ease you into the migration process with personalized in-person tech support and 24/7 customer service.

 

 

 

 

References

1. United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (2014). Microsoft ending support for windows server 2003 operating system
2. Small Business Computing (2015). Say Good-bye to windows server 2003
3. Microsoft Download Center. Payment card industry data security standard compliance planning guide
4. ebuyer (2014). Businesses using windows server 2003 could face VISA & MasterCard backlash
5. IDC (2014). Windows server 2003: Why you should get current
6. Microsoft TechNet. Windows server versions

Fake Government Sites – Daily Security

April 8th, 2015

The FBI has warned US citizens to beware of fake government websites showing up in search results. Watch today’s Daily Byte to learn about this latest phishing campaign, what blackhat SEO means, and how to avoid evil search results.

Computer Company  IT Manager, Bob Froess found this article here: http://watchguardsecuritycenter.com

Posted by Don Thurber

eManagerSite’s 10 Website Design Tips for Your Small Business

June 18th, 2014

 

The first place the vast majority of consumers turn for information on local businesses is the Internet. That means your customers and prospects are looking for you online, from their laptops as well as tablets and mobile devices. In other words, your business needs to be online. Whether you have a website that needs to be improved, or don’t yet have a website, be sure to apply these 10 tips to help you get the website your business needs and de­serves.

Top Ten Website Design Tips:

1. Incorporate Keywords

In order for search engines to understand what’s on your page and better connect you to potential visitors, you need to have your most important information (keywords) included in your website. These typically are embedded during the meta-tagging process in the following three key areas:

• Title Tag: descriptive, keyword-rich and specific – tags are major contributors to ranking and should be less than 65 characters long
• Meta Description: keyword-rich – this explains what the website is about and helps click-thru rates
• Meta Keywords: match to related search terms used by your target audience

You’ll want to wrap these keywords naturally into your copy, since your website should appeal to human visitors first, search engines second. Keywords to consider:

• Your company name and key people, such as “John Johnson, plumber” and “Johnson and Smith Plumbing Company, Dallas”

• Products or services your business offers, such as “plumbing,” “child care,” “oil changes” or “wedding cakes”

• The geographic area you serve, such as “San Jose, California,” “Twin Cities metro” or “greater Cleveland”

• Phrases customers may search for, such as “car wash coupons,” “Minneapolis dry cleaner,” “free roofing estimates” or “Phoenix estate attorneys

2. Include Multiple Points of Contact

Make it easy for visitors to contact you. Display your phone number prominently at the top and bottom of every page. Include your email address and possibly your physical address in the footer (the bottom bar) of every page. Be sure to create a “Contact” page that includes all the above information, plus a map, directions, hours of operation and possibly a form visitors can fill out for more information.

3. Make Branding Professional & Consistent

Save the smiley faces and animated graphics for emails to your friends—your website should have a professional look that matches your brand. Use colors that go with your logo colors; choose one or two fonts and use them consistently across the site; make sure graphics or photos complement each other and look professional. If in doubt, keep it simple.

4. Provide Clear Calls-to-Action

A “call-to-action” refers to text on your website that invites visitors to do something. Clear calls-to-action get visitors to take the next step and go from just looking at your website to contacting your business. Calls-to-action could include:
• Learn More (link to download a brochure, an eBook, product guide, catalog, etc.)
• Call Now
• Free Consultation or Free Estimate
• Get a Price Quote
• Buy Now
• Make an Appointment
• Request a Demo
• Request a Sales Call
• Sign Up (for a newsletter, email tips or special offers)
• Follow Us on Twitter, Like Us on Facebook, Connect on LinkedIn
• Register (for a drawing or a prize)
• Visit Us (link to map)

5. Make Pages Easy to Read

Most people just scan the information in websites rather than read it top to bottom, start to finish. Make pages simple to scan by remembering an “F” pattern—put important content across the top of the pages and down the left side. Also, use bold headlines and subheads to make information easy to scan.

6. Make the Site Easy to Navigate

Navigation tabs or buttons should be consistent across every page. As mentioned above, you’ll want to position navigation using the F-shaped reading pattern, with buttons, links or tabs running across the top or left side of the page. Also be sure to:
• Keep your primary navigation to eight tabs or less (five is ideal)
• Make clickable elements consistent, especially in terms of font, size and other stylistic elements
• Include a header and footer on each page for key links and information
• Add a progress tracker (sometimes called a Breadcrumb) close to the top of each page.
It should look something like “Home> Catalog> Product #1”, giving visitors an easy way to backtrack.

7. Put Important Info “Above the Fold”

Think of a newspaper — the biggest stories are on the top half of the page, or “above the fold.” Your website should do the same. According to a recent Nielsen report, 80% of site visitors won’t scroll down the whole page, so make sure the important info is near the top:
• Place your business name and logo in a prominent spot
• Emphasize what you do with a strong headline or tagline
• Use special offers to draw interest
• Summarize your services or products using your menu bar and visuals

Make it clear what visitors should do – calls-to-action, that include your number, a contact form, and maybe an option to download information, etc. Keep in mind that “above the fold” is a moving target with the increase of mobile and tablet use, but it’s still critical in website design.

8. Make the Site Quick to Load

If your site takes more than a few seconds to load, visitors may abandon it and go to a competitor’s site instead. You can help ensure the site loads quickly by keeping image sizes low (but still of good quality) and limiting the number of videos, widgets, photos and social media sharing buttons embedded in the site.

9. Build Credibility & Trust

Your website should help potential customers get to know you and trust your work. To help build credibility, include samples of your work on the site; testimonials from happy customers; links to newspaper or magazine articles that have featured your business; any awards you’ve received; and logos of any local organizations you belong to, such as the Chamber of Commerce.

10. Connect to Social Media

Whether your customers are consumers or other businesses, connecting with them on social media is a great way to spread the word about your products or services, as well as increase traffic to your website. You’ll want to know on which social networks your target audience spends their time. Here’s a quick rundown of the most popular sites:

• Facebook – still reigns as the largest social site and offers opportunities to nurture relationships and target ads
• Twitter – great for communicating real-time news, assisting with customer service and supporting event coverage
• LinkedIn – serves as largest network for businesses and professionals and is ideal for building relationships, partnerships and hiring
• YouTube – the largest video-sharing site provides a place to easily share your expertise, tips and behind-the-scenes company videos
• Google+ – a growing networking site that has a link to a company’s Google+ account is a good way to influence shares
• Pinterest – one of the most visual social sites with a female-oriented member base. Great for retailers and other highly visual businesses.
• Instagram – great for showcasing your company with stylized images and videos. Perfect for businesses in hospitality, retail and entertainment.
• SnapChat – one of the newest kids on the block, this social app allows users to share short-lived photo and video messages.

Take Our 30 Second Test

“Time is money, wake up your website today!”

Discover the overall strength and effectiveness of your website. 

30 Second Test – Things to look for:

  • Does your website communicate your message clearly?
  • At the end of the day, what do you want your website to do?
  • Does your website effectively explain your product/service?
  • How do your clients react to your website? Do they like it?
  • What does your sales staff say about your website? Does it help or hurt them?
  • Does your website sell for you the way you want it to?
  • Do you know If people are even using your website?
  • What do visitors do while on your website?
  • Bottom line, all websites have a call-to-action, even if it is to click on the next link or read the next page. Is your call-to-action getting you results?

If one or more of these questions cause you concern, call Web Interactive today at 1-800-418-2358 and let’s get your website ticking again.

TCC Web Interactive

A Division of the Computer Company, Inc.
Website Design CT
15 Commerce Drive, Cromwell, CT
info@tccwebinteractive.com
(860) 635-0500

Why do Catholic Schools need dynamic eManagerSite websites?

May 30th, 2014

Historically, Catholic Schools have been at the forefront of scientific, educational, medical, and technological innovation.  Ironically however, Catholic Schools sometimes are one of the slower adopters of this same innovation.  This has proven true of the adoption and effective use of both websites and social media by most parishes.

Why have our Catholic Schools been so slow to embrace the  internet?  I believe it is for the same reason that any of us fail to do something well – a lack of vision and thus motivation.  In other words, without understanding the potential and importance of an idea, it is unlikely that we will be empowered to implement that same idea.

Below are what I believe to be the top 7 reasons that Catholic parishes desperately need a dynamic website.

First Impression

When someone moves into town and they are looking for a Catholic parish, what is the first thing they do?  They google “Catholic church, name of townname of state“.  So what is their first impression of our parish?  The parish website!

If our parish website is ugly, looks like it was made in the 90′s, or is poorly maintained (i.e., it still has information about last year’s Fall Festival on the home page), that new parishioner will probably be a new parishioner at another local Catholic parish whose website reflects “we are a beautiful, dynamic parish with a flourishing faith community”.

Primary Source of Communication

What is one of the most important principles of evangelization and communication?  Meet them where they’re at.  If we want to be faithful and effective evangelists and catechists, we must go where the people are.

So where are the people in our parish? Answer: online.  The internet – websites, blogs, social media – are the primary source of information and means of communication today.  If we embrace these mediums of communication, they will help transform the life of our parish.

Increase Active Participation

How often do you spend countless hours creating and preparing for an awesome youth night, bible study, or other parish activity and then wonder why nobody (or very few people) show up?  Often, the problem is not that people are not interested in the events or ministry that we provide, it’s that they do not know about them!

Let’s be honest – most people do not listen to announcements at the end of Mass or read the parish bulletin.  However, a dynamic parish website, combined with the effective use of social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter and a robust communication tool such as email newsletters, will engage the majority of parishioners and increase awareness of the spiritual, social, and services opportunities available at the parish.  And if we increase awareness, we will ultimately increase active participation!

Efficiency

I know how much time is spent on administrative work each week.  Flyers, permission slips, volunteer recruitment and coordination, tracking down payments…all tasks (important as they were) that required time that someone would have rather been spending doing “ministry”.

With a dynamic parish website and by utilizing social media, a parish can greatly reduce the amount of time spent on traditional administrative tasks through more efficient and streamlined forms of communication.

Better Stewardship

A great parish website improves stewardship.  Firstly, we are more efficient so we are better stewards of our time.

Secondly, we can greatly reduce the amount of paper used for mail-outs, permissions slips, flyers, etc. by embracing digital communication.  This will save the parish thousands of dollars a year,

Thirdly, by freeing up more time, we are able to spend more time using our talents in other ways.

Finally, if your parish website gives a good first impression we have a better chance of growing the number of families in our parish, which ultimately increases donations and your parish.

Go Green

By creating a dynamic parish website and using social media, we can become a more paperless parish.  Thus, we will be doing our part to be a good steward of the environment.

Open 24 / 7 / 365

Regardless of how many hours we work and serve at our parish, we cannot be available around the clock.  Not true of the parish website.

The parish website is the one part of our parish that is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  By creating a beautiful, dynamic website, you have an opportunity to evangelize and catechize at all hours of the day.

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