Anna Geeroms's Blog Posts
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YouTube URL Structure Update
July 5, 2011 CommentsYoutube recently updated their URL structure. Now, if you click Share below a YouTube video you get a short URL, with a structure like http://youtu.be/PNyMlswZb-I, instead of the older format http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNyMlswZb-I.
The shorter URL is nice for sending the URL around to friends or tweeting. However, some Drupal sites that use short codes, such as ">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNyMlswZb-I] for embedding Youtube may need to be updated to work with the new URL structure. We'll be checking the sites we've launched and contacting you if your site is among those effected. -
Multi-Step vs. Single Page Checkout
June 21, 2011 CommentsHave you ever tried to purchase something off the internet and been presented with a long tabbed, multi-step checkout? You think to yourself "what am I getting myself into?" You have no idea what they might ask in future parts of the form and so you hesitate before committing to buy something.
Alternately, have you come to the checkout page and it is 7 km long? So long, your hand gets tired of scrolling!
[no visual displayed here because it would be too long for this page]
Either way, you are tempted to abandon your cart and get out of there!
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Ecwid: The Simple Shopping Cart Solution
June 14, 2011 Comments
If you haven't heard of Ecwid, and you are in the market for a shopping cart, you should check it out. It is a newish shopping cart system that can be integrated with Drupal or WordPress. Compared to other Drupal/WordPress options it is simple in design/function and it is simple to integrate with your website. I did a happy dance the first time I checked Ecwid out because finally we have a simple solution to offer to clients that is a real shopping cart. -
Why the unsubscribes?
March 11, 2011 CommentsIt takes quite a bit of time and energy to create an email newsletter. Writing the stories, putting the newsletter together, assembling and formatting the images, proofing the newsletter, and managing the distribution lists--the list of To Do's makes for quite a time investment.
And then people unsubscribe! Each unsubscribe can feel like a total rejection. And with broken heart you'll do the play-by-play in your brain, wondering what made them jump ship. Was the newsletter uninteresting, not a suitable topic, riddled with errors? It's easy to jump to the conclusion that the content or presentation are at fault.
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What Your Nonprofit Can Learn From Covenant House Vancouver's Award-Winning Blog
June 25, 2010 Comments
This month, our clients at Covenant House Vancouver were recognized for their exceptional blog, On the House, receiving an award from The Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS). Covenant House shelters and counsels street youth, and over the past 10 years they've helped 10,000 young people with shelter, food, clothing, counseling and other support. Their blog launched on August 24th, 2009, and since then they've contributed over 150 posts. -
Vertical Response Release New Editor
June 14, 2010 CommentsVertical Response, an online newsletter software, recently released an update to their editor. WOW! What an improvement.
The old editor, used for editing custom HTML templates was pretty picky. It reminded me of Microsoft Word, in that you might press return once and get a huge gaping hole in your layout. Or press backspace once and the entire design would disappear. Undo was a most used feature. And often the remedy was to extract the source and fix things up in Dreamweaver, combing through line by line.
That said, I've always liked Vertical Response because I like the management interface, including the list manager, and after gaining enormous popularity, they are still offering their service FREE to nonprofits, which is awesome for many of our clients.
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Password Overload and CRMs
June 4, 2010 CommentsWhen I used a PC, I found this utility that I used to keep track of my passwords. Roboform
is this happy will green dude who sits in your utility tray and keeps a list of all of your login accounts, their URLs, usernames, passwords and notes. Launching an account is as easy as clicking on Roboform and selecting the account you'd like to launch and voila the site launches and Roboform fills your username and password and automatically logs you in. Roboform works with a master password, so when you login to your computer to launch Roboform you need to enter a master password. You can set how often you want to be prompted for the password. -
Drupal Six Raised Eyebrow Online Help Manual Really Helps!
July 24, 2009 CommentsAs of Tuesday, with each new Drupal 6 website we build, we will be providing access to an online manual. Like our paper manual, the online manual describes the basic functions of Drupal in easy to understand language and has customized client-specific content. But the new format also has many new benefits.
Book Module
The online manual uses the Drupal book module, which is a great because the book module lends to organizing things… like a book. The book module automatically creates a listing of the child entries, like a table of contents. You can order the child pages in any way you choose. I also like the book module because is has a printer-friendly version of each page. It does a really nice job of stripping out the unnecessary stuff and optimizing the content for printing, so you don’t get pages broken in half or extra white pages when you print.
Information in a New Dimension
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Vertical Response: Free Newsletters for Non-Profits
June 23, 2009 CommentsVertical Response is free for 501(c)(3) equivalent organizations, which is pretty amazing deal in the world of newsletter software. Apply by emailing proof of your 501(c)(3) equivalency to nonprofits@verticalresponse.com and you will start getting 10,000 credits applied to your account per month.
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Deaths Due to Reading Email while Crossing the Street are on the Rise
June 12, 2009 CommentsI'm walking down the stairs, leaving our office at Tides Renewal Centre and I'm behind this other dude in a suit and we are both shuffling along because we are checking our Blackberries while walking downstairs. This strikes me as stupid, but forms the basis of a polite exchange of Crackberry jokes.