Campbell’s Snow Day Campaign

As a project manager at WDS, I have the opportunity to work with a variety of amazing clients. One of our longtime partners is the Campbell Soup Company. Late last year, they came to us with an exciting campaign they were launching. In light of the recent turn to virtual learning due to the ongoing pandemic, they wanted to launch a campaign to bring back the snow day! We thought it was a great idea full of potential, but there was one caveat—the timeline to launch was quick and included a tight deadline. 

As the end of the year was quickly approaching and winter was falling upon many regions, there was an urgent push to get the Save the Snow Day campaign launched. With this campaign, users come to the site to pledge to help save the snow day. They are asked to to enter their zip code, which then shows up on an interactive map to see where others who have pledged are also located. In addition, users have the option to share on Instagram, download coloring page PDFs, and at the beginning of the launch, could even sign up to receive a free snow day kit.

What were we building?

As with any project, the first step is understanding what the goal and requirements are of the project. This is even more crucial with a tight deadline because you don’t want to waste any time focusing on something not critical to the build. In this case, our strategy team worked closely and quickly with the client to determine this project needed:

• A teaser page
• A landing page on a new domain
• Integration with a form and Salesforce API
• The ability to map pinpoints on a map
• Instagram plugin
• Ability to download PDFs

How much time did we have?

Once we knew what we were building, we needed to understand if those requirements aligned with timeline and budget. In this case, the teaser page needed to be up within a week of kicking off strategy. The full landing page would launch a few weeks after that. All in all, it ended up being about a seven-week timeline from first learning about the project to launching the full landing page.

Assembling the Team

Who had the bandwidth to take this on? What skills did the team need to possess? 

Knowing we had to move quickly, we understood there would be some crossover amongst teams as well. It was important that as our strategy team was working with the client to understand the deliverables, they were also in constant communication with our engineering team. Allowing the engineers to give their input up front on the way to handle some of the requirements allowed for them to move a bit quicker when it came time for actual development. We assembled a small but nimble team who had the bandwidth and skills ready to take on the project challenges.

Gathering the Materials

In a perfect world, you have everything you need to get started on a project before diving in. However, with tight timelines, sometimes you need to start early with whatever you have. We ensured that the engineers had the access they needed as soon as possible to get the site stood-up and that we had a finalized version of the mock-ups. Like most projects, we understood things may need to be adjusted slightly, but we didn’t want that to hold us up from getting started.

The first part of this build was a teaser page. We knew we could stand that up quickly once we had necessary site access. This bought a bit of time on both sides to get the remaining assets and approvals needed for the full landing page build. Whenever it’s possible to work in phases or stages, it’s a great route to go, especially in tight time situations.

Site Build and PM’ing the Process

The most crucial element once we entered the development process was continued communication with both the internal and client teams. We couldn’t just go heads down and pop out on the other side with a finished product. We had to ensure everyone was on the same page the whole time since there wasn’t a lot of room for error here. 

As a project manager, it was my job to ensure all tasks were outlined clearly with their deliverables. Don’t make your team go hunting for requirements. I ensured each task had an objective, user stories, technical requirements, screen shot, and links to any other applicable documents. The sooner an engineer can dive into the work, the sooner things are going to get done. At the same time, if there are questions that arise, it’s my job to be available as needed and work between my internal teams and the client teams to help remove any blockers or barriers.

As we were developing, if we ran into any issues we alerted the Campbells team as soon as possible. They would then work to respond quickly with answers. Likewise, if a change came up from the Campbells side, we had to ensure we were agile enough that we could address the change.

Working within a small team allowed us to quickly adapt and provide visibility to what everyone was working on. It allowed for constant communication between myself as a PM with my team, as well as amongst engineers. It’s crucial when working with a tight deadline that you have everyone’s buy-in from the beginning—both from an internal and client side.

Time for Launch

As development was finishing up, we had to ensure it went through the proper channels for approval. This included client reviews, legal reviews, and security reviews. Although no major issues arose, we needed to make sure we had availability to jump on any last minute changes before going live. Because this was a larger campaign that was getting launched in conjunction with multiple press releases and such, we needed to ensure the landing page would be ready to go as soon as we got the approval.

On December 2, 2020, the landing page officially went live receiving rave reviews from multiple national sources. We couldn’t have been more proud to be a part of it! Even after launch, the team didn’t hesitate to make a few adjustments to improve user experience.  For example, due to the overwhelming response, the number of zip code points quickly overtook the whole map. Our team refined that function by grouping zip codes together that would expand only upon zoom to improve the visual experience.

So what did we learn about project management and tight deadlines?

1. Ensure everyone understands the overall project goal.

It’s important everyone on the project has an understanding of the ultimate goal. It’s not enough to just create a list of tasks and have a team blindly build a site and be done with it. For this project, there were a lot of “why” questions asked in the beginning to help our team understand what the end goal was. In understanding the bigger picture, it helps with problem solving and prioritization of tasks.

In this example, the main element was collecting user data to illustrate zip codes on a map. This was to help bring awareness to the number of individuals pledging to save the snow day. With that understanding we were able to focus on the user experience of the form and the map functionality. It doesn’t mean that other elements of the build don’t get the same attention to detail, but it ensures everyone has a shared vision of what the larger focus should be.

Once we had an understanding of what we were trying to achieve with the map, we comprehended the complexities of integrating a map with a form. Having a clear understanding helped the team pinpoint the exact functionality of what was needed so we could work together to find the best solutions possible.

2. Keep clear and constant communication amongst all teams.

I can’t stress enough how important communication is. It’s important on any project, but with tight deadlines, it’s extremely essential. From the very beginning, you need to ensure that both the client and internal teams understand this is going to take commitment from both sides to meet the deadline. If there are delays on either end, it could put the project in jeopardy.

Internally, the team must be in constant communication with one another to ensure transparency. This can be done by setting up daily scrums, ensuring progress reports are left on tasks, and encouraging team members to ask questions if they get stuck.  If they are unclear on something, it’s important they feel comfortable reaching out to the team to avoid going down the wrong path. You don’t want to hinder productivity by pinging someone or checking in with them every two seconds, but it’s important as a project manager to have an understanding where everyone is on a daily basis for progress tracking.

With the client, communication is just as important. From the very beginning, it needs to be clear what the requirements are and any deliverables they’ll be responsible for. As the project progresses, you want to ensure you’re in constant communication of status updates. 

It’s recommended to set up ongoing status meetings, provide demos to confirm alignment on features, and set expectations on response times needed. You want to ensure the client understands if blockers come up we’ll need to work together to find a solution so that progress isn’t delayed. Having a strong relationship from the onset with the client, where you know you can rely on them and they can rely on you in a timely manner, is crucial to these types of projects.

3. Set clear expectations from the beginning and stick to them.

From the onset of a project, it’s important to be clear about the requirements, deliverables, and expectations. With a tight deadline, there will be little room to readjust, so you need to ensure that everyone is on the same page from the beginning. This starts with outlining a clear timeline, with deadlines for deliverables, and getting everyone’s buy-in and approval.

You also want to ensure requirements are clearly stated within a project plan and when building out tasks. This will help alleviate any confusion as you work throughout the build so that everyone is aware of exactly what was agreed upon for this time and budget.

Aside from the actual requirements, you also want to make it clear what the expectations will be from both sides. From a WDS side, we ensure clients know they can expect daily updates from us, demos of the work, and timely communication. In response, it’s important clients understand their expectations such as providing timely feedback, sticking to the agreed-upon requirements, and providing any needed deliverables.

The sooner you can set expectations the better, and ensure you stick to them throughout the project. This will ensure the project stays on track from a timing, budget, and deliverable perspective.

Looking toward your next project?

Working with a tight deadline certainly has its challenges. Making use of effective project management strategies can help ensure the success of any last-minute marketing campaigns.

As illustrated above, the Campbell’s Save the Snow Day campaign is the perfect example of those practices.  By ensuring everyone understands the project goal, encouraging constant communication, and providing a clear set of expectations we were able to help Campbells launch an incredibly successful campaign.   

Need a team with an excellent project management team to help build your next website? Contact us!

The post Tight Deadline? Use These Project Management Tips appeared first on WebDevStudios.

Make Use of the WordPress Media Library

If you’re familiar with WordPress, you know there is a Media Library built right into the CMS already. Understanding how to use this media solution on your WordPress site, as well as the benefits and limitations of it, is important in integrating media.

The Media Library allows users to simply upload media directly to their site and then select where they would like those files to display. It’s a great way to quickly display media onto your WordPress site alongside other content.

While the ease of use is great, the Media Library, unfortunately, comes with a few drawbacks—specifically around asset organization, image optimization, and overall user experience. In order to help get around some of these limitations though, we’ve outlined a few helpful recommendations and best practices to help ensure your site remains at optimum performance level.

Optimizing Images

Many people assume that the highest quality image they can upload to a site, the better off they are. While we certainly do want high quality imagery, you can get to a point where the images are too large, negatively impacting on your WordPress site. Having too many images on your site with large file sizes can slow down your website performance. This will have a direct impact on search engine rankings, user experience, and site performance.

According to WP Engine, “…images and media files take up a hefty 63% of bandwidth on modern website.” That is a big percentage of a site’s bandwidth that could be used for other more important functions, and a big reason why you want to ensure you’re optimizing your images.

Image optimization is essentially trying to get the best quality image with the least number of pixels. This will ultimately reduce media size and improve site performance. This can be achieved in a couple of different ways.

1. Optimize before uploading to the site. 

Image editing software is a proven media solution for your WordPress website because it can be depended on to optimize your images. As you perform this task, you will want to keep in mind both the file format and the overall size of the image. 

• The size of the image will be dependent on where it is being displayed on your site. You’ll want to be sure to plan ahead and know where placement will be, so you’re not using up bandwidth. For example, don’t bother uploading large images if you plan to display them at a small scale.
• Different file formats have different purposes. It’s important to understand the differences, so you can save them out accordingly. The three most popular image formats include:
  • JPG – You may sacrifice image quality, but you will make up for it with improved site performance.
  • PNG – This allows for transparent backgrounds, which is ideal for icons, logos, or high quality images.
  • SVG – This is best for vector graphics because it can be scale without losing image quality and retain a small file size.

2. Make use of plugins.

If you are not able to us a media solution like image editing software to optimize images before uploading to your WordPress site, a great alternative is using a plugin. The following WordPress plugins will help to go through and optimize your images with a variety of customizations to help improve site performance. Here at WDS, before launching any site, we typically recommend running reSmush.it to help ensure site performance, especially with image heavy sites.

In addition, a few other recommendations (some at premium cost) include:

• • Optimole
  • EWWW Image Optimizer
  • Smush
  • ShortPixel Image Optimizer
  • Kraken

The Best Way to Add Video Content

We’re actually going to start with how not to add videos to your site. Although WordPress has a built-in video player media solution, we would advise skipping the WordPress Video Player. This is because:

1. Using this method means you would be self-hosting the videos, which can take up value bandwidth on your site.
2. You may need to convert videos into multiple file types. This is needed to accommodate different browsers sometimes.
3. Embedded videos can be shared on social and searched on platforms like YouTube more easily. This, in turn, drives more traffic to your site.

So if you don’t use the WordPress Video Player, what do you do?

We highly recommend embedding all videos on your site. Let a video hosting site, such as YouTube, Vimeo, or Wistia do the heavy lifting. These media solutions are the experts in hosting videos, converting them to the correct files for browsers, and it frees up space on your server for more important things. Embedding a video on your site is easy. Simply paste the URL into the WordPress Editor.

Just because you’re embedding from another site doesn’t mean you loose all control over displaying the video either. For instance, you may want the video to be centered within your content instead of the default left aligned placement. That’s no problem at all, and you have complete control over that placement. If you’re interested in learning just how to do that, WP Engine details how to center align your videos in their great article: Beginner’s Guide: How to Center Align a Video in WordPress.

There are also some great plugin options available to help provide even more customization:

• WordPress Video Gallery plugin from Huge-IT
  • This plugin extends the options of displaying your video content by using different layouts, galleries, and pagination options.
• Elite Video Player
  • Consider another video player option that supports embeds and self-hosted videos, as well as advertising options and custom controls.
• Video SEO for WordPress
  • This is a plugin that helps ensure Google is finding your videos to serve in search results and drive traffic.

Media Library Recommendations

You’ll inevitably find yourself relying on the Media Library from time to time. When that’s the case, no worries; there are a few recommendations we have on hand to help guide you in using it as efficiently as possible.

Videos

First, let’s look at some things to keep in mind for video media:

• Ensure your videos are encoded properly, so they work on various devices. Various encodes include .mp4, .webm, .ogv that can be set accordingly through the use of short codes.
• The recommended video resolution is typically 1280×720 (720p).
• The recommended video frame rate is 24, 25, or 30.
• If you are self hosting, ensure you have enough bandwidth, stories, and speed for your site with your hosting provider.
• To help make things easier, make use of the Gutenberg Video Block. On the desired page, simply navigate to the default Video Block, add the block to your page, and upload your video.
• If you’re not sure where to place a video yet, you can use the Media Library and then reference it when you’re ready.

Images

For imagery in the Media Library, there are a few helpful tips that may make your user experience a bit easier:

• As mentioned before, the Media Library by default has no way to organize your media. To help with organization and planning, you can try the Media Library Folders for WordPress plugin. They have a free version, but the Pro version will also integrate with ACF and NextGen Gallery.
• To avoid duplication of media, it’s good to get into the practice of searching your Media Library first before uploading a duplicate by accident. You may already hold in your library the exact media you’re wanting to use.
• You can also install various plugins that will help in replacing old images with new ones (and their associated links), such as Enable Media Replace.
• Lastly, it’s always good practice to set metadata for all images. The reality is that everyone says they will go back and add it later, but rarely do they. So, it’s better to just add metadata as soon as you upload the image.  The metadata will help with organization and WordPress post data.
  • Tip: It’s helpful to include a tag (such as logo, icon, infographic). You can then search for tags within the search field to find the desired content.

Media content on the web is a big piece of building a website. Using media solutions correctly can have a huge, positive impact on your WordPress site.  These recommendations are just the tip of the iceberg in diving into the world of website media, but they will certainly help get you started on the right path in optimizing your site’s performance with the best tools at hand.  If you are looking for more recommendations or to take a deeper dive into improving your site, definitely reach out to us at WDS and we’d more than happy to continue the conversation!

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What Zoom Should You Use?

Like most online software, Zoom offers various levels for using their platform. Depending on your needs, you may be fine with a free Basic plan, but if you’re looking for a few more features, you may be interested in their Pro, Business, or even Enterprise plans. You can check out the full comparison amongst the plans at Zoom’s website, but here’s a high-level overview.

• The Basic plan offers great features (and it’s free), but there is a 40-minute meeting limit.
  
• The Pro plan increases meeting length to 24 hours. It also gives you the added options of admin support, custom user IDs, and cloud recording.
  
• The Business or Enterprise plans allow for added customization with company branding, custom emails, an admin dashboard, and more.

Now That You Have Zoom, How Should You Use It?

Just because Zoom is known as a video conferencing platform, doesn’t mean every call will be on video. Some instances, having just audio is more than sufficient. Whether you’re utilizing the platform for video or audio, it’s important to keep a few key etiquette tips in mind to help keep things as efficient and comfortable as possible.

Tips for Using Zoom Video

Dress Appropriately

We know it’s tempting to sit around in comfy clothes when you don’t intend to leave the house. However, just because a meeting has moved to be on Zoom, as opposed to in person, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t present yourself any differently. You may not need to put on a full suit, but you should be mindful to make sure you’re presenting yourself professionally. Remember, you’re still interacting with the same coworkers that you would normally dress appropriately for in a brick-and-mortar office.

Be Mindful of Your Surroundings

Zoom calls can offer a glimpse inside coworkers lives, based on what is in their background on a video call. When joining a call, make sure your background is something that is work appropriate and that you’re comfortable sharing with others. It’s fine to have personality in your environment, but just consider anything in your background space is a reflection of you as a person. You may consider setting up a space that will be used specifically for video calls. This could be a neutral wall, a book case, or just a space you can easily keep organized. Maybe you want to have a little fun (or just not share your own space on camera). Explore the virtual backgrounds that Zoom offers. Place yourself on a beach, in outer space, or any of your favorite places. At WebDevStudios, virtual backgrounds have become some great conversation starters in team meetings!

Be Aware of Your Camera

This next tip for using Zoom may sound like common knowledge, but it’s important to be aware of your camera being on at all times. If you need to remove yourself from a meeting for any reason, make sure you turn your camera off to avoid any unnecessary embarrassing mishaps (take Jennifer here as an example). When first setting up your camera, also be mindful of camera placement and good lighting. Typically you want your camera to be at eye-level and have a light source in front of you or your computer.

Tips for Using Zoom Audio

Act Like You’re on Video

Even if no one can see you, body language can easily be carried through your voice. Be sure to set up the same way as if your video was on. This will make you feel more prepared and productive, as well as allow you to still fully focus on the conversation at hand.

Utilize Headphones

If solely relying on audio for a conversation, be sure to remove any outside distractions by utilizing headphones. This helps to keep your attention on the conversation with minimal distractions and can also help reduce excess feedback on the call.

Ensure Your Audio Levels Are Good

Without visual cues as to when someone may be talking, it’s important to attain accurate audio levels. You want to ensure your voice is not too soft (or loud) so that everyone can understand you clearly.

Tips for Using Zoom Whether Video or Audio

Don’t Be Afraid to Use the Chat Feature

Zoom has a great chat feature that allows you to either message an entire group or specific individuals. This feature is helpful in reducing interruptions in a conversation, sharing links, or documenting questions to revisit at the end of a conversation. 

Use the Mute Button

This next tip for using Zoom is a whopper. Pay close attention. Use the mute button. It can help keep distractions at a minimum and keep the focus on the main speaker. It’s important to be mindful of all participants, especially since talking over one another in a Zoom conversation never turns out well. When it’s your turn to talk, or if you have something to share, simply wait until the speaker is finished, un-mute yourself, and share your thoughts.

How Should You Prepare for a Zoom Meeting?

As with any meeting, you want to ensure you’re using everyone’s time as efficiently as possible. If it takes five minutes in the beginning of a meeting to get everyone logged in and set up, then that is valuable time you’re taking away from everyone involved. Before sending out a meeting for a Zoom call, make sure you ask yourself if your meeting invitation includes the following:

• Video link and/or call-in number
• Password, if required
• Whether or not you’ll be utilizing a waiting room
• Whether or not your Zoom meeting will be a video call or audio only

Also, if you’ll be recording the meeting, make sure participants are aware. You can share this in the meeting invite as well as at the start of the meeting. Zoom even offers a feature to enable a recording disclaimer users must accept before joining.

How Do You Ensure Your Zoom Space Is Secure?

With the increase of users online, security is always a concern. When Zoom saw a huge increase in remote working and more users on their platform, Zoom bombing started to become a huge issue. This event is where uninvited users join private meetings, and the results are usually not only disruptive but invasive. To help combat uninvited guests, Zoom put some new security features in place that anyone can take advantage of.

• Setting Passwords – Any host can set a password that would be required for joining a private call.
• Waiting Room – You can select if guests can join before the host or wait in a virtual waiting room. With a virtual waiting room, no participant can join unless specifically let in by the host.
• Lock Meeting – If you know all participants are present, you can lock the meeting so no one else can join.
• Chat, Screen Sharing, and Naming Settings – Zoom allows the host to control what features attendees can access. You can remove access to the chat, the ability to screen share, or disallow participants to alter their names (a feature that’s useful in a classroom setting when children are involved).

Additional Tools You Can Use with Zoom

Although Zoom is an online platform, there are some physical hardware pieces that can help improve your user experience.

Camera Covers: If you feel uneasy about leaving your camera exposed when not being used for video, you can buy a webcam cover. Essentially, a webcam cover is a cover with a sliding door that can easily be moved to show or hide your camera. Check Amazon for some affordable options.

External Microphones: Adding an external microphone to your computer setup can help ensure crisp, clean audio. This may be especially helpful for those who find themselves on calls often throughout the day. A lot of time, external microphones can come in the form of headset with a built-in microphone (and headphones) or something that looks like a microphone straight out of a DJ booth. There are many options out there at various price points. Shop around, but just make extra sure that whichever you choose, it is compatible with your computer system.

Headphones: We all know the distractions that home life can bring. Having a handy pair of headphones as part of your remote work setup is perfectly acceptable. They can be any type that you find most comfortable, but as is the case with your external microphone, just make sure they are compatible with your particular setup.

As a 100% remote company, WebDevStudios relies on Zoom to communicate amongst our team and with our clients. It’s become one of our go-to tools in building a successful remote culture. With the shift to working remotely, it’s a good idea to rely on these tips for using Zoom in order to prepare yourself and allow time for familiarity with a new set of tools that are becoming part of the new everyday work life.

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Importance of Client Testimonials

We all love positive feedback and praise, but client testimonials are more than just showing off compliments of your work. Before we dive into why they’re important, let’s provide clarifications on what exactly a testimonial is and is not.

A testimonial is specifically meant to help elevate your brand and company. It does this by having specific clients or customers essentially endorse your services or product, unlike a review, which can come from anywhere and isn’t always in line with your company’s vision.

Building Trust

Client testimonials are an extremely important component to building up trust with future customers. Typically, people don’t like to try something that has never been tried before, and hiring a company is no different. By providing testimonials from other people who have used your services, you’re building trust  with potential clients. They help create a comfort level among people who know that others have made the same investment and are happy with the results. The stronger the testimonials, the faster that trust will be built.

Brand Reputation

Including client testimonials as part of your site helps to paint a picture of your brand and values. They confirm you are a reliable company someone can trust to provide the services you promote. In addition, they can help attract the type of client that you feel may fit well with your brand. If you have high-quality testimonials from reputable sources on your site, it will illustrate your type of clients and reflect back onto your prospective clients.

SEO

Testimonials can also play a role in helping elevate your site’s SEO. If possible, ensure the client testimonial includes keyword rich context. This will help when others are searching for similar information, and your site’s testimonials appear in the search results. Since people are known to trust earned media (like testimonials) over paid advertising, you’re more likely to attract visitors.

Now that we understand the importance of testimonials, there a few ways to go about acquiring them and ensure they’re featured in the most effective way possible.

Acquiring Testimonials

There are a variety of ways to go about receiving effective client testimonials.  Any of the the following are relevant; it just depends what works best for your company.

Ask the Customer Directly

Sometimes the best way is just to directly ask a customer, who you feel have you built a strong relationship with, for a client testimonial.  When asking a customer directly, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• Keep it as simple and easy as possible. If you make it too difficult, you’ll most likely get no response at all or just get a quick, nonchalant response. It can be helpful to provide specific questions or ask them about a specific point.
• Ask for a testimonial at various points throughout the life cycle of the service you provided or their purchasing experience. If you’re looking for a testimonial to highlight a certain point of your service or product, ask them soon after completion of the service or receipt of product.
• Remember, testimonials can come from anyone that has interacted with you or your product. Anyone that has developed a relationship with your team can provide valuable information.

Landing Page or  Form on Your Site

• Integrate a page on your site specifically for testimonials, which users can return to and fill out at anytime.
• Include the link to your landing page or form in newsletters or follow-up -mails after service completion or product delivery.
• If possible, require the user to fill out their name and who they are associated with.  Anonymous testimonials don’t hold as much weight as ones associated with specific individuals or companies.

Ask via Business Email or Communication

• If your company is known for sending out newsletters with customer engagement, add a call-to-action for submitting testimonials.
• You could provide a short survey, a link to a form on your page, or just an email address where they can send a testimonial.

Consider Video or Audio Testimonials

• We know everyone is busy, and writing out testimonials can take time. So, consider setting up a brief call with a customer and recording their testimonial.
• You can use the recording either as an audio bite, a video, or transcribed into text content onto your site.

Featuring Testimonials

Now that you have your testimonials, what’s the best way to showcase them?

WordPress Plugins

Here are some of the top WordPress plugins that are being used to successfully highlight client testimonials.

• Strong Testimonials
• Testimonial Slider
• WP Testimonials
• Testimonial Rotator
• Testimonial
• Testimonials Widget
• Genesis Testimonial Slider

Featured Carousel

Consider overlaying testimonials on a featured hero image on your site or within a carousel on your main homepage with a stylized text treatment.  It should be something that stands out but doesn’t take away from the main content of the page.

Integrated Throughout Your Site

You could utilize large block quote snippets from within a testimonial and highlight them throughout the site. For instance, if you have a quote praising a specific product, include that client testimonial on that product’s web page.

Create an Individual Page

You could dedicate a page just to testimonials on your site.  It’s  a great way to highlight more in depth or elaborate testimonials. If you’re lucky enough to get a detailed testimonial from a client, consider highlighting it and taking the opportunity to create a case study.

Social Media

Social media is a key way to promote testimonials. Include testimonials as posts right on your social media platforms that link back to specific references on your site that align with that testimonial. If possible, it can also increase the trustworthiness of a testimonial, if you’re able to associate a picture and social media account with the person who provided it.

There are a variety of ways to highlight client testimonials on your site, and it’s up to you to decide what fits your brand and your customers the best.  No matter which avenue you decide to use, though, it’s important to remember how much of an impact including testimonials have on building trust and brand reputation.

Need a team to build a website that features your client testimonials? Contact us! You can check out our testimonials highlighted on our homepage.

The post Ways to Showcase Client Testimonials appeared first on WebDevStudios.

What is Project Leadership?

Every industry has their own version of project leadership. It’s important to remember the common denominator is the empowerment of people and working to everyone’s strengths.

The job of a manager is to implement processes and procedures for efficiency. The job of a leader is to provide teams with tools and support needed to implement those processes.

Project Leadership Roles

Every industry has unique leadership roles, but since WDS is in the web industry, we’re focusing on the technology sector—specifically product managers, program managers, and project managers.

When I entered the world of project management, I didn’t think much of the nuances in those job titles. I figured they were all similar enough that it didn’t matter much.  Upon further research, I found there were very distinct (and important) differences. Although I found my role specifically as project manager, I still find when I tell someone I am a ‘PM,’ the term often gets mistaken for a program or product manager.  I realize it wasn’t just me confusing the terms, but that they often get used interchangeably whether in job descriptions, job postings, and determining job responsibilities.

Although they are all leadership roles, we can use our sports analogy to help clarify how they relate.

• The product manager takes full ownership of the larger picture of the product, similar to a team owner.
• The program manager takes that vision and oversees programs to help it come to fruition, similar to the head coach. 
• Similar to a special teams coach, project managers are responsible for working with the team players. They provide planning and tools to achieve independent tasks making up a larger project.

Understanding Roles and the Benefits to Your Project

Not every company will have a product manager, program manager, or project manager. It depends on a variety of variables, including the size of the company, the project, and the goals. Understanding what each of these roles brings to an organization will allow you build the proper team for your needs. 

Larger jobs may benefit from having a product manager to focus on the bigger picture and customer interest. The program manager will focus on getting the right teams in place to achieve programs to build the product. Then a group of project managers will work with the engineers to achieve the independent tasks for those larger programs.

If it’s a smaller job, you may not need a product manager, but still benefit from hiring a program manager. The program manager can identify interdependence needed to achieve the initiative and put together a team of project managers.

There is no right or wrong way to put the team together. Having an understanding of each role can provide the knowledge to make educated decisions in bringing the best team together.

Product vs Program vs Project Manager

All these roles work together to achieve a common goal. Understanding their nuances is the first step in making sure the correct person is in the correct role. Let’s explore each one a little deeper to provide a clear picture for each one.

Product Manager

The product manager’s main focus is to satisfy a customer’s needs. They do so through overseeing the life cycle of a product at a high-level. Product managers originally entered the scene when technology companies hired brand managers, knowing they had a deep understanding of product creation and customer satisfaction. Over time, that evolved into the product manager role, and allows the product manager to focus on implementing the best strategies across design, technology, and business from a product’s conception to production. They are often answering the questions: what do we build and why are building it?

Program Manager

Program managers have different roles in different industries. In a consumer goods or retail industry they focus more on overall strategy of a new program (such as marketing initiatives). Within the technology industry, having more technical knowledge, they work with engineers, and have the title of technical product manager.  Either way, it’s the job of the program manager to take an idea, oftentimes outlined by the product manager, and coordinate the interdependence to help achieve that initiative. 

They may determine strategy and teams to implement marketing programs, web development needs, or customer support for product needs.  Multiple programs may be needed to achieve a product launch. It’s the program manager’s job to oversee the impact of those programs while balancing customer needs.

Project Manager

The project managers are the ones overseeing the operations of specific projects that usually make up larger programs; that’s not to say every project that a project manager oversees is part of a larger agenda, though. While the product and program managers are often overseeing things at a higher level, the project manager ensures project success by breaking a large scale project into manageable tasks and are critical to project success.  They act as liaison between the development team and the client while coordinating time, budget, and resourcing and act as the main contact point between all those involved. They are normally removed from the question, “What do we build?” and focus more on the when and how.

In Conclusion

Whether job searching, growing skills, or building a team, understanding the nuances of any job is important in finding success. Although the product manager, program manager, and project managers work on similar projects at similar times, they each require a certain set of skills that allow the individual in that position to be successful. The more understanding there is around the meaning behind a job title means that both those in the role and those working with the individuals will have a greater understanding of the expectations and capabilities of what can be achieved.

The post Project Leadership: What’s In a Name? appeared first on WebDevStudios.

Why Start Now?

It’s still 2019, so why should you be concerned about what will be on-trend next year? The planning process is pivotal in successful website builds, which takes time. You want to ensure your site is at the forefront of the the changing landscape of the web and not playing catch-up against your competitors. The sooner you start planning, the faster development can begin to get your site become a trailblazer in the new year. 

Why Do Trends Change and Why Are They So Important?

It probably feels like it’s a never-ending cycle to keep up with the new trends and updates that come yearly for WordPress and the web in general, and you wouldn’t be wrong. With so many talented developers (many of which we have here at WDS) contributing to open-source platforms, trends and necessary features will always be changing in an attempt to find the next big thing for developers and consumers alike.

Some of these trends may be purely aesthetic, which are still very important in maintaining your brand’s image on the web, but many of them are imperative to ensuring your site remains secure, accessible, and provides a friendly user experience. You want to position your company as a leader in your industry, and your website is going to be the first reflection of that for many visitors. Let’s explore some of the ways you can improve your website for next year.

What Improvements Should You Make in 2020?

1. Make sure your website is mobile-first and thumb-friendly.

Due to the continued growth in the use of mobile devices, it’s not enough anymore to just make sure your site works on mobile. Since so many users will be interacting with your site on a mobile device (and in some cases, solely on mobile), it’s imperative to design for a mobile experience first. By keeping mobile at the forefront of your design, you’ll definitely see some of the following benefits.

• You’ll give users an improved customer experience with design elements meant to be displayed on a smaller screen utilizing touch interactions.
  
• Keeping the design “thumb-friendly” (since often times users hold phones in the palm of the hand using their thumb to scroll, click, and interact) ensures all the content is within easy reach.
• Search engines, such as Google, are starting to give preference in indexing mobile-first designs to serve up more relevant searches for mobile users.
  

2. Use motion in your design with micro-animations.

Users love feedback and emotional connections with websites. Micro-animations are becoming increasingly popular in providing users with a rewarding user experience while providing valuable user feedback. These may sound like small details to add to a site, but don’t underestimate how something so simple can help differentiate a site from ordinary to a stand-out. 

Micro-animations can provide beneficial feedback through elements such as:

• Showing visual progress – visually seeing the progression of a loading bar complete
• Directing user navigation – utilizing subtle direction arrows or colors to directional cues
• Making use of natural swipe tendencies – creating seamless transitions generate an interactive and smooth site flow
• Visual feedback for security – implementing a color bar illustrating the strength of a password
• And so many more!

3. Optimize your site for accessibility.

Just like many other facets of life, some individuals need to utilize the web in a different manner than as initially designed due to a disability. Therefore, although this one may be more difficult to implement than some other trends, upgrading the accessibility of your website is a crucial way to improve your website for next year because it allows you to reach a vast audience and, in some cases, makes sure you are in accordance with laws and policies.

Designing for accessibility includes a vast number of things to consider and can require some additional education in understanding proper code structures to do so. However, simple things can be done to make drastic improvements to your accessibility on your site, including:

• Adding closed captions to videos
• Using headers correctly
• Integrating tab navigation
• Utilizing high color contrast

4. Make use of audio and voice search optimization.

Going along with accessibility, users are exploring websites with more than just their finger tips now. With the increase in voice assistants, such as Siri, Google Home, and Alexa, more users are navigating the web utilizing their voice. 

Ensuring your site is set up for audio and voice optimizations comes down to how content is organized on your site and how easily a search engine is able to find it. Here are some key factors to keep in mind:

• Making sure that your important content is within HTML (not images)
• Use phrases similar to natural speech (not just keywords)
• Ensure your site has a quick load speed (since Google will search those first in its queries)

Positive Impact of These Trends

These are just a few of the trends to note, and by no means do you need to start incorporating every new one you come across. By keeping some of these in mind to plan for next year, you can ensure you are are positioning your site as a leader in the web landscape for 2020. Some of these improvements may give your site a visual edge that will attract a consumer’s eye. Some will ensure your site remains secure and safe, while others are working to make sure you are presenting the best user experience.

WebDevStudios Can Improve Your Website

Are you ready to make improvements to your website for the new year? We’d love to chat. Contact us today and let’s start 2020 right by building an updated and on-trend website for your business or nonprofit organization.

The post Ways to Improve Your Website for the New Year appeared first on WebDevStudios.