QC Total Tech

Stop Pushing People Away!

Jason Howell — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:48:20 +0000

Quite frequently I see business web sites, blogs and social media profiles (i.e. Facebook) where the business mentions an article or a page on a web site that is not their own. I disagree with this methodology because, you want your customers listening to you. I know you probably think you’re helping out your clientele/fans by sharing this great information you found, but all you’re doing is pushing them to other sources where they may end up stumbling upon a competitor or they simply don’t begin to see you as “the expert” anymore. You want your customers seeing you as the authority in your field and you want them using your Facebook page, your site, blog, etc to learn about your business and industry. On the flip side, its unreasonable for most small businesses to be the end all be all source of knowledge about their industry to their clients, so you just have to pick a few topics you want to write about and stick with that. Remember, your customers liked your page, subscribed to your mailing list, etc because they want to hear from you, not other web sites and magazines.

Happy Webbing.

Design Revamp and Mobile For Miller Time Bowling

Jason Howell — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:56:30 +0000

One thing we do for our clients on a regular basis is monitor their sites and review the performance. We noticed a major trend with Miller Time Bowling and Sharky’s Billiards web site, the mobile traffic was increasing… a lot. Each month we were seeing dramatic increases in people visiting the site from their smart phones and tablets. The site we created was built a couple of years ago and there wasn’t much emphasis on mobile users. After seeing over 50% of their customers were using the web site from mobile devices we decided it was time to address this issue. So, we created a new design for the site and made it responsive. Since the launch of the new design we’ve seen an increase in engagement from their customers and overall use of the web site.

You can check out Miller Time and Sharky’s beautiful new site design today by visiting http://www.millertimesharkys.com

The Launch of DeWitt Volunteer Fire Department

Jason Howell — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:46:09 +0000

We just launched the DeWitt (Iowa) Volunteer Fire Department’s very first web site! This web site was developed under our non-profit program as part of our continued effort to give back to our community. The DFD staff contacted us with a very specific vision for their web site, we met and went over their drawings and ideas. The result of this project is a web site that matches their vision to a “T” and allows them to communicate with the public about their events, provide information on members, vehicles in their apparatus and give a public face to their very worthy organization.

You can visit the DFD’s new web site by browsing to http://www.dewittfd.com

Mobile Use and Mobile Web in 2013

Jason Howell — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 14:44:20 +0000

We meet and speak with lots of different businesses. Our clientele is a very culturally diverse ecosystem of companies in varied industries and of many different sizes. Having this large breadth of first hand information to work with has given us the insight and advantage to see what’s going on out there and where things are going. That being said we’ve noticed some major changes over the last 18 months, the crazy fast adoption of mobile by consumers. Now, I know what you’re probably thinking…just what the heck is “mobile use” exactly and why do I even care? Prepare to get your learn on, but I’ll try to keep this short.

Mobile use, simply put, means when somebody uses a web site or app to access a company or brand’s information VIA their mobile device (a smartphone or tablet). At the beginning of 2012 we saw most Quad Cities’ web sites (that we manage) hovering around 6% – 12% mobile usage…meaning 6% to 12% of the people using the web site were on their smartphone or tablet. Now we’re seeing most sites checking out around 30%, and some as high as 60%! So what does this mean to you? It means more than likely 1/3 of your customers are visiting your web site on their phone or tablet. Why is that a big deal? I’m glad you asked, great question, kudos to you It’s a big deal because that means if your web site is not mobile optimized then 1/3 of your customers aren’t experiencing your web site/business in the way they should.

Have you ever visited a web site on your phone or tablet and it didn’t work right, menus were inaccessible, things didn’t touch or you simply couldn’t read it? Well, that’s a not a mobile friendly web site. So what exactly constitutes a mobile friendly web site? Well, that would be a web site that appears differently on a mobile device VS a desktop or laptop computer. Mobile sites are developed in way that makes the page perfectly suitable for phone or tablet usage. There’s two methods to accommodate mobile users, mobile dedicated sites and responsive design. Mobile dedicated sites are sites that look almost completely different than the “normal” web site, they have images design for smart phones, touchable menus and different layouts. Most of the time mobile dedicated sites will have less content and a different focus than the desktop/laptop site. A responsive design means the regardless of what device you are using the web site is consistent, the layouts flex, the images may appear to be smaller and some content may drop off the page, making the site appealing to the mobile user.

So how do you know what to do and when? Take a look at your web site traffic, is it 20% or higher? How many customers is that…200…2,000? Don’t you want all your customers to have the best possible experience when dealing with your business? If so, then you need to consider updating your web site for mobile, you can discuss with your web developer which of the aforementioned mobile methods is best for you. It’s a new landscape out there and it changes by the minute, the key is adapting to the change. Even if you don’t use a smart phone or tablet to use the web your customers probably are…and you can’t ignore your customers.

Happy Webbing.

To learn more about QC Total Tech’s mobile web site design offerings, visit the mobile web site page on this web site.

Our 8th Anniversary

Jason Howell — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:45:12 +0000

Today marks the 8th anniversary of QC Total Tech! Wow, 8 years, the time sure does fly when you’re having fun. When this company started it was just a small tech firm with 1 client, now we’ve grown to a countless number of clients and we’re launching new sites all the time. This year we’re already on track to launch a record number of new web sites, not to mention continuing updates to a slew of others.

We’ve seen so many changes in technology over the years and there’s no sign of it slowing down. We’re always reading about and learning new technology. This last year brought us the advent of Google Glass and the push down the road of wearable tech, I can only begin to imagine what that will for mean for all of us! We’ve seen mobile usage of web sites continue to rise across the board and we can only imagine what the next big thing is.

So, thanks to all our clients who have brought us their business over the years. We look forward to many more successful years serving you!

Happy Webbing everyone!

The Launch of Allow Abundant Love

Jason Howell — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:54:46 +0000

We just launched Allow Abundant Love’s very first web site. AALove (as they are commonly known) is an organization that supports many non-profits. Their goal is to support humanity and fight against threats to mankind. They raise money for the non-profits they support by selling clothing monogrammed with the AALove Logo.

We developed a site that is mobile friendly, gives consumers a variety of ways to shop their products and a has modern minimalist design that met the client’s needs and specifications.

Learn more about AALove and their products by visiting their new web site today http://www.aalove.org

The Launch of the Green Thumbers

Jason Howell — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 21:25:43 +0000

We just launched a brand new e-commerce web site for The Green Thumbers in Davenport, Iowa.

The Green Thumbers is a Quad City premier florist and landscape service provider, they are located in central Davenport and have been in business since 1948, the current owners have been in operation since 1998.

The Green Thumbers contacted us in need of a revamped look, new product additions and a comprehensive e-commerce over haul. We constructed a new site that boasts a content management system, real time product updates, sales reports and customized shipping options.

At the time of launch we had setup over 500 products for The Green Thumbers’ online store, and given their site an entirely new shopping cart with real time credit card processing and a revamped visual experience.

Check out The Green Thumbers new site today by visiting http://www.thegreenthumbers.com.

The Launch of Take Charge

Jason Howell — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 17:01:34 +0000

Take Charge Power Savers needed a new web site that was functional and more search engine friendly. Their old web site had some functionality issues and wasn’t very user friendly for the staff. Take Charge contacted QC Total Tech to create a new look, robust functionality, better sales reporting and enhanced search engine optimization. We delivered a brand new web site within 2 months and are now engaged in a search engine optimization campaign.

Take Charge has several utility patents and has developed some revolutionary power saving devices. The Take Charge power strips are surge protectors that shut off after a few hours, this extends battery life on your devices and saves money on your power bill. Take Charge has 5 different models to choose from to fit everyone’s needs.

Take a look at Take Charge’s new web site and their amazing products today by visiting http://www.takecharge-us.com

Scam Alert! DNS Services

Jason Howell — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 16:51:04 +0000

We’ve had several inquiries this week with clients receiving an invoice from a company called “DNS Services” out of Vancouver. If you subscribe to our hosting services you do NOT need to pay this bill. DNS, or domain name service, is it a vital function for any web site on the internet, however we manage all of our own DNS internally. If you received a bill from DNS services, you can simply ignore it, we believe this is a scam. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

New Mobile Site for G&M Distributors

Jason Howell — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 22:36:49 +0000

We just launched a new mobile site for G&M Distributors in Galesburg. G&M Distributors is one of the region’s largest beverage distributors. They offer a vast array of beer, soda, wine, water, liquor and energy drinks. We constructed their desktop/full web site last year and this year they realized the need for a mobile specifically, especially for use by their sales staff. We constructed a mobile site that’s compatible with SmartPhones and Apple iPads. They now have the ability to make changes in one place on the fly and update both web sites at once. Visitors also have the ability to flip to the full size web site if they wish.

Check out G&M’s new mobile site on your smartphone or Apple iPad today by visiting http://www.gmdist.com