SoHo Trends

As the owner of several web sites, I have found Google Analytics to be the best web analytics tools in the marketplace.  Not only is it free (as in beer) to use, but Google keeps adding more functionality!  Today, the Google Analytics team announced several new features, including:

• Annotations (finally!)
• Support for Custom Variables in Advanced Segments and Custom Reports
• Easier Setup of Analytics Tracking Code
• New Version of the Analytics API.

Of the four major features announced earlier today, I think the simplest — annotations — will turn out to be the most helpful.

Sprye Studios has published a terrific article entitled, “10 Must Have Hacks For WordPress Development“.  None of the hacks require installing a WordPress plug-in.  Instead, the hacks involve applying minor changes to one (or more) PHP files (e.g. sidebar.php or single.php) associated with the theme that your WP site uses.  The hacks include:

• Showing Related Posts (based on related tags)
• Showing Popular Posts In Your Sidebar
• Insert Google Ads With WordPress Shortcodes.

If you believe in the mantra “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, you’re probably still running Windows XP on one (or more) of your home and office computers.  Some of you might be running Windows 98 or even Windows 95 (gasp!).  So far, I’ve managed to resist Microsoft’s siren song insisting that consumers upgrade to Windows Vista and (most recently) Windows 7.  There are a lot of reasons to continue (or start) using Windows XP, including:

• You have older hardware that doesn’t meet the specifications to run Windows Vista or Windows 7
• You have software that was developed to run under Windows XP
• You don’t like changing for the sake of changing.

While Mainstream Support for all flavors of Windows XP — including Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Media Center Edition and Windows XP Tablet PC Edition — ended earlier this year (April 2009), Microsoft has pledged to continue Extended Support for until April 2014.  Under Extended Support, Microsoft will only provide paid support — on a per-incident basis, or through its various prepaid support programs — and will only offer non-security hot fixes for a fee, and then only to customers who have purchased the Extended Hotfix Support plan.   If you’re concerned about Windows XP security updates, Microsoft will continue to provide free security updates for Windows XP and release them via Windows Update until Extended Support ends in April 2014.

So, if you need to upgrade to Windows XP or purchase the full edition, where do you get it?  Amazon.com is one of the few reputable online vendors that still sells Windows XP Professional.

If you have an e-commerce site, you’ll want to download this terrific e-book called “Make your website work“.  Published by the Google Conversion Centre, this e-book examines common website design issues from the point of view of a customer.  It suggest the following 10 ways to improve the conversion rate of visitors to your e-commerce site:

1. Bring me to the right page
2. Make your homepage useful
3. Help me navigate
4. Give me the right results when I search
5. Display groups of products clearly
6. Give me the product details I need
7. Make registration optional
8. Make it easy to buy or enquire
9. Reassure me
10. Find this useful? Let me help!

Sure, many, if not all, of the tips are common sense; however, I am always surprised to encounter well-known web sites that violate one or more of these suggestions.

An additional resource for tips on improving your conversation rate is the Google Conversion Room blog.  While the blog is focused on UK companies and consumers (i.e. optimiser vs. optimizer), all of the information is relevant to anyone looking to convert more web site visitors from casual web surfers to shoppers.

IdeaPaint turns virtually anything you can paint into a dry-erase surface.  Remove those useless prints of Impressionists paintings by artists whose names you can’t pronounce and turn your office (or home) hallway into a place for collaboration and murderboarding.

While the idea is very cool, the paint itself is quite pricey (although compared to the cost of buying and hanging a white board, it’s pretty competitively priced).  IdeaPaint offers two different types of paints, a solvent-based coating (available in 5 colors) and a water-based paint available in 10 colors.  The solvent-based coating is called Pro and costs $199.50 for a kit that covers 50 square feet.  The water-based paint is called CRE-8 and costs $175 for a kit that covers 50 square feet.