SiteBeat: October 2013

Getting a website up and running smoothly can sometimes be a real challenge. The US government got a big taste recently of what happens when a website is launched before every little piece is ready.

While it looks like many people working on the massive healthcare website project faltered in the their job, we also can't help but have some empathy for them. Tech is tough. Even with simple websites there is so much that could go wrong and Murphy's Law often rules the day.

We will see if the government gets their act together in the month ahead. In the mean time, we are going to keep a close eye on our corner of the tech world and the upcoming holiday shopping season.

Please read on to learn about Google's latest important update called Hummingbird. This is one little bird you will not want to miss.

Google Hummingbird: What You Need to Know

At the end of September Google announced a major search algorithm update, called Hummingbird. The goal of Hummingbird is to provide "precise and fast" results for increasingly complex searches. With Hummingbird, Google is trying to offer better results based on user intent rather than just keywords. Check out our article on what you need to know about Google Hummingbird.

Thanksgiving Hours

Even computer geeks have families! Just as we hope you all enjoy the company of your own loved ones this Thanksgiving holiday, the staff at HEROweb will also be taking the holiday off to visit with ours.

Our physical office will be closed Thursday November 28 through Friday November 29. This means no one will be around to answer the phones, but we can still be reached via email at webhelp@heroweb.com. As always, if you experience an issue that requires immediate attention simply add "urgent" into the subject line and someone will respond as soon as possible.

Quick Tip: Make Your Holiday Shopping Info Easily Accessible

November is practically upon us, which means for many businesses the holiday shopping season has already arrived. It's important that your website can quickly answer any questions your holiday shoppers may have. Make sure important information, like shipping policies, are clearly displayed. Be sure you have answered these questions:

What methods of shipping do you offer?
What date must an order be placed by to guarantee delivery before the holidays?
What is your return policy?

The more information a shopper has about your policies in this hectic shopping climate, the more confident they'll be in making a purchase.

Check out HEROweb's Holiday eCommerce Guide for more helpful tips about preparing your website for the busiest shopping season of the year.

Welcoming HEROweb's New Sites

www.confettiandfriends.com is a wholesale designer, manufacturer and distributor specializing in trendsetting, accessorizing and sleep away camp-outfitting of young girls (and young girls at heart) from 3 to 103! This site uses one of HEROweb's newest developments, our responsive design framework. Check out responsive design in action and read the latest announcement about our responsive design framework.