NoisyWorld News:
The Relaunched WRL Newsletter

Welcome to the Relaunched WRL Newsletter

Hello and welcome to the very first issue of the relaunched WRL newsletter.

Our goal with this communiqué is not to bury you in propaganda for our services, but rather give you good, solid information that helps you make sound decisions when it comes to advertising. And when acting on that advice, if you happen to choose our services as a result… well, that just works out for all of us, doesn't it?

So relax, enjoy, and prepare to learn some tricks of the trade.

How to Modernize Your Website

If your business has a website that was last designed and coded about the time George W. Bush won his second term, it's due for an update. Four years is a long time in the world of web technology, and what was cutting-edge then is now showing signs of age.

As an example of what a website can be when brought current with the latest in industry standards, we humbly submit that you take a look at a website that WRL recently gave a major overhaul - ours.

Here's a short list of some things you'll see - and others that you won't.

1. In Sync With Current Branding

Has your logo changed in the last four years? Has its appearance changed? Have you changed your company's motto or tag line? Does your website still show that VP-Customer Relations from '05 who didn't work out in '06? It's important that you keep these things up to date on your business site. The genius of the web is that it allows you to present the newest information about your company virtually as it happens. But if you've let that go, it's going to be a turn-off for potential customers.

2. Two Words… Accessibility and Usability

Our designers and programmers have worked hard to make the WRL website accessible to all visitors, no matter what browser or device they may be surfing in on. We've even tested it on the iPhone.

If you want to print a page, there's another new feature - print.css. This lets you print content without having your printer spit out a half-dozen mostly blank pages because it was trying to reconcile the layout. Print.css makes printing clean and green!

Usability means you should get to where you want to go in a minimum number of clicks. The new wrladv.com has an improved menu layout for easier navigation, along with a sitemap for those who want to cut to the chase.

We count lack of good information as a usability issue, so we've expanded sections of the site for each of our departments to better represent our still-growing capabilities. These include an updated portfolio section with new pieces for your perusal, and a newsletter that will keep you updated on new features as we add them.

3. Search Engine Optimized

While we're talking about search engines, did you know there are ways to make your site draw search engine attention like moths to a flame? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the name of the game, and it takes lots of different forms. We won't bore you with the details, but here's one to give you an idea of how it works. Which page name do you think a search engine will like best, based on the fact that it's out there looking for information?

www.yourcompanysite.com/award.html
- or -
www.yourcompanysite.com/page.php?id=39
- or -
www.yourcompanysite.com/our-widget-wins-design-award

This is just one of many things that can make a site the best it can be when a search engine spider comes crawling.

4. Following The Code

The World Wide Web is no longer the wild and wooly frontier town that it was a decade ago. The law has come to town, and its name is W3C, for World Wide Web Consortium. They've sworn to uphold good coding practices for websites so everybody gets a uniform and satisfactory browsing experience. That's why we've built our site on valid W3C HTML + CSS.

Now, not everybody fully complies with W3C yet (we're looking at you, Internet Explorer!), but our web wizards have figured out ways around that. And if you could look under the metaphorical hood of our website, you'd see and hear a perfectly purring engine, constructed of the finest compliant code.

5. A System to Manage Content

Now that we have launched our new site, someone has to keep it fresh and lively by updating content on a regular basis. Is this a job we could entrust to our PR Director, an administrative assistant, that new artist, or even the account executives? Because the new wrladv.com has a Content Management System (CMS), the answer is yes!

This clever WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) interface allows non-coders to update text content, insert or delete photos or other graphics, even add new pages. If they can handle a word processor, they have enough computer savvy to become a web content editor.

There's lots more under the hood of our new website. It allows for the addition of new features such as e-commerce solutions. It has an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed so site updates are available through various Reader services. We've improved the site experience through the use of AJAX programming. And of course, we've got lots of new information on what we can do for nice people like you, from service descriptions to a plethora of examples of our creative work.

We hope you enjoy our new website, and remember… everything you see here on our site can be put to work for your company. Of course, if your business doesn't have a website at all, WRL can help you with that, too. In either case, our team of designers and web experts can plan a site using cutting-edge web technology to achieve your needs and goals.