St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany had a need: create a unique and interactive iPad-specific ad for the launch of the Times Union‘s app. Enter the IntelliSites web design team. Using Adobe® Edge, which is currently in development, our team designed an ad using JavaScript and CSS to replicate an interactive Flash ad, but without Flash.

We also hand-coded, using CSS, the images so they display properly whether you’re holding the iPad horizontally or vertically. Vertical View (click to view larger image): Horizontal View (click to view larger image):

Filed under: Application Development, Marketing Your Site
Tags: ad, adobe edge, ipad, st. peter's hospital, times union
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Trix may be for kids, but apps are for all ages.

Last week, we told you how to make your websites appeal to all ages, but what about smartphone and tablet apps?

More than 10 percent of smartphone users are over age 55 (Yes — that’s higher than use among teens) [source].

About 13 percent of adult iPad users were older than age 55 one year ago — much higher than those age 20 and younger [source].

That means your apps have to cater to everyone.

First off, don’t make assumptions about this group. The word “seniors” is wide-ranging and open to interpretation.

But there are some really cool apps aimed toward the “older” crowd.

Think about what the seniors in your life like to do and chances are — there’s an app for that.

How about crossword puzzles, iPad golf or health apps?

Silver Surf is an app geared toward the “50 plus demographic with large navigation buttons, dynamic text zoom, high contrast viewing and more.”

How about Skype so they can stay in touch with friends and family?

Have you thought about offering a senior special exclusively on your app?

The possibilities are endless and as more Baby Boomers become seniors, even though they might loath to say it out load, the number of them using apps is likely to skyrocket. Are you catering to the senior crowd? IntelliSites can help!

Filed under: Application Development
Tags: apps, Web Applications
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Actually, you probably don’t need an intro. I bet you’ve used e-commerce sites many times before. If you’ve ever bought something from amazon.com, you’ve been a part of e-commerce. Even if you’ve just done some product research before buying something at a store, you’ve been a part of e-commerce.

What it is

e-Commerce is a name that covers a wide range of internet services. In it’s broadest sense, e-commerce is any of a number of web applications that allow people to research and buy products online. Examples being amazon.com, eBay, overstock.com, woot.com, and on and on. Essentially, any web site that gives visitors the ability to buy something online is a part of the e-commerce landscape.

Benefits to your Business

The benefits of e-commerce to businesses are obvious. By allowing your customers to buy your products at their convenience, you take advantage of sales opportunities previously unavailable to you. It’s like having a store that’s open 24 / 7. If someone want’s to buy your widget at 3am they can.

It also takes advantage of sales space you didn’t have before. Now your buyer doesn’t have to leave their house to purchase your products. Your store comes to them. They can browse as long as they like, add items to their shopping cart, and check themselves out. Your storefront is now in my living room.

Benefits to your Customer

The benefits to your customers are the same in some ways. Being able to purchase necessities quickly and easily leaves more time to accomplish other tasks. Being able to do so without driving someplace also saves fuel, and the frustration of standing in line. It makes shopping a less intrusive experience.

It also helps customers easily find what they’re looking for. With a searchable database of products, visitors simply type what they need, and your website brings it to them. No more wandering through a store, wondering if toasters would be with appliances or kitchen goods.

The research potential is not to be overlooked, either. e-Commerce sites allow people to browse prices and offers at different stores without having to actually visit them. By comparison shopping on the web, often stores find that customers need less guidance and have fewer questions.

e-Commerce is a win for both sides of the sales process.

Filed under: Application Development, Content, eCommerce
Tags: convenience, flexibility, research, time-saving
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There’s a context-setting scene in the movie The American President (I know it’s cheesy, get over it) in which Michael Douglas walks through the halls of The White House on the way to The Oval Office on a typical morning. As he walks, his secretary Jane shuffles hurriedly behind him, whispering the name of the next person he’s going to see.

The gardener, the guy washing the windows – it doesn’t matter. Jane knows their names, their birthdays, how many kids they have and what kind of ice cream they like.

I don’t know about you, but I’d love that kind of help. Except without the following-me-around-and-whispering-in-my-ear-all-day part. That could get annoying quick.

At Your Fingertips

Having deep information on your clients is an invaluable tool for personalizing their experience of your business. If you’re the guy who remembers to ask how Susie is doing in her advanced basket weaving class, you’re building the kind of rapport that gets you beyond service provider and into caring business partner land.

The Web App that Cares

You could get that kind of detailed service from a custom web app. I’ve said before that we build web apps that do just about anything. One of the things they are great at is contact management.

We’ll build you an application that tracks more than the basic name, email and phone number stuff. We’ll build you one that has a place for meeting notes, email conversations, client files, payment history, relationship rating, how that client came to you, what projects you’ve done for them…I could go on and on.

Or you could go on and on. Because the greatest part about custom applications is that they are tailored to fit your business. Maybe you don’t need a list of projects, but you do need a place to keep track of relevant touchpoints with each client. Great! We can do that.

Not Just Cool for Nerds

I’ll be honest – I’ve got a thing for organized data. I’ve been known to salivate a bit over clever organizational systems.

But all that org-geekery aside, the benefits of a tight system are innumerable. As I mentioned earlier, having detailed notes on clients allows you to really personalize your interactions. The benefit of having up-to-the-second client info available to your whole team allows you to eliminate client update meetings. If anyone can post client notes a central database, then everyone stays in the loop, all the time.

And that’s about as close to magic as you’re likely to come.

Filed under: Application Development
Tags: build rapport, client interaction, client satisfaction, contact management, customer service, customized, organization
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Those of us involved in businesses of a certain size are familiar with quickbooks. Likely, we’re familiar enough to know that it can be a big, mean, grizzly bear of an application. Without some kind of accounting training, it can be hard to know which of the approximately 11 bajillion reports to use to get some relevant information.

Nothing against the quickbooks guys. They’re the leader in accounting software for a reason. But for the business owner who just needs to be able to get some simple snapshots of his or her financials, using quickbooks is like taking a space shuttle to work. It’s fast and flashy, but there’s more than a little overkill going on.

Monitoring your Benjamins with a Web Application

There’s a simpler way to get a good overview of your business’ financial state. We can build you a web application that keeps track of only the items that you need to see. One that lets you create invoices, track incoming and outgoing bills, and see the value of potential deals. Something you can print simple reports from that give you a high-level understanding of how business is going.

And since it’s a web-based application we’re talking about, you can allow your sales staff access to it anywhere they can get a connection. So when they close the big sale out on the road, you’ll see it in your report before they even call with the good news.

Now Don’t Get Me Wrong

We’re (obviously) not accountants here at IntelliSites. And we’d be fools to say that we can build you a web application that eliminates the need for your accountant.

But what we can do is give you easy access to basic company financials so you don’t need to call your accountant just to see how things are going. With a higher level of company financials available to you at the click of a button, you’ll see trends faster, see results of promotions faster, and be able to make much faster adaptations to company strategy.

And that’s just one more way for you to get ahead of the next guy.

Filed under: Application Development
Tags: customization, financials, overkill, quickbooks
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