Impressive College Application Video Will Give You Chills

This morning on Acadiana's Morning News, we congratulated Jaci Russo's son Jackson on his recent commitment to Milsaps College. Jaci told us about the admission process and one college application video that stood out to her.

You can read today's blog below the video.

5 Tips on How to Get Your Mobile Website Updated and User-Friendly

How are you reading this now? Chances are it is some sort of mobile device. Phones, pads, and webbooks are taking over the world and they should have a drastic impact on the way you design your mobile website.

But it’s not just potential and current customers who crave mobile-friendly sites, Google needs your mobile website to be on par as well.

What You Need to Know

Google now rewards mobile-friendly sites. What does that mean? Your website, your landing pages, and your blog should be fully optimized for mobile use if you want to come up higher in search results.
Companies with a mobile-friendly site have three times the chance of increasing their conversation rate to 5% or higher.

If you’re not mobile-friendly, it’s highly likely that your ranking on Google will decrease dramatically when searched on a mobile device. This is a challenge for those who aren’t ready, but it also presents an opportunity to finally get your house in order. If you’ve been putting off mobile-optimization, you’ve run out of time.

Here are 5 ways you can get your mobile website up and running.

1. Skip a Separate Mobile Website:
It’s outdated to have two sites. Now we know that customers expect to see fully functional sites on their mobile devices. Google has been known to penalize duplicate content, so be sure you have one website that works on both desktops and mobile devices.

2. Responsive Design
Responsive design lets developers create a site that accommodates different sized devices. A responsive design will allow the flexibility of layouts, images, and various media, like videos.

3. Font Sizes
Your font size becomes important for a mobile website. Button sizes also can have an impact. Fonts should be at least 14px and will decrease the amount of time your users have to zoom in on text. You want to maximize legibility!

Pro Tip: Remove the default zoom because it can really mess with your mobile website’s layout.

4. High-res Images
This is all about user experience. High-quality pictures ensure a better overall look and professional feel to your site. The latest models of pads and phones out there have high-definition screens that require an image double the resolution of a desktop. By going with hi-res images you will avoid pixelated and blurry images.

5. Incorporate Video
It’s a good idea to incorporate some video elements into your site. To ensure a smooth experience, look to YouTube. Using YouTube allows developers to embed code that is already top-notch and responsive. Here’s a list of ideas on how to use mobile video to engage your audience.

Once your mobile website is up and running, test it frequently. Try it on any type of mobile device you can get your hands on. Test every page, buttons, and any interaction users may have on your site. To test the mobile-friendliness of your website according to Google, click here.

The bottom line: It’s now or never for your website. If you think your site is mobile friendly—make sure. And if you know you’re behind the times, get started on this today.