Nick DeVita is a professional actor based in New York City. He needed a simple website to showcase his past work and provide easy access to his resume, headshots and other information.

Instead of proposing a complex solution that would have been costly and difficult to maintain, we listened to what he needed and proposed a very inexpensive solution that can grow with him over time.

His new website is built on the Wordpress content management system and it integrates his latest Tweets, a small gallery of photos, video clips from some of his commercial work and a simple contact form. In the future, Nick might add a blog to this site, but he was not ready to commit to blogging full-time right now. Wordpress has a robust blogging system built in, so he can start blogging whenever he is ready.

In addition, Nick can login from any web browser and make edits to the content on his site and post new youtube videos or photos.

We helped Nick develop his overall website outline, customize the look of wordpress and then we put all of his content in place for him. This process was very budget-friendly, but we think the overall result is exactly what he was looking for.

Working with AGENCY 3.0 I was able to express what my wants and needs were for my website. Using those, they guided me through different web building sites to see what the best for me was. We ultimately landed on Wordpress.com. Through the website, They were able to help me create a design that fit me perfectly. They also used their experience to bring up features and design ideas that I never thought of integrating to my site. With all of this work I now have a fantastic website that I feel confident will assist me in enhancing my brand. Throughout the whole process they were easy to communicate with and always quick to respond to questions and ideas. I would highly recommend working with him for any kind of web design. Nick DeVita
http://www.nickdevita.com

Do You Need A Simple Website?

If you need a simple informational website like Nick's, contact us to learn more about how flexible some of our solutions are. We pride ourselves on recommending the appropriate solution for each client instead of just recommending every bell & whistle we can think of.

Watch Nick In Action

Permalink | Posted: Mar 18, 2011

Want to have a little fun? Click this little link and you can unleash a virtual wrecking ball on our website. Actually, you can unleash this little wrecking ball on any website.

Drag this link to your bookmarks bar: Katamari!

Or copy and paste this url into the location bar on any site:

javascript:var i,s,ss=['http://kathack.com/js/kh.js','http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.5.1/jquery.min.js'];for(i=0;i!=ss.length;i++){s=document.createElement('script');s.src=ss[i];document.body.appendChild(s);}void(0);

This fun little hack was created by Alex Leone, David Nufer, and David Truong. If you are curious how this works, check out their site at http://kathack.com/

Permalink | Posted: Mar 15, 2011

UPDATE (3/17/11 3PM EST): System update has been completed with issues. All systems are now operational, but Refer to a friend from custom web forms are NOT sending emails at this point. This issue is going to be fixed tomorrow.

UPDATE (3/16/11 9:00AM EST): This system update has been postponed. During the upgrade procedure we encountered some issues. We rolled back the upgrade and will reschedule this. We will post an update when more information is available.

We are rolling out a system upgrade to all Business Platform subscribers on March 16th, 2011 at 4:00 AM EST. This upgrade will take several hours but we do not anticipate any service interruption. This upgrade includes the launch of new menu modules, email campaign improvements and a number of enhancements. In addition, this release will correct the Google Maps bug we posted about earlier.

Email Marketing Upgrade

After this release, the system will automatically remove customers who mark your messages as "spam" from your lists. The customer will not be removed from your database, but they will be "opted out" of your list so you do not continue to email users who have reported your messages as spam. This will improve the deliverability of your email campaigns. In addition, the email campaign report will now show how many of your subscribers have marked your message as "spam". The report will not display specific information about what customer reported the message as spam due to privacy restrictions.

Dynamic Menu & Multiple Module Template Upgrade

This upgrade will dramatically improve the way dynamic menus are created and managed within the system. It provides additional flexibility to control the way menus are displayed and behave. Existing websites will not notice any change. We will publish a follow up post detailing how this new functionality can be incorporated into your site.

Security Upgrade To Web Forms & Bookings Modules

• Secure connections for web forms with payment processing: This upgrade will cause all forms that request payment information to automatically use a secure (https) url. The form "action" will automatically point to a secure url when you create a new webform that processes a credit card payment. In the past you were required to manually edit the form "action" to point to a secure connection, but that will not be required after this upgrade. This will not be a retroactive change, so any existing web forms that collect payment information will not be automatically upgraded. These forms must be updated before our April upgrade or the will not continue to work properly.
• Bookings module upgrades: This upgrade will make it easier to create bookings that require payments. We will be adding a new checkbox on the Booking details page that allows you to specify whether the booking requires payment or not. If you create a booking that requires payment, the system will automatically direct customers to a secure (https) URL to safely submit payment information when they visit the booking detail page from the booking list page. However, If the booking detail page is accessed directly, you will still need to manually update the form action to point it to a secure URL.

BUGS being squashed in this upgrade

We love fixing bugs!

This update will fix a number of minor bugs. These bugs have affected a small number of sites with very specific (unusual) use cases.

• Fix the search form on the Support Central page
• Fix an issue with Payment Express Gateway where payment status was set to SUCCEED, even though an exception was thrown; now if any error occurs, payment status is set to FAIL
• Update copy product feature to generate a new product code and a new URL while preserving the ones of the original product
• Fix an issue with PayPal Websites Payment Pro gateway causing recurrent orders older than 1 year to fail
• Fix an issue causing QuickBooks to stop synchronizing for a site when account(s) are reset
• Fix product export to include product grouping in exported product list
• Fix a bug causing Google Maps to no longer display the position markers but only the shadow markers
• Fix a bug causing workflows to not include invoice in email notification when using PayPal Websites Standards

If you have any questions about these updates, please contact us.

Permalink | Posted: Mar 14, 2011

We are currently experiencing a problem on some websites that use the Google Maps API to display data stored in a Web Application. The "marker" that indicates a specific location on the map is not loading properly due to a change in the javascript used to render the maps. The maps are displaying and the markers of the shadows are displaying, but the marker itself is missing.

This issue is currently being corrected and we anticipate rolling out a fix for this later this week. Please bookmark this post and check back for status updates and additional information. We will post updates when they become available.

Update (3/14 10:26PM EST): This issue has been diagnosed and will be fixed in the March upgrade, which is scheduled to occur on March 16th. (more information)

UPDATE (3/16/11 9:00AM EST): This system update has been postponed. During the upgrade procedure we encountered some issues. We rolled back the upgrade and will reschedule this. We will post an update when more information is available.

Permalink | Posted: Mar 14, 2011

Google Places is Google's local business directory service. This service allows you to list your business in the Google Places directory and appear when people search for businesses like yours in your area. It is a very powerful way to highlight the location of your business, verify information about your business with Google so you can be found, allow your customers to connect with your business online and keep track of how people are using your listing so you can make informed marketing decisions. The best part - it is free.

You have probably seen Google Places search results when you have searched for businesses in your area. The screenshot below shows what the Google Places results look like for the search "pizza boston". The Google Places results appear at the top of the search results page, right below the search box and above the normal search results. This means that if you business listing performs well in Google Places, it could perform better than all of the other search results for the search terms you are targeting.

The Google Places search results include your contact information and they show your business on a map with other similar businesses in your area. The results also include a link to your website and a link to your Google Places page. The Google Places page includes additional information about your business including your hours of operation, services offering, parking information, coupons, customer reviews and more.

How To Get Started

To get started, visit http://www.google.com/places and sign up for a free account. If you already have a Google Account you can use that to login. If not, you can create a free Google account in a few minutes and you will be able to sign up to start creating your business listing. Once you create your account, you will see a big button labeled "List Your Business". Just click on this button and Google will walk you through the process of creating your new business listing.

How To Optimize Your Listing

Once you have created a listing, you will want as many people to see it as possible. Here are some tips to help you optimize your listing and improve your visibility.

• Only include your business name in the business title field - It is tempting to include extra keywords, your phone number or other descriptive text with your business name, but Google Places has guidelines that forbid this practice. You should only include your actual business name in the "Company" field. (source)
• Make sure you have a physical location - Google Places is only for businesses that have a physical location. Google does verify your submission data, so if you don't have a physical location in a specific area don't try to cheat the system. Google Places does allow you to indicate your service areas. If you are located in Town A, but also provide service in Town B, just create a listing for your actual address in Town A and use Google's tools to indicate your service area. (source)
• Add useful descriptions and choose the right category for your listing - Including useful information in the "description" field and choosing relevant categories for your business will help improve your visibility. In addition, this information will make the listing more useful to potential customers who are searching for your services. (source)

Advertising Your Listing

Everything we have described so far is free, but if you want to be more aggressive about promoting your business with Google Places you can use their new advertising service Google Boost.

Google Boost will help you create an advertisement for your business based on the information you provide in your Google Places listing. They provide suggestions regarding ad text, categories, keywords and monthly advertising budget. Once you setup your advertisement and confirm the settings with Google Boost, your advertisement will begin to display almost immediately. The advertisements are pay-per-click ads, so you will only pay when someone clicks on your ad. If no one clicks your ad, you don't pay anything.

Contact Us To Get Started

You can do everything we have described above yourself, but we know you have a business to run. If you need help setting up your Google Places account, please contact us. If you have questions, or if you want to share more about how you are using Google Places, please leave a comment.

Permalink | Posted: Mar 10, 2011

We recently launched a brand new page on Facebook and we hope you connect with us on the popular social platform.

Why we created a Facebook Page

We plan to use the Facebook page to share important announcements, events and more. We hope it becomes a great tool for us to share useful information with you. In the unlikely case that our website is not accessible, we will use the Facebook page to communicate system updates and important information.

Even if you are not a Facebook member you should bookmark the Facebook page so you can access it easily when you need to.

Do you have a facebook page? If so, share a link to your page in the comments and tell us how you are using your page to help your business.

Permalink | Posted: Mar 09, 2011

Microsoft released Internet Explorer version 6 ten years ago. As the world wide web has evolved, the code we use to develop websites has changed. Unfortunately, modern websites don't always play well with older version of web browsers. Microsoft recently launched a new website to help motivate people to switch from IE6 to a newer version of the software.

According to Microsoft, even though IE8 is the current version of the software 12% of users are still using the old version of the browser.

Our Browser Testing Policy

Upon closer inspection of the graphic above you will see that the percentage of people in the United States who use this old version of the browser is less than 3%. AGENCY 3.0 does not support IE6 because of this. When we build a website, we test it in all modern browsers to make sure that the website works consistently across multiple platforms.

We don't guarantee that everything we build will look the same in IE6 as a modern browser because we would have to sacrifice functionality that can improve the experience for the majority of users. We do check the site in old browsers to make sure it remains usable, but it might not look exactly like it does in modern applications.

Permalink | Posted: Mar 05, 2011

We are committed to providing a secure infrastructure for your Business Platform websites. In April we are rolling out some changes that will increase the security of sensitive information transmitted via your website. Our infrastructure is already incredibly secure (we've never experienced a single successful hack) and we are fully PCI compliant. These changes will only improve upon our already secure platform and help you better protect sensitive website user information like email addresses, secure passwords and payment information.

We have rolled out several security enhancements this year already. After the April release, which is scheduled for April 29th, 2011, we will start enforcing the new security policies. If your website does not comply, some features may be disabled. If you have questions about this, please contact us. Here is an overview of planned changes, impacted customers, required actions and timelines.

Deny HTTP calls in APIs

• What is changing: After this release you will not be able to connect to the API via a non-secure HTTP connection. You will only be able to use secure HTTPS connection.
• Why it is changing: We have not forced customers to access the API via a secure URL in the past. The option was always available, but not mandatory. We want to eliminate the risk associated with transmitting data over non-secure connections and will force a secure connection going forward. Starting in April of 2011, we are going to enforce this for all sites.
• How this might impact you: All sites and applications using the Business Platform APIs over HTTP will cause an error. If you have developed or implemented a solution using our API's you will be required to update the application to make sure API calls are made via a secure connection. There will not be any system downtime as part of this change.

Deny HTTP calls that include customer sensitive information

• What is changing: After the April release the system will not allow forms on non-secure connections to transmit payment information.
• Why it is changing: We have not forced customers to process credit card forms on secure connections in the past. However, every payment form that we setup when developing your site was created using a secure connection. If you have added a payment form to your site that is not on a secure connection, this form was transmitting payment information in a non-secure way. The system would previously allow this, but after this update the system will require that all forms that transmit credit card information are on a secure URL. This option was always available, but not mandatory when users setup their own payment forms. We want to eliminate the risk associated with transmitting data over non-secure connections and will force a secure connection going forward. Starting in April of 2011, we are going to enforce this for all sites.
• How this might impact you: Users will need to update their websites so that payment forms are on a secure URL (https) instead of a non-secure URL (http). You can check your current forms by visiting the page with the payment form and looking at the URL in the address bar on your browser. If the address starts with HTTPS your form is configured properly. If the web page address begins with HTTP it will require an update. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Upgrade the Dreamweaver Plugin to require HTTPS login

• What is changing: The Dreamweaver plugin will require a secure connection after this release.
• Why it is changing: This is also changing to improve site security.
• How this might impact you: Users who are using the Dreamweaver plugin should update their installation of the plugin to the latest version. The old version will stop working after this update.

If you have any questions about any of the changes mentioned above, please contact us.

Permalink | Posted: Mar 04, 2011

In a new report from Statcounter, a free online visitor stats tool, the company breaks down marketshare for the major search engines. The report includes a few significant facts.

Worldwide Search Traffic

Bing is now more popular than Yahoo!. According to the press release, Bing overtook Yahoo! as the second most popular search tool worldwide. 4.37% of global search traffic goes to Bing. Yahoo! gets 3.93% of global search traffic.

The clear winner in this is Google with 89.94% of global search engine traffic.

United States Search Traffic

In the United States Yahoo! at 9.74% still retains its lead over Bing at 9.03%. Google's share in the US is 79.63%.

The full press release can be found on the Statcounter website.

Permalink | Posted: Mar 02, 2011

Business Platform subscribers are going to receive a minor upgrade on Feb 28th. This upgrade will include improvements to email campaigns and changes to the ecommerce and web apps systems. This update will not require any changes on your site, but might affect your use of the system in the future.

Email Marketing Changes

• We are adding a new feature that will create a global black list for email campaigns: bounced emails due to "mail box unavailable" or "user does not exist" errors will be recorded in a Global Black List and the system will block from sending campaigns to that email address for 45 days unless the recipient verifies via double opt-in.
• Block list emails report: the email campaigns report page will display how many recipients are black listed due to invalid email address and also have the link to open a report to show the email addresses that are invalid. Users can unsubscribe those invalid email addresses using the action drop down at the top of the results.

These new features are designed to reduce the likelihood that email campaigns are marked as SPAM.

New limits on the number of products and web app items displayed on a page

• What is changing: Going forward, the system will impose a limit on the number of web app items and products displayed on a page. If your page displays more than 500 items, the system will force pagination (page numbers).
• Why is it changing?This change will improve system performance and scalability. When a website displays a large (more than 500) number of products or web app items it affects the overall system load and could cause performance issues.
• How will this impact you? Pagination is generally in use on most sites, so there should not be any design impact or need to modify your site. The good news is that product pages and web app item lists should load faster.

New limits on the number of products and web app items that can be imported at one time

• What is changing: Going forward, the system will impose a limit on the number of products and web app items that can be exported or imported at one time. If your import or export exceeds the limit, the items that exceed the limit will be ignored and you will have to perform a subsequent export or import to complete the process. The limit will be set to 10,000 products or web app items for imports done through the Admin interface of your site.
• Why is it changing? This change will increase system performance and scalability. Similar to displaying a large number of products or web app items in the same page, importing or exporting these resources are affecting system performance, and we want to prevent future system failures.
• How will this impact you? Customers with large number of products or web app items will have to perform multiple exports/imports to update the products or web app items on their web site. We have update the interface so it includes options for importing or exporting large intervals of products (first 10,000, next 10,000, etc).

Permalink | Posted: Feb 24, 2011