THE WEBWORKS BLOG


iPad apps to energize your website

As a website owner, as well as developer, and a confessed iPad addict, I’m always on the lookout for apps that will provide ways to help my business, and my clients’ businesses, succeed. I thought I’d share some noteworthy apps that will get you thinking and energized about your website.

1. WORDPRESS - If you’re the owner of a WordPress site, you are no longer tied to your computer when updating your site. Whether you have an iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry, Android or Windows 7 phone, there is a free WordPress app to take your blogging mobile. I’ve tested the iPad version. It will allow you to add and edit posts, review comments and edit page content. There have been reports of the app crashing, but I did not have that problem during any of the times I used it. If you’re adding a lot of images to your posts, you’ll likely be more comfortable on a computer, but for edits, or quick posts, the app should work fine. And, if you get a lot of comments on your site, this would be a great way to be able to review them while you’re on the go. Cost: Free


2. ANALYTICS APPS - Do you spend your time worrying whether all that work you did, and money you spent on getting a website, is paying off with visitors to your site? Instead of worrying, spend the time finding out the answer through the use of analytics. The process of monitoring traffic on your website with the help of Google Analytics can can be eased with the help of several good apps.

Analytics for Ipad is a good place to start. The Lite version is free and will allow you to look at traffic, see where your visitors are coming from, whether they are coming back, and what pages they are looking at. With an in app purchase, you can upgrade to the Pro version that will give access to a myriad of reports that organizes the data. Cost: Lite version: Free, Pro version: $6.99

Another popular analytics app is Analytics Pro. It has an easy to use interface, and will provide you with data about your visitors down to even hourly traffic. It makes good use of the iPad format, and is easier to negotiate than Analytics for Ipad. It’s easy to become consumed with all of the statistics, so try to focus on what’s most important.. Cost: $6.99


3. Website Magazine is a monthly magazine aimed at website owners that will keep you up to date with techniques for managing a successful website. The app is free, and while the per issue cost is $2.99, you can also sign up for a free subscription that will allow you to download one issue each quarter for free. The sign up process is a bit tedious, but once it’s done you’ll have access to the magazine every 3 months. In recent free issues, I read articles about Analytics, Facebook, and importance of compelling content. Cost: Free quarterly issue, $2.99 for each additional issue


4. QUORA & SOCIAL QUESTIONS APP - Do you use Facebook or Twitter to promote your website or business? If you do, then you probably already have a favorite app you use to post and read content (I like Friendly and the Twitter app), but I’d also like to mention another website AND app that will help you to learn to use Facebook and Twitter more effectively to promote your website and business.

If you haven’t discovered Quora, take a look. It’s not your typical social networking site. It’s about asking questions on topics that interest you, and getting answers from people who have experience about the topic. You can subscribe to topics that are relevant to you. So, perhaps you might like to search for the topics ‘Facebook pages’ and/or ‘Twitter’. You’ll find answers to questions such as, “What’s the best content to post on a Facebook fan page to engage and grow a follower list?” or “Is Twitter an effective customer service tool?” In no way is Quora limited to the subjects of Facebook and Twitter. If you have a question about anything, this is a good place to look for an answer.

On your iPad, you can access the Quora website directly, but since the subject of this post is apps, I want to mention an iPad app called Social Questions, which I use to access Quora. It has a few features that make Quora a bit more user friendly, and I like it enough to keep it on my iPad home screen. Cost: Free

I leave you with an idea that many website owners don’t realize. Your website is not finished on launch day. Keep working on ways to make it better.