Website Applications: Complete Guide

• 1: Application Types: Diffrent classes of websites for difference uses
• 2: Analytics: A guide from starter to hero
• 3: Applications: a guide on the many possibilities
• 4: Attribution: A Comprehensive Guide
• 5: Contact page: Exploring the best contact methods
• 6: Messaging: Using Applications and Data Pipelines
• 7: Tools: A guide on handy website features
• 8: Calendar: How to Use a Calendar with Your Website
• 9: Structure: Methods of custom analysis
• 10: QR Codes: Enhancing User Experience and Accessibility
• 11: Leveraging Digital Business Cards (vCards) for Success

1 - Application Types: Diffrent classes of websites for difference uses

Many online tools offer features catering to a use case, and these applications may operate with different modes. It’s not immediately obvious which is which, and harder still to disambiguate them when attempting to search any results. Some common and long-standing ways have become common. To list a few:

• n online - To find an online variant of a tool
• n desktop application - to find a desktop application to download
• n MacOs App
• n Android app
• …

However, these terms are becoming more dated as things evolve, with new technologies becoming available and more standardised ways of doing business are becoming evident.

Website Types

Important command types that are available to websites are as follows.

• Online web-to-server
• Online web-to-local context
• Online web to local filesystem
• Online web-to-tunnel

Each of these types offers different functionality and restrictions, and not all websites can offer all modes. The best type of application for a website is to offer all the available types. Since each type has its advantages and disadvantages, it can be good to let the user choose.

To illustrate the difference between a web-to-server and a web-to-local context type and show how it’s good to offer both types when possible. Let’s look at the process of compressing an image. It’s a task that I do just enough to care about and not enough to keep a full-fledged editor software on my computer. So I often find myself looking for an application to perform the conversion. While there are undoubtedly ways to perform such an operation using the features available on my operating system. I simply want a smaller image, so I Google for PNG compressor, I upload the file, and there you go, a smaller image. Hurrah, magic.

This method is great until you realise that you have just uploaded that picture to a server owned by a random developer. This can also be a problem when dealing with sensitive inventory or other legal requirements.

Web-to-server

With web-to-server the image is uploaded to a server, often just for the compressing of the image, but perhaps for other more malicious purposes. Instances of unwanted leaks have become commonplace in the world of generative AI prompts, with users uploading sensitive information without understanding that the terms of operating mean that any information may be used as training data. Which can cause the data to be repeated within the public domain. However, with web-to-server, it can also offer major improvements in all areas. For example, well-designed and operated websites offer service-level agreements that provide military-grade redundancy and much more.

Web-to-local context

With web-to-local context, the image compression is done in the browser sandbox. This means that the data (the image) is never transmitted to the origin domain(website). So there can be no leaks? Great, that sounds better. But it’s not all smooth sailing. Just like any website you are still using someone’s property, so it’s important to be aware of the terms of the service. In addition, using only the local context within a web browser can be much slower than using an industrial server, and runs on the electricity and computational limits of the machine executing it.

Web-to-local

Web-to-local application run on WASM and JavaScript engines within the browser to execute code, and utilise the Web Storage API to store data for next session locally.

The term local can mean multiple things:

• Persistant - Storing within the filesystem of the device, meaning it access the operating systems filesystem like an applicaiton (with added permissions and restrictions).
• Context - Storing within a context limited origin of the website, meaning only that website and its code can access the file storage objects.
• Temporary - Storing within only the current browsing session of an origin.
• Page - Storing any data only for each page request.

### Context

Web-to-local content type websites save their data using the Web Storage API, which means the data is stored locally in the browser’s storage. This storage is subject not only to the origin’s storage sandbox but also to the broader control of the browser. As a result, if a user clears their browser data—such as when deleting browser history—it will also wipe out any stored data associated with the web application, even if the application itself wasn’t accessed during the process. This means that important data can be lost without any interaction with the web app. Therefore, it’s essential to regularly export any files or data you are working on to ensure they are not inadvertently erased.

Conclusion

Since it can be hard to tell a type from looking at an applicaiton, you must check the applications documentation.

2 - Analytics: A guide from starter to hero

What is analytics, and how does it work?

Analytics is an essential tool that every website owner should use to monitor their website’s performance. With analytics, website owners can measure the effectiveness of their online campaigns and understand how their audience interacts with their website. Analytics features provide an in-depth view of website traffic, user behavior, and demographics, which can help you make informed decisions about your website’s content and design.

One of the significant benefits of analytics, which monitors website interactions, is that it offers insights into how website traffic flows. With analytics, website owners can track the number of visitors to their website, where they come from, and how long they stay on the site. This information is critical in determining how well your website is performing and identifying areas where you can improve.

Analytics features can also help you identify your website’s most popular pages and the content that resonates best with your audience. This data can help you create more relevant and engaging content, which can attract more visitors to your website. In addition, analytics can show you which pages are not performing well, giving you an opportunity to make improvements and increase engagement.

Another significant benefit of analytics features is that they can help you understand your audience better. With analytics, you can track user behavior, such as which pages they visit most frequently, how long they stay on each page, and what actions they take on your website. This data can help you create a more personalized experience for your visitors, which can improve engagement and increase conversions.

Analytics features can also help you identify trends in user behavior, such as the devices and browsers your visitors use. This information can help you optimize your website for different devices and increase accessibility for all visitors.

Google Analytics vs. Custom Server or Code Tracking

Google Analytics is a web analytics service by Google, providing features to track and analyse website traffic. It offers pre-built reports and dashboards for insights without extensive customization. However, users can extend custom reports in various ways, subject to account limitations. On the other hand, custom server or code tracking allows for highly tailored data points. However, it’s important to note that using custom server code requires rewriting many components that established analytics software already includes. This makes it a costly implementation unless you have a critical need for highly specific and tailored data points. Google Analytics integrates with other Google services for seamless online marketing tracking. The choice between the two depends on specific needs and technical capabilities, each offering distinct advantages for tracking and analysing website activity.

How Businesses Can Effectively Use Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a powerful tool for businesses looking to improve their website’s performance and get a better understanding of their tra. In this article, we’ll discuss various ways businesses can use Google Analytics to monitor website trends, understand usability patterns, create better content, and more.

Monitoring website trends

Google Analytics is a powerful tool that businesses can use to track website traffic and gain insights into user behavior. By analysing this data, businesses can make informed decisions about their website’s design, content, and marketing strategies. Implementing Google Analytics is straightforward for many websites, often requiring only the addition of analytics scripts to begin gathering valuable information. While the default options are effective, businesses can also customise metrics and dimensions to capture specific data relevant to their goals. Some key metrics that businesses should monitor include:

• Traffic sources: Google Analytics can show where visitors are coming from, such as search engines, social media, or referral sites. This information can help businesses determine which channels are driving the most traffic to their site.
• Pageviews: Tracking pageviews can help businesses identify the most popular pages on their site, as well as pages that may need improvement.
• Bounce rate: The bounce rate shows the percentage of visitors who leave a site after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate may indicate that visitors are not finding what they are looking for on the site.
• Time on site: Tracking the amount of time visitors spend on a site can help businesses determine how engaging their content is.
• The crawl path: How do the users navigate your website, starting on a home page and moving to the context page? Are they skipping your calls to action or FAQs before calling you?
• Number of users: Depending on how your analytics are configured, you may collect the session information of customers over long periods of time while within your website. However, more strict analytics configurations track a user’s session for only 24 hours before creating a new one. Having a low tracking period can cause your analytics data to seem less accurate because it tracks the same users multiple times if they return to the same website. But this is expected; in this case, the meaning of user now does not mean a person or device, but instead a unique device session for 24 hours.
• What is NOT captured: Your website analytics do not collect all available data. For example, answer engine widgets may provide information to users without your website being able to collect any data. The impressions and engagements for the respective applets may be displayed within their own user interface. For example, with Google Business, simply Google your business while logged into your Google account to see an administration panel. To conduct a full analysis, it is best to accumulate data from many sources. For example, a user may see your business on a search engine and not perform a call to action like a phone call or website click. Even after being prompted with a rich result displaying your calls to action, this would be captured by a Google Business impression without an engagement. As your Google Business applet result displays only a summary of your information, a follow-up to an answer engine prompt by using a call to action would be a request for more information. It’s also worth noting that answer engines are becoming more capable of answering inquiries without any further call to action.

By monitoring these metrics, businesses can make data-driven decisions about their website’s design and content.

Utilizing Analytics Notifications for Improved Website Insights

Analytics services like Google Analytics offer powerful notification features that help businesses stay informed about key performance metrics. These services can be set up to monitor a range of insights, such as user behavior, traffic sources, or conversion rates, and provide notifications based on selected metrics. This capability allows business owners to stay updated without having to constantly check their dashboards.

For example, in Google Analytics, the notifications can be configured within the Insights panel. This allows users to choose specific insights they wish to receive alerts for, such as daily user counts, new traffic spikes, or goal completions. To set this up, simply navigate to the Insights panel, select the insight that aligns with your business goals, and enable notifications.

This functionality is particularly useful for businesses aiming to stay proactive about their website’s performance. By receiving real-time alerts, they can quickly identify trends, address any issues, or capitalize on opportunities as they arise. It enables businesses to maintain a closer connection to their online audience and make data-driven decisions promptly.

Analytics tools like Google Analytics offer flexibility in configuring notifications for both existing and custom data metrics. Users can set up notifications for predefined metrics, such as user sessions, bounce rates, or goal completions, as well as custom metrics tailored to their unique business needs. These insights can be configured to push alerts directly to your devices whenever a new report or significant data update becomes available. This ensures that you’re immediately informed of any changes or trends, allowing you to respond quickly to new information and make informed decisions based on the most up-to-date analytics.

Recording Custom Data Events

Google Analytics allows businesses to track custom data events, such as button clicks, downloads, and form submissions. This information can help businesses better understand how users interact with their site. For example, tracking how many users click on a specific button can help businesses determine whether the button is effective in driving conversions.

To track custom data events, businesses can use Google Tag Manager, which allows them to add code snippets to their site without needing to modify the site’s source code. This makes it easy for businesses to track user behavior without needing to involve their development team.

You can find more information on Custom events within Google Analytics here. For example, when using custom events within Google Analytics reports, to register event parameters and display them within your dashboard, you must first register the event parameter as a custom report dimension (subject to account limits). You may find the following article helpful: [GA4] About custom dimensions and metrics, and then, to create a report, see [GA4] Overview of Google Analytics reports and [GA4] Create an overview report. Once your report has been created you must publish it to the users with access to your Google analytics property. First create a collection, which is a set of reports, see [GA4] Collection. Once saved you can mark the collection as published and it will be avaliable within as a report on the Google Analytics Website.

Understanding Usability Patterns

Google Analytics can help businesses identify usability issues on their website. For example, businesses can use the Site Search feature to see what users are searching for on their site. If users are frequently searching for a specific product or service, businesses can make sure that information is prominently featured on their site.

Another way Google Analytics can help businesses understand usability patterns is by tracking user flows. User flows show the path users take through a website, from the entry point to the exit point. By analyzing user flows, businesses can identify pages that are causing users to leave the site, as well as pages that are leading to conversions.

Improving Existing Content

Google Analytics can help businesses identify which pages on their site may need improvement. For example, businesses can use the Behavior Flow report to see which pages users are exiting from most frequently. If users frequently leave a page without completing an action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form, businesses may need to revise the page’s design or content. Integrate with methods of A-B testing to get concrete insights on the most valuable changes you are unsure of.

Additionally, analytics provides vital data for various other applications. Typically, the most important are search reports.

Creating better content

Google Analytics can also help businesses create better content. By analyzing which pages on their site are the most popular, businesses can identify topics that their audience is interested in. They can then create more content on those topics to attract additional traffic to their site.

Additionally, businesses can use Google Analytics to monitor the success of their content marketing efforts. For example, by tracking how many leads or sales a piece of content generates, businesses can determine which types of content are most effective in driving conversions.

Understanding the Success of Advertising Campaigns

Google Analytics can help businesses monitor the success of their advertising campaigns. For example, businesses can use the Campaigns feature to track how many visitors are coming to their site from specific advertising channels, such as Google Ads or social media ads.

Additionally, businesses can use the Multi-Channel Funnels report to see how different advertising channels are contributing to conversions. This information can help businesses determine which channels are most effective in driving conversions and adjust their advertising strategies accordingly.

Monitoring advertising campaigns

In addition to monitoring the success of advertising campaigns, Google Analytics can also help businesses monitor their advertising spend. For example, businesses can use the cost analysis report to see how much they are spending on each advertising channel and determine whether their advertising budget is being used effectively.

Monitoring the social referral graph

Google Analytics can help businesses track how their content is being shared on social media. For example, businesses can use the referral report to see how many visitors are coming to their site from specific social media channels, such as Facebook or Twitter.

Understanding Users

Finally, Google Analytics can help businesses understand their audience better. For example, businesses can use the Demographics and Interests reports to see data on their audience’s age, gender, and interests. This information can help businesses create content that is tailored to their audience’s preferences.

Maximizing Marketing Impact with Data Analytics: Strategies and Insights

Data analytics is a critical tool for modern marketers to understand their audience and improve their marketing strategies. However, once you have set up your analytics solution, it’s essential to know how to get insights from it. In this article, we will discuss various strategies and insights to maximize your marketing impact.

Understanding the sources of your website

Understanding where your website traffic is coming from is critical to creating an effective marketing strategy. By analyzing your traffic sources, you can determine which channels are driving the most traffic to your website. You can then focus your efforts on these channels to maximize your marketing impact. You can use tools like Google Analytics to analyze your website traffic sources and get insights into how users are finding your site.

Targeting the correct sources

Once you have identified your website traffic sources, the next step is to target the correct sources. You can use data analytics to determine which channels are driving the most conversions and focus your efforts on these channels. For example, if you find that most of your conversions come from organic search, you can optimize your SEO strategy to improve your search rankings.

Understanding your users and their demographics

Knowing your audience’s demographic information is essential to creating an effective marketing strategy. By understanding your audience’s age, gender, location, and interests, you can create targeted campaigns that resonate with them. You can use tools like Google Analytics to get insights into your audience’s demographics and tailor your marketing efforts accordingly.

Understanding users’ behavior

Understanding how users behave on your website is critical to creating an effective marketing strategy. By analyzing user behavior, you can determine which pages are driving the most engagement and optimize them for conversions. You can use tools like heat maps and session replays to get insights into user behavior and improve your website’s user experience.

Optimizing your users’ flow through to the sale

Once users are on your website, it’s essential to optimize their flow through to the sale. By analyzing your website’s user flow, you can determine which pages are causing users to drop off and optimize them for conversions. You can use tools like A/B testing to experiment with different designs and messaging to improve your conversion rate.

Understanding what you can get from your analytics solution

It’s essential to understand what you can get from your analytics solution to maximize its potential. While graphs and tools provide valuable insights into your audience and marketing campaigns, they can only take you so far. You need to understand the limitations of your analytics solution and supplement it with custom tags and data points.

Adding custom tags and data points

Adding custom tags and data points to your analytics solution gives you the ability to write custom queries and get more insights into your audience and marketing campaigns. You can use languages like BigQuery to process large data sets and produce charts and other data points that can help you make informed marketing decisions.

Ensuring all your sources and campaigns are correctly attributable?

Attribution is critical to understanding the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. With the demise of third-party cookies, it’s essential to ensure that all your sources and campaigns are correctly attributable. You can use tools like Google Tag Manager to track user behavior and ensure that all your sources and campaigns are correctly attributed.

Define what information you want to collect, identify what conversions you expect from any given campaign, and determine which report type to collect. The final output is one or both of the two report types: event-level reports and summary reports.

How to Restrict Analytics Usage for Internal Website Users

Ensuring that internal website visits, such as those made by administrators or internal staff, are excluded from analytics is crucial for maintaining accurate and actionable data. Internal users often visit every page during testing or maintenance, and counting these visits can distort metrics, making it appear that pages are more popular or visited than they actually are by external users. By filtering out this internal traffic, businesses can achieve a clearer picture of user behavior and interactions on their website. Here are a few methods to prevent internal traffic from skewing your analytics data:

1. Block Analytics Requests in the Browser

One straightforward way to prevent internal users’ visits from being tracked is to block the analytics software’s requests directly in their web browsers. This method is relatively simple and requires no changes to the analytics software’s configuration:

• Using Developer Tools:
  • Navigate to the page you want to exclude from tracking.
  • Open the Developer Tools in your browser (usually accessible through F12 or right-clicking and selecting “Inspect”).
  • Go to the Network tab.
  • Identify the requests made to the analytics service, such as www.googletagmanager.com or region1.google-analytics.com.
  • Right-click the request and select Block request domain or a similar option.

This method ensures that the browser will not send any tracking data to the analytics service, effectively removing those visits from being counted. However, it needs to be set up for each browser individually, making it less practical for larger teams. Remember to make sure the Enable network request blocking option is also enabled, otherwise your settings won’t work.

2. Filter IP Addresses in Analytics Software

Another method, and often a more robust one, is to use the IP filtering options within your analytics software:

• Set Up an IP Address Filter: Most analytics tools allow you to exclude traffic coming from specific IP addresses or IP ranges. This is particularly useful for blocking all traffic coming from within your office or organization’s network.
• Determine the IP address range that your internal users operate within.
• Configure the analytics software to exclude these IP ranges. This process is usually found in the settings under filters or data collection exclusions.

You can read more on Google Analytics Data Filtering - here.

By doing this, any requests coming from the specified IP range will not be counted, ensuring that internal traffic doesn’t mix with data from actual users. This approach is more centralized, ensuring that no visits from designated IPs are ever logged, regardless of individual browser settings. It’s particularly useful if your team uses a consistent office network or a VPN that ensures everyone appears under the same IP address.

3. Use a VPN with a Specific IP for Internal Users

If your internal users are often remote or work from varying locations, using a VPN service can help centralize their IP address:

Require VPN for Internal Users: Have internal users connect to a VPN that assigns them a consistent IP address when working on the website. Exclude VPN IP in Analytics: Set up a filter in your analytics software to exclude traffic from the VPN’s IP address. This method ensures that all internal users, regardless of their physical location, are recognized by the same IP address, making it easier to exclude their visits. This approach can be slightly more complex to implement but offers a robust solution for remote teams.

By implementing these methods, businesses can ensure that their analytics data remains accurate and reflects the behavior of actual users, free from internal testing or browsing activities. This leads to more reliable insights, enabling better decision-making based on user engagement and performance.

Custom event templates

Page helpful event

By adding a simple button to your website, such as the one below, you can create a powerful tool for gathering feedback to improve your content. While there are other methods for collecting feedback, such as user surveys or AI chat agents, an unobtrusive button allows for unbiased feedback without requiring the user to exert any effort.

In addition to gathering simple feedback, a feedback button can also prompt users to provide additional information or participate in a supplementary survey. This added functionality allows you to gather more detailed insights and opinions from your users, enabling you to make more informed decisions and improvements to your website or content. By leveraging the feedback button for supplementary interactions, you can enhance the depth of feedback and engagement with your audience, leading to a better understanding of their needs and preferences.

Frequently asked questions

See our guide to attribution for more information.

Does Google Analytics (G4A) use cookies?

As of 2024 G4A does use first party cookies. This means google can track users across your domain using an identifier which they control the expiry date of. Since 2019 the default setting has been to only use first party cookies.

Does Google Analytics 4 (GA4) support the Privacy Sandbox?

Yes, Google Analytics cookies are first-party cookies, which means they can operate after the implementation of the so-called cookie-less advertising technology. Check out their notice here.

Are Google Analytics server-side events better?

They can be. For example, to ensure event integrity, or with regards to the privacy sandbox, it allows operating without third-party cookies. However, this analytics solution hides the analytics scripts behind the first party to prevent sending PPI to third parties via user TCP requests. Since 2019, web browsers have defaulted to using first-party cookies. However, enabling server-side events does give you access to more data within the Google Analytics ecosystem. This may be a major benefit only for small use cases. The extra data that is captured are events that did not originate from a browser window. On top of the negatives, client-side events must be configured by a developer, and that comes with implementation and utility costs. Since the events coming from users using a browser window are the important ones, it often makes no sense to incur any cost for data about robots using your website. You already have server logs. It can also help reduce client-side loading times by simply not serving a whole analytics distribution. Another reason may be to track access to resources that don’t have a browser window to execute any analytics software.

What are Google Analytics server-side events?

It is tracking your users using a first-party proxy and sending only the required data to any third-party trackers. In this case, Google Analytics.

Who is Google Analytics Server Side Events For?

Large businesses that are already incurring many of the costs, or someone who wants reports on the robots browsing their website.

App recommendations

• Detailed information on website visitors - Google Analytics
• An advanced analytics tool - Google Tag Manager
• Microsoft search information - Bing Search Web Masters
• Google search information - Google Search Web Masters
• What is a search impression?

Conclusion

In conclusion, analytics features are a must-have for any website owner who wants to understand their audience better and improve their website’s performance. With analytics, you can gain insights into website traffic, user behavior, and demographics, which can help you make informed decisions about your website’s content and design. By leveraging the power of analytics, you can create a more engaging and personalized experience for your visitors, which can lead to increased engagement, conversions, and revenue.

By following these strategies and insights, you can maximize your marketing impact with data analytics. Understanding your audience, optimizing your website, and tracking your campaigns’ effectiveness are just a few of the many ways that data analytics can help you improve your marketing strategy.

3 - Applications: a guide on the many possibilities

Custom applications are designed to meet your unique business requirements. This means that you can create applications that do exactly what you need them to do. For example, you can create an application that allows your customers to book appointments, purchase products, or submit support requests. By creating custom applications, you can streamline your business processes and improve the customer experience.

Custom applications can also provide you with valuable insights into your business. For example, you can track customer behavior and preferences, which can help you make informed decisions about your products and services. You can also track sales data, which can help you identify trends and opportunities for growth. By leveraging the insights provided by custom applications, you can optimize your business processes and improve your overall performance.

Creating custom applications may seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. There are many tools and platforms available that make application development accessible to non-technical users. For example, low-code platforms allow you to create custom applications without writing any code. These platforms provide drag-and-drop interfaces and pre-built components, making it easy to create applications quickly and easily.

You don’t have to stand alone, many business provide services to support your application. Just how they would as a widget on a web page, a service can be invoked from any application. Using pre-built components and services is an excellent way to quickly integrate powerful functionality into your projects. Often, these solutions are freely available, allowing you to simply copy and paste them into your codebase. This approach enables you to focus on what truly matters for your project, saving time and effort while maintaining high-quality standards.

The type and scope of a component can vary greatly, from using a simple web component to enrich a website to integrating a fully-featured software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform. These components include everything from UI libraries and frameworks (like Bootstrap or Tailwind CSS) to backend services (such as Firebase or Auth0 for authentication). Many of them are freely available or offer free tiers, making them especially valuable for smaller projects or startups looking to minimize costs while still delivering a professional product. This approach also simplifies the integration of best practices and industry standards, as these components are often created by experts in the field.

The number of these services are far too numerous to list, just google whatever you desire. For example: printing cards API. Another option may be. Example: printing SaaS.

• https://mailchimp.com - Automate your email marketing.
• FormSubmit - Creating data submission forms take minutes using services like FormSubmit.
• Add to calendar button web comoponent - The Next-level Add to Calendar Button. Make your events get saved!

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) vs. Mobile and Desktop Apps

In today’s digital ecosystem, users interact with various types of applications designed for different platforms and user experiences. Each format—Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), mobile apps, and desktop apps—has unique features and use cases, making it crucial to understand their differences. While mobile and desktop apps are typically native applications requiring dedicated development, PWAs offer a more versatile, cost-effective solution by combining the best of websites and apps.

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)

PWAs are web-based applications that leverage modern web technologies (like service workers, push notifications, and web app manifests) to deliver an app-like experience directly through the browser. PWAs can be installed on both mobile and desktop devices, offering offline functionality and access to hardware features such as geolocation, camera, and notifications.

Key Characteristics of PWAs:

• Responsiveness: PWAs automatically adjust to different screen sizes and resolutions, providing an optimized experience across mobile, tablet, and desktop devices.
• Offline Capability: Thanks to service workers, PWAs can cache assets and data, ensuring they function offline or in low-connectivity environments.
• No App Store Dependency: Users can install PWAs directly from a website by simply clicking an “Add to Home Screen” or “Install” prompt, bypassing the need for app store submission. This reduces distribution costs and complexities.
• Cost Efficiency: Rather than developing separate native apps for different platforms (iOS, Android, Windows), a single PWA works across all devices, saving development time and resources.

Installing PWAs on Mobile and Desktop Devices:

One of the standout features of PWAs is their ability to be installed directly from the web onto mobile and desktop devices, providing a seamless app-like experience without relying on app stores. Here’s how this works for both:

• On Mobile:
  • Installation on Android: When a user visits a PWA-enabled website on an Android device, they may see a prompt offering the option to “Add to Home Screen.” After clicking this, the PWA is installed just like a native app, accessible directly from the home screen without the need for app store downloads.
  • Installation on iOS: On iOS, the process is similar. Users can manually add a PWA to their home screen through Safari by selecting the “Add to Home Screen” option in the browser’s menu. While iOS doesn’t fully support all PWA features (e.g., background sync and push notifications), the installation still offers a native-like experience.
• On Desktop:
  • Installation on Windows and macOS: PWAs can also be installed on desktop devices. On platforms like Windows and macOS, when a user visits a PWA-enabled site in a browser (such as Chrome or Edge), they may receive an option to “Install” the app. Once installed, the PWA operates as a standalone application, appearing in the system’s start menu (Windows) or applications folder (macOS), and can be launched without needing to open a browser. PWAs also support native desktop features, such as taskbar pins and notifications, depending on the browser.
• Mobile Apps
  • Mobile apps are software applications designed specifically for smartphones and tablets. These apps are typically downloaded and installed from app stores such as Google Play or the Apple App Store. Mobile apps are optimized for performance and can access advanced hardware features, offering a tailored experience for users.

### Key Characteristics of Mobile Apps:

• Platform-Specific Development: Separate versions are generally required for iOS and Android, though frameworks like Flutter and React Native enable cross-platform development.
• Enhanced Performance: Native apps are optimized for specific devices and operating systems, providing high performance and responsiveness.
• Access to Advanced Features: Mobile apps can leverage device-specific hardware, like cameras, GPS, sensors, and biometric authentication.
• App Store Dependency: Distribution through app stores is required, and apps must adhere to store guidelines and pay associated fees.

Desktop Apps

Desktop apps are software programs designed to run on desktop or laptop computers. These apps are typically installed locally and often do not require an internet connection to function. Desktop apps are more feature-rich, making them ideal for complex tasks.

Key Characteristics of Desktop Apps:

• Platform-Specific Development: Similar to mobile apps, desktop apps are often tailored to specific operating systems like Windows, macOS, or Linux.
• High Performance: Desktop apps can handle resource-intensive tasks, such as video editing, 3D rendering, or large-scale data processing.
• Offline Usability: Desktop apps generally work offline, though some may require periodic syncing with a server.
• Distribution Flexibility: Some desktop apps are available through app stores, while others are distributed via direct downloads from the developer’s website.

### How PWAs Compare to Mobile and Desktop Apps

• PWAs vs. Mobile Apps: PWAs offer a more accessible alternative to mobile apps by allowing users to install the app directly from the website without going through app stores. They can work offline, access device features like push notifications, and provide a consistent experience across both mobile and desktop platforms. However, native mobile apps can deliver better performance, especially for resource-intensive applications like games or those requiring extensive use of hardware features (e.g., camera or GPS).
• PWAs vs. Desktop Apps: PWAs are increasingly capable of offering desktop-like experiences and can be installed directly on Windows and macOS systems. While desktop apps generally offer better performance and more advanced capabilities (especially for professional or creative tasks), PWAs can provide a sufficient, lower-cost alternative for many users. PWAs do not require regular updates or complex installation processes and are distributed entirely through the web.

Choosing the Right Format

The decision between a PWA, mobile app, or desktop app depends on factors such as target audience, functionality requirements, and budget:

• PWAs are ideal for businesses looking to reach a broad audience across platforms without the cost and complexity of developing separate mobile and desktop apps.
• Mobile apps are best for applications requiring high performance and advanced use of hardware features, such as games, camera-heavy apps, or apps with complex offline functionality.
• Desktop apps remain the best choice for power users who need robust, resource-intensive applications that require maximum performance and capabilities.
• By understanding the unique advantages and limitations of these different formats, businesses and developers can select the most effective way to deliver user experiences tailored to their goals and audience needs.

Using Tool for Rapid Product Development and Deployment

Modern tools like ShadUI and React Admin have transformed how developers and application designers create and deploy custom products. These tools streamline the process of building user interfaces, managing data, and scaling applications, enabling even complex projects to be completed with greater speed and efficiency.

Streamlined UI Development with ShadUI:

https://ui.shadcn.com/

ShadUI offers a suite of ready-to-use, customizable components that help developers build visually appealing interfaces quickly. This reduces the time spent on designing and implementing UI elements from scratch, allowing teams to focus on delivering user-centric experiences. With its library of pre-built elements, ShadUI allows developers to adjust styles, themes, and components to fit the branding and design requirements of their products. This means that creating a custom-looking application becomes as easy as a few clicks, making the tool ideal for both prototyping and production-level design.

Efficient Data Management with React Admin

https://marmelab.com/react-admin/

React Admin is a powerful tool for building data-driven applications. It provides a framework for managing complex data structures, creating dashboards, and integrating APIs with ease. By leveraging React Admin, developers can quickly create admin panels, dashboards, and management systems that provide an intuitive backend for business operations. The tool’s flexibility in handling data sources and seamless integration with various RESTful APIs and GraphQL backends allows teams to manage large-scale applications with ease. This ability to handle data efficiently ensures that applications can scale as user demand grows, making it a great choice for products that need to reach a large audience.

Rapid Deployment and Scalability

Both ShadUI and React Admin are designed to work seamlessly with modern development workflows and cloud infrastructure, making it easier to deploy applications at scale. With cloud services like AWS, Google Cloud, and serverless platforms, developers can deploy their ShadUI and React Admin-based products in just a few steps. The ease of deploying custom-built applications means that businesses can quickly launch new features, updates, or entire applications, responding to user needs and market trends. This agility is crucial for businesses looking to maintain a competitive edge and ensure a smooth user experience as their customer base grows.

4 - Attribution: A Comprehensive Guide

When another website refers a customer to your business, it’s important to know which website it was and which marketing campaign or traffic source they used. By using custom applications and configuring the flow of the information you want, you can track it and give proper attribution to the referring property.

Platform click-throughs

While a click from a third-party platform may use a campaign to identify the traffic source, you can also use the platform that referred them to learn about the traffic.

For example, you can use Google Search Central to see your impressions and the queries they were for.

• Performance report (Search) - common questions and answers
• What is an impression?
• Google Search Central Console

Marketing campaigns

This is especially useful for businesses that engage in affiliate marketing or partner with other websites to drive traffic and sales. By tracking the referrals and attributing them properly, you can ensure that your partners are receiving the credit they deserve for their efforts.

TLDR;

In short, it answers: When a user is referred from another website, you get a referrer event in your analytics, but when that user makes a conversion elsewhere inside your website, how do you know which referrer to give credit to? The referring session might not be the one that ultimately makes a sale, since a user may leave your site and come back another time. To help capture the required data, you may employ methods to capture attribution data and then associate any user conversions within your website with a referer campaign. On the old internet, the ad tech could make a mark on a user session that the signal was from x about product y. Google, for example, is now proposing the following to aid with ad tech attribution without third-party cookies:

How does attribution allow measurement? 

But attribution goes beyond just giving credit. It also provides valuable insights into which marketing campaigns and traffic sources are driving the most sales conversions. By analysing this data, you can optimise your marketing efforts and focus on the channels that are most effective.

Custom applications can help you track and analyse this data in real-time, giving you a clear picture of which referrals are converting into sales. This can help you make informed decisions about your marketing campaigns, adjust your strategies, and ultimately improve your overall performance.

So, if you’re looking for ways to improve your marketing campaigns and sales conversions, consider using custom applications to track and attribute referrals. By doing so, you can gain valuable insights and optimise your efforts for maximum impact.

Digital marketing attribution software

Attribution software is handled by ad tech platforms.You may find more information regarding this topic at ourguide on analytics. 

More information

• Prepare for third party cookies phaseout
• Storage Access API
• What is the Privacy Sandbox
• Attribution Reporting Documentation
• Privacy Sandbox

5 - Contact page: Exploring the best contact methods

A contact page is a crucial element of a website that allows visitors to get in touch with you. It is an essential feature of any website, regardless of its purpose. A contact page provides a simple and efficient way for visitors to communicate with you, ask questions, provide feedback, and more. In this article, we will discuss the use cases for a contact page on a website.

Providing all accessibility formats

Providing information to all your potential customers requires using many formats. Including the web, phone, sign, email etc. Other decisions also play a role, are you happy to leave an email or phone number available to the public? Are there multiple contact points used by different people? Contact applications also work with other aspects of the web, to learn more about pass your details to search engines, you canview a guide on structured data.

To add a form to give users the ability to contact you instantly.

One of the main use cases for a contact page is to provide a form or method that visitors can fill out to contact you instantly. This form typically includes fields for name, email, subject, and message. The form can also include other fields depending on the purpose of your website. For instance, if you are running an e-commerce website, you can add a field for order number.

When adding functionality it is important to consider if what you are adding is imposing any conditions upon potential consumers. Having a form instead of an email may impose a restriction on senders to use other means to store a duplicate message or an indicator of the message. Taking into account that existing functionality already has better accessibility than your Implementation.

For some communication, like having a form which upon receiving a message, sends a receipt to an email including the contents, is not perfect accessibility to someone without an email or a postage stamp. Since the receipt was not generated from their side of the communication.

QR Codes and vCards

Another common format that users expect arevCards; vCards are the best digital business card format when transferring data from one medium to a user’sContactapplication. Build avCard here.QR codescan also be used with vCards for seamless sharing.

What should be on a contact page?

In a perfect world, making every method available would be preferred.Allowing users to quickly choose their preferred method. The contact page should be the definitive place users can refer to for any up-to-date details. Be sure to include links to all the methods you support. Humans aren’t the only thing that can use your contact page to receive information, search engines and other applications (seestructured data) can access your information here.

Should social media links be included?

Another use case for a contact page is to provide a wide variety of details such as the phone number, physical address, and social media profiles. This information is essential for visitors who prefer to contact you using these methods. Providing multiple ways to contact you increases the chances of visitors getting in touch with you.

As more is better, consider methods to combine multiple profiles into one manageable one. However, it is advisable to be selective in your adoption of any platform.

Adding opening hours?

Your website should be the authoritative source of information on your business. Offering more info than other applications do and any further details. Other applications now offer information on your business but it’s effective for your website to be the source of any info. The aim of a good website is to create a rich authoritative document that utilizes exciting web features to provide functionality to customers. Providing enough utility to enable users to leverage value from web features is now more Important than ever.

Applications are getting smarter and more integrated every day. Still, no matter how smart AI applications and user feedback improvement become at determining and displaying information on your behalf, a source of truth must be called to provide the most up-to-date info. On the other hand, allowing customers to optimise functionality is imperative for competitiveness. Even those third party applications can’t work for the use cases where for example there’s been an unexpected closure. That is without making a call to a source of truth.Read more on structure.

The cost to make a network call is minuscule to the petrol cost of a wasted trip to the shopping mall.

A customer bookmarks your contact page, opening it to check if a shop is open just before having to enter the mall to get a coffee. If it’s closed, 5 mins could have been saved.

Take a customer traveling to a fast food restaurant, before engaging with any order there first needs to be a check on if its open. Else you risk frustrating a customer by wasting effort in creating a particular basket only to then force them to abandon it.

Or, to display a notice to potential visitors to redirect to an overflow car park.

Should A map be included on a website contact page?

If your business has a physical location, you can use your contact page to provide a map or directions to your location. This is particularly helpful for visitors who are not familiar with your area and need help finding your business.

To receive feedback from visitors.

Your contact page can also be used to receive feedback from visitors. This feedback can be about your products, services, website, or anything else related to your business. Feedback can be valuable in helping you improve your business and website.

To provide customer support.

If you offer customer support, your contact page can be used to provide this service. You can provide a phone number, email address, or live chat option for visitors to get in touch with your support team. This is particularly important for e-commerce websites, where visitors may have questions or issues with their orders.

In conclusion, a contact page is an essential component of any website. It provides a simple and efficient way for visitors to communicate with you, ask questions, provide feedback, and more. By including a contact page on your website, you can improve the user experience and increase the chances of visitors getting in touch with you.

6 - Messaging: Using Applications and Data Pipelines

In today’s complex business environment, gathering information and reports from multiple services can be challenging. While many services can generate information, the ability to receive timely notifications and collaborate effectively with teams is crucial. One emerging method to address this challenge is the use of messaging applications like Slack. These applications have evolved to be more than just simple messaging tools and now offer the capability to create rich data pipelines, enabling users to gain insights from various tools and services.

Benefits of Using Messaging Applications and Data Pipelines

Messaging applications such as Slack provide several benefits when integrated with data pipelines:

1. Real-time Notifications: Users can receive immediate notifications when a service produces a report or when specific events occur, allowing for timely action and decision-making.
2. Seamless Collaboration: With the ability to enrich messaging with plugins, users can configure rich data pipelines to facilitate seamless collaboration and information sharing within teams.
3. Enhanced Insights: By integrating messaging applications with data pipelines, users can gain valuable insights from the generated reports and information, enabling informed decision-making.

Many services offer built-in notification systems that can be sufficient for tracking various metrics without the need for additional integrations. For instance, Google Analytics allows users to set up notifications that can be delivered through push messaging and email. This can be particularly useful for keeping track of website traffic changes, user behavior, or anomalies in data. By configuring alerts directly within Google Analytics, users can receive timely updates on key metrics without needing to rely on third-party messaging applications. Detailed instructions on how to set up these notifications can be found in theAnalytics guide, making it easy for businesses to stay informed about their data.

The Forms of Messaging Applications

There are many types of messaging applications. The core technologies of the World Wide Web are messaging tech. As features are added to these core technologies, they become better suited to particular use cases. Some of the messaging forms that have remained in use are text messages, email, instant messaging, radio, morse code, etc, and web-based messengers.

Applications like Slack or Zoom represent the highest form of applications in terms of content possibilities. They include instant messaging capabilities and text message capabilities. Modern messaging applications include many more features and are more comparable to web browsers. While this type of messenger sounds great, the complexity comes at a cost. Each messenger limits your freedom to the features of that particular service. Standardization attempts are occurring but have been very slow. This makes any migration to other services a costly endeavour that often results in losing a considerable amount of information.

Key Considerations for Using Messaging Applications and Data Pipelines

When utilizing messaging applications and data pipelines, there are some key considerations to keep in mind:

1. Integration Capabilities: Ensure that the messaging application is capable of integrating with a wide range of tools and services to create comprehensive data pipelines. Modern applications like Slack provide built-in plugins that are supported by many leading services. These plugins allow the user to enable the services without any custom development. The user interface allows permission to be granted, which can then access the service APIs (usually via the OAuth2 protocol). Once an application has permissions it can start receiving messages.
2. Data Security: Implement robust security measures to protect sensitive information from being shared and accessed through messaging applications and data pipelines. When allowing access from one service to another, make sure the permissions are as restrictive as possible. Also, consider implementing multi-factor authentication and encryption to ensure comprehensive security for the shared and accessed information.
3. Scalability: Evaluate the scalability of the chosen messaging application and data pipeline infrastructure to accommodate the growing needs of the organization.

Best Practices for Implementing Messaging Applications and Data Pipelines

To maximize the effectiveness of messaging applications and data pipelines, consider the following best practices:

1. Customized Notifications: Tailored notifications can be configured to deliver specific and relevant information to the appropriate individuals or teams, ensuring that they receive the updates they need to stay informed and take necessary actions. Additionally, custom plugins can be written to work with custom services that provide anything that the messaging app supports. Messaging applications themselves support rich application widgets, further enhancing the user experience.
2. Automation: Utilize automation capabilities within the data pipelines to streamline the process of gathering and disseminating reports and information. For example, using Google Analytics to send insight reports while also utilising Google Cloud Platform Alerting. This ensures that you are in the loop and that if the notifications from one service have failed to reach you, another service may succeed.
3. Inclusivity: Enable diverse discourse around critical factors by allowing access to insights and conversations for everyone involved. This can foster a collaborative environment and ensure that various perspectives are considered.
4. Leveraging Service Capabilities: By understanding the capabilities of your services, you can create rich metrics that provide a stream of automated actionable intelligence. Each business can develop unique streams of information that leverage their key focus. For instance, you can connect an RSS feed of industry news to the “news” channel, while custom curated report summaries are sent in real time to the “sentiment” channel. Combining this with AI sentiment analysis and traditional data science services, often administered by business staff and applied to web page design, can result in a compelling and efficient system.

Connect Your Team With Messaging Applications

• Using Slack.com
• Connect application using built in Slack plugins
• Connect other Services Like Google Analytics

Conclusion

Messaging applications, when integrated with robust data pipelines, offer a powerful solution for gathering information and reports, as well as facilitating effective collaboration and insights within teams. By leveraging the capabilities of messaging applications like Slack and enriching them with data pipelines, organizations can optimize their operational efficiency and decision-making processes.

7 - Tools: A guide on handy website features

In today’s world, businesses are constantly looking for ways to add value to their customers. One way to do this is by creating tools or computations that can provide value to customers. These tools can help customers navigate complex situations and make better decisions. They can also improve trust between businesses and their customers.

Tools and computations can take many forms. They can be spreadsheets, calculators, data visualizations, or even simple web applications. Whatever form they take, the goal is always the same: to provide value to customers.

One advantage of these tools is that they can be created relatively easily. Many businesses already have spreadsheets or other computations that they use internally. These can often be repurposed and turned into more user-friendly applications for customers.

For example, a financial advisor might have a complex spreadsheet that they use to calculate retirement savings. This spreadsheet could be turned into a web application that allows customers to input their own data and get personalized retirement savings projections. This tool would provide value to customers by helping them make better retirement planning decisions.

Another advantage of these tools is that they can help build trust between businesses and their customers. When customers see that a business has created a tool that is designed to help them, they are more likely to trust that business. This can lead to increased loyalty and repeat business.

For example, a real estate agent might create a tool that allows customers to see historical property values in a particular area. This tool would provide value to customers by helping them make more informed decisions about property purchases. It would also help build trust between the agent and the customer by demonstrating the agent’s expertise and commitment to helping the customer.

In conclusion, any tool or computation that a business creates can provide value to customers. These tools can take many forms and can be repurposed from existing internal computations. They help customers navigate complex situations and make better decisions, while also building trust between businesses and their customers. By creating these tools, businesses can improve the customer experience and increase loyalty and repeat business.

8 - Calendar: How to Use a Calendar with Your Website

Why Add a Calendar to Your Website?

Adding a calendar to your website provides numerous benefits:

• Convenience: Visitors can quickly view events or schedule appointments.
• Automation: Sync schedules and reduce manual updates.
• Professionalism: Build credibility by showcasing a well-organized interface.
• Engagement: Encourage users to interact with your website.

Steps to Add a Calendar to Your Website

1. Choose the Right Calendar Tool

Decide on the type of calendar that best suits your needs:

• Static Calendars: Great for displaying fixed events.
• Interactive Calendars: Ideal for dynamic schedules, allowing users to interact (e.g., book appointments).

2. Embed a Calendar

Most calendar services offer an embed option, letting you add their calendar widget to your site or will provide the calendar on a website they provide which can be linked to. For example, Google Calendar provides HTML code that can be copied and pasted into your website:

• Go to Google Calendar.
• Click on the settings for the calendar you want to embed.
• Find the “Integrate calendar” section. See Integrating with a Service Provider section below
• Copy the embed code.
• Paste the code into your website’s HTML at the desired location.

If you don’t have access to your website’s HTML or prefer to consult an expert, consider reaching out to a developer.

Below, you can book an appointment with me through the integrated calendar or reach out via mycontact page.

3. Customize the Design

Ensure the calendar matches your website’s design by customizing colors, fonts, and layout. Many calendar tools offer configuration options directly in their settings, or you can use CSS to modify the embedded calendar.

4. Make It Responsive

Optimize the calendar for all devices by using responsive design principles. Add CSS rules to ensure the calendar adjusts well to various screen sizes.

Integrating with a Service Provider

Why Use a Service Provider?

Services like Google Calendar or Google Appointments provide robust APIs, automatic syncing, and cross-platform accessibility. These integrations allow you to:

• Automatically update events on your website.
• Allow users to book appointments seamlessly.
• Sync events with other tools or devices.

Adding Google Appointments

Google Appointmentsstreamlines booking by letting users select time slots directly from your website. Follow these steps:

• Set Up Appointment Schedules
  • Log in to Google Calendar.
  • Click on a date and select “Appointment Schedule.”
  • Customize the available time slots and add details.
• Share Appointment Links
  • Obtain a link to your appointment schedule.
  • Embed the link or button on your website for easy access.
• Automate Confirmation Emails: Google automatically sends booking confirmations and reminders, saving you time.

Seehelp guide.

Once you’ve followed the guide, you can share the link via email, text, or any preferred method. Use DNS forwarding to create short, user-friendly URLs—for example, appointment.mywebsite.com forwarding to your long Google Calendar link (your-super-long.google.com/calendarlink?aisfbalsibn23ihur23irbasfd).

For example, sending the URLbook.snowdon.devtohttps://calendar.app.google/ECgv242NeFTyfNYF7, much easier to remeber. Learn more abouthyperlinks here.

The Google Appointment setup includes snippets of code that can be easily embedded into your website, like this:

<!-- Google Calendar Appointment Scheduling begin --><linkhref="https://calendar.google.com/calendar/scheduling-button-script.css"rel="stylesheet"><scriptsrc="https://calendar.google.com/calendar/scheduling-button-script.js"async></script><script>(function(){vartarget=document.currentScript;window.addEventListener('load',function(){calendar.schedulingButton.load({url:'https://calendar.google.com/calendar/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ3CnePJHrc5V3FAUsRtwhf1VEmyHpA5LftczZeDidG8_3gQ_ZCVT_mpr7sCkvn--myoF6ih7P4T?gv=true',color:'#039BE5',label:'Book an appointment',target,});});})();</script><!-- end Google Calendar Appointment Scheduling -->

Steps to Integrate with Google Calendar

This section details how to programmatically edit the calendar. This is necessary for creating automation changes that align with your business processes. For example, you can create a calendar for specific users when they sign up to your website (or pay a price) and populate it with events that handle business transactions, such as due dates or delivery times.

1. Obtain API Access

• Go to the Google Cloud Console.
• Create a new project and enable the Google Calendar API.
• Generate API credentials (OAuth 2.0 client ID or API key).

2. Install a Client Library: For websites using JavaScript:

<scriptsrc="https://apis.google.com/js/api.js"></script>

3. Authenticate Users

Allow users to log in and connect their Google account to your website. Use Google’s OAuth flow for secure authentication.

4. Display Events on Your Website

Use the Google Calendar API to fetch and display events dynamically - for example on a admin page to create new events, the code may look like:

gapi.load('client',()=>{gapi.client.init({apiKey:'YOUR_API_KEY',discoveryDocs:["https://www.googleapis.com/discovery/v1/apis/calendar/v3/rest"]}).then(()=>{returngapi.client.calendar.events.list({calendarId:'primary',timeMin:(newDate()).toISOString(),showDeleted:false,singleEvents:true,maxResults:10,orderBy:'startTime',});}).then(response=>{constevents=response.result.items;console.log(events);// Display events on the page});});

5. Sync User Bookings

Allow users to create or edit events directly from your website:

gapi.client.calendar.events.insert({calendarId:'primary',resource:{summary:'New Appointment',start:{dateTime:'2024-12-31T10:00:00-07:00'},end:{dateTime:'2024-12-31T11:00:00-07:00'}}}).then(response=>{console.log('Event created:',response);});

This approach can be extended to automate workflows such as creating personalized calendars for new users or setting up default events based on your business logic (for example when a user signs up they get their own calendar and events for deliveries or due dates).

How the browser handles creating events

Desktop versions of Chrome and Safari don’t have native functionality to directly create calendar events from a plain string of text. However, you can achieve this functionality through various approaches, depending on your needs.

1. Add an “Add to Calendar” Link

You can provide a link or button that uses calendar service APIs (e.g., Google Calendar, Outlook) to create an event from a string of text. This is straightforward and works in all modern browsers.

Example: Google Calendar

<ahref="https://calendar.google.com/calendar/render?action=TEMPLATE&text=Event+Title&details=Description&location=Location&dates=20241231T235900Z/20250101T005900Z"target="_blank">Add to Google Calendar</a>

• text: Event title.
• details: Event description.
• location: Event location.
• dates: Start and end time in ISO 8601 format (YYYYMMDDTHHmmssZ).

Example: iCal File Download (Works with Calendar Apps)

Create and link to an .ics file, which users can download and open in their default calendar app.

<ahref="event.ics"download="event.ics">Add to Calendar</a>

Example .ics file content:

BEGIN:VCALENDARVERSION:2.0PRODID:-//YourOrganization//NONSGML v1.0//ENBEGIN:VEVENTUID:12345@example.comDTSTAMP:20241231T000000ZDTSTART:20241231T235900ZDTEND:20250101T005900ZSUMMARY:Event TitleDESCRIPTION:Event DescriptionLOCATION:Event LocationEND:VEVENTEND:VCALENDAR

2. Enable Interaction via JavaScript

If you want to allow users to select text and create an event programmatically, you can use JavaScript to parse the text and construct a calendar event.

Example: Google Calendar Integration

document.querySelector('#createEventButton').addEventListener('click',()=>{consteventTitle="Sample Event";consteventDetails="This is an example event created from text.";consteventLocation="New York, NY";conststartDate="20241231T235900Z";// UTC formatconstendDate="20250101T005900Z";// UTC formatconstgoogleCalendarUrl=`https://calendar.google.com/calendar/render?action=TEMPLATE&text=${encodeURIComponent(eventTitle)}&dates=${startDate}/${endDate}&details=${encodeURIComponent(eventDetails)}&location=${encodeURIComponent(eventLocation)}`;window.open(googleCalendarUrl,'_blank');});

Example: Dynamic Event Creation from Text Input

<inputtype="text"id="eventInput"placeholder="Enter event title"><buttonid="createEvent">Create Event</button><script>document.querySelector('#createEvent').addEventListener('click',()=>{constinput=document.querySelector('#eventInput').value;consteventTitle=encodeURIComponent(input||'New Event');conststartDate="20241231T235900Z";// Default UTC start timeconstendDate="20250101T005900Z";// Default UTC end timeconsturl=`https://calendar.google.com/calendar/render?action=TEMPLATE&text=${eventTitle}&dates=${startDate}/${endDate}`;window.open(url,'_blank');});</script>

3. Leverage Browser Extensions

For users to create events from selected text, recommend using a browser extension or bookmarklet. Some popular options:

• Google Calendar Extension: Allows event creation from selected text directly in Chrome.
• Shortcut Bookmarklet: Write a JavaScript bookmarklet that parses the selected text and redirects to a calendar service.

Example Bookmarklet Code:

javascript:(function(){consttext=window.getSelection().toString();consturl=`https://calendar.google.com/calendar/render?action=TEMPLATE&text=${encodeURIComponent(text)}`;window.open(url,'_blank');})();

4. Use Natural Language Parsing (Advanced)

Services likeOpenAI APIorChrono.jscan parse free-form text into structured data for event creation.

Example with Chrono.js

consttext="Meeting at 3 PM on December 31 in New York";constparsed=chrono.parseDate(text);if(parsed){conststartDate=newDate(parsed).toISOString().replace(/[-:]/g,'').split('.')[0]+'Z';constgoogleCalendarUrl=`https://calendar.google.com/calendar/render?action=TEMPLATE&text=Parsed+Event&dates=${startDate}/${startDate}`;window.open(googleCalendarUrl,'_blank');}else{alert("Could not parse date/time.");}

5. Override the selection to provide menu option

document.addEventListener('selectionchange',function(){constselc=document.getSelection();constrange=selc.getRangeAt(0)constcontainer=range.startContainer;if(isNotSelectable(container)){return}consttext=window.getSelection().toString();consturl=`https://calendar.google.com/calendar/render?action=TEMPLATE&text=${encodeURIComponent(text)}`;openMenu(url,"Google Calendar Event")});

Summary

To enable event creation in Chrome or Safari:

• Add a link or button to services like Google Calendar or download an .ics file.
• Use JavaScript to dynamically construct URLs or handle user input.
• For advanced needs, parse natural language with libraries like Chrono.js.

Creating event on iPhone

To create text that an iPhone can recognize and use to create an event, you need to format the information in a way that iOS can detect as event data. This typically involves leveraging Data Detectors in iOS. These detectors recognize certain patterns, like dates, times, and event-related phrases, and provide users with options to interact with the content (e.g., creating calendar events).

Strategies for Event Creation on iPhone:

1. Plain Text with Date and Time

iPhones can detect simple date and time mentions in plain text. When a user taps on such text, iOS prompts them to add the event to their calendar. Example:

Meeting with Sarah on December 31, 2024, at 2:00 PM.

To maximize detection:

• Use standard date and time formats (December 31, 2024, at 2:00 PM).
• Include specific event-related words like “meeting,” “appointment,” or “event.”

2. HTMLElement

Theelement with an appropriate datetime attribute can help browsers and devices like iPhones recognize events.

Example:

<p>Meeting with Sarah at<timedatetime="2024-12-31T14:00:00+00:00">2:00 PM UTC</time>.</p>

When viewed on an iPhone, this can provide additional interactivity for calendar integration.

3. Calendar File (.ics)

You can provide a downloadable .ics file, which is the universal standard for calendar events. iPhones automatically open .ics files in the Calendar app, making it easy for users to add events.

Example .ics File:

BEGIN:VCALENDARVERSION:2.0PRODID:-//YourOrganization//NONSGML v1.0//ENBEGIN:VEVENTUID:12345@example.comDTSTAMP:20241231T000000ZDTSTART:20241231T140000ZDTEND:20241231T150000ZSUMMARY:Meeting with SarahDESCRIPTION:Discuss the project details.LOCATION:OfficeEND:VEVENTEND:VCALENDAR

Steps to Use:

• Save the content above to a file named event.ics.
• Provide a download link on your website or email:

<ahref="event.ics"download="Meeting with Sarah.ics">Add to Calendar</a>

4. Event Link for Calendar Services

Direct links to calendar services like Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook also work on iPhones and prompt users to add the event.

Example Google Calendar Link:

<ahref="https://calendar.google.com/calendar/render?action=TEMPLATE&text=Meeting+with+Sarah&details=Discuss+the+project+details.&location=Office&dates=20241231T140000Z/20241231T150000Z">Add to Google Calendar</a>

5. Siri and Shortcuts Integration

If you control the device or app, you can create integrations using Siri or the Shortcuts app:

• Provide a shortcut that parses natural language or .ics data and adds it directly to the Calendar app.

Tips for Compatibility:

• Use Natural Language: Write dates and times explicitly in a natural, unambiguous way. Good: “Meeting on December 31, 2024, at 2:00 PM.” Avoid: “Meeting next Tuesday at 14:00.”
• Include Time Zones: Always specify the time zone if the event involves users in multiple regions.
• Test on Devices: Ensure the text or file is properly recognized by trying it on an actual iPhone.

Conclusion

Integrating a calendar with your website enhances usability, simplifies scheduling, and keeps users engaged. By embedding a calendar or leveraging services like Google Calendar and Google Appointments, you can create a seamless experience for your visitors. Take the time to customize and optimize your calendar for maximum impact!

9 - Structure: Methods of custom analysis

The internet has become an integral part of our daily lives and the amount of information available online is increasing at an unprecedented rate. Websites are the primary medium for disseminating information online, and they must adhere to certain standards to ensure their content is accessible and valuable to all users. To achieve this, analysis of structured website documents is necessary to test against many different standards.

Structured website documents are created using specific markup languages like HTML, XML, and XHTML. These languages define how the content is presented on the web page. For instance, HTML tags are used to define the structure and layout of the web page, while XML tags define the data structure of the web page. XHTML is a combination of HTML and XML. By analyzing the structured website document, we can ensure that the content is structured correctly, and it adheres to the required standards.

Creating unique and custom analysis has great benefits on the standards of the content produced and the value it gives. Custom analysis allows developers to check the website against specific standards that are relevant to their project. For example, accessibility standards ensure that the website is accessible to users with disabilities. This is particularly important for websites that provide critical services, like government websites, news websites, and medical websites.

Custom analysis also allows developers to test against different versions of the same standard. For example, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) have different versions, and each version has different requirements. By testing against different versions of the same standard, developers can ensure that their website is accessible to as many users as possible.

Moreover, custom analysis allows developers to test against multiple standards simultaneously. For example, accessibility standards and search engine optimization (SEO) standards can be tested simultaneously. This ensures that the website is not only accessible to users but also visible to search engines. This increases the website’s visibility and improves its ranking on search engines.

In conclusion, analysis of structured website documents is essential to ensure that the content is accessible and valuable to all users. Creating unique and custom analysis has great benefits on the standards of the content produced and the value it gives. It allows developers to test against specific standards, different versions of the same standard, and multiple standards simultaneously. This ensures that the website is accessible to as many users as possible and visible to search engines, thereby increasing its value.

10 - QR Codes: Enhancing User Experience and Accessibility

In today’s digital world, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are constantly seeking innovative ways to engage their customers and streamline their operations. One such tool that has gained popularity in recent years is the QR (Quick Response) code. These pixelated, square-shaped symbols have become a ubiquitous part of modern marketing strategies and have proven to be an effective and versatile tool for businesses of all sizes, including SMEs.

QR codes are perfect for facilitating contactless actions without requiring extensive user input. By simply pointing a camera at the QR code and clicking, users can access information, make payments, or perform various other actions with ease. This contactless nature makes QR codes convenient for users and can enhance the overall customer experience.

Furthermore, QR codes offer a multitude of functions, such as providing access to websites, downloading apps, sharing Wi-Fi network details, making payments, adding calendar events, and much more. Their versatility makes them an ideal tool for businesses looking to provide quick and efficient ways for customers to interact with their products and services.

What are QR codes?

QR codes are two-dimensional barcodes that can store a variety of information, such as website URLs, contact information, or product details. QR codes are designed to be scanned using a smartphone or a dedicated QR code scanner. Once scanned, the QR code can direct users to a website, display text, or trigger a specific action, making it a powerful and versatile tool for businesses.

Scan Me

Open the snowdon.dev vCard

Using your Camera

1. Click the link that appears around the QRCode. 2. Point your camera at the QR code