We have immediate openings for a Junior Web Designer, Web Project Manager, and an Internet Marketing Specialist. Ours is a small and very international team of professionals who take a unhealthy amount of pride in their work while making sure there is plenty of time for the other stuff. Our office is conveniently located just off Aoyama-dori between Shibuya and Omote-sando and a stones thrown from no less than 37 excellent restaurants.

Our ideal candidate is bi-lingual and likes to work hard and play hard, and think at all times about how best to satisfy our (often demanding) clients. If you think you might fit in here and would like to learn more about the positions above please have a look at the Current Openings page.

Each new year brings with it change and new developments, and 2013 seems poised to do so in spades. We’re in the midst of sweeping changes brought on by the rapid proliferation of new technologies that affect the way we live, work, play and interact with the world around us. What’s does 2013, the Year of the Snake, have in store for us?

Here at Netwise the focus of our interest and attention lies in the realm of online marketing, web design, and development, and so I would like to share with you our take on just a few of the trends (and opportunities) in this space we think are especially important for you and your business in the coming year. And with what better to start?

Mobile, obviously.

2012 is being called the Year of the Smartphone, and rightfully so, with smartphones taking as they did a majority share of mobile handsets in the US and other major markets. In Japan the same has been true, with over a  quarter of the population now owning smartphones. Smartphone adoption is happening at a rate 10 times that of PCs in the 1980s and appears to be the fastest of any consumer technology in history.

As a result we’re all spending more time–and doing more–on the small screen. Email is certainly no exception. Recent figures from email analytics firm Litmus show that, as of June 2012, more emails (38%) are now read on a mobile device than on either desktops or via webmail.

A natural consequence of this is that many click-throughs from emails to websites are happening on smartphones and (to a lesser degree) tablets. Web searches are increasingly being done on smartphones as well. All of which works out to more mobile traffic coming to your website or online store than ever before.

And of course it doesn’t stop at search and email. Mobile has become the intersection point for virtually all content formats, including social, video, games and more. Smartphones are now the centerpiece of a complex web of interaction connecting people, content, apps and locations. More importantly, what we are seeing now is just the beginning of a trend that shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. What this means is that more and more of the online interaction customers have with your company and brand will inevitably happen on a smartphone.

Ways your business can adapt:

• If you don’t already have a mobile strategy in place for your business, now is the time to get one.
• Prepare responsive email marketing content which formats automatically to the screen dimensions of the device viewing and always looks great.
• Make sure the landing pages you send email traffic to are optimized for mobile  devices as well as PC.
• Create a responsive website or a mobile version which will be presented to visitors using smartphones and other mobile devices.
• If your business has a location-based component (retail shops, restaurants, etc.) start looking into mobile advertising and geofences.

Tablets

We all know about the explosive growth in tablets over the past year, but let’s take a look at a few of the numbers that drive home the significance of what this trend represents:

• Gartner predicts that there will be 665 million tablets in use by 2016
• Apple has sold 100 million iPads in the two and a half years since they were first released
• Tablet traffic to ecommerce websites has surpassed that of smartphones
• “Couch commerce” is taking off, with tablet conversion rates now on par with that of desktops’

According to a report publish by the Mobile Marketing Data Lab in October, 16% of the Japanese population now owns a tablet device (mostly iPads), while another 30% is either planning to or considering buying one in the coming year.

The implications for this trend are many, but in terms of the web and online marketing there are two important ones. First, website and email content will need to conceived and developed with tablet devices in mind. Second, while navigating websites on a tablet is easier than with a smartphone, there are still limitations. All iOS (Apple) devices are unable to display Flash content, for example, and everyday tasks like form input can be tedious and prone to errors.

Ways you can meet the trend:

• Take a look at your own website on an iPad or other tablet device. How does it look? How does it work? Many sites work just fine on tablets, and yours may, too. And if not? Time to get busy optimizing it so it does.
• Replace your Flash content with HTML5 (where appropriate) or get rid of it all together.
• If you’re planning to redesign your website soon make sure you create a responsive design (see below) which will provide content optimization across all screen sizes, tablets included.

Responsive (or Adaptive) Web Design

Any discussion of smartphones and tablets todays leads inevitably to Responsive Web Design (RWD). The goal of RWD is to provide an optimal viewing experience across a wide range of devices, from desktop computers to tablets, mobile phones, eBook readers and more. What this means in practice is that your website knows the screen size and capabilities of your device and formats the content accordingly. Desktop users see “full version” we are all used to seeing, while iPhone users, for example, get a stripped-down, lightweight version optimized for touch control and a smaller screen.

Want to see how it works? Open up the Boston Globe website (shown below) on a full-size screen, then slowly narrow the browser window by dragging the edge from the right. You’ll see the content reformat itself fit the new width as you go.

While responsive web design seeks to have a single site design work across all devices, Adaptive Web Design automatically redirects visitors to alternative, mobile-optimized contact, sending you from–for example–a desktop-optimized www.mydomian.com to a mobile-optimized m.mydomain.com. This model typically involves distinct and independent front-end screens using a shared back-end (database and content management system).

On the user-facing side, the end result is essentially the same: users are presented with well-formatted content which looks great on whatever they happen to be using. The benefits to you? More time on site, more engagement, more orders, inquiries or registrations.

What does it mean for your business?

Responsive websites are the future, to be sure, but they are also quickly becoming the Now. Having one website that just works on everything is the best strategy, anyone will agree. Digital strategist Andrew Der puts it this way:

The ubiquity of mobile and tablet devices has obvious development implications. In 2013, companies should begin to take a Responsive Web Design approach to their site development, as part of a broader strategy that recognizes every screen as just another device onto which content needs to be rendered properly.

We couldn’t agree more.

Adaptive website design means creating and maintaining multiple versions of your website or online store, an often messy and inefficient proposition. Working with apps means jumping through whatever hoops are required of the app stores your platforms use, and also having to support a dizzying array of new devices, dimensions, screen resolutions, etc. With RWD you code once, and what you have in the end is fluid, forgiving and highly functional.

The only downside to RWD is that it’s new enough that not many agencies understand it yet or can do it well. The design and development process is very different from typical web design, with protoyping and design happening essentially in parallel. Testing and validation are far more complex and time-consuming. As a result, finding the right partner today can be difficult. Moreover, it is generally impractical (if not impossible) to simply retrofit an existing website to make it responsive. And as soon as you start talking about complex systems like e-commerce sites or web applications it gets even more unrealistic. Many companies simply choose to start over from scratch because doing so is cheaper and easier.

The best thing you can do today? Take a close look at your website analytics data. How many of your visitors are on smartphones and tablets? How did they get there? What do they do on your site, and how long do they stay? The answers to these questions will help drive the conversation about what you can do to ensure your web properties are serving your customers the way you need them to. And if you need help making sense of it all please feel free to get in touch.

Content Marketing

Marketing your company online has historically been a matter of telling people how your great your products and services are and hoping they believe you enough to become your customers. Today, however, with search engines being the first place your customers go when looking for your stuff, simply getting found out there alongside your competition is your first priority. This is where content marketing comes in.

Changes made by Google to its algorithm over the past couple of years have made the adage “content is king” more true today than ever before. Creating and publishing relevant, timely and useful content on your website not only helps improve your ranking among search results, it also gives you the opportunity to establish a relationship with current and future customers by providing them with something of actual value which they can then:

• Feel happy or thankful about
• Share with their friends or colleagues
• Link to on their own websites

These are good in some obvious ways and have the added benefit of helping to both a.) increase your page rank (which improves your site’s position among search results) and b.) drive more traffic to and interest in your website overall. Compare this with paying SEO firms to post links on blogs and in forums–a common means for trying to achieve the same results–and the better option should be clear.

Now, just saying “content is more important than ever” is unlikely to address the key problem we’ve always had with publishing good content: creating it. Limitations of resources and talent have and will be an impediment to effective content creation, and that’s why this year I think we’ll be seeing a lot more firms relying on outside resources to meet new demands for both volume and quality of content. Pawan Deshpande, CEO of Curata, says this:

In 2013, I predict that marketers will be forced to go outside of their comfort zone to find scalable ways to produce content that can fuel their marketing programs. Some may try outsourcing content creation outside of their marketing teams. Some may go outside their organization’s walls to find content to curate. Others may attempt to crowdsource content creation among their user base.

For those of you out there working with content marketing directly you will find a wide array of tools available today to to help you research, plan and track your acvitivities.

Video

Video is a hardly a new trend, but in 2013 we’re going to see more and more video content published on all kinds of websites, including yours (if you’re smart). Video content is very popular and has many proven benefits, including drawing traffic to your website, keeping visitors there longer, and driving conversions. On ecommerce sites product videos typically increase conversions by 50-150%, while also reducing the number of product returns.

Creating video content is easier today than ever before, and publishing it on your website can be as simple as copy-and-paste. If you’re not using video on your website already this is a good year to get started. Common formats include introduction videos (for your company, individual or product), interviews, product videos, testimonials and video blogs. Matt Singer, CEO of Videolicious, makes this prediction for the coming year:

In 2013, more employees will be equipped with video cameras on their phones and tablets, which will open the door to more use of video in marketing. An entire additional tier of video content will arise–not the perfect, national TV commercial or home page video type–but, instead, the authentic, personalized product demonstration, the one-on-one customer support video, or the customer or employee testimonial video.

Video content which works well published on your own or another website or via free video sharing sites like YouTube and Vimeo. If you want to see some good examples of locally-produced video content check out the Tokyo American Club’s YouTube channel. Another one I like is this introduction video for Nagoya-based Cezar’s Kitchen.

In Closing

There are many other changes afoot today, particularly when it comes to online marketing. Retargeting, big data, conversion rate optimization, real-time bidding, marketing automation; too many topics to cover in one sitting. Watch this space over the coming months for info and updates on what the market is doing and how you can put the latest tools and techniques to work for you and your business.

J’Lit sought to create a new website which would introduce Japanese authors and works available in translation to the world. In the end they chose Netwise to make in happen.

We first created a database of publications, authors and publishers, and a web-based content management system to allow them to easily manage it. On the front-end we created an attractive, highly-functional and easy-to-use website optimized for search engines and social media. A multi-lingual architecture means selected content can be available in Japanese as well as English.

Mobile conversion rates are typically much lower than those for desktops and tablet devices, so creating streamlined shopping and checkout processes would be key to creating a successful online store for mobile. To this end we reduced the checkout steps to 3 and kept form input to a minimum through postal code-based address lookup and pre-population of billing address fields. We arranged the content in the product detail and other key pages so as to minimize scrolling and make the search and navigation readily accessible.

To get around throughput bottlenecks we organized the content of “heavy” pages such that secondary content was placed behind tabs and downloaded after more important primary content. CSS3 in place of images where possible also helped realize snappier load times.
In addition to shopping features we provided Lacoste shoppers on the go with an easy-to-use store locator and full access to their accounts details.

The result? A 262% increase in conversions and another very happy client. MOBILE FTW!

Everyone–yourself included–uses a web browser. In fact, there’s a good chance your web browser is the most-used application on your computer or whatever device you’re reading this on now. Even if your work locks you into a particular specialty app for most of the day, your web browser, and perhaps whatever you use for email (browser there, too?), are certain to play a close second. Yet why did you choose the browser you use? By what criteria did you settle on your chosen browser, that mundane assemblage of graphics and code that mediates the majority of your interaction with just about everything outside your local network?

Fact is, most people don’t give browser choice much thought. After all, at the end of the day, how different are they? Well, gentle reader, the answer just might surprise you.

As a web design agency we give browsers quite a lot of thought. We have to, because so much of what we do involves making sure that our carefully-crafted websites and web applications work and look equally well on all of them. And as a result, we get a lot of direct, hands-on exposure to the full range of options available today. We know how they stack up, what the differences are, which ones work well and those that don’t. We know a lot about browsers, and the good news for you is that I’m going to share with you some invaluable browser tips based on lessons learned in the field and right here in the Netwise office. So with that, here is the Netwise Guide to Browser Bliss!

Shop around.

Just because your OS came installed with a browser doesn’t mean that it’s the best one out there, or even a good one. There are LOTS of browsers. None are too complicated to figure out. Try a few a choose the one you like best.

Use a modern, up-to-date browser.

Web technologies are constantly evolving, and 99% of the time this represents change for the better. If you’re still using some pre-installed version of Internet Explorer from 2003 you need to retire that Model T and move up to the latest version of something. And on this point let me be very clear: if you are still using any version of Internet Explorer (this is the one that comes pre-installed with Windows) earlier than 8 you must stop immediately and go get a better browser. Even Microsoft has said the time has come to put this bug-ridden abomination out of it’s misery, so don’t put it off a moment longer. You’re holding back the Internet, fer chrissakes.

Don’t underestimate the importance of security.

Going out on the Internet is a bit like being in Roppongi after the last train: it always involves a fair amount of risk. Doing so using some ancient browser–like, say, Internet Explorer version 6–is downright dangerous. Surfing the Net with an unprotected, out-of-date browser is like crossing a highway on foot and blindfolded. You never know when you’re going to get hit, and you can be sure it’s going to mean lots of pain when you do. Security flaws in out-of-date browsers are a leading cause of computer infections, data loss and identity theft. Don’t take chances.

Understand the differences.

A web browser is a fairly simple app, but notable differences nonetheless exist, particularly when it comes to performance and features. Check out this detailed comparison to see how the different browsers rank. Wikipedia also has an in-depth comparison of web browsers with lots of useful historical information.

Interested in what’s happening in terms of browser usage overall? Have a look at this Usage Share of Web Browsers article on Wikipedia. For those of us in the biz the chart below doesn’t hold any surprises. Does it for you?

Enhance and improve your browser with extensions.

Browsers like Firefox and Chrome enjoy the support of an enthusiastic community of developers and companies which create applications that integrate with and enhance them. Referred to variously as extensions, add-ons and plug-ins, there are literally thousands of these out there today.

Want to download YouTube videos? Block online ads? Fine-tune the way your pages display? Debug your website? If so, then browser extension are for you! Have a look at the links below to see examples for each major browser.

• Firefox Add-ons
• Chrome Extensions
• Safari Extensions
• Opera Add-ons

Choose the browser best-suited to your browsing habits.

Do you use Hotmail/Windows Live for email and like Bing for search? Then the current version of Internet Explorer is probably for you. Do you use Google Apps or Analytics? Are you all about speed and simplicity? Google Chrome is what you want. Need flexibility and loads of functionality? Choose Firefox with its open source architecture and massive library of extensions.

In Summary

If we can leave you with one take-away let it be this: if your web browser is more than 2-3 years old it’s time to upgrade to a newer version of the same or another browser. Best of all, doing so is drop-dead easy. The links below will take you straight to the download page for each of today’s best browsers. Download the installer file for the language of your choice, run it, and let the browsing bliss begin!

Chrome	Firefox	Safari	Opera	Internet Explorer

Working closely with WFE we created World English TV, a new, fun platform for online language learning the whole can use together. The WE.TV site features video content, structured practice content, quizzes, community features, streamed live events, forums, inline chat and more. An integrated Learning Management System (LMS) makes it easy for administrators to prepare and manage courses and quizzes, and a powerful CMS provides web-based control over all areas of the site.

Over the course of the next three months we created a bold and professional new look for the ACCJ website along with matching email communications which better represent the organization and its members. At the same time we added a range of new features designed to benefit Chamber members and staff alike, including:

• Preferences-based display of news and events
• Content personalization
• Protected, member-only content and online document sharing
• Photo galleries
• Social media integration and optimization
• Newsletter delivery and tracking system
• Banner ad manager

Finally, with so many people out there browsing the web on their smartphones we knew that the ACCJ website should present well-formatted, easy-to-read content for mobile devices as well. To that end we created a website which automatically adapts to your mobile phone, be it iPhone, Android, Blackberry, WAP or even i-mode.

As an ACCJ member we’re especially proud and happy to see the dramatic improvements we’ve made to the website. If you haven’t seen it please go have a look!

TOKYO, June 16, 2012 – Tokyo-based Netwise, one of the Japan’s leading names in web design and online marketing, is expanding its operations and development capabilities with the opening of a new development center in the Philippines.

The new office is located in Cebu, the Philippines’ fast-growing IT hub, and is staffed by a complement of highly-skilled and experienced web developers. Cebu native and Netwise Director of Technology Neil Caipang, after four years residence in Netwise’ Tokyo office, will transfer to Cebu to manage operations there.

“Viewed in terms of time zone, language, talent and cost, the Philippines was the obvious choice for our Tokyo-based, Asia-focused operation,” said Netwise CEO Michael Rollins. “The new office will expand our capacity significantly while also allowing us to move into new areas such as mobile application development and m-commerce, two markets we see as poised for explosive growth.”

About Netwise

Netwise is a full-service web design and online marketing agency providing a wide range of services to clients in Japan, Asia, America and Europe. The new development office will enable Netwise to expand its capacity and capabilities in the areas of e-commerce and mobile commerce, while allowing it to better serve its clients through shortened time-to-delivery and an expanded range of services.

Press Contact

Tsuyoshi Kamata
KK Netwise
Shiraishi Dai-5 Bldg 5F, Shibuya 2-11-2, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0002
+81-3-5485-4636
http://www.netwise.jp
info@netwise.jp

When launching a new or redesigned website with a hundred or more pages or other pieces of content you quickly confront the question of how to supply, track and manage it all. And when dealing with thousands of pages to publish divided among an equal number of Word and text and PDF files, the headaches and margin for error increase
accordingly.

That’s why we created Comet, our own Content and Media Transfer system. Comet allows Netwise customers to upload their content in just about any format to an online repository which tracks the status of the content at every workflow stage, from upload to publication to review and approval.

The system keeps track of the status of every content item registered in the system in real-time, making it possible to know at any time which content items are missing, ready for review, waiting for revision, complete, etc.
The Comet workflow system is email-based, and notifications are sent to the appropriate project member whenever a workflow action is required. Detailed notification settings allow you to get just the right volume and detail of messages.

The Comet workflow is modeled on the typical workflow process for supplying and publishing web content, but relies on a database and web application instead of email for supplying and tracking the status of content. With Comet–and unlike email–nothing gets lost, overlooked, or published without review.

Comet was designed and developed in-house by Netwise as a service for our customers and costs nothing to use.

Netwise worked closely with Fabricant, Co. Ltd. (the company in charge of the Lacoste brand in Japan) to develop the look-and-feel of both websites, and–in the case of the keitai site–employed the expertise of Tokyo-based mobile specialists Infinita. For the PC site we worked from the existing European site template to create a design for the Japanese market which would preserve the overall brand image while making improvements and adjustments necessary to help the site to succeed here.

In addition to localizing the interface, we also reworked the product details page, created a new product zoom function, added an improved store locator, and optimized the shopping and checkout process.

Next we then conducted usability testing with a range of test subjects drawn from Lacoste’s target demographic. Based on the feedback collected in the course of testing we made further tweaks before handing the site over for development. In this area had the good fortune of working with the talented folks at The Plant, the company charged with developing the content management system and handling all of the back-end coding work.