Website Design

Web Design Produces 353% Traffic Increase in Two Months

Posted in: Website Design | December 16, 2011
SEO Design Chart

Many of my website design prospects frequently ask me “what they can expect” when we discuss converting their static website into a dynamic WordPress website.  I answer them honestly by saying it depends on a lot of variables because no two projects are exactly alike.  While this answer is not a concrete one, it is the best one I can give because I don’t yet know the variables.  What I can tell them is that there are great examples of success when the process goes right. Does SEO Really Matter in Website Design? Yes, yes it does.  My project plan doesn’t allow for website Read more

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Stand Back! The Geeks Are Coming

Posted in: Website Design | November 8, 2011
Web Design Geek

Last night I met with a business partner named Scott.  Scott is an engineer and his engineering brain loves SEO.  I’ve been teaching SEO 101 while we build Scott’s website.  Last night as we moved from SEO 101 to SEO 201, Scott couldn’t understand why I didn’t do this with every client.  The truth be told, 99% of my clients don’t care.  They pay me to make sure their website and SEO are taken care of and they don’t want to worry about it. We All Make Mistakes Very few clients have Scott’s thirst for knowledge.  They don’t understand it, or care, or have the time to Read more

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Why DIY Websites Are Many Times a Horrible Mistake

Posted in: Website Design | September 5, 2011

So you’ve finally made the decision – you need a new website.  If that’s the case, you’re probably trying to figure out if you should hire a professional or try to go it alone.  If you’re a small business or a tech savvy marketer, you’ve considered doing it yourself or maybe even decided to take the DIY website route.   For some, this can be a great decision. For others – aka most – this can be a disaster. The DIY Website Designer Lately I’ve received a lot of emails and calls from people who ventured down the DIY website path only to find themselves going astray.  Read more

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Should You Ditch Your Website & Developer?

Posted in: Website Design | August 28, 2011
Dude in Garbage Can

When I first started my business, I thought projects would be clearly defined as web design or SEO. Oh was I wrong.  Projects, like clients, come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. What may start out as a simple SEO project may lead into a full-blown website development. And this migration isn’t because I’m pushing web design on clients, it’s because the client has significant limitations with their existing website. Since I run into this often, I'm sure the average website owner does too.  If you’re trying to decide between updating your existing website or moving towards Read more

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Sticks and Stones Break My Bones, Wireframes Excite Me

Posted in: Website Design | August 10, 2011
Wireframe to Design

Over the years I’ve matured in my web design process. I now have a graphic artist who creates really great design comps and a few WordPress gurus who whip these creations into the Genesis framework from StudioPress. I truly believe I have some of the best people around and I am a lucky girl. Yes I realize that sounds like fluff, but in my geeky WordPress world all that makes me happy. It means I get to focus on clients, strategy, SEO, and I get to create wireframes. Website wireframes are like pieces of a really cool puzzle that come together to make a really great website. What the Heck Read more

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Converting Visitors is About Connecting the Website Dots

Posted in: Website Design | August 9, 2011
Connecting the Website Dots

If you’ve been following my blog and you're a regular reader of my posts, you may have noticed in many recent posts we’ve been walking through my website design process. It has over 90 lines of to do items for my team and my clients. Yep I said 90 with a nine and a zero. That’s a lot, but there is a reason for it. I’m methodical in nature and my web design process is too. There are a lot of dots to connect and things to worry about when you launch a new website.  That doesn't mean it has to be scary, it means it just needs to be right. What We've Learned Thus Far So far on our Read more

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Why You Should Treat Your Website Like the Family Dog

Posted in: Website Design | August 7, 2011
Sniffing Dog

Friday afternoon I had a call with a client I built a website for back in March. Before I realized it, I was comparing their website to the family dog. Not a typical analogy, but it worked in the situation and the client understood the point I was trying to make. Who’s Taking Care of Fido? In my house I take care of the family dog. I’m not a big fan of our English Lab, but I’m still the one who makes sure he is fed, watered, and let in and out four hundred times a day. I am the caregiver even if I’m far from a dog lover. I much prefer my three cats, which pretty much take care of Read more

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Top Ten Signs You Need a New Website

Posted in: Website Design | June 6, 2011
Top Ten

Each week I speak with companies who need a new website and complain to me about their current website. I’m a frank person and once someone knows this, they frequently just start saying the first thing that comes to their head. Some of the comments are so funny and painfully accurate, they have me laughing out loud and whipping the tears off my face. While that is good for me, it is not for the company who owns the website. The below list of top reasons for a website redesign is a humorous take on my recent conversations with website owners. I wish I could say these were unrealistic Read more

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SEO Can’t Help a Website That Sucks

Posted in: Website Design | February 17, 2011

Each week I speak with potential SEO clients who ask me to “make their phone ring”. It is an honorable request, but I struggle with this because in many cases, SEO alone can’t solve their problems. SEO can help, but once the website visitor arrives to their website, they’ll run screaming for the hills. I’m not a website snob and I value the small business owner and his desire to bring sales in through the internet. I think internet marketing is critical for many small businesses, because it is relatively cheap compared to other marketing tactics. The problem is most small Read more

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Have a Seat Mr. Website Owner, It’s Time for Introspection

Posted in: Website Design | January 30, 2011
Website Owner Introspection

When a client signs a contract with me for a web design, the first thing I do is send them a three page questionnaire and request they answer as many questions as they deem appropriate. This questionnaire helps me get inside their heads and it helps me better understand their marketing objectives, the opinion of their existing website, and their overall view of internet marketing. I ask a lot of questions about the current and future state of their sales process and marketing programs. While these questions are informative, I definitely have a few questions that are my favorites. In Read more

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