Plain vs Fancy Web Design: Which one works best for a small business?

Plain vs Fancy Web Design: Which one works best for a small business?

Ugly Website Design
Does your website have to look impressive to get results?

“Can a ‘plain’ website out perform a prettier one?”

If you own a small business site then you have probably gotten sales pitches like this in your email inbox before:

“Hello, my name is {blank} and I wanted to reach out and ask if there is anything that you would like to change about your website?

I am a web developer with {blank} and my team can do just about anything you can imagine. My forte is helping clients get the look and feel they want out of their websites as well as making sure they can be found online.”

Sounds like a good deal right? Get an impressive looking website, and get be found online.

Yet, we all know this is not the complete truth.

Read More

4 Common Business Website Mistakes – No One Talks About

round-tuit

Are You Making these Four Website Marketing Mistakes?

I screwed up.

I have hodge-podged this site together for a long time – writing blog posts and updating things whenever I could get around to it.  You may be familiar with the world-famous ’round tuit’  above…

But once I became interested in writing and developing educational programs about building better websites,  I needed to rework this site to correct the marketing mistakes I had made due to rushing through everything.

Like that old saying goes, “Doctor, heal thyself!”

Read More

Top 5 Small Business Website Mistakes To Avoid & What to Do Instead

angry_white_businessman_280x280The Best Time to Avoid Small Business Website Mistakes is At the Beginning

Most of the articles you will read about common website mistakes to avoid involve either bad web design elements or SEO problems. This article is a bit different.

In this article I’m going to share with you why I feel that the most terrible websites disasters happen LONG before anyone hires a web developer or sets out to learn how to build a website on their own.

I believe that the worst website mistakes either start at a desk in your back office or around your kitchen table late at night.

A  NASA project engineer once wrote  “The seeds of problems [in a project] are laid down early.  Initial planning is the most vital part of a project.  A review of most failed projects or project problems indicates that the disasters were well planned to happen from the start.

When I was in the Army an old sergeant put it more bluntly “Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.”

I strongly believe that piss poor planning can mess up even the most beautifully designed and constructed website.

Read More

How to Change a Theme on WordPress Website – Even You’ve Got No Web Skills?

How to Create a Website with WordPress
“Hey anyone can change a WordPress website theme !”

How to Change a WordPress Website Theme in 6 Steps

Jill’s feeling great. Her designer got her new WordPress website up and running a few months ago.  Now she has found what looks like a great new WordPress theme.  All the members of her business group are raving about it.

Jill called up her web guy but he is tied up and she knows from experience it might be days ( or weeks) before he gets back to her.

She really wants to try out that new theme right now! But she’s just gotten used to writing blog posts. She’s afraid she just doesn’t have the web skills for the job.

Well  if you are like Jill and a lot of  other small people, you are probably interested in using a WordPress website to promote yourself online.

Read More

3 Excuses For Not Having a Website That Make You Look Dumb

You need more then just your storefront to survive.

I have to admit it; I really have a super cool job!

My work as a web developer and online marketing specialist lets me help small business people learn how to market and promote their organizations online.

I really like this – not because I’m some kind of “Uber-Internet-Marketing-Guru” but because in my travels, I get to meet some way cool local writers, artists, retailers, entrepreneurs and other small business folk.

Read More