The Hello Bar is a simple web toolbar that engages users and communicates a call to action.

branding

Before

After

Antoine found us through the Atlanta WordPress Users Meetup Group and needed some help getting his static website moved over to a WordPress site that would be easier to maintain and get better search engine optimization. He paid for about 6 hours of consultation and training and I redesigned his header and logo. He is finishing up the site content now before it goes live. Here is what he said:

I contacted Judi to help me convert my static html site to a wordpress site, she was very cordial and professional, she went above and beyond and exceeded my expectations.My website now looks good and it’s super functional. I recommend Judi to all business owners wanting to increase traffic to their website.

-  Antoine Rached
Diminished Value of Georgia
Independent Insurance Adjuster
Independent Auto Appraiser
GA License # 2712433

I  just read a great post called Why Redesign Your Website? by HubSpot which is a SEO marketing Company that is pretty darn on target. I really liked what they said. One of the main points is that sure you have to have a well done site that is polished and put together, but…. the point is getting more visitors and leads, So you do a redesign if you are not on a Content Management Site (CMS) platform, not because you are bored with the design or because your CEO wants a new logo design.

Marketing guru, Seth Godin says,

“I’m going to go out on a limb and beg you not to create an original design. There are more than a billion pages on the web. Surely there’s one that you can start with? …Your car isn’t unique, and your house might not be either”.

The founder of WordPress, Matt Mullenweig once said to me ( I love that he actually, in person,  said this to me)

“I wonder why any developer would build a theme from scratch for a client when there are over 5000 themes to customize and save them time and money”

Great content is a most important activity on your website and adding the content on a regular basis drives people to your site. Which is most easily done with a Content Management Site such as WordPress and they should absolutely include a blog, RSS and landing pages.

Any website built today should include these basics.  They are not expensive, and they work.  A blog is a great way to create content on an ongoing basis, and to start to converse with your customers and prospects and RSS allows some content from your website to be automatically pushed out to other websites and people, increasing the reach of your content.

So take these words to heart and when you find yourself spending too much time with what the banner should look like. Yes, it should look sharp, but it really matters more that you get your content out there with the right technology, the right navigation, and a way to start and keep adding more content on a regular basis.

I am talking to a woman today who had her site redesigned over a year ago and it still has not gone live because she was paralyzed over the design the technology choices and her wording. I agree, for someone new to all of this it can be daunting. And there is a lot of competing information out there. There is a lot of OLD school information out there. Like selling people SEO services around key words and metatags, or people still building static, non-owner friendly sites that the site owner has to pay the developer every time they want it updated! At New Tricks, we really try and make it easy for you. Yes, of course we believe in good design, but it is important not to let your obsession on perfection stop you from doing it now.

globalgirl_blog

Project Highlights :

Amanda Earley graduated from Tulane in May 2009 in Latin American Studies and International Development. She is now attending Georgetown’s Master’s Program in Latin American Studies and Foreign Service and was back off the Rio to do research this summer. She came to us wanting a blog site where she can write about her various projects as well as being a forum for people who are living and working all over the globe. [click to continue…]

splendidvid

Project Highlights :

SplendidVid selected New Tricks to develop a portfolio website showcasing the work of three highly acclaimed media professionals. While the principals had impressive individual portfolios, they needed an online presence for their newly formed media production company.

In a few short weeks, New Tricks and SplendidVid worked together to create a site that speaks to a variety of audiences from “button down Fortune 1000 corporations and issue oriented political groups to hard rocking musicians and hip hop performers.” [click to continue…]