Archive for Web Designer Tips

How to keep up with internet technologies

Thursday, January 12th, 2012

Freelance Website Designer networkswitchdnso 300x225 How to keep up with internet technologiesAs a freelance website designer, let me be the first to tell you, it’s not easy keeping up with the latest and greatest in what the internet has to offer. After doing what I do for almost 10 years now, i still have to google some things that clients request in order to learn about it, since they’re so new. Don’t get me wrong, as a self acclaimed computer nerd, I’m usually on top of most things that are popular and going on, but I’m only human and have the same amount of hours in a day as everyone else.. As much as i’d love to be supergirl and have the power to get a constant RSS feed of the latest internet technologies plugged in to my brain, I don’t think that’s a technology that’s out yet..lol

So how do you do it?! There are several websites out there that keep you updated on whats new and exciting on the web. As a website designer, i do a lot of webinars, and read tech blogs to make sure i’m as up to date as humanly possible. Read read read. That’s how you do it. There’s no way to be a step ahead of the internet, cause it’s always a step ahead of us!

Categories : Web Designer Tips

Press Release

Freelance Website Designer cub sm1 Still debating what InfusionSoft membership plateform to go with? Check this out.Infusionsoft Acquires CustomerHub Product & Team

Web-based app that provides membership site and content delivery tools to small businesses now part of market leader’s product offering.

(Phoenix, Ariz. Nov. 1)—CustomerHub, a web-based application that provides an easy to use membership site and customer portal platform to small businesses who market and sell content online, today announced it has been acquired by Infusionsoft, the leader in all-in-one sales and marketing software for small business. CustomerHub, one of the top app integrations in the Infusionsoft marketplace, allows users to share unlimited password-protected content with subscribers.

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More than 7,500 small businesses use Infusionsoft’s powerful software that combines CRM, email marketing and e-commerce with automation to nurture and convert leads, grow sales and save time.

Specifically designed to work with Infusionsoft, CustomerHub allows small businesses to easily deliver protected content to paying customers and automate the subscription and collections process, helping them generate recurring revenue, save time and eliminate administrative overhead. CustomerHub also allows small businesses to share free, protected content by integrating with marketing campaigns.

“Membership sites are growing in popularity as marketers shift their content delivery channels from physical media, like DVDs and binders, to online membership sites which are easier to manage and more profitable to operate,” says Infusionsoft CEO and Co-founder Clate Mask. “Membership site tools are the way of the future as small businesses look to generate high-quality leads, as well as monetize content and establish recurring revenue streams.”

CustomerHub founders, Kyle and Nathan Leavitt, along with their team, will join the Infusionsoft team to oversee the CustomerHub product.

“We founded CustomerHub because we recognized that there are thousands of small businesses that need a tool to help them deliver protected content to their customers and followers,” says Kyle Leavitt, co-founder of CustomerHub. “Now that we have the power of Infusionsoft behind us, we’ll be able to bring the benefits of CustomerHub to more small businesses. We are excited about joining this dynamic team, the future of both the CustomerHub product and other innovations we’ve developed, and the added value this partnership brings to our customers.”

CustomerHub’s pricing is affordable for small businesses at monthly plans starting at $59 that begins with a 30-day free trial.

How Small Businesses Use CustomerHub to Deliver and Monetize Content

“When customers get automated e-mails from us, they are directed to auto-log in to our CustomerHub portal where we deliver the video and audio content,” says Jermaine Griggs, founder of Hear and Play Music. “This gives us a controlled environment to track customer activity and manage subscription and collections. Since we launched this campaign, over 20,000 new users have signed up for our video lesson series and logged into CustomerHub on multiple occasions to access the content.”

“The reason we love CustomerHub so much is because it provides a one-stop portal for our customers to learn best-practices on social media, marketing automation and social customer management, and it allows us the ability to cross-sell and upsell our content to customers at the right time, without being intrusive,” says Adam Metz, founder and CEO of Metz Consulting.

“CustomerHub is a must-have if you’re using Infusionsoft and delivering paid content to customers,” explains Marty Schulting, owner of Accelerated Solutions. “We had no plan on how to handle our declined recurring orders. After 90 days, we had recovered over $5,000. CustomerHub took a ton of workload off our customer support team and has allowed us to focus more of our energy on the growth of our business.”

Webinar Explaining What CustomerHub Means to Infusionsoft Users
Infusionsoft and CustomerHub will host a webinar on Nov. 4 at 10 am PST to explain how Infusionsoft customers can benefit from CustomerHub in their sales and marketing. You can register here.

About CustomerHub
CustomerHub was created by Infused Systems, a leading provider of Infusionsoft services and technology. CustomerHub is a web-based application that provides an easy to use membership site and customer portal platform to small businesses who market and sell content online. CustomerHub is one of the top app integrations in the Infusionsoft marketplace. For more information, visit www.customerhub.net.

About Infusionsoft
Infusionsoft is the leader in all-in-one sales and marketing software for small business. Designed for marketers who have outgrown basic email autoresponder or contact management systems, Infusionsoft is powerful software that combines CRM, email marketing and e-commerce with automated follow up into one efficient, easy-to-use system that helps small businesses nurture and convert leads, grow sales and save time. Infusionsoft has a rapidly growing customer base of more than 7,500 customers and 25,000 users. For more information, visit www.infusionsoft.com

Categories : Web Designer Tips

CMS WordPress Website Design & Why

Saturday, September 24th, 2011

Freelance Website Designer cms11 300x189 CMS Wordpress Website Design & WhyAs a freelance website designer that likes to keep things simple and keep edits in the hands of my clients, it’s easy for me to recommend and use wordpress for all my clients. In this day in age when adding content and making changes to a website are so vital, I don’t see how any website designer would leave out such a crucial feature.

In the web design world, we call wordpress a CMS. A CMS is a content management system, and is vital to non-internet saavy clients that need to update their website on regular basis. Even if you dont need to update your site on a regular basis, you should, and here’s why: SEO.

CMS SEO, i know, all the abbreviations are a pain in the a$$, but they’re important to know if you’re gonna invest in a website. Search Engine Optimization is something, that even done on a small scale, shouldn’t be avoided. Search engines LOVE change. They send out “spiders” to visit your site, and create a screen shot of your websites look and code, and when it comes back to visit a month or so later, your code better have changed or it gets bored, and see’s your site as a static uninformative piece of html.

So what should you do? When getting a website designed, make sure your designer is creating it on top of a CMS, whether that be wordpress, joomla, or any other CMS that makes it easy for you to add content to it on a daily basis. Also, if you’re going to stay on top of things, ask for a blog also. It gives you a place to write and add content to your website so it’s ever changing. Then WRITE! Don’t let a blog just sit there and collect dust.

Any Questions?

Categories : Web Designer Tips

Freelance Website Designer Tips

Sunday, August 28th, 2011

Freelance Website Designer be your own boss Freelance Website Designer TipsQuick Tip: Be a website designer because you love it. Long hours aren’t for everyone, but at the end of the day (which there never seems to be), you’re your own boss and THAT my friends, is priceless! Stressful as a mo’ fo’, but PRICELESS!

Categories : Web Designer Tips

Google checkout vs. Paypal

Saturday, July 23rd, 2011

Freelance Website Designer 6a0134862db50d970c01543293d5d3970c 300wi Google checkout vs. PaypalAlot of my clients ask which one is better.. google check out or paypal. And being around them both for quite some time now, i’ve come up with my own answer. Bare in mind that obviously this is a matter of opinion, and i’m not a “lets make a list and check it twice” kind of person. Ya, in 3 months when new features come up, opinions may change, but as of yet, my opinion has yet to shift on the matter.

I personally prefer google checkout. For what I do, it is the easiest and most secure. But you have to look at what I’m doing. I deal with selling a service. I dont have to ship things or create tracking numbers and shipping labels.

Now, because i prefer google checkout does NOT mean that paypal doesn’t have its place in the 3rd party checkout world, obviously it does, and its what I suggest to my clients that are selling actual items. If you’re selling shirts, pins, anything that has to be shipped out, i STRONGLY recommend paypal for the obvious reasons. You get an order, you click a button to create a packing slip, and everything is fully automated to make sure the buyer and the seller are taken care of in that transaction.

So if you’re not sure which one to use, use both, pay the extra hours worth of time with your designer/developer and have them do both. A) you won’t be missing out on those customers that have 1 account over the other and feel safer using it, and B) you won’t have to burden yourself with the ‘which one should i use’ question.

Get er done, sell some stuff,  aint that what its all about anyway? I’d be more worried about how i’m gonna get them to buy things rather than how i’m gonna get their money..small part-big picture.

 

WordPress – adding anchor links

Sunday, January 9th, 2011

Always a good idea to keep tabs on these kind of things. Something so simple can sometimes cause chaos!

The image explains everything. Works in WordPress 3.0

Freelance Website Designer html jump links Wordpress   adding anchor links

Categories : Web Designer Tips

Scammers Targeting Freelance Designers

Saturday, November 20th, 2010

In the last month, I’ve received 5 counterfeit checks from supposed ‘potential clients’ for deposits. They’ve all looked really legit, but there are some signs to look out for.

1. The amount on the check is NOTHING near the deposit you specified.
As a freelance designer, a $2400 check looks great! Bills can be paid, rent, etc. but when you only asked for $250 deposit, horns begin to sound that this is a little much.

2. Associates send you the check.
If the check is not in the name of the potential client, then obviously there is an issue.

3. The scammer acts like a potential client to the T, constantly checking up on the status of the check being received and so on.
I even received a fraudulent check via UPS with tracking ID. They’re not holding back now a days so be on the look out.

4. If you think you may be getting scammed, you most likely are.
Follow up with the client and let them know the deposit was too much by thousands. If they tell you to send them the rest via western union or the like, its a scam. No if’s, and’s or but’s about it. Don’t get caught up in the zeros on the check, if you cash it, you can get accused of fraud yourself!

So to all my fellow freelance website designers, BE AWARE!! Scammers are finding you now, and they’ve taken it further than craigslist.

Categories : Web Designer Tips

A lot of people think that if a web designer is busy, they are busy..done deal. However we have our times of the years where we’re really slow just like every other business out there.

The holidays are a great time to get some good deals from website designers. Interested in hiring me? Ask me what kind of holiday deals I have! Most don’t start until December, because of course that’s the slowest time of the year!

This year i’ll be offering Web Design & Hosting Certificates! Give the gift of web design, or web hosting, domain names, whatever you choose! Contact me for details!

Categories : Web Designer Tips

Website Designer: better.

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

You have ideas and they’re great ideas. The problem is you’re not a web designer and you have no idea what it takes to make all those great designs you’ve seen on other websites. Fortunately, you don’t have your ideas put on ice until you can go back to school and learn how a web designer, because you can hire an expert web designer to do the work for you.

Before you rush to the search engine and type in web designer, there are a number of considerations. First, you need more than just a few ideas in mind and you never need a generic search with only a title like the one just mentioned, or you’re sure to recover at least three million hits, most of which will have little or nothing to do with the type of expert you are looking to rent.

Take the time to your ideas to give coherence and synergy. Make sure you have a good idea what you want so you can effectively to convey these thoughts to the expert if you find them. Be prepared to offer constructive criticism and positive suggestions for how best to design your Web presence to accept. You are after all, hiring an expert and be someone you trust to give you their best to help you in turn, present your best.

A high quality web presence is the right color combinations, the correct text, graphics or photos needed, virtual tours where appropriate and sound to the professional look that you see on people because your company to show. Skillful website designers understand the importance of all these facets and how they work for you.

When choosing a person or company to this kind of work for you, you can expect to make some realistic costs. Seeking the services of the best website designer is not you, it means that you will have to spend a small fortune to get the work done. Just be sure that prices and services are clear for money exchanges hands and the work starts.

The most important factor when hiring a web designer is to communicate. If your deadline is short, this is very important to a web designer who may already be juggling several projects that have a short schedule. A professional web presence that load quickly, attracts customers and process the transactions you need to have done is worth the investment.

There is no doubt that the Internet is here to stay. Companies that advertise online to use the opportunity to showcase the goods or services they offer to people around the world. Your company deserves the same attention and the services of a smart web site designer, you can continue with your business and leaving all the initiatives of the design professionals who are skilled at making the best website on the Internet period! Hire a professional website designer and experience the difference can make your website profit!

Website Designer: Choosing the best

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

In the present times that the Internet has proved an important medium for conducting business are, most people prefer their online business and sell their products to launch under a wider range of audience success and maximum return on their capital gain. And what people can help achieve this goal are “effective” web design and web development services. This is because, the fact is that a simple looking website with simple and outdated functions can not do wonders for your business. Instead of what can really help in boosting your sales and your reputation are so creative, beautiful and functional websites. Hence, in a nutshell it can be said that web services you can provide a website that is supported by interesting and informative content, easy navigation and also to use is what counts the most in online business successful.

The above factors make it necessary for online business owners of a highly functional and attractive website that is able to attract potential visitors and thus maintain their focus on the conversion to the customer / client. This factor has led to the increasing demand of web design services, followed by the emergence of numerous web design and web development services in almost every part of the world. However, it is true that the web design in Hong Kong but has been successful in gaining the confidence of the people with useful and creative services. So if you are planning your online business to start or renew your existing website, you can find very good quality if you spend time in looking for the web design and development service provider like http://www.source . com.hk / who can provide quality services.

Moreover, it is necessary to mention that since web design and web development is perhaps the most important aspect of a website, it is very necessary for you to use the services of the service provider are well equipped with the latest developments and features of advanced applications to provide you with excellent returns. So with this mind, we make out certain information which will greatly help you in choosing the best web design company.

Here are the aspects that you should ensure that the web design company you are, is well equipped with approaching (if you think of the reorganization of your website)

• The web design you choose should be clear and easily understood and used.

• Easy navigation and layout is a must to provide convenience to visitors.

• color and design you choose to use should be simple yet attractive and eye-catchy.

• It is also necessary to mention that no matter what the approach of your service, whether he wants to use content management system, also known as Web CMS or the manual procedure, the bottom line is that their services should be capable enough to offer you a beautifully designed website.