Design and communications services to meet your unique web site needs

In a perfect world, getting a web site going and making it work specifically for your audience would be a snap. After all, this is the age of high tech, right? But nope. The high tech and all its gizmos and whiz-bang artistry sometimes just make it harder to get found — and reach your audience.

That’s where I’m confident I can help you out. My services include everything from generating a basic web site to creating content for it, and then optimizing it to help you get found. Click on the images to the sides or use the back and forth arrows to learn more about options that can be integrated into your efforts.

And relax. I’ll handle it.

Custom Design

Web sites don’t roll off an assembly line, nor should they. After all, the purpose of a web site is to reflect the uniqueness of the individual business or profession presenting it.

Different audiences. Different messages. Different looks. Different . . . well, different everything. That kind of customization includes deciding on a color scheme, navigation that helps your audience find your key content without unnecessary clicking, and strategic placement of photos and other media to boost your message without distracting from it.

That said, it is possible to get a decent-looking web site using a template; many are offered by the web server companies that host sites. You do the work yourself, generally by choosing your colors, selecting one of several templates, and then slamming in your own text and photos to make it come together. If your needs are pretty basic, then template-driven web sites are worth checking out. But understand that when it comes time to change things up, add a little something extra, optimize it professionally so it gets found, and make it look uniquely yours — well, things can get more than a little dicey.

Please get in touch if you want more than that. We’ll put our heads together to figure out your needs, hammer out a budget you can live with, set a timetable, and make it happen.

Writing and Editing

You’ve heard it said again and again: Content is king. And that’s true. What you say on your web site and how you say it matters. But not everyone has a comfort level with writing. Not everyone has time for it.

No problem. We can approach your content one of three ways:

• You hand off your copy and I include it just as it is, with minor checks for typos, grammar slips and the like.
• You pass along text you’ve written that embodies your idea, but needs a good edit and maybe correction for style and tone.
• You tell me what you want, give me whatever brochures or printed information you’ve been using — anything you have on hand — and let me figure out how to write it for presentation to your online audience.

My background includes more than a dozen years as a newspaper writer and editor for several major dailies, a managing editor stint for a children’s publishing company, authorship of three published novels, and loads and loads of online writing. I also have a B.A. in Mass Communications from the University of South Florida and a master’s degree in Trial and Error from the University of Hard Knocks.

So don’t sweat the details. Tell me how you want to play it and I’ll make sure you have professional content for your site.

Optimization

Optimization for a web site is all about getting found. It’s known in the business as “search engine optimization,” (SEO) and most of it happens behind the scenes. You don’t see it, but search engine robots do. They parse specific information from your site through specially developed algorithms, then deliver results that rank you high up the food chain or way, way down it.

So what are those robots looking for? They’re after well-written text that includes key phrases your customers would likely use to search for your kind of business. They look for clean page structure with links that aren’t ambiguous. They love links, in fact, especially from other web sites linked to yours, or from people who mention you in Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter — places like that.

There’s more, and it’s technical. And you can pay a whole lot of money to SEO companies that’ll vow to get you ranked on the first page of Google results. Some SEO companies are good — pricey but good. Others? Be skeptical, and know what to ask.

So am I an SEO expert? No. But I do know what works and I know what doesn’t. And I know that in the end, it’s not a process that happens overnight. Want to know more? Just get in touch and I’ll tell you how I can help.

Consultation

Sure, sure, sure . . . everybody’s a consultant these days. You might be a consultant yourself, even if you don’t see yourself that way. That’s because you undoubtedly specialize in something that other people simply don’t and when they need your kind of expertise, they turn to you.

Same with me. Web sites are no longer just “brochures” online. They can be used in a lot of different ways to bring you closer to your audience and to make it easier for your audience to find you and get in touch. Problem is, not everyone knows what makes sense beyond a brochure web site, and at what point to take the next step.

I make it my business to keep up with it all, or at least as much as humanly possible, so that you don’t have to. That means I can help once I understand your business needs and dynamics. I can tell you what makes sense to do, when to do it, how to do it, and give you the honest big picture on what your efforts will mean. And if I can’t execute everything you need on my own, I’ll help you figure out how to get it done.

Need that kind of sit-down? Contact me and we’ll take it from there.

Social Media

You’re probably flooded with e-mails from companies that tell you how they can make you famous in Twitter circles, or get you on Facebook to connect with your customers. Those offers flow in so fast and always sound so promising that it’s hard not to pay attention. It’s all about social media — the vehicle through which social networking between people operates — and indeed it’s not just today’s trend. It’s here. It’s real. It’s staying. And . . . it’s still in its infancy, changing faster than you can change clothes after work.

Yes, getting involved can make a difference. But what matters for your audience may not be the same that matters for someone else’s audience. Demographics drive the way in which people connect. Twitter, for instance, is not something an older crowd gravitates to. Also, social media won’t rocket you or your web site into fame and fortune overnight. If that’s what you’re hearing from all those e-mails floating into your inbox, run for your life.

Another option? Get in touch with me and I’ll steer you toward what makes sense for you, and help you make it happen. And I won’t snow you along the way. That’s a promise.