Back in 2014, I originally published this post. I had been already working in website design and SEO for ten years and I was painfully aware of the need for digestible content. In the last six months, my husband Jason has been digging into the genetics of alpacas (we're alpaca farmers) and his world has been filled with terminology that includes words like alleles, genotype, phenotype, and DNA sequencing. As he learns more, he wants to share this knowledge with the alpaca community. He ... Read More
Website Development Articles and Posts
Website development articles and blog posts covering all aspects of WordPress website design for small to mid-market companies.
The Trials and Tribulations of Hiring a Website Developer
I originally posted this article back in 2016 and I pulled it to dust it off today because I am currently working with two SEO clients who have hot messes of websites. These companies have tried multiple website developers and SEO agencies, only to be left with hacked up websites with no website traffic, conversions, or ROI. It's buyer beware and sometimes I feel like digital marketing is the wild west of technology. Your website is an important part of your business. If 2020 taught us ... Read More
GDPR and WordPress: Why You Need to be Concerned
The web is abuzz about GDPR and it's something that website owners cannot ignore. While GDPR is focused on websites servicing the EU, in reality, virtually any website, anywhere in the world needs to be concerned about this ruling because so many of us cater to people worldwide. The struggle with WordPress is not the implementation, but WordPress' user base. While WordPress provides superior CMS support for users from solopreneurs to enterprise organizations, the vast majority of WordPress' ... Read More
Best Option for Website SEO: WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, or HubSpot COS?
Until recently, I hadn't thought much about website SEO and which website builder was best for supporting search engine optimization efforts and best practices. I'm a WordPress girl after all, and in my head, WordPress is the only option. But recently, my private Facebook group has received a number of questions asking about SEO and how Squarespace, Wix, and Weebly compare against WordPress. While I provided some initial thoughts on each post that arrived, I knew I needed to dig in further ... Read More
What is a Website Builder?
Whether you're just starting a business or want to move your existing brick and mortar business online, you'll need to locate a website builder to get you and your brand online. Website builders come with a variety of options, so it is important to find one that fits you and your website. So what is a website builder exactly? A website builder is software that allows you to create a website online. The software will reside on a web server at a hosting company or be part of a hosted SaaS ... Read More
The Ultimate Website Redesign SEO Checklist
This week I had a call with a small business owner who is launching a website redesign in WordPress. He asked me how can we best preserve his existing SEO and makes sure he doesn’t lose any search ranking in the transition. Right away I replied that this was a fabulous question. We then chatted about common mistakes that occur and how we can prevent them from happening with this website redesign project. Here is the scary part about this conversation: I rarely am asked about this until the ... Read More
StudioPress Sites: The Who, What, and Why
This month the Rainmaker Digital team is rolling out a brand new offering called "StudioPress Sites and holy cow they might just have something special here. I've long been a fan of StudioPress and the Genesis Framework and was even a beta user for Genesis back in the day. When the Rainmaker Platform arrived I dug into that as well and was highly impressed with the beautiful admin panel and ease of use. Let's hit the hottest questions on StudioPress Sites so you can get the rundown on what ... Read More
The Value of Content Before Website Design
I’m a strong believer in preparing website content before initiating graphic design and this applies to both websites and blogs. Some will argue with me, but I’ll fight this battle and dig in because I know content before website design is the right approach. I believe: Strong website design extends past colors, fonts, and layout boxes. Strong design focuses on the user. Website design should be crafted around the user, their needs, and the desired outcome of a website visit. It should be ... Read More
Upgrading Your Website? Don’t Forget 301 Redirects or You’ll Be Sorry
301 redirects help protect your website during an upgrade, redesign, or move. While they are really easy to implement, many website owners and developers forget about them and in the process, this derails SEO efforts and can completely wipe away ranking in search. I’ll be honest, I didn’t think much about 301 redirects until recently. Creating and managing 301 redirects have been a core part of our website design and development projects and we have to do items listed for these within each ... Read More
Create an Exceptional Customer Journey With Your Website
Each and every day we take journeys. We embark on customer journeys in both the physical and digital worlds. Years ago our journeys were limited to store fronts and physical goods. Today we live in a multimedia world of websites, social media, chat sessions, newsletters, email, and call centers. These digital journeys have changed the way we interact with companies and products. Last week I decided I was going to try shopping at a new grocery store. I was on my way home from the ortho ... Read More
Buying a Website is Like Buying a Car, But Worse
You walk into a car dealership with high hopes of purchasing a new vehicle. The dealership you picked is an amazing store that comes highly recommended and sells everything from economical Ford and GM cars, trucks, and minivans to luxury brands like Jaguar, Infiniti, and Ferrari. Everything under one roof! What could be better? As you walk through the door, you approach the salesperson and ask him or her to provide you a quick quote on a new vehicle. It’s a realistic request right? No not ... Read More
A Peek Inside Our Recent Website Redesign
If I said it has been a busy couple of months inside of Web Savvy Marketing, it would be an understatement at best. While summer is traditionally our slow period, we started a website redesign and it has been a major undertaking for me and my team. I never do anything half way and this website redesign is a perfect example of my inability to go “minor” in anything I do. Add in the fact that there are client websites builds to manage and it’s summer in Michigan and well, I feel like I’ve been ... Read More
Professional Website Design is Alive and Well
Contrary to what you’ve read recently, professional website design is not dead. In fact, the professional website designer is alive and well and business is thriving. While popular media outlets like Mashable.com report that artificial intelligence and low cost WordPress templates are killing the occupation of professional website design, these are headlines geared towards driving traffic and discussion. The claims are based on promotion and not on actual facts. Do you wonder how I can be ... Read More
20 Website Design Requirements Every RFP Response Should Include
I’ve recently been talking a lot about website design requirements, proposals, and contracts. I’ve done so because I know a successful website design launch is more than software code, text, and images. Website design success is a direct result of a structured process and solid documentation. Executing a successful website design project begins and ends with a solid documentation. This documentation can be a proposal, contract, or statement of work. The name of the document is less ... Read More
Can a Website RFP Improve Your Project Success Rate?
Have you ever issued a website RFP and received limited responses? Did you wonder what went wrong and why design agencies failed to reply with earnest? You’re not alone. The breakdown in the RFP process can be attributed to both the RFP issuer and the RFP responders. And it is an issue that has been growing for years. On the client side, a lot of companies fail to publish a solid RFP, which makes it difficult for agencies to respond or even take them serious. On the agency side, design ... Read More
Say Goodbye to the Fold and Say Hello to a Positive User Experience
About a decade ago I had the pleasure of working on my first website project with a professional graphic designer. At the time I was employed by an enterprise software company and my role was the head of marketing. As we progressed through the graphic design process, my boss (the company president) was absolutely adamant about the entire home page showing “above the fold” on this laptop. At the time he was spot on and this was considered a best practice for web design. All of our design ... Read More
Successful Website Design Projects Begin With Solid Project Scoping
Tomorrow I’m headed to WordCamp San Diego to present a session titled Expectations Management in Contracts & Scoping. The entire presentation is focused on establishing proper scoping and documentation for website design projects. The session is a collaborative one, so I’ll be joined by industry veteran Karim Marucchi (the CEO of Crowd Favorite). While this presentation is focused on helping WordPress developers, the same lessons apply to those who purchase web design services. After all, ... Read More
Creating the Ideal Home Page
You’ve got the perfect idea. I mean a good one. One you’ve been waiting your whole life to come up with. It’s good and you are going to be a superstar. You know this ever so perfect idea needs a killer website to make it come to life. Not just any website, but a good one that will quickly and beautifully illustrate your concept and why the world must embrace it. You pop on over to ThemeForest.net or Template Monster or any other website that offers thousands of WordPress themes. Somehow ... Read More
Selecting the Right Genesis Developer
Did you know that WordPress now commands 22% of the internet. Did you know that the Genesis framework is considered the benchmark for WordPress coding? Did you know this combination makes it incredibly difficult to hire a quality Genesis developer? The Real-World Scenario A number of months ago I received an inquiry from a very nice lady named Janet. She wanted to convert her e-commerce website to WordPress and wanted Genesis as her framework. Janet and I spoke in email and then Janet got ... Read More
The Puzzle of Home Page Design
Home page design isn’t just about headers, content, and footers. It is about asking the right questions and making sure those questions apply to your website visitors. It’s about finding solutions to problems and bringing it together within a cohesive design. Have You Ever Wondered? How do I make my website memorable? How do I make sure people stick when they hit my home page? How do I make sure website visitors dig into my content and explore my product or service offering? How do I ... Read More
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