The post Life Choices – A Local Nonprofit Website Project appeared first on Linda Curty Web Design.
]]>
I recently launched my latest site design – this one for Life Choices Pregnancy Support Center. I have volunteered with Life Choices since they opened in 2013, helping with various marketing and design projects, and was excited to have the opportunity to design a new website for them.
Website Design Details
For the new Life Choices website, we sought to create a clean, bright design that would appeal to teens and young women. (A primary target audience for the organization.) Their organizational colors of purple and blue were integrated to create cohesive brand image across the site.
The site includes a rotating banner carousel on the home page for features and announcements, custom link buttons to social pages, a contact form for information requests, and a Google map for directions.
Information and resources are presented in an intuitive way, and contact information is prominently displayed and easily accessible on mobile devices.
Mobile Site Design
Speaking of mobile, the Life Choices website is fully responsive for clear and easy viewing on mobile devices. Key features include a mobile-specific drop-down menu and click-to-call and click-to-text phone number links.
Back-end Specs and SEO
- The site includes Google Analytics code so that we can track visitors, page views, and much more information about traffic to the site.
- The website has also been optimized for search engines using specific content, keywords, titles and descriptions – as well as other SEO tactics – to help improve search engine rankings and drive traffic.
About Life Choices Pregnancy Support Center
Life Choices is a local nonprofit organization in Winchester, Tennessee, that serves Franklin, Coffee, and Moore counties and the surrounding areas. They provide pregnancy testing and counseling before, during, and after an unexpected pregnancy, as well as education and resources for expecting and new parents.
It was such a joy to work with the wonderful ladies at Life Choices on this project. Thank you, Donna and Mindy, for letting me develop the site for you!
The post Life Choices – A Local Nonprofit Website Project appeared first on Linda Curty Web Design.
]]>The post Reading Roundup: Facebook and Email for Local Biz and more appeared first on Linda Curty Web Design.
]]>
I can’t believe the first month of the year has drawn to a close. January was a great month with lots of big things going on here at Linda Curty Web Design and Marketing. I’ve been extra busy planting lots of seeds to help increase web traffic and business for local small businesses and non-profits, and here are just a few of the highlights!
- I added template-based WordPress installs using StudioPress templates and the Genesis Framework to my services line-up. This allows me to offer several new website options at a significantly lower price. (I am still doing custom designs for those who are interested in those as well though!)
- The new website for Life Choices Pregnancy Support Center went live earlier this month.
- Thanks to the amazing design talents of Stacey Gamble, we created a SnapChat GeoFilter for the Winchester Downtown Program Corporation. (More on that in the coming days!)
Reading Roundup
For this last week of January, there were lots of great articles around the web with heaps of information about websites and online marketing for small and local businesses. Here are a few of my favorites:
Facebook Professional Services: How Your Local Business Can Rank – Social Media Examiner
By: Kristi Hines
Facebook Professional Services, is Facebook’s recently launched directory listing top local businesses and services … a potential competitor to Yelp. This article from Social Media Examiner gives a great summery of this new directory and includes an easy step-by-step guide to setting up your profile.
Email Marketing Basics for Local Businesses – LocalVox
Email marketing is a fantastic way for local businesses to reach out to current and potential customers. Whether you are using email to highlight a recent blog article; share coupons; or announce news, an event, or a new program, email marketing can be a highly cost-effective way to share your business. This email from LocalVox breaks down the types of potential email messages you can send, the key qualities of effective messaging, and the analytics you’ll want to track.
Why Local Businesses Need Online Marketing – Inc.com
By: Peter Roesler
Having an online presence can be a huge benefit for local businesses – even if you don’t have a single thing for sale online. Modern consumers use the Internet not only to find out where to shop or dine locally, but they also use it to compare goods and services, read product and restaurant reviews, and check for the best prices. All of these uses are backed up by empirical data – and Inc.com boils it down nicely for us in this article.
The post Reading Roundup: Facebook and Email for Local Biz and more appeared first on Linda Curty Web Design.
]]>The post Grow Your Small Business Facebook Page With These 5 Tips appeared first on Linda Curty Web Design.
]]>
Facebook can be a great tool to help small businesses improve reach. Whether your goal is to improve relationships with your current clients; find new ones; or, more likely, both, the right tactics can help you grow your small business Facebook page into a high-quality resource.
1. Post Consistently
I heard a great quote by Michael Hyatt this week: “If you’re not consistent, then you’re nonexistent.”
It isn’t always easy to consistently post quality content, but it certainly is necessary. When you post, you give your tribe something to engage with – and the benefits to having an engaged audience are many:
- Facebook’s news feed tries to give users the information that they are most likely to be interested in. The more a user engages with you, the more likely you will be to show up in their feed.
- With regular good content, comes shares – and shares lead to more fans and, thus, greater visibility for your brand.
- Once a person likes your Facebook page they generally don’t return to your page but interact instead on your news feed.
If you aren’t posting consistently yet, determine a schedule and stick with it. Depending on who you ask, you will hear recommendations for posting frequency that range from once a day to five times a day – though the most frequently given advice is 1-2 times per day. Social Media Examiner suggests trying out a few different scenarios to see what works best for you and your fans. Facebook Insights (Tip #4 below) can help you figure this out!
Having a tough time making so many posts? Check out a social media scheduler like HootSuite to help manage your feeds. (HootSuite is even free for up to three social media profiles.)
Bonus stat: As a general rule, Facebook posts made at 1pm get the most shares, while those made at 3pm get the most clicks. – But again, find out what makes the most sense for your brand!
2. Keep Posts Relevant
Make sure your posts are relevant to your fan base. Generally speaking, fans Like your Facebook page because they are interested in your products/services/information. If you begin providing too much content that isn’t relevant to your brand and your users, there is a solid chance those fans will soon jump ship.
That being said, you certainly can (and ought to) keep things fresh by mixing up the type of content that you provide. For instance:
- Unique content such as links to your blog posts
- Links to relevant industry news on other websites or Facebook pages
- Inspirational quotes that will resonate with your audience
- Promotions
- Polls
3. Use Photos and Images
According to socialbakers, photos account for 75% of all brand posts, and more importantly, photo posts have the highest average number of interactions.
Photos can help show a more personal, human side of your organization – making it more relatable to your customers. It is important, however, to make sure that your photos show your brand in a good light – remember, it is a business page, not a personal page.
Types of images you can use include:
- Photos of staff
- Behind-the-scenes photos
- Event photos
- Infographics
- Memes
- Banners
But whatever photo you use, be sure to attach a relevant link whenever possible!
4. Track Insights
There are heaps of great ideas and suggestions about how to best engage with your Facebook Fans, but ultimately, the ideal methods are the ones that your audience is most likely to respond to.
Facebook Insights, which is included with every Facebook Page that has more than 30 Likes, provides an excellent snapshot to help you see when your fans are engaged. Here are some of the key insights to watch:
- When Your Fans Are Online – To help you determine when to post.
Post Type – What types of posts have the most reach and engagement? - Post Reach – Look for the spikes on this graph for an idea of which posts to share again later or to replicate.
- Post Engagement – Under Posts/All Posts, click to change to show Engagement – this shows a truer snapshot of what your audience is interested in.
- Benchmarks – As you change your strategy, compare your reach and engagement to a prior period to help validate whether your strategy changes are working.
5. Stay Excited
If you are excited about your brand and your content, it will shine through in your posts. Excitement is contagious!
Take Action
Take the first step. Go to Facebook now and post something great to your audience. They’ll thank you for it!
What has worked great for your brand and your audience? Have questions about next steps? Leave a comment below and fill me in!
Want to stay up-to-date on my latest tips? Sign up now.
The post Grow Your Small Business Facebook Page With These 5 Tips appeared first on Linda Curty Web Design.
]]>The post Bubbles and Bows Pet Spa Website Gets a Facelift appeared first on Linda Curty Web Design.
]]>
I am thrilled to announce the redesign of the Bubbles and Bows Pet Spa website. I designed their first site for them when they opened about three years ago, and it was time for a new look and new technology!
Bubbles and Bows is, in my opinion, the best dog grooming shop in town; they were even voted Franklin County’s Finest Pet Groomer earlier this year! I take my Macy Mae there for grooming nearly every month, and Mrs. Kristina McGrath does an amazing job on her every time.
Website Design Details
- Playing into the fun spa dog logo that Bubbles and Bows uses, we chose a happy, light design for the site.
- The site is designed using a responsive theme, which allows it to display properly across all types and sizes of devices from a mobile smartphone to a large widescreen PC monitor.
- The rotating banner features brightly colored text and photos of costumed pets.
- Dog paws were used as design elements across the site, and we integrated photos of spa and clients throughout.
- The home page also includes a rotating list of client testimonials.
- We added a photo gallery to showcase photos of Bubbles and Bows’ furry clients enjoying their day at the spa.
- The news and events page includes a feed from the Bubbles and Bows Facebook page, as well as links to local news items.
- The mobile version of the site includes a Call Now button to help visitors easily contact Bubbles and Bows for an appointment.
Back-end Specs and SEO
- The site includes Google Analytics code so that we can track visitors, page views, and much more information about traffic to the site.
- The website has also been optimized for search engines using specific content, keywords, titles and descriptions – as well as other SEO tactics – to help improve search engine rankings and drive traffic.
Thank you so much, Bubbles and Bows Pet Spa and Boutique, for allowing me to design your site.
The post Bubbles and Bows Pet Spa Website Gets a Facelift appeared first on Linda Curty Web Design.
]]>The post Welcome Pilot Car Insurance and V. R. Williams appeared first on Linda Curty Web Design.
]]>
I am super excited to announce the completion of the Pilot Car Insurance website design project for V. R. Williams & Company.
V. R. Williams & Company is an insurance company located in Winchester, Tennessee. They offer a variety of different insurance products in both traditional and niche markets.
The Pilot Car Insurance Program is their latest niche insurance offering, and I had the distinct pleasure of working with them on a few different projects related to this program.
The post Welcome Pilot Car Insurance and V. R. Williams appeared first on Linda Curty Web Design.
]]>The post 4 Reasons Why You Should Consider a Responsive Website appeared first on Linda Curty Web Design.
]]>
In fact, comScore states that Internet access via mobile device is now greater than access by desktop computers.
As an increasing number of people use their tablets and smartphones to surf the Web, it has become more and more important to develop websites that work seamlessly across these platforms. The way users interact with sites on these mobile devices varies significantly from how they access them from a computer. Users are now touching rather than clicking, and screen-size and pixel-resolution have become important factors. Because of these reasons and others, it has become necessary for designers to create sites that keep the look and feel of a brand’s website while simultaneously optimizing it for use across a variety of platforms.
Enter Responsive Website Design (RWD). This capability is critical websites in today’s Internet usage environment, allowing sites to be easily accessed and viewed on all of these devices. So just what is responsive design, and why do we need it?
Responsive Website Design Explained
RWD is a web design and development approach that creates a site that responds to the size of the user’s device or screen (from smartphone to tablet to laptop to large, widescreen monitor).
On responsive websites, text, images and video, layouts, and other elements, re-size themselves depending on the screen size of the device the site is being viewed on. This means brands do not need to create secondary mobile site, nor do users have to click to transition between mobile and desktop versions.
RWD has become the simplest option to connect with users across a range of mobile devices while ensuring a seamless user experience, improving Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and keeping Google happy.
One is Better than Two (or Three)
In the past, developers would create two separate versions of a site one for desktop users and one for mobile users. There are 3 main advantages to using a single responsive site versus a separate mobile site:
Cost Advantages
It costs companies more (sometimes significantly more) to build two websites than one. Additionally, the lack of navigation and content that comes with traditional mobile sites can drive frustrated customers to competitors – resulting in lost revenue for the company.
Consolidated Analytics/Reporting
Responsive website design means one consolidated analytics report. This means a broader picture of how users are accessing and using your site and easier analysis and monitoring. Furthermore, most analytics tools, such as Google Analytics, offer filtering options so that users can compare mobile access to desktop access.
Content Maintenance and Accuracy
When you are maintaining two separate sites, you often have the same content in both locations – this means making sure the content is updated correctly on both sites. A single, responsive site means less time to update and less chance of having the wrong version or different/outdated content.
User Experience
Another advantage of responsive website design is improved user experience. Regardless of what device a user is accessing the site from (be it smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer), the functionality, as well as the look and feel, is consistent. This makes it easier for users to find, read, and share content. Furthermore users aren’t redirected between mobile and desktop versions. A positive user experience leads to higher conversion rates.
Search Engine Optimization
Quite simply, Google recommends responsive website design – and with 67% of the search traffic market share, that alone is a good reason to listen.
- Having a single URL with the same code makes it easier and quicker for Google to index the site, thus reducing needed resources. Managing a single Search Engine Optimization (SEO) campaign is also easier and less expensive than managing two.
- Unique content is vital for SEO, the duplicate content that comes from placing it on separate mobile and desktop sites may have the effect of lowering your site in search engine rankings.
- The redirect to a mobile URL typically increases the amount of time it takes to load a mobile site to about 7 seconds, whereas Google looks for sites to have faster load times (ideally about 1 second). Because responsive website design eliminates the redirect to a mobile URL, your site will load more quickly on mobile devices.
The post 4 Reasons Why You Should Consider a Responsive Website appeared first on Linda Curty Web Design.
]]>The post New Look for Winchester Downtown Program Corporation appeared first on Linda Curty Web Design.
]]>
Recently, Linda Curty Web Design and Marketing teamed up with the Winchester Downtown Program Corporation to develop a new look for its website.
The Winchester Downtown Program Corporation is a nonprofit corporation focused on both bringing new small businesses to the Winchester downtown district and supporting those already there.
They manage the downtown revitalization grant and played a crucial role in the district’s gaining Tennessee Main Street Community status.
WDPC web design features include:
- A social wall, which compiles posts from WDPC’s collection of event Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages, along with #winchesterDowntown posts to Instagram and Twitter.
- A home page slider highlighting upcoming events
- A directory of downtown area businesses
- Search Engine Optimization
- And much more!
The post New Look for Winchester Downtown Program Corporation appeared first on Linda Curty Web Design.
]]>