When people talk about computers and what they prefer, they will stand firm by the platform they use be it Windows, Mac or Linux. Interestingly enough all three also have web server software that host web sites, e-mail and other Internet applications. All three also have browsers and other programs that enable you to access the web via their respective platforms. Finally, you can find web development software available on all three platforms and this is where a lot of problems can occur.

For years Microsoft made a very popular, yet flawed product called, Frontpage. I admit when it first came out and was available I was attracted to it and its ability to manage a large number of pages as well as making it possible to design a web site in a visual format. However some of the biggest disadvantages of that program were that most people would use pre-installed themes making it easy to spot a Frontpage-designed web site quickly. Also, the code it created was become extremely bloated and hard to edit from a programmer perspective. Apple however has a current product, iWeb which sadly suffers from the same issues. While iWeb creates web sites that look way more beautiful than anything I ever saw designed by Frontpage, you can still spot from a mile off that the site was created from a basic template and has features unique to the product. In addition, the code it creates is way more complicated than it needs to be.

If these programs are so bloated and the results are so apparently uncreative from the perspective of the one who created the site then why are they sold? For one, both Apple and Microsoft sell those products as an added feature to increase sales and yes, they can be quite easy to get something up that is “quick-and-dirty”. That’s not always bad in some cases, but when it come to creating web sites for clients that communicate to a wide global audience we adhere to web standards, not Microsoft or Apple standards. Standards that can be created and produced in such a way that they work exceedingly well for the Mac, Windows or Linux desktop user. Another web standards issue to consider is the need to consider the different connection speeds of various web site viewers. Yes, a lot more people have high speed connections but many out there are still on dial-up.

For example, we design web sites for churches and agencies of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, a denomination that has many churches in rural areas without access to high speed connections. As a result, keeping our code clean and images optimized to load quickly are considerations to which we are committed. The current ARP agencies we have developed web sites for are World Witness and Outreach North America . We have also developed and currently maintain the sites for Unity ARP Church, Travelers ARP Church**, The Bridge ARP and Huntersville ARP. We hope to design and develop more web sites and podcasts for churches and other ministries within the ARP*. If you’re an ARP Church or ministry contact us and learn how we can create web projects that adhere to web standards so you have have the greatest outreach in your community be it a large metropolitan area or a very rural area with limited internet resources.

*This is not a site we have done but of course we would love any future opportunity to help with it’s development.
**Our home church - site is done “pro-bono” as one means of giving

If you’ve been on the Internet or involved in any kind of business development I’m sure you have heard the term, Search Engine Optimization or SEO for short. This is nothing new. Ever since search engines or directories have been on the Internet companies have wanted to be at the top of the listing.

I hate to use the term “early days” but the previous mindset regarding preparing a web site to be easily found by a search engine involved some back-end technical steps which at one time made sense when search engines and portals had more of a directory approach.  The initial approach involved adding what is known as “meta tags” in the code of the web site and while some of these are still important to a degree modern search engine optimization is focused and hopefully will always be focused on the actual content in terms of text, images and other non design elements.

In terms of marketing this is actually a huge advantage in terms of competition, making updates known quicker and standing a better change at being found. Provided a web site has compelling content and is updated frequently.

What are some ways to to optimize, design and develop a web site so one can make frequent updates and provide compelling content? Here a few things to consider;

• Have a web site designed around a content management system - The makes it easier and faster for the non-designer, i.e. owner or employee of a company to update a web site without asking the web designer to make those updates.
• Incorporate a blog feature on your web site - The search engines love frequent content and writing on the topic related to your business on a frequent basis increases your search engine ratings
• Register your domain name for more than one year. The more years the better as search engines like Google rate domains with a longer registration period higher as it makes them look less, “fly by night.”
• Include words in your title tag you think people will use to search for a business like yours
• When writing, write naturally. Be sincere and don’t try to trick the system by stuffing keywords in the document.

These are just a few tips but they are ones they have helped us tremendously in the past few years to the point we rank on the first or second page of important search terms, many of which we have a lot competition.

Some SEO resources you may want to look at include;

• The Search Engine Academy of South Carolina
• The Wikipedia SEO entry
• Google’s page about working with SEO companies

Again these are just a few resources. We are constantly looking at ways to optimize web site for our clients and also our own business so we can not only get more customers but also practice what we preach and become more experienced to help others. If you are struggling with getting good search results for your web site contact us and find out what tools and resources we have that can help you be more successful. Of no one can guarantee you will be number one, that’s impossible and always changes but we can help you get achieve greater visibility amongst all the other choices out there. What are your SEO Success stories or concerns?

This is my third series of the year in which I address a very general and sometimes misunderstood term. The first series was on design, the one before this one was on branding and now I wish to address the subject of marketing and it’s many aspects. Marketing can conjure up some interesting, sometimes negative or at the least misunderstood feeling or impressions.

I started to touch on the subject in the branding series because the two can be intertwined in many ways. Our clients want to use the most innovative and effective ways to showcase their business and products and this is done through integrated marketing communications.

Marketing however is not a one size fits all solution. Different companies have different marketing needs and we will address them in this series. The following is a list of what I plan on covering in the days ahead;

1. Your Marketing Plan
2. Public Relations
3. Advertising
4. Branding
5. Customer Relationship Management
6. Direct Marketing
7. Internet Marketing
8. Search Engine Optimization
9. Buzz Marketing
10. Evangelism Marketing

This series will give you a firmer understanding of marketing and how it can help your company succeed in both great and difficult economic times. In the series I may give example targeted to our local markets, Greenville, SC or Upstate, SC in general but you should be able to apply these principles anyway with minor adjustments.