1. Do they have a portfolio?
Make sure they have some experience.  Take a look at their list of customers and designs.

2. Can they cater to any type of business?
Look through the portfolio for variety. Do their client’s websites all look similar in format and structure? Make sure you are paying for a custom web design service, not a cheap template.

3. How is their response time?
This is vital to the success of your website. Take note of their choice of response (e-mail, phone, txt, instant messenger) and how quickly they can respond to your inquiries. If you prefer to do business over the phone and the designer doesn’t, then it’s probably best to move on to your next choice.

4. Do they have a contract?
If it’s not written – it’s not true. Everything should always be put down in writing. Before you sign anything, make sure you read the entire contract, including all the fine print. If you have any questions on anything: ASK! Don’t sign a contract unless you understand everything in it. If the company’s representative makes you feel awkward or uncomfortable with your “bothersome” questions, then end discussions and find another designer.

5. How reasonable are their prices?
Make sure you get what you pay for and if you are on a budget, tell the designer you choose you cannot exceed it. (This is usually a question I ask a potential customer.  Not to find out how fat their wallet is.  It’s so I can visualize the project and give and accurate quote of the website I’m going to deliver.
Make sure you have a plan to continually invest into the website’s construction. Your website is going to be the link between you and your customers, so make sure it is the best it can be. These days you can find web design for $199.00 and up.

If your budget doesn’t allow you to put everything you want into your website you might want to settle for a smaller website and create it in stages. Don’t settle for a cheaper designer. You get what you pay for.

6. Can they help you market your website?
Online marketing is key to your website’s success, It is best to find a designer that knows how to promote the sites they work on whether it be through search engine optimization, pay-per-click marketing, or another method. Ask your design firm what they feel is best for your company. When talking to your web designer make sure you give them information of how you would like your website to be represented on the internet.  This isn’t content this is your market, who do you want to reach?  You should feel comfortable in their explanation and reasoning; otherwise ask some other firms what they’d recommend.

7. Are their clients satisfied?
Don’t hesitate to contact their clients to ask for opinions and get their feedback on how their service with that company went. It’s your money after all. It’s better to spend 15 minutes on the phone than months of hassle and pain with the wrong developer.

8. Are they able to meet all your needs?
Do you want an e-commerce store, Flash elements or a custom web application? Can they do everything you want? The last thing you want is different companies meddling with your website’s design. Choose a firm that has the full corporate solution for your needs – whether it’s Flash intros or database-driven websites.

9. Can they deliver on time?
Are they willing to meet reasonable deadlines? If you need your site done by a certain date, can the designer you choose get it done by then? Be sure to ask about delivery times if you talk to their customers.

10. Do they take a personal and friendly approach?
Is the designer willing to help and suggest his/her own ideas, or do they robotically go along hoping they got everything you want? It’s always best to find a designer that has some ideas of their own, with fresh ideas and that knows their limits and won’t insist something be done a certain way if that’s not what you want.

We hope this information was helpful for those that read this article.  We hope after reading this information you contact us via email, phone 302-540-8073 or even on Facebook if you have any questions.

Regards,

Bad Dog Web Design

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www.firststatetowing.com

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They’re tag line is “The Path to Safety”. The tag line says it all for me, a company focused on safety is also a company that does good dependable work.

They are a local General Contractor that specializes in General Contracting – Industrial & Commercial – Concrete – Excavation – Core Drilling – Saw Cutting

They are located at:
18 King Court
New Castle, Delaware 19720
Phone 302.322.0320
Fax 302.322.8907

View Larger Map

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Many Flash websites look really cool but if you’re browsing a web page it can get annoying.  When you visit a website built in flash you might get a message like the ones shown below.

• skip into
• please disable any popup blockers
• minimum recommended screen resolution: 1024 x 768 px.
• this site requires Flash Player 8 or later.
• GET FLASH PLAYER

To most people this would a no brainer but for some other people it might be enough for them to leave your website.
When someone visits your website they don’t want to be told what their settings should be or what software they need loaded to browse your site.

It usually takes people less than a second to know if they want to stay on your website.  Giving them instructions on how to view your website is almost like telling them “it looks really cool but you have to download some stuff to make it work”.
I’m not trying to talk you out of a flash website, we have few that we’ve built.  I’m just letting you know the cons of having a flash website.

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Offer ends 12/31/2009

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This is a great way to share Youtube videos using this user friendly Facebook Application http://apps.facebook.com/youtubebox

This is one of the many useful social networking applications on Facebook that I would encourage people to use to drive traffic to their website or blog. 

After allowing the application to run go back to your wall and add the tab to your wall navigation page.

Share and Enjoy!

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The best thing about adding your site information to Google is that it’s absolutely free.

Google Maps listing show up at the top of the page increasing the traffic flow to your site by moving other organic listings down the page somewhat on Google.

The image below shows the results returned for Delaware Web Design.

Google map results

You can sign up here, add your listing (if it’s already listed you can claim it). Enter your company details, including your address, telephone, description, opening hours, payment terms and a few other things. Remember, the details, description and category of your business will be how people find you.
You can also add accompanying relevant images and video that can be hosted on www.youtube.com.

You can enter the categories associated with your business, if Google’s suggestion don’t fit your business then you enter your own.

You’ll have to verify your listing either by mail, txt or phone using a pin number that Google supplies.

That’s all there is to it.  Within a week or so you might be sitting  at the top of Google for a number of different local searches.

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I felt the need to explain that having a domain name is very inexpensive. This can range from $6.00 – $20.00 a year depending on where you buy or should I say “lease” your domain. I say lease because the domain name is paid by your yearly. If you stop paying for the domain it will become available for someone else.

When searching for a perspective domain name I use Net Solutions if I want to look up the availability of multiple websites or url searches. When you find an available domain name start shopping around. I could save a little time and tell you that Godaddy has good prices if you have a discount code. Normally I’ll just go to Google and enter the search “godaddy discount codes”. The number one hit is usually Fat Wallet.

Once you have a domain name you have to decide if you’re a “do it your self” kind of person or find a web designer to design and host your website. If you go the “do it yourself” path you’ll find prices and options will vary. If you want a website that will generate a lot of traffic you will probably want to stay away from a “shared server” and request a “dedicated server”. Most hosting prices are shown as shared server not dedicated servers. Do some research to find out what is best for you shared vs dedicated servers.

If you are going to have someone build your site for you please do some research. Normally a web designer will have a portfolio to look at, contact some clients to find out their satisfaction before going with someone you will regret doing business with.

A web designer will offer package pricing or an hourly rate that can range from $10.00 – $300.00 an hour or a web package starting at $199.99. If you pick a package deal don’t surprised by extra charges when you ask for items or services outside of the package you chose.

That being said, Bad Dog Web Design offers affordable websites  and design for the small to mid size businesses.  You will work directly with the person building your website and will be given a quote for work requested.  If that quote should change due to our customers wanting anything extra outside the initial quote you will be contact immediately so there will be no surprises on your final bill.

If you have any questions this subject please contact me kane@baddogwebdesign.com

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When putting together content for your website site think about what you’re trying to sell and what you think your customers might be searching for? Junk filler content is exactly that.

Keywords

Probably the most crucial aspect of effective SEO copywriting is the density of your keywords. These are the keywords that you would expect people to type into Google when looking for the particular product or service you offer.

A paragraph should be written to incorporate these key words as early in the text as possible as search engines are more inclined to identify keywords that are placed near the top of a page.

Ideally, about 7% of your website copy should consist of your keywords. Never have more than 10% or search engines will punish your site for ‘spamming’ i.e. simply stuffing your copy with keywords.

Key Phrases

Search engine optimized copy is more likely to achieve good search engine ratings by creating key phrases than by single keywords. Key phrases are strings of words that people typically type into search engines.

A person searching for a ceramic mug or Ceramic Mugs is more likely to type Ceramic Mug i.e. two single key words then type “Ceramic Mug” with quotation marks to create a phrase; but you should cater for those who are savvy enough to specify the phrase.

Enter Ceramic Mugs into Google and it produces about 564,000 results.

However, “Ceramic Mugs” in quotation marks only returns 354,000 results, so by incorporating Ceramic Mugs into a proper sentence (without quotation marks) it is recognized by search engines as a genuine phrase.

The Bottom Line

If your website copy incorporates good SEO practice and is managed by a competent website designer, it will attract more visitors to your site and turn ‘hits’ into real business.

Ultimately, the golden rule for all website copy is that it must read well and that search engine optimization should not detract from the overall marketing message.

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