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Whether you have a business on Main Street or an online presence… Whether you manufacture widgets or sell widgets online… Whether your web site is primarily for online representation of your business or you are actively selling merchandise online… You have a “storefront window”.

What does your “storefront window” say about your “store”?

Today, it is not only important to have a beautiful “storefront window” - adorned with fanciful window dressing and the highest quality merchandise - but you must also have the ”store substance” to back it up. Just what is “store substance”?

“Store substance” means a “store” that is logically organized, cohesive, attractively displayed, easily navigable, with merchandise or information about your company that is well labeled and clearly explained. It means plenty of useful and relevant information readily available to help visitors; well stocked inventory with good prices and fair shipping rates (as applicable); and customer service that is better than your competition - whoever they may be.

Let’s consider an example…

If you have a bussines on Main Street, jamming a bunch of mismatched merchandise together in your storefront window with little flair or common relevance - with virtually no descriptors or slogans - only serves to confuse passersby and leave them generally uninterested.

Conversely, an attractive well organized well thought out storefront window with a specific message and plenty of helpful relevant information to assist visitors can have a dramatic impact.

And both of these apply equally well to an online presence!

So, again we ask: What does your “storefront window” say about your “store”?

While you ponder this question, let’s consider some statistics…

A study performed in 2006 by The Center for Media Research estimated that 77% of adults in the US were online. Probably not a surprise to you - and likely a statistic that is higher today. A further study found that 87% of these online people rely on search engines as their primary means of locating websites!

What does this mean? It means you must have a web site that can be found in order to reap the rewards of an online presence. It means your web site must be appealing to BOTH site visitors and to search engines!

Over the next few posts to our blog, we will help you better understand what this means to you - and to your online presence.

Looking for quality dependable web site management or web site maintenance - or a revamp of your current site to ensure it is appealing to both users and to search engines ? Contact the web site design and web site development company that offers it all for the very best prices - contact Worry Free Web Sites.

Popularity: 95% [?]

Think about all the web site hosting companies out there today. Think they are all the same? Think again!

Hundreds, if not thousands, of web site hosting companies have popped up in recent years, and not all of them are created equal. Poor service from your host can mean that no matter how great your web site is – the damage from your site being down can be irreparable. Visitors are easily annoyed – and may simply never come back. If you’re an e-tailer, this can mean lost revenue – but even if you simply have an informational brochure site, down-time gives the impression that maybe your products and service are as bad as your hosting company’s!

At Worry Free Web Sites, our client sites have guaranteed uptimes. And all of our client sites are monitored 24/7, so if there is an issue, we are on it and resolving it as quickly as possible – most times before the client is even aware the site is down.

Cheap is cheap – and that means that cheap hosting usually comes with nothing but minimal bandwidth and marginal service. Do you really want your site hosted with a company who never answers their phones — or that you cannot even call! That is not the case when you host with Worry Free Web Sites. We answer the phone – and your questions and concerns! Clients can also reach us via email – 365 days a year!

So when considering where your site will be hosted – ask lots of questions upfront! Ask for a list of clients and contact them to see how happy they are with their service. And find out where the actual servers are located – it’s best if they are actually in the same country as your company, but this is often not the case.

After investing in a new web site, make sure you host with an quality dependable hosting company. At Worry Free Web Sites, you’ll pay a fair hosting fee - and you’ll be one happy customer, with a web site that is actually available!

Popularity: 100% [?]

We all make resolutions for the new year. It may include such wonderfully life improving (albeit difficult) things as quitting smoking, losing weight or exercising more regularly.

But take a look at your web site. Do you need to make a resolution about it too?

Just ask yourself these ten simple questions…

(1) Does your site feature outdated news, events or other old site content? 

(2) Do you have an outdated copyright date on every page?

(3) Did you intend on completing those blank pages – or pages that just say “Coming Soon” on them in 2007….but just never got around to it?

(4) Did you intend on making an improved effort in 2007 to performing more regular updates to your site…but just never did?

(5) Are the search engines seeing your site?

(6) Is your site tired looking — and sorely in need of a visual update?

(7) Tired of trying to maintain your site yourself?

(8) Are you having problems with your current webmaster? Can’t get work done in a timely manner - emails left unanswered, phone calls not returned?

(9) Is your site up and down most days? Do you have other issues with your current hosting provider?

(10) Looking for the latest in web technology to give your otherwise great site a real boost in terms of visual appeal, usability and search engine friendliness?

If you answered YES to ANY of these questions, now is the time to do something about it! Make a New Year’s resolution to address those unresolved web site needs in 2008!

We can help! Looking for an experienced web site design and web site development company? Looking for a really dependable webmaster who can help you keep your site properly maintained, fresh and current? Looking for the latest enhancements for your site? Need a reliable web site hosting company? We can help you with all of this and deliver the kind of unfailing personal service you’ve dreamed of.

Contact us today for further information on our available services.

Popularity: 87% [?]

No, we’re not talking about cars – we’re talking web sites!

There are many companies that offer an array of marketing services to specific markets. For example, companies that provide country clubs and golf courses with everything from marketing plans for increasing membership, to tee markers, to web sites.  Often, specialty marketing firms will offer clients a “free” web site.

You’ll soon find out that free doesn’t alays really mean FREE… 

In most cases, these companies do not design a custom web site. Instead, a design template may be leveraged, meaning that your site can look very much like scores of other web sites anywhere else in the world. And there’s a good chance that the site will be built using a code-generator as well – which often means less efficient code and code that is inherently less search engine friendly.

But hey – it’s FREE, right?

It looks decent and at least you have a presence on the World Wide Web. But that’s when the monthly fees kick in! What you thought was free turns out to be really be nothing more than just a “lease” - and in the long run can cost you much more than what a custom-built web site would have cost to begin with. In the end, you don’t really own that web site. 

Not to mention that your site will not be marketed well to search engines, you might have a more difficult time getting site content updated and worst of all – you don’t really own your web site. Try taking that site to another provider and you’ll find out that leasing a site has cost your business more than you thought - and in the end, after all that, you don’t own your site if you decide to leave that company.

A well-constructed web site from an established web site design and web site development company may be a bigger initial investment, but is actually a bargain when compared to the monthly payments made on a site you will never ever own. Plus, being tied to acompany that doesn’t really provide the best in web site maintenance and support just makes for a more difficult business relationship, greater frustrations and added costs.

Before you buy your web site, ask who owns it - and make sure you have that in writing somewhere. And always rememember to buy web site design, development and web site hosting services from a reutable company with a good long-standing track record.

Popularity: 100% [?]

In the spirit of the season of Thanksgiving, we all have much to be thankful for today. All you need to do is look around and see those less fortunate than yourself to be thankful for what you have. Ask yourself - what am I thankful for?

If you are currently satisfied with your website hosting or website maintenance company - that’s great - you indeed have something to be thankful for. Working with a company you can trust and depend upon is priceless.

But if you’re not so happy with the web site design and development, web site hosting and/or website maintenance company you’re currently with — or are looking for a new company – we encourage you to evaluate your options carefully and consider these ten very important criteria…

• Does your provider offer any written assurances that you will be happy with the end product of whatever you are having constructed?
• Do you enter into a legal agreement with your provider to ensure both parties understand responsibilities, deliverables, and project needs?
• Understand what you own before you sign any agreement — and exactly what your agreement is buying. Make sure you review the agreement carefully before you sign anything.
• Take the time to learn how to part ways with your provider, advance notification required, cancellation fees — and what you own when you do part.
• Does your provider  offer a development schedule for new development projects? 
• Does your provider offer any sort of assurances on turn-around time for web site maintenance requested?
• Ask what sort of programs are used to build and maintain your web site.
• Ask for a list of current clients from the provider and contact several of them to check on their satisfaction with the provider.
• Ask for a description of all services provided with what you are buying - as well as services available — and take the time to understand them.
• Will work be performed when requested - any day of the week?

As with any business arrangement, it is essential that you take the time to learn about the company you are considering, examine their experience, check their references, and do your homework up-front.  A little time spent initially will go a long way to ensuring the company you choose to work with lives up to your expectations and can become a company you truly are thankful for — not just this season, but everyday of the year.

Contact us for the best in web site design and development, web site hosting and website maintenance services.

Popularity: 96% [?]

A web site is essential in today’s business world - whether you are a small retail business, a large manufacturing company, or an online merchant. A web site, if developed, hosted and maintained properly, is a great investment and a good “bang for the buck” as compared to other more traditional marketing avenues. A quality web site can bring new customers to your door over and over with a relatively small initial investment, minimal ongoing cost and limited amount of ongoing work.

When shopping for a web site development company, keep these helpful tips in mind…

#1 – WORK WITH AN ESTABLISHED BUSINESS

Always ask for client references — and check them! There are a vast number of “garage” shops out there today that offer less than stellar services and less the quality code. These are folks who speak “techno-ese”, but don’t often have the experience of working with a vast array of businesses – or have a vast amount of development experience. They might know all the lingo and the development tools, but aren’t real business or marketing savvy – or overly concerned with your specific needs. Always remember to  ask who their customers are – and then ask around for opinions of their abilities and services. Does this web development company understand what you need your web site to do? Ask about their design skills and request samples? Do they understand your business – are they willing to learn about it? Ask them about quality design, code and search engine friendliness – and what these things mean to them. And, most importantly, will this web development company be there six months from now? You want someone you can rely upon today – and tomorrow. You want a quality product for your development dollar. At Worry Free Web Sites, we have been in the Internet business for over seven years, in the marketing business (through our parent company Catalyst Marketing Innovations) for over 17 years, and have served hundreds of happy customers over that time.

#2 – HIRE A COMPANY THAT BUILDS SEARCH ENGINE FRIENDLY WEB SITES

Any web developer you interview should ask you questions – lots of questions - before providing a project proposal. They should want to know how important it is for your site to be found by the major search engines. You may think that’s important for every business, but a regional grocery chain not selling online isn’t looking for customers from across the country. The degree to which you need your site found regionally or nationally by search engines dictates the type of copywriting, content and structure of a site you really need. Your chosen web developer should understand the concepts of a search-engine friendly site – and how to build your site to be search engine friendly. At Worry Free Web Sites, we understand the importance of having a professional looking web site that is seen by the search engines.

#3 – MAINTAIN YOUR SITE!

The best thing about a web site is that it can be updated – quickly and relatively easily. Make sure that the company you choose to work with urges you to make regular updates and changes to your site. This can be accomplished by way of various monthly maintenance packages, on-demand web site updates, or some other on-call type procedure. Maintenance of your web site is of course dependent upon the volatility of your products and your business, but regular updates are important to keep your site looking fresh, current and up-to-date. Your web site visitors like this – and the search engines demand it. Keep it fresh! At Worry Free Web Sites, we embrace the concept of regular web site maintenance and work with each of our clients to ensure their sites are updated as frequently as possible. Most of our web site packages include a predetermined number of web site maintenance hours, making your monthly budgeting easier without the worry of added monthly web site expenditures.

Look for more useful information in our blog soon!

Popularity: 89% [?]