VIEW: This is what I am talking about!

Here is a good example of what I can do for a business with two days and $300!

Jim Furness is a hardworking, knowledgeable and sensible man. He owns and operates Furness Construction, Inc. We met this Wednesday to discuss his need for a new website. During the meeting, Jim mentioned that he was planning to update his business card.

Here is his current business card:

Here is the final business card design with a brand spankin' new logo and shiny look and feel:

A logo design and business card design isn't always this cheap and fast. But sometimes... it just is. Jim will have his new business cards early next week. He's a happy client. Happy clients make me happy.

If you a business card that could use a little lift, please send them on over.

VIEW: A Muscian's Site Up and Running

Guno Ronde is a professional bass and keyboard player that has played with legendary musicians from Tito Puente, to Cyril Neville to Willy Nelson.

In relocating from Austin, Texas to California, he was looking for a way to reach out to high caliber musicians that will hire him for touring or studio work. Although he realized that a website is an important tool that would help him reach his goals, it seemed like a daunting task. Together, we completed his site in less than a week. Not only is he please with the results, but his site has been admired by many of his fellow musicians.

Although he plays many styles of music, he wanted to avoid being pigeon holed into one genre. So we decided to go with a look that was void of any one particular musical direction and to focus on his range of abilities and professionalism.

I wrote the website and edited and enhanced the photos used. His site is responsive and looks great on mobile devices as well as a standard monitor. It is also much easier to look at then many visually complex band websites.

View Guno's website here.

Do you want to showcase your craft or talent? Call me up!

707-332-8582
brenda@beehivedesignstudio.com

BASICS: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website in Search Engine (like Yahoo! or Google) results. In general, a high ranking result will lead to appearing earlier on a search engine page and receiving more views. 

There are many ways of effecting search engine results. SEO commonly starts with investigating the actual search terms or keywords a user will type into a search engine when looking for your service or product. Early on, comparing keywords was the primary way that search engines ranked websites. The ranking process has become much more complicated and is constantly adapting. In response, SEO is constantly adapting as well.

My personal prescription for creating healthy SEO is to "keep it clear, keep it real, keep it up to date". I believe providing well written, descriptive content throughout your site is primary. There are number of secondary work that can be done to keep your site competitive and search engine friendly such as keeping your content fresh, adding including a video and testing your site often. There are also "paid" options to consider.

SEO is a topic I discuss with all my clients before we begin any work. It should be considered throughout the planning stages and implemented based on the specific needs of each client. Once we design and implement an SEO plan for your business, we begin monitoring it to see how successful it is. I can set you up with analytic programs, or watch the progress myself.

My goal is to keep SEO simple and doable for you. There is no point in setting up a time consuming program that you will not realistically follow through with. I believe it is better to chose attainable goals and find ways to help your business, with or without my help, achieve your SEO goals with a reasonable amount of time and money invested.

I am happy to provide a free review of your websites SEO. Please feel free to give me a call or email me to schedule an appointment: 
707-332-8583 
brenda@beehivedesignstudio.com

NEW: Responsive Web Design

Originally, all websites were built to be viewed on desktop computer monitors. With the advent of smart phones, designers had to adapt by building a separate set of styles for viewing on a mobile phone. Next, we created 4 versions of each website: one for monitors, one for phones, one for tablets and one for printing. As website development is a constantly changing enterprise, responsive web design has been developed and has taken hold as the current norm.

Responsive web design (RWD) is an approach to web design aimed at crafting sites to provide an optimal viewing experience—easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling—across a wide range of devices (from desktop computer monitors to mobile phones).

The idea is to adjust the site for optimal viewing from the widest to the narrowest viewing environment. You will know that a website has been designed using RWD it changes format as you reduce the width of your viewing screen. The images should become smaller, the menu might fold up, the text might become larger as your screen size narrows. A number of related terms such as "flexible", "liquid", "fluid", and "elastic" are sometimes used to describe responsive layouts.

There are still challenges in using responsive design; for instance, some banners and video are not responsive. However, Google recommends responsive design for smartphone websites over other approaches. Not using responsive designs will have a negative impact on your search engine results soon.

I am available to convert your current site to a responsive site. Just email me at brenda@beehivedesignstudio.com for a free estimate. You can also look at some of my responsive website designs on my website at www.beehivedesignstudio.com.

VIEW: Redwood Coast Painting Website Complete

Robert Gibbs has created a company, Redwood Coast Painting, that provides competent, clean and reliable painting services to home and business owners. He specifically wanted his website to look as clean as his completed paint jobs. We chose an understated, almost classical look for Robert's website that is still approachable and friendly.

I was able to learn enough about Redwood Coast Painting to write most of the copy and even requested testimonials from Robert's client so that he could keep doing what he does best... running a successful painting company.

 Here's Robert's testimonial:

 "When my website disappeared from the internet, I asked for an estimate from Beehive Design Studio to replace it. I was reluctant to take this project on because the experience I had with my former web designer was less than ideal.

However, it was very different working with Brenda. She was organized, responsive and made the process very easy. I am so pleased with my website.

And apparently it’s is coming up higher on search engines. As soon as it was up, I started getting an average of three new calls a week just from the website! It has helped my business grow and was absolutely worth the money spent on it.

I can’t recommend Beehive Design Studio highly enough!"

— Robert Gibbs, Owner, Redwood Coast Painting

View Robert's website here.

Contact me for a free estimate on a new website designed specifically to get your more clients.
707-332-8583
brenda@beehivedesignstudio.com

BASICS: IP Address and Domain Names

Every individual computer, server, and network on the Internet has an assigned IP (Internet Protocal) address which is a unique string of numbers, for example: 834.84.802.57. Since remembering a long string of numbers is difficult, we use domain names in their place. A domain name is attached to a specific IP address and it functions on the Internet in a manner similar to a physical address in the physical world.

Domain names are composed of series of letters — often in the form of memorable words — followed by a dot and then an extension (like .com or .org). For example, my domain name is beehivedesignstudio.com. When you type beehivedesignstudio.com in the bar at the top of your web browser, the browser request uses my domain name to find the attached IP address and my website appears in your browser.

Just like a physical address, every domain name is unique... two or more sites can not have the exact same address. Each domain name and its associated IP address is stored in a common database that is accessible via the Internet.

There is an organization, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) that governs coordination of the links between IP addresses and domain names across the entire Internet. There are many companies that you can use to register your domain name through ICANN. I use GoDaddy for registering domains.

The process is simple. Typically, you can tell me which domain name you would like to use for your website. I will look it up to see if it is available. If it is, I can register it for you quickly and easily. If the domain name you would like is not available, I can tell you if it is available with a different extension or review other alternative names. The cost differs for each extension, but is typically between $9 and $15 per year of registration.

I can register your domain name under my account or create an account for you. Almost all of my clients prefer to have their domain names under my account. The advantage to having it under my account is that although you still own the domain name, you don't have to be concerned if you receive emails telling you that your domain name needs to be renewed or that you need to respond in some way. Unfortunately, there are many, many scams out there that target owners of domain names. My clients either throw out these emails or send them to me for my review. I review the email and advise my clients accordingly, usually to throw it away.

If I register your domain name under my account, you can rest assured that your domain name is safe and there is nothing you have to do to keep it safe with the exception of paying for the renewal when you receive an invoice directly from me.

I recommend registering your domain name for 5 years because search engines rank domains that are registered for more than a year higher. I can also help you transfer a domain name, forward a domain name, mask a domain name, sell a domain name you own, or purchase a domain name in an auction or from the current owner directly.

For more information on domain names, IP address or how the Internet operates, feel free to contact me at brenda@beehivedesignstudio.com or visit my website at www.beehivedesignstudio.com.

VIEW: First Website of the Year!

Beehive Design Studio completed this site just in time for the to attract new clients for tax season!

Cromwell Tax and Bookkeeping is a classy act. Their office is a beautifully restored classic Santa Rosa building on Fourth Street. When you enter, the colors and decor present a high attention to detail while surrounding you with a comforting simplicity.

Madelyne Cromwell, the owner, embodies the term competency and the professionalism of her staff is renowned. She wrote the content for the site herself. 

I wanted this website to reflect Cromwell Tax and Bookkeeping's classy, highly proficient and personal office and service. Madelyne and I are both very happy with the final site. 

I set up a blog for this site. Madelyne has been blogging regularly and posting her blogs to social media sites. I also completed an initial phase of SEO and set up Google Analytics. I am excited to see the results of our labor.

We would love to hear your feedback. Feel free to contact me at 707-332-8583 or email me at brenda@beehivedesignstudio.com anytime.