<![CDATA[Website Design & Development - theSOLcial Blog]]>Mon, 05 Nov 2012 18:08:06 -0600Weebly<![CDATA[5 Things YOUR Front Page Must Do]]>Mon, 05 Nov 2012 13:03:45 -0600http://www.thesol.com/1/post/2012/11/5-things-your-front-page-must-do.html
Coding Horror is one of my favorite blogs to read. Jeff Atwood writes about so many different and cool things. For me, he almost always writes about something useful, helpful, or at the very least, thought provoking. In this blog post he describes 5 things that "make a great front page".

  1. Your page must load fast. People make decisions quickly and if you're page is taking too long, they're going to the next link in their Google search. Optimize your front page.
  2. What is this thing? The people making the quick decisions, also want to know what or how your helping them solve a problem. Your front page needs to be clear and concise on your purpose.
  3. Show me an example? Don't tell me, show me an example of how you executed your idea. Ideas are not worth much, where as execution can be worth tons.
  4. Give me a Call to Action! This one is simple. "Buy Now", "Contact Me", "Make a Reservation", etc. Make sure it is prominent and barrier free. Only get the personal information you need and at the latest possible moment.
  5. Embrace your audience. You can't be everything to everyone so be the best to your target market (you know who that is right?).

After reading this article I immediately redesigned my front page.
  1. Fast? My page loads pretty fast both on my laptop and on mobile.
  2. What am I? I do website design and development. That seems pretty clear.
  3. Examples? I have a portfolio of rotating images of my work.
  4. Action? A prominent "Click to CONTACT ME" button.
  5. Audience? "Specializing in SMG Websites"

What do you think of my front page? Did I do well on the 5 items? Let me know!
]]><![CDATA[In social media, your brand is in the clients’ hands.]]>Sat, 27 Oct 2012 11:11:00 -0600http://www.thesol.com/1/post/2012/10/in-social-media-your-brand-is-in-the-clients-hands.htmlPicture
I read this blog post from ADWKDC 2011 and Anna Steely has nailed many of the aspects of social media.

From her post: "In social media, your brand is in the clients’ hands. You don’t create the content but, instead, your audience builds the content. You are only there to amplify it and stimulate your audience. Being social is not a new thing. The new thing is having the option of 30 different outlets to connect with people and share your digital world. Social benefits all brands by giving them the power to listen to what people want. It’s an unfiltered way to understand and hear how people feel."

Her last sentence is the most poignant, it's about how people feel. The true point of social media is connecting with your customers, donors or supporters at an emotional level.

This is the point of one my favorite quotes: "At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou
]]><![CDATA[Learning about Social Media and Networking]]>Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:25:30 -0600http://www.thesol.com/1/post/2011/09/learning-about-social-media-and-networking.htmlPicture
Very soon I'll be giving my first talk/speech/seminar (TSS) on the ins and outs of social media and networking. I LOVE talking about this, learning about this and sharing this.

I have to admit I was fairly late to the game for being a web nerd, but still earlier than the general public. I literally make websites for a living but just starting getting into Flickr, Yelp, Facebook and twitter about 4 years ago.

I started with Flickr, basically looking for a photo group here in Houston. Through a quick search I found a couple of groups and joined one. I went on a photo shoot and met these people in person. Through that I found out about Yelp and twitter. With each connection on those networks, my network grew exponentially.

I had originally created a Facebook account before any of the others, but I didn't get it. I didn't really know anyone else that was on Facebook so I guess it was lonely. I only "got" Facebook after my personal network grew through Flickr, twitter and Yelp.

Since then, I've been hooked. I plan to help/teach/share anything I can on what I know about social media and networking. My aim is at small businesses but anyone is welcome.

My next blog post will be about some of the topics I plan to cover in my TSS. See you then!
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