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Whimsicle 0

Posted February 21, 2011 by Natalie MacLees

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Laguna Beach artist Laurel Meister needed a site to market and sell her artwork. Her own artwork was used as the basis for the design.

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Digitwirl 0

Posted February 18, 2011 by Natalie MacLees

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Carley Knobloch and Digitwirl needed a way to present a weekly technology video to their audience. A customized WooTube WordPress theme gave them the features they needed.

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Focus on What You Do Best 0

Posted November 17, 2010 by Natalie MacLees

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Do you feel as though you need to do everything for your business? Are you serving your customers, creating your own web site, doing your own bookkeeping, attending networking meetings, taking appointments and arranging your calendar, and making all the arrangements for special events? A lot of small business owners find themselves in this situation [...]

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10 Things Every Web Site Owner Should Know 0

Posted August 22, 2010 by Natalie MacLees

Artwork courtesy of tomt6788

In 14 years building web sites, I’ve worked with a lot of clients with misconceptions about how the web works and how the process of building a web site should work. To save time, money, and frustration, I’m presenting this short list of 10 things every web site owner should know.

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Hosting Your Web Site Demystified 3

Posted August 8, 2010 by Natalie MacLees

Photo courtesy of Paul Hammond

It seems like it should be simple and straightforward to buy a hosting package for your web site. But then you start looking around and have no idea how to evaluate all the different companies. Even when you do finally pick the perfect company, you don’t know how to choose between the different options they provide.

In this article, we’ll explain what hosting is exactly, the different types that are available, and how to choose the one that fits your web site best.

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Speculative Design 0

Posted June 13, 2010 by Natalie MacLees

Photo courtesy of Jemal

It is oh-so-tempting to choose a designer or agency for your project by asking a handful of them to produce sample or speculative designs for you to review. But doing so is not only harmful to the designer, robbing them of valuable income, but is harmful to you as the client.

In this article, we’ll explain speculative design, why it’s harmful to both client and designer, and show you the best alternative so you can hire the best designer for your project.

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Don’t Be in a Rush 0

Posted April 18, 2010 by Natalie MacLees

Photo courtesy of agtwo

So often, business owners feel rushed when starting a new project. They want a logo, business cards, a brochure, a web site, and a post card within 3 weeks – but more often than not, clients who rushed their creative projects either feel unhappy with the result at the end, or find themselves stalled in deadlock before the project is completed.

It pays to allow plenty of time for good quality work to be done, for plenty of exploration of design direction, and for building and cementing relationships between client and designer. Time can make all the difference in the outcome of a creative project.

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DIY Web Site – Good Idea? 0

Posted March 21, 2010 by Natalie MacLees

Photo courtesy of shoesfullofdust

If you need a web site for yourself or your business, it can be tempting to try and save money by building the web site yourself. More and more options are available all the time for someone interested in tackling the job themselves without any prior experience. Hiring a web developer can be prohibitively expensive for small businesses and individuals, but more and more an online presence is as vital today as a yellow page listing was 20 years ago, before the web changed the way we find and interact with businesses.

So which is the right choice – go it alone or hire someone to do it for you? We’ll discuss both options, the pros and cons, and then reveal secret option number three – the consultant.

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Don’t Keep Your Budget a Secret 0

Posted February 21, 2010 by Natalie MacLees

Photo courtesy of skittzitilby

Learn why you shouldn’t keep the budget for your web site a secret. Share it with anyone you’re considering hiring to build your site. We’ll also cover some basic rules of thumb for pricing web sites and talk about the exceptions to those rules. A web site project can be tailored to meet just about any budget, so make sure you discuss the possible adjustments with the agency you hire – sometimes a small change has a big impact on the cost.

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NdP9 0

Posted January 31, 2010 by Natalie MacLees

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A six year old site for actor Ninno DePatrick is updated and moved onto WordPress for easy maintenance and updating.

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