With that I will say that having been at it for over a month now (freelancing full time that is), you can be sure that the amount of knowledge I will have to share has increased tremendously. In the past few weeks, I have taken on projects that have allowed not only to develop my business skill but have allowed to push my coding and design abilities to new limits. I will be sharing soon and yes my portfolio will get an update.

If you have had your fill of this blog might I suggest a few others you may be interested in reading. First off would be Papertree Design, where you will find that most of what I have been posting there lately is WordPress related, however you may find a few interesting posts regarding SEO as well as Graphic Design. Secondly I direct you to the revitalized erikvossman.com. Erik has been quite here for over a year now, but just recently got back to it and promises quite a variety of articles that are sure to be useful to anyone getting into the world of online entrepreneurship. Last but not least if you do have questions concerning a web design project that you may undertake in the near future, please do not hesitate to fill out my contact form. I am a pretty nice guy and I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Oh and I almost forgot, if you are on Twitter, that is about the only updates I have time for right now so follow along!

What is Freshbooks:

FreshBooks is an online invoicing and time tracking service that saves you time and makes you look professional - Fortune 500 professional.

In a nutshell, Freshbooks allows you to create customer profiles, send them a project estimate, track time, list job specific expenses, invoice your client, accept payments online and generate reports. I am still working through the application, as I have not yet had time to really dive into it and get acquainted but I will say that I just recently sent my first invoice and it was a breeze. I easily created a new client much in the same way you would with Quickbooks, however in half the time. I then set up a new invoice that organized the charges accordingly, click the button and out it went to arrive in my clients email only a few seconds later. He easily and quickly payed using PayPal as the preferred method and we were all set, ready to move on with our next project. Couldn’t get much easier than that. Currently I am using the “Moped” plan to take it for a free test drive but I can see myself moving up to the “Shuttle Bus” or even the “Limousine” in the near future!

I am still working with the application, testing out it’s various functions and exploring integration with other applications I might use, but overall I am extremely pleased with this application and would highly recommend you check it out. As far as design, work flow, ease of use and the extremely short learning curve; I give it an A+. Thanks Freshbooks, you have a new fan!

Thanks for taking the time to read, look for the feed, some new articles and some amazing additions to my portfolio coming soon.

The questions are in no particular order and I do not deem one more important the the next, some of them deal with design and some with development.

Q: What do you hope to accomplish with your website?
A: I plan to offer valuable information dealing with my industry, service and product through articles written by myself and other industry experts.
A: I want to keep my customers informed on company, product and industry news and how it relates to them on a weekly basis.
A: I want to create a catalog of products and give my customer the ability to purchase them online.
A: I want to begin selling my product or service before my client walks through my front door.

Q: What is your target market?
Consider what industries or individuals find your product or service most valuable. How limited is your market area? Citywide, Statewide Nationwide etc. It is important that the look and feel of your website appeals to your market. It is also import to know your potential market when optimizing your website and content for search. Knowing your target market will help us to understand how they might find your website.

Q: There are other companies in your industry with a web presence, what do you feel they are doing well and what are they lacking?
A good web designer will do some research on your particular industry but it is always helpful to get some insight from an industry expert. Since that is you, take some time to have a look at the competition and let us know what you like and don’t like about their websites.

Q:What are a few sites that you like for the design?
I usually ask for a short list of about three website that you enjoy for their design. They don’t necessarily need to be in any way related to your industry or niche but this gives me a good idea of what appeals to you and your business.

Q: Tell me about your companies personality?
Think about what makes up your companies personality. Your vision, your mission statement, the owner and employees. Maybe there is a background story that you would like to convey to your client through the look and feel of your site.

Q: What type of information will you website contain?
Your website can be as simple as a few pages such as the “About Us” and Contact pages or as complex as a full product list with the ability to purchase. The amount of information your site will contain dictates not only how to organize the site structure but how many pages your website will contain.

Q: Do you hope to edit and add to content on your own?
I personally think that this is one of the most important aspects of designing websites today, the ability to edit, update and maintain certain content within your site. Keeping it fresh and updated not only improves search optimization but it lets your client know that you pay attention to how they interact with the site and what they find useful. Might you be interested in having this ability.

Q: What does your logo and company colors mean to you?
Think about the discussions you have had with the people responsible for creating you marketing materials up to this point, we want to convey the same ideals with your website. If that person is you than think back to how you went about creating your image.

This provides a base for us to get started with your project, this will be added to and some of it revised as I consider it a work in progress. Some things for you to think about though when approaching a web designer.

First for those of you wondering what is SEO or just need a better explination of it’s importance. SEO or search engine optimization is just that, optimizing your site for search engines such as Google. One of the best resources I have found to date concerning the topic can be found here, it offers a wide variety of articles targeting both the begginer and expert. The topic of SEO is a source of endless conversation and has become a very serious profession in the world of web design and development. Some companies are willing to pay top dollar for professional SEO consultation, but for those of us who can’t quite yet afford those services you can at least get a good start. Most importantly, be sure to hire a web designer/developer that has a good working knowledge of the topic and is willing to put in the extra work to provide a base for good optimization.

With that covered lets take a closer look at SEO itself. There are great number of elements play a role in the total optimization of your site. First lets discuss the creation of the pages within your site. Think of each page from the top down starting with the page title. Creating a good title the contains one or two keywords is like wearing a red suit to a black tie event, it will get you noticed and that is good in this case. From there you need to take a look at some of the behind the scenes info like meta descriptions. I personally feel that more importantly you need to pay close attention to the content of your page that follows. The actual title of the page content, or the header that follows. Does it relate to what you are describing in the title of the page? Think of it in terms of the guy in the red tux, you approach him because he stands out and now he is greeting you with a great opening line. Chances are you are hooked and more than ready to hear more. This is when we move on to the content or your “story”. When you are opening your story it is best to start with a brief summary, show how your titles relate to what you are about to say and by all means use some keywords. Ok so stop for a moment and think of what we just covered, what does that sound like to you? First impressions are key in you personal life, your business life and in you online presence. What follows should be genuinely useful to the reader or customer. Make it something that they might pass on to a friend who has similar interests or even link to you content from their own page. Which brings us to the next subject, links.

Generating links to your web page is great but it is important to remember that one great link to your page far outweighs ten mediocre links. What makes a good link? Links coming into your page from outside sources tips the search engines off to the fact that you have provided some useful information which leads them to believe that you might have some authority on the topic. If the incoming links coming from sites that are already established as authoritative, your credibility just increased. If the number one heart surgeon in your state tells you that he has full confidence in the abilities of the intern that will be assisting him, does that not make you feel a bit more comfortable with the situation? The process of creating good incoming link relationships is often one that extends far beyond the initial design and development of your site. It is an ongoing process just as any good SEO.

That brings me to the final point in this article and that is the on going process of SEO. Keeping your content fresh and updated is important. Don’t be afraid to add updates when you feel that they are needed, provide new content to you reader. This is part of the reason that I find it beneficial to create a blog. Not only are you able to archive your older articles, which keeps them running in the search engines, but you are also able to easily add new content.

What I hope to have provided is a brief introduction to the subject of search engine optimization as I see it. Obviously the topic of SEO is much more involved and complex, but this should give you a basis for creating or editing content you might supply to the person or company involved in creating your web presence. As I said it is important that you find someone whom you feel has a good grasp on search engine optimization so that your website is developed correctly from the get go. When applicable it also would not hurt to enlist the services of a professional consultant.

First let me say that you as the business owner know your industry and customer better than anyone, you will know if a company blog will benefit them or create an unwanted hassle for you and your employees. Bottom line is, an effective blog requires some work beyond just good design and development. It requires work on your part as well. Articles or “posts” need to be well written, optimized and pitched as a real benefit to your customer, not just another advertisement for your product. If you approach your blog as creating a learning resource for your customer, it will be well received and ultimately benefit your business.

The benefits of a company blog are both up front and obvious as well as behind the scenes. Here are some of the up front reasons. The ability to share news and updates about your company on a regular basis going beyond the monthly or quarterly newsletter you may already have in place. Let’s be realistic, economically it does not make sense to send out a newsletter every time there is a new development and by the time your quarterly or monthly newsletter makes it’s way into the hands of the customer, some of your news may be outdated. With a blog your customer is able to check back at their own free will to keep updated on your company.

Reason #2: Reinforcing your brand and positioning yourself as an expert. Ok I could be a great sales person. I know just enough about my product, Widget A, in order to close the deal and make a comfortable living. However if I was viewed as someone that knows more than “just enough”, a real expert that could provide answers to your questions now and into the future, would I not be more likely to get your business? Constantly putting your brand in front of the customer, letting them know that not only do you create Widget A, but your know everything there is to know about Widget A, positions your company as an expert in the field. Translated: It makes your customer feel comfortable when purchasing your product.

Reason #3: Answering your customers question before they even walk through the door. Chances are your customer has some questions and they are more than likely to do some research of their own. If you are the one providing those much needed answers, who are they likely to come to first when making the final decision. Answering questions and providing value, reinforces your overall brand in the eyes of the customer.

Reason #4: Encouraging customer interaction and feedback. A blog is not just a place to share information, it is also a place to encourage interaction and feedback. Wouldn’t it be valuable to hear what your customers are saying.

Reason #5: Providing a more personal look at your company and the people within. Lets create an example here. You have two local hardware stores. Store 1 has everything you need and some pretty decent prices, problem is that when help is needed the employees seem to disappear, your questions seem more of an annoyance and when it comes time to check out the clerk might as well be a robot scanning your items. No smile and no friendly hello. Now Store 2 takes a different approach. They are always there to assist you with a smile on their face. They take the time to get to know you as a customer and in return you get to know them. They make you feel welcome. Let your customer get to know you before they walk in the door.

Reason #6: Identify with the community. You don’t need to set out to create a blog that is nationally known, instead focus on your community, your target market.

Reason #7: Working behind the scenes. A well written and functional blog creates fresh, useful content. Fresh useful content is considered valuable to search engines and can ultimately improve your ranking.

So that’s it, I have covered some of the key points to take into consideration when asking yourself the question. Would a blog be useful to my company? As I said the final decision is in your hands, as you know and understand your product and market best.

If you feel that I have left something out, I encourage you to add it below.

So where do I fit in? Well I have committed myself to learning everything I can from the front end to the back. I have already jammed a number of custom WordPress sites under my belt and I constantly search out the opportunity to create more. Even if it does mean registering yet another domain name. Hey we all need a place to practice right. I also plan to get to work and release my first Premium WP theme within the next few months based on a theme that I have already created. It’s an exciting time for us WP users I can’t wait to see where we are headed and I encourage you to follow along!

Do you need a custom WordPress Design? Contact me.

To start you will want to  create a short list of what exactly you are hoping this new online presence will accomplish. Is it to have an online presence for the simple reason that there is a chance your customer might be searching you out online and you do not want to disappoint them? In this day and age there is a very good chance that your customer might be searching for you online and should you not be present you can almost bet on the fact that your competitor is. Or perhaps you want to do a bit more with your website and actually integrate it into your complete marketing package. In this case you are actually using your online presence to attract new customers as well as retain the old. And finally there are those of you looking not only to attract and retain customers through the internet, but actually use it to create income by selling product online.

Now that you have decided what you will and will not need when it comes to creating an online precense it’s time to set your budget for the project. You may have absolutely no idea how much something like this would cost and chances are that by searching the internet for average pricing of a website will only confuse you more. This has a lot to do with the influx of cookie cutter template sites being offered for “$99 full online presence” as opposed professional, get in there and really make it work for your company web development. But as this is a topic I will cover later in the post for now lets just stick to the budget. My suggestion on this is just to come up with an ideal budget in much the same way you would if you were creating your print marketing budget for the year.

Ok, on to actually finding the right person to manufacture your solution. Here is where you are likely to feel overwhelmed by choices. You might find that one of your employees is “internet savvy” and quite willing to create your website for you. This is an option, but are you really going to provide that employee with an ample amount of time to do the job correctly? Can you afford to have that employee working on other projects that may take them away from there regular duties? On to the next option. I will skip over the category called “trying to do it yourself” because I think the answers to the questions that arise here might have already been answered when considering your employee. So now you are online or browsing your local business magazine hoping to find a local company that would list the qualifications necessary to get this project moving forward. More than likely your are going to run across one of the ads I mentioned earlier stating “full online presence for your business, just $299″. Yes they will provide you will an online presence in the sense that your company will have couple of pages describing your business, product, location and even some contact info but… Is your site doing all that it could be doing for you? Is it optimized for search engines, meaning will you be found when people start searching for XYZ widget that your company produces. Are there other features not included in this solution that would allow both your staff and sales people to work more efficiently? Is your site customized to the look and feel of your business, does it convey who you are? Look at your website from the standpoint that it is a viable marketing tool, something that you are paying for to do a job for you. Is it really doing all that it could for your business.

Your last option is to seek the help of a professional web designer and developer. When doing this keep in mind that there are various levels some which may work well for you and others that just don’t fit your business at this point. By this I mean that if you were looking to have a catered lunch provided to your staff of 15 you would probably not search out the same company that normally caters to a large corporate office of 1000+ employees. You might consider starting off by looking for a local freelancer, so lets go ahead and clear the dark cloud that might be associated with the term freelance. Often times you might see them as less than professional, someone who has it easy cranking out websites and design work from the comfort of their bed while dressed in pajamas. This is usually far from the truth, often times a freelancer is just as professional as the next guy and chances are he/she has probably worked in the industry right along side his corporate partners at one time or another. Also take into consideration that there is no guaranteed paycheck for this individual. They need to work just has hard if not harder to ensure that they are generating a decent income that fits their need. If you find the right candidate you can almost be sure that they will really spend the extra time to produce a great product, after all when you are freelancing there is no better marketing tool than word of mouth. Next on the list would be the small design and development firm that caters to small and medium size business. They don’t necessarily have the overhead of a large company at this point, but they do have employees and therefore they have wages to pay. The advantages here are similar to when you are attending a small local college with classes of 25-50 as opposed to a large big ten college with classes of 2 to 3 hundred. You can be sure that the person you speak with is only one or two steps from the person actually putting your website into motion. And it may make you feel better to be working with a company that is not to far off from your own in the grand scheme of things. Lastly there is the large, full scale marketing firm. Not to take away from the skill of the fore mentioned as they are often times quite comparable but here you will most likely find some of the best. This is when you have grown to the point that your company is seeking more of a all in one solution. They will be in charge of your full marketing package from color brochure to flash website.

As you see there are a variety of levels here. Find the one that suits you and start looking around. Find out what others are saying about their finished product and be choosy when making your decision. Look for the one that is willing to work with you, the one that lets you know what they can do to meet your budget. Take a look at past work and compare it to what you have in mind. Design styles can be very different and you want someone who will deliver what you are hoping for. In addition you might want to consider what else they are able to offer you in the way of technology and what room there is to grow your package. Might you want to incorporate online advertising or complete online project management for your team in the future? Find someone that can offer a variety of services and is able to meet your growing need as a company establishing a viable online presence.

I hope that this gives you a good starting point when you set out to establish your company online, please feel free to add your comments or something I missed below and by all means contact me if I have triggered a question.

First concerning the functionality of the site. As you will begin to realize, I am a big fan of promoting interactivity and discussion. Some of you might notice that I have added a number of social bookmarking tabs along with each post. I greatly appreciate you bookmarking and sharing posts that you find useful. You will also notice that by traveling to my contact page, you are able to fill out a short and simple form to get in contact with me whenever you desire and being that by the end of today my shiny new email compatible phone will arrive, I really mean whenever. Beyond that I will also be adding some information on some of the various networking sites that I might frequent, (you know facebook, linkedin, etc).

Ok moving on to articles. I plan to cover a few subjects over the next few days to get us started here with some substance. The topics are going to include a crash course involving my knowledge of SEO, a brief post on project management tools and how they can help your business, email marketing and lastly an introduction to some of the social networking sites out there.

So stay tuned!