Blog

31 Jan

Posted at 20:47h in Blog by

A client-centric approach starts from the very basis of your business and infiltrates through everything you do, both online and offline, for your clients. Technology is driving industry, so finding creative solutions that work for real people helps your business remain competitive. Human-centered design looks at the experience of the client from the minute they land on a webpage, walk into a store or phone your company. Customer service is part of the process, but a design that ties into your audience at their core goes much deeper and reaches every element of design in your business. Here are eight clear reasons...

30 Nov

Posted at 04:48h in Blog by

Secure Socket Layer or SSL encrypts data that travels from the user’s web browser to the web page’s server to help ensure that users can enter their private information without it being hacked. Before 2017, most people felt that moving from HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) to HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) or obtaining an SSL certificate was unnecessary unless they were collecting billing information on their e-commerce website. Now, there are several really good reasons to spring for that SSL certificate to secure your website and the information collected through any form, even if you don't have an online store. Search engine...

04 Oct

Posted at 21:46h in Blog by

Therapists understand that when they go into private practice, they will need a way to attract new clients. Getting a small business off the ground, often with a limited budget, can be challenging when there are a number of up front costs. Affording a professional looking website may seem out of reach, but it's the best way to find those new clients, if it's done correctly. I'd like to share a few counseling website design tips and best practices for counseling websites based on my experience helping therapists, social workers, and therapy practices turn their practices into a thriving ones. 1....

28 Jan

Posted at 05:43h in Blog by

As part of my web design process with new clients, I regularly ask them to show me websites that they've recently seen online that they like the visual look and feel of. I often get a list of websites back from them with a detailed response of what aspects they liked most - how the navigation is laid out, whether there is a large slider on the homepage,  footer layout, color scheme, etc. To follow up, I often want to know if the websites were built with WordPress and sometimes it's helpful to identify what WordPress theme being used. I know this...

05 Oct

Posted at 17:51h in Blog by

I find my eyes glazing over and realize many hours have passed. I am not sure if I've made any progress at all. This accurately describes my early experience of shopping for a premium WordPress theme for a client. There are an incredible amount of choices out there, ThemeForest alone claims to have 5,701 WordPress Themes & Templates to choose from. So how do you choose? First of all, you might not have to. If you are working with a designer/developer who prefers certain themes with a good track record, it's perfectly acceptable to defer to them. You'll want to make...

06 Jul

Posted at 15:30h in Blog by

It's true - when it comes to search engines, Google is king. This isn't a popular thing to say here in Seattle and as much as my Microsoft friends like to debate how great Bing is, it just doesn't get the play Google does. Now that we've established that, let's move on to the biggest Google issue of the day - something some techies have named Mobilegeddon. Mobilegeddon If that doesn't scare you, maybe it should - but only if your website is not mobile responsive. On April 21, 2015, Google started combing the internet to determine what websites to rank higher in the...

13 Jun

Posted at 21:22h in Blog by

Do you have Bluehost as your website host? Have you gotten an email lately that says that your account contains more than xxxx directories and if you don't click on the link provided your account will be shut down? Bluehost hosts my personal website and many of my clients, and I thought I'd write a quick blog post about this phishing email scam because many of you have contacted me worried. Unfortunately, one client has clicked on the link in the email and was hacked shortly thereafter. Here is the warning Bluehost just put out: A phishing email is being sent to some of our customers...

10 Mar

Posted at 14:54h in Blog by

It's amazing how fast new technology trends change how we live and influence our decision making. Most modern businesses recognize the need for a website and the importance of search engine optimization. What they often don't understand is the way most users evaluate their website. I found this interesting blog post by Catalin Zorzini on InspiredMag who compiled a worthy list of web design statistics.  Reviewing these may help you decide if it's time to redesign your website. You have 10 seconds to leave an impression and tell them what they’ll get out of your website and company. After this time (and...

04 Jan

Posted at 17:26h in Blog by

WordPress Security Tips If you've ever forgotten to save your work or have suddenly "lost" it by clicking away from it, etc. you know what a royal pain it can be to recreate it. Now imagine that happening to your whole website. Poof, gone. It's enough to make most people ill. How likely is this going to happen to you?   There is no such thing as a 100% secure website or a 100% secure Content Management System.  In general, WordPress is as secure or more secure than other CMS, particularly with it's constant updates. Because WordPress is such a popular platform (and...

31 Jul

Posted at 21:59h in Blog by

Many of my clients ask about whether the theme they chose is mobile responsive or mobile friendly. But what does that really mean? First, it's important to know that if the theme they chose is not "mobile friendly" it does not mean that it can't be easily viewed on all mobile devices. It can be seen and navigated on all mobile devices - including those with the smallest screens but it's the ease of navigating through one's site that varies greatly when a theme is dubbed "mobile friendly".  When a theme is designed to break itself down smoothly across a variety...