Posts

How to Insert a Photo Into Google Sites Blog

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Quick Google Sites "How-To": Uploading and Inserting Images Navigate to Announcements page (micro-blog) Click New post button Insert...image Click Upload images Navigate to the image on your hard drive Click OK Resize and align the image Add a photo caption Title your post Save your post Patrick LaJuett manages a website design agency : + LaJuett.com , where he supports clients as a Web technology consultant and search marketing strategy adviser.

Google Sites Are Global

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Google Sites Launch for International Client http://www.indostek.com Here's a project that came in from Jakarta, Indonesia.  It was a collaborative effort with the customer providing the initial copy, diagrams and photos.  We took the input and built a modified Google Sites template based on the "Simple" theme.   Project Summary: Google Sites CMS hosted in Google Apps Design elements include: Custom background to match customer logo Modified horizontal navigation Two column inner page template Site search Homepage slider Sidebar and footer Collaboration method: Gmail, Google Docs and Google Drive  Turnaround time: 2 weeks One of the most enjoyable things about being a web designer, is being able to work with a geographically diverse client base.  Google Apps enables cloud-based collaboration, which simplifies the web development workflow process.  The future is bright!? I'm hopeful that Google with continue to integrate Google Plu

Custom Google Sites Web Design Examples

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 Here are a few examples of our custom Google Sites design and development work. Patrick LaJuett manages a website design agency : + LaJuett.com , where he supports clients as a Web technology consultant and search marketing strategy adviser.

Invite People to Edit or Own Your Google Sites

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An Overview of Google Sites Sharing You can easily control who can view or edit your Google Sites by changing the sharing settings on your site.  To do this, log in to your site, click the "More" drop-down...then select "Sharing and Permissions". From here, you can invite users to be either viewers, editors, or owners. Adding "Owner" level permissions in Google Sites What the Google Sites access levels mean: Users set to "Can view" can view pages only.  No editing rights allowed. Users set to "Can edit" can create, edit, move and delete pages. Users set to "Is owner" can do everything , including deleting a Google Sites. Source:  https://support.google.com/sites/answer/90594?hl=en Patrick LaJuett manages a website design agency : + LaJuett.com , where he supports clients as a Web technology consultant and search marketing strategy adviser.

Revisit the "How Search Works" Website

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The How Search Works website gives us an inside look at how Google continuously works on improving the results of their search engine. http://www.google.com/insidesearch/ "Search. It happens billions of times a day in the blink of an eye. Explore the art and science that makes it possible." I have looked at the How Search Works site before.  But a recent video (below) from Google's Matt Cutts, prompted me to revisit, as he revealed some interesting nuggets. Matt Cutts  is the head of Google’s Webspam team. So it seems appropriate that he would be most excited about the Fighting Spam page. Here are a couple of interesting points he touches on. 1. Quality Raters:  People, not robots, determine which changes are implemented (1:48) When talking about search algorithms, he also mentions "quality raters".  These are folks who look at results pages side-by-side, and rate them based on the usefulness of the results for a given search. 2. The s

Navigating Social Media in 2014

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10 Social Media Practices to Focus On in 2014 My top ten list of social media practices to utilize in the upcoming year. Publish often - Daily or weekly if possible Listen and respond - Let your customers know that you care Don't talk down to your audience - Be clear and succinct Integrate with your core website - Hook into existing streams and feeds Experiment -  Try social networks you have not yet used (Tumblr, Instagram, etc.) Hash it out - Use hash tags to help people find your content #ilovehashtags #organizeandtag Comment and reply -  Converse about things you are passionate about Be generous - Share your knowledge Establish authority - Own your niche Be thoughtful  - Humility and kindness go a long way Happy and prosperous 2014 to all! Patrick LaJuett manages a website design agency : + LaJuett.com , where he supports clients as a Web technology consultant and search marketing strategy adviser.

Google Maps Engine Pro - Test Drive

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Google Maps Engine Lite/Pro Demo Google Maps Engine allows you to layer your data on top of Google’s base map and create your own maps. Google Maps Engine Lite and Pro help you create interactive custom maps to share and publish to the web. You can map data such as store locations, to showcase and advertise your business. Import location data from a spreadsheet, add layers to visualize different types of content, or add places, lines, and shapes. Key Features Draw - Add lines, shapes, or place marks on the map. Import - Add a CSV file, XLSX file or spreadsheet from Google Drive with geographically-specific data including addresses, place names, or lat/longs. Layer - Hide or show different content to better understand your map. Style - Make your point visually with different colors, place-mark icons, and line widths. Going Pro For commercial purposes, I upgraded to Maps Engine Pro.  This allows me to embed the interactive maps on my client websites. Demonstration T

New WordPress 3.8 UI Design

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Customize Your WordPress 3.8 Admin Screens WordPress has gotten an overhaul. WP 3.8 brings a modern new look to the admin dashboard. New WordPress 3.8 features: Updated UI design Open Sans font for better readability Responsive for viewing on mobile devices Faster load times Customizable admin themes Learn more about WordPress 3.8: http://wordpress.org/news/2013/12/parker/ Patrick LaJuett manages a website design agency : + LaJuett.com , where he supports clients as a Web technology consultant and search marketing strategy advisor.

Season's Greetings!

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 1959 Jeep FC-150 rendering done in Google Drawing. GooglePlus auto-awesome snow effect applied. One of the real joys of the Holiday Season is the opportunity to say Thank You for our acquaintance and to wish you the very best for the New Year! Patrick LaJuett manages a website design agency : + LaJuett.com , where he supports clients as a Web technology consultant and search marketing strategy advisor.

Google Snippets in Search Results

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Google Snippets in Search Results Snippet Discovery I recently discovered a unique occurrence of Google snippets that appeared in a Google search engine results page (SERP).  It happens to be one of my portfolio pages, so naturally, it peaked my interest. A Google snippet is a description of or an excerpt from the webpage.  A snippet refers to the description portion of a Google search listing. Take a look at the SERP snippet below: Note, the snippet is made up of an element count (40+ items), the meta description, and four excerpts from the page. Page Rendering in Browser Here's what the portfolio page looks like when rendered in the browser: Underlying Page Code In this case, it appears as though the Google bot has gone into the page code, and parsed out the top four image descriptions.  What's interesting is that the page contains an html table with alternating rows.  Images, followed by the company name and location. Consistency and Stabilit