Digital Marketing by Patrick LaJuett

 Custom Design of 20 Foot Trade Show Display Here's a display we designed with a brief summary of our graphic design process: Discuss specs and requirements Mock-up with proper scale and dimensions CorelDraw X6 64-bit Create new iconized version of company logo Adhere to company's color palette Integrate background elements Rough in text elements Generate PNG for client review Iterate, tweak and finalize Output for print  Exported in sections (do to enormous size of files) Reassembled in Adobe Photoshop CC Save as 8-bit CMYK TIF @ 150 dpi Upload to printer via FTP The biggest challenge was not in the design, but in the output of the large TIF file. The final output was 44K (yes thousand) pixels wide. I solved this by exporting the graphics in smaller sections, and reassembling in a layered Photoshop file. Patrick LaJuett manages a website design agency : + LaJuett.com , where he supports clients as a Web technology consultant and sea

What Your Website Designer Will Need from You This is intended as a quick guide to help in the development of your new website. Pre-design phase: Purpose and Goals Audience and reach (Local, regional, national) Existing print collateral (PDF format) Examples of web sites you like (including competitors) Time frame and budget Domain name and registrar information (GoDaddy, Network Solutions, etc.) Hosting preference (if applicable) Design phase: Sitemap (simple outline of page hierarchy) Company logo or branding (AI, EPS, GIF, JPG, PNG, TIF format) Company contact information, addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers Text copy (MS Word, or similar word-processing format) Relevant photos or diagrams (JPG or PNG format) Social network handles (Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn) Post design phase: Google account email address (Analytics) Communication is the key to ensuring a successful website launch. Hopefully this helps set exp

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 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

 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.

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.

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

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 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

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.