Posts

United Insurance Website Redesign

Image
New site features responsive design, interactive quoting forms and more. Here's a new Google Sites we developed for an insurance company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. BEFORE REDESIGN AFTER REDESIGN http://www.grubbsgroup.net/ Patrick LaJuett manages a website design agency : + LaJuett.com , where he supports clients as a Web technology consultant and search marketing strategy adviser.

How Do I Appear First in Google Search Results?

Image
How Do I Appear First in Google Search Results?   Here are best practices for improving your ranking in Google search results: Provide high quality content on your site. Google tries to find the best answer for our users’ requests; if you write the best material, you’re in the game.   Make your site mobile friendly. Many users search on mobile devices; Google’s search results favor pages that they think answer the user’s request with the best possible user experience on their platform.   Use informative titles and snippets. Good, clear titles and accurate meta tag descriptions help Google understand the purpose of a page and generate useful snippets in our search results.   Add structured data to enable additional search result features such as stars, event information, or site search boxes.   Make sure that you follow Google’s guidelines and avoid pitfalls that could affect your ratings. Patrick LaJuett manages a website design agency : + LaJuett.com , where he supp

Mobile-Friendly Website Redesign Using DNN

Image
New Nobles & DeCarolis website was built with DNN Utilizing a Responsive DNN Skin to ensure better customer experience We took an older DotNetNuke website and upgraded to a modern responsive skin. The result is a better looking and easier to navigate website.  Here's what we did: Updated CMS to latest stable DNN build Applied responsive skin Modified to match customer brand Migrated content Integrated custom photography Added CSS3 animation Q/A Tested Launched Patrick LaJuett manages a website design agency : + LaJuett.com , where he supports clients as a Web technology consultant and search marketing strategy adviser.

How to Disable Comments in Wordpress

Image
How to Disable Comments in WordPress 1. This applies to new posts that you will publish from now on: Navigate to Settings > Discussion > Uncheck "Allow people to post comments on new articles". 2. To disallow comments from already publish posts: Navigate to Posts > Select all and "Edit" under bulk actions and hit apply > Choose "do not allow" next to comments and click update posts. Patrick LaJuett manages a website design agency : + LaJuett.com , where he supports clients as a Web technology consultant and search marketing strategy adviser.

Top 10 Design Tips for Banners Ads

Image
More Clickable Ad Banners It's been a while since I designed online ad banners.  Back in the mid-2000s, I did a lot of them for AOL's YP ad campaigns.  The small size constraints certainly can present a challenge.  Here are some things I have learned over the past decade or so. MY TOP 10 AD BANNER DESIGN TIPS: Use standard size ads ( https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/6002621?hl=en ) Make text as large as possible for legibility Adhere to existing branding specs Use glows and shadows to help text "pop" Use visually interesting photos Compress files as much as possible Test color blindness rendering ( http://color-blindness.com/coblis-color-blindness-simulator ) Incorporate ad size into naming conventions (i.e., WW-Puget-336x280) Get approval on one ad size before creating additional sizes A/B test design variations as well as call-to-action text Here are some example of our recent ad banner designs... Patrick LaJuett

Google Sites Redesign: Before and After

Image
Need a Professional Looking Google Sites? We recently launched a redesigned website for a customer down in Atlanta, GA.  See the before and afters below: Before site redesign After site redesign Patrick LaJuett manages a website design agency : + LaJuett.com , where he supports clients as a Web technology consultant and search marketing strategy adviser.

WordPress SEO Steps

Image
Recommended WordPress SEO Steps These are the baseline steps I take when optimizing a WordPress website for search: Backup Plugin- Install  BackWPup : **Run backup job before installing plugins** Security Plugin - Install  Wordfence : Keep WordPress core and plugins up-to-date Organic SEO Plugin: Install WordPress SEO by Yoast Customize all Page Titles & Meta Tags Utilize Google Webmaster Tools Utilize Bing Webmaster Tools Tracking Plugin: Install Google Analytics -  Google Analytics by Yoast Performance Plugin: Install PageSpeed -  GZip Ninja Speed Note: The plugins listed are my recommendations only.  Many alternatives are available, just make sure they are compatible with your version of WP. Patrick LaJuett manages a website design agency : + LaJuett.com , where he supports clients as a Web technology consultant and search marketing strategy adviser.

Quad A for Kids Soap Box Derby Car

Image
We're a proud sponsor of a 2015 Quad A for Kids soap box derby car. Learn more at:  http://www.quadaforkids.com/programs/stem-soap-box-derby Patrick LaJuett manages a website design agency : + LaJuett.com , where he supports clients as a Web technology consultant and search marketing strategy adviser.

WordPress for Custom Home Builder

Image
Building a WordPress Website in version 4.1.1 Just launched a new WordPress website for a custom home builder.  We took the html website originally designed years ago and migrated the content into a clean WP installation. WordPress design features: Mobile friendly theme (Real Property) Image slider (Revolution) Real estate property search widget Integrated Google Map Links to social media Responsive navigation Responsive form (Jotform) On-page SEO (Yoast) Most modern WP themes now have the ability to inject custom CSS (goodbye PHP code hacks). I like to use Chrome's built-in "inspect element" to reverse engineer the styles.  This allows me to preview CSS overrides in real-time.  Then it's a simple copy/paste/save to apply the site-wide theme changes.   Pinnacle Homes website Patrick LaJuett manages a website design agency : + LaJuett.com , where he supports clients as a Web technology consultant and search marketing strategy adviser.

Professional Google Sites Design for Plant Concepts

Image
 Custom Google Sites developed for local small business New custom Google Sites web design for Plant Concepts in Webster, New York This is the 51st website we have designed using the Google Sites platform. Google Sites design elements: Mobile-friendly layout Responsive image sliders ( how-to ) Google Drive integration Micro blog Mapped domain Embedded forms For more examples, check out our  Google Sites demo website Patrick LaJuett manages a website design agency : + LaJuett.com , where he supports clients as a Web technology consultant and search marketing strategy adviser.

Flyer Design for Local Hockey League

Image
 Flyer Design Using Adobe Illustrator CC Patrick LaJuett manages a website design agency : + LaJuett.com , where he supports clients as a Web technology consultant and search marketing strategy adviser.