311 Media Web Design and Consulting

Concrete 5 CMS - "sleek, responsive and easy to use"

2011-08-09T06:19:00.000-07:00

We encourage all clients to consider a Content Management System (CMS) implementation. 73% of websites still do not use a CMS (w3techs survey). Without one your site will most likely become stale as editing pages is either too difficult or expensive. Potential clients/customers don't like stale content!

We are starting to get inquiries about Concrete5 specifically so it is quickly gaining traction in the marketplace. 311 Media can implement concrete5 sites for as little as $500.

For more information read on or contact us.

Concrete5 vs. Drupal

2011-05-20T18:18:00.000-07:00

We recently had a former client who is now using Drupal complain that when they create a site for one of their clients in Drupal there always seems to be "issues" in the handoff. There's a steep learning curve to using Drupal and its wacky interface even baffles seasoned web developers. There are a lot of "What!" and "Why did that do that?" when you try to edit pages in Drupal.

The Answer: The Concrete5 CMS. It's easier to use, easier to extend and like Drupal it's open source (free).

Checkout this comparision article between the two systems.

Another Concrete5 based site Launched

2011-04-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

Longtime 311 Media Group client Annapolis Yacht Sales wisely chose to implement Concrete5 for their redesigned site that was launched on Sunday. The site features easy to update pages, tabbed interfaces to manage complex product pages and integration of social media widgets from youtube, facebook, flickr and more. Check it out at www.annapolisyachtsales.com.

Content Management Systems - Why You Need One

2011-04-04T07:13:00.000-07:00

We couldn't have said it better ourselves... if you are a small/medium business or non-profit using a web developer or Adobe Contribute to manage your content its time to "step up" to a CMS.

Concrete 5 is our CMS of choice and we've tried them all. We've tried Wordpress, Joomla and Mambo among others. If you want a customized blog, WordPress is hard to beat but many developers try to use it as a CMS platform. It wasn't really intended for that and it shows in its limitations.

Joomla and Mambo are similar systems that offer lots of options and add ons. However almost all of these require significant developer time which is what we're trying to avoid in the first place. For a fairly tech savvy business owner, add ons and extensions can be implemented easily in Concrete5.

http://usentrepreneur.com/web-presence-coaching/

Content Management Systems - Why You Need One

SOLD!

2011-03-29T10:19:00.000-07:00

In my earlier post on Selling Stuff on the web I outlined a strategy for getting search results for a set of keywords related to selling my 1967 Boston Whaler. The results were excellent re: Search Engine optimization. For the keywords "boston whaler annapolis", the blog I created ranked 5th and the youtube video was also displayed on page one of Google search results. Take a look http://www.google.com/search?q=boston+whaler+annapolis

In the end, a good 'ole Craigslist ad is what sold it but it was a good experiment to see how quickly one could rank on page 1 on Google for specific set of keywords. So hopefully I proved my point.... we know what we're doing re: SEO (Search Engine Optimization)!

Local vs. Long Distance Web Developers

2011-02-17T07:52:00.000-08:00

We've had a couple of potential clients emphasize recently that they wanted a local web development firm to help them with their redesign. I'm not sure it was so much a requirement generated in a positive way or if they had a bad experience with a developer who happened to be not local. This was an interesting requirement since in most cases we only meet with the client two or three times depending on the size of the project. But it still says a lot about people's perception, in the age of Facebook that when push comes to shove they'd rather sit down across the table from someone in person.

So if you're a Maryland based small or medium sized business we're your local web design and development firm. If you're not local we're still a good choice as I think its more about the service, the integrity and the results than the location.

How Images Can Help your Search Engine Rankings

2010-12-14T18:36:00.000-08:00

By hosting your images at one of the leading online photo/image hosting services such as Picasa, Flickr, Photobucket and others your search engine visibility will likely improve. Why? Most of those services provide a spot for a link back to your website providing customers another means of entry into your site and showing Google and other search engines a "high quality inbound link".

We're big fans of Google's Webmaster Tools. Check out a blog post from Google about Webmaster Tools and how inbound links can improve your site's search results ranking.

http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/10/good-times-with-inbound-links.html

Sell Stuff on the Web update

2010-11-30T18:14:00.000-08:00

In our last post we discussed our steps to sell my 13' Boston Whaler Sport. Well its not sold yet (low demand in the Fall/Winter) but the blog and other classifieds are doing well in search results. The blog shows up on page 2 of a google search for "Boston Whaler Annapolis" which is pretty amazing since the blog was first published about two months ago.

Blog is at http://bostonwhalerannapolis.blogspot.com/. And by the way this link will help improve the placement of the site in search results. Google counts quality incoming links in their "scoring" of sites.

How to sell stuff on the web - case study

2010-10-13T06:10:00.000-07:00

Since 311 Media is located near Annapolis so we have a boat. Got to have one in this area to enjoy the natural resources. Just got "new to us" boat in fact. So we need to sell our 13' 1967 Boston Whaler. Being a web design firm we launched a web blitz to get the word out. Makes for a nice case study we thought we'd share with you. We did the following:

Research - being Google experts, we researched keywords via the Google Keyword tool that folks use to find used Boston Whalers. Based on that info we proceeded to...

Create a web blog in blogger using the keywords in the URL. Here we posted a detailed description (more keywords), lots of photos and a video using the embed feature on youtube.

Oh yeah, youtube. We posted the video there using keywords, link to our blog, etc to get it to come up in Google search results.

And of course the craigslist ad, again linking to our blog site. And an ebay motors listing (also free).

Finally we did some google searching to see what sites were highly ranked for our keywords. One stood out in particular, oodle.com, so we posted an ad there (and at a few other free sites), again linking to our blog.

We also used Google AdWords, paid advertising, to fill in for a few days until our "organic" search results start to really kick in. The budget is set at a modest $6 per day. Might get us a few clickthroughs.

So we've built our own "web" using popular websites, a new blog and advertisements strategically placed to create a lead generation machine.

THE RESULTS

The oodle ad is already first in Google results for certain keyword combinations. We're waiting to get the blog ranked higher in search results, probably by later this week. The youtube video is already on page one of search results.

No sale yet but we're hoping. It is kinda late in the season. And now lets try word of mouth... if you know someone who wants a nice little boat, Contact Us!

New Website using Concrete5 Content Management System

2010-09-16T05:54:00.000-07:00

We're developing a site for a local Irish Dance School, the Hunt School of Irish Dance using Concrete5, an excellent Content Management System. Concrete5's features include:

InContext editing - you browse to the page you want to edit and click "Edit"; That was easy!
Many different themes or designs to choose from
Add ons to extend the functionality of your site including galleries, slideshows, video, etc.

You can build almost any kind of site with Concrete5

Online magazines and newspapers.
eCommerce sites.
Extranets and Intranets.
Government web sites.
Small business web sites.
Non-profit and organization web sites.
Community-based portals.
Church, club and team web sites.
Personal or family homepages.
Marketing focused sites for a corporation.
Any school, college or university web site.
Many online communities.
Anything else you can dream up!

Contact us for more info about how Concrete5 will make your website easier to maintain, more functional and help improve your customer's satisfaction.

Boost your Business "findability"

2010-08-18T08:47:00.000-07:00

Google Places is a new service offered by Google since April 2010. It allows businesses to define their location, hours, services, etc for display on Google maps results and searches. I'm also guessing it helps your google organic search results so claim your business and describe it with keywords in a readable paragraph in the Places account. http://www.google.com/local/add/businessCenter

Using Google AdWords? That's a good start.

2010-07-27T20:00:00.000-07:00

There seem to be two extremes that small businesses seem to fall into re: Google Advertising.

1. I don't click on ads (see previous post) so I don't need ANY campaigns.

2. I have one (or more) ad running on AdWords but my site doesn't show up in the "regular" Google search results.

The correct approach, as with most things, is to take the middle way. Your business or organization needs both an Adwords campaign, however modest and your site needs to be optimized for Google "organic" search. My typical suggestion is to run an Adwords campaign for 3-6 months with a fair level of intensity while your building your site to enhance the organic results. Adwords campaigns are also handy for special events. One client, a yacht dealer in Annapolis, runs Google ads during the Fall boat show season, generating traffic to their site and name/brand recognition for boat show visitors.

Feel free to contact us if you are interested in either setting up and Adwords campaign and/or having your current site evaluated (for free) to see if it meets Google's recommendations for improving organic search results.

Go Green! - new website lauched @ green-pedals.com

2010-07-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

311 Media helped update and launch the website for Green Pedals, a light electric vehicle sales and services shop located in Annapolis, Maryland. Green Pedals has been featured in the Washington Post and the local Fox 5 television network for their unique and innovative product line.

Check out the new site at www.green-pedals.com.

Search Engine Success

2010-06-16T06:08:00.000-07:00

311 client Annapolis Yacht Sales consistently ranks on the first page of Google search results for a large number of keywords. Try it out at google; use words like Beneteau, yacht sales, annapolis yachts, etc. This success is a result of a properly coded website, use of web 2.0 techniques and using social media sites to boost search result rankings. We know all businesses and non profits want the same successful results so contact us for more info on how we can help you.

311 Media launches updated website for Annapolis Yacht Sales

2009-09-09T14:14:00.000-07:00

311 launched an improved website for client, Annapolis Yacht Sales last week. The new design includes improved and user friendly navigation and includes integration of AYS's social networking sites including blogger, facebook and flickr. It also features redesigned yacht pages that included videos from YouTube, large format images hosted on flickr, reviews and virtual tours.

Take a look at www.annapolisyachtsales.com

I don't click on Google Ads

2009-07-08T12:22:00.000-07:00

I've had many clients or potential clients tell me this. Having heard it so much I typically give a somewhat curt, smart alec reply like. "Well someone sure is clicking since Google's market cap is $127B!

But what's at work in the pscyhe at a deeper level here? I believe people don't want to admit that they are impacted by advertising. But we all are. And its not a bad thing. You need stuff in life and you find out about stuff by ads. Its easy to reject or accept the "pitch". So what harm are Google's ads doing (they do no evil)? Google's ads are better that other web ads or print ads. Why? Because they are targeted, meaning the ad is related to what you are searching for. You can also track results which you can't do in print whatsoever (at least with any accuracy).

Ignore Google ads, fine. But claim you never pay attention... well that's likely dishonest. If you didn't click them, you at least read them, so you saw them and I bet one day you will ... CLICK!

Lastest project at 311 Media

2009-02-20T09:13:00.000-08:00

311 Media updated the website for Light Health and Wellness, a community based non profit health services organization that provides "the highest quality of comprehensive information, guidance, and treatment services for individuals, children and families impacted by HIV/AIDS, poverty, substance abuse, mental illness and disabilities.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recognized LIGHT as a national model for their services.

311 Media was thrilled to work with LIGHT in developing their new site as our staff particularly enjoys supporting non profits mission's and their communication goals. 311 Media is donating web hosting and domain registration to LIGHT.

Checkout the new site at www.lighthealth.org

Web 2.0 leading to information overload

2008-11-19T14:26:00.000-08:00

We're all busy people and spend more and more time on the web. According to the article below reporting on a web trends conference held in San Francisco recently we all suffer from TMI!

Too Much Information.

Web Developers and Designers like to include every widget and piece of content possible. Its no better time to call 311 Media for a complimentary web site evaluation. 311 Media Group uses researched based best practices to develop sites for our clients so visitors enjoy your site and you get more leads and more business.

Web 2.0 leading to information overload

Bad website of the Week

2008-09-25T12:33:00.000-07:00

We're searching for a used sailboat in the Annapolis, Maryland area. Our web surfing travels have taken us many places including the local newspaper classifieds, craigslist and to this dreadfully designed web site. You see, design is not only pretty colors and cool pictures it's also about getting the information you want quickly and easily. This site fails to do something basic, help me find classified ads.

You might think the classified ads might be under the label "Classified Listings". But you would be WRONG!
Instead that link takes you to everything but used sailboat listings.

To find used boats you have to learn the boating lingo of "Brokerage" which sounds nicer than "Used" but it also causes confusion. Lesson learned... don't use jargon on your web site. Just say what people will understand. Ask your Mom or Dad if they would understand it would be one simple test.

So now that I am irritated and figured out to click "Brokerage", guess what? Do I see listings, no I get a teeny, tiny search form. Once I move my mouse with mega precision to click the Search button the results are shown in a tiny 1/3 page width and 1/4 page height window. Almost illegible.

But wait there's more! So now I need to scroll. Everywhere else on the web you would see scrollbars, but not on the Spinsheet web site. No siree! You have to mouse over teeny, weeny arrows not on the side but at the bottom of the teeny, tiny list.

This site really has my blood pressure elevated.

Please Spinsheet, take advantage of 311 Media Group's free website evaluation offer so we can help you improve your web visitor's experience. Put simply, we'll help you stop frustrating your users!

CLICK the link to experience the pain... SpinSheet - Chesapeake Bay Sailing

Tune in next week for another bad website!