We just finished a fun redesign of Scrappers Talk Radio. Site owner, Vera Raposo, asked us to use one of the Revolution Themes for the project. She wanted a fresh design but to maintain some of the look her visitors were used to.

We were able to change up the shape of her website header to fit the Revolution Magazine Theme and we tweaked the colors of the theme to match.

Then we gave the home page of the theme a re-do. We didn’t want to use the standard set up and thankfully, Revolution themes are amazingly customizable. We kept the side bar the same but moved the home page sections around to display just the right content.

Cleaning up Categories

Vera’s site had a large list of categories so we asked permission to create five new ‘parent’ categories and sorted the existing categories (aside from the podcast and news) under them so that everything fit neatly on the navigation bar. This meant that we had to do a few permanent redirects to prevent existing search traffic from ended up on a dead link. The extra work was very worth it. The site is super easy to navigate and doesn’t look over cluttered.

Displaying Content Strategically

We created seven areas on the home page to display content. The top section pulls up the most recent podcast episode. Under that, scrapbooking articles appear. Then scrap-biz content and after that, there’s family news, other crafting content and a spot for recent news and recipes. The more important categories were give higher position and more space.

This set up gives all of her most recent content premium exposure and keeps her home page fresh for regular visitors.

Having Fun with the Design

The icing on the cake for this site is the extra ’scrap elements’ added to the different sections. They take the stark chunks of content and display them with beauty that their target market will really enjoy.

Want to have us do something similar for your Wordpress site? You’d be looking at a cost of about $250. Want to schedule a consultation? Send an email (designer@freshnets.com) or call us: 517-376-3247.

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Working with Kelly McCausey and her team has turned out to be one of the best business decisions I’ve made as a successful business owner.  In a recent HTML to Wordpress conversion, all through the process Kelly was there to consult with me as to what the changes would be. With the help of Kelly, my site and traffic has grown.  I would recommend Kelly and her services to anyone who is looking to make the move from an HTML site over to a WP site.  Her guidance, professionalism and her caring for a job well done always shines through.

Aurelia Williams, ParentingMyTeen.com

Kelly has not only created a beautiful home for my blog, but she could see a much bigger picture and was able to guide me in the direction of developing something I’ve always wanted. Kelly is a professional like no other. All I can say is with Kelly directing it all, you can sit back and feel a big sense of relief. Thanks for creating my site, it’s something that will surely grow with me.

Vera Raposo, ScrappersTalkRadio.com

When I needed a blog facelift recently, I looked to Kelly. She not only set me up with the look I wanted but also had valuable information for my marketing and earning efforts as well. Kelly has always been a source of great coaching and results oriented information!

Carrie Lauth, NaturalMomsTalkRadio.com/blog

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I have worked extensively with the Revolution Themes lately and I love it.  It’s flexible and the code is dreamy to work with. This site is built with Revolution Pro Business.

A new premium theme I’m hungry to work with is the WP Remix.  It promises to be the ‘only’ wordpress theme you’ll ever need for all of your projects.

Do you have a content site you want to move from HTML to Wordpress?  Freshnets would love to help you with the process!

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Podpress - For podcasters or anyone wanting to easily share mp3 recordings.

Sitemap Generator - Create an XML file to submit your site to Google and others.

Post Plugin Libary & Similar Posts - Works together to create a list of Related Posts

Share This - Provides easy way for readers to submit your content to Social Bookmarking sites and email a friend your link.

Permalink Redirect - Ensures that only one version of your post is indexed.

Comment Luv - If you want to display a link to your commenter’s most recent blog post.

What Would Seth Godin Do? - Cool plugin that recruits your readers as RSS subscribers.

RSS Footer - If someone ’scrapes’ your content to display on their blog it ensures that link(s) will be placed back to your site.

Complete RSS - Makes sure your entire post is provided in RSS feeds.

Automatic Wordpress Upgrade - Just what it says.

Google Analytics -Easy way to add Google Analytics code to your blog.

For Community Blogs:

Author Advertising - Allows you to share ad exposures with your authors.

Posts by Author - Creates list of recent posts by an author

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A dated look on the web sends the unfortunate message that your small business is not in tune with current business trends and technology.  Not all businesses rise and fall on technology, but a fresh look conveys that you’re ‘on the ball’ and that speaks volumes to potential clients.

Giving your site a fresh look could be as simple as creating new graphics or as comprehensive as changing how you build and control the website and how many changes you tackle will depend on the current condition of your site.

It’s no secret that we are Wordpress Evangelists here at Freshnets.  Creating a site in Wordpress gives it amazing flexibility.  Once your site has been moved into Wordpress changes to look and layout are so simple to achieve there are no excuses for your web presence to end up looking dated.

Contact us for a free 20 minute consultation to see how Freshnets can help you achieve the up to date look your site needs.

designer@freshnets.com
517-376-3247

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If you have built your existing site in HTML you are probably considering making a move to a full Wordpress site (or some other database driven script) but feel intimidated by the process.
This is the perfect opportunity to outsource and Freshnets is both experienced and available to take on your project.

We’ll take a look at your existing site and chat with you about your desires for a new layout and site structure. Once we have a clear view of your wishes we’ll make a bid on the project. Smaller sites (as far as number of existing web pages) start at $250, larger sites start at around $500.

Our goal at Freshnets is always to put as much power into the hands of the website owner as possible so we will take the time to explain everything we’ve done to organize and optimize your site.

You can have us do as little or as much as you wish as far as moving your content into the new site and setting up web redirects. We are currently billing this sort of ancillary time at $15 an hour. You may prefer to outsource this work to a Virtual Assistant or tackle it yourself.

If you’re interested in learning more, contact us for a free 20 minutes consult. (designer@freshnets.com)

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A good business website will be fresh, not stagnate.  It will offer up the basic information that potential customers need which may not change all that often, but it will also offer up content that says ‘This website was not built and left to gather dust in 2002.’

How can a small business keep it’s website fresh by blogging?

Here are just a few quick ideas:

• Post seasonal tips that relate to your products or services.
• Post consumer news that relates to what you have to offer.
• Post advance notice about sales and new products.
• Post announcements about new staff members, promotions, awards and special recognition, etc. (This will be appreciated by staff members as it sends a message about their value to the business and it will draw local traffic as they share the post with friends and family.)

Do you worry about having time to post to a company blog?  Any staff member with personable writing skills can serve as a company blogger within a minimal weekly time investment.

Want to start or refresh a small business website with a blog?  Contact Freshnets (designer@freshnets.com) for a free 20 minute consultation.

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I (Kelly, owner of FreshNets) originally launched this site in Gaylord, Michigan.  Although my design business was predominantly virtual (meaning I serve clients all over the US, Canada and beyond) I was getting quite a few word of mouth referrals locally and I needed a website for curious people to explore.

In 2007 I moved from Gaylord to Lansing with a goal of being closer to my family and to position my soon to graduate son closer to the colleges he has interest in.   My family is scattered around Lansing, I have a sister in Dewitt, a brother in Rives Juncton, mom in Holt, niece in Portland, etc - Lansing was the perfect central location.   I thought we’d be living there, in our west Lansing apartment for a few years, but things changed sooner than I expected.

My niece and her hubby gave birth to quadruplets in September 2007 and they all came home from the hospital right before Christmas.  Because my home business allows me a lot of freedom and flexibility, I’ve been helping out on the night shift (we call it Quad Watch) ever since.  That means driving back and forth from Lansing to Portland and back again every day.

Well, this home-based entrepreneur is not cut out for a commute - even if it is only twenty minutes one way.  It didn’t take long for me to start thinking about making a move to Portland.

I am excited about serving the Portland/Mid-Michigan area and look forward to getting involved in the community.

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On a local level, you see few blogs with the exception of a those offered by local television, radio and print media and I for one think this needs to change. The sooner the better!

Local businesses crave their piece of the world wide web but small businesses struggle to compete for search traffic, even when using geographically controlled pay per click advertising they have to bid against big search marketing companies working for national brands.

Blogs can provide local business owners with a web presence that gets ‘found’ by local users - if you approach it with local search in mind.

As a local business owners you can post to a blog on a regular basis about:

• Local business issues
• Local community concerns that relate to my business
• Local services I offer
• Local products I sell
• Local specials I run
• Local events I am involved in

Remember to include appropriate location terms within blog posts, such as the name of your town, county and state.

If you live in a large city, mention your street or neighborhood too.

Think about other regional references that local searchers might use, such as ‘mid-Michigan’ or ‘central New York’ and pepper these terms in as well.

As you blog you are adding content to your website, giving search engines more to add to their index and increasing your chance of having your site show up for a result when someone searches for your products or services, especially on a local level.

To learn more about setting up and promoting a blog, contact FreshNets for a free consultation.

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