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Clickable Calls-to-Action (CTA) - 20 Critical Do's and Don'ts


Artcle by: Hubspot Calls-to-action (CTAs) are one of the most critical inbound marketing tools. Whether they take the form of anchor text links, images, or buttons, CTAs are what motivate and direct your visitors to take a desired action, usually on Read more

Why Online and Offline Marketing Integration is so Important


  I'm a big believer that you need to create strategies for your online and offline marketing integration in order to establish a unified message about your brand and capture audiences from every media source. It's not enough anymore to Read more

How to Activate Your New Twitter Profile


Once again Twitter has made some pretty substantial updates and one of them includes the new "look" to your profile, much like that of the Facebook Timeline. Activating it is pretty simple and I'm going to show you how to Read more

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Twitter Widget: New Embeddable Widget for Interactive Timelines

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Toresa Leave a comment

A friend of mine recently posted an article about a new Twitter Widget that can be embedded in any website and increase your interactions directly from the widget.  It allows your readers to reply, re-tweet, favorite, follow an account and view tweeted photos with its auto expand feature.

I decided to test this new Twitter widget out on my site right on the homepage (the location not permanent as we are re-vamping our site shortly) and sidebar.  It’s versatile in that you can place it anywhere on your site without worrying about the width overlapping or messing up your layout.  As well, the height, defaulted at 600px, is also adjustable.

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Weighing the Pros and Cons: Customize vs. Original Web Design

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Toresa Leave a comment

In my career as a designer, I’ve created both original designs and customized existing themes on various platforms.  Both have their pros and cons but as of lately I find myself drawing more towards customizing only.

Why?

I work with small businesses.  More often than not they are working  only from personal capital  with no big source of funding to help them get the business off the ground.  This means, their budgets are tight and time is of the essence.

To create original designs based on their branding is costly both in money and in time.  To save them money, I find searching out an existing design whether it be for WordPress, CMS, Flash or even HTML and  customizing it to suit their exact needs is far more beneficial.

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Is Your Website Message Crystal Clear

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Toresa Leave a comment

The purpose of your website should be crystal clear to your visitors at first glance.

How do you achieve this?

  1.  Make sure your domain name or the URL you are using is relevant to your site’s purpose.
  2. Your tagline should be clear and concise.  In as few words as possible you should work to describe what your business is about and what your visitors can expect to find so they are moved to search your site further.
  1. The links and buttons throughout your site should be labeled clearly based on what the visitor can expect to find if they click on them.
  1. Your sites content should be relevant and peak the visitors interest. You want to ensure the message you want to portray is clear just by glancing at the titles or various sections on your site.

Of course, there is more to consider when it comes to making your website clear to your visitors, but this short list should provide you a good starting point.

Remember, you have only milliseconds to convert those visitors into actual “readers” of your site, so  take a bit of time and look over your site with different eyes.  Better yet,  ask friends and associates what they see when visiting your site then you can make further adjustments based on their experience.

~Toresa


6 Reasons You Should Have Your Website Evaluated by a Professional

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Toresa Leave a comment

 

If you currently have a website that you built yourself or maybe you’ve had it for a few years, it might be time to consider getting it evaluated by a professional.

Here are a few reasons that should get you thinking.

Out-dated Screams “OLD” and “UNTRUSTWORTHY”

When I’m surfing the net doing research I often come across websites that I can easily tell are at least 10 years old. They have a look to them that just screams, “I’m OLD”! When I see that, I usually click away and not just because of the design, but because it leaves me with the impression the information is out-dated and possibly incorrect to todays standards. I just don’t feel I can trust it.

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What Every Business Should Watch for Before Getting Online

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Toresa Leave a comment

A few years back I wrote a post about a friend who was totally duped by their web designer. I’ve always been a big believer in having control of your online business and practice it religiously with my own clients, but many business that are new to the online world tend to put all of their trust in their designer because they don’t understand the process, maybe feel they don’t have time to learn it or better yet, don’t care to know the details.

That is a HUGE mistake! Just like every other part of your business from inventory to finances, your online business should be something you watch and have complete control over.

As I was writing my new series, “10 Steps to Getting Your Business Online”, it hit me that I need to re-post this article on my new site so hopefully anyone looking to get online will “beware” prior to actually taking action.

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Why Every Business Needs a Website

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Toresa Leave a comment

The face of business is changing rapidly and in order for your business to stay competitive, you really should consider a business website of some sort.

It doesn’t need to be expensive or complicated. A simple website with even 5 basic pages offering information about your company, products and contact information can greatly improve your standing in the business community.

Today, more and more people are searching the internet for products or services rather than flipping through the yellow pages. They want more information, quickly and will base their decisions on what they find online. Many don’t want to have to call for information when other companies will provide them enough information online to make informative choices before choosing to become a customer.
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