Archive for May, 2008

How long should it take to get a domain registered, a logo proof, and a custom web design for your small business? Incredibly, some of my new clients contact me for one of the above after waiting months for service from prepaid vendors. You pay in advance for support of your new small business and it is reasonable to expect timely action.

Previously a client paid a large design company for a logo, domain registration, and web design, and two months later they were still waiting for the domain to be registered. Phone calls were either not returned or sent to voice mail oblivion without any callbacks.

When contacting me for assistance, the domain was registered within two days plus a logo proof was emailed, as well. With their logo approval the site prototype was online within two days, and the site was complete in two weeks. Since their first order, that client has ordered two more custom website designs.

Another client has been on hold with their custom web project because they’re waiting two months for their logo from another designer. If you have been waiting to get your custom web design online for two days, two weeks, or two months, and you’re growing impatient, please email me or give me a call.

Besides the advantage of fast response because I’m a home-based sole proprietor, my overhead is negligible and I pass the savings on to my clients with modest pricing for custom web design projects. To succeed, web developers need to be responsive to inquiries plus deliver a quality design at a fair price on time. That formula works for me, and it’s sad some companies overlook this basic principle of providing professional web design services to small business owners.

Great resources for do-it-yourself small business website owners using a Joomla content management system may be found at the recently launched Joomla articles website.This brilliant one-stop-shop for everything Joomla is the creation of Ric Raftis, a fellow custom web design expert in Australia.

For now the site is in beta pending the formal release, yet the site is already loaded with valuable information for Joomla based site owners. The official Joomla forum contains nearly 1.3 million topics. By comparison, www.JoomlaArticles.com features only the best and current resources for making the most of your small business Joomla 1.5 installation.

My advice for small business website owners is bookmarking JoomlaArticles.com to stay on top of the latest developments from a neutral expert with an eye for collecting only the best online resources. Best of luck to Ric Raftis with the growth of this site.

The latest podcast show comparing blog formats from Blogger and WordPress was launched today with advice for small business owners. If you’re undecided about the benefits of blogging, or which format to select, the show gives comparisons of format, ease of use, and other features on these top blog formats.

The show features a review of a new custom matching blog done in WordPress for one of my personal sites, and features bonus tips for advanced plug-in options and themes or templates for WordPress. An integrated blog custom design to match your main site is one of the best search engine optimization techniques I can recommend. Contact me at any time for no obligation free advice about blogging for small business.

Quite often professional voice talent creating video or audio production use a teleprompter. For small business website multimedia production, there’s a low cost alternative to expensive dedicated teleprompter solutions when adding video or audio to your web design or podcast.

After considerable research of teleprompter software reviews, the Prompt! software from DataWay Multimedia Canada, Inc for $44 USD is my recommended choice. A free lite version may be downloaded, also. Here’s the list of features from their website, MovieClip.biz:

• Text can be imported and exported
• Simple text editing is available
• Native files can be saved
• User customizable controls
• Macintosh or Windows playback
• Control over font size
• Mirrors text display on screen
• Mouse or keyboard control
• Lite version available
• Multiple resolutions
• Works with most remotes (not included)
• Cheap!

Prompt! version7.0 is a standalone application that allows keeping multiple windows open during recording. My advice is preparing your audio script in NotePad and then load it into Prompt! with copy and paste. The scrolling text may be adjusted by size, color and background, and scroll speed. The Lite version is limited to 2500 characters, so you may want to do a test drive with Lite before making a purchase.

Using a teleprompter for short clips or full presentations allows readers to focus on content to eliminate gasps, oohs, or aahs during recording. Speaking extemporaneously is very difficult for most small business owners, and a prepared message is more likely to enhance the multimedia production. Reading from an audio script will be faster and more professional when adding audio or video to your website, blog, or podcast. Download Prompt! here.

This site includes a directory of royalty free photo websites for small business owners to use for web design or printed marketing material. Royalty free photographs of people require special consideration. Royalty free does not mean free to use without limitations even when offered for commercial production of websites, print, or multimedia.

Creative works are intellectual property, and if a photographer posts photos on a royalty free website, it does not imply transfer of ownership if you download from their gallery. There are sites who charge a one time fee for use in one application, others who charge recurring royalty fees, and then those in my directory that are truly royalty free. If a photo includes people, each person’s rights cannot be overlooked.

Anything royalty free has restrictions for use, including those without any fee. Always look for and read the license to avoid any legal copyright issues, and be cautious about using pictures from sites without any license information. They may have accumulated photographs without caring about copyright. Sale or redistribution of royalty free photos whether singles or collections is illegal.

It is your duty as a small business owner to stay within the law when downloading content for fair use. A photo that includes real and identifiable persons is especially tricky, and should never be used without that person’s consent including a written model release.

People do online research looking for fast answers to inquiries in search engines. The trail leading to free information for a simple question should not take 5-10 minutes of sorting through sites for a real answer. Here’s one case study of small business online research frustration, and the eventual solution.

After receiving a voice mail message from a small business owner, and then getting their answering machine when I returned their call, I decided to search online for more about them. The caller only left their name and phone number and a brief description of the design services of interest.

Without a business name or website URL, my first choice for finding out more about their company was a reverse phone lookup. The results from lookup services were a huge disappointment. Following search engine results was frustrating because each of the first three free lookup sites returned results on their website of “found” with more information available. Following that link took me to a paid service to get what should be publicly available for free.

Finally, I input the prospect’s phone number into the Google search box, and instantly the first listing was their website. From viewing their site and doing a search in WhoIs, I was well prepared on the second callback when finally getting through and talking to the owner. Consider various ways of getting creative when it comes to search engines and small business online research to avoid the frustration of following dead ends and finding a surprise shopping cart.