Some time ago a client for a custom web design asked my assistance in doing research for submitting a USA trademark application for their small business. While my real business is custom web design, the customer felt I could find key information about trademarks easily, and save them the time.

Here's what I found. If considering a trademark for your small business to protect your web design or other rights, visit the US Trademark FAQs website to discover more about this interesting topic. Learn the difference between trademark, service mark, certification mark, and collective mark.

The process of applying for a trademark can be costly, and certainly takes time with up to a year of waiting during the approval cycle. Small business owners are welcome to contact me for web design projects or related online research.



TAGS: advice web design research trademark

Labels: advice, general, websites

                       

The custom web design of the main site of the Small Business Resource Center website has been converted to a CMS, Content Management System, and all 70 pages are done. The advice blog and podcast graphics conversion to match will be done soon so the entire site has a consistent look. This CMS system was selected after 2-3 years of research for a simple method of creating a web design with perfect XHTML and CSS with a tableless design.

The web design makeover to CMS follows the announcement of this new service 2 weeks ago here, and in 2 podcast episodes about CMS. The purpose of a Content Management System for web design is allowing small business owners the control to add, edit, or delete content to manage their website without learning how to code in XHTML.

Unlike most CMS software out of the box, our custom web design with matching graphics, and significant template modification, has been done to maximize aesthetics and allow SEO, Search Engine Optimization, of your small business website. Tired of paying your web developer each time you need a change? Follow this link to learn about a custom web design with CMS for your small business.

Interested in a tour of a working CMS web design? Visit my main site to view the 70 page web design and CMS makeover. Technically my blog and podcast are done in CMS, so the overall content of this website has more than 350 pages of information and advice for small business web design and related services.



TAGS: content management system cms launch news small business services web design

Labels: cms, general, launch, seo, templates, websites

                       

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.



TAGS: advice domains domain registration small business advice web design

Labels: advice, general, websites

                       

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.



TAGS: advice research search engines small business advice

Labels: advice, general, websites

                       

After meeting with an Orlando area recording artist last weekend, I offered to assist them in recovering a domain with their personal name being held by a cybersquatter. More details will be provided in an upcoming cybersquatting case study podcast episode.

Cybersquatting is the practice of registering a domain name strictly for gain without any rights or legitimate interests in that domain. For individuals using their personal name as the trademark for a small business venture, you have options for recovering your domain.

Recovering a cybersquatted site may be successful through arbitration which is usually less costly and faster than pursuing legal recourse. Your name is intellectual property and if used as a trademark in the course of doing business, the chances of success are improved.

Acquiring your domain from a cybersquatter when their intent is to resell at an excessive price, use the domain in bad faith, or unrelated commercial use will be presented in my upcoming podcast episode. Visit and bookmark the Small Business Website Mailbag podcast, and then return next week to hear the program and detailed advice.

Update: Listen now to the podcast episode on cybersquatting advice released 26 April 2008.



TAGS: advice cybersquatting domains podcast small business advice

Labels: advice, general, podcast

                       

The custom business card gallery on my main site features more than 50 designs done for clients, yet it has not been updated in at least a year. Here are two recent card designs with custom logos for a real estate company and an insurance company. Graphics are shown larger than actual size in low resolution.

Real estate card of Green Investment Group, LLC



Insurance card design for Einstein Insurance and Investment Group



Each features custom logos from sketches provided by the client, and then rendered in a unique way or color scheme in vector graphic art for print to match their corporate image. Clients needing a business card, custom ad, or print advertising yet don't have logo artwork can email me a scanned image. As part of my small business services I can reproduce just about any logo in vector art for print or online.



TAGS: business card card design custom logo graphic artwork small business services

Labels: artwork, examples, general

                       

I was surprised recently while checking my site visitor statistics to find a link to a green rating from McAfee. Following one visitor's search in Yahoo returned results including a link to a report about this website at the McAfee online SiteAdvisor green website testing service, so I couldn't resist checking it out.

One report displayed a green rating for JimDegerstom.com zipped downloads plus an overall green rating including links they follow from my site. I'm certain the majority of commercial sites tested by McAfee show positive results, yet it's nice to know they report truly deceptive websites that attempt to appear legitimate.

The green rating for this site was no surprise, yet still important. I offer many free to download resources for small business owners including seo reports, how-to PDFs, free design templates, mp3 podcasts, and more. Each information product for download on my site is original content that I write, design, produce, and distribute.

Unlike some websites, visitors to this site may download without registering or revealing their email address. Offering advice without any strings attached is especially rewarding when those visitors take the time to email me a thank you note explaining how my free resources helped their small business.

You may want to learn more about SiteAdvisor. McAfee has a search function for checking domains for suspicious activity, and most notably phishing, malware, or spyware risks in downloads. In addition, their purpose is to rate websites for safety, so readers may be interested in the McAfee green website testing service and how they uncover spyware, spam, viruses and online scams.



TAGS: advice small business services reviews website advice online scams

Labels: advice, general, reviews, websites

                       

I just completed custom graphic artwork of a CD cover, CD insert, and CD label for a newly released album, Back to the Basics, from Shizz Entertainment and featuring 21 songs of indie artists in the Philadelphia area. This comes less than a week after designing a one page website for them and creating posters, flyers, and other printed marketing materials.

Shizz Entertainment, a small business and Philadelphia independent artist recording studio, also does production and promotion for solo artists or groups, and specializes in gospel, r and b, jazz, and poetry whether vocal, instrumental, or both.

Below is the music album cover design and other artwork shown approximate actual size in low resolution.



Next is the cd album insert showing tracks of these independent musical artists and groups in order of their appearance: Shizz, Young Don the Don, Young Leek, Nuckles, Scrooge, Geezz, Lord Dom, Millz Banks, Black Card, Kanard, Mac Money, 12 Gage, Crazy Ink, and O.C.S.



Finally, here's the look of the finished CD label simulated as printed and placed on a production CD. The look matches the album cover and includes all 21 track titles and the names of each artist or group for every song.



The artwork was custom designed for this promotional music CD, and free downloads of all tracks are scheduled for released on the Shizz Entertainment website later this month.

Readers interested in affordable custom web design or matching graphic artwork for print are welcome to email me from any page for a no obligation review and proposal.



TAGS: cd artwork cd cover design graphic artwork promotion small business

Labels: artwork, examples, general

                       

Small business owners on limited budgets often have difficulty acquiring quality photos for in print or online. The small business royalty free stock photo directory lists websites that provide photographs without recurring royalty fees, and was updated today to add another 5 star directory. Here's the new listing as it appears in the stock photo directory:

Wikimedia.org contains a contributed database of over 2.5 million high resolution media files including photographs, graphics, and multimedia.

The number of 5 star sites is now four. The Wikimedia site contains many photos unrelated to business, yet from over 2 million selections I'm certain small business owners will find this a valuable resource.

In addition, the link action on the directory was revised so photo gallery websites will open in the same window, not a new blank window. Links that launch a new window make accessibility more difficult for diasabled persons, so the design change enhances usability for visitors who prefer the back button function.

Over 3 million photographs and graphics are now searchable from sites in my directory with the addition of this public domain photo site. The Small Business Resource Center royalty free directory resulted from reviewing over 150 websites and selecting 23 websites that offer photographs without a recurring royalty fee. Choices were subjective based on my review of selection, ease of use including terms, and the directory is primarily for the benefit of my small business clients.



TAGS: advice news small business advice photographs photo directory

Labels: advice, general, photographs, websites

                       

Time management as a small business owner is a matter of sorting tactical and strategic activities. The value of a blog is really a strategy with future benefits, not a tactical activity like other day to day tasks that require immediate attention. For me, building a reputation for my niche establishes long term traffic worth more than the value of any one post.

The tactical distractions in a small business that are time wasters need to be recognized. If you come across a link or interesting email that has you following an internet trail to oblivion, stop. We all do it, and it may takes hours away from real work. As soon as you learn to recognize those things that are fun yet don't generate revenue, you may find more time to dedicate to a blog.

For blog post ideas I subscribe to Google Alerts which delivers daily news on related subjects, and sometimes I follow my blog tags to view other opinions. A visit to the tag cloud on the Technorati home page may be a good source for what's hot and interests people for a given moment. Client feedback is another source of topic ideas for small business bloggers. I've even taken content from my emails to new prospects with advice that I wrote and use part of that if the advice makes a suitable blog post.

Blogs provide one of the most cost effective ways to promote your small business, and the seo or search engine optimization value is worth making blog time management a priority.



TAGS: advice blogging search engine optimization small business advice time management

Labels: advice, blogger, general, seo

                       

Another custom web design was launched earlier today for Shizz Entertainment, an indie artist recording studio in Philadelphia, PA. The simple starter website will expand over the coming months to add more details about their services, including featured artists, music downloads, and perhaps videos.

Shizz Entertainment specializes in recording, production, and promotional services for independent music artists. Genres include gospel, rap, rythym and blues, jazz, and poetry. Solo and group indie performers are welcome to inquire about low cost solutions for getting started.



The above screenshot of part of their website includes the custom logo design that I created for Shizz which is already being used for posters, printed marketing materials, and t-shirts. CD cover designs are in work.

Previously covering Philadelphia metro only, Shizz Entertainment is expanding with services for indie performers in most East Coast cities. New website content will be provided and added as their time permits, yet a free download sample CD with 21 tracks is scheduled for release soon.

The custom web design for Shizz Entertainment meets W3C standards for XHTML 1.1 and CSS2 with zero code errors, and content is optimized for seo, search engine optimization.



TAGS: launch custom logo design custom website design small business services news seo

Labels: examples, general, launch, seo, websites

                       

Since my January 2008 post of statistics comparing the percentage of users by browser, Internet Explorer IE7 and Safari have made significant gains. Based on visitors to this website, IE7 has surpassed IE6 and FireFox, and the number of Safari browser users went from 1.7% to nearly 8% of my site traffic.

You may view the Cross Browser Website Testing post to view stats from January, or read the Safari Browser Review here.

While my preference is still FireFox because of the FireFox web developer add-on extensions that suit my work in custom web design, IE7 or Safari are excellent choices for everyday users. Otherwise, IE7 seems to overload and slow down my system performance, and Safari has superior rendering but not much third party support for extensions.

The excitement building over the launch of Internet Explorer IE8 bears watching. Microsoft has softened their stance on browser backward compatibility with the aim of the new IE8 to more closely meet W3C worldwide code standards. For web developers, the Internet Explorer IE8 launch later this year is highly anticipated.



TAGS: advice browsers IE7 IE8 Safari browser

Labels: advice, general, reviews

                       

Spam blacklists, also called blocklists, are actually a network of spam tracking sites that create databases of known spammers. These services list IP addresses and IP ranges known to send unsolicited bulk email, or UBE. One problem of blacklists is the potential for cutting off legitimate users, especially in the case of people who fall into a range of blocked IP addresses shared with a real spammer.

Visit this authority site to test for a blocked IP at mail-abuse.com. Having an IP listed in a database may not mean your email will always be blocked, yet if your outgoing service gets a complaint, it could cause short-term or extended grief. Here's why.

Being in one of the spam databases is a red flag and the decision to block a particular email is not normally made by the outgoing email server, but by the recipient's incoming email service provider. The majority of them filter incoming email for spam. Most internet service providers subscribe to these databases to instantly check email senders to help protect their users and reputation.

The database is only one factor in identifying spam. Normally incoming filtering systems would screen the IP by accessing blacklist databases, and then scanning the content within the message body to determine if it should be allowed, marked suspect, or blocked. As stated earlier, if your IP is within a numerical range of IP addresses assigned to your ISP, you could get caught up and added to a blacklist if a real spammer is within that range.

Once you encounter bounced email coming back from known contacts with any negative reference to spam or blacklists, take action. Don't wait. My advice for correcting the situation is to begin by contacting your ISP, Internet Service Provider, give them the details, and let the experts resolve the issues.



TAGS: small business advice spam blacklists

Labels: advice, general

                       

For small business bloggers unaware of blog and ping promotional services, I assembled a list of blog and podcast pinging websites. These sites will broadcast your blog each time you make a post, and instantly notify a variety of search engines and sites that track blogs. Some offer special services for podcasts, niche blogs, and foreign language blogs.

Visit each to see which one best suits your small business blog. Each has checklists, so take some time on your first visit to review the list and avoid pings to unrelated promotional websites.

The list of sites with blog and podcast pinging services are in alphabetical order:

1. BlogFlux pings plus has a blog directory for registered members
2. FeedShark provides service for blogs, RSS Feeds and podcasts
3. KingPing pings 57 blog search engines, plus a podcast option checkbox
4. MyPagerank pings feeds to 25 networks that track blogs
5. Ping-O-Matic provides a simple and highly ranked pinging service
6. Pingoat easy one-button submission to 26 sites tracking blogs

The process is easy, and free. Select one to handle your promotion each time you make a blog post, and with a few clicks your blog is promoted to up to 57 different websites. This is fast and convenient with just 1 or 2 clicks after entering your blog name and web address, so total time should be less than 60 seconds.



TAGS: advice blog blog and ping blog promotion small business advice

Labels: advice, blogger, general, podcast, websites

                       

One day, perhaps, website developers will be able to create the perfect template to display blog pages that comply to W3C standards with perfect XHTML in Blogger blogs. The goal is currently impossible because of how the blog "engine" generates blog posts at the instant you publish.

Content generated external to the template and css that web developers design for blogs is the reason. This content includes hidden code that identifies the blog as shown below in this snippet of results from the W3C XHTML validation service for just one post on my blog:

g?blogID=38647469&postID=5457517960262

The highlighted and underlined content above is the culprit. The ampersand symbol is a special reserved character in XHTML, and to display properly without creating a code error it must have it's full ASCII 5-character code and not just the single character as typed from your keyboard. The highlighted text of &postID should read &postID to be correct per W3C.

Unfortunately, this small problem generates multiple instances and errors on each post, and it is completely out of the control of you or your blog designer. The only solution will happen when the technical team and programmers at Blogger choose to modify their system to insert the ampersand with the full ASCII 5-character code. Don't hold your breath. It's like pushing a glacier.

Does this really matter? From a technical point, no. From a practical point, yes, because the solution is easy. Your blog will look fine with 250 code errors, yet if browser companies and web developers are driven to comply with standards for zero code errors, it would be nice to have Blogger get on board, too.

Finally, if you follow a permalink to any individual post on this blog, and then validate per W3C, there are 28 code errors. Unlike my main site which displays the Valid XHTML 1.1 and CSS2 badges with zero code errors, the blog is doomed for now to being nice, not perfect.

The blog issue and other external factors used to create multimedia content use deprecated code, so my goal of perfect code has been revised to accept the reality of designing with near zero errors.



TAGS: blog blogger blog template website design xhtml

Labels: blogger, general, templates, websites

                       

I recently created a logo design that included Chinese characters for a new client in Orlando, Florida, whose core business is services to restaurants, especially Chinese restaurants. The client furnished a handwritten version of the characters for their logo which I then recreated in Xara Xtreme.


Their printed marketing materials will be in English. The top view shown above is the handwritten scanned version they provided, and below that is my finished version that was integrated into their logo for the benefit of clients who read Chinese. The phrase has meaning for the majority of their customers without being dominant, while the look is decorative rather than literal for the other restaurants.

Duplicating an existing design or sketch into a finished logo is just one of the services that I provide for custom small business artwork for print or online. This client confirmed the rendering was perfect and easy to read, so with some imagination and Xara Xtreme vector graphics software, graphic designers can achieve professional results.



TAGS: graphic artwork logo design logos small business services Xara Xtreme

Labels: artwork, examples, general

                       

As 2007 draws to an end, small business website owners should take a moment for a year end checkup. If you use a copyright year in the credits or footer of your website, update it in the first week of January to 2008. Having a date that is 2-3 years old is a sign your website lacks fresh content and remains stale. Better yet, leave off the year. You do not need the year to lay claim to your rights. Simply publishing content establishes domestic and international copyright.

Next, review your domain registration and hosting expiration dates. If your site is fairly new, consider renewing the registration for 5 years, or more. The length of your registration is public information available to visitors or search engines checking you out. Sites with multi-year registrations have more credibility because extended years show a commitment to be online for the long haul. Prepaying hosting for 12 to 24 months avoids being nicked small monthly amounts, and most hosting providers offer discounts for prepayment.

Finally, scrutinize your business model and see if the website content matches any changes to your business plan. If you lack content to fully present your product or services, it's time to consider adding more. A blog is the perfect way to add original quality content often. If SEO, Search Engine Optimization, is part of your strategy you should consider an ongoing budget for small business website promotion. Maintaining an effective and competitive site requires an ongoing annual budget, so look ahead and plan accordingly.



TAGS: advice website advice small business advice websites seo search engine optimization

Labels: advice, general, seo, websites

                       

One of the free methods I teach my custom website design clients about seo, or search engine optimization, is writing articles to get backlinks as syndicated articles are published, plus you can establish your reputation as an expert.

The incentive for article directory owners to promote article writing by offering free syndication is a challenging business model. Monetizing a free resource depends on visitors following affiliate links on the site and then making a purchase, or from click revenue derived from Google Adsense advertising if that's used on the site. Otherwise, the enterprise becomes a hobby without a financial revenue stream unless that website becomes very well established and is sold years later.

The series of email messages shown below were received from an article directory owner, and all within 30 minutes. The names have been obscured to protect the identifiable parties involved. The urgency and calamity faced when things go wrong are apparent.

Message 1: I have found it necessary to add user and password login to (directory site name) because of so many spam articles. Hopefully this change will not be too much trouble for you.

Message 2: Please be patient. The security measures that I turned on in this article directory are not functioning correctly. I am in contact with (software company name) for their assistance.

Message 3: (Directory site name) article submissions is back up. Requirement for security has been disabled so you can submit freely. I must come up with a plan B for spam.

The security measures being attempted by this article directory owner are already in place with the majority of article syndicate websites, and points out one of the time consuming issues these owners face. The best directories have editors who proof read every article submitted before approving or rejecting each. If they receive 200 to 500 articles a day ranging from 500-1000 words, that's a lot of work, and reading.

Article writing is a great way for do-it-yourself website promotion to establish a reputation as an authority, and get bonus backlinks to your small business website as articles are republished. Authors should benefit from the seo, or search engine optimization, value of article syndication. Hats off to the article directory owners who make this possible.



TAGS: articles article writing article directory seo search engine optimization

Labels: advice, articles, general, websites