So You Want to Create a Website

So You Want to Create a Website

Every day hundreds if not thousands of websites are launched. Blogs, stores, lead magnets, businesses and personal brands no matter the kind they all fall into the same category, an idea someone wants to visualize. So you want to create a website, here are some of the things you should know.

Start with a Plan

From a one page simple design to a labor-intensive database requiring many man-hours of development. Without a plan, you will spend unnecessary money and waste a great deal of time. Having a plan will save you and yourself, your designer or developer many moments of anguish, anger, and aggravation.

Do it Yourself?

There are many options out there for those that are ambitious and want to create their website themselves. From drag and drop website builders like Weebly or Squarespace to a bit more involved frameworks such as WordPress or Joomla, there are also custom options if you are comfortable with coding as well. The real question is are you saving money by doing it yourself? Or would you be better off to pay an expert to ultimately save you time and headaches? which would, in fact, save you more than just money in the long run.

You are Your Brand

I cannot tell you how many people get stuck trying to find just the right logo or custom URL and never get started. The best logo you have is your head-shot the best URL is your name. Okay so the first part you hopefully took with a grain of salt, but your name in a logo could work just fine. Yet, your name is the easiest brand you have to promote so if you can grab a vanity URL as it go for it! People will remember who you are long before what you do or sell.

Pick a CMS

If you are like me and you tried your hand at MLMs, you would know the first thing they teach is the value of your “list.” Same goes for your website just don’t spam people and lose your friends and family over it. Of course, as primarily a WordPress agency we would be remiss to not mention that has a fantastic CMS built right in. There are others as well such as Weebly, Squarespace and the like and while we are biased any would work, and we will be happy to move you to WordPress when you are ready.

Integrate your email

Once you have a list, even if it is just your mom, you will want to be able to notify them when you have a new blog post or perhaps a sale or special event. We recommend Constant Contact as we are certified partners and can help set you up with robust emails that get opened. There are other options as well and while we can help, you likely won’t be as happy, but that is just our own biased opinion.

Hosting Matters

There are hosting options for well any budget and need. We use and are agency partners with Flywheel which is built solely for WordPress and nothing else and we think that is awesome! We also can now offer domain and hosting options for other services as well and would be happy to share with you which hosting solution works best for you. Some things to keep in mind are things like SSL, CDN, level of support, backups, malware scanning and more but we will leave that all for perhaps another blog post or conversation.

So What is Next

Creating a website can be intimidating and a daunting task for even the technically-abled. Whether you choose to take it on yourself or choose to hire a designer, the best thing you can do for your brand is to take it online. If you are already online, perhaps it’s time to give it a fresh new look. Either way, if you need some help or just want to see where things stand, we are here to help.

Whether you want to create a website, redesign your current site, get some quality hosting solutions, email marketing, or check out your reputation online shoot us a message, send us an email or give us a call or text we are here to serve.

Cracking The Web Design Process Code

Cracking The Web Design Process Code

What’s the web design process a web designer goes through when preparing to take on a new client?

If you are curious keep reading for a behind the scenes “sneak peek” of sorts on the process that we follow while meeting with a potential client. One thing I personally love about running a boutique web design agency is the ability to share others’ stories. Stories are at the center of every client and their business or organization. As a web design agency, we follow a creative process that allows us to visually relate that story online.

Research

Knowing your client goes beyond just what they may or may not tell you during their discovery session, not that they are hiding anything but they may not feel it is important. Doing a somewhat deep dive on the client, their customers, social media, and more allow us to better understand who they serve. When someone looks to hire a web designer, they usually think they know what they want before they ever call to set up their consultation. When they get to talking to us the project they thought they wanted many times changes in scope as they share their story.

Client Story

Your story as a client is one that only you can tell. No matter how small of a gesture or reflection back into how you got started, we focus on the nuances behind the story. We spend time researching you and your story long before we sit down to hear you tell it. Stories are shown through the clients you currently serve to the social media posts you share. We know you will be a bit guarded when you meet a stranger for the first time. The more we know about who sits across the table from us, the easier we can put you as well as ourselves at ease.

Ask Questions

Too many designers make assumptions that they know what is best for their clients. We at Heartwired are firm believers that the client knows best, even when they don’t know they know. Some of the questions we ask whether in the form on our website, on the phone, via chat or email may seem simple or silly. However, we have found asking questions gets you comfortable to share the real you. Many times it is in the things you don’t say that we find the most about you and your story.

Listen

When talking with a potential or even current client it is often what they don’t say that matters most. They likely have a frustration point they are looking to solve. Whether it be lack of sales, or traffic or perhaps conversion into sales. They will say things like “the site does not work” or is “not being found”, or they want it to look like their competition. One of the easiest things to change is the website.. or even the designer. Truth is without appropriate planning, marketing, and a strategy it won’t matter how pretty your site is.

A web designers job is to translate their clients’ needs and frustrations into actionable changes that make sense.

Its the small things

Whether it is a change in a page, or the client’s overall approach to their website, many times it is the small things. Small things like the placement of a button, a font adjustment, or color, the things that seem to not really matter actually matter most. When we pay attention to the details, it allows us to hear what they are really saying. Details many times are hidden in the things the clients don’t say. Sometimes that can be while they share their story about their business and why they started in the first place. That glimmer in their eye or the slight welling up of emotions as they share their “why”. It is in those moments that as a designer we can find the heart of their story and how we can help design their story in a way only they can tell. It is in these moments that as the owner of a boutique web design agency like HeartWired, that I truly find the love in what we do. If you would like to learn more about how we are cracking the web design process code at HeartWired we would love to learn about your story. Contact us today to get started in sharing your story.
What I Wish Everyone Knew About the Name HeartWired

What I Wish Everyone Knew About the Name HeartWired

Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

Our company name HeartWired Digital Solutions literally defines our business. Sure it may be a play on words, but it encompasses much more than that. Ever since I started my company in 2016, I have hoped and prayed that everyone would know that we were a company that cares for the individual behind the organizations we serve just as much as we care for our own. We pour our heart into every web design project and treat it as if it were our only one.

HeartWired was initially a play on words for “hardwired” a common term in the technology industry meaning “involving or achieved by permanently connected circuits.”

Even the Ethernet cable in the form of a heartbeat in the logo is representative of the vein of our company’s being. Our deep rooted desire to serve each client where they are has become the focal point of our business model.

Compassion and technology are usually terms that are rarely used in the same sentence. In a fast paced world, focused on numbers rather than service, it is all but a lost art. Our motto “Technology and Web Services with Heart” has become our mission.  Rather than treating people like a number, we prefer to learn about their story and get to know their heart before we ever take them on as a client.  In doing so we believe we believe we can restore the heart and compassion one satisfied customer, better yet friend at a time.

Small business owners at the core are community leaders, they hold the responsibility to build relationships within their local neighborhoods and cities.

Whether your business is a brick and mortar or strictly online or perhaps a combination of both, you serve your community first and foremost. The more involved we have gotten in our own local area, the more businesses we have been able to serve, the more we have grown through word of mouth more valuable than any advertisement dollars we could spend.

Occasionally there is confusion when people look at our logo, they ask if we are in the medical or health field. While we have served clients in those industries as well as nonprofits, realtors, local businesses, bloggers and more, we are a technology and web design agency through and through. While we offer web design solutions, SEO services, digital reputation management, proximity marketing and more, at the heart of it all we provide various ways for people to share their heart-filled stories online.

Why is your Business not Online?

Why is your Business not Online?

Every business should have a website and be online.

You might think that is a bold statement. Some might think that you cannot afford to have a website built for your business.

We say you cannot afford not to have one.

Whether you are a brick and mortar or a home-based business, you need a website to really be online. Social media is not enough to build your business and protect it.

What does social media have to do with protection?

You do not own anything on social media. No matter if you use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other social media platform. Whatever you put online ultimately belongs to them not you.

Imagine if you go online and your Facebook business page was taken down by Facebook.

All of sudden your business is out of business.

If you have a website you control your business. You have ownership of all the content. Your website is the “welcome mat” for your business online.Having an online business presence is more of a necessity than an option. #website #webdesign

“But they cost too much.”

Say you simply need a website that provides hours of operation, directions, and ways your customers can contact you. A simple site like that would cost much less than many think. A 2-3 page site would also provide you much more organic value over time than it cost out of pocket.

Imagine your customers being able to learn about your company or even buy from you in the middle of the night in their pajamas. (No I don’t mean imagine them in their PJ’s, but imagine the sales)

That right there is the kind of power having your own business website holds for your business.

No matter if you are a barber shop, coffee shop, a doctor or an attorney, you can each benefit in your own way from being online.

Big or small, mom and pop or not, all can reap the powers of owning your own website.

You might be thinking, you don’t even know where to start. That is where we come in to help. No matter your budget, business size, or need. Schedule an appointment for your consultation today.

You are just a few clicks away from building your business online.

We look forward to speaking with you soon.