When you set out to maintain your website, it’s very important for you to look through the eyes of your customer and understand what they see.  Sometimes it is as simple as the customer wanting to buy a clock, but you are trying to tell them how to build the clock.

Jacob Nielsen, is a profound web design and website maintenance expert.  He has numerous patents in regards to web based applications, services and ideas and is well known in our industry.  Occasionally, he will issue a Top 10 List for Web Design or Website Maintenance Mistakes. Read the rest of this entry »

In recent years  customers have come to expect more from their online browsing experience.   This has caused a change  in the standard for company websites.  A dynamic web site contains content that is continuously updated,  a design that is eye catching and inspiring which will give the consumer  a new online experience with every visit.

Maintaining Dynamic Web Page With Content

Maintaining a web sites content can be time consuming and can cost you money.   However, with our content management systems and Web Maintenance Plans,  even the least technical users have the ability and functionality to maintain dynamic web site content .

Content management systems give you the freedom to create dynamic web page content “in-house” rather than needing a third party.   You will easily be able to :

• Create  content schedules that automatically adds or deletes items.
• Update your events calendar, company news, or job openings.
• Add Pictures to your content to keep your website dynamic in appearance.
• Add dynamic data to all of your pages and keep your website fresh and inviting.

Our content management systems put you in control and give you the ability to maintain a dynamic web site.

Don’t have the time to do it yourself?  Ask us about our Web Maintenance Plan and Search Engine Optimization Plan!  Our trained and experienced staff can do it all for you.   Maintaining a dynamic website through design and data can be very time consuming.  Our staff is experts in many fields and we have created a team that can work to ensure your dynamic website stays attractive to all of your consumers.  Central Mass Web Design has helped many clients to maintain dynamic websites throughout Massachusetts and beyond, including Fitchburg, Leominster, Worcester, Cambridge, and Boston.

Want to view some of our recent works?  Check out our online portfolio to see our many designs, and request a website design estimate today.

Google seems to have their hand in everything, and rightfully so.  They happen to be one of the few that have the Midas touch.   ( In Greek mythology King Midas possessed the ability to turn everything he touched to gold.)  To say that Google has the ability to do the same is an understatement.  What makes Google so different?  Its not the ability to develop applications that makes them have the golden touch, its the ability to do it right… or as close to right as possible.   Now that doesn’t mean that Google applications have had their share of problems and bugs.  All applications have their share of problems and bugs.  Usually after the first round of testing you have a laundry list of issues, and each testing phase brings less.   Not to mention, usually at some point the developers think of a “better” way for something to react.   What google does better than anyone else is project what technology is needed , when it is needed and how it is needed to interact with all other Google applications.   This is what makes Google King Midas.

I have tried to compile a useful list of Google top applications and uses.  I use most of these myself in one way or another, and find them to be not only addictive but as needed and as useful as my smart phone.

Google Application 1.) Gmail has to be one of the Internets top email tools.  Now because of its inventive message-organizing methods, it takes some getting used to, but once you master it, you will not be without it.

Google Application 2.) Do you need a chat program with no added features?  Maybe a way to communicate internally at your comapny. How about something that integrates with your Gmail?  Well Google Talk is for you!

Google Application 3.)  Google Calendar!  How about… yes… just yes!  Google Calendar enables you to manage appointments and discover events from other sources that different users have made public.

Google Application 4.) Ever wish you could crunch some numbers and and track some information when you were not at the office and able to access Excel?  How about Google Docs…. Google Docs lets you make calculations on the fly from anywhere, as long as you have an internet connection and a browser.

Google Application 5.) Google Sketchup.  Way Cool Application!  Don’t know a thing about CAD?  Have no clue what CAD even is?  Well, Google Sketch lets you build your dream house in 3D detail without a lick of CAD or architectural expertise.

Google Application 6.) Google Reader continuously checks your favorite website for new content and puts it all in one place.

Google Application 7.) Google Secondary Search Engines:

A.) Google Scholar – This Google search engine is for people who want to search scholarly literature, such as academic articles, peer-reviewed papers.

B.) Google U.S. Government – You can use this search engine to limit your Google search to government websites.

C.) Google University Search – Search to a specific university website–great for finding information about admissions, school scholarships and alumni news.

D.) Google Product Search -  This search engine limits results to products and e-commerce sites.

E.) Google Book Search – Google has created a reference page for each book in its system that includes previews, reviews, publisher information and much more.

Google Application 8.) Now even though this is cool.  I am very cautous and have not used it myself…Google Health.  Organize your medical records online.

Google Application 9.) Google Custom Search.  Yes, I said Custom Search.With Custom Search Engine, you can harness the power of Google to create a search engine tailored to your needs.

Google Application 10.) Lastly, but not in any way the least, announcing Google Mobile! Stay connected on the go with Gmail, Search, Maps and other Google products.

Try them out.  I will be shocked if you are disappointed.

-Kimberly Veautour

Central Mass Web Design has been actively using, reporting, and promoting the use of Social Media to promote your business.  We looked into the effect Social Media sites have on our clients and the internet long before the reports that Social Media sites were on the fast track.  We encouraged all of our SEO clients to be blogging, and using Social Media sites to drive traffic to their website.

Now on the wake of all this… a new report made available a few days ago from Nielsen reports that Social Media and blogging are the fastest growing searches on the internet today.  Growing at over 2x the rate of others.  With an average age of not 16, 17 or 18 year old users…  but users in their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s.

I can take this all in stride.  I mean, well, we predicted it over a year ago.

Imagine my shock when I received a news notice, that stated The Boston Massachusetts Police planned on using TWITTER.  Now for those of you that dont know what TWITTER is, it is a web based Social Networking tool where people post updates and tips on what they are doing.   To follow Central Mass Web Design on TWITTER visit, CentralMassWeb.

So how will Boston Police use TWITTER next week.   Imagine a city gridlocked with traffic.  Thousands of people converging on Boston to witness the annual St. Patricks Day Parade.  The Boston Police pulled in every direction directing traffic, moving people along, and keeping the peace.  Now imagine updates directly to your computer or smart phone, on TWITTER.  Police will be reporting up to the minute reports on traffic and crowd control issues, to give everyone a heads up coming into the area, so they may be able to replan their routes.  This also allows TWITTER followers to post their own updates that the police may not be aware of yet.

Simply brilliant!  Kudos to you Boston Police for being on the cutting edge, and making things easier for all of us!

See the story at The Boston Channel.

Kimberly Veautour

If you are not using an online newsletter to drive website traffic and possibly sales, then you really need to look at your overall marketing. Your website is not the “Field of Dreams”, people are not just going to show up because you decided to build it. You need to market your company in a cost effective way and drive people to your website. The best, and most efficient way to do this is by sending regular email newsletters. I have mentioned this before at seminars that I give and I see peoples eyes open up really wide. When I tell people about the traffic we get to our website after we send a newsletter, they seem surprised. Well certainly, I can understand how people who are not all that familiar with websites and web tracking can be surprised. But having done this time and time again, I am very successful at it and I share my thoughts and Ideas with other business owners (especially here in the Boston Mass area) about how they can do it too.

One common complaint is that the company doesn’t sell a product online. NOT TRUE. You may not transact business online, like take a credit card number, however, your website is ALWAYS SELLING your companies services. Your site is your 24 hour full time employee that is always working for you and you need to feed your site some traffic.

I would be happy to share with you my secrets to getting more spikes in your website traffic. Just call me. But start with this one tip. Schedule some time in your calendar over the next 4 weeks. Schedule 1 hour for that entire time. Meaning you have 4 weeks to have a 1 hour meeting with yourself. In that 1 hour meeting, figure out what you want to tell someone, and don’t copy the text from your website. You need to really dig deep. Share some insight, make the information valuable. During this self meeting, create a list of items that you want to share with the public. This bulleted list is the start of your email campaign. Now, to ensure success, you need to have 12 items on this list. Dig Deep, you can find them. If you struggle to find the 12 items, then use Google to find similar companies and figure out what they are talking about on their website. List those items. Once you have the list, you can now begin to determine what your text should be for each item and you can now begin to focus on the details of each newsletter item.

Remember, you can always call me for some advice. I can be reached at 978-632-5300 x111.
When you do call, be sure to tell me that you read this article.
Matt Ward

Yes! Yes! and Yes! Blogs use web site content management systems with added functionality such as comments, pictures, and RSS feeds. When you optimize a web site with constantly changing or updated content and that document gets indexed, categorized and ranked by a search engines it adds Search Engine Benefits.

Things to remember when blogging?

1. Categories’ Make sure you use categories to establish themes, and structure your posts in those themes. If you can make it easier for search engines to understand your content, you have a better chance of ranking well.
2. Search Engine Friendly URL’s Make it easy for search engine spiders to find and crawl blog content.
3. New Content – Both readers and search engines demand new content. From a search engine perspective, the more often you add content… the more the blog is searched by search engine spiders, the more you show up in search engine results. New content will also give the impression of a more authoritative web site, and your client will value the ‘expert” advice you share. A very fast way to use a blog is to integrate it directly on the home page of your website as events, news or tips section.

20 quick blog ideas to get you started:

1. Write a tutorial! Give your clients the one up on everyone else.
2. Post about current events that pertain to your business, geographical area, or industry.
3. Review your statistics to see what keywords referred your visitors to your site and post about those.
4. Write a series of posts. (Example: Take on a large but important topic that your clients would value your input and break it down into sections, with multiple posts.)
5. Update old posts with new ideas.
6. Post about frequently asked questions in your industry.
7. Combine some of your best posts from previous blogs into a new series.
8. Invite your readers to a social network you use. (This will also help with your networking.)
9. Introduce a new industry trend, and become the expert in that area to your clients.
10. Celebrate your achievements.
11. Blog an event.
12. Write a review.
13. Write a case study.
14. Write your biography.
15. Share the newest and greatest thing you found on the web.
16. Write a glossary of terms used in your industry.
17. Do a slide show that explains a new idea or technique.
18. Take ideas from another industry, and explain how it would work in yours.
19. Read other blogs to see what’s new and hot!
20. Write a blog on blogging. Use it to list new blog ideas for your clients

I hope this helps you to get started blogging! Remember your website gives back to you, the effort you put into it.

-Kimberly Veautour

The number one thing you can do to improve your website is add content. Content is the key to driving traffic to your site. Your content needs to be page specific. What I mean by this is that each page should have very detailed information regarding that page title. If your page title is Boston Based Widgets, then you content needs to contain those terms. Keep in mind that as you write your content you don’t just want to copy this term over and over again, that will get you banned from the search engines. Instead, construct reasonable sentences that will make sense to your reader. But also pay attention and utilize things like bullets. Most users won’t read this content you are writing, but they will read the bullets or other call to action items on your page. Write a good amount of content that will attract your prospect. Your prospective customer will find your site because Google, Yahoo, and MSN will crawl your site and index all the content, making it available as a search result. The more content you have on this particular topic, the more likely you are to be found. When addressing content, you have to think about the law of averages here. The more tickets you have for the lottery, the more likely you are to win it. However if you don’t even have one ticket, you have no chance in winning the lottery; therefore you must create your “tickets”, to get entered into the lottery.

You can edit your existing content to improve your rankings on search engines. Once you know where you rank and where your competition ranks then you can formulate a plan. Review your competitor’s website to determine what they might be doing to be ranked well on a particular search engine. Read their content, look over their site. Never copy their content that is against the law. However you can create your own content by learning what they have done. Simply begin editing the content on your site to reflect more of what you have learned from your competitors. Don’t be afraid to learn new things from other sites, and don’t be afraid to try things on your site. Consider including some call to action graphics that will get noticed by your visitors. Make these graphics clickable and deliver the user to a form page to complete when they click the graphic. Keep that form small so that the prospect will complete it.