Images are an important part of any web site. They grab visitors’ attention, communicate ideas, and can make your pages flow better and look better. But where can you find the photos you want?
Of course there are hundreds of thousands of images to be found on other websites. Is it acceptable to copy someone else’s picture and incorporate it in your website or blog?
Taking and sharing photos online is an important ingredient for good marketing results. Here are some tips that can help you to plan and organize your photos to match the different social media services.
The first and most important place to focus is your business website. The photos on your main website pages are what potential customers will look at before deciding to contact you. Make sure they are high quality and that they represent your business well. Also, if your website has one or more photo galleries that show off or explain your services, then these are also where you attention should go first.
However, by posting extra photos on a regular basis, you can generate interest in your business, increase search site traffic, and impress potential clients. How should these be shared? We will discuss how to best utilize your website’s blog, Facebook and Instagram, as these are the best places to start.
Writing good copy for your business website is something that sounds easy. After all, it is your business. But most of us weren’t taught this kind of writing in school, so it’s easy to either get stuck, or worse, to write bad copy.
The good news is that the principles behind writing for the web aren’t hard to grasp. Here are some of the basics:
It’s good to be enthusiastic about your products or services, but remember that your visitor probably has just a few specific questions that they want answered. Long paragraphs with too much information are not likely to be read at all.
The best way to organize the information on your website is to start with only the most basic details on your home page, and then progressively offer visitors more details on sub-pages. Notice the home page examples below, one with full paragraphs of text, and the other using brief teasers:
The best way to organize the information on your website is to start with only the most basic details on your home page, and then progressively offer visitors more details on sub-pages. This way your visitors can see at a glance what you do, and then quickly find out where to get the additional details that they want.
First step is to go to the YouTube website and switch to the website channel.
Now that we’re in the right YouTube account, we’re ready to add video.
Next, click the upload button at the top of the page:
Now click the large button to browse for the video file on the computer:
Now the video will begin uploading and the next screen will appear:
While the video is uploading and processing, you should add a title and description. Click publish when done, and you’ll see the following:
Click the video link to watch it on the main YouTube site, and verify that it looks good. Now you can get the code to embed the video on your website:
To get the code, first click the SHARE button, then click EMBED in the window that appears.
On the Embed Video screen, unclick ‘Show suggested videos…’ and then click the COPY button.
Now on your website, open a new post, and in TEXT mode paste the code where you want the video to appear.
Finally, in most cases you will want to set the width to “100%” and the height to “540”. Now your video should appear on the page!
Bowtie Construction recently shifted the focus of their business, so we updated the look of their website and created a slightly different version their previous logo.
They specialize in the design and construction of energy efficient homes and remodeling projects. You can visit their website at http://www.bowtieconstruction.com.
Southern Panel & Decking, based in Texas, provides durable new and reclaimed antique exterior wood materials to builders, architects and designers. The website features product listings, photos and articles featuring the unique hardwoods that they supply.
Visit the site live at http://spdecking.com.
Here’s a logo that we recently finalized for a new industrial equipment company in Chicago. The colors, shapes and brushed metal texture are designed to match their industry and target audience.
South Texas Growers is a wholesale & retail nursery that offers landscape and irrigation services. Their site features a full plant gallery as well as landscaping articles and videos.
Visit the website at http://southtexasgrowers.com.
The Velvet Note is a soundstage and club room in Alpharetta, Georgia, showcasing exceptional musical talent to the accompaniment of great food, spirits and service.
They recently opened and are enjoying great success. We designed their logo and website, including the small flash animation showing various artists.
Visit The Velvet Note online at http://thevelvetnote.com.
Here’s a logo and website that we completed for My Portrait Studio. They specialize in individual and family photo sessions and portraits, including pets, in Canyon Country, CA.
The logo pictured above was created as a quick fill-in until a final logo was obtained, but they decided to keep it. Below is a recent screenshot of the live website.
OUR HOURS: Mon - Fri 9 am to 5 pm CST