website design

It's one thing to make a website look pretty. It's completely another thing to bring a User Experience to a website through the design. To create a great design, I bring together Information Architecture, a deep understanding of User Interaction, and a background in Graphic Design.

Every design that I create is original, and is geared towards your business and the goals that are established for your website. I can't begin to tell you how many times I see sites that are identical to each other, or are the same in every way but use a different color scheme. These sites were built using cookie cutter templates and would not be a good representation of your business.

Don't let the user’s first impression be a negative one because your website looks dated. I don't expect my clients to be up on current design trends, as that's where background and expertise come into play. Let me design a site that works for you, for your business, and for your users. Design matters.

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website development

Once a design is completed, the project can move into development. Website Development is the process of taking a design and making it work on the web. A lot of people are good at either design or development. With my specific background in Graphic Design, I bring the power of both, design and development, to the table.

Maybe your site has some forms. What happens when those forms get submitted? Is the information emailed to you and stored in a database for future reference? Form processing is another large part of website development. Just take a look at this site for example. There is a quote form, as well as a contact form. Lots of things happen when either of those forms is submitted.

Website Development can be as simple as some standard xHTML and CSS, or can be complimented with the power of PHP and MySQL. Some of the neat effects you see these days are created using Javascript or Ajax.

Membership Logins, File Uploads, Credit Card Processing ... all of these things fall under the umbrella of website development.

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content management systems

You've got yourself a website with lots and lots of content, and now it's time to edit some of that content. Do you have to call your webmaster and ask him to make these edits, and hope he has the time to do it sometime this month? With a CJG Content Management System you can easily sign in, find the page that needs editing, make the changes, hit a button and there you go... content edited. Seems easy enough, so why don't you have a CJG Content Management System yet?

The CJGraphix CMS (Content Management System) has been built over the last 8 years with one thing in mind. Is this easy to use? I won't bog you down with so many obscure options that making an update feels like brain surgery. Get in, make the updates, get back to business. So easy, even my 7 year old daughter can use it.

It goes beyond just basic stuff as well. Every piece of content in this website can easily be updated through the CJGraphix CMS. No matter what the content is, it can be managed.

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social networks

A couple of years back now, I set out to build myself a social network. I really just wanted to see if I could do it. I launched Beautiful Society and watched as my 30 closest friends and I shared our favorite things with each other. Then I watched my 30 closest friends turn into 100 people, then 500 people, and now there are thousands of people sharing even more thousands of their favorite things with each other.

Social networks are really just gatherings of people (online) around a common bond, a niche if you will. With Beautiful Society, it's favorite things. With iFrat Wars, it’s being a fraternity member.  With Dodge Nitro Club, it's being a Dodge Nitro owner. So what's your niche?

A lot goes into building a social network, so the starting price on one is much higher than a standard website, and the timelines are also extended. You can expect a social network to take anywhere from 3-6 months to build.

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e-commerce

It used to be that you needed a traditional brick and mortar store to sell anything, but not anymore. An online store is one of the easiest, and sometimes fastest, ways to get your product out there. There can be so many questions when building an e-commerce site, though, that it's good to have someone with experience behind you every step of the way.

When it comes to payment, what's going to work best for you? Maybe Paypal is okay, or you want to do credit card processing offline. Or maybe you need a more integrated solution that uses an online payment gateway like Authorize.net. Whatever the case may be, I've been there and can lead you down the path to success.

As part of my CJG Content Management System, I can also integrate a way for you to update your product catalog. Just like the Content Management System, I only give you the options you need so that making updates is quick and easy. You can also review all of your online orders as they come in, create specific coupon codes, and customers can even generate return requests.

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search engine optimization

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) isn't some gigantic mystery that's secrets are held by only a few of the online elite. In fact, SEO can be really straightforward and easy to understand when you know what you are looking for. The mysteries surrounding SEO typically come from not knowing the differences between good practices (white hat) and bad practices (black hat).

SEO can be broken down into two major components though, 'On Page' and 'Off Page'. The 'On Page' factors can be easily controlled, maintained, reviewed and adjusted. The 'Off Page' factors, on the other hand, are less controlled, not as easily maintained, and can be hard to adjust. With a strong SEO strategy, however, you can create an 'On Page' game plan that can directly affect the 'Off Page' factors as well, giving you some control of the uncontrollable.

I'll be up front, there are no guarantees when it comes to SEO, but with a solid game plan in place you can track your results every step of the way.

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social media

Social Media is definitely an umbrella term, and can be interpreted in so many ways. Let's start by explaining what Social Media is not. Social Media is NOT about posting links to your blog, service, or product all over the internet. Now that we know what Social Media is not, let's take a look at what Social Media is.

Social Media is about the interactions that take place between people in an online environment; the sharing of knowledge and ideas that could not otherwise take place. I can't be in England, China, and Australia all at once, but through my Social Media contacts I can ask questions and get responses from people all over the world, 24 hours a day. By building these online relationships, people learn about you as well as your product or service.

Don't let Social Media feel like a mystery, and don't get left behind. Stand up and be noticed, just for being your own true authentic self. 

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