Math-magical.com featured in the WooThemes Showcase

We have submitted a number of our other past projects to WooThemes and some other theme developers for showcase consideration. This is a win-win for us and our clients because we both gain website traffic and Search Engine Rankings because of recognition like this.

Sync

Have you ever been working on your notebook computer while you are out of the office or traveling and realized that the file you need is on your desktop computer. One of the great features of Dropbox is that any files you store in your account are synced to any other computer you set up. This means you’ll have access to your important files on every computer you use. You could even access your files on someone else’s computer if you needed to. There is an iPhone app that allows you to access your Dropbox files as well. We use our account to make sure that we always have access to the important files we need on every computer that we use.

Share

As with many small businesses, we have a need to share many different files both internally between Kevin and me and externally between ourselves and contractors. We make every attempt to utilize our Project Center for file sharing and collaboration, however, because we are limited to a 100MB file upload on the Project Center, Dropbox comes in very handy. We can drop in files of any size as long as long as they don’t exceed the remaining space in our Dropbox. To share a file with someone, it’s really as simple as creating a new shared Dropbox folder, invite people to join the folder so they can access it, and then all you have to do is place files inside the folder.

What does this have to do with Web Presence?

All in all, not a whole lot. However, our clients and prospects are small businesses. We absolutely love building websites for small businesses and helping them develop their Web Presence. But, we also want to make sure that we share resources that might help out our small business clients and prospects. Hopefully, Dropbox is something that can help make life a little easier for you and your small business.

If you check out Dropbox and find it useful please be sure to use the sharing buttons below and let others know about how great it is.

Case Study

Catering is a competitive business. Catering websites are competitive, too. Haw River is a Nashville catering business that grew out of many years of catering, restaurant, and event planning experience. A lot of the ideas for the direction of Haw River Catering web development and internet marketing were evolving during the Web Presence Development process. This project was a full Web Presence Development Project and also included our Pro Logo Design Package and Pro Email Marketing Design Package. The company, owned by two brothers that grew up in Haw River, NC, is targeting the high-end of the catering market and they are focused squarely on Weddings, Corporate Events, and Private Parties. Ultimately, the owners wanted to make sure that their Website and Web Presence included all the elements necessary for visitors to make a buying decision but they also wanted to make sure that they stood out above their competition.

The primary visitor for catering websites will be female between the ages of 25 and 55. As such, it was important to convey elegance and soft colors in order to make a quick visual connection. Because the catering business revolves around food, it was important to make sure that there were plenty of pictures of irresistible food. This was a big challenge for two reasons. First, the company is brand new. While both brothers have been in the restaurant and catering business for many years, they didn’t even have a menu at the time we were engaged to begin their Web Presence Development. Second, displaying large pictures of more than 40 main dishes could potentially lead to some serious usability issues. We were able to secure quite a bit of high quality stock photography of some very attractive high-end food. We used a select number of menu items and created a visitor controlled slide show to display some of the very enticing menu items.

Another important aspect of the scope was to present the “Full Menu” in a manner that was something other than a boring, never-ending list. (If you’ve ever visited other catering websites, you know they love lists that are a mile long). As such, we decided to organize the menu graphically by food type. We chose this method because graphic organization makes processing information more intuitive for a Website visitor.

Social Media Integration

Even though the owners of Haw River Catering are very new to Social Networking Websites and Social Media, they are embracing the concept with full intentions to leverage every connecting point possible. We have given them a Web Presence Development system that will automatically generate a Tweet from their Twitter account each time they publish a new Blog Post. As well, every new Blog Post published will also be published automatically to their Facebook Business Page. One of the owners is very active on LinkedIn so we have also integrated the LinkedIn page as well. Probably the most important tools for them in the future will be the use of their Flickr and YouTube Social Networks, because, after all, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Unique Aspects of the Site

As mentioned above in the Overview and Scope section, the project called for many pictures of appealing food. We took the approach of a visitor controlled slide show to display a selection of foods that are available. As an added touch, every page has at least two pictures displayed as well. These pictures are selected at random when the page loads which brings in a nice dynamic element not usually seen on other catering websites.

One of the most important aspects of marketing a catering business is to acquire testimonials from past customers that can be shared with new prospective customers. We decided to use the Blog section of the site to share the testimonials. Because testimonials are typically short, we decided to customize the Testimonials Archive Page to display multiple full testimonials instead of short excerpts. This helps the Testimonials section of the Blog stand out.

Pictures

Home Page with Featured Content Slider

Menu Slide Show Page

Graphically Organized Full Menu Page

Customized Testimonials Page

Overview/Scope

The BenchMark Public Adjusting Group project was a redesign project. The client had several primary objectives. A new site designed to better meet current web standards, integration with Facebook, and an easy to use Content Management System was really the focus for this project. Another aspect of the project included creating a Contact Form that uses conditional logic to enhance the user’s experience. As a Public Insurance Adjuster and a company that provides Professional Services, they needed a website that would help differentiate them from their competitors. As Insurance Adjuster Websites go, many come across in a very gimmicky manner, in our opinion, by relying too heavily on Flash video of storms and disasters.

From a Social Media perspective, this particular client only uses Facebook at this point. While we believe Social Networking platforms and Social Media can certainly benefit Small Businesses, we feel that it’s also important to consider whether your market will interact with you on a given Social Network. At this point in time, the client is focused on building a following on Facebook and thus, only Facebook integration was included.

If you take a look at just a few Insurance Insurance Adjuster websites, you’ll quickly get the feeling that you could be dealing with a shady outfit. Our design helps break that stigma and paints this firm into a far more professional light. Rather than convey a shady persona and a gimmicky look, it was very important to immediately establish a trustworthy and professional appearance. One big challenge here was that there was a lot of information that the client wanted to ensure was accessible from the Home Page. By integrating the “Tabber”, we were able to help the client present a lot of information that was logically organized and still visually pleasing.

Before

The drab textured background wasn’t really representative of the company’s color palette. As well, the photographs and pictures in the old site were quite small and it was really hard to tell what was actually in the picture.

After

A better organized and more informative representation of the company and the benefits they bring to their clients.

Unlimited – in Shared Web Hosting terms

A while back, there was a commercial made by Metro PCS where they were mocking their competitors for making promises of “Unlimited” calling plans. (It’s a funny commercial, you can watch it HERE). In that commercial, the sales person kept saying, “Um” limited. When it comes to “Unlimited” Web Hosting packages, in most cases, they really mean “Um” limited. In other words, if you read the Terms of Service closely, the “Unlimited” plans are still, limited. So, if you find yourself lured by the promise of “Unlimited” domain hosting, file storage, and bandwidth, do yourself a favor and read the Terms of Service closely.

If it’s not really Unlimited, then why do they offer it?

The truth is, most Web Hosting Providers that make this offer know that probably 99% of their customers will never use more than several hundred megabytes of file storage and will also likely never have enough regular Website visitors to consume enough bandwidth or data transfer to cause a problem.

Is Unlimited Storage and Bandwidth really even possible?

No, not really. I like to use a pie analogy when talking about this subject. Think of the whole pie as the equivalent to the Web Server itself. Your Website has to be hosted on a Web Server. So, think of your Website as a piece of the pie. Keep in mind, that there are hundreds and maybe thousands of other Websites sharing this pie, or Web Server. If your Website suddenly gets a lot of visitors, your piece of the pie expands. But what happens if you suddenly get so many visitors that your Website starts consuming most or all of the pie, which is equivalent to the Web Server’s computing resources? All the other Websites that are using this pie, or Web Server, are going to experience some trouble. This isn’t fair to them, and as such, even a Web Hosting Provider offering “Unlimited” everything, is going to impose penalties for such actions. The same thing applies to File storage. The pie, or Web Server, is limited in it’s hard drive capacity. If you try to upload four terabytes of files onto a one terabyte hard drive, it’s not going to work.

How is StudioD.tv Hosting different?

We’ve designed our packages to be robust, valuable, and we’ve given them very specific limits. It’s important for you to know exactly what your limits are when it comes to your Website and Web Presence. Knowing your limitations will enable you to plan well and make sure that your Website isn’t inaccessible because of suspension. After all, the first action a prospective customer takes is to go to your company website and learn about what you do. We want to make sure that your prospects and customers can always access your Website. We have hosting packages to fit the needs of most Small Businesses. If you need help in making sure you choose the right one, you can contact us here.

Mystery Solved

Hopefully, this information has helped you gain a better understanding of why there is really no such thing as “Unlimited” Web Hosting. If you, or anyone you, know need Web Hosting services now, or will be needing them soon, we would appreciate you sending them our way. You can use the buttons below to share this on your favorite Social Network or even send an email of this blog post to someone directly. Don’t forget to tell them about our Launch Special; extra savings is always a good thing.

To celebrate our Official Launch, we’re taking an extra 10% off of our already valuable prices. Regardless of what service you wish to purchase, a 10% discount is waiting for you. To get your discount coupon code, simply enter your information into the form below. Once you confirm your email address, you’ll receive your coupon code good for a 10% discount.

Don’t forget to share this great deal with your friends and family.

Cheers!!

So, what is Web Presence?

In our attempt to define Web Presence we took a quick look at the definition for each individual word.

Web: noun 1. something formed by or as if by weaving or interweaving.

Presence: noun the state or fact of existing, occurring, or being present in a place or thing.

In essence, Web Presence can be defined as what is formed as a result of weaving your existence throughout the world wide web.

How can Web Presence be established?

Web Presence is established first by developing a Website that functions as your “Hub”. We refer to your Website as a “Hub” because if it is designed and developed right, you should be able to use it as your primary point of creating and publishing your company’s content and message.

Web Presence Development is a process, a journey, and a task that will last as long as the World Wide Web exists. We’ve developed a system, built around your Website as a “Hub”, that will help you establish, grow, and maintain your Web Presence. The good news is, our system won’t break the bank and it can be managed with only a small time commitment.

Want to learn more?

You can check out our Web Presence Development Package details here. You might also take a look at our Portfolio and take some time to review the Case Studies section of our blog.

Overview/Scope

The Shane’s Rib Shack project was a full Web Presence Development Project. The client had a Website in place previously but they had a number of concerns. Their first concern was traffic. Unfortunately, their traffic was pretty much non-existent for a chain style BBQ Restaurant. Their second concern was the overall lack of ability to make any changes to the site itself.

The Scope of the project on our end was to provide a dynamic Content Management System that was optimized for Search Engine indexing. As well, we had to deliver a “Hub” that would enable them to push their message out to Social Networks automatically. Finally, we were charged with adhering closely to a corporate color scheme that included an extremely harsh and bright red, but our job was to remove the harsh and bright. This was not an easy task as you will see in the Before/After pictures.

The Shane’s Rib Shack franchisee we worked with on this project was fairly new to Social Media. They are leveraging Facebook and Twitter very well. By using the Blog section of the site for announcing specials and store events, our automated system ensures that their Facebook Fans and Twitter followers are always up to date on what’s happening at the store. They plan on utilizing Flickr and YouTube in the near future to gain exposure visually.

This particular location does a lot of catering and delivery of food via a local courier. We were able to build for them an online ordering system that will go live soon. We built the question driven ordering system to use conditional logic so that they can ensure maximum sales. For example, if a customer orders a particular food type, the system will recommend side items and desserts that go well with that food type. As well, there are safeguards built into the ordering system so that a customer is stopped from placing an order if there isn’t enough time for it to be prepared and delivered on schedule.

The Red color was really harsh and usability was a nightmare.

We were able to utilize a much more eye pleasing Red, usability is now very intuitive, and traffic is growing daily.