Honey I shrunk the web!

The writing is on the wall, you know you need your site to be mobile (and tablet) friendly. All the research points to the fact that more and more consumers are checking you out online and increasingly doing it on their mobile device.

Getting an app is probably overkill for the small business person and it isn’t even going to help you gain new customers! What affordable (or free) options do you have to help new mobile customers find you? A lot of the options will depend on how you implemented your online strategy in the past.

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04-24-2013 | Web Design, Web Trends

Cyber-Stats

Mobile phone ownership is quickly outpacing desktop and laptop computer ownership. Trends show that more and more users are getting on the internet with smart phones and other mobile devices instead of the traditional computer.

The internet is in the palm of our hand, what are we doing with it?

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03-24-2013 | Web Design, Web Trends

Size Matters

We live in an amazing, amazing world, and it's wasted on the XXXXXXX generation of spoiled idiots. They wine and complain about how long it takes to get a message, a web page....just give it a second, it's going to space! Louis CK on Conan O'Brien

We live in an amazing, amazing world, and it’s wasted on this generation of spoiled idiots.
They whine and complain about how long it takes to get a message, a web page….just give it a second, it’s going to space!
Louis CK on Conan O’Brien

In the early days of computers when floppy disks were truly floppy I doubt we could have foreseen where computers would take us. We popped in a diskette to load a program, performed the task that the computer was needed for, then, shut the whole thing down. Computers were clunky and slow and could only do one thing at a time, they were for computing, no frills, no bells, no whistles. As technology increased (vacuum tubes going the way of the dinosaur) and manufacturing techniques became more sophisticated consumers demanded that our computers become smaller, faster, more useful, and that is exactly what we got! In fact, we have been so successful that my phone has 100 times the computing power that my old IBM XT model had. With access to these “super computers” 24/7 it is no wonder that ecommerce, especially mobile ecommerce, is flying through the roof. Consumers are checking out your website on the train, at the bistro and while walking on the treadmill. If your site isn’t mobile friendly the user on the train will probably stay – they are bored and have nothing else to do. On the other hand the guy on the treadmill is definitely going to ditch your site. It’s just too small to read while he bobs up and down. OK, that might be a little farfetched, but the scenario isn’t too far from the truth. If your site isn’t easy to use on the device the user has, the user will go to website that is.

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02-24-2013 | Web Design

The day the Earth Stood Still

Pictoral Representation of Godaddy’s Server Status

Where were you September 10th, 2012? If you are like many of GoDaddy’s customer’s you were sitting at your browser hitting your refresh button over and over again while simultaneously watching the trending #GoDaddyCrashes topic on Twitter.

Sometimes being one of the masses can be a liability. Instead of safety in numbers you are one of the expendable many. Rumor and report has it that hacker’s took down GoDaddywith a distributed denial of service attack (DDoS). Why? Perhaps because GoDaddyannounced it’s support of the US Congress’s bill SOPA, anti-piracy legislation, which caused GoDaddyto come under fire from activist groups. While some of those groups were hackers, GoDaddyrenounced their position on SOPA months ago. So, why now? (more…)

09-19-2012 | Domains, Web Hosting

GMail, for my business

I have been using Hosting Matters for web hosting before I new how to float a <div> and despite their wonderful service, great pricing, and intuitive user interface, I have never liked their mail clients. Besides the somewhat confusing log-in url, the landing page is downright confusing (for me to explain to clients).

Once you log-in you are brought to an admin page, which you can’t bypass. You can resest your password or set your autoresponder here and most importantly you can access your email. Yes, each time you log-in you have to pick again your mail client.

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02-27-2012 | Freelance, Web Hosting

Last act as webmaster

My last act as Art Director and Webmaster at STYLE Advertising was the redesign and launch of their new website: styleadvertising.com.

We had three main goals with the redesign:

New design that reflected the direction the agency is moving in
The site needs to provide more information: from services to internship programs
Non developers at STYLE need to be able to update the site themselves

I chose WordPress as the CMS platform. It’s easy to learn and update. The Open Source community provides infinite widgets and plugins for any need they might have – and best of all – I know, understand and LOVE WordPress.

What makes up the new STYLE website?

Custom theme built off the Toolbox framework
Flash on the home page – highlighting STYLE’s core services
Expanded Portfolio showing samples for all types of media
Content written to improve SEO
Plugins for Contact Forms, Columns, Maps and Gallery
An easy to use platform to encourage a site that will remain fresh for years to come

The NEW STYLE Advertising Website

Throughout the year I have been working at STYLE Advertising I have worked with many websites from start-ups to established established businesses; new sites, temporary sites, redesigns and overhauls–we have handled it all. I have worked as the developer building out the HTML and CSS of websites with other designers providing the code and on the flip side of the coin I have provided other developers my Photoshop files for them to code.

Besides web design I also worked with print advertising and marketing, maintaining running advertising campaigns for Medical Weight Loss Solutions and designing products for Bass Minder.

Building this site was my last official act at STYLE Advertising. I was offered, and accepted, a position at Infinity Auto Insurance doing solely web design. While I will miss working at an agency I am very excited to become a part of the Infinity Brand.

Now, to Infinity, and beyond!

01-12-2012 | Graphic Design, Web Design

A Very Merry Multimedia Christmas!

This year’s STYLE Advertising holiday message came in the form of an eCard and video starring yours truly and the rest of the STYLE gang.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

12-21-2011 | Holiday

I’m a berry hunter!

Tim & Emily Stooksberry

At of October 15th, 2011 at 6:15 pm Central Standard Time I married my best friend Tim Stooksberry. For those that need the details our colors were Blue & Purple; we were married on the rooftop of the Redmont Hotel at Sunset; and the father daughter dance was the theme song for Star Trek: The Next Generation.

I did receive a few suggestions for my new name: some were practical – keep the middle name in addition to the maiden name, some were modern – have Tim change his name, and some were just funny: Stooksberry-Hunter! While I did laugh at the thought of myself in a safari outfit hunting for the elusive “stooks” berry I ultimately decided on Emily Hunter Stooksberry.

It will probably be a week or more before I remember to answer to Mrs. Stooksberry; in the mean time I’ll be working on updating my name across all of my email, social media and professional accounts.

Thank you Marcia DeFiore for the fabulous photos.

10-26-2011 | New

Ready to Lose It?

The Surgeons' Group, Specializing in Bariatric Surgery

The NEW Surgeons' Group Website

STYLE Advertising has been working with Dr. John Mathews since the first of the year. First we developed a direct mail piece elaborating on the benefits of baratric surgery and now on a new, and improved, website.

The brochure piece was directed to referring doctors, small, compact, to the point. The website on the other hand is for the curious client, the potential patient. It deals with everything from the procedures themselves, the risks, common fears, and even how to deal with insurance companies.

The original website is a SEO nightmare. The header was a scan of a business card, the home page text was a giant jpg, even the domain name redirected you to a “web.me” address! Currently I’m working on bringing it up from wherever poor SEO banishes websites.

My first goal, besides having index-able text, was to work on the design and site’s organization. Dr. Mathews does more than just gastric bypasses, but you don’t shop around when your gall bladder is about to rupture so you don’t need a website for those areas of the practice. The site could be expanded, to include more information on the other laparoscopic procedures he performs, but for now the main focus is on baraitrics.

Some of my favorite features is the BMI calculator and the seminar form. Patients can register for seminars online, and get reminder emails. This has probably been one of my all time favorite sites to build. The guys at REALIZE & LAPBAND gave me great content to work with, which means that I can do more design and less writing. They included figures, stats, charts and videos.

www.surgeonsgrouppc.com has transformed into a real resource for candidates of bariatric surgery and their family.

Coming soon: Surgeons’ Group’s new Facebook page!

09-20-2011 | Graphic Design, Healthcare, Web Design