Six months and a few thousand dollars later, Sally was shown a mock-up of her site, and was aghast.  It was unusable.  She fired the designer, and came to WebSight Design, who confirmed that her instinct to move on was indeed a very good one.  We scratched all previous work and immediately began working on a design to match the “feel” of what Sally communicated she hoped the site would convey – reliable talent with a bit of pizazz and humor.

Sally, as a content writer with an eye for design and online marketing, wanted the site to clearly depict the professional services her business offered yet with a playful flair.  Unlike some new website owners, she did not need to be “found on the web” or have complicated functionalities but wanted to have a place to showcase her business and share her blog.

Less than 45 hours of work later, just as the calendar switched to 2012, the creative and witty site went LIVE!  Sally was delighted, saying “All of you at WebSight Design perfectly captured the “feel” I was looking for, from colors to layout to flashing my favorite quotes on the About Us (aka “Behind the Curtain”) page.  Thank you.”

Mission accomplished – one more satisfied site owner and, as reported by Sally, many happy site visitors!

Write by Design Site Live For the New Year is a post from: WebSight Design, Inc. company blog. With headquarters in the San Francisco bay area, WebSight Design, Inc. has been providing world class web engineering, creative design and hosting solutions since 1995. WebSight Design

Kristin grew up in central New York, graduated from Harvard, and moved to the Big Apple, New York City. She has worked at a literary agency, taught creative writing, and freelanced for magazines and travel guides.

During her time as a journalist, she interviewed a man named Mark. Mark was a die-hard farmer who’s passion for agriculture caused Kristin’s interest to develop beyond that of her current profession.

In 2004, Mark and Kristin founded Essex Farm – the world’s first full-diet CSA. Since, Essex has flourished, and Kristin has been busy at work, both farming and writing. With the publication of The Dirty Life, Kimball has also written for O Magazine, Vogue, Gourmet Live, and a variety of other publications.

In addition to the critical acclaim of her book, ranging from the New Yorker to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Essex has been featured in magazines such as Food & Wine.

With her new website design, Kristin will extend her online presence to match that of her book and farm’s popularity.

Kristin Kimball Cultivates an Online Following with KristinKimball.com is a post from: WebSight Design, Inc. company blog. With headquarters in the San Francisco bay area, WebSight Design, Inc. has been providing world class web engineering, creative design and hosting solutions since 1995. WebSight Design

This data includes all searches run by each search engine. In other words, any image search, YouTube search, etc. would count towards Google’s monthly searches. In fact searches on the Twitter.com website are technically significantly lower, but the vast array of applications and other websites which implement Twitter API calls, or queries of the Twitter database for direct reporting and use at another web location, drive a significantly higher Twitter monthly search data point.

Twitter monthly searches are based on their system of social network microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text posts, or Tweets, of up to 140 characters. This huge search volume may very well have inspired Google’s newest change in algorithm which attempts to keep up with rapid news releases and posts.

In terms of search engine optimization (SEO), the revelation about the huge monthly search volume is Twitter yet another indicator of why social media is important for your website or other web based business.

Twitter’s Monthly Searches Exceeds that of Yahoo! and Bing is a post from: WebSight Design, Inc. company blog. With headquarters in the San Francisco bay area, WebSight Design, Inc. has been providing world class web engineering, creative design and hosting solutions since 1995. WebSight Design

Although the company is the world’s largest social network, with members numbering over 800 million, it has been pressured by the U.S. Government to disclose its financial statements by no later than April of 2012, regardless of whether it goes public or not. Some suspect that this is the reason for the creation of the Facebook IPO.

In recent social networking news, LinkedIn, Groupon, and Pandora gone public as well, generating massive amounts of working capital for the companies. The Facebook IPO would dwarf these previous IPOs.

Groupon, the fastest company to reach a valuation of $1 billion, went public on November 4 this year. In the past several trading days, GRPN stock prices have plummeted by roughly 40%. Similarly, LinkedIn and Pandora Radio’s stock prices have been experiencing steep declines in value over the last few days. It is unclear if the leak about the Facebook IPO has been coincidental or causal in terms of these recent declines.

Facebook founder and chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, has told reporters that Facebook would go public “when it makes sense … It’s honestly not something I spend time thinking about on a day-to-day basis.”

The real question: How will the Facebook IPO affect user experience, social media marketing, and the world of SEO?

Facebook IPO | The Largest IPO by Any Tech or Internet Company Ever is a post from: WebSight Design, Inc. company blog. With headquarters in the San Francisco bay area, WebSight Design, Inc. has been providing world class web engineering, creative design and hosting solutions since 1995. WebSight Design

Specific elements included a big, colorful announcement of the new album on the home page and changes to the site-wide background image. Replacing an image of Jorge singing and playing guitar from his previous album, Here I Am, the new background depicts a stylized photo of the musician’s hands playing the guitar. This background comes directly from the Gracias Madrecita CD insert artwork.

The new website design also features two additional pages for Gracias Madrecita. One shows photos from the making and recording of the album, while the other provides MP3 song samples which can be played directly on the site. The site also gives users links to buy the album online. Finally, the redesign adds Gracias Madrecita to Jorge’s discography database.

Prominent new features on the site are the home page—with its Gracias Madrecita theme and album artwork—and the Gracias Madrecita pages added deeper into the site.

The newest release of the site adds vibrant color and design elements into the existing site structure. By swapping out the subtle site-wide background image, visitors get a sense of change throughout the site. The new Gracias Madrecita graphic elements are a great color play and focal point for the site.

JorgeSantana.com’s Redesign Promotes His Newest Album, Gracias Madrecita is a post from: WebSight Design, Inc. company blog. With headquarters in the San Francisco bay area, WebSight Design, Inc. has been providing world class web engineering, creative design and hosting solutions since 1995. WebSight Design

Many believe that this bill is a direct violation of American freedom as it restricts online access and, in some cases, freedom of speech.

Including a variety of high profile websites, more than 6,000 sites have signed up to fight against what they are calling the beginning of American censorship. More than 1 million individuals have also joined the cause, sending out concerned emails to congress members across the country.

In fact party members from both sides, Democrats and Republicans, are voicing their opposition to the bill. Nancy Pelosi (D) Tweeted, “Need to find a better solution than #SOPA #DontBreakTheInternet …” Republican House Representative Darrell Issa Re-Tweeted, “If even we agree … RT @NancyPelosi: Need to find a better solution than #SOPA.”

Spearheaded by AmericanCensorship.org, individuals and corporations alike are standing in opposition of what many believe to be a slippery slope and an attack on freedom of speech.

At the same time, corporations with interests in blocking websites which directly affect their sales and profits are in full support of the SOPA backed internet blacklist.

Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, EA, and even Apple support the bill because if the US government was granted the power to block sites which offer music or other media for free, consumers would be forced to go back to paying the corporate giants for their services. This would mean huge profits, despite what would certainly mean website blocking, risk of jail for ordinary users, and a slew of new legal threats to website designers, owners, and online entrepreneurs.

American Censorship vs. “Stop Online Piracy Act” (SOPA) is a post from: WebSight Design, Inc. company blog. With headquarters in the San Francisco bay area, WebSight Design, Inc. has been providing world class web engineering, creative design and hosting solutions since 1995. WebSight Design

WebSight Design is very proud to be a part of the Doobons.com launch. WSD was involved with extensive development and design, as well as search engine optimization. The Doobons site is clean and organized, creating a highly user-friendly interface.

Doobons is a legal medical marijuana dispensary search engine dedicated to providing medical marijuana advice, promotions, and other resources to anybody who might benefit from the use of medical marijuana.

Doobons traces its beginnings to an unsuspecting family member whose father was diagnosed with cancer. When traditional treatments were unable to effectively manage the patient’s pain and chemotherapy was causing a debilitating inability to eat, Doobons’ founder began to search for alternative medicines.

Unaware of how to navigate the world of legal medical marijuana, the Doobons founders quickly realized that no user-friendly and moreover no patient-friendly resources existed to serve those in need of this alternative medicine.

When he saw the great response the patient had, he knew that something had to be done to help patients and their caregivers. Doobons was born.

The site features interactive maps of medical marijuana dispensaries, doctors, lawyers, or other cannabis related businesses. Additionally, location based deals and discounts allow patients to access the very best price for their medication.

Doobons also provides comprehensive resources, such as information on how to get your medical marijuana doctor’s recommendation or cannabis card, which strains or forms of intake are best for particular illnesses or ailments, as well as current up-to-date news.

Doobons is committed connecting medical marijuana patients with the legal help and rights information that they need.

The Doobons team is highly committed to the cure and treatment of ailments which can be treated by alternative medicines. They have begun donating and giving back to the foundations such as The American Cancer Society.

Doobons business members can create profiles including video and photo galleries, company information, reviews section, and product menu option. They also have  the opportunity to create and post banner and geo-targeted ads on the Doobons site, as well as send out email notifications to Doobons patient members.

Doobons.com had its official public launch over the past weekend, November 11 to 13, at the HempCon medical marijuana show in San Jose, and the owners are gearing up to have the Southern California release this coming weekend, November 18 to 20, at the KushExpo in Orange County. Don’t miss your chance to meet the great founders of Doobons.com!

Doobons Launches as the First Truly Professional and Patient-Oriented Medical Marijuana Resource! is a post from: WebSight Design, Inc. company blog. With headquarters in the San Francisco bay area, WebSight Design, Inc. has been providing world class web engineering, creative design and hosting solutions since 1995. WebSight Design

WebSight Design is proud to announce the launch of Cindy Blackman Santana‘s new website! WSD worked closely with Cindy to create the most rockin’ and user-friendly website for her future or current loyal fanbase. Specifically, our team was involved with the design and presentation-layer code.

Cindy is originally from Yellow Springs, Ohio and is a renowned jazz and rock drummer. She has preformed with a variety of other world class musicians, including Lenny Kravitz, Sam Rivers, and Buckethead!

Today, she performs in jazz and rock & roll concerts worldwide. She is currently the touring drummer for Carlos Santana to whom she is also married.

Cindy’s new website includes many great features. The cool moving background give site visitors a sense of levity, and the photo & video galleries allow them to get an inside peek into the life of Cindy Blackman Santana. The website also has loads of other interesting info and ‘tid-bits’ about Cindy.

Cindy Blackman Santana’s Website Design is Rockin’! is a post from: WebSight Design, Inc. company blog. With headquarters in the San Francisco bay area, WebSight Design, Inc. has been providing world class web engineering, creative design and hosting solutions since 1995. WebSight Design

All of this has helped Tri State Restorations grow its business. TriStateRestores.com explains more about what Tri State does and provides detailed information about possible damages related to water, flood, sewage, mold, smoke and fire, and several advices to follow in case of disaster.

Since the development of their great site, WebSight Design has been involved with ongoing search engine optimization (SEO) for the team at Tri State.

WSD has been managing a variety of online marketing and SEO stratagem, including reputation management, tailored and optimized content creation, and several other Google related optimization tactics. The work has also involved a range of interior SEO, such as meta data, titles, and link building.

All Tri State Restorations SEO work has been 100% white hat, and has helped to advance TriStateRestores.com in terms of Google and other SERPs.

As Tri State Restores, WSD Builds Tri State Restoration a Strong SEO Foundation is a post from: WebSight Design, Inc. company blog. With headquarters in the San Francisco bay area, WebSight Design, Inc. has been providing world class web engineering, creative design and hosting solutions since 1995. WebSight Design

Although there are now a number of sites in existence whose sole purpose is to tarnish websites reputations or run online smear campaigns, WebSight Design is now working towards the protection of your online reputation. In fact, we have been handling exactly such a case of smear tactic mitigation with one of our ongoing SEO clients, Tri State Restorations, who was attacked by an outside individual who held a personal vendetta against the otherwise upstanding and honorable commercial and residential damage cleanup company.

Online Reputation Management is the act of handling, addressing, or mitigating search engine results or mentions directed at a specific person, company, or website. Also known as Directory Management, this strategy covers a diverse number of activities which include, but are not limited to, tracking content written about the client, promoting positive remarks, and managing or demoting neutral or negative comments. In recent years, reputation management has come into wide use as Web 2.0 has created a huge arena for online reviews, both good and bad.

Tri State Restorations’ reputation management process involves following the entity’s dealings as they lead to reviewers’ opinions about those actions, then managing responses as necessary.

WebSight Design has recently been engaged in online reputation for this company as a means to protect them from attacks by any competitors or disgruntled individuals.

Protect Your Online Reputation is a post from: WebSight Design, Inc. company blog. With headquarters in the San Francisco bay area, WebSight Design, Inc. has been providing world class web engineering, creative design and hosting solutions since 1995. WebSight Design