The Website Design Process made simple

The Website Design Process made simple

From the Consultation Phase to the Formal Launch, the website design process is rather a simple one with five basic steps. The information tabs below describe those steps and should will give you a pretty good idea what is involved in creating a quality website.

chat_64px1. Consultation Phase: We’ll discuss the goals you want to achieve for your website and the input that you are willing to provide. I’ll also share my expertise and provide advice as needed. We can set up some phone time and/or conduct email consultations to go over these ideas and goal. You’re welcome to send me any follow-up thoughts or ideas we might not have covered on the phone consultations. At this stage I’ll also provide you with the cost estimate.

tools_64px2. Design Phase: Once the proposal/estimate is accepted and your initial deposit is received, I’ll take your ideas, my ideas, and with your ultimate site needs and goals in mind, apply my skills and talents to deliver a preliminary web design. And while I do pride myself on delivering a great product, one has to assume even Rembrandt had an eraser. So at this stage, revisions are included until the design is as you like it, per the terms outlined in the website proposal. At this time I will place the site being developed in maintenance mode and when the homepage is ready, I’ll open it up only for you with specific username and password. While I am available for phone calls during this phase, it is preferable that most correspondence regarding your project, including assets like images, copy and such, are managed via email.

gears_64px3. Implementation Phase: Once the design is approved and the next part of your deposit is received, the design is whisked off to the Implementation phase, where it will be made into a functioning website. Design and structural changes at this point are often well out of scope and can be costly, so please keep that in mind if you tend to be indecisive. During the website development I will send you frequent update reports about the development progress. At this time I strongly encourage you to get acquainted with the WordPress admin panel.

document_64px4. Final Review Stage: Once the website is fully ready we get to the Final Review stage. At this point we double and triple-check that everything is working properly I will have an opportunity to do last-minute browser testing, fine-tuning and catch any bugs before it goes live in a grand-opening sort of way. This is also when I finalize the SEO functionality for the site. I will collect final payment at this stage as well. Migration to a hosting company will take place if required.

devices_64px5. Formal Launch: Lo and behold, your website/blog is officially online, blogging, marketing, monetizing, and blinding everyone on the internet with its awesomeness. And since I’ve built your site using a content management system platform, WordPress will make it easy n’ breezy for you to manage your website from any computer, anywhere. For most packages, I do provide WordPress instruction over the phone or in person (if you are in my area) on how to manage your website. (You’re always welcome to email with any questions as well!) Also, I highly recommend that you have previously submitted a Press Release to me which I will then submit to various news-wire agencies on the internet.

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Is your site mobile?

Is your site mobile?

A well-designed website can fall short if it doesn’t have the right functionality behind it. Websites are no longer limited to computers and if your website isn’t mobile friendly, folks won’t be finding you. Mobile phone, tablets and other hand-held devices have quickly become some of the most common ways that we browse the internet; it is important to ensure that your website is viewable for the ever-increasing amount of mobile visitors. About 20% of all web traffic originates from mobile devices (phones and tablets). And the number will only grow.

However, because mobile users demand different features, simplicity and ease of use, a mobile site shouldn’t be a exact replicas of the full version. I create a version of my clients website specifically for those devices with added scalability, more portability, and enhanced accessibility.

The site I design is usually fully responsive, meaning that it will adapt to various screen sizes in order to display your content in the most readable manner. When viewed on a mobile phone or tablet, the user will no longer need to zoom and scroll around to read the text on the page, making the mobile visitor’s browsing experience much more intuitive. Whether they visit the website on a mobile phone or tablet, or just re-size the browser window, they will see the design adapt to display the content in the most intuitive manner for that size screen.

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MARBA in the works

MARBA in the works

Have you heard? WunderWebs is in the midst of updating the The Manassas Airport Regional Business Alliance (MARBA) website! The new site, which will debut later this month, has a cleaner, modernized look to it. Check out the link below for a quick look: MARBA

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Is your email address hurting you?

indexIt could be, if your e-mail address ends with @gmail.com, @aol.com, @hotmail.com, @cox.net or another consumer/personal type e-mail address domain.

Here are some reasons why:

1) Unprofessional: Your email address is like a handshake; it might be the first impression you make on a client. Simply put, using consumer types of e-mail accounts can blow your credibility as a serious and established business. Worse, they can raise red flags about you and your company. It’s considered more professional and recognizable to use an email address with your business domain name rather than something such as Yahoo, Gmail, or Hotmail. read more…

Domains 101 – Everything you need to know

websites 101

Perhaps you’re thinking about getting a website or starting a blog? Well, the internet can be a confusing place to most, even some seasoned veterans find it all a bit difficult to understand the technical terms. If you’re wondering exactly what a website or blog is, or what you are purchasing when you register a domain and how hosting works, you’ve come to the right place. Here are answers to some of the most common questions about website stuff: read more…

Bardic Voice Studio

Bardic Voice Studio

BardicVoice Studio has a new website! WunderWebs is pleased to announce the launch of a new website featuring Mary Dominiak’s work as a voice actor and audio production services provider. Mary is an excellent and versatile voice talent who distinguishes herself as an audio book narrator and subject matter expert for all technical narrations. BardicVoice Studio delivers a variety of audio needs, both non-broadcast and local broadcast-quality, audio books and e-learning projects. Mary’s voice has also served as a vocal ambassador for the Smithsonian’s Accessibility Program. read more…

Give a Girl a Shoe

Give a Girl a Shoe

GiveaGirlaShoe.com is a New York City based Personal Style Blog by Amanda Politte. According Ms. Politte, who has worked in the accessory industry for almost 5 years, her goal was to create an outlet to share her own style story as well as her life and love for New York.

The new website by WunderWebs offers a clean, modern design, easy-to-navigate functionality, and a content-rich site experience. The ‘Shop the Style’ function enables customers to quickly and easily find and order the actual items modeled on the blog. read more…

How I do a website review

reviewjpgI am often asked to perform a review or analysis on an existing website. Sometimes the client hopes to discover the marketing weaknesses and strengths of their site. Sometimes, they are hoping I can identify opportunities to improve website effectiveness. There are numerous reasons, but the process is still pretty much the same.

Basic website review: A basic review provides a overview of the effectiveness of the client website through external observation. I look at their website through search engines and as a visitor to the site. I primarily view the site using the conventional internet access plus a variety of tools and methods. The objective is to see the website the way the world sees it. The following is an example of a report I recently prepared for a client. read more…

2014 Manassas Airshow

2014 Manassas Airshow

Launched a new website for the 2014 Manassas Airshow. It’s not exactly like child-birth, but it’s damn close. Anyhooo, it’s come a long way from the original design version! Though it is still very much a work in progress. I’ve uploaded all the info I have, and some of it probably needs a “sanity check” to make sure it’s 99.9% accurate. Still in the process of editing and uploading a ton of photos from previous years to the gallery. Some of the rotating background photos may change, but if I waited for it to be absolutely perfect, it would never get launched. The URL? Why it’s http://manassasairshow.com/ of course! read more…

AviationEvent.com

AviationEvent.com

Aviation enthusiasts in the Mid-Atlantic region interested in attending air shows, fly-ins and other aviation events now have a new tool at their disposal. WunderWebs.com, the premier website, blog design, and marketing community, owned and operated by Sandra Miller-Long, has launched a new, community-driven events listing and calendar based website, http://aviationevent.com. The design features an interactive events calendar for aviation related activities, a community blog, social networking and email sign-ups for newsletters. read more…

AviationEd

AviationEd

AviationED recently hired WunderWebs to redesign their website and re-launched to wide acclaim! The new website now clearly describes all of the features the aviation education organization offers, is extremely easy to navigate, and contains a student learning interface.

About AviationEd
AviationEd is an organization of aviation and educational professionals committed to inspiring the next generation to pursue higher education and aviation careers. The organization accomplishes its mission with school enrichment, after school, and summer programs in addition to providing financial awards. read more…

EAA 186 Young Eagles

EAA 186 Young Eagles

EAA Chapter 186 today announced the launch of its new Young Eagles website, eaa186youngeagles.org, featuring the design work of chapter member, Sandra Miller-Long, owner of Wunderwebs.com (AKA, the WebGoddess.) When it came to designing the website, the desire was for something fun and engaging for all audiences, but still functional and informative. The WebGoddess accomplished this by building the site on a WordPress platform and then custom coded it to the hilt. read more…

Why I hate Flash

If you want an expensive website that is slow to load, bad for your SEO ranking, costly to maintain, crashes browsers, drains battery life, invisibly to most viewers and annoys those who actually can see it, then sure — go ahead and use Flash.

As a website designer and developer, Flash presents so many issues for my clients that I refuse to work with it anymore. A quick Google search for the term “Flash sucks” and it’s easy to see that it’s not just designers; most users hate it too.

Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice. It was a successful business for Adobe and it was fun while it lasted, but the mobile era now is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.

Why Flash Sucks

Slow loading — It’s simple. Nobody wants to be annoyed by having to wait forever for some fancy doodad to load — if it even works at all. Not only does it load slowly, it doesn’t scale, and it’s cumbersome. It might seem like a great idea to add a 2-minute long introduction video to your site to demonstrate to your audience how credible/clever/current your business is. But don’t do it. 80% of your visitors will close the browser tab before your intro finishes because they don’t care. Seconds count. read more…

My 5 favorite blogs of 2012

top 5 blogsBlogging is an art. We know that. It’s about the writing, the subject matter, the prose. And yes, it’s about the design, the graphics and photos, too. But a great blog is much more than that. It’s really about the personality.

When a blogger writes a post, it is a reflection of who they are and what they feel at that moment. It is not about pleasing other people and making everyone happy. It is about sharing. Sometimes as bloggers, we say stupid and ugly things, and we regret it. Sometimes we are brilliant and amaze even ourselves. And sometimes we just feel like being silly and light. It’s about allowing insight into your guts, into who you are–putting it out there for the entire world to read. No guts, no glory. Love me, love my guts. Here are my passions, my loves, my hates. Running the risk that you might offend, embarrass your family, regret being so candid. Why take that risk? Because writing without personality is dead. Boring. And while boring writing (perhaps more gently referred to as technical writing) has its place, most blogs, even the technical ones, benefit when at least a little of the authors personality comes shining through.

Here then, without further ado, is a short list of the more personality-filled blogs I’ve been following for the past year. At least for the past year. Some for many years. These are the blogs I go to late at night martini in hand, or early in the day while sipping my morning coffee. They inform, inflame, delight, and oftentimes comfort me. Their self-revealing posts reassure me that as abnormal as I may be, I really am still perfectly normal. Whatever that may be. read more…

A great new app!

Copyright © Red Piggy Press, LLC 2011–2013

Just wanted to sing the praises about a great new app, great new book, and a great new company! “All Fixed Up” is an Interactive Storybook for iPad, brought to you by Red Piggy Press and is the brain child of founders Shelly Bowen and Tracy Hopcus Jordana. This interactive children’s book app for iPad, illustrated by the award-winning artist read more…

7 ways to make Google happy

google popularity1 WordPress! I can’t stress this enough. If you aren’t using WordPress on your site, you are missing out on the single best way to market your website. And WordPress isn’t just for blogs any more. Today, more and more websites are being designed on a WordPress platform and for good reason. WordPress is super SEO and search engine friendly and saves you money in reduced maintenance costs because you can do most updates yourself. read more…

Avant•zato

Avant•zato

Rik Jonna, a self-taught artist, was born in Detroit MI. From early childhood he developed an interest in drawing and painting propelling him to enter contests and excel in the arts. At the age of 12, he also began playing the guitar and while in his teens, befriended pop-jazz guitar great George Benson. Rik’s passion and love for the instrument ultimately motivated him to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston MA, where he earned a degree in Arranging & Composition. He has since co-written with Grammy Award winning guitarist Earl Klugh, and over the years has studied privately and taken Master Class lessons on a personal basis with his mentor and “big brother” – jazz guitar virtuoso – Pat Martino. read more…

Karaoke Guy

Karaoke Guy

When you want the very best karaoke show in town, book an On-Stage Tonight show featuring Johnny Stewart! Johnny offers a reliable, affordable and professional solution to the entertainment needs of any event– including restaurants, clubs, bars, private homes, corporate events, weddings and parties.

But don’t be expecting the traditional karaoke show-–Johnny is a musician with a lifetime of experience and has the knowledge and the equipment needed to deliver the highest quality karaoke show possible with a reputation for bringing the fun to your party! read more…

Metro Green Car Service

Metro Green Car Service

One of the newest airport car service in Michigan, Metro Green Car Service, came to WunderWebs looking for a website and blog to help promote their successful venture. Based in the Detroit area, they were looking for an eye-catching, fresh design to enhance their marketing and “green brand” philosophy.

Metro Green Car Service had more than a handful of great ideas they wanted included. Above all else, it had to be GREEN! They also required an updated logo and a complete read more…

Blanca’s Cleaning Services

Blanca’s Cleaning Services

When Blanca Contreras wanted a website to promote her home and business cleaning services she knew right where to go. The ideal solution was a $99 DIY website package from WunderWebs. The WebGoddess set her up with a WordPress platform for the website and helped her obtain the domain name. The WunderWebs DIY website also came with free technical support for one year and free hosting. Can’t beat that! All Blanca had to do was find a free WordPress theme she liked and a few enhancements by the WebGoddess and her site was designed, functional and ready to go! read more…

Don’t waste your money on SEO

While there may be some reputable SEO companies out there who offer a good service at a fair price, in my opinion, most of them are nothing more than a way for you to waste money. You would be amazed at the number of SEO companies still using outdated tactics without anyone exposing that they are doing nothing effective to improve rankings. read more…

Keyboard tricks for Windows

Full screen view: If you are surfing on small monitor and want to use full screen to view websites, simply press the F11 key and your browser will remove all toolbars and address bar. The result — a full screen to view the website! To switch to normal mode, press F11 again.

View desktop: To make all open windows transparent so you can view the gadgets an icons on your desktop, press [Windows] + [Spacebar] read more…

American Airport Service

American Airport Service

American Aiport Car Service knew a thing or two about providing excellent, comfortable and safe travel service to and from the Detroit Metro Airport. After all, they had been in the airport sedan business in southeast Michigan for over eight years. But they also knew their website at the time was dated, lacking in information, and didn’t reflect the quality of their company or their service.

Their main desire was for a professional look with clear navigation that provided a easy way for their clients and customers to login, check for quotes, or make a reservation. But most importantly — it had to reflect the pride they have in America and the name of their company. read more…

Search sites without search box

How to Search Through a Website Without a Search Box

So what do you do when you want to find something on a website but there is no search box? Or if there is one, it’s almost impossible to find? All you need to know is one simple trick. Simply append the URL of the website with this string: ?s=keyword

For example to search this site for all pages that reference the term “webgoddess” you would type in the URL area at the top of the page: wunderwebs.com/?s=webgoddess

Try it and see what you get for a result 😉

For multiple word queries just add the + sign. For example if you wanted to search this site for pages that contain the word “webgoddess” and “spam” you would type this into the URL area:

wunderwebs.com/?s=webgoddess+spam

See, easy peasy!

Why I hate Internet Explorer

When a developer creates a website for a client it needs to be compatible (look and work the same) in all popular browsers. For most every browser, this really isn’t that difficult a task. They all play rather well together. All, but Internet Explorer (IE). IE has been so bad at staying up to par on web standards, we have to hack and tweak the website code to make it compatible with IE and still appear the same in Chrome and Firefox. As a website developer, I can tell you that IE has been nothing short of a nightmare. It has an awful reputation and it’s well deserved.

Here’s what usually happens — you spend days/weeks/months designing a website. You test it out in Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and even Opera. It looks awesome! It performs flawlessly. Everything is where it should be, and it all comes together in a seamless delight. Then comes the moment of truth — you must open it up to test it in IE. More often than not, in IE the page looks like somebody put it into a blender, hit the mix button and forgot the lid. So now you have to spend double the amount of time trying to fix it to look tolerable in IE, meanwhile begging your client to please try a different browser. Of course, you could design for IE first, but then it would horrific in all the other browsers, so there really is no winning scenario here.

So, why does this happen?

Websites all follow certain standards, currently HTML 4 is the one mostly used (HTML 5 is coming on strong). JavaScript and CSS are other standards. Most website browsers such as Chrome and Firefox strive to follow these standards as much as possible. This ensures that a website will look exactly the same no matter what browser you use. But in the case of IE, Microsoft doesn’t follow the those standards. And because of that, it forces developers to create specifically supported IE versions of each website page.

Then why is IE so popular with users?

The only reason most people use IE is because Microsoft has made IE the default web browser for Windows and the average customer starts using it blindly. Often times, they simply are unaware that there are much better browsers available. Even when a developer or a web savvy person suggests a better browser to IE users, many IE users don’t really understand the benefit of changing even though all browsers are free to download and use. However, once a person has even limited experience with a better browser, they usually switch never to return to the land of IE. Why? Because no one wants to browse through the internet slower, or see web pages with missing links. And I haven’t even mentioned the security vulnerabilities of Internet Explorer. That’s a whole blog post in itself.

To be fair, IE 9 is the current version and I’ve been told it supposed to be faster and safer than the previous versions, and Microsoft is already hyping up the next version — IE 10. All that is fine and dandy, but from my stats tracker, I can see that the vast majority of visitors to my sites are still using IE6 and 7. In fact, no one visiting this WunderWebs site is using IE9. Not a one. So that means I am still forced to design for the old versions until rendering standards of IE and other browsers finally converge. And since IE6 has been out for over 10 years now, this convergence might not happen for another 10 years time when all IE users everyone will at least be upgraded to IE9.

*sigh*


New – $99 DIY Website or Blog!

Need a professional looking website or blog but right now your are on a very limited budget? You don’t want to hire a web designer and you don’t want to become an expert at web design; you just want to quickly build a good looking website for your business? Then maybe a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) website from WunderWebs is just the ticket for you. These days you DIY furniture, accessories, your home, why not DIY your own blog or website?

For the modest price of $99, the WebGoddess here at WunderWebs will set you up with a basic WordPress website or blog, hosted on her server, that you can simply “skin” yourself with any of the many free themes available all across the internet.

This DIY Website Design package include everything you need to create a unique and successful Web presence for your business: Domain name, builder-friendly website or blog, email addresses, CMS WordPress platform, MySQL database and more. In addition, the WebGoddess offers one free year of technical support for you to ask any specific questions about your website. Hosting is also free for the first year! Included in this package is an instruction sheet for working with WordPress and a list of websites that will help you on your DIY website-blog design journey. Interested? Contact the WebGoddess today and see if this could be the right solution for you!

Never use ALL CAPS all bold or more than one !!!

When it comes to website readability, nothing turns off a visitor quicker than the use of all caps, or too much bold, or the overuse of the exclamation point!!!!

Never, ever, ever use more than one exclamation point.

Regardless of what many people seem to believe, typing several exclamation points does not make a sentence seem any more important. Quite the contrary. Rather than conveying urgency, multiple exclamation points only scream “THIS IS LIKELY AN EXAGGERATION!”

Think about it: Do multiple exclamation points really impress you when you see them? Are you more likely to believe something because it has four blaring exclamation points at the end? Or do you have the opposite reaction? Most of us do. We are so used to desperate marketeers trying to sell us something with their exclamation marks, that when we see lots of them we sense that desperation and tend to discount what they’re saying. read more…

Why do I get so much spam?

There are several reason why you are getting so much spam, but the main reason probably is that your email address is nekkid all over the internet. Just Google your email address and you’ll see what I mean. If you are like most people who have had their email address for a while, most likely it’s everywhere as a hot link or text. That means spam bots can easily find it and harvest it for their collection of active email addresses.

How did my email addy get nekkid?

Unfortunately, more often than you realized, you may have posted your email address in public on a web site. For example, let’s say you mention your email address in a comment you posted on someone’s blog. Spammers regularly scour the internet looking for anything that looks like an email address, and they start sending spam to it. Or perhaps you posted your email address in public on a newsgroup or forum. Many forums still display publicly whatever email address you give them. Many do not, so it’s important to know the difference.

One unintentional way is that a friend of yours may have forwarded an email of yours without removing your email address from it. I see this all the time with forwarded humor – people hit forward and then fail to take the time to remove all the email headers from the body of the message. That email frequently ends up getting forwarded to people who then scan the email body for anything that looks like an email address.

There are many more ways that spammers can get your email address; Spam is, unfortunately, inevitable.

So, what can you do?

I know it makes it difficult when you want to market your site and services all across the internet, or sign up for deals and steals, but every time you place your email address out there you are inviting spammers to come harvest it. It’s always best to try to hide your email address in a form if possible. But sometimes that simply cannot be done. While I have set up an email form for each of my clients on their Contact page, that only helps disguise it on their own website.

You can sometimes reduce the amount of spam by making sure your ISP and/or your email program has a spam filter, and that the filter is enabled. There is sometimes an added fee for this service, but if you get a lot of email, it’s well worth it.

Of course, you can always change your email address periodically. But this can be painful since all your contacts need to update their information in order to contact you.

The real answer is that there is no one answer. There is no single solution that will make spam stop without also preventing legitimate messages from getting through.

The good news!

The good news is that by following a combination of actions, you can greatly reduce the amount of spam you do receive. As the WebGoddess, my email address is all over the internet, but fortunately by using the recommendations listed below I have been able to keep my spam to a very reasonable level. Perhaps one or two a month. I can live with that.

  • Use a contact form on your website instead of a hotlink or plain text.
  • Disguise your e-mail addresses posted in public places. use the word AT and DOT in place of the @ symbol and period.
  • Carefully read privacy policies at sites asking for your e-mail address and look for opt-out choices.
  • Use multiple e-mail addresses, including ones for specific purposes such as posting to newsgroups.
  • Consider a spam filter if your Internet service provider offers one.

Of course it helps a great deal if you have an email address that isn’t gmail or yahoo or hotmail or verizon or att or wowway or, well you get the picture. Those are the email types spam bots actively seek out. If you can, buy a domain name, create an email associated with that domain, and then set it up so you can access your email either through Outlook or your favorite browser. Need help with this? Contact me and I’ll be glad to set up something for you;-)

As always,


Woo Karaoke

Woo Karaoke

Gerrie Woo has long been a repeat and loyal client to WunderWebs since the WebGoddess designed her first website back in 1997. This is the fifth project WunderWebs has done for Woo (as she prefers to be called) and as usual it was a great pleasure! The WebGoddess redesigned her website updating it to something a little more modern and clean, giving it a more professional edge while still appealing to her fun-loving audience. From there, finding a way to properly display the wide variety of content on the site in an organized fashion, while keeping it easy to navigate and clutter free was the goal. This latest design was created on a CMS platform for not only the blog section, but the home page, interior pages, photo galleries, music showcase and events calendar as well.

WooKaraoke.com has always been the flagship website for Woo and Friends Karaoke at the Sheraton La Jolla, featuring the incomparable Gerrie Woo, former Playboy Bunny, as host of one of the most exciting and longest running karaoke shows in San Diego. Woo, who has entertained millions around the world with her singing and dancing, brings her finely tuned sense of professionalism to the karaoke stage. Here you can Visit the Music section of the website to listen to clips from some of Woo’s songs recorded with the legendary Jack Constanzo. Music aficionados proclaim these recordings to already be jazz classics!

It’s always fun to check out the PHOTOS section where you will not only find galleries of the Woo and Friends Karaoke singers (updated weekly) but also photos of Woo’s early years as Playboy Bunny and model for world famous photographer, Peter Gowland. A favorite section is called “Karaoke Notes.” This contains articles written by Woo divulging some of the secrets of her success as an award-winning karaoke host in San Diego. Learn about her “No Nonsense Rotation” that makes her shows anything but your traditional karaoke show.

Better yet, visit Woo in person at her shows at the Sheraton La Jolla and experience what it’s like to sing with a musical legend at the controls.

The Woo Karaoke time machine of websites (absent the first one)

  • Professional website package with blog
  • Custom designed header, background and logo
  • CMS Platform with Admin Panel
  • HTML, PHP and CSS
  • Music files and player
  • Event calendar
  • Featured image slideshow
  • Visit the website.

Walk for Farm Animals

Note: This fundraising event is over. Thanks to all who made donations!

Most people don’t realize that there are no federal laws protecting farm animals from cruelty while they are housed on a farm or during transport to slaughter. There are limited protections for cows and pigs at slaughter that are inconsistently enforced and no protections for chickens or turkeys. Factory farms—which raise and slaughter billions of farm animals each year—view animals as cheap commodities rather than as individuals with their own needs and feelings. The cruelty inflicted by factory farms on these helpless animals is unconscionably brutal and would be considered a felony if cats or dogs were the victims. The donations raised help educate the public about these egregious abuses and support legislation to end them. read more…

Ragmeister Ragdolls

Ragmeister Ragdolls

After 15 years with the same old, dated website, Ragmeister Ragdolls of Southern California approached WunderWebs for a sparkling new website design. The desire was for something warm and engaging for all audiences, but still functional and informative. The WebGoddess, accomplished this with the primary use of textures in a muted blue-seal scale allowing the irresistible Ragdoll images to take center stage.

For this project, the WebGoddess utilized a WordPress platform and custom coded it to the hilt. She provided not only basic website information, but the ability to view kittens ready for adoption, watch Ragdoll videos provided by happy clients, read Ragmeister testimonials and reviews, and gain an inside look at the Ragdoll Breed –- fabulous cats with incredible personalities.

Ragmeister Ragdolls has been breeding purebred Ragdoll kittens for 21 years. The difference between a Ragmeister Ragdoll kitten and all the others is the attention to personality that Gary Strobel has been developing for more than two decades. His kittens are offered with a 3 year health guarantee and their first shots. Integrity and honesty are hallmarks when dealing with Ragmeister Ragdolls.

Ragmeister Ragdolls

Ragmeister Ragdolls of Southern California specializes in healthy, sweet, large Ragdoll kittens and has been around longer than most Ragdoll breeders. A free book “The Guide to Owning a Ragdoll Cat”, written by Gary, comes with each kitten and they are always available for support and questions. Numerous customers return for their second or even third Ragdoll after experiencing the difference in a Ragmeister kitten.

Whether you have a business looking to expand to the web, a small business that hasn`t yet seen the results hoped for online, or a home based business just getting started, WunderWebs focus is on finding specific solutions to your online challenges.

  • Professional website package with blog
  • Custom designed header, background, navigation and logo
  • CMS Platform with Admin Panel
  • HTML, PHP, JavaScript and CSS
  • Video files
  • Image slideshow and gallery
  • Site design and development
  • Visit the website.

Domain Names, Hosting… Help!

Confused by the difference between domain name, a URL and a website? You are not alone! Many WunderWebs clients come to me not knowing a single thing about how all of this web stuff works. They just know that they want a website and find themselves befuddled by all the gobbledy gook surrounding the process of obtaining one. That’s what I’m here for. read more…

What if I’m not in your area?

What if I’m not in your area? Can you design a sign for me?

Ah, the world wide web. It’s kind of like a cyber-world tour pass – we can go virtually anywhere, at anytime, with a good internet connection. If I’m not in your area – not a problem. Many of the websites in my portfolio were completed by working long-distance. During development you are able to see live progress and offer suggestions anytime. We can always discuss the project over the phone or by email. There are absolutely no limitations working this way. read more…

Alex & Jane Shapemakers

Alex & Jane Shapemakers

The challenge: Showcase the new clothing line by young designer, Alex Zoref, with a youthful website design based on the company branding and logo, include several interactive image galleries from photographer Beth Lutz, and incorporate an extensive online e-commerce store.

The WebGoddess accomplished this by first creating a website that keeps the design minimal and draws the eye to the high quality products. Working with the WP-Commerce application, she then added the ability to sell the large variety of clothing products, accessories and toys, calculate tax, shipping and more — all without the owners having to lift a finger!

Alex & Jane, also known as Alex & Jane Shapemakers, is clearly not just another kid’s clothing line and adds a new twist to children’s clothing. Children helped select designs and shapes that were found to be of particular interest to kids. Additionally, the company utilizes inspirational and empowering sayings on products, helping set it apart from your typical children’s clothing company. The sayings were developed by the expertise of licensed psychologist Marcie Weitzman Zoref, Psy.D, as well as by other team members. By combining shapes and empowering sayings, the product is educational, enlightening and a framework for stimulating conversation.

Alex & Jane carries children’s clothing sizing from Newborn thru 10-12, including onesies, infant tees, toddler tees, youth tees and tanks. The line is expanding rapidly, so look out for new products. Alex & Jane clothing is tag less and 100% cotton, making them super appealing for little ones. Cool, shape-related novelty toys are also available. The prices are reasonable and the Alex & Jane company has a green footprint, helping make Alex & Jane a competitive children’s clothing line in 2012.

  • Enterprise website package
  • Custom designed header, background, and navigation
  • CMS Platform with Admin Panel
  • HTML, PHP, JavaScript and CSS
  • E-commerce store with shopping cart
  • Image galleries
  • Site design and development


Remove or fix broken links

There are a couple of reasons why it’s important to avoid broken links on a website:

1) Negative impact on your website’s ratings with major Search Engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing etc. Search engines will add demerits for broken links which can cause you to slip down in their placement.

2) Damage to your reputation online. Most online users sooner or later will get frustrated enough to never come back to the site.

Test your links.

Make sure your site works! Load your site in a browser and make sure all the images appear correctly, then click on all the links. You wouldn’t believe how may sites have broken images or internal links don’t work right? Who wants to visit a site like that. It screams unprofessional or, at the very least, careless. read more…

Avoid distracting elements

Don’t distract your visitors with animated GIFs, blinking or scrolling text, or auto-loading sound.

Conventional wisdom is that people will be drawn to an animated ad on a website, but it’s actually the opposite. Readers who are assaulted by blinking ads are more likely to leave the site immediately without clicking on anything, and are far less likely to bookmark the site, return to it, link to it, and recommend it. It’s like trying to read a newspaper when someone’s poking you in the shoulder repeatedly. read more…

Why I love WordPress!

The first step toward internet success is, of course, a great website. Your website must be attractive, easy to navigate, and interactive for users. At the same time, it needs to be easy for you to use on the back end, so that you can create new content, make quick changes, and interact with your clients without the headaches associated with most digital endeavors. Luckily, there is a somewhat magical solution to fit those needs – it’s called WordPress. read more…

Willowpatch Note Cards

Willowpatch Note Cards

Wendie Purtell, a talented illustrator, and her husband Jim approached the WebGoddess with an idea to expand their popular Willowpatch Note Cards to the internet. With a rapidly growing retail audience, they decided to take their notecards national with an e-commerce website. As a concept, they knew they wanted the website to tap into their love of the outdoors, their dogs, fly fishing, and an occasional cat or two.

Using WordPress allowed the WebGoddess to provide them with an admin panel for their online store. She set her sights on the brilliant colors of “Pure Michigan” to offset the gentle yet elegant illustrations of the note cards. The site features a custom e-commerce shopping cart sidebar, as well as category and subject widgets.

Keep your website fresh

When was the last time your posted anything on your site? A week, a month, 3 months? If you haven’t added new content to your site in awhile, then you are doing yourself a huge disservice. People search the internet for current information. They want information that is relevant to what they are doing right now. If your content is from 3 years ago, chances are that it is no longer current or meaningful to what is going on now. Make sure you are posting updated and current content to your site. It is okay to go back through your old content and update it too. As a matter of fact, please do! Your visitors will thank you for it and so will the search engines. read more…

Ragmeister Ragdolls Launches New Website

Ragmeister Ragdolls Launches New Website After 15 Years
San Diego, CA, November 2, 2011 – Ragmeister Ragdolls of Southern California has moved into the 21st Century with the release of their new website Ragdoll.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) – Nov 02, 2011 –
After 15 years of the same old web site, Ragmeister Ragdolls of Southern California has finally released a sparkling new web site.

Ragmeister Ragdolls has been breeding purebred Ragdoll kittens for 21 years. “The difference between a Ragmeister Ragdoll kitten and all the others is the attention to personality that Gary Strobel has been developing for more than two decades. His kittens are offered with a 3 year health guarantee and their first shots. Integrity and honesty are hallmarks when dealing with Ragmeister Ragdolls.

When it came to designing a new website, the desire was for something warm and engaging for all audiences, but still functional and informative. Sandra Miller-Long, the WebGoddess from http://www.WunderWebs.com, accomplished this with the primary use of textures in a muted blue-seal scale allowing the irresistible Ragdoll images to take center stage.

For this project, the WebGoddess utilized a WordPress platform and custom coded it to the hilt. She provided not only basic website information, but the ability to view kittens ready for adoption, watch Ragdoll videos provided by happy clients, read Ragmeister testimonials and reviews, and gain an inside look at the Ragdoll Breed– fabulous cats with incredible personalities.

About Us
http://www.Ragdoll.org specializes in healthy, sweet, large Ragdoll kittens. Ragmeister Ragdolls of Southern California has been around longer than most Ragdoll breeders. A free book “The Guide to Owning a Ragdoll Cat”, written by Gary, comes with each kitten and they are always available for support and questions. Numerous customers return for their second or even third Ragdoll after experiencing the difference in a Ragmeister kitten.

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Whether you have a business looking to expand to the web, a small business that hasn`t yet seen the results hoped for online, or a home based business just getting started, WunderWebs focus is on finding specific solutions to your online challenges.

Grind Legal

Grind Legal

Working with rapper and recording artist Charles Thomas (Laid Diamond) was nothing short of exhilarating! He came to WunderWebs with an idea for a website where independent artists and music lovers could come together as a collaborative force, giving themselves a greater opportunity for their music to be heard. The desire was for something dynamic and engaging for all audiences, but still functional and informative. The WebGoddess transformed his vision into a metallic and gritty, yet sleek and sophisticated, online music store. She accomplished this with the primary use of textures in a gray scale, allowing the album graphics to take center stage.

Charles also wanted the site to have a MP3 player to encourage sampling of original music and mix-tapes, as well the ability for immediate downloads at time of purchase. The size and complexity of the site, as it runs an online store, ‘static’ website, and a fully-functional membership forum, required that the WebGoddess incorporate a powerful e-commerce plugin for WordPress. This plugin was styled to match the site, along with multiple additional plugins and custom widgets to achieve the functionality and look desired. There was a lot of custom programming for this site and technically it was a project that challenged her skill-set, but the result was well worth it.

Are you a independent singer, musician, or band? Are you looking for a website to sell MP3 downloads of your music? Do you want a place to show off your music for free? Why not sign up with the Grind Legal today and they will feature you and your music in their GL Artist section!

Cher – the Experience

Cher – the Experience

When the WebGoddess got the green light from Laura Steele to design a new website for her, she couldn’t have been more thrilled. While Laura had a site that suited her very well for the earlier part of her “Cher tribute” career, a new addition to her stage show (Cher to the Max), along with a desire for a more updated, dynamic look meant it was time for a complete website overhaul from the ground up.

The first stop was assessing the “Cher look” Laura wanted to convey. She used words like ‘gothic’, ‘metallic’, ‘glitter’ and ‘fabulous’. She also explained that she wanted the site to have a similar “look and feel” as Cher’s Caesar’s Palace website, but at the same time reflecting Laura’s own dynamic “Cher the Experience” brand in pink and black. And finally, for inspiration, she sent a video of herself performing as Cher as well as provided several photos from her many shows.

Taking all this into account, the WebGoddess created a dramatic, show-stopping design that reflects not only Laura’s fabulous tribute to Cher, but her own personality as well. Laura’s new site is quite elaborate in terms of design overlay, images and video.

For this project, the WebGoddess utilized a WordPress platform and custom coded it to the hilt providing not only basic website information, but the ability to “request a quote”, watch Laura’s videos, read her show reviews, and gain an inside look at the Laura Steele– the fabulous person as well as the incredible performer.

Magnolia Etiquette Launches New Website

Magnolia School of Etiquette Launches New Website

The Magnolia School of Etiquette offers etiquette enrichment classes with emphasis on social graces, dining formality and old fashioned manners for modern times to primary and secondary schools, charter and magna schools, colleges, community centers, various groups and private individuals.

San Diego, CA, July 17, 2010 –(PR.com)– Civility and manners are as important today as they ever were and we are often judged by something as simple as how we hold our fork to the strength of our handshake. Many families struggle to find time at the dinner table with the entire family – the place where most dining etiquette would be discussed or taught.

In today’s fast-paced, high-tech and increasingly busy lifestyle…manners…or worse yet, the lack thereof, are becoming a lost art. With families on the run to meetings, sports events, school affairs, office and travel…children and young adults are learning very little when it comes to simple and basic social graces and dining etiquette.

We are living in the “techno-age” using cell phones inappropriately and brandishing hurtful emails with a click of the “Send” button. We vigorously text the entire time someone is having a conversation with us…distantly nodding with monosyllabic replies as though we are a thousand miles away.

The Magnolia School of Etiquette is committed to teaching the art of southern-style manners and the development of comportment that exudes kindness, grace, and generosity of spirit to adolescents and adults. The South is world-famous for their gracious and proper manners. At The Magnolia School of Etiquette, we are delighted to teach the standard rules of social, dining, and business etiquette, combined with the gentle and unpretentious hospitality of the Deep South.

Participants will gain confidence and an improved sense of self-esteem through our interactive and informative classes using role-play, multi-media, workbooks, and props.

The Magnolia School of Etiquette was founded by Jonnie Fox Flanagan. Jonnie was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana where she enjoyed exquisite dining at famous and fabulous restaurants such as Brennans, Arnauds, Commander’s Palace, Emeril’s and the original “Ruth’s” Chris Steak House during her 35 years in the South.

Before moving to San Diego, CA. Her professional background included advertising and media relations for NBC affiliate WDSU-TV, Clear Channel radio affiliate WQUE-FM, CitiBusiness Business Journal and serving as Corporate Sales Manager for the New Orleans Saenger Performing Arts Theatre. She was also employed as Executive Assistant to Vice President of Business Operations for the NBA franchise, New Orleans Jazz.

In these highly publicized employment opportunities, Jonnie was inspired by the traditional Southern hospitality, social graces and art of fine dining that permeates the uniquely historic and festive “City of New Orleans”.

With comprehensive training and tutelage under Sue Fox, Founder of Etiquette Survival, author, and one of the leading etiquette education experts in the country, Jonnie founded The Magnolia School of Etiquette.

They offer etiquette enrichment classes with emphasis on social graces, dining formality and old fashioned southern manners, to K-12 schools, community centers, various groups and private individuals.
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The MagnoliaEtiquette.com website was designed and developed by the WebGoddess at WunderWebs.

The Zalewski Project

The Zalewski Project

This project began back in 2007 by three cousins who had never met: Karen in Canada, Sandra in the USA and Peter in the UK. Karen is the owner of a large and mysterious photograph album brought back to Canada from Europe by her grandfather, William Quinn, at the end of the Second World War. At first they did not know who had owned the album originally or who took the photographs. Their main aim in this research was to identify that person or persons. What a thrilling journey of discover it has been!

Custom designed header, background, navigation and logo
CMS Platform with Admin Panel
HTML, PHP, JavaScript and CSS
Visit the website.

Official Website for Woo and Friends Karaoke

WunderWebs Announced Today the Launch of the Official Website for Woo and Friends Karaoke

La Jolla, San Diego, CA (Press Release) November 18, 2008 –Today marks the debut of the official website, WooKaraoke.com, for Woo and Friends Karaoke at the Sheraton La Jolla, featuring the incomparable Gerrie Woo, former Playboy Bunny, as host of one of the most exciting and longest running karaoke shows in San Diego. Woo , who has entertained millions around the world with her singing and dancing, brings her finely tuned sense of professionalism to the karaoke stage.

Gerrie Woo got her start in show business as a Las Vegas show girl in Marshall Edson’s review, Holiday in the Orient, Woo (as she prefers to be called) was selected from many hopefuls to open the Hollywood Playboy Club as one of the original Playboy Bunnies. Following her time with the Hollywood Playboy Club, Woo was offered an opportunity to pursue a singing career with popular entertainer “Mr. Bongo,” Jack Costanzo. Jack, who at one time performed with the likes of Stan Kenton, Judy Garland and Nat King Cole, introduced the conga drum to jazz and rock music. With her combination of talent and verve, it was apparent right from the start that Woo was the perfect addition to the Costanzo group.

While on tour at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico, Tico label signed Woo to do an album with Jack Costanzo called Latin Percussion with Soul. Other albums followed, notably their most popular album, Viva Tirado on the Crescendo Label. The group went on to entertain the American GIs at USO shows in Vietnam, the Philippines and Bangkok. For over 25 years, Costanzo and Woo continued to entertain around the world in their unique and dynamic style with a mixture of Latin music, R&B, jazz, rock and classic ballads. Later on Woo fronted other groups such as Pitch and Woo and Woo’s Folly, but [read more here]

WunderWebs website redesign

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Royal Oak, MI WunderWebs today announced the launch of its newly redesigned website, www.wunderwebs.com, featuring the design work of Sandra Miller-Long, “The WebGoddess.” WunderWebs.com is a website and blog design studio that focuses exclusively on providing eye-catching, low-cost, high-quality websites for small businesses.

Sandra, owner of WunderWebs, “Many small businesses cannot afford to invest thousands of dollars in a professional website presence, yet it’s critical to their business to use the Internet and to have a website that reflects the professionalism of their company. WunderWebs offers these businesses an opportunity to have a professional website at a price they can easily afford.”

What differentiates WunderWebs from other web design companies? First, it is a top-quality service that provides complete custom designed website packages –including domain name and hosting– for a very affordable price. Second, the Royal Oak company is also unique in its personal touch. Nothing is mass- produced. The concept is something like having is your personal jewelry hand-crafted by an artisan who understands your vision.

The new WunderWebs site emphasizes slider navigation, tailored content, and enhanced graphics. It downloads quickly, and it is very easy to read and to navigate from topic to topic.

Sandra has added “We live in a world of change. New technology is released on a regular basis. Business websites need to be able to respond timely to the changing needs of their customers as well to technological advancements. My website designs offer my clients a blog interface–an ideal opportunity for businesses to update information to their site as needed. This helps keeps website maintenance costs to a minimum.”

About WunderWebs

https://wunderwebs.com specializes in all areas of website design, ecommerce and search engine marketing. The company is based in Royal Oak, Michigan.

For more details about the WunderWebs website and blog design studio please visit https://wunderwebs.com or contact The WebGoddess by email: webgoddess@wunderwebs.com

The Greater Glory

Today, a young woman strapped into a motorized wheelchair sat waiting in front of the grocery store for a van to pick her up. Her mother stood a little apart from her, watching the rain come down. After a bit, the woman started to sing, a sounding kind of song at first, but then it started to take the shape of a melody. It was one of those haunting voices, deep and rich and sweet. One of the best I have ever heard. She was old and large; her coat was ancient and looked like it had been worn by others before her.

I got to thinking about this voice and the gift of sound. I doubt this woman has ever gotten money for singing, though her church probably benefits from her gift, and I hope the young woman sitting still and unmoving in the chair does, too.

It’s so confusing, listening to better packaged lesser gifts, wondering where the sense of things is, and how much we have lost through lack of recognition or opportunity.

There are the naturals and there are the professionals. Given a choice between the two, I prefer the naturals. They may lack in sophistication and polish, but theirs is the domain of emotion — of passion. And that is what haunts you, enchants you, worries you, and enriches you.

It also gives you sadness, because who knows why they never pursued the talent: Children that needed to be taken care of, food needed to feed them, dreary jobs with meager wages consuming all their life. Leaving them broken and bitter at the end of it, or pleased and content despite of it all.

I’m glad this woman is singing for herself, for the love of singing, and that I was blessed to hear her.

January 25, 1997 – Sandra Miller-Long


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