This website project for one of New Jersey’s premier remodeling companies included a website redesign from their previous site as well as a migration to a WordPress platform for content management.  Because of the visual nature of their work the site includes three photo galleries to further illustrate the quality of their remodeling work.

You can view the site online at http://www.ucbuildersnj.com.

This project was a website redesign which included migrating to a new content management platform (WordPress) for ease of content updates by the client.  This site is fully customized to reflect the core branding of the organization and includes the use of JQuery and Flash for animation. Its purpose is to highlight the credibility and expertise of the organization by highlighting their unique services, case studies, and article publication.

Home Page (click for larger view)

Here’s what my client had to say about her experience:

“The Paula G Company is easy to work with, flexible and committed to high quality website design. I recommend them as a “go-to” resource for your website needs.”
-Marjorie Derven
Managing Partner, HUDSON Research & Consulting

For this project I had the opportunity to redesign the Successfully Solo blog so that it is housed on a solid, blog-friendly theme in WordPress.  Previously the site was built on a custom theme that did not scale for the advanced features within WordPress (widgets, new plugins, etc.).  The goal was a cleaner more easy to use site for Barbara Nelson to use for her regular blogging and social media activities while still maintaining an integration with eCommerce and newsletter functionality. During the process of the redesign I also coached my client through the best way to harness the power of categories to better accomplish her online objectives as we re-categorized the last few years of posts.

Blog Home Page (click for larger view)

You can visit the site live online at http://www.successfullysolo.com/blog

BMW Construction located in Cherry Hill, NJ is a commercial and residential builder and remodeler.  Their need was for a professional site that could be easily updated by their staff to accommodate ongoing updates to projects in bidding and portfolio.  I built the site on a WordPress platform to offer them a powerful yet easy to use content management system.  The site showcases photos of their remodeling projects and the expertise their company offers.  The projects in bidding system offers them the ability to share project files and blueprints including the ability to password protect sensitive project files.

Home Page (click on image for larger view)

You can visit the site live on the web at http://www.bmwconstructionllc.com/

This project involved a website redesign and installation onto a content management system (WordPress).  As Julie was getting ready to celebrate 10 years as a successful career coach she wanted a site that better reflected her expertise and offerings. In addition she wanted the site to be easily updated by her assistants so that she could regularly update content, articles, and media appearances.  This is why we chose WordPress as the platform.  The site integrates with her shopping cart to offer eCommerce capabilities as well as with her newsletter/autoresponder system (Aweber) and social media presence for full online marketing capabilities.  The site includes a fully custom home page and one inner page design.  In addition it includes a testimonials application so random testimonials can be displayed throughout the site.

Home Page (click for larger view)

Inner Pages (click for larger view)

You can view the site live online at http://www.juliecohencoaching.com

What Julie had to say about her experience of working with me:

“Paula just finished my new website. She was fantastic to work with – knows her stuff, does what she says, keeps me up to date on everything and is fun to work with!  Thank you Paula – it’s awesome to work with someone who really understands customer service!!”
- Julie Cohen, author “7 Keys to Work Life Balance” and owner Julie Cohen Coaching

I had the joy of creating the blog for Bruce Hall a personal development coach.  The goal of the project was to have a blog that matching the look and feel of his main website and provide a way for Bruce to share his vast expertise with his writing.  As you can tell, his articles are extremely thoughtful and worth reading.  The blog was built on a WordPress platform to provide a strong foundation and robust platform from which to build and expand his blogging efforts.

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I recently had the privilege of migrating Barbara K. Folts’ existing website to a WordPress Platform for its content management capabilities.  The goal of the project was to make it easier for Barbara to update her site, integrate more with social media, and capitalize on email marketing and video.  To accomplish these objectives I added a few new elements to the site design, migrated the existing site content from a static website to WordPress, incorporated her existing blog content to the new site, added her videos to the new site, and implemented Aweber for email marketing.  The result is a clean, professional site built on a strong foundation on which to build future content and marketing efforts.

Here’s what Barbara had to say about working with me:

Finding someone to help you with setting up a web site is possible, but finding someone with whom you can really communicate your needs is the real challenge.  Paula not only has the skills to accomplish the task, she also is able to discuss the options in language that the lay person can understand.  In addition to these qualities, I was pleased that she responded promptly to my concerns.  As well as dealing with my most immediate goal of the web site, Paula is adept at creating additional social media.  She is a person with many talents.  – Barbara K. Folts, www.barbarakfolts.com

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Blog with different sidebar elements:

Lennons Small Jobs is a locally owned handyperson company.  Their need was for a basic website that has a professional look and feel.   The previous website was not an optimal reflection of Mary Lennon, the owner’s high quality service and dependability.  A redesign using similar colors to existing branding was done and the end result allows her to showcase more of what makes her uniquely qualified to help you with small jobs around the home.

Here’s what Mary had to say about her experience working with me:

“Thanks so much! I love the new look. I sent it to some of my friends for testing and got rave reviews back from them. The whole experience was great;  it was smooth, no stress and easy. I will recommend you highly to anyone wanting to create or revise their web site. Thanks again.”  ~Mary Lennon, Lennon’s Small Jobs

Here’s a quick glance of the new site…you can visit her at www.LennonsSmallJobs.com and by all means if you have something needing fixing, give her a ring!

I had the privilege of helping Julie Cohen launch her new website 7 Keys to Work Life Balance to support the launch of her book and workbook.  I partnered with Jack Out of the Box Designs to update the design she had originally created to support the new look for the book and blog.  For this site I used WordPress utilizing its content management capabilities for the main website and its powerful blog engine for the blog.  The site incorporates eCommerce shopping cart to sell products and autoresponder/newsletter technology for Internet Marketing.

Here’s what Julie had to say about her experience:

“Paula just finished my new website. She was fantastic to work with – knows her stuff, does what she says, keeps me up to date on everything and is fun to work with! As soon as I launch this site, she’ll be revamping my other site. Thank you Paula – it’s awesome to work with someone who really understands customer service!!”
- Julie Cohen, author “7 Keys to Work Life Balance”

Enjoy these screen shots of the website and blog and click on them to visit the site.  Julie’s book is really great so be sure to check it out!

The blog which is just getting populated:

The other day I was having a conversation with a potential client when she started apologizing for not being better with technology and not having had any success building her own site. I get this a lot. I am not sure why, but it seems web design and financial planning are the two main fields where people for some reason think they should be able to do it all on their own. I mean, I have yet to hear a colleague or client say “I have this painful tooth, but if only I were better at dental surgery I could get this fixed right up in my spare time.” Sounds ludicrous, doesn’t it? Yet that seems precisely the line of thinking many solo and small businesses take when it comes to their website and Internet Marketing.

Now, if you are dead set on taking the DIY route, I am not here to stop or criticize you. It is your business and the choice is ultimately all yours. However, I would like to put forth a compelling list of 7 reasons why it is not the best use of your time or money to do so.

1) Do you consider a website a once and done project? Are you prepared to make an ongoing investment in writing content, updating the site, and maximizing your technology investment so customers can find and buy from you? On the web content is king so unless you only want a virtual brochure, you need to be ready to invest ongoing time on your site on a regular basis (at least monthly). A team of professionals can help you navigate these waters and make it easy for you to do so.

2) The world of the web and its related technologies are constantly growing and expanding. Even if you work in the field full time for years it is impossible to know it all. Why would you want to take on the gigantic task of learning all this expertise in addition to your core field of expertise (what you do or sell in your business)? And, even if you could learn enough to get by, what about the little things you miss (and not even know) that could cost you big time in terms of mistakes or lost opportunities?

3) Do you know which technologies to choose to get the most bang for your buck and marketing efforts and why? Does the world of autoresponders, hosting companies, blogging platforms, merchant accounts, podcasting, shopping carts, and the like leave your head spinning? If so, how can you make informed decisions around which technologies can help support your overall business (and not be a case of technology for technology sake)?

4) Just because you can buy Photoshop or another graphics editing program doesn’t mean you are a designer. Talented artists can help you brand your business through visuals in a way that sets you apart from your competition. It takes years of experience and innate talent to be able to do this successfully. Even I know my limits which is why I work closely with artists on my team to ensure people who work with me get only the best.

5) Web standards and best practices are there for a reason. If you don’t know what they are, why valid websites matter, or how they integrate with one another, you may build your site and unknowingly exclude an entire segment of your potential client base from being able to view your site as you intended.

6) Your current and future customers are counting on you to be a master at what you are offering them. Unless that offering is web design and consulting, you are shortchanging your most precious commodity by dabbling in the website business. Your time IS money and wouldn’t you rather spend it generating more revenue for your business doing what you do best?

7) A good web professional will co-create with you what you really want and need. You will work as partners and you still get to be as involved or uninvolved as you wish. Most importantly she should be able to offer you ongoing services in a mix that is right for you so that you can get the most out of your investment (this isn’t a build it once and forget it project). If you’re not getting that level of personal service you’re being shortchanged.

As always, the choice is up to you. My experience has been that just as you are a lot happier when you have a doctor mend a broken bone vs. trying to DIY , your business can be that much more joyful when you give yourself permission to bring in the technology experts.