There are a lot of “do it yourself” website options out there. Many people think, why pay someone to do this when I can do it myself? And sure, most people can figure out how to get the information they need to share on the Internet. But there’s a huge difference between having a site with information and having a site that’s visually appealing and user-friendly. There’s a reason that people hire professionals for this kind of work.

I was recently tasked with converting a basic do-it-yourself website  into a professional website that’s user friendly, easy to navigate, and easy to update.

The site went from this:

To this:

Not only does it look better, but it is easy to navigate, has important information readily available, and the owner can update the site himself as often as he wants.

Many of you may have noticed your website was down periodically over the past few days. Currently, there is an on-going and organized global attack against WordPress that encompasses every web host in existence. Over 90,000 IP addresses are involved. The attack began last week and is still ongoing.

You can read more about the attack here and here. We are working diligently with our host providers to make sure each site is given the attention it needs to get through this attack. We strongly suggest that you log into your account and change your password. Be sure it includes upper and lowercase letters as well as numbers and special characters.

We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience and we hope this attack ends soon. We will update you as we have further information.

We are so proud to be able to announce that this month marks our seventh year in business!

We’ve learned a lot in seven years. Our business has grown. We’ve developed wonderful relationships with our clients, and we’re are really proud of everything we’ve done!

Sumy Designs has created sites for salons all over the country, and we’ve had the pleasure of designing and updating several websites for the Wilson Art Hair Gallery in Oklahoma City  for over four years.  Meet Master Colorist and owner of Wilson Art Hair Gallery, Michelle Wilson.

Michelle began her journey in the beauty industry in 1989. Early in her career, Michelle was working as an assistant for several local celebrity stylists when she discovered she had a passion for color and was allergic to stitches. Five years later specializing was the wave of the future, so Michelle put down her scissors and picked up her color brush – and she hasn’t put it down since.

In 1998 she became the first American Board Certified Master Hair Colorist in Oklahoma. With an eye for color, and a love for beauty Michelle opened Wilson Art Hair Gallery in 2006 with a goal to give each client the personal attention they deserve.

We had the chance to ask Michelle a few questions about choosing a web designer and the design process:

When you were interviewing web designers, what made Sumy Designs stand out from the rest?

I used the same philosophy I use for my salon, I wanted something both sophisticated and laid back, we are not a quote driven salon and take pride in listening to our clients.  I wanted the same excellence in a web designer, which is why I chose Sumy Designs.

 What was your favorite part of the design process?

My salon is extremely busy and I loved that I could step away and let Sumy Designs take control of the design process. You also listened when I provided input and weaved it into a beautifully designed final product. Thank you, I am extremely happy and get great feedback from my clients about our website.

Michelle and the rest of the stylists at Wilson Art Hair Gallery were a pleasure to work with and we so happy they love their new site. Wilson Art Hair Gallery is located at 7914 North May Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK. For your perfect cut and color, please call: 405-840-6052.

We at Sumy Designs are fortunate to work with a wonderful and varied clientele. Let us introduce you to them and the stories behind their websites.

The first client we would like to introduce you to is author, Michael Justin Lee. Professor Lee came to us as referral from another wonderful Sumy client and author, Holly Tucker.

Sumy Designs has created two distinct websites for Lee and his book, The Chinese Way to Wealth and Prosperity. The first website, Michael Justin Lee.com, highlights his expertise and the book. When it was time for a second website, Lee requested “cheesy, over-the-top orientalism.”

Ask and Sumy delivers.

Chinese With A Vengeance.com also promotes Lee’s presence as an author and his book, but does so in a light-hearted way. Creating a dual marketing presence is a fantastic idea and will help Lee reach a broader audience.

Michael Justin Lee was born in Hong Kong and raised in New York City’s Chinatown. Previously Professorial Lecturer at Georgetown University and Practitioner Instructor at Johns Hopkins University, he is currently with the Center for East Studies at the University of Maryland and teaches in its department of finance. He is also a past University Senator and recipient of one of the Robert H. Smith School of Business’ highest teaching honors.

A veteran Chartered Financial Analyst and examination grader for the CFA Institute, he was appointed to serve in the administration of United States Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao as Financial Markets Expert-in-Residence from 2003 to 2005. Prior to entering Federal service, he was an institutional investor with extensive professional experience in China and the Far East.

We asked Lee what made Sumy Designs stand out from other website companies and he said:

My friend, Holly Tucker, who was an ASJA Board Member recommended you when I admired her website. What has been so wonderful has been the way in which you’ve taken my inchoate and unarticulated thoughts and “put meat” on them. This has worked so well for my official website as well as my goofy one.

It was a great pleasure creating both of Lee’s websites and we aren’t just saying that because of the fabulous testimonial he left for us:

Amy and Susan are without doubt super-geniuses. Not since Leonardo has the world seen their combination of technical brilliance and artistic genius. Anyone who hires their talents will surely become instant billionaires.

We can’t promise that all of our clients will become instant billionaires, but we will take credit for the technical brilliance and artistic genius. Michael Justin Lee was a great pleasure to work with – he offered us professional and honest feedback which helped us create wonderful websites for him.

Michael Justin Lee’s book, The Chinese Way to Wealth and Prosperity, is available on Amazon for purchase and would make a great addition for anyone with a New Year’s resolution of financial success.

We would also like to point out that Professor Lee has begun writing his second book and was also signed by the China Speakers Bureau – so he is now a professional speaker in addition to being a professor and author.

Sumy Designs is a proud sponsor and jersey designer for triathlon and endurance coaching company, Zoe Fitness. We also made their super cool website.

Ever wondered what the difference was between a hotlink and a hyperlink? Have you been using the terms interchangeably, not realizing they are different things? We’re here to help!

On the Internet, a hotlink is when you use a link to publish an object (usually an image) that exists on one site onto another site. This is sometimes called inline linking.

A hyperlink is any active link that, when clicked, takes you to another page or file on the Internet.

Got other questions you want answered? Get in touch!

Website for Freelance Writer, Michael C. McGovern.

1. Splash pages are the page your client will see before actually entering your website. Splash pages are often built inFlash; while Flash is a great tool it limits the ability of the website to be indexed by search engines.
2. If you are using Flash and your client is browsing you on an iphone or other mobile device they won’t be able to view your site at all.
3. If your splash intro takes a long time to load, users will click the skip into button anyways.
4. No matter what page you want to bookmark, the URL is always the same on a Flash site.
5. Adobe doesn’t use one. The fact that Abobe distributes Flash and they don’t even have a splash page should speak volumes.

Keeping your website up-to-date doesn’t necessarily mean you need an entire new design. Small changes to colors, images and content will often freshen up the look to your site’s products and services. It’s a good idea to evaluate your site design every 12 – 18 months and your content every 3-6 months.

It is also important that you are up-to-date with the latest online trends and technologies. It is also a good idea to monitor your competitor’s sites to make sure you stand out from the crowd. If your website looks out-of-date and stale you might be losing business to those competitors.

Here are a few quick tips to make sure you are staying on top of things with your website:

• Update your content often. Your homepage is where people land, so it is valuable to get your company message out there and keep the customer engaged. Websites should not remain static, so make sure policies, products, addresses, phone numbers and services are always up-to-date.
• Blog. If your website has a blog, be sure and update it on a regular basis so your customers don’t think you are out of business. It’s an easy way to provide customers additional information. Ideally, try posting at least once or twice a week, but once a month at a minimum. Blogs are also great for Google searches.
• Don’t forget the value of the Frequently Asked Questions page. Update it frequently to make sure customers have all the information they need to hire you over a competitor.
• Remove outdated banners and coupons immediately. Nothing is more irritating than thinking you are getting a great deal and finding out it has expired.
• It’s not just content. Be sure to examine the effectiveness of your navigation, photos, artwork and videos to make sure nothing is out of date.  Keeping your look current makes your business look thriving.

Sumy Designs can help you stand out from the crowd, just contact us for ideas on how to freshen up your website.