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The recent release of WordPress 2.7 is exciting us over here at beachdog.com.  The upgrades to the popular blogging software are making it even easier to give our clients blog-based websites they can edit easily on their own.

Such is the case with Homespun Quilts.  When we first built Lydia and Thor’s site in the spring of 2007, we included a blog as a standalone application.  While it was integrated into the site, it wasn’t the backbone.  Lydia has been editing their site using Contribute, a great choice for editing html-driven websites without having to learn, well, html.

Recently, Karl and Sabrina converted the site to being completely built with WordPress.  Now Lydia can manage both her blog and her website using the same online interface.  Updates are simple and in real-time, making editing the site even easier for her–and no more costs in updating editing software.

Better still, there is some search engine advantage to having her site built using a social networking tool like WordPress, if she uses it well.  Regular posts, attention to key words and a few other tips will undoubtedly increase the presence of Homespun Quilts on Google, MSN, Yahoo! and the like.

The fun part of this upgrade is the variety of plug-ins available for WordPress 2.7.  Take Lydia’s New Year’s Survey and notice her whirling tag cloud.  These are just a couple of the new ‘toys’ she has in store for her customers.  Stay tuned!

This web development project, headed up by Karl, was a great example of taking an existing site and bringing it into the new era of what works.  The internet changes so quickly, both in terms of what ‘toys’ are available to a site owner to make their site attractive, functional, and ’sticky,’ and with what technologies and tactics work best to get your site found.

Pat came to us with a well-designed, html-based site that had gotten a little out-of-date from a technology perspective.  She was relying on a webmaster to make the majority of changes to the site, an effort which was, by nature, frequent.  Changes in that relationship left her unable to edit her site in the way she needed and she came to us for a solution.

Recreating her site using WordPress solved several of Pat’s challenges.  She was able to keep the look and feel that she liked, while giving the site a face lift.  She gained an easy-to-use interface that lets her edit most every aspect of the site herself, adding, changing, and deleting posts, pages, and pictures; it’s all in her hands.

Our hosting package gave Pat the email boxes she needed.

Kathy was also able to upgrade Pat’s search engine optimization, making the site “Google-friendly” so she will gain a strong, organic, search rank.  Because the site is blog-based, Pat should see a strong organic result quickly.

[Holtermann & Associates] focus is executive search of healthcare professionals: Administrators, Director of Operations, Director of Nursing, Finance Managers, Rehabilitation Services Professionals, Medical Insurance Professionals and other healthcare managers. Our clients include hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, clinics and Medical Insurance Organizations. Our specialty is finding the right person for your job and the right career move for the candidate. At H&A the recruitment staff knows how to find the right people for your openings … quickly, economically, and consistently. We recruit, screen, pre-qualify, and refer only those candidates who meet or exceed the qualifications that you require in your next employee.

http://hva-jobs.com

We had so much fun recently, working with Cheri and Charlie Diehl as they launched their new real estate brokerage, Discovery Coast Real Estate.  Charlie came up with the logo concept and did all the prelminary design work.  We started by digitizing Charlie’s design and converting it to a few different formats.  This allows them to take their logo artwork to any advertising or print vendor and have the vendor use high-quality logo artwork.  This will keep their look consistent and crisp.

Cheri has always done a great job with her own real estate blog, so we made the new brokerage site blog-based.  This allows Cheri to edit the site herself, adding regular blog posts and keeping her page content current.  Google loves that!  Check out their new website, www.discoverycoastrealestate.com.

We gave Cheri a quick tutorial in her new online tools and she was off and running.  She had updated posts in the blog before it had officially launched to the public.  Way to go, Cheri!

Once the logo and site design were firmed up, the next projects were updating their broadcast email template, business cards and letterhead so that all used the same look and feel.  We did a couple of different sizes of web and advertising banners, again keeping the visual identity of the new brokerage consistent in the eye of their customers.

We love our cards, our signs, our blog, just  …everything!  Thanks to you guys….

Charlie and Cheri have done a great job of keeping their brand consistent and we’ve really enjoyed working with them to make it happen.  Congratulations on your new venture, Diehls!

Blogs (web logs, or online diaries) are a great way to stay connected with friends & family, or customers.  Besides the fact that they are super-easy to update, and because most allow your visitors to comment on what you write, the super-cool thing is RSS feeds.  RSS, or “really simply syndication” essentially delivers what you write to your subscribers email box or RSS feed software.  Whoosh!

On the right is a blog that grew out of a family reunion.  Interested family members are able to upload photos and each has their own login for posting updates from their corner of the world.  On the left is a blog that allows friends and family to keep track of a hospitalized loved one’s progress.  It replaced phone and email trees and allows everyone to stay in touch at the time of day that is most convenient to them, all without further burdening the family.

For businesses, we like to set up domain-based, customized blogs.  Both of the samples shown here are nearly “out of the box” templates.  Using templates makes it super easy and inexpensive to get started on your own.  Blogger is a great way for anyone to get started blogging.  WordPress is our favorite.  Both are free!

We live in it!

Keleigh muses about it here:  www.washingtonsbestkeptsecret.com

…Just another example of a blog in action.

Here are a few more local blogs (in no particular order):

• South Pacific County Humane Society
• Long Beach Merchants Association
• City of Ilwaco & Ilwaco Merchants Association
• The Beachcomber
• Long Beach Washington City Administrator’s Blog
• Cheri Diehl
• Captain Lulabelle’s Fine Art
• Rotary Club of SW Pacific County Peninsula