New nursery and landscaping website launched

A new website was designed and launched today for Wagner Nursery & Landscaping Company (www.wagnernursery.net)

Check it out.  Nice photo gallery was used for the Landscape page.  Also the accordion panels on the Testimonials page work nice, especially in IE.

eBizServices has now designed a number horticultural websites (see http://www.ebizservices.us/WebDev.html).  If you would like us to review your needs, get in touch (406.862.1160) or info@ebizservices.us.

Event & Membership Management Systems

Non-profits have a lot in common:  too much to do, too little funding to do it all, people getting reassigned or moving to a new position.

The result is the organization has a challenge in keeping skilled personnel in the jobs for which they were trained.  This creates a constant source of turnover and retraining, thus diverting management's focus from their "day jobs".

Non-profits also share the common issues of creating and maintaining membership and executing on fundraising events both which are vital sources of revenues for such organizations.

Managing and administrating these tasks manually may seem reasonable when there are just a small number of members, but as organizations grow it becomes clear that some sort of automation of these tasks is mandatory.

Today there are a growing number of mature software tools that are highly affordable, easy to use, and that help to automate a significant portion of the administrative tasks of a non-profit organization.

These tools have been developed using content management systems (CMS) that gives both the software developer of that software and its users a much higher degree of flexibility and control.  CMS is quickly becoming a mainstream choice for web developers and web owners (see my previous blog on CMS systems).  And these new event & membership management tools have become quite affordable (usually less than a few thousand dollars to set up and a couple of hundred dollars a month subscription to the software).  It is all web-based and multi-user with varying levels of user control over the website itself and the event & membership tasks.

eBizServices works with non-profits to sort through the choices of which tools to use and offers assistance in initially setting up the system.  Once up and running, it is managed directly by the non-profit.  eBizServices also offers training so employees within the organization can step in and take over should someone go on assignment, vacation or leave the group.  These new tools are easy to learn, intuitively clear, and it's easy to get new employees up and running.

Give eBizServices a call - we've done a number of these systems and can help you get up to speed quickly, put you back in control, and save money.

Search Engine Optimizaton (SEO) - should I consider this service?

You may be tempted by the mailer or brochure that says a search engine optimization company (SEO) can improve your online search results and get you on the top 10 listings in the organic section of Google.

The answer: Well, maybe...then maybe not.

There are some great SEO companies out there, and there are some frauds. Buyer beware.

Google offers some great advice concerning SEOs - check this out.

Here are some things to think about while you do some soul search on SEOs:

1. You can get much of the effect of an SEO company by doing it  yourself.  Follows Google's guidelines and you'll do much better in search results.
   
2. Do you need lots of hits on your site to be successful?  Many websites are used for presence only, they don't do commerce on the site.  They are largely informational and provide a degree of credibility to your visitors (and potential clients) that you exist and you have invested enough to create a website.  But the "call to action" is often not a BUY NOW request, but a phone call or tweet to your company to discuss their needs in more detail.

So yes, SEO is good and will help to drive more traffic that leads to more business for your organization.  But try out some of the free recommendations and track your results (example, use Google Analytics - it's free and used by many organizations) before you invest a lot of money and effort into using a commercial SEO service.

Content Management Systems (CMS) - are they for me?

CMS
Over the past 5 years or so, Content Management Systems (CMS) and particularly those for the web (WCMS) have improved dramatically.

What are CMS' used for?
They allow less trained users to gain control and manage content of their web site.  This is especially valuable when you need to do news posts, administer forums, blogs, or social networking interfaces as part of an overall website design.  Entire websites are rapidly developed used CMS tools.

CMS examples
Some of these systems are fee-based: e.g., Adobe Contribute about $200/user.  Others are open-source tools such as Joomla, WordPress, Drupal, CMSMadeSimple, and so.  These open-source tools have literally thousands of developers offering (usually for free) many templates for designs that can give your site a relatively unique look. All CMS-based designs can be further enhanced using html and cascade styling techniques (page & content formatting), although these customizations are usually left to the web developer to implement for you.

These systems vary in richness of capabilities but are offset by the complexity a user needs to work with it.

Most often a web developer is initially involved in the design of the website, but once it is up and running, the "users" can then take control of nearly everything they need to post new content, images, graphics, etc.

So the next time you want to "gain control of my website," consider a CMS system.  Not for everyone, but a great tool for those who need it.  Talk with your eBizServices web developer and see how to best utilize these new tools in your next web design.

eBizServices completes new client websites

eBizServices' web development team has recently launched several new websites:

1.  A re-election campaign site was designed for Dr. Michael J. Dobersen, County Coroner, Arapahoe County, Denver, Colorado (www.michaeljdobersen.org) that gave visitors loads of information about the experience and qualifications of this candidate.  It also permitted users a feedback email feature and a straightforward method for making a campaign contribution - (the candidate won by the way!)
    
2. Another  new site was the Northwest Montana Lakes Volunteer Monitoring Network (www.nwmtlvmn.org).  This site allows volunteers and aquatic technicians to enter water quality data online which is then compiled and analyzed by aquatic experts at Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks and the Whitefish Lake Institute.  This data helps insure the quality of the waterways in this region and provides early detection of any negative quality factors.
    
3. The next site was for the Flathead Watershed Sourcebook project (www.flatheadwatershed.org).  This website is a companion to the book of the same title, which together serve as a primer to the Flathead Watershed. Viewed from a bioregional perspective, the project discusses the many people and systems that make up the Flathead Watershed—one of the most biologically intact ecosystems in North America.
   
   The Flathead Watershed Sourcebook weds science and art, nature and human nature into an appealing and informative resource for citizens and educators. The menus of this site follow the chapters of the book, making the information widely accessible.  Long-time residents, new community members and visitors will find details of the geography, cultures, natural history and economics of the Flathead Watershed. 

Graphic Design services now available!

eBizServices is pleased to announce its new Graphics Design services.

From simple brochures and postcards to complex hard-bound books and websites, we can assist in the creation, modification and publication of these works of art.

eBizServices has in-house and nationwide affiliates that produce award-winning designs in a fraction of the time you might have come to expect.

Check on Graphic Design to view our capabilities on our website.

Time for a little spring cleaning on your website?

1. Have you updated your "What's New?" column lately?
2. Is the copyright in your footer accurate and up to date?
3. Have you done anything to spruce up the look on your Home Page, or add a page offering some new services?
4. Have you relooked at the text on your Home page to be certain the search engine companies are picking up your unique capabilities so you can get into the Top 10 search results?
5. Have you added any inbound links from your business partners to help improve your search engine rankings?
6. Any broken links on your site? Are you sure?

It only takes a short while to double check on all these and more. It's a good time of year to get it done.

Need help? eBizServices would be pleased to lend a hand--Give us a call or visit our site: Web Development.