Charlie Cook's MArketing for Success Insider's Club

Web Design

Your Website Has A Style Problem

By Charlie Cook   |   October 23, 2012

Here’s a quick tip about your website. I’ve got bad news.

You’ve got style problems.

And you’re committing a cardinal sin that’s worse than a bad hair day or wearing plaid shorts with your favorite Hawaiian shirt. Read More »


How to Prevent Your Customers From Getting Lost…

By Tanya Beaudoin   |   August 29, 2012

Imagine if instead of a front door to your business you had a    labyrinth. That’s what it felt like when I tried to access my bank online.

Are you doing the same with your website? Read More »


Are You Making This Costly Web Design Mistake?

By Tanya Beaudoin   |   June 21, 2012

While shopping for a new vehicle I almost made the same mistake many website owners make when making decisions about their website… I almost went for the…

Read More »


When Do You Need A Professional?

By Tanya Beaudoin   |   May 16, 2012

Last weekend I was cleaning up my front garden, pulling weeds and cutting the grass. I noticed that my front walkway was looking pretty rough. A couple years ago my husband and I decided to put down some used paving stones to make a little walkway to our front porch.

We did it ourselves and it looked pretty good… for the first year. But the next year after the winter (and the frost) the walkway was all uneven. Now a few years later and the walkway looks horrible.  Read More »


7 Unforgivable Sins of Web Design

By Ivana Taylor   |   January 20, 2012

A few months ago I got the distinct impression that people didn’t like me or my business any more. The first sign was way more people were leaving my site, once they found it, than sticking around to read it.

The problem was… Read More »


Speed Up Your Website to Drive More Sales

By Debbie Campbell   |   October 11, 2010

I’ve just started redesigning my business website – it’s been about a year and a half since I last did it. One of the main reasons is that most of my work over the last year has involved WordPress projects. I think it’s high time my own website was built in the content management system I recommend to clients!

As I’m working through the new site, I’m culling content from the old one. Some of the revised verbiage includes text about creating maintainable websites. What does that mean, exactly? Aren’t all websites maintainable? Read More »


Small Business Websites Are Not Business Cards

By Debbie Campbell   |   September 25, 2010

When I first started my small business over five years ago, I set up a few ‘web design packages’ to help me think about estimating and pricing projects. The smallest one was ‘The Business Card Site.’ It was a one or two-page website that would basically have a logo, a bio on the client, and a list of services.

No one ever hired me to create a small business card site, but I’ve had a number of clients in the past few years who had me create larger websites that they subsequently treated like a business card – look at it, put it away; out of site out of mind. Read More »


Web Design That Fits

By Debbie Campbell   |   August 25, 2010

Recently I was approached by a potential client who wanted a quote for a custom website for his business. I’ll call the potential client Brian; his business is making beautiful, hand-crafted widgets.

Brian’s brick-and-mortar business is well-established, but only has a very small web presence. Due to pressures from web-based competition in the last couple of years, he now feels he needs a larger, more comprehensive and content-rich website to compete effectively.

Brian has put a substantial effort into mapping out his new site. His content is solid and focused Read More »


5 Simple Steps To A Great Home Page

By Christine Milot   |   August 13, 2010

Your web site home page is often the first contact that a new client will have with your business. It needs to be inviting and engage the visitor into a relationship with your company that is positive and keeps them coming back.

Envision your home page similar to a magazine cover and table of contents. The cover engages the viewer with a powerful image that draws attention to the magazines content. The list of articles on the cover engages the interest of the various readers. The table of contents is an organized user-friendly map that drives the reader to specific pages of the magazine. Read More »


5 Mistakes You Could Be Making On Your Website

By Debbie Campbell   |   June 25, 2010

You could be making some common mistakes with your business website and not even realize it. Here are some common ones – and what to do about them.

Your website marketing is feeling neglected.

Does the copyright at the bottom of your site still say 2009? Do you still show the bio of an employee who left three years ago? Are there old broken links on the site?  Was your last calendar update last year? All of these are symptoms of simple neglect – and they’re typically easy to miss. How to fix this mistake: Read More »