I am thrilled that the new website is live!

If you are reading this blog, you are on the site, and I hope you take a few detours, click around, and see what’s new.

The site was built by Lennie Appelquist of Cider House Design in Easthampton, Massachusetts, and the graphic elements developed by him and his team are innovative and dynamic. Lennie, with the help of his wife and business partner, Elizabeth, helped me create a tighter focus on my three key service lines: book development, crafting press releases, and writing content for blogs, websites, and magazines. Since the launch of the new site, Lennie has also been responsive and nimble at troubleshooting the minor issues that cropped up; he even made phone calls to my web host to intervene on my behalf, as the problems all revolved around the host, and I don’t speak that language.

I’ll walk you through some of my favorite aspects of the new site:

• Lennie encouraged me to build a site that is centered around me and my experience because, as he said, “You are Beetle Press.” It took some time, but I embraced this logic because it reflects reality. Photography by Judith Kelliher and Craig Fear make this point on the homepage, as does the written content, which better tells the story of my background, experience, and service offerings.
• The site has a continuous page design, so visitors have the option of scrolling to find what they want, or clicking on the tabs in the main navigation.
• My colleagues are introduced well, and the testimonials are easy to find and peruse.
• One new feature allows visitors an easy way to sign up for my newsletter and when they do, they can receive my informative white paper, “What is news? And how to share it.” Free. There is some great information in this giveaway. Scroll down to the bottom of any page to sign up, so you can check it out!
• I offer four tiers of help with press releases, and the site provides a clear and simple way for visitors to view each tier.
• The blog and client press releases tabs are livelier and easier to navigate.

Let me know if I can answer any questions that come up as you take a look around.

And be in touch if I can help you with a project.

The post Check Out the New and Improved Site appeared first on Beetle Press.

I’ve been busy with challenging client projects this summer, but I have also made time to redevelop my website.

That’s because I’m a big believer in the idea that websites shouldn’t be allowed to stagnate. As a business grows and develops, so too must its website.

In the spring, I noticed my current site has some growing pains. I no longer do much teaching and consulting, for instance, yet those services are still prominently highlighted.

I wanted a tighter focus on my three key service lines: book development, crafting press releases, and writing content for blogs, websites, and magazines.

I reached out to Elizabeth and Lennie Appelquist of Cider House Design in Easthampton, Massachusetts, and they listened to my thoughts and had innovative ideas for a site rebuild. Lennie also helped me embrace the fact that I am the center of my business and my site should reflect that.

We met together for a Discovery session in May and have been collaborating and sharing ideas since. I expect the new site will soon be live.

I am very impressed with the work I’ve seen thus far from Cider House. The draft site is graphically powerful, and it has features that make navigation clear and simple.

I also appreciate the photography by Judith Kelliher and Craig Fear and am pleased with the content I developed. I think it tells a stronger story about who I am and what I do.

Follow me on Facebook so you can take a look when the site goes live!

And consider taking a closer look at your own website. Does it feature the services and aspects of your work that you most want to grow? Is it fresh and inviting? Intuitive in terms of navigation?

Studies show that visitors can spend as few as three seconds on a website before navigating away.

Elizabeth, Lennie, and I can help you turn those three seconds into a long, lingering, informative read that could translate into an email in your inbox or a phone call.

The post Putting on a New Web Face appeared first on Beetle Press.