WP-Ecommerce vs Phpurchase

Posted on May 20, 2010
Filed Under Wordpress Plugins | Leave a Comment

There’s no doubt that Wordpress is an awesome platform simply because of the plugins community that exists. Usually when searching for a plugin, we’re all guilty of sometimes just installing the most popular plugin and if it works, never investigating other plugins that do the same thing. Not this time.

While looking for a shopping cart plugin for Wordpress, naturally I started with what appeared to be the most popular solution: WP-Ecommerce. After installing WP-Ecommerce, I discovered quickly that I got some 404 pages while attempting to checkout. After lack of support at their forum and direct presales questions to the author of the program, I discovered it was not playing nice with the ‘.html On Pages’ plugin. No problem, I disabled that.

After getting a bit spooked by the lack of support by WP-Ecommerce that I personally experienced, I started checking the rest of the web for similar experiences. Sadly, I found I wasn’t the only on dissatisfied with their support. In addition, I found way too many instances of people having problems with the Authorize.net addon that the company sells. As this was the only gateway that I needed, i figured it was time to start trying the next plugin.

At this point, I’ve already wasted a week trying to get working what was supposed to be the easiest to use and install shopping cart plugin for Wordpress. This time, I decided to read more before just jumping in and wasting more time. In comes Phpurchase.

Thanks to an article here, I decided Phpurchase warranted a serious look. Upon first installation, Phpurchase simply worked! Within minutes I felt comfortable adding products to pages and it played nicely with all my other plugins which I really appreciate. All that was left was to purchase the Authorize.net gateway.

Now I’m really scared. Is this going to be the point that Phpurchase loses me? Am I going to have some crazy problem with this gateway and not be able to get good support? I’m happy to say no and no.

After installing the Authorize.net payment gateway, It worked the very first time flawlessly. I’ve since had to contact support a few times over minor CSS issues, but they’ve been completely responsive and have resolved every issue to my satisfaction. Apparently there’s a minor issue with the help screen that is being worked on but when the plugin works first time out, I guess there’s not much help needed at the moment!

A quick thanks to Lee at Phpurchase, I appreciate the great service! In summation, if you need a Wordpress shopping cart that installs quickly, works as advertised, and is supported with great customer service, Look no further than Phpurchase!

Local Results for Web Design Missing in Google

Posted on April 8, 2010
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

That’s right. There are still no local business listings when searching for web related services in Columbus, Ohio on Google. Simply try this search: Columbus Web Design. Notice anything missing?

We can’t find any good reason for shutting down the local results in one market only. This problem has dated back to at least August of 2009 and there is no sign that Google will fix it anytime soon.

While Website Design Columbus certainly enjoys being the top result for COLUMBUS WEB DESIGN but we would like to see more consistent local results from Google. We’ll be back soon for a deeper look into local results. Until next time…stay tuned!

Google Gone Wild Part Deux

Posted on August 29, 2009
Filed Under Search Engine Optimization | 1 Comment

The latest Google algorithm change is becoming so farcical, it reminds us of that old Charlie Sheen movie, Hotshots! Part Deux. If you’re a webmaster, all you can do is sit back with a buttery bag of microwave popcorn and laugh…or cry, depending if you actually think this train wreck is funny!

Let’s get straight to some real world results. Type into Google the phrase Columbus Ohio gym. We’re not going to debate the relevance of certain web directories that show up in this search, we’ll save that for another day. However, depending on the hour you perform this search, the website www.columbuspreschoolandgym.com might appear in results 8-12.

The domain name does have the words ‘Columbus’ and ‘gym’ so there’s nothing wrong here correct? WRONG! Look closely at this website and you’ll find it is a kid’s gym and preschool (say what?). The only problem is that this ‘gym’ is located in New York, New York!!! Do you really think someone searching for a gym in Columbus, Ohio cares about a toddler’s ‘gym’ in New York city?

Further inspection shows that the word ‘Ohio’ does NOT appear in either the title, description, keywords, or the actual text on the website. More troubling perhaps is the fact that this particular website doesn’t even contain description or keywords tags! The title is even paltry reading simply ‘Columbus Preschool and Gym’. We won’t even discuss that the website was created in FrontPage (eek).

So what does this tell us about Google’s algorithm change? It tells us at the very least that things are in chaos at everyone’s favorite search engine. Not only are the organic results erratic at best, but the local map results are also having their share of problems. Type into Google the phrase Columbus Web Design. Results A-J not only change at an almost hourly rate, but if you click on ‘More results near Columbus, OH’, the results don’t even match what you previously saw!

Stay tuned while we ride this crazy train and try to figure out what the heck Google is thinking.

Google Gone Wild

Posted on August 20, 2009
Filed Under Search Engine Optimization | Leave a Comment

Just when we thought our web positions were safe, then came Bing!

Now that Bing has arrived and is trying to partner with Yahoo, Google is trying to stay a step ahead of the game by changing it’s algorithm again. As usual, no one is quite sure exactly what they are changing. Results in Google are sometimes drastically different on an almost hourly basis and have been for the last few weeks.

Website Design Columbus keeps good track of it’s clients and their results. We’ve noticed that (thankfully) only two of our websites have been negatively affected by Google’s recent fickleness. However, just as soon as we collectively gasp at being dropped from the first page of Google, days later, the websites magically reappeared in the same spot they’ve been at for months!

If you’ve noticed your website fluctuate dramatically in the Google results over the past few weeks, fear not. The worst thing you can do is panic and start making major changes to try to get your position back. Trust us, if you’re website was useful and ranked well before without spamming, you should sit tight and give it a few weeks before attempting anything.

By all means, if you have dropped in rank, do your due diligence to make sure you’re not being sabotaged or that something major on your site has changed. Also check who’s linking to you and make sure it’s all legit.

Those in the SEO industry know what the Google Dance is so…put you’re shiny shoes on and get ready for another two-step!

Generating Website Traffic

Posted on July 19, 2009
Filed Under Search Engine Optimization | 5 Comments

No matter what type of website you own, getting real visitors to view your web pages is of paramount importance. Google is increasingly putting more importance on how popular your web site is. With Microsoft’s push of it’s ‘new’ search engine Bing, Google is changing it’s algorithms in response.

No one is quite sure yet exactly what is being changed, but one thing is certain, website traffic matters! It seems as though for the moment, your Google rankings can change day to day based on the amount of traffic your website receives. I’ve seen it first hand and have been logging experiments with some of my less important, personal websites.

The bottom line seems to be the more traffic, the better. So, whether you buy hits or surf for hits in exchange for people viewing your website, it appears prudent to start driving ANY traffic to your website, qualified or not. No, you won’t see sales from advertising your website on so-called traffic exchange websites, but you will reap the rewards from the added visitors to your site. The difference I’ve found can mean being number 8 for a given search term, vs. being number 3. That’s a huge gap considering the conversions of browsers of your services to actual clients.

In conclusion, when launching a website, backlinks are great and so is unique content. But if you intend to prove to Google that you’re a worthwhile website, you needs gobs of traffic! At Website Design Columbus, we make sure that we use all the weapons in our arsenal to get you to the top of Google for the terms and phrases that matter most to your business. Check us out today for Columbus Web Design and search engine optimization that is second to none.

Columbus Ohio Gyms

Posted on June 25, 2009
Filed Under Web Design | 2 Comments

Kim Larosa owns Powell Fitness Gym. She had never owned a website but figured it was probably time to investigate the matter. Columbus Ohio Gyms is the culmination of our work together. Kim was a pleasure to work with and you better check out her gym! This lady really knows what she’s doing. At Website Design Columbus, it seems like we keep getting partnered with the best businesses in town through referrals. Keep ‘em coming Greg and thanks everyone for the launch of a new, successful Columbus web design!

Web Design Gripes - Part I

Posted on January 13, 2009
Filed Under Web Design Mistakes | Leave a Comment

Is there anything more annoying than visiting a website for the first time and having a large video of a person appear on the screen and proceed to talk to you about their products? You know the kind, it’s not a boxed in video, it’s a free-form image of the person pitching the product thus looking less like a video and therefore more believable I suppose?

I’m not sure when this started to become a huge trend but sites I’ve visited for years have started using this overly aggressive marketing tactic.

I understand people like flash, movies, animation and the overall interactive net experience. I understand people use their pc’s to watch tv’s and even movies online. However, I don’t need to visit a website and immediately be bombarded by an attractive woman as big as my screen talking her head off!

First of all, it’s just rude. Starting loud, obnoxious rants as soon as one opens a website with these goofy pitches hurts the ears and shocks the senses. This is Leaving the user wondering what is the absolute quickest method to leave this site…shut down your browser or hit the back button?

We can only hope this is a passing fad. It consumes bandwidth, money, and time to implement this “sales tool” that can only serve to annoy the average user and makes one wonder ‘do they think I can’t read their website on my own at my convenience?’

Web Design Portfolio

Posted on December 15, 2008
Filed Under Web Design | Leave a Comment

Well, it’s about time! Finally we’ve gotten around to putting together a brief page with a few sites we’ve done recently. We’re not even close to done but we look forward to adding more in the next few weeks. Keep in mind that we can do any custom job. Don’t like what you see? Call us and show us a website you do like and ask if we get the idea of what you’re looking to have designed. Personal Trainer, Cake Maker, Hardwood Floor Installer, doesn’t matter to us…if you need a web presence we can build you a beautiful website and get it to the first page of Google in a hurry! Til next time, check out the web design portfolio and check back often.

Launching New Websites

Posted on December 7, 2008
Filed Under Web Development | 1 Comment

Many search engine optimization companies won’t even attempt to market a brand new website that has a new domain name. Why? Because new domains are essentially “sandboxed” for the first 6-12 months of a new domain name’s existence. By sandboxed I mean that these new, untrusted websites are segregated from the larger population of websites who have proven themselves over time. This is also reflected in the search results from Google, Yahoo and MSN. They are all less likely to give you favor because your domain is brand new. You must prove yourself first.

There are ways to get around some of the trust issues related to the age of your domain. At Website Design Columbus, we carefully research and help you select your new domain name and we get it on the search engines fast. This is something many companies just won’t help you do or just aren’t any good at marketing new websites and domains.

When you are starting a new business or launching a new online campaign, you need visitors and potential leads as quickly as possible. Establishing an online presence is not something you should take chances with. Hire professional optimization experts like us to help launch your new website!

Web Hosting - Who Can You Trust?

Posted on December 7, 2008
Filed Under Web Hosting | Leave a Comment

Web hosting is the backbone of any website. For most small businesses, it’s the cheapest part of operating a site and the least considered - until something goes wrong or added functionality is needed. When is the last time you thought about the tires on your car? Perhaps the last time you blew a tire. Web hosting can be like that.

So how do you find a good hosting solution? Unfortunately the answer isn’t easy, but from experience, I can say you usually get what you pay for. There’s a lot of trial and error involved as well. For reasons we won’t discuss here, Website Design Columbus utilizes more than one host provider, thus we can’t simply say Company A is the best. Besides, there are advantages and disadvantages with each provider. The solution depends on what type of site you are operating.

Cheap web hosting is usually just that. It’s fine for people who are not depending on their website for their income. The differences between a 5 dollar/mo. hosting plan and a 30 dollar/mo. hosting plan is huge. I’m not saying every website needs to pay that much for hosting but back to the analogies, if you had a corvette would you outfit it with 20 dollar retread tires?

With cheap hosting, support is usually the first thing that suffers. Would you like to spend 5 days to resolve an issue with your site or 5 minutes? Can you call your host provider 24/7 and speak to someone who knows how to fix your problem? Or do you have to email support and wait “at least 24 hours”.

Let a company like Website Design Columbus help you select a host provider that fits your needs now and in the future. The research isn’t over either folks, we learn new lessons ourselves everyday with different companies. Let us test the waters so you can benefit from reliable web hosting services in Columbus, Ohio.

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