How can I help you with your website needs? I develop Professional and Creative websites to take your business to the "next level of success." What kind of first impression do you want to present to your customers or competitors in your industry? I’m a freelance website developer/designer living in SW Minnesota. I provide clients and companies with amazing websites that are beautiful and easy to use. I have nearly 20 years of experience with developing websites and marketing online businesses. Low rates and no monthly fee! Annual domain and hosting renewals are low. To get a free quote go to our website listed below and click on "Get Started" on the top menu. Save time and resources by owning a website that gets it right the first time. Invest in your business… It pays off.

  Just because your website is old, doesn’t make it Retro. Are you paying high maintenance or monthly fees? If your answer is YES, you may need to evaluate your online marketing plan. Your Designs Online offers low rates and no monthly fees! After your initial website is developed and completed, you will only pay for the updates you choose and yearly domain and hosting fees. That’s it, because we feel it’s not fair to bill you for services you don’t need. This is why our happy clients come back for more and tell their friends about us as well. For you, this means your bottom-line will show profitable results, and that’s a win-win for everyone!

  Ideas you can use to create a buzz, drive traffic, and make sales! • Write a guide about some aspect of your niche. These can help establish you as an authority in your field. • Get positive testimonials from happy customers with photos and locations. • Do a little research to find out what's trending, and write about it. Stick to topics that correlate with your products, services, or brand. • Add an FAQ section to your site and answer your site visitors' questions before they even ask them. Win-win! • Share success stories with your visitors, but do your best not to brag. • Share news articles about your business, as well as milestones met, like serving your 100th customer, for example. • Take note of your customer's questions and use them to improve any confusion in your website content.

  Turn Your Ideas into Realities What kind of first impression do you want to present to your customers in your industry? I can help you with your custom business needs to bring you to the "next level of success." Invest in your business. It pays off. I have nearly 20 years of experience with developing websites and marketing online businesses. Creative projects include, but not limited to the following: • Promotional materials • Digital or printable publications • Product or business demo videos • Graduation or funeral videos • Informational brochures • Customer invoices or proposals • Event fliers or posters • Business or product logos • Business card design • Online directory submissions • E-commerce startup • Blog set up • Ebook creation • Facebook business pages • PowerPoint presentations • Formatting professional documents • Website development • Domain setup and redirect • Graphic layout and design • Storefront or vendor show banners • Customer or client newsletters •

  Inexpensive Methods of Small Business Marketing 1. Get a Google My Business Listing, which literally puts your business on the map. 2. Get a Website! Every business needs a website, no matter how old-fashioned or offline your clients and customers are. 3. Social Media Presence. Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn, social media is another free-to-cheap way to get the word out about your small business. 4. Write Relevant Content. A business blog is an inexpensive way to get started on attracting readers and viewers to your site(s). 5. Run a Class. Leverage the time you put into creating and teaching the class by having a friend take video of you teaching, then put that video on your website and on YouTube. Attend Local Events. Every kind of networking help, even if it’s just to share ideas and inspirations with other business owners.

Give potential customers you come into contact with a good reason to try your products or services, which is your first step to making them loyal customers. Provide value and establish yourself as having an in-depth understanding of the problems they are looking to solve. This takes the form of creating content in blog posts, posting articles, sending email campains, and getting out there and physically networking with people. From all this, you will start to attract a following. After your efforts to bring in business, always remember to close the loop. Remember to follow up (follow up to sample sent, etc.) So many leads and great conversations are wasted because you forget to follow up. Doing this simple step is sure to get your client base to grow.

  Create Short Videos About Your Products Videos are eye-catching and can show another level of professionalism and engagement to your customers, which can give you a marketing edge. Opt for short, interesting videos, which are much more likely to be viewed. Videos can give you greater exposure and allow you to potentially reach a huge audience, and you can keep them simple by just using your smartphone and your computer's built-in video software. If you need inspiration, check industry news for relevant questions and trends, and make videos of your how your product can address these trends. Moral of the story? Successful Marketing Doesn't Have to Be Expensive. Even if you have a shoestring budget for getting your business out there, you can still make it work without cutting too far into your profits.

  Building a home is like building a website. Once it’s done, you may want to make improvements down the road. After you finish building a new home you might want to add a pool, a sun-room or a wrap around deck. After you finish building a new website you might want to add a photo gallery, a product store or a customer testimonial page. You don’t have to add every option right away. You can start small and expand and grow as your business expands.

  Q: Will owning a website for our business be worth my time and investment? A: Absolutely! If you do not have a website you are losing money. Owning your own website will make you credible with your customers and put you on an even playing field with your competitors. In doing so, you will be more noticed, accessible and profitable. My main goal is to help you make your business grow, and how that can be achieved. If you would like to learn more about how a website can make you more money, read my article about the many benefits of owning a website. How to Make a Website Pay for its Self.

  I believe that behind each successful product there needs to be a strong collaboration between designer and client. The designer and client must work as a team. As such, I guarantee your ideas will be heard, respected and discussed, and, if necessary, improved. By taking the time to listen to your needs and understand your goals, working together can be a stress free experience that who knows, might even turn out to be fun!

  In order to make it in business, you need something exceptional to stand out. At the same time, one needs to not compare themselves with others and only focus on what sets you apart. These are the qualifications that I provide with each and every website. 1. Clear price quotes upfront, so there are no surprises. All my rates are shown on my Quotes page online. 2. A beautiful and highly creative website that is both functional and easy to navigate. 3. I have developed various methods to provide my clients with the option to update their website on their own, to save time and money on updates. 4. I strive to listen to my client's needs and wants to produce the results they are looking for. I aim to illustrate these beliefs with my clients in the development of their website.

  When an “out-of-the-box” solution won’t do, custom development is a viable alternative. Boxed solutions are an incredible resource if your company is just like every other company that they serve, but that’s not often the case. Custom development can provide the solution, formatted in the manner you specify. Contact me today, for information regarding your website solution.

  Search Engines take into account many other factors when they rank your website. One of the best ways is to make sure you are seen EVERYWHERE! You want to have many inbound links to your website from other places online. By setting up accounts in your “business name” with links to your website you look more important. Especially if you are active on those accounts. We know you are busy and this can be overwhelming, so pick a few that work for your business and then let the other sit to generate counts when they can. Be sure to check on them occasionally for messages and to update important contact information or a post here and there when you can. What kind of accounts work well? The best sites are ones that show up in search results to maximize your ranking. Here’s a few ideas…Google+ Plus Business Page - Add your business to Google Maps - Add photos to Google Images - Bing Places for Business - Facebook Business Page - YouTube - Pinterest - Ebay or Etsy - industry related blogs and

  Practical Ideas for Promoting a Small Business Locally “Have you already been to that awesome pizza place on the corner?” This is how a small local brand name quickly becomes a buzzword. Building a strong local presence breaks down into two stages: earning recognition and maintaining reputation. Those who can reach their customers effectively and gain their trust are likely to become local celebs. Make your service and delivery perfect This should be done before any promotion happens. Word-of-mouth is a powerful referral source for your business–and you can drive it with stellar service and delivery to your existing customers. By wowing shoppers with perfect service and delivery, you’re showing that you’re honored to have them as a customer and that you value each and every one of them. Consider going above and beyond for your audience. Develop recognizable branding With a recognizable logo and consistent branding, your local business can gain a foothold in the local marketplace and

  Crucial Elements Every Website Should Have People put their best foot forward during job interviews. They get fresh haircuts, don their best suits, make sure they don't have spinach stuck in their teeth -- long story short, they try to make the best first impression possible. Every time a new person lands on your website, your business goes through a "job interview" of sorts. People are critiquing what they see in detail, establishing an opinion of you, and determining if you're worth getting to know further, and doing business with. Is your website making the right first impression? Elements Every Website Homepage Should Have What exactly do you want to include on your website? That can vary from industry to industry, but there are several must-have elements that every website needs to have across the board: A Clear Value Proposition Tell your visitors exactly what you do with a clear, easy-to-find value proposition. This may seem like a no-brainer, but you would b

  Things to keep in mind after your website is complete. 1. Updates & Maintenance: At some point you will probably want to update your website, or maybe even do a redesign to give it a fresh new look. Send your ideas or consult with me for ideas you haven’t thought about. I’d be happy to help you out to make your website grow with your business. 2. Adding Additional Features: Many times a client will just want a basic website to be found online, but after time goes by you may realize how much more could be added to make it better. Send us your needs and I’ll show you how they can be met by adding new features that you might not have even thought of. 3. Spammers love you: After a website is made the scammers come out to play. You might get all kinds of offers to improve or even pretend that you need to do a renewal to get money out of you. Tricking you into losing your domain name to a reseller or a even a competitor. Ignore and delete these emails ASAP. 4. Google Rankings: Remember

  Online Directories Don’t get overlooked just because you're not on your local communities free online directories. Search online for them and request to include your business. It takes time, but it’s so worth it. Where else do you get free advertising 24 hours a day? Be sure to include every way possible for them to contact you in your listing. Your website, phone, email, Facebook etc… Here are a few search ideas to search for…City directories - County directories - Community directories - Local online classifieds - Chamber of Commerce - Business directories - Newspapers - White pages - Yellow pages. Be sure to include near-by communities that you service as well.

  Advertise locally for free on the Internet. Here are my favorite local links to advertise for free. Okoboji Classifieds, Explore Okokboji, CraigsList, KeloLand Classifieds,  Oodle.com , Minnesota Super Ads,  Classifieds.com  Do a Google search to find more of these websites in your area. There are so many Networking websites out there that can promote your website and business. Some are just a waste of time, but here are a few that I have found to be worth a couple of minutes to open an account and add your business details. This list might not look like it’s for business, but trust me you want to be seen where your customers already spend their time. Use these services to work with you for your advantage. LinkedIn, Alignable Facebook, Yelp, Google +, AngelList, Twitter, Instagram-, Foursquare, YouTube, and Snapchat. Make sure to request connections with businesses and potential customers to get noticed.

  The Competition is not your enemy. Seriously. In fact, they can help you!! WHAT! How can that be? Here’s a true story… I have a “friend” who was focused on a disgruntled relationship with a similar business in town. This person watched every move this other business did to “one-up” them. They had to be in every newspaper, fair and show the other one was in. I could go on and on with the conflicts they had with each other and in the end, it only brought hardship at every turn. As the years went on I encouraged them to focus on what they did well instead of what the “other business” was doing. Focus on your differences and not similarities, because it's what makes you different that makes you special. For example, my “friend’s business” had a reputation of being highly detailed and doing each job so well that it would last many years longer than what is normally expected. On-the-other-hand the “other business” had a reputation of bad workmanship and customer service. He wasn’t frie

  Just a Reminder This may seem like a no-brainer, but ALWAYS remember to put your website address on your... 1. Business Cards & Fliers 2. Your business Facebook page (in the About section) 3. Newspaper & Radio Ads 4. Email signatures and other promotional items 5. Facebook business page about section 6. Your Google Business listing 7. LinkedIn account I often see client’s bran new splashy expensive advertisement out in the public somewhere, with no mention of their website to learn more. If you’re going to spend the money on a website (your best employee - see link here) Offer them as many ways as possible to contact you or save your information for when they are ready to be a valuable customer.