Five foolproof steps to getting projects you actually want to work on

A few days ago I was flipping through my calendar and all of a sudden it hit me : I've officially been running my own web design/development business for over a year now. Wow, what a feat!

It's a depressing fact that most businesses fail yet so far, I've been successful and I'm proud to say that I plan to keep it that way.

My business has been successful thanks to a combination of luck, hard work, perseverance and a willingness to approach my business strategically.

Here's the thing, though. A lot of it is replicable which means that YOU can start or grow your web design/development business too!

This article is going to walk you through the five foolproof steps that I use to get the web design/development projects I actually want to work on. By following these steps, I am confident that they can work for you too! It's not rocket science but it will take time and effort. But trust me, it's worth it.

BusinessCharlotte O'HaraFebruary 20, 2017my business, online business, ideal client, client project, portfolioComment

Expert Roundup : advice on creating an effective homepage

The moment someone arrives on your website, they have landed on the oh-so-important homepage. This is where visitors learn about you (and your business) and are introduced to your offerings (products, services, blog, etc.) for the first time.

A homepage is so much more than just a landing page with a bit of content thrown together.

When designed correctly, a homepage can be a very effective page that guides visitors around your site and highlights key content in a simple, well-organized way.

Sounds easy, right? If that's the case, however, why do people struggle so much with creating a homepage that works FOR their website and business?

A lot of consideration goes into a well-designed homepage but if this is your first time around (or if you haven't updated your website's homepage in a while), you might be wondering how to go about it in the best way possible.

Keep your cool because I've reached out to three experts who are killing it in the digital space and they've shared their advice on creating an effective homepage for your website.

Their pointers are insightful (naturally) but they're also specific enough that you can take their suggestions and apply them to your own website.

Web Design/DevelopmentCharlotte O'HaraFebruary 7, 2017homepage, web pages, Web content, Expert AdviceComment

How to update and edit banner images in Squarespace - video tutorial

Another Squarespace video tutorial coming your way!

In today's video, I'm going to show you how to update and edit a banner image in Squarespace, using a demo website on the Bedford template.

It's easy to switch out the banner image and make any edits you would like but it's important to make note that the process is different for banner images than it is for images within a page or blog post (more on that in a future video).

Web Design/DevelopmentCharlotte O'HaraJanuary 23, 2017squarespace, squarespace features, squarespace tips, video, tutorial, imagesComment

3 strategic ways to drive traffic from social media to your website

Running a website can often feel like you're juggling about ten different balls in the air trying to keep everything afloat.

There are so many moving parts to having a website that it can sometimes feel like you're always "working" but not always seeing results. For most websites, the goal is to generate traffic and increase sales of a product or service. This goal is quantifiable and possible to achieve...so long as you go about it systematically.

Depending on which "expert" you listen to, they will tell you that to increase traffic to your website you have to do more of one thing. They might tell you to focus your efforts on social media, email marketing, networking at industry events, content creation, etc. All of those strategies are valid but by trying to do everything at once, you'll spread yourself too thin and won't see any results.

Today's article is focused on how to use social media to drive traffic back to your website. The rest of the topics listed above? Those are for another day, my friend.

Be sure to grab my FREE checklist on how to drive traffic from social media to your website!

Tech TipsCharlotte O'HaraJanuary 23, 2017social media, twitter, instagram, facebook, pinterestComment

squarespace seo checklist

DOWNLOAD THE CHECKLIST TODAY!

squarespace seo checklist

DOWNLOAD THE CHECKLIST TODAY!

Thank you!