Do you feel like you are wasting your time and money making constant changes to your website? If you are still maintaining your web site with tools like Frontpage or Dreamweaver, or you are making updates directly in the HTML code, chances are there is a much easier way. It is time for you to meet the modern Content Management Systems (CMS) like WordPress.

These systems have a number of advantages over applications like Frontpage. First of all, they work on the internet and thus don’t require you to install software on your computer. You have a new laptop? No problem! Your website updates will work fine without installing any software. By the same token, you don’t even have to be working on your own computer to make an update; you can make your updates from any computer with internet access. Better yet, you can make your updates from a smart phone!

Secondly, these systems have what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) graphical interfaces that require no coding skills whatsoever. It is as easy as point and click. As the very name implies, these systems are designed to let you “manage your content” easily.

Last but not least, these systems will give you more out-of-the-box features and components so you can have a unique looking website rather than a cookie-cutter template. Thanks to the open-source community supporting these systems, there are plug-ins built for every need you can imagine.

Now that you understand the benefits of Content Management Systems, you may be interested in switching to one. Blue Pixel Design can help you jump-start this by converting your website into a CMS format. Give us a call today at 1 (604) 318-5394 or e-mail raielene@bluepixeldesign.com.

"If you are a photographer and have a website, you need a blog. A blog can be a huge supplement to your website and can offer more for the viewer than just viewing your portfolio online. You can post new work to it and describe a little bit about your recent photo shoots, and add keywords to your copy which in turn will bring the search engines coming back to your site looking for new content."

Read more here:  http://freelanceswitch.com/freelancing-essentials/how-a-blog-can-help-your-photography-business/

Here’s what happened when Chris Savage, the chief executive of Wistia.com, searched for the phrase "private video sharing" on Twitter, a social networking site. One post he found read, "A teacher requested a private ‘video sharing’ Web site so that specialists can observe student behavior—can anyone refer one?"

That got Savage’s attention. He e-mailed back: "Still looking for a private video sharing site?"

Minutes later came the reply: "YES! It’s the first request for one—thought I’d hit up my tweets before [I] go digging."

Savage: "Cool. You may want to check out Wistia.com. Full disclosure, I’m the CEO; -)"

While this exchange may seem a bit cryptic, Savage is one of a growing number of business owners to whom it makes an awful lot of sense. Savage frequently trolls Twitter looking for sales leads for his five-person, $1 million company, which makes software that facilitates video sharing through a private network. Although Savage has been using Twitter for only a year, it’s already helped him find 12 new clients for his Lexington (Mass.) company. "This is a no-cost way of marketing," he says.

Jeremy Quittner, staff writer for BusinessWeek in New York, has written an insightful article entitled "Twitter: Building Businesses Tweet by Tweet", which outlines how entrepreneurs are finding the fast-rising microblogging site to be a useful tool for reaching out to customers.  It details Twitter’s strengths, how to get started and some examples of businesses who have made it work for them.

"As we see more and more businesses move their services online, and even more that begin their life on the Web, a greater need arises for websites that are designed and built to sell. A great-looking website may achieve the goal of shaping and delivering a strong brand, but its good looks alone aren’t enough to sell the products or services on offer. For that, you need to introduce the element of marketing."

Dmitry Fadeyev’s article, "Design To Sell: 8 Useful Tips To Help Your Website Convert", outlines 8 useful tips to make a casual reader of your website a buyer.

"It’s likely that you are familiar with most of the ‘traditional’ marketing practices; direct mail, email marketing, advertising, telesales, pr etc – however, for a few years now, given the opportunities the internet provides, the term ‘new marketing’ has been bandied around. If we think of traditional marketing as ‘push’ marketing – mediums we use to push our messages onto others ‘interrupting’ them, then the new marketing relates to ‘pull’ marketing – marketing activities we do which ‘attract’, as a magnet would, interested parties, at their own accord, to view our wares."

In her article entitled "Social Media:  5 Things to Do Right NOW", marketing consultant, Michelle Carvill, lists five of these pull activities and tips for getting started.