Meet One of Our Awesome Website Developers

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meet_the_team

 

Here at OpenPotion, we hire the rock stars from our industry to craft a team of knowledgeable, experienced, and awesome team members.

Meet Morgan, one of our website developers.  Morgan lives on the East Coast of Canada, a few hours drive from Maine.  He spends a lot of time at work, so you’ll usually find him at his computer.   Get to know Morgan with an exclusive peek into his world in the following interview.  I think you’ll like Morgan as much as we do.

Morgan

Morgan Farris Website Developer

 

Tell us a little about your background in website design:

I began my professional career as a Graphic Designer. I started freelancing for a couple of New York’s marketing firms including Hachette, Fillipachi, New Media, and Primedia  just to name a few. I have worked on projects for Nissan’s Altima and Pathfinder, Chevrolet Corvette, Car & Driver, and ELLE magazine.

One day, I found something called Joomla. I loved it ,and it enabled me to create an entire dynamic website all by myself, without requiring a team of programmers anymore. Since that time, I focused my energy more on websites than graphic design. I learned a lot about Joomla, created some interesting sites, and am always excited for each new release. In the last year or so, I’ve also been creating with WordPress, and plan to test out PageKit when it’s officially released this fall.

Sometimes I marvel at how times have changed – when I started, a good website cost clients $10,000 to $15,000. In fact, I even worked on a website project whose total cost was in the $100,000 range. Today,  you can get a website that does MORE than those sites did for a fraction of the cost!

Tells us about your work for OpenPotion:

At OpenPotion, I spend a good chunk of time handling Support Tickets. What I like most about handling support is that in order to fix some of the issues, you need to know a lot about all of the various parts of the website — this keeps me on my toes.  I learn new things every day.

 What do you like to do in your spare time?

Bike on nearby trails and  play “Assassin’s Creed” or Battlefield 4” on  the PS4.

What is your favorite advice that you like to give to clients about their website?

I typically ask clients to think about the ONE THING that they want their website to do – the one goal they want their website to accomplish for them – and then we’ll make the website do that for them successfully.

It’s not that websites only do “one thing” – but it’s that often clients want their website to do EVERYTHING, and that results in a website that, quite frankly, doesn’t help the user accomplish what they came to OpenPotion for in the first place. By asking the client to think about the most important goal they want their website to do, they realize the importance of  a focused website.

What has been your funniest moment working at OpenPotion?

There’s a couple, in the sense of chatting with the team members.  Everyone is pretty cool, so you can joke around with everyone and have a good time.

What’s your favorite food?

Pie.

What would your rapper name be?

I can’t rap. So that’s not even an option.

Favorite movie?
A L | E N S and Critters

Share a favorite meme from the Internet with us.

I’m more into classics than fads. So I tend to ignore things like that.

If you had a super power what would it be, and why?

Never thought about it. Not something I usually fantasize about, I suppose.

Editor’s Note:  If you ask us, Morgan’s super power is his super sonic speed when it comes to support tickets.  He works fast, expertly, and handles everything with aplomb and excellent customer service skills.

~Starr, Content Goddess

Starr Bryson

Blogging Blunders: 3 Simple Reasons Not to Overlook Content Marketing

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blogging blundersMaintaining a company blog with frequent posts often falls pretty low on the priority scale for small business owners. After all, what real impact does a blog post have on a company’s success? If you’re tempted to say “not much,” you might be surprised to learn the actual answer. In fact, a single blog post can have a massive impact on your company’s future. Best of all, updating your blog doesn’t require the same resources necessary to launch an expansive ad campaign or invest in traditional marketing efforts. The following 3 explanations outline some of the key reasons content marketing matters for businesses of all shapes and sizes.

Content Establishes Authority

If you’ve been in the business world for very long, you understand how essential it is to demonstrate your authority to your clients. Whether you sell used car parts, consultation services, or property management solutions, your clients want to feel like they are partnering with a business professional who knows what they’re talking about. While it’s easy to toot your own horn and proclaim your amazing prowess to the world, demonstrating your know-how takes a bit more work. Believe it or not, a humble blog post can go a long way towards establishing your position as an authority in your field.

When you write a blog, don’t focus on trying to make a quick sale. Instead, talk about interesting subjects that correlate with the underlying theme of your business. For example, if you’re a property manager, why not write a post extolling the delicious fare at the top eateries in your neighborhood? If you’re an interior designer, write about the trends taking over the industry. Your blog gives you the opportunity to sell yourself as an expert in your field. Don’t over-complicate things—instead, write about what you know.

Quality Content Spurs User Interaction

Business owners work hard every day to make sales and draw in new clients, but the customer relationship doesn’t end once a sale is made.  Instead, you want to encourage that relationship to grow deeper, as you gain the trust of those who patronize your business. Creating interesting, informative content is a surefire way to build user interest in your company and continue the conversation with your customers. Sharing your posts across social media networks can further capitalize on this opportunity, as you invite others to join the discussion. Not only does content strengthen the bonds you share with existing customers, but it also generates new leads for your business.

Content Creates a Following

As a business owner, one of the biggest challenges you face is spreading the word about your company. With an endless array of competitors salivating over your segment of the target market, you don’t have the luxury of sitting on your laurels and hoping for the best. Instead, you need to continually invest in reaching out to those who might be interested in the products and services your organization provides. By focusing on crafting content that informs, educates, and intrigues, you will organically create a larger online following. Of course, this serves as a nice ego boost, but the real benefits extend beyond the bragging rights. As your clout grows, the number of interested clients will follow.

Writing blog posts might feel like nothing more than a chore, but the results a company blog can generate should make you passionate about creating content that makes a veritable impact. Whether you write your own company posts, or you instead contract with a stellar partner like OpenPotion, focusing on growing your blog is a savvy move you don’t want to overlook. Although progress often feels hard to measure, the potential your single blog post represents is impossible to ignore.

-Adam Z, Content Wizard

Adam Zetterlund

3 Reasons to Get an Open-Source CMS Website Instead of Something Proprietary

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opensource-CMS

Launching a new website is an intensive process that encompasses a myriad of diverse tasks. From choosing a design scheme and layout to crafting the content that fills the site’s pages, it’s important to pay careful attention to the many components of a new website’s identity. For amateur webmasters with little experience in creating and maintaining an online destination, ideas like content management systems often appear overwhelming and complex, but these innovative resources are actually one of the most valuable tools available to would-be site managers.

Best of all, many of these platforms, commonly referred to as CMS, are also open-source, which represents a unique advantage for content creators and designers alike. An open-source CMS provides a seamless fit for most webmasters, thanks to the three following benefits:

1) Cost-Efficiency

Much like the name suggests, an open-source product is created and maintained by an independent group of developers. Unlike platforms from big-name software companies, an open-source CMS like WordPress or Joomla doesn’t carry an exorbitant price tag. Instead, these systems can be deployed and customized for a fraction of the cost of a proprietary system. Furthermore, the passionate grassroots development teams behind these open-source products continually release new updates to the bones of the CMS infrastructure, ensuring the platform remains secure and compatible with various web browsers.

2) Flexibility and Compatibility

Continual advances within the realm of digital content creation have served as an undeniable boon for web developers, but the various competing technologies don’t always play well together in practical applications. From coding languages to dynamic plug-ins, web designers have a vast arsenal of solutions available to them, but many proprietary management platforms only support a limited number of these resources. This results in a massive headache for designers and developers tasked with building a powerful, modern website.

Utilizing an open-source CMS as the infrastructure for a web destination eliminates many of these problems. Because of the wide number of sites taking advantage of these content systems, independent developers and large corporations alike have worked to make their products compatible with the most popular systems. For this reason, an open-source CMS can be customized to fit nearly any website need.

3) Intuitive User Experience

Professional web designers and developers tackle the responsibility of creating an appealing website, but often times, it’s small business owners and their staff who keep a site updated with new information. Without advanced knowledge of web development processes and the various elements that compose them, it frequently proves next to impossible for website owners to make changes to their site. Sites built on an open-source CMS, however, don’t present the same challenge. Open-source powerhouses like WordPress and Joomla are utilized by innumerable groups across the globe.

From multinational brands to mom-and-pop retail establishments, some of the Internet’s most-visited sites utilize an open-source CMS. Much of this popularity can be attributed to the unparalleled UX these systems provide. With a few hours of training, any website owner can master the basics of using an open-source CMS.

Ultimately, most website owners are most concerned with how well their site meets the needs and expectations of its visitors. In order to address this issue, however, it’s essential to use the right approach in the developmental process. We’ve had the privilege to partner with clients of all sizes in a web design capacity, and our open-source CMS solutions continue to prove invaluable for our customers. With the many benefits these platforms provide, it’s simply impossible to deny the appeal of an open-source content management system.

-Adam Z, Content Wizard

Adam Zetterlund

Your Website Could Use a Refresher

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Websites are like gardens – you need to keep watering them or they wilt. Something as simple as updating the call to actions can improve conversions by as much as 90%, and most sites that are a year or more old have elements that could be improved.

If you’re not frequently checking in with your website, it could be going stale. Here’s some typical changes our clients ask for that make a huge difference in the performance of their sites…

Update your software.

1Technology moves quickly, and just like ‘dog years’, a year in internet time is a big deal. If your software is out of date, you could be a prime target for spam attacks and costly site damage. Think you have nothing to steal? You’re still at risk. Hackers are not just looking to take – they’re wanting to use. You’re currently a prime target to those looking to use your site for spam, illegal file serving, and other nasty activities. hurting your reputation and taking months to repair the damage.

A quick software update could be all you need to have a faster, safer site, free from spam attacks and malware. Let us work our magic to keep your site safe and secure.

Freshen your SEO copy.

2Google updates its algorithms more often than I have a cup of tea – in the last few years we’ve seen the birth of Google Updates ‘Panda’, ‘Penguin’, and even a scary sounding ‘Payday Loan’, to name a few. These Google changes will have affected how your site shows up when people search. If your site has not been prepped for these changes, it’s a good bet that you’ve sunk down the rankings and slipped out of sight.

If your copy is earmarked as ‘spammy’ or ‘impersonal’, you could be losing your place in the Search Engine Results Pages. Let our Content Goddess Starr spring clean your content and boost your online reputation.

Make your site responsive.

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You aren’t using the same technology that you were when your site originally launched. Internet Explorer has released 5 new versions in the last 5 years, and since 2009, mobile web browsing has grown from 1% to a third of all internet traffic. Is your site responsive and compatible with current browsers? If not, say goodbye to a large chunk of your potential leads. With a growing portion of web traffic now coming from mobile devices, it’s important to be ready.

If your site is not yet responsive, speak to us – we can do this for you.

Simplify your menu structure.

7bLong, confusing menus are so 2012. Web users are quick, and far too fickle to sift through complex menus to find what they want. We recommend 5 items or less on your main menu.

If your menu leaves visitors in a muddle, lets work together and streamline things.

Is it time for a total redesign?

3Does your website work as hard as your best employee? Could you pay someone to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to adequately and consistently sell your product? Would you rather just have more leads, more income, and less to worry about? A redesign helps you to spend less and earn more.

We work with different budgets to achieve exactly what you’re looking for. Get in touch to find out how we can help you make more sales.

Refresh and update for less.

Websites should grow with your business. Our monthly support plans allow them to do just that, at a price that works for you.

On our Silver plan ($89 a month), you not only get government-grade security and fabulous 24/7 support, but you also get an included design hour every month (this alone is worth $129). You can use this to make gradual updates as and when they’re needed.

For more included design hours, or multiple sites, try our Gold or Platinum plans. Our customers love them!

ctaorange

Casual Friday in a Virtual Office: Silly Chrome Extensions

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Starr Bryson

When you work for a virtual company, chances are that every day is casual Friday. I’ll be the first to admit that I work in my pajamas most weekdays. It’s one of the perks of working from home (not to mention my short commute). So what can a virtual company do to mirror the popular Casual Friday of an office job?

Introducing . . . Fun Friday.

silly-chrome

Instead of dressing down or wearing jeans, Fun Friday is a day for those of us who work remotely from home to indulge in a little bit of silliness.

Chrome has many helpful and useful extensions to make you more productive, assist you in your work, and help you stay focused. Some even block ads and add security to your computer. But today isn’t about working harder, it’s about having fun. Let’s take a look at the some of the wacky, silly, and fun extensions Chrome has to offer us to bring a smile to our faces and give us a laugh.

Website Destroyer

Website Destroyer

This is perfect for anyone who needs to blow off steam. Are you a designer, frustrated with your latest graphic? Are you a writer, struggling through your Friday and the words just won’t come? Download this extension and start blowing up your screen. A fun way to virtually destroy any computer screen with your choice of weapons. Pick from a machine gun, shotgun, stamp, hammer, and flamethrower and start obliterating.

Mustachio

Mustachio

This hilarious extension adds a mustache to every photo on a website. With this add-on, every website you look at on a Friday will erupt in giggles.

Libdoge

doge

Fans of this popular meme will enjoy this extension, but even non-fans will smile at this cute dog’s face popping up on every webpage exclaiming things like, “so much doge” and “lots free actually”.

Jailbreak the Patriarchy

Jailbreak

This extension allows you to view the world in a gender swapped parallel universe. It switches every “she” for “he” and “his” for “hers”. You might confuse yourself with this one, but you’ll laugh yourself silly.

With all of these silly extensions, you’ll have a lot of fun this Friday . . . but don’t forget to get your work done.

Are you looking for a web designer? OpenPotion Web Design builds incredibly effective websites (and awesome relationships). Call us today to find out what we can do to help you create more business and get more leads with your website.

Do you have lackluster Yelp reviews?

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Your online reputation hangs in the balance.

In a recent study, 90% of frequent Yelp users said that a positive review affected their buying choices. In addition, nearly three quarters of online buyers reported that they trust online reviews ‘completely’. Your customers’ opinions control the success of your business. You no longer build the reputation of your business – your customers do.

With complex algorithms and intricate quality control, sites such as Yelp and Google are near impossible to control, so how do you make sure your business is only getting constructive reviews that boost your business? How do you turn review sites into awesome lead-generating machines?

What triggers the Yelp review filter?

Yelp HATES businesses asking for good reviews. In fact, they hate a lot of things. Here’s just some of the things that bother the Yelp filter gremlins…

Newsletter-Infographic

How do you keep reviews visible?

More people will complain when things go wrong than people praising when things go right. Think about it, have you ever called a waiter over to tell him the food was okay? No, but you’d let them know in a heartbeat if there was a hair on the plate. So how do you turn that customer frown upside down?

The answer

1) Proactively invite feedback.

“Feedback” is a wonderful word, as it literally means “Information about a reaction”. When used for improvement, there is no such thing as bad feedback, just constructive criticism. The real skill is to build feedback gathering into the overall process, and use it to improve, not to drive others away.

2) Make it a long term work in progress.

Set aside a few hours every month to gather feedback from customers. This could be a mailshot that is sent to a small portion of your customers every week, or a few minutes spent calling customers and catching up with them. Break it down into a long-term task, make your communications with them personal and responsive, and be ready to react.

3) Put your feet up – let OpenPotion handle it.

If you’re not making it really easy for customers to leave positive reviews, you’ll get bad ones. Instead of messing with mailing lists, phone calls, and spreadsheets of data, make it easy on yourself.

GatherK

One simple page. $29. Lots of kudos.

We’ll set up the page with your branding, and get it looking spiffing and ready for an influx of visitors. Customers who have had a positive experience get pointed to the right review platform for them, while those with more colorful things to say are encouraged to share their grievances privately and find a resolution, before it has chance to negatively impact your resolution.

CTA

Dealing with Bad or Negative Yelp Reviews

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Adam Zetterlund

 

YelpReviewsBlog
From large, multi-national chains to mom-and-pop storefronts on Main Street, Yelp reviews have a powerful impact on a business’ bottom line. Modern consumers rely on Yelp reviews to learn about merchants in their local area, make purchasing decisions, and choose between competing businesses. While 5-star reviews help a company stand out and build online clout, negative feedback can send a company’s online marketing efforts into a dangerous tailspin. Unfortunately, there is no magic formula to make negative reviews disappear, but business owners have several tools available to them to reduce the backlash these reviews create.

Responding to Complaints Directly

In spite of a business owner’s best intentions, customers will occasionally feel unsatisfied with the service they receive. Many customers choose to vent their frustrations on Yelp, rather than giving a business the opportunity to right the wrong. A highly-inflammatory review reflects poorly on a company’s online reputation, and it sends overall satisfaction ratings plummeting. Whenever a business owner notices a negative review on Yelp, it’s essential to launch into damage control mode.

A public response to a negative review serves two distinct purposes. Firstly, the response demonstrates a company’s commitment to customer service and proactivity. Other Yelp visitors appreciate companies who take the time to address problems and resolve customer issues. Secondly, a response helps to clarify how the customer relationship went downhill. Business owners may choose to explain themselves politely, but it’s important to keep things professional and courteous. Tossing sour grapes at negative reviewers rarely proves beneficial to companies.

Flagging Negative Reviews

While it might be tempting to immediately flag all negative reviews, the Yelp system is intended to help curb biased responses. Abusive Yelp reviews from previous employees and competitors are two prime examples of content that should be flagged. These reviews are posted exclusively with the intention of hurting the business in question. The same principle applies to purchased reviews, which are strictly forbidden by the Yelp Terms of Use. Business owners should keep an eye out for reviews of this nature, but keep flagged content to a minimum. If Yelp feels that a company is flagging too many reviews, the system may flag the company for inappropriate conduct.

Preventing Bad Reviews 

Damage control can greatly reduce the impact of a nasty review, but savvy business owners need to minimize the chances of such reviews cropping up in the first place. One simple way to maintain customer satisfaction is to immediately follow up  with clients. If the customer is unhappy, it’s much better to receive an email full of vitriol, rather than see an angry review on Yelp. To further simplify this process, consider using a tool such as GatherKudos. This powerful resource makes it possible to intercept negative reviews before they reach a service like Yelp, potentially causing massive damage to your online marketing strategy.

The importance of Yelp reviews cannot be overstated. Feedback from previous customers gives other consumers confidence in the services and products that a company has to offer. While negative reviews are an unpleasant occurrence, nearly every business owner will need to confront this challenge at some point. By developing a thoughtful strategy for resolving customer disputes via Yelp, business owners can protect their company from further damage, while simultaneously strengthening the brand’s appeal to other consumers.

The Call to Action: Why one little tweak might be all you need

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CTA description

A single change, 90% more clicks.

Getting the call-to-action right is a fine art. Unbounce.com recently ran a test on one of their landing pages that offered a free 30-day trial to new users. All they did was change “You” to “My”, making the new call-to-action read “Start my free 30 day trial”. Within three weeks, they had raised their click-through rate by 90%. In another example of excellent CTA optimization, MatchOffice.com reworded the text of one of their buttons from “Order Information” to “Get Information”, and saw nearly 15% more people click it.

Easily do it on your own website.

All it takes is one simple tweak to a button, and you have a recipe for success. People respond better when they a required to put in minimal effort. Single words carry many connotations, so you need to make sure you are picking the right ones that say the right things about you.

the words that sell

Get us to do it for you.

OpenPotion has been advising companies on conversion optimization techniques like this for years, and we can help you. Changes like this are quick and easy to do, and it will surprise you just how effective they are. Simply click the button below and we’ll be in contact shortly to get started.

CTAsalesbutton

Pssst, a little sneaky discount for our clients.

Cut some corners and get a pretty great deal. Should you subscribe to our Silver Plan, you will benefit from an included hour of website development every month (a value of $129!) to make tweaks and touches to your website. Amazing! Here’s just some of the things you could do with that time…

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Click here to see more of our Plans and Pricing.

How to Make a Rock Star Hero Image

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Starr Bryson

What is a Hero Image?

The hero image is a banner that is displayed prominently across the top of a webpage- typically the landing, or home, page- front and center. Its purpose is to present a visual overview of what your website is about and attract visitors to stay awhile. The hero image gives you a chance to show just how awesome you are.

Why is it important to have a Hero Image?

A picture is worth a thousand words. In today’s world of instant gratification and short attention spans, you want to quickly and visually give visitors an idea of what your website is all about- a sort of preview of your content.

A well made Hero Image- such as we do here at OpenPotion- will demonstrate several things in only seconds. A headline, describing your business and what you do, a sub headline telling them what they’ll get, a short video showcasing your business, and finally, a photo of a real person with an actual quote about the business.

Why is it important to use a Real Person?

Stock photos are lame. It doesn’t make your company look very honest if the same person from your hero image shows up all over the internet selling other brands.

You want to be transparent. By using a real person from y our company with the accompanying quote, you’re painting a picture of a company with real people who are approachable and down to earth. Not to mention honest.

Do I have to?

The short answer is yes, you do. The other answer is, no you don’t really have to. We can do it for you. You just provide the photos you wish to use and we’ll do the rest (for a small fee).

If you want to rock out your own hero image, please follow the guidelines below on our handy visual aid.   You’ll be a pro in no time.

 

How to Make a Hero Image Look Awesome

How to Make a Hero Image Look Awesome

Video Announcing Our New Website

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Announcing Our New Website

I was outside our home in Pacific Palisades, walking with my almost 2-year-old and my 6 year old nephew and decided to record a quick video. This was a big leap from our old Joomla site and took quite a while to develop… there are still several things on my todo list, but it is up and it is better than our previous site… so… progress!

Some of the things that went into this…

  1. Migrating content
  2. Planning out a simpler, smarter structure for our search engine friendly URLs
  3. Setting up 301,302,307 redirects to redirect old pages and to new locations
  4. Integrating ScheduleOnce
  5. Researching lots of WordPress addons to find the best ones
  6. Setting up site-wide SSL (https)
  7. Enabling and tweaking page caching (W3TC)
  8. CDN integration (CDN77)
  9. Integrating ZOPIM Live Chat
  10. And a LOT more…

 

Why did we switch to WordPress? I’ll write another post on that.Looking to migrate from Joomla to WordPress? Need a new website designed? We can certainly help with that.

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