Woodchuck Arts

We live in an online world. What your organization presents to that world matters! We have all visited those webpages that link to the unreadable, blurry, outdated copies of manuals or other important documents. Your organization deserves better! Converting your hardcopy manuals or outdated documents to a digital copy can increase efficiency and usability. This not only benefits site users who are searching these materials, but it also benefits your organization internally! Now that is a win-win! There are numerous benefits to digitization:

Increase in general readability.Older manuals and books are sometimes damaged and hard to read, wasting your company’s valuable time. By reformatting old text into a new digital version, information will become easier to read, increasing speed and accuracy.

Enlarge small print.Often charts, graphs, tables, and prints are small and difficult to read. Digitizing old charts allows you to enlarge these sections on your computer or device so that they are much easier to read. This will not only save time, but will reduce mistakes from misreading.

Search content digitally. A digital format allows you to get to the source of the issue quickly. The ability to search in Microsoft Word will make it easier to find the specific subject you need in your document, allowing you to solve problems more efficiently.

Reprint and share files with others. Sharing digital versions of your manuals or materials with other locations or customers is as simple as sending an email or linking the document to your site.

Adjust branding and marketing standards. As you update your brand, you can adjust document formatting and style to keep with your company’s current standards.

Cross platform applications. Digital manuals or documents can also benefit your online presence. Placing your content on your website can help new customers find you through keyword searches.

Efficient storage. Storing documents digitally will help your company save space.

So you have decided that you need a website! Now what? You only get one chance to make a first impression so let’s get going by thinking through a few basic questions about website development:

What are the goals for your website? Yes, you should have some site goals. Do you want to increase sales, provide information, or at the very minimum just produce an online presence so customers, business partners or maybe potential employees can learn about your business?

Where are you going? Things move fast on the web. Think about the future of your business while you are formulating your web plan. After all the time and energy you put into your site, you don’t want it to be googled-going-gone in three months’ time.

How will you find the time? Developing a solid site presence takes work! The good news is the Woodchuck Arts Team lives and breathes to help you do that work! How much extra time do you have to update, post new content, edit, and add quality photographs? Take a deep breath! We are here to help and have many options to help you through all of that.

Your website is the foundation of your online presence. Google processes over 1.2 trillion searches per year. If you do not have a website or your website does not reflect the quality of your business, you are losing potential customers. Google search is the #1 way that consumers find a business and when they find it, your website needs to give a good first impression. Remember the 6 second rule in web design; within that amount of time, a potential customer should know what the purpose of your website is. Your web real estate is just as important as your business or home real estate. It needs to look great as well as provide functions so that you are able to meet all of your online business goals. Woodchuck Arts would love to help you create and maintain your web presence as well as anything else you need, such as social media or SEO.

The look and feel of your website is what will initially grab visitors. Color scheme, information flow, and quality web artwork are important factors that we take into consideration. What really makes any website have an extra “punch” is great graphics, photographs, and imagery! Adding some custom artwork to your website can be a great way to give your current website a fresh look or improve your social media presence.

There are two things you must have to to create a website and have it be visible on the internet, a domain name and website hosting.

DOMAINS

The domain name is your homepage url or website address. For example, ours is woodchuckarts.com. There are many extensions for domain names. While .com is the most common extension, other prevalent extensions include .net, .biz, .info, and .org.

If you have yet to purchase your domain, we can help you through that process. Once you give us an idea of the name you would like, we will determine if it is available. If isn’t, we will assist you in choosing the next best option.

The average price for a domain name is $11.99 and annual renewals are approximately $14.99. You will need to renew your domain name every year. If you already own your domain but wish to host with us (see below), we can transfer your domain to our hosting.

Domain names – $11.99 but can vary. (see above)

Domain annual renewal – $14.99 but can vary. (see above)

HOSTINGS

Hosting is a service that provides the physical storage of your web files. This is different than your domain which gives you the web address. Without hosting you would not be able to see the files on your website via the internet.

Woodchuck Arts provides managed hosting through Bluehost.com. Our hosting services will provide you with server space, domain renewals, and email accounts. If your website or email service is interrupted, which will naturally happen from time to time, we will make sure that everything gets back up and running as fast as technology will allow (often before you notice the problem). The best part is you won’t have to spend hours on hold making that happen, we will take care of everything.

Annual Hosting Fee – $125

THAT’S ALL FOLKS-OR IS IT?

Once you have gone through all the work of building a quality website, you can breathe a quick sigh of relief, but you CAN’T stop there! It might feel like your mission is accomplished, but it just isn’t so! Much like a house, a website is never really done. It is always evolving and changing. Is your hosting set up and when will it renew? Do you know what hosting is? What about issues. Yes, there will be issues; it’s technology after all. Maybe things change at your business and you need to change information on your site (remember, you want your content CURRENT, right?). Again, fear not! Woodchuck Arts offers options that will fit your needs to help you through it all.

Maintenance

Website maintenance is an ongoing task. You have to make sure updates are completed, that links and images are working as they should, and the site is being monitored. Much like cars, websites require regular maintenance to maintain their function and security. As part of your maintenance package we will make sure your website is updated as needed. Woodchuck Arts will keep everything running smoothly, help with your search engine optimization and keep you safe from hackers. There are times when a necessary update will cause something on your website to lose function. If you are covered under a maintenance package, we will fix any problems that an update creates. We will also perform regular backups, delete spam comments and perform quarterly browser checks to make sure that your site still looks great and functions on all mobile devices.

Keeping your website updated and fresh will help your business come up in searches and keep your business credible. We know as a business owner you are busy and probably don’t have any extra time to make changes and additions to your website. Let our team make the changes you need monthly, weekly, or as often as you like! We will get the job done promptly and with accuracy. Any basic changes will be completed within two days from when you get us your content. When it comes to more complicated changes, we can come to a mutually beneficial agreement on when we will get them completed for you.

Since website maintenance is anything that will change or add to your site, the type of maintenance we can provide depends on how far technology and your imagination are able to go! That being said, here are a few of the more common website updates:

Text and Images – Changing or adding text and images to add freshness and make sure the content is accurate.

Functionality – Adding things such as maps, image galleries, forms, etc.

Update Style Elements – Updating colors, font sizes, adding texture, etc.

Announcements – Creating graphics for any sales, specific products or any other aspect of your business that you would like to highlight.

Broken Links – Few things will turn a potential customer off more than clicking on a link and having it take them to the land of nowhere. We would be happy to make link checking part of your regular maintenance plan.

WordPress Updates – Woodchuck Arts uses the WordPress platform for website development. WordPress continually grows and improves its structure and code.

Your brand is your promise to your customer. It represents your company as a whole and differentiates you from your competition. Needless to say, print and branding are important aspects of any business. Presenting the right image and having your basic branding pieces in place can make a big difference in your day to day business operations. We can help you create a package that fits your needs!

People want to connect with people. Paul Smith, an executive coach, former Director of Market Research at Procter & Gamble, and author of Lead with a Story says, “People want to be part of something bigger than themselves. A nameless, faceless corporation with no real purpose, no story, is not an inspiring place to be.”

It makes sense that today’s buzz in marketing is all about telling your story. Woodchuck Arts would love to help you expand your story on your website and through various social media platforms. Social media is an important part of business brand development and marketing. It has become an essential tool for almost every type of business, but sometimes it can be daunting. It can also be pretty time consuming! We are excited to help you develop your business marketing in social media and give you a consistent social media presence.