1. We are affordable. All of our services are reasonably priced. Most Atlanta web design firms won’t design a website for less than $5,000. There is no reason a basic website with a few pages should cost that much. We understand the struggles of having a small business and think all businesses should have the opportunity to have a professionally designed website for a reasonable cost. Whether you want a basic business card website, a website designed using a template, a custom designed website, or a fully-customized site with a back-end that allows you to change your content, we have a solution to fit your needs.
2. We are knowledgeable. Because the internet is constantly evolving, we believe in continuing education. Keeping up with all of the current trends is part of our job. We understand what internet users want, how search engines work, and how to use the internet to drive people to your place of business.
3. We are problem solvers. Need help getting your business noticed online? Driving more people to your current website? Getting customers to return to your store? That’s where we come in. Let us worry about these problems while you focus on what you do best– running your business.
4. We are good communicators. We listen, we give professional feedback, and we stay in touch. Your internet presence should reflect your business, and we are here to listen to your goals and ideas while incorporating the best practices in our field. We also continuously maintain contact with our clients during every step of their project(s).
5. We are dedicated. We are 100% committed to our business and customer service. If you call us, we will answer the phone or call you back as soon as possible. If you e-mail us, we will e-mail you back. In working hard for your business, we are working for our business’s success as well.

Choosing a web designer that suits the needs of your business is a crucial part of creating a successful website.

One of the most important things to look for is a designer that takes the time to get to know your business. A big part of our website design process is learning. You need to provide your designer with all of your marketing materials– brochures, flyers, logos, etc.

You also want a web designer that is receptive to criticism and willing to take your input into consideration. Your site needs to be uniquely YOU; it is an important extension of your business. We always tell our clients that we are building THEIR website. So if they don’t like something about the designs we come up with, they should say so. We aren’t here to get our egos fed; we are here to design a website that is going to help your business succeed.

As far as experience levels, you want a designer that has experience with…
- Web design. You want to go with an experienced firm because they know the whole process, and they understand important things like website usability standards and cross-browser compatibility.
-Programming. If you want any kind of interactive quality to your site like forms or administrative back-ends, you you’ll need a web designer with experience in a web programming language such as PHP or ASP.
-Graphic design. Typically, you have web designers that are good at programming and web designers that are good at graphic design. It is rare to find one person that is superior at both so make sure you go with a company that has a programmer and graphic designer. Because building your website is an important part of building your brand, you also need someone who understands formats that are not just web-based so that they can convert the look for your current materials to your website or vice versa.
-Search engine optimization. A lot of web designers don’t design with the search engines in mind. But it will save you lot of aggravation when you are trying to market your site if you have a designer that understands SEO best practices. Sites that are too graphically intense or all flash tend to not rank well in search engines. So unless you are a high profile business that has already built their brand like Chanel, you will need someone who understands how to get you to rank for keywords in your target area. You may have a really cool-looking design but what good is your website if no one can find it?

If you are interested in hiring a web designer to build your company’s website or just to improve it, mention this blog entry and get a free web consultation when you contact us!

I’m sure you know by now how important and beneficial building a website can be for your business.  As more and more people use the internet as part of their daily activities, it only becomes more critical that businesses adapt and create a web presence.  

However, we know that many small businesses are on tight budgets and feel that they cannot afford to hire a professional web design firm. What you may not know is that having  a custom site built by Goebel Media Group can be financed.  If you take advantage of our website design ’same as cash’ financing program, your payments can be as little as $100/month until your balance is paid off.

If website financing is something you may be interested in please request a web design quote.

The beginning of a new year is a great time to set goals for your business and decide where you are going to spend some of your marketing dollars. If you don’t have a website for your business or your website is outdated, make 2010 the year you stand out online.

If you aren’t convinced that now is the right time to start thinking about your website, consider the following reasons:

1. Customers and potential customers need to know where to find you.

Every business can benefit from having an effective website. That being said, not every business needs the same type of site and not every business needs a large and expensive site. Many small businesses simply need a few pages with their phone number, address and directions to their location. This is going to allow new and returning customers to access the information they need about your business whenever they need it just by searching you out in a search engine such as Google.

2. Your customers are already shopping (and pre-shopping) online.

According to Forrester Research, online sales in the US are expected to reach $331 billion in 2010. This market is only expected to grow.

There will always be a place for brick and mortar retail shops, but e-commerce is something you shouldn’t ignore or resist. Not included in the $331 billion figure are consumers who went online to research, price, and comparison shop products before going into a traditional store to actually make their purchase. So even if you aren’t ready to sell online, a website can motivate your customer to buy from you.

Another promising statistic from Forrester states that although the economic downturn has impacted overall sales in nearly all areas, the online sales growth rate has diminished only slightly and continues its upward trend by as much as 13% per year.

3. The sooner you get online, the sooner you will start making new customers online. 

Building a superior online presence takes time. Having a website built can be quick, but getting into the search engines and ranking well for the keywords you want can take months, even years for competitive terms. The good news is that you can get started right now by going to Godaddy.com and buying the domain name (that’s your .com or .net address). The domain will only cost you about $10/year. The earlier you get started, the sooner you can start getting results.

If you are serious about making 2010 your year to bring your business online, be sure to attend the January Market and visit http://www.goebelmedia.com for more information.

Goebel Media Group designed a new website for Dr. Faull Trover, located in Covington GA. Here are some of the highlights of the website:
- Flash header
- Administrative backend that allows them to update content for parents
- Fun, colorful site design that shows he is a pediatric doctor.

About Dr Trover:
Dr. Trover attended Tulane University for his undergraduate degree. He attended medical school at the University of Louisville School of Medicine.

Dr. Trover sees patients from birth to age 21 or completion of college.

Dr. Trover habla español.

Visit the site at http://www.drtrover.com

Free website and blog services like Blogger and Free Webs are attractive to business owners because they are free and easy to use.  While these services are great tools for personal use, using them for business blogging or for your business website can be a mistake.  Here are a few reasons to hire a professional to create your web presence:

1) Free blogs/sites tend not to rank as well in search engines.
There are exceptions, but frees sites usually don’t rank as well in search engines such as Google and Yahoo. Free sites and blogs are popular as hobby sites and often have poor content and are never updated. Because of this, search engines do not give these pages a high rank.

2) Free websites and blogs make your business seem less trustworthy.
There is a notion that free sites and blogs seem less authentic and less professional. Spammers and scammers use free website services almost exclusively; I wouldn’t want my business grouped with them!

3) Free sites and blogs often look cheap and have an unoriginal site design.
Again, there are exceptions. However, for the most part, free sites and blogs do not look as sharp as professional websites. First impressions count; why would you want your business represented with a poor looking, unoriginal design? Another problem with these sites is that they are not easily customized to fit the needs of your business.

4) Most of these services do not come with a domain name.
Your URL for a free site is usually just a subdomain of the service (ex. example.blogspot.com).  If you do get your own domain (www.example.com) through the service, you are giving them control over the domain. And if you decide to get a professional website in the future, it may be difficult or costly to get the domain back under your control.

5) These services often put ads on your site.
Many free services run their ads on your website. This can make your business look really unprofessional.  If someone is going to make money off your website, it should be you.

6) Some services are unreliable.
One of the most popular free website services (Geocities) is closing on October 26th 2009.  It highlights a good point that these services are free, and some have a hard time making money.  Also, because they are free, they have less obligation to their users to stay open.

Don’t get me wrong– free website and blog services can be a great thing.  They make creating a website or blog possible for anyone, which is great.  But if you’re serious about your website and your business, it’s a good idea to make an investment in some professional web design services.