Custom Wordpress themes

It is becoming increasingly popular and easier than ever to use a custom theme for your blog.  Up until now, you had to download and install a theme, that thousands of other people are using, resigned to the fact that it will not be unique.  Now, I’m not saying those themes are bad, of course, since some companies have truly specialized in blog theme creation and have incorporated a lot of nifty features that allow for easy integration with plugins, widgets, galleries, google checkout and more!  And if your blog is truly a blog, then these pre-made themes are probably your best and most cost-efficient option.

However, if you would rather have your blog site resemble a real website, with full branding and a custom layout, then you should look into custom Wordpress themes.  This will enable you to have a professionally designed website, with a Wordpress back office interface, that allows you to edit your own content, and stay in control of your online business reputation

XML Syndication

XML syndication is a fairly new concept born out of a growing need to post the same information on multiple websites all at once.  As you know, there are numerous websites out there that allow you to post an ad or sell a product or real estate listing:

• Local online newspapers
• Online classifieds
• Real estate websites
• Online car dealerships
• Online directories

Many of these sites receive millions of buyers searching every months, and sellers understand that if they post an ad or listing on ALL of the popular websites, they will greatly increase their exposure and the chance of selling!

However, there is one little snag.  This can be VERY time-consuming.  Posting an ad or listing on a website requires you to register, log in, fill out a lengthy form, upload a photo, etc.  Now, if you need to do this a dozen times or more, you’re looking at quite a time chunk.

That’s where XML syndication comes in.  Several companies have developed the technology to take your information and format an XML feed that posts your ad or listing on all the popular website FOR YOU!  You fill out a form ONE TIME and it gets published MANY TIMES!  It’s that simple.

XML syndication can be used to mass market almost anything:

• Auto sales
• Real estate listings
• Equipment
• Services
• Business listings
• Personal ads
• Wanted ads

…You get the idea!

The cost for XML syndication is fairly inexpensive, if not free, so do a little research and find out the best syndication service for you.  One of our clients provides a syndication service for new home builders and brokers to syndicate real estate listings around the world – Builderfeeds and Brokerfeeds.  Check them out!  We developed the XML syndication technology for them and created a custom solution for their needs.

We can do the same for you!  If you are an individual or a business with a need to syndication information across the internet on multiple website, contact us today to discuss an affordable custom solution for you.  It’s a lot easier than you think!

How to get an ecommerce account

By now most companies have realized the benefit and necessity of having a website.  That’s a given.  Whether or not they have launched a website that will produce a postive return on their investment is quite another matter.  It is one thing to own a domain name with pretty pictures on it, and a whole different ballgame to use your website to increase revenue and grow your business!  Hello!  Let’s talk about that.

There are a few major elements of utmost importance that will make or break a website.

• Usability
• Calls to action
• Search engine optimization
• Instant gratification

That fourth point is your main reason to have an ecommerce account.

Internet users have become highly skilled at surfing and searching, and you have about 8 seconds to catch their attention and keep them on your website.  The instant they land on your page, they want to identify that you have what they are looking for.  Once they have verified that you’ve got it, guess what… they want to BUY IT!  NOW!  And how will they do that without an online storefront, payment processing, credit card form, integrated ecommerce account??

Now, you probably already realize this, since you are reading this post to find out How to get an ecommerce account but I thought I should make sure that you understand the importance of it.  There is no questioning and no turning back – you need integrated ecommerce!  You are probably missing out on a huge revenue stream opportunity.

Let’s get started.

Step 1 – ORGANIZE your products/services

If you have products to sell, you must create an organized spreadsheet with all of your products, complete with names, product numbers, descriptions, pictures, specs, units, etc.

If you have a service to offer, you need to create a fee schedule or rate sheet that gives your customers a clear overview of their options and associated pricing.

Step 2 -Hire a developer that has EXPERIENCE with ecommerce modules

Do a little research.  Go to some of your competitors websites and check out their ecommerce structure.  Decide on a format that works for you and then contact a web developer to discuss ecommerce solutions.  Make sure they can show you examples of their work and obtain a quote.

Step 3 – Integrate an ecommerce account that YOU CAN EDIT inhouse.

Ideally you need to be able to add products, edit your services, change pricing and pictures all on your own.  There are ecommerce modules that will allow you to do this and it will save you a lot of time and money if you go with this option.  Again, instant gratification is key, and you need to be able to launch a new product without waiting for your web developer to upload the information for you.

Ultimately you need to realize that this does not have to be a complicated and time consuming project.  Check out our Ecommerce integration options and Contact Us today to get started!

J Peterman Flash Integration

J Peterman needed a Flash overlay for an interactive map.  They wanted to integrate their own pirate map style design with a Yahoo or Google style map.  We broke new ground by creating a Flash integration with Google maps.  This has not been achieved or documented online to date, so we are very excited to announce this accomplishment!

How to create a blog

There are probably a million “how to’s” out there that explain the ins and outs of blogging and how to set up your site and where to find the latest blog skins, and who has the jazziest plugins.  Now, for the well researched would-be blogger, these terms probably ring a bell and you know what I’m talking about.  But this article is for the brand new, just starting out, newbie blogger who hasn’t the first clue about where to begin, but just knows that you MUST start somewhere.  And as far as blogging is concerned, you MUST start.

I am going to give you 5 simple steps to get you off the ground and provide an outline to begin your research.  I am not going to get into too much detail, but instead provide an overview that will help you to wrap your mind around the idea so that you know where to begin.

1. Buy your own domain name

If you want to be serious about this and truly build traffic in order to grow your business, you simply must have your own website.  Feel free to post articles on multiple blogsites all over the internet, to your little heart’s content, but ALWAYS post the article on your blog site first.  Always.

2. Choose an easy-to-use content management system

The content management system, or CMS, is installed on the back end of your website.  The front end is what everybody sees and reads and comments on.  The back end is where you write your posts.  Typically you log in to the CMS, navigate through the hierarchy of pages and posts and manage your account from there.  One that I would highly recommend is the WordPress system.

3. Use a template

You want a blog that has a look and feel that accurately represents you and/or your business.  The design should be clean and attractive, and slightly bent towards your unique style – eg. professional, or artistic, real estate or health and fitness.  Whatever your need, there are templates out there to suit your taste.  You will need to have some Photoshop skills and some html background to customize the template.

4. Upload your CMS and your template

You will need to host your site somewhere.  This will cost you anywhere from $10 to $50 a month, depending on the provider.  You will also need to know how to upload your template and your CMS and attach it to your domain name.  This is usually where the beginner falls short.  It takes an intermediate knowledge of programming to accomplish this.  You will probably need help with this step.

5. Start writing!

You need to start out writing 5 or 6 articles a week to get the blog off the ground.  After you have built up a significant number of posts, you can usually slow down to 2 or 3 a week, and then eventually just 1 or 2 a week.  Of course, you can write as much as you like, so if the thoughts are flowing, keep writing!

If after reading this, you decide that you would just rather use a company to throw it all together for you, walk you through the process, train you on the CMS and get you up and running in a couple weeks, then check out our Blog Setup package.  It is very affordable and will have you blogging in no time!

Good luck!

Flash integration with Google maps

(Click on the image above to view the Flash Google map example in your browser window)

Buteo Software has broken new ground with the hugely successful development of a flash overlay for Google maps!  So far there has been no documentation online of anyone accomplishing this tricky feat.  We developed this new technology for one of our top clients, J.Peterman.  (Yep, that’s right.  The Seinfeld character, who actually happens to be a real guy, with a real business, in case you didn’t know)  They wanted a Yahoo map, originally, which presented a fair challenge, but not beyond our scope, since this has been tinkered with before, to some success.  However, much to everyone’s dismay, the Yahoo map zoom function does not play nicely with flash and we experienced a lag when we tried zooming in and out.  Nothing exscrutiating, but not ideal, to say the least.

So we started again from scratch with a Google map instead, to see if the speed could be improved…  And, voila!  It did!  We were very happy to find that Google did a much better job of coding the map functions, and our Flash overlay did nothing to disrupt the flow.

With a very happy client and a dozen more additions underway, we are currently in the process of developing and adding even more features to the map and will be posting those here as soon as they are complete!

Stay tuned!

JessVox

This is a stunning example of how appealing a blog website can be.  The term “blog” merely refers to the backend content editing setup, but the front end can look exactly like a high quality, custom website as you can see!  If you are interested in starting a blog, it is a lot easier than you probably realize.  We have a very competitive blog set up package that can get you up and running in one week!  And our blog layout is extremely search engine friendly.  We will train you on how to edit your content, layout and post and organize your blogs.  Don’t wait any longer… You can get started today!  Click here

Keithley

Keithley is a well-established and successful industrial company that designs, develops and manufactures complex electronic instruments and systems for high-performance production testing and process monitoring.  They have over 500 products that they supply regularly to engineers, technicians and scientists in manufacturing, product development and research functions.   Along with standard web design and development, we also integrated a custom online catalog solution with e-commerce setup, I2 technologies, multi-lingual capabilities, Zope CMS and an Oracle 8i back-end database.

New Homes Realty

NewHomes.com is a national company that provides buyers agents for new home listings.  New Homes has formed many partnerships with new home builders across the country to promote their new home listings on the website, and also fnd buyers in every state to work with directly throughout the purchase process.  We worked with them to provide front end programming, bash scripting and automation, search engine optimization, blog layout and blog install, and XML data exchange.

Builderfeeds.com

Builderfeeds presented us with the opportunity to provide a full circle custom web and programming solution.  Along with the web design and html integration, we also helped them to create a back-end interface that allows their customer to log in and manage their home listings within their private account.  We installed a payment processing system that includes an automatic monthly renewal capability.  We set up a blog style usability that allows them to edit the content and add fresh text anytime they like.  Most importantly, we helped them to develop a state of the art technology that creates an XML feed for their customers and syndicates listings to multiple online real estate portals.  This required us to work closely with the major players, such as Trulia and Zillow, in order to format their feeds to meet each and every requirement.  Builderfeeds in now one of the only listing syndication service providers for new home builders that offers a user-friendly interface and a time-saving bulk listing upload process.

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