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It was a busy summer….here are a few of the Full Custom sites we launched in recent months. More on the new product ‘WordPress Theme and Technical Installation‘ in another post. (We’ve been cranking those out!)

• LVCounseling.com
• On-Target.com
• GRCKnows.com
• MillFac.com (with partner FirstAid Computers)

Formerly Preferred Telephone of Baton Rouge, Preferred Data | Voice | Networks updates their web presence.

We are pleased and proud to announce the launch of the redesigned site for Preferred – Data | Voice | Networks, formerly Preferred Telephone of Baton Rouge. This website was engineered in conjunction with our partner, Baton Rouge web design company aeTechnology. We originally designed the Preferred Telephone site back in 2007, and it was a privilege to be given the opportunity to grow with Preferred as they expanded their product offering and began operating under a new name.

Preferred designs innovative communication options for customers to reduce costs and increase productivity. They have built a team of knowledgeable and highly trained personnel, focusing on customer needs for today and into the future.

Our latest WordPress website gives our customer control over their content, allowing them to present timely information to their customers. The blog functionality was implemented for the Company News page.

For any of you who manage a Facebook fan page, you may have been greeted recently by a notification to preview or upgrade to the new fan page style. I recently took the preview tour of the page. Here is a summary of the changes that are coming soon to all fan pages. These changes will become mandatory on all pages starting March 10, 2011.

Showcase Your Latest Photos

Showcase Your Latest Photos

• The most recent photos that you post to your Wall or photos that you tag your Page in will appear at the top of the page exactly as they do in the new personal profiles. This area will not include any photos posted by your fans.
• To hide a photo, roll over it and click X.

For good or bad, the new fan page style is being made to resemble a personal profile by putting things where the user expects them to be on a personal profile. The photos across the top of the profile can be really great if you have relevant photos to post, such as for a portfolio, but for some businesses, featuring photos at the top of the page might not make sense. The good news is that you have complete control over what images appear there, so no spammy images allowed.

Navigation is now on the left as in personal profiles

Navigation Where People Expect It

Navigation links are now on the left, just like on people’s profiles.

This may be the toughest change to get used to because it means there are no longer going to be the familiar ‘tabs’ to which we are so accustomed. The top of the page was a prime location for the navigation, so it will take some adjustment and will be interesting to see if traffic to the tabs decreases.

As with individual profiles, there is no longer an “info box” displayed below the profile picture.

Wall Filters

Show the Top Posts on Your Wall

• You now have two Wall filters. You can show posts by your page and top posts from Everyone, a new way for people to see the most interesting stories first. As an admin, you’ll have additional filters for viewing posts on your page.
• To set a default filter for your Wall, go to Edit Page.

As an admin needing to manage the page, you can select the ‘Admin View’ and still see the posts in chronological order. This makes it harder for spam to go unnoticed at the bottom of the page.

Use Facebook as a Page

Use Facebook as Your Page

• You now have the flexibility to interact with the other areas of Facebook as a page.
• Get notifications when fans interact with your page or posts
• See activity from the pages you like in your news feed
• Like other pages and feature them on your page
• Make comments as your page on other pages
• To try this new feature, you can go to Account above and select Use Facebook as Page.

Previously, the only way to interact as the fan page was on the fan page itself through comments and posts, etc. Now, it is possible to interact on Facebook AS the fan page.

While you still can’t post to personal Facebook profiles as a Page, you can post to other Pages as a Page. This can be useful, but should be used scrupulously so as not to confuse matters. Always make sure that before you post to a Page that you are in the proper mode (human or fan page). Potential scenarios where using this functionality would be very appropriate might be when running cross-promotions with other businesses, sponsoring an event or supporting a charity.

New Settings

New settings

• You can set defaults for your email notifications and how you post to your page – as yourself or your page. You can also select which featured pages appear in the left column.
• To manage your settings for email and posting preferences, go to Edit Page and Your Settings. To select which pages appear in Likes, go to Edit Page and Featured.

These changes will become mandatory on all pages starting March 10, 2011. Learn more about the upgraded pages here.

Thank you all for a wonderful year!

We’ve been unbelievably busy working on lots of new sites and adding/maintaining our current customers’ sites. We are working hard and getting creative to keep up with the growth. Thank you to all of our clients — we truly appreciate your business and continued support.

We recently finished websites for High Capacity Leaders, Kelly Kakes, CBI Sunbelt Business Sales – Mergers and Acquisitions, and Redwood Wealth Management.

Facebook is no longer supporting Application Tabs on Personal or Business Profiles. Facebook Fan Pages are not affected. Our clients will not be affected by this change for the most part, but contact us if you are not sure.

Facebook has stopped supporting adding Application Tabs to Facebook Profiles as of October 13th. They’ve also announced that as of November 3rd, 2010, they will begin deleting existing application tabs from all Profiles.

If you have installed the Constant Contact “Join My List”  Tab on your personal Facebook Profile, this Tab will likely be removed by Facebook soon, so we encourage you to create a Facebook Fan Page instead and install it there.

If you need help adding the “Join My List” tab to your new Facebook Fan Page, read the Constant Contact FAQ, or give them a call. They will be happy to help you through the process. Or, contact us if you would like to have us help you with your social media initiatives.

Constant Contact has updated their Facebook Application with customization features!

We’re excited to announce a great update to the Constant Contact Facebook Application – the ability to include a company logo and your own message on the “Join My List” form. You can read about this update on the Constant Contact Labs Blog.

Customize your “mini thumbnail”

You can customize what section of your larger profile image appears as the “mini thumbnail” by clicking on “Edit Your Profile Picture” and then selecting “Edit Thumbnail.

Custom Facebook Business Page Profile Graphic

Create a custom graphic for your business profile

Did you know that your Facebook profile graphic can be up to 200 pixels wide and 600 pixels tall? Businesses can take advantage of this extra space to include contact information, taglines and slogans.

We recently created this Facebook profile image for our client BodiFresh™ which includes their logo, product image, tagline and contact information.

Secure a Vanity Username

If your page has at least 25 fans, you can secure a custom ‘vanity username’ for your Facebook page. This means your Facebook  business page can have a URL like www. facebook.com/sangfroidweb instead of www.facebook.com/pages/SangFroid-Web-Design/106051112765235.

If you are an administrator of a Facebook Page, you can choose your username at www.facebook.com/username just like a user selecting a username for their profile. On this page, there is a link to “Set a username for your Pages” underneath where you set your own personal username.

For more information on Facebook business pages, visit the Facebook Help Center page concerning business pages.

Add Custom Tabs

Businesses can use custom Facebook tabs to communicate additional information to their customers. Examples of this include highlighting special offers, listing store locations, or offering an email list sign up to name just a few.

Next week, Facebook will be implementing some changes to the general Facebook business page layout to include:

1. Boxes are going away, including the Boxes tab; and
2. All custom tabs will be narrowed to 520 pixels. If you have a custom tab, we recommend you visit your tab now for a preview of how your content fits in the new layout — please make adjustments as needed. The rest of Facebook will see the old tab width until August 23.

If you have an existing Facebook business page with custom tabs, review your tabs in the new layout to be sure the information will still look acceptable.

Happy Facebooking!

Constant Contact®, Inc. champions small businesses, associations, and nonprofits to help them connect with their customers, clients, and members easily and affordably. More than 350,000 organizations worldwide use Constant Contact’s industry-leading email marketing and online survey tools.

They create professional-looking email communications and online surveys to inform their audience and get feedback that ultimately result in closer relationships and tangible business growth.

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Paypal is becoming accepted more and more as a legitimate way for businesses to accept credit cards.  The advantages for small businesses include:

• No monthly fees - you only pay fees on a per transaction basis which is great for businesses that do a small or unpredictable monthly volume via credit card.
• Paypal handles the security – this eliminates the need for your site to be PCI compliant because the transaction is not handled on your site.  This saves you money on site set up.
• Paypal buttons or the Paypal shopping cart are relatively quick and easy to set up compared to a full-fledged shopping cart.

I’m happy to say that I am currently in love with the Monoslideshow as a quick, easy, and relatively non-intrusive way to incorporate Flash into a site…..because let’s face it, sometimes the client wants a little FLASH!

Here are a few designs currently in progress where I was happy to incorporate this snazzy little image slideshow. The license is an extremely reasonable $19.95, plus our regular hourly rate to install it. Depending on where it’s to be incorporated, this can be less than an hour.

Hidden Grove »
Russell Pool, Co. »
Party Chic »