Cover Photo

This change was enacted by Facebook on March 30th. Hate it or love it – there’s nothing you can do. But we’re loving the changes. The Internet has gone image-based. Pinterest is exploding. Since consumers respond to images, the cover photo has taken place of the header, which is the first thing you see. Instead of using 2,000 words to explain who you are, you can use a single image to speak those 2,000 words for you.

You will have to decide whether you need a stunning photo or a graphic to take place of this 850×315 space. This will highlight who you are, why you are unique, and why you are “likable.” This needs to happen in one image. Who will make it? Well.. we’re floating on the green pond right now, but can take a break to create one for you!

Here is what the cover photo cannot contain:

• Price or Purchase information, eg. “50% off!”
• Contact info, such as web address, email, mailing address – these are intended for your Page’s About section.
• “Like” or “Share our Page”, or any other Facebook site features
• Calls to action, eg. “Get it now!”

The profile image can usually be a simple image of your logo or a portrait of yourself. The requirement is to upload it at 180×180, which will shrink to 125×125.

Featured Apps

It’s nice having the large imagery of the cover photo as the first thing you see. It’s much like going to the homepage of your website and seeing the important things above the fold. But then what is the purpose of your page? What do you want fans to do? Do you want them to buy something, subscribe to a newsletter, or spread the news about your page? This is where the featured apps come in.

Featured Apps were once simply links in the left hand side of the old Facebook Page. Maybe we all should admit that these little links were just sitting there, gathering dust. But now this aspect has been vastly improved. They are now 111×74 customizable app icons under the cover photo. Photos stay in place but there are three sections where you can choose which apps to feature. That’s right, you can add as many as 12 apps, but only 3 will be visible under the cover.

Designing for your default landing page was previously in our services. But Facebook has gotten rid of it. Now there are no more pages to land on. We weren’t worried about this change, though. The original profile format for Facebook Pages was, in all honesty… boring. A landing page had to be used for a call to action or to make the first thing people see when they go to your Facebook page at least a bit more appealing. In addition to the changes, the app or tab pages were widened from the cluttered 520px to the more breathable 810px(!) wide. A lot more can be done in that space.

The Format

There are now 2 columns that show more activity, reflecting the evolving story of the brand over time. To help keep important news from getting lost in time, brands can now “pin” content to the top if they want to feature such things as blog posts, calls to action, or images. This is indicated by the orange marker & will remain “pinned” for up to seven days.

Photos & albums are also shown more prominently throughout the timeline to attract attention. Thumbnails associated with shared posts catch the eye.

In addition, if you are a visual brand such as a photographer you should use the “Highlight” option. This stretches selected stories across 2 columns causing your Timeline to pop! The same thing goes for “Milestones.” It’s all about telling your story in an appealing way by using images.

We just added these services to our “Social Media Branding” Menu

Facebook Timeline Package
If you’d like help with design for your Timeline, you can save money by choosing this complete package which includes Cover Photo + 1 App Page Design.

Facebook Timeline Cover Photo
With the advent of Facebook’s new Timeline format, the possibilities are endless for creating brand awareness and encouraging interaction with your fans. After all, first impressions are huge! Let us design a custom, high-resolution timeline cover photo to feature at the top of your brand’s Facebook Page.

Facebook App Page Design
You can now direct people to old Facebook Landing Pages using a unique url or you can feature special services, products, or promotions using the new app feature for Facebook Pages. See what we mean by visiting the Pond’s Welcome page.

Don’t know where to start? Shoot us an email and we’ll work with you to create a custom cover photo and/or App page to help boost your online presence.

Happy Swimming,
The Green Pond Creative Team

Atkinson Remodeling offers cost effective ideas and experience to accommodate the needs of any project, every step of the way. Whether it is a home you are currently living in or one you are interested in renovating in the future, Atkinson can provide the expertise that makes for a successful renovation. And of course if remodeling is not in your future, you can simply let Atkinson build your new dream home!

The remodeling company came to us in need of a redesign. They felt their previous website was very outdated wanting it to be more contemporary, interesting, user friendly, and artsy. They also wanted it to provide more and better information for clients, as well as the ability to post more photos and videos. We are happy to say we provided just what they needed!

http://remodelingnashville.com

As much as we would all like a product or service that “sells itself,” at Green Pond Creative, we think there are quite a few more factors at play in the pysche of the average consumer that play on sales, or a lack thereof.

I read a very practical book recently called Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky. Highly recommended for the creative types who have more ideas than they seemingly have time or energy to implement. At any rate, this one story stood out to me and spoke volumes about the true value of marketing for any product, service, or business.

The story goes like this:

“On January 12, 2007, the Washington Post conducted a rather odd experiment involving a $3.5 million dollar Stradivarius violin, a Washington, D.C. Metro station, and Joshua Bell, arguably one of the most famous and critically acclaimed violinists in the world.

“A few days earlier, Bell had performed at Boston’s Symphony Hall, where even the cheap tickets go for a hundred bucks apiece. But on this winter day, at the height of the morning commute, Bell positioned himself in the busy L’Enfant Plaza Metro station, dressed in street clothes and a baseball cap, and played some of the finest classical pieces ever written, such as the Chaconne from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Partita no. 2 in D Minor, and Franz Schubert’s “Ave Maria.”

“As Bell delivered a virtuosic performance, more than a thousand busy commuters rushed past him on their way to work. Nearly every single one failed to appreciate his skill, and only a single person recognized him. After playing for forty-three minutes, Bell had collected only $32.17. In short, his precious gift went largely unnoticed.

“In some ways, it is deeply depressing that someone as talented as Joshua Bell could not break through the cacophony of an everyday commute. At the same time, people would likely have been awe-struck by the surprise performance had they been given the right context clues – like a sign announcing Bell’s use of a $3.5 million violin, or a velvet rope surrounding the performance area.

Clearly, marketing matters.

What kind of velvet ropes accompany your amazing product? What (sometimes subconscious) responses do you want to illicit from the general public who are often too consumed with the hustle and bustle of everyday life to turn a head and notice you? How can you meet them where they are AND stand out from the crowd? 

Marketing, my friends, whether it is through a website, social media, mail-outs, or a message written by an airplane in the sky, definitely matters.

Happy Swimming,

The Green Pond Creative Team

We admit – we’re passionate about using WordPress. Many know what it is and have used it, yet there are plenty of people who don’t even know what it is. We’ve been asked, “What is WordPress?” many times when we have handed out our business cards.

So we thought we would demystify WordPress and break it down in plain English. Here are a few reasons we think WordPress is the best:

1. It is FREE. WordPress is open source. Not many may know what open source means but what matters is this – it means free. Forever. End of story. There is no trick. This is one main reason millions love it.
2. It is very easy to install. It is famed for it’s 5-minute install. It can be done manually by you or automatically for you. Which leads us to the next reason.
3. It is supported by almost ALL hosting providers. Many web hosts offer tools to automatically install WordPress for you, which can be as easy to install on your website as the click of a button, quite literally. HostGator does not mind frogs in their ponds, so it our web host of choice. We’ve been with them for almost a year and have been swimming happily ever since.
4. A blog can be set up at WordPress.com or self-hosted. Setting up your blog at WordPress.com is simple and free. However, you might want the premium version or your own hosting to map your own unique domain name to your WordPress site. For example, you can have yourdomain.com instead of yourdomain.wordpress.com. This will also make customization broader and easier.
5. No coding knowledge is required. You never have to hack the source code of the CMS. But if you know PHP you can find comfort in knowing that you can change it around if you had to. It’s written in PHP, which makes it very customizable & easy for hosts to make friends with. We won’t swim too deep with why PHP is good. But trust us – methods of coding like Perl are just too scary.
6. Writing New Posts & Pages is easy. It is as easy as creating a Word document & clicking Publish. There is also a wide array of formatting tools included at your own disposal. You can tweak your posts even after they’ve been published. Even if you make mistakes, don’t let that stop you. You will learn as you go.
   
7. There are MANY paid & free themes to choose from. A huge market has erupted around paid WordPress themes. There are websites such as Organic Themes, Woothemes, & Elegant Themes dedicated solely to creating WordPress themes for you. And many by individuals at Themeforest who can simply submit their theme design for sale. Themes can range from free to a few bucks for the web illiterate person to get started with a cheap yet stunning web site. This is a big reason many people use WordPress over other CMSs. There are hundreds of free themes over at the WordPress Theme Directory. You can also download free themes at other sites such as Smashing Magazine. After you download your theme of choice, installing it to your website is super easy.
8. There are countless plugins. WordPress is so easily extendible that with a mere plugin you have an eCommerce site or even an entire social network. Other plugins include database backups, which allow you to schedule blog backups & have them automatically sent to you by email or stored in the server.
9. It is backed by a large community. WordPress has been built based on the feedback of amazing support, users, & especially by those who rely on WordPress as their main source of income. It’s vital having this kind of support in the community.
10. WordPress is for the simple & the complex. It can pass as a great use for a traditional blogging, or as a large CMS (Content Management System) for things like movie reviews, magazines, & stores.
11. It keeps getting better. When it began, WordPress was solely used as a traditional blogging platform. Then there were many niche-specific theme designs for portfolios, blogs, or magazines. Now with the rise of admin option pages built in, niche themes are no longer needed since you can quickly set up a large website & customize it with little effort. This means one theme tailored via the options panel to be anything you want: portfolio, magazine-style website full of content, or a simple, traditional blog the size of a tadpole. It also comes with the Automatic Upgrade, which makes updating your WordPress installation super easy.
12. They are created to be easily syndicated. Blog Feeds are already set up inside WordPress & are easy to subscribe to. If you don’t know what a feed is, it is a slimmed-down version of a blog which you can subscribe to using email or a RSS reader.
13. Comments are the man. Comments are the main key to interaction on your site. They are very easy to use & are already built into the template with WordPress themes. They are easily customizable and can be adjusted to look how you want. There are even plugins for comments to include links to each commenter’s most recent post if they have a blog as well or to link up to Facebook or Twitter.
14. WordPress works well for SEO. There are hundreds of things you can do to optimize your website for search engine optimization all within WordPress. Permalinks can be changed, titles can be optimized for SEO, and Google sees what posts are related through links to other posts within your site. With the comment feature included, it brings in followers from other sites. And before you know it, everything links up, which is what Search Engines love to see. You may have also heard it said that Content is King, so you can scatter keywords throughout your post wisely. And, what do ya know, SEO plugins such as the popular All in One SEO come in to make the job even easier for you!

Where we come in.

There are scads of different reasons why people come to us to build a beautifully functional WordPress website. Maybe you or your business falls into one of these categories:

• There are too many themes to choose from. We can choose for you what best represents your brand.
• Many free themes can be terrible & we cringe at some of the themes many bloggers have chosen. We want to help change that.
• If you are not comfortable with installing WordPress, doing that for you is one of our services.
• “I can’t, for the life of me, figure out how to tweak this theme to make it unique!” We’re ready to roll up our sleeves because we were born to customize themes.
• If you find many design agencies too large, expensive, or intimidating to you, we’ve got news for you: we’re a small, humble business, yes, small as the green pond, and we are eager to elevate your blog or small business to great heights.

Can you think of any more reasons in addition to the above why you like WordPress? You can reply in the comments!

1. Professional design. We know it might sound self-serving, but if your website looks amateur, your business does too. Professional website design for your wedding business is worth the investment for that all-important first impression.
2. Beautiful, high-quality images. We are an image driven culture, and this is especially true of the wedding industry. It’s one reason Pinterest has exploded over the past year. Brides planning their wedding want to envision their special day. The images on your website should help them do so.
3. Email sign-up field. Take the chance to connect with website visitors again and potentially turn them into a paying customer. Make sure you indicate that your email newsletter is free, how often you will be sending, and what brides can expect to find in the message (Discounts & promotions? Wedding planning tips? A free bridal guide ebook?)
4. Clear call to action on every page. This might be a phone number or a ‘call for free consultation’ button. Or the email sign up field we mentioned above for brides to receive monthly updates or special promotions. Make it easy for brides to contact you or purchase from your website.
5. Social media icons above the fold. Encourage brides to connect with you on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. Continue the conversation there and lengthen your total reach through these avenues.
6. Make your site mobile friendly. More and more people are searching for all manner of things from their mobile phones. Don’t miss out on a potential client because your website isn’t easily navigable on a smartphone. One thing we love about designing websites on the WordPress platform is the abundance of premium themes that come with a mobile friendly version of the site.
7. A blog with fresh content added at least weekly. This is paramount to helping your website show up higher in search engine listings. Plus it gives people a reason to subscribe to your content and return to your site on a regular basis. Make sure your blog is included internally on your own domain. Post wedding planning tips, before & after transformations, interviews with brides. The possibilities are endless!
8. Full address. The footer is a great place to include your full address and phone number on every page. This way Google knows where you are located and can include you in local searches.
9. Testimonials. Contact brides and ask for a few sentences about their experience with you and your business. Peer reviews are an important part of gaining the trust of potential clients.
10. Local keywords. Most wedding vendors work only locally, but brides are often planning from a distance. Include keywords related to the city in which you work throughout your copy and blog posts. Take advantage of web searches by brides or out of town wedding guests for vendors in your city.
11. Photos of you and your staff. Make your business more personal by including pictures and bio information of your staff. Brides looking to hire you want to feel like they know you. After all, you will be in charge of very important elements for their very important day!
12. Prices. People want to know what to expect before they even pick up the phone to call you. A ballpark figure or a starting estimate will do nicely. Give brides the information they need for their budget up front so you don’t miss out on their business.
13. Links to press coverage. Whether you’ve been mentioned in a local newspaper or featured in a prominent wedding magazine, make sure it’s listed on your website. This gives you credibility and establishes you as a top player in your local market.
14. A well-produced, professional video. This may not be in everyone’s budget, but a professionally produced video on your home page can do wonders for your business. Video is able to pull together so many emotions, both visually and audibly, to make your business come alive. The sum is greater than the parts where video is concerned.

There you have it! 14 elements to a great wedding vendor website. What other tips do you have to offer? 

Real Food Farm’s mission is to grow flavorful and nutritious food with only natural and Biodynamic techniques for the better health of our family, friends, and you. Free from pesticides, genetic engineering and chemical fertilizers, their fresh produce is grown in the Grassland community situated between Franklin and Brentwood, TN.

We saw that they needed a new, fresh redesign & they agreed. It turned out to be a beautiful partnership of fresh produce & dairy in exchange! Along with the amusement of guinea fowls & newborn calves on the farm…

realfoodfarms.com

Suzanne Bowen is the creator of BarreAmped, BarreAmped Advanced, BarreAmped Fire and BarreAmped Boot Camp. Classically trained at the NYC based Lotte Berk Method, Suzanne is the star of numerous internationally selling fitness DVDs. She felt that her old web design had too much of a medical look and was not doing its job in displaying who she was. Wanting something modern & edgy, she came to us for a redesign.

Along with our Whole Pond Package, she also requested a La Carte – a design for her Facebook landing page.

Join her for valuable insights on fitness, food and lifestyle at her website and see what she means by #shaketochange.

1. Limit your header height to 200 pixels or less.

The viewable area of the screen when someone first lands on your page is known as the area ‘above the fold’ (borrowed from the newspaper world). It’s some valuable real estate when it comes to first impressions. It’s important to let your viewers know what your blog is all about from the moment they arrive, but the content is what is most important.

Allow plenty of space above the fold to feature your content and other important links. Which leads me to bullet point #2:

2. Feature social media and RSS icons prominently above the fold.

In the blogging world, it’s all about making connections and learning from each other. Encourage your visitors to join the conversation through other avenues like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest as well. Pro tip: Coordinate your icons with the design of your blog. If you want custom buttons created to match a custom header design, we can help with both of those things!

3. Don’t litter your blog with ads.

Avoid excess advertisements on your blog (especially flash based). Viewers don’t generally like to be bombarded with visual busyness. Plus, it hides your content, which should be the star of the show! Keep your ads well placed in the sidebar or footer and integrate their placement into your overall design.

4. Use 3-4 colors at most in your design.

Again, keep it clean and keep it simple. In most cases, too many colors is overstimulating and can lead to a much higher bounce rate than you want.

5. Resize your pictures and remain consistent with size.

Uploading massive image files to your blog can really slow down your page load time (even if you choose to showcase a smaller dimension of the image in your post). Use any number of free photo editing websites (our favorite is Pixlr Express) to resize your images. Shoot for a horizontal width of no more than 800 pixels. Then remain consistent with the dimensions you use in your blog posts.

These days, everyone turns to the web to research service-based businesses before setting an appointment. In many people’s eyes, if you don’t have a presence online, you don’t exist. Potential clients want to know as much as possible about you and the services you provide before even reaching out and making that initial contact. You want to offer them as much information as possible — in an easy to navigate and easy to comprehend manner.

That was the dilemma for Dr. Jason Reinarts. He used a chiropractic template website service in the past, but wasn’t satisfied with their overall design, functionality, or the ability to update his website with new pictures or information himself. He needed a new logo with which to brand his clinic, and a functional website with a clean, modern design.

In we rode on white steeds of website awesomeness! (Just kidding about the steed part. Although that would have been a nice touch.) Drew began by designing Dr. Reinarts a fantastic new logo. On the web, you’ll notice the dot on the “i” rotates among five different icons, representing the 5 Essentials of Maximized Living on which he bases his care.

For print, we chose to use the icon of a spine. They even had these nifty t-shirts made!

As far as the website goes, this is a classic example of our very popular Frog Package with one extra added page. Their main overarching goal was to make it easy for visitors to call the office and set up an initial appointment. We made sure their phone number and contact information was featured prominently at the top right of the home page, as well as in the footer.

Social media was also important for this chiropractic clinic, as they strive to educate their patients on topics like nutrition, vaccines, and fitness and create a healthy living community online. Drew modified the social media widget in the sidebar, adding tabs for Facebook, Twitter, and RSS.

Dr. Reinarts was thrilled with the outcome of the project. Here he is in his own words:

“Green Pond Creative has done a fantastic job on the creation of our website. They contributed some great ideas and suggestions to help improve our layout, and were timely with changes and corrections. We are more than pleased at the quality of service received from them and would recommend that you choose them for your website design!”

Reinarts Family Chiropractic in Franklin, TN is transforming the lives of hundreds of people daily by teaching them how to achieve true health and healing through maintaining a healthy spine and living a healthy lifestyle. Dr. Reinarts needed a new logo, as well as a website to invite prospective patients into his office. He wanted a clean, modern design with easily accessible information.

www.rfchealth.com

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