Marcie Mo Designs

Had to move servers

2009-11-11T15:17:00.001-08:00

My server died while I was in the process of moving. I have moved all my files to a new server. Hopefully this will make my website more reliable.

What Logo Formats You Get

2009-05-27T14:57:00.001-07:00

When I design a logo I design it with Adobe Illustrator. Doing this allows me to re size the logo to many different sizes and I can give you a logo that you can have re sized for signs, banners, or any other large format.

Upon final approval of your logo you will receive the following logo formats:

eps - this is a vector format that will allow you to increase the size of the logo without losing quality. This is good for anything that will be printed with your logo on it.
jpg and gif - these files a great for the web. They load quickly and can be used for web banners, ads, emails, and websites.
tiff - A format recognized by most programs. This format cannot be enlarged without losing quality, but is higher quality than a jpg or gif and can be used for printing.
psd with layers - this format can be edited in Adobe Photoshop and is great if you ever want to change the font or colors of your logo.
All formats in black and white, reversed type, and full color.
favicon - This is the little icon that is next to your url in a web browser and is also included when someone bookmarks your site.

Some of these formats are ones I have just recently added. If I have done design for you in the past and you have not received one of these formats, contact me.

New CMS Offered to Clients

2009-01-05T19:23:00.000-08:00

I have a new CMS to offer my clients. CMS stands for "Content Management System". It allows the owner of the website to edit the content of their own website without any special programs or html knowledge. The client will access the CMS through an Internet browser using any Internet connection. This is great if you are on a trip and need to make a change on your website. No need to contact me, hire someone else to make the change, and you don't even need to be on a certain computer. If you have an Internet connection and an Internet browser, you can change your website content. The CMS has a WYSIWYG editor format. WYSIWYG stands for "what you see is what you get". The way the page looks in the editor is the way it will look in on the web page. I have offered an editor to my clients since I started doing web design. I like empowering my clients to take charge of their own site, making them less dependant on me and giving them control of their own site. It also saves them tons of money in maintenance fees.

New features included in the new CMS are:
multiple admin access
built in login
multiple users
multiple group options, this allows you to give special access to certain groups
built in calendar calendar (can be setup to only be accessed by certain groups)
stores old copies of pages, easy to revert back to old version if a mistake is made
random fortune (can be used for client quotes, etc)
multiple templates

The old CMS can be upgraded to the CMS for those of you who already have the CMS installed. The charge for an upgrade is $75. If you would like to have a CMS installed for your site, please contact me for a quote.

Website Updates and Economic Woes

2008-12-18T12:17:00.000-08:00

Upgrading your website is very important. If you are using a web script such as Zen Cart, Coppermine Gallery, phpBB, WordPress (hosted on your server, not theirs), you will want to upgrade these often. Hackers write scripts to search the Internet looking for holes in these (and other) web scripts. When a hole is found the script written by the hacker enters into your website and can do a lot of damage.

In the past couple of months I have had to clean up several messes left by hackers. On one particular site the store was hacked. The hacker was able to enter the admin and steal credit card information from a few customers. This is VERY bad. It ruins your reputation as an online store owner. No one wants to buy from a store that is vulnerable like that. This particular website hadn't been updated since it was installed over a year ago. It is important to keep on top of upgrades.

If you are unable to upgrade your site on your own, I can maintain your website for as little as $35/month. I will keep track of which web scripts need to be updated and perform the updates as needed. If you are interested let me know.

During these tough economic times people are having a hard time finding money to put toward website upgrades and updates. If you are struggling to make ends meet, but are in need of upgrades or other website services, let me know. I am willing to barter and trade for my services. I love scrapbooking, as many of my clients do and I am willing to do work for products!

It is important to me for your site to be secure. When my clients succeed, so do I. Contact me if you need work done and we can work something out for payment. Payment plans can be worked out.

I appreciate those that I have worked with this past year and look forward to working with many others year. I am excited to make your website dreams a reality!

Paradise Scrapbooking

2008-12-15T09:34:00.000-08:00

I recently completed a website for Gail Weber. She is a member of ScrapBiz. The name she chose for her company is Paradise Scrapbooking. Here is the logo she chose from the samples I came up with:
I installed my new cms for her along with Zen Cart, WordPress, and Coppermine Gallery. Many people are foregoing message boards these days. There is too much maintenance involved when running a message board. Instead they opt for a blog. Blogs are a great way to stay in touch with your customers, without the maintenance and headache of a message board.

Trojan Alert

2008-12-11T15:20:00.000-08:00

My computer has been infected by a trojan horse. These things can be nasty and annoying. They steal information off your computer and send it back to the person spreading it so that they can use your information. This information can be anything you type; credit card numbers, passwords, etc.

Kind of dumb how I got it. I should have known better. After performing an update on my desktop computer that runs Windows XP, I received a Security Center Alert message stating that there was suspicious software on my computer and I needed to enable protection. So I clicked on the button and downloaded the software that was supposed to be a firewall/virus scanner. Well, it wasn't, it was a trojan. Not sure where the initial suspicious software (the Security Center Alert) came from.

Now I am backing up all my data. It's going to take awhile, I have gigs and gigs of data. Then I will be reformatting my computer to start fresh and clean. Until everything is reformatted, reinstalled, and my information is put back on my computer I will not be able to do much in the way of web design. All my files and programs are on my desktop computer. I am using my laptop right now. There will be some things I will be able to do on here and I will be setting it up tomorrow to be able to complete some work that was promised to be completed soon.

Take this as a warning not to click on links to software that is NOT from Microsoft. They are not going to be sending you to some third party to download stuff, they will want to sell it to you themselves. Or give it to you because you use their software.

ScrapBiz has a new look

2008-10-30T08:39:00.000-07:00

Kim, the owner of the scrapbook retailers group ScrapBiz, contacted me a few months ago. She was ready for a new look. I have been a member of this group since 2003. I have been maintaining the ScrapBiz website since 2005. Kim found a template she really liked. I made changes to the template and added Kim's content to it. The website looks great, has more information than ever, and is easy to navigate.

One of the additions that was made to the website is the option to open a PhotoBookBiz. Kim has partnered with RocketLife to bring this great opportunity. To read more about starting a PhotoBookBiz visit ScrapBiz.

Available Galleries

2008-08-11T09:05:00.000-07:00

If you are in the market for a gallery to put on your website the first recommendation would be to go with Coppermine Photo Gallery. This gallery script is php based and uses a mysql database. It is also FREE! It is released under the GPL which means that it is free for you to download and change at will. It also means that there are MANY programmers that have written cool scripts and add-ons for it. These scripts and add-ons give you the capability to have several cool and unique features on your gallery. It will also integrate with some message boards, including PhpBB, so that users only have one username and password for both scripts.

If you are willing to pay for your gallery I would recommended PhotoPost -This one has a ton of features and a nice layout. You can integrate it with your messageboard as well.

I can install either of these galleries for you. If you choose to go with PhotoPost you must pay for it first and then I will install and customize it.

I have become quite good at customizing these galleries. I can make them look exactly like your website. Here is a list of galleries I have done:
http://colormedaisy.com/gallery
http://www.kypaperkreations.com/gallery/
http://addictedscrappers.com/gallery/
http://www.memoryworkshop.ca/gallery/
For those who are ScrapBiz members will be able to view the ScrapBiz gallery. I setup and customized the ScrapBiz gallery.
Another type of gallery is a portfolio gallery. This gallery does not have users, you are the only contributor. The galleries listed below are based on a javascript technique called LightBox.
Here are some examples of a portfolio gallery that I did:
http://www.distinctivemoments.com/portfolio/
http://kristyscustomcreations.com/?p=7

If you are interested in a gallery for your website, contact me for questions or pricing.

Finding a Domain Name

2008-08-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

I would recommend to all new businesses to find your domain name first, before you decide on a name for your company. These days it is essential to have a website. The less confusing your domain name is the better. If your business name is "The Best Business Ever", you decide since it's a long name to shorten your domain name by doing thebestbizever.com or tbbe.com, but those are confusing and may not be found by your customers. DO NOT SHORTEN YOUR BUSINESS URL. Even though it may seem long the best sollution is to go with the full business name thebestbusinessever.com.

As you are brainstorming a business name check for the domain name. If it's not available in the .com, move on. The harder you make it for people to find you online the less successful your online business will be.

I found this website that makes it VERY simple to look up a domain name to see if it's available. If the domain name is available it gives you a list of registrars that you can register with.

http://instantdomainsearch.com/

Another tip I have for registering a domain name (if you're planning on getting your site up soon) is to register it with the host you plan on using. Some hosts will offer free domain name registration with sign up. BlueHost is one that offers this and so does . Start Logic.

Ez Web Hosting offers a wizard that can help you choose a domain name, I haven't used it, but it could be helpful. Here's the link to the wizard http://www.ez-web-hosting.com/whois...php?do_wizard=1

Hope this will help anyone who is on a search for a domain name or looking to register one!

Color Me Daisy!

2008-08-04T08:26:00.000-07:00

Color Me Daisy was a very fun site to do. This company is owned and run by a husband and wife. Michael and Michelle were very nice and very involved in the planning and creating of their website. They had very definite ideas of what they wanted in their design and website. This made it easy to begin designing their site. There was no guess work! Color Me Daisy is a monthly kit club. Michael and Michelle did a lot of research into starting a kit club. I wish them luck and much success!

Robin's Nook

2008-07-30T08:30:00.000-07:00

Christina Kasten contacted me a few months ago. She is the owner of Robin's Nook. They offer QuicKutz dies and machines. They have this really unique program where you get to try dies before you buy them. She wanted a redesign. All of her content and functionality were done by an in house programmer they have. All I needed to do was create a template.
I had fun with the beautiful soft pastels and the cute "die cut" robin. She had designed the robin out of paper and I took the paper one and created a digital format of it. I first created it in Adobe Illustrator, then I took it into Adobe Photoshop and added a canvas paper texture to it and gave it some dimension with drop shadows for each piece. It was a lot of fun! I really love the scalloped edges on the site. It looks really great with all her content in it!

Kristy's Custom Creations

2008-06-02T12:12:00.000-07:00

Kristy's Custom Creations website is coming together nicely. I am so happy with this website. This website is an example of this sort of gift that I have. When I talk to a person who wants web design, I sometimes get ideas in my head of what would I should do for the design. Sometimes I am off and the person doesn't really like it, but other times I am right on and the person loves it and says stuff like "this is EXACTLY what I wanted" or "It's so ME!". I love it when I get it right on.

Kristy will be doing scrapbooking for others. She will be creating scrapbooks for other people using their pictures. I have seen some of her work and it's fabulous! I wish her well in all her business ventures!

My Lil Scrap Nook Finished!

2008-04-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

I am really excited about this website. The look isn't really my style, but I think it turned out really great. It looks cozy and inviting. The colors are very vibrant, yet not overwhelming. Angie, the owner is very happy with it. Before she contacted me she had been attempting to create the site herself, when her computer crashed. She decided to take the plunge and get a designer, less things to worry about! Great idea, Angie! It's always a good idea to focus on your business and what you do the best and allow a designer to do what they do best and design and setup your website!

One of my favorite compliments that Angie gave:

"OH my goodness, I love the design!!!!!!!!! I just love brown, pink, and green together!! And the logo is perfect!!!! You are so awesome!!! I am so excited to see it all finished!!!!

Thanks so much!!! "

Thank you, Angie! It is always fun to do different designs and help make your vision a reality!

Back to Work

2008-03-18T14:18:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago I returned to work as a freelance web designer. I took a few months off for the birth of my son. I have two projects right now (even though I only said I would take 1 at a time). I am really excited about both of them. My Lil Scrapnook and Kristy's Custom Creations are the two companies. Both are getting logos, web design and a store. The owner of My Lil Scrapnook, Angela Fillaus and the owner of Kristy's Custom Creations, Kristy Dowlin are both members of ScrapBiz. They both have a great vision of what they want for their online stores.

Right now I am in the final stages of design on both projects. I have presented a few samples to Angela and Kristy. Angela has chosen her logo and now we are working on a design for the website. When they have chosen their final designs I will put the designs up on their servers and begin adding the content they provide to me. I will also begin creating templates for Zen Cart. Coppermine Gallery will be installed on Angela's server and a simple non-user gallery, like the one in my portfolio, will be installed on Kristy's server. Kristy will be mostly be doing scrapbooking for others and creating pre-made books and cards to sell in her store.

When the design phase is complete and a design is chosen I will post the designs.

Web Design Blog

2008-02-25T12:56:00.000-08:00

I've decided to start a blog for my web design. Consistently changing content increases search engine rankings. A blog is an easy to change content frequently.

With a new year comes new changes. I will be changing the design of my personal blog and also to this site, my web design website.

Things I think I'll blog about on a professional level: current and past work, my favorite website designs, my favorite logo designs, tips and tutorials for design and websites, as well as articles on website related topics.