Rich’s Web Design – April Newsletter (No Jokes!)
– NC Taxes Withheld –
– Google’s New Webmaster Guidelines –
– 6 Signs Your Company Needs a Website Design Refresh –
– Google’s Latest Tool Named ‘Resizer’
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NC Taxes Withheld

– Due to recent NC laws, starting March 1, 2016, RWD will now have to charge sales tax for most services. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-164.3 states that … services that repair, maintain or install tangible products are subject to tax. Even though this law was initially created to target the auto repair industry, it was written to inadvertently cover most all service related businesses. It was also written without clarity as to what constitutes ‘tangible products’. Various examples were included, but all with the caviot of ‘This list is not all-inclusive’.

I have various letters / emails that have been sent to NCDOR (NC Department of Revenue) for clarification. In the meantime, you will see this line on all invoices, starting this month. If it is determined that services related to web sites are NOT taxable, then these amounts will be REFUNDED to you from RWD.


http://www.richswebdesign.com/
 

GooglNew Webmaster Guidelines
Google recently published a major update to itsWebmaster Guidelines, a guide for site owners on how to get their Web sites found and indexed by Google.
1. Links – Every page of your site should be linked either with text links or a sitemap – RWD clients – Done!
2. Content – Make your site useful, information-rich and clear…. RWD clients -> talked about often!
3. Keywords – Determine the words users will search to find your topics… RWD clients -> Shown in your Rankings Reports.
4. Title Tag and Alt Attributes: Critical SEO elements, the title tag and image alt attributes need to be descriptive, specific and clear… RWD clients -> Always used!
5. Page Conceptual Hierarchy – Making it clear what a page is about… RWD clients -> Always done.
6. Mobile – Make your site mobile-friendly … RWD clients -> All RWD clients are mobile-friendly.
7. Best Practices – Build pages for users, not search engines. … RWD clients -> Always!
8. Violations: Classic Black Hat SEO techniques … RWD clients -> Never used!
For more of this article – Click Here!

 


http://www.richswebdesign.com/
 
6 Signs Your Company Needs a Website Design Refresh
 

As a core component of your marketing strategy, your website should be modified and optimized as industry standards evolve, trends shift or your personas change. However, a website that’s not up to par or helping your company meet its goals doesn’t necessarily require an entire redesign. Instead it might be time for a website refresh. Here are 6 reasons you can’t wait another minute:

1. The Bounce Rate is High – Bounce rate is the percentage of single-page sessions where a visitor came and left without interacting on your site. A high bounce rate is typically an indication that the visitor did not find what they we’re looking for …

2. It’s Not Responsive nor mobile Friendly – It’s a must in today’s mobile-driven world. Responsive web design allows a site’s layout and size to adapt to the type of device the visitor is browsing on…

3. It Uses Flash – Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform for creating vector graphics and animation. It was all the rage ten years ago…

4. It’s Slow – Websites with slow page load speeds contribute to a high bounce rate and ultimately affect conversion rates

5. It’s Old – If the last time you did a website refresh was more than five years ago, it’s time for a refresh. Design trends change over time…

6. You Hate It – You cringe when you give out your URL to someone new. You break out in a sweat when someone utters the words “I was on your website and …”

An unattractive website or one that’s harder to navigate than a labyrinth, isn’t doing your sales any favors. It’s amazing what a website refresh can do for your business.

An unattractive website or one that’s harder to navigate than a labyrinth, isn’t doing your sales any favors. It’s amazing what a website refresh can do for your business. -> Full article HERE

 
 Who has seen the new RWD refreshed site? Opinions?
 


http://www.richswebdesign.com/

Google’s Latest Tool Named ‘Resizer’ – 

Simply go to this URL – http://design.google.com/resizer/ and enter your own URL to see your site and how it renders on a desktop, tablet and mobile device.  Very nice Google tool!!