Over the years we have found that many of our clients are unsure of the definitions of many internet related terms. Although the following list of words and definitions is not comprehensive, it is a good starting point. The internet word list is not alphabetized, but rather listed in order of importance and flows from one definition to the next.

Website design
The act of creating the layout and look of a website.

Website development
The act of creating a website that contains programs or functions that fulfill the specific needs of a client and their customers. This involves the creating of programs or writing code to make the website perform certain tasks.

Web designer
A collective term for any person who believes they can create a website. This person ranges in expertise from using a free online website creation tool to a professionally trained college graduate. This person is responsible for creating the general layout and look of a website.

Website developer
A person who has been trained or has extensive experience in building websites. This person has the knowledge to create custom websites with programs that fulfill the needs of their clients and their client's customers.

Programmer
A person who can create programs to make a website perform specific tasks.

SIDE NOTE: Wiregrass Advertising, Inc. designs and develops custom websites. In other words, we make visually appealing websites that perform tasks and WORK for our clients, not just look good.

Content writing, Content writer
The act of writing the text appearing in a website by a person who is skilled in wording. A content writer should be familiar with search engine optimization requirements, marketing psychology, and have excellent English Language skills.

Search engine optimization (SEO)
The act of coding and writing a website in such a way that it provides the opportunity for the website to appear at the top or close to the top of a list of websites on a search engine when a specific term is searched.

Marketing psychology
Knowing how a specific group of people will respond when presented with a specific scenario that encourages a purchase response.

Search engine
A website whereby a person can enter a word or phrase and in return be presented with a list of websites that utilize that word or phrase. The three most popular search engines in the United States are Google, Bing and Yahoo in that order.

Domain name
The name that denotes a specific websites. It always ends in a period followed by a two to four letter suffix such as com, net, org, gov, us, tv, mobi, etc. An example would be wiregrassadvertising.com.

Domain registration
The act of registering a domain name so that a particular person, company, group or organization has the right to use that name. Although domain names may be purchased from an entity, they must be registered through a registration company and that registration must be maintained or the name will be allowed to be used by another entity.

Host
The server (computer) where a website's files are located in order to be accessed by the public via the internet. The company who owns the server is the Host company and usually charges a specific fee for the space used by the website. The act of providing a host service is hosting.

Bill and Patsy Jordan are a wonderful couple who have started Kelly Creek Nursery, a plant nursery in Midland City, Alabama, about 15 minutes northwest of Dothan, Alabama. The Jordans had seen a website we had designed for another company and called us to develop their site. I met with them at their nursery and was very impressed by the location. They are located a couple miles north of Midland City. You turn off the paved road onto a winding well-graveled drive. To the left is a huge oak tree that must be over 100 years old. The drive is lined with wild grown crepe myrtles transplanted from around the surrounding 120 acres. On arrival at the nursery itself you will immediately notice the serenity any garden should have. The colorful plants are under the shade of tall pines and a breeze ruffles the leaves of nearby trees.

We tried to bring that peaceful scene into the Kelly Creek Nursery website. When you visit the site you will immediately notice the majestic oak tree as part of their logo. The stylized art is a rendering of the real oak tree beside the driveway. We attempted to bring the feel of being in the woods to the page with the different green colors.

Of course you can search their database of tips and strategies for growing specific kinds of plants. Get turn-by-turn directions from the directions page and view the construction page for houses that Bill Jordan has built.

Visit Kelly Creek Nursery's new website today!

I have blogged about it before- clients who are very particular about every design detail of their website and do not allow us to build a website that truly markets their product or service. Here is a great example.

Recently we designed a website for Ronnie's Men's and Boy's Wear, Inc. in Dothan, Alabama. Despite Wiregrass Advertising's recommendations during the design phase, our contact was very firm on the exact wording of the text on every page. The result was very little text optimization for search terms. A couple of weeks later we received the inevitable phone call from the client complaining that they could not find their site in any search engine when trying their search terms. Again, we asked them to allow us to write the text on the pages and this time they agreed. Two weeks after optimization their website was on page one of Google for several of their chosen search terms. Johnnie Golden, Manager of the Dothan Ronnie's Menswear store, called me yesterday to tell of an experience they had the end of last week. Johnnie told us a gentleman came in who said he had found their store on an internet search engine and drove over 250 miles from Covington, Georgia to purchase his big and tall men's clothing from Ronnie's! The gentleman purchased over $300 of merchandise.

Now THAT is a website that works!

Wiregrass Advertising has been developing, designing and marketing websites for almost 15 years. We strive to develop  websites that WORK for every one of our clients. After Ronnie's allowed us to make the design changes we recommended the site vastly improved in search engine ranking and convinced a customer to drive over 500 miles round trip to purchase. We can do the same for you- if you let us!

Responsibilities

Responsibility was engrained into me from an early age. My family was not well-off and pennies counted. Every summer we planted a half-acre garden that needed to be maintained. If I got in trouble at school, I was in double trouble when arriving home. My family was in church every time the doors were open.

Ethics

The work ethic my parents strove to instill in me has allowed me to obtain better positions, faster promotions, be more productive and have better evaluations. Immediately after turning sixteen I took my first employment. Nine months later I was left in charge of the business as my employer took a week’s vacation. Before he left he mentioned to me that if someone had told him months before that he would leave his store in the hands of a sixteen year old he would have told them they were crazy. Yet he had full confidence in my ability to operate it successfully in his absence.

I paid most of my way through college by working thirty to forty hours each week while taking full or almost full class loads and still earned six work promotions over the course of four years.

Pathways

I have never chosen an easy path in life. I have taken positions at companies that needed assistance over higher paying jobs where life would not have been as fulfilling. When I purchased a home I bought a fixer-upper and spent five years working on it. I have started, operated and sold my own company.

Dependencies

Many of the hard lessons of life I have learned from experience. I have learned to never expect anything to be handed to me. Everything involves hard work. It is work to be at the bottom of the totem pole. It is harder work to be the Corporate President when every employee’s family depends on your decisions for their daily food. It is also hard work to be the medical provider when your patient’s life depends on your decision. Dependability is daily work.

Visions

A visionary is someone who attempts to see what the future might hold and works to make the “might” reality. I am a visionary. Give me the opportunity to help your company. Together we will build the foundations that make future opportunities. Together we will follow the paths. Together we will make it happen.
 

Please take a minute to contact us today to discuss opportunities.

334-393-9099

Recently I was asked to teach a class on social networking through the Enterprise, Alabama Chamber of Commerce to about 30 business people. I was excited to reach out to local business people and teach them how to increase their business through social networking. The evening before the class I watched the local weather because some storms were expected in the area. No problem. The storms were not forecast to be bad until mid afternoon. My class was scheduled to end by one.

The morning dawned cloudy, but it was not raining. About 5 minutes before the class started the first tornado warning went out, but the tornado was east of us travelling east. Still no problem.

This was also a luncheon meeting, so the plan was for people to arrive and get their food and class would start at 11. The food arrived at 10:55. By the time people were served and sitting down it was 11:25. I knew I was going to need to rush through some material now.

We were making good progress until about thirty minutes later when the tornado sirens went off once more. Everyone's attention was gone. We took a ten minute break and I encouraged the class to log onto the wireless during the break.

Fifteen minutes later most people were calmed down and class resumed. Only a couple of people had taken the opportunity to log onto the wireless. The next ten minutes were spent assisting people in that process. Only 40 minutes left to the class and over an hour's material to cover still...

I was told after class that I handled the distractions well. What else can you do? When Murphy prevails the best thing to do is role with the punches... and reschedule the class for those who want to hear what they missed.

• Is Your Web Master a Graphic Designer, Website Designer or Web Developer?
• A Comparison of Southeast Alabama Website Design Companies
• Marketing Consultation Update
• When Websites Don't Work
• Marvin Salter Construction's New Website
• Definition of Internet Terms

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