Iowa Web Design
We Solve Website Problems
New Website
We design & create great websites for small business and nonprofits in the great state of Iowa.
Website Redesign
Website looking a little dated? Let us give you a brand new look and improved functionality!
Web Design
We design and build great websites!
But before we write a single line of code, we invest the time to learn about you and your business. We want to learn how your business was founded, what you do and how you differentiate your business from your competitors.
Why? Because your website should be a reflection of your business. It should be able to convey what you do, how you do it, why you do it and what your business philosophy is.
Our intent is to build your website so it suits your business to a tee and makes you look amazing online. We are Website Problem Solvers! Let’s solve yours!
We suggest that you subscribe to Team Meeting – our Newsletter. Each issue includes tips and helpful information on Web Design and websites in general.
What Are The Keys To A Great Website?
It can be a confusing period when you decide it’s time to get a website. Regardless of what business you’re in or what kind of website you need, there is a long list of decisions to make.
Here are our keys to a great website.
Research Yourself – Before you even think about the website itself or any bells and whistles you want – STOP.
Back up a bit and put some serious thought into why you want a website. What do you expect from your website. What are your goals for your site and how will you measure your success? How are you currently marketing your business? How successful is your current campaign? Who is your audience?
These are the kinds of questions we ask during our discovery phase of a website project. You need to know the answers to questions like these to know what the focus of your website will be.
Domain – Once you have a game plan for your website it’s time to do some research. Let’s find a great domain name for your site.
We like to use Namecheck.com to search for domain names. Namecheck will also show you the status of social media names. You should put some thought into choosing a domain name. Once you are online it’s difficult to change your domain name so choose wisely. Try to find a domain name that reflects your business name or industry. Shorter domain names are becoming harder to find, especially in the .com TLD arena.
There’s nothing wrong with longer domain names as long as they’re easy to remember. Don’t forget, you will need to be able to tell someone the url of your site. The longer it is, the more likely you’ll have to spell it out. Once you find the perfect domain name you’ll need to register (buy) it.
If you hire Team 218, we take care of all this for you.
Organic SEO – Remember when you did all that research and self-discovery? Now is the time to use that research to create keyword-rich content for your website.
Incorporate terms that tie into your business and industry. Use those terms in your titles and headings. Use relevant terms in your SEO meta data. Write content that weaves those terms and phrases into your text in a natural manner. Style your writing to match your target audience.
Do not copy someone else’s content – write your own!
Review and edit your content with a fine tooth comb. You must make sure there are no typos or grammatical errors. Nothing will turn your website visitors off faster that misspellings or poor grammar.
It takes time for Organic SEO to produce results. We’ve seen sites that take 6 months to start showing results on Google. Patience and persistance are key for Organic SEO.
It’s not unusual for new website owners to use PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising to bolster their Organic SEO efforts in the early stages of a website. Look for information on PPC in an upcoming issue of our newsletter.
Responsive Web Design – Responsive Web Design should be a requirement for any website built these days. Responsive technology ensures your website will display nicely regardless of what device its’ viewed with.
Last time we looked, 56% of our web traffic was from people on their phones. Read more about Responsive Design.
Website Hosting – Website hosting plays an important role in the success of your website. This is not the place to skimp to save a few bucks.
It’s critical to match your hosting to your anticipated needs. Don’t buy dedicated hosting for a small blog type website. Don’t go with the cheapest shared hosting for an e-commerce website.
Be realistic in evaluating your expected traffic when selecting hosting. You want your site to load fast. You want a reliable host with customer service you can count on. Trust me, you will need it.
All the major web hosting vendors have several hosting plans to choose from. They will help you choose and the good ones will set things up for you.
Maintenance – Launching your website is a big deal!
All the research and hard work has paid off. Take time to celebrate, but not too long.
As exciting as the launch is, the work has only begun. Websites need some TLC to stay in peak condition. Backups, updates, monitoring and adjusting content for search results are all part of maintaining your site.
We monitor our sites on a daily basis and get alerts 24/7 should a problem arise. We want to be proactive when it comes to our maintenance services. 99% of the time we fix issues before you even know there was one.
Why Should I Choose Team 218?
Two simple words – customer service. Remember when businesses used toGet Social With Us
WordPress Experts
We love WordPress as a development platform.
Rock solid and reliable; WordPress is the engine behind almost 34% of all websites on the internet.
This large user base ensures this platform isn’t going anywhere. It is expandable and customizable. The popularity of WordPress ensures immediate resolution of any security issues.
And WordPress isn’t only for blogging anymore. Its’ continuous evolution has transformed it into a solid CMS (Content Management System). The website you’re viewing right now uses WordPress!
Get in touch with Team 218 Web Design and let’s build one for you.
Responsive Website Design
Laptops, Tablets, Phones & Wearables. It’s not practical to design a different web page for each of these different devices.
So how do you make sure your website works on them all? Media queries to the rescue! This bit of code determines the screen size of the device reading the page and adjusts the layout to match.
Another approach is Fluid Design. The normal pixel unit of measurement is replaced by vw (viewport width) and vh (viewport height). These units of measurement represent exactly 1% of the viewport. Fluid designs adapt automatically based on the size of the screen available.
Any website built today should be responsive!
Social Media Marketing
Social Media Marketing has been around for a long time. We used to call it word of mouth advertising. Now instead of 1 person telling another it can be 1 person telling tens of thousands!
If you’re not using social media, you should be. You should strive for consistency across all the social media platforms you use.
If your website is www.bestwidget.com then you should try to use the same naming convention in social media. Your facebook page should be facebook.com/bestwidget. Your Twitter account should be twitter.com/bestwidget.
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Do you like Cars, Trucks, Bikes or Boats? Then you should check out WebRidez. Find events or post your own event. Nationwide coverage.
About Team 218 Web Design
We are website problem solvers. We’ve been creating software and building websites for over 20 years. We know what works and what doesn’t. We are customer service fanatics. We love working, playing, and living in the great state of Iowa. We are always available to answer any questions you may have.
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![Battleship Iowa Museum]( "Iowa Web Design 12")
We Support USS Iowa - Battleship Iowa Museum
Please join Team 218 and help support the Battleship Iowa museum.
Pacific Battleship Center is a registered 501(c) (3) non-profit organization and receives no funding from the City or County of Los Angeles, the State of California, or the federal government. The State of Iowa is instrumental in the preservation of the Battleship Iowa and telling its story and provided $3,000,000 to the startup operation of the Pacific Battleship Center.
If you would like to make a donation, you may click on the Battleship Iowa image which will take you to the donation page on their website. **Link will open in a new window.
Social Media – Don’t discount social media when it comes to driving traffic to your website.
If you’re not using some form of social media, you should be. You should be posting and interacting with your followers.
Your social media accounts need to connect to your website. Try to create accounts on social media with names that match your domain name.
Once you have all the connections working, be careful what you post. Jokes or innocent comments can backfire and damage your reputation. Be professional. Good taste is never out of style.