Welcome to the New Websites!

So here we are in September 2013, and it’s time for a review of the new websites that Wind-Flower Web Design has been working on this past year.  One of the reasons web design is so inspirational is the diversity of our clients as well as getting to learn about so many other professions and business ideas!

Let’s start in France, because who doesn’t love to travel!  Ricki Stevenson's Black Paris Tours has had a great year, and after being featured on the Steve Harvey show, the website has had over 2 million new website visitors!  We recently created a new eCommerce element with Rezdy reservation software to the already elegant Black Paris Tours.  So if you are ever in France, enjoy Ricki Stevenson’s Black Paris Tour! 

While you are in Europe, plan to visit Amsterdam and take the Black Heritage Tour with Jennifer Tosch. We are also adding Rezdy reservation software to this stylish website.  You can choose between a walking tour or ride along in a chartered boat for the canal tour, all while learning the history of slavery in Dutch colonial times.  

Time for some art!  Painter Shirley Monestier lives in France but travels to Mexico and the U.S. during the year, getting inspired for her beautiful artworks.  Abstract, Black Art and Nature scenes in vivid colors epitomize her style.  These paintings are a perfect addition to your walls! 

Speaking of art, Search My Heart Cards, in South Carolina, combines stylish artworks and word searches to create novel, fun cards!  Find a beautifully designed cards with a word search or you can even create your own card with a word search puzzle and upload your own picture – adorable for a child’s birthday!

The next batch of websites are all related to health, healing, and rehabilitation.  The Georgia Rehabilitation Association started off the year with a new website and a new conference.  This association focuses on improving the lives of every Georgian who needs rehabilitative services.  The Georgia High School High Tech Program assists students who need extra support, and technology is a great venue for that.

Dr. Jane Faily is a Marietta psychologist with great experience helping people have better lives, and her Joys of Aging workshops really give a positive focus on life, especially for the elderly. 





Related to health, Brookhollow Dental in Texas will keep you teeth straight and shiny, so give them call if you are in the neighborhood!

The next few websites are related to reading, speaking, and improving your English. The revitalized Climb Every Obstacle is a wonderfully positive and organized book on overcoming negative characteristics and building positive virtues.  The revitalized Dawn-Breakers Toastmasters in Atlanta is a fresh website for improving your confidence in public speaking.  The Academic English Café has a new website, and we are in the process of starting online classes for English as a second language learners.

Qwiki Sounds Like a Hit Show for Learning on the Go

A new website called Qwiki, http://www.qwiki.com/, is the next generation in search engine results and online learning. The website is still evolving, but basically Qwiki creates a multimedia slide show and reads a synopsis from a scrolling transcript about any subject. 

Search for a topic in Qwiki to watch and listen to a spontaneously generated multimedia presentation that regularly includes photos as well as relevant maps, charts, graphs and videos. You are also offered Featured Qwikis on interesting or related topics, a cross between YouTube video suggestions and Wikipedia links. Also similar to Wikipedia, you can enhance any Qwiki by suggesting new photos or even pronunciation improvements.  Qwikis are easily shared with friends, students and colleagues too.

Here’s an example Qwiki about Niagara Falls:

View Niagara Falls and over 3,000,000 other topics on Qwiki.

And here is a Qwiki about Tokyo:

View Tokyo and over 3,000,000 other topics on Qwiki.

And a third one on Qwiki itself:

View Qwiki and over 3,000,000 other topics on Qwiki.

Web Design Focus: Climb Every Obstacle Book by Anita Jefferson

You know how wonderful it feels to reach your goals, to stand on top of the mountain after climbing & climbing even when you wanted to stop… but it’s easy to get stuck. Did you ever wish you had a manual for overcoming limiting beliefs such as procrastination or stress? The Climb Your Obstacle book by Anita Jefferson covers 101 common obstacles to self-realization and obtaining the dreams of your heart: http://climbeveryobstacle.com.  If you ever feel weighted down with difficulties (and who doesn’t on occasion), this is the book for you!

Web Design Focus: The Cake Café in Atlanta

Wondering what to do for Valentine’s Day? How about enjoying a delicious cheesecake! Enjoy cheesecake and more from the Cake Café in Atlanta! http://thecakecafeatl.com/

Michelle Smith, your chef & caterer extraordinaire, makes great cheesecakes, cakes, cookies and more! Choose from a number of yummy flavors: http://thecakecafeatl.com/menu.aspx  And then order a special baked creation just in time to celebrate Valentine’s Day: http://thecakecafeatl.com/orders.aspx

But really isn’t any day a great day for cheesecake!

Kiva: Microloans Supporting Entrepreneurial Spirit

Kiva is a microfinance program with a praiseworthy philosophy, and you might have heard about Kiva on Oprah. By giving microloans to business owners, people around the world can make a difference in the success of a small business venture.  And until December 31, you can sign up for a Groupon to donate another $10 for Kiva!

How does Kiva work? Basically you loan a small amount of money to an entrepreneur or a group of entrepreneurs in a community, they pay you back, and then you can re-loan your money for another venture!  

How do you choose the recipient of your microloan?  You can read about the small business owners and entrepreneurial projects at Kiva online, searching by country or by type of project. You can even join a ‘Kiva group’ to support their donation goals.   

Wind-Flower Web Design has just made our first Kiva loan as part of our donation program.   

Happy holidays!  May your business endeavors all be blessed this year and in the future!

Wufoo Who? Creating Online Forms

Wufoo is a snazzy little online program that allows you to create forms on your website or even email a form as a separate link for your clients or customers to fill out.  You can create many different types of forms, such as Order forms, Survey forms, Registration forms, and Contact forms.  You can easily tailor them to your specifications  or you can also choose from the many pre-made forms.  When your customers fill out a form, the data is sent to your email address as well as to your Wufoo account. 

Wufoo is super simple to use and there is a free version for when you only need 3 forms a month.  For paid Wufoo subscribers starting at between $15 and $30 a month, you can integrate online payment with the Wufoo forms, create an unlimited number of forms, and redirect customers to a new page when the form is completed.

Email Marketing: Keeping in Touch with Customers and Connecting with Visitors

Our clients at Wind-Flower Web Design are always asking how to keep in touch with their existing customers as well as how to connect with their new visitors.  For most growing businesses, we recommend MailChimp because this email marketing program is easy to use, has vibrant templates for designing engaging email newsletters, and the free version allows any business to send 1,000 contacts many, many emails a month.  For businesses with more contacts, the MailChimp pay version starts at $30 a month.

Once you sign up for MailChimp, you can place a simple subscribe button at the top of your website, and when your new visitors sign up, they will be automatically included in your future marketing emails.  You can also integrate your MailChimp sign up form with your Facebook page, share your marketing campaigns on Twitter, track subscriber activity and more. Also MailChimp is well integrated with Wufoo, an easy-to-use form maker. Wufoo who…?  More about Wufoo next!

Another Five Star App: Star Walk

The Star Walk App illustrates the heavens for everyone. It really is like holding the universe in your hands!

Star Walk is so amazing to see in action, because as you rotate the phone around, the real-time sky is visible on your phone!   All the stars and their constellations are shown day or night.  Here’s a Star Walk picture I took on my mom’s birthday -- I just scanned the sky with my phone until I found the Libra constellation, took a picture of that part of the sky and emailed it to her from the Star Walk App directly.  Happy Birthday, Mom!

Here are 2 YouTube videos that show many more features of the Star Walk App:

Add the Square App for Credit Cards

Today I am recommending a new Smartphone App for accepting credit cards called Square -- http://squareup.com -- I think it's a perfect addition for any on-the-go business!  This App was created by Twitter inventor Jack Dorsey.  Read more history behind the new App.

Basically, you download the free App to your Smartphone and then complete the registration process online. It took less than 10 minutes to get set up, there are no monthly fees, and the charge is about 3% more or less depending on if the credit card is manually keyed in or read with the free swiper attachment. Once the credit card is read, the customer signs the phone and then receives an emailed receipt.  Note that you definitely need WiFi to run the reader!!  An optional way to compute sales tax would be helpful, but overall the Square format is clear, easy and very fun to use!

The Artist's Way at Work

Have you read The Artist's Way at Work by Julia Cameron and Mark Bryan?  This is my most recommended book for job seekers, people who want to improve their job situation, and those who want to transition to a new career.  You will find lots of great ideas if you're wondering “what’s next?” in your life. 

Also, related to finding the perfect job or your next passion, check out this article by Elizabeth Gilbert on The Importance of Curiosity.