Charlie | Web Design Columbia MO

I’m just taking a look at my SEOmoz stats. I have several competitors for the “web design columbia mo” search category on Google. YourFriendonTheWeb has  10,550 links to its site to stay on top. Studio 7 has 3,580 How many do I need to stay on the front page? 27 Why is that? It’s called [...]

I have a domain I intended to move CharlieCharlieCharlie.com to at some point, but I’ve decided that I like where I’m at. CoMoWebDesign.com is available for rent to anyone wanting a killer domain with some good SEO potential. Make me an offer via the contact page.

I see some companies here in Columbia offering “quality” $400 websites. That’s dishonest. Here’s why: It is my experience that setting up a wordpress website and quality theme with proper hosting and domain services reasonable customization of a theme and graphics SEO considerations met training for the client content insertion (assuming that it’s ready to go) [...]

Some sketches I came across from various projects.

We all have tasks, projects, paperwork and to-do items we’re putting off. The problem occurs when we put them off until they’re really critically due — at which point that 2 minute chore becomes a frantic nightmare. I know people who perpetually live in that state of frantic – never enough time – overworked state. [...]

One of the quickest ways to size up a web designer in Columbia, Missouri is by how much thought it takes to understand their website at a glance. The old addage, “form follows function” should mean that with a single glance the user can ascertain the purpose and scope of a website. When a web [...]

I need to make an iPhone app, so I signed up for an iOS design crash course. This is pretty hard stuff (for me) but I’m making it easier on myself by making an infographic about iOS programming as I go. I find that it forces me to learn it by designing an explanation that [...]

Every web design client I work with says the same thing: I want to look professional; we do quality work. And they mean it. In various ways, their product or service is the best. Perhaps they are offering the best value for the dollar. Perhaps they’re offering the highest quality service. Perhaps they’re offering a [...]

Are things getting better for higher education where the web is concerned? I think so — even if it’s not in a perfect way. What I’m seeing is the rise of mid level administrators who recognize that the web actually is important, and that it’s also important that it be done right, but they don’t [...]

Web security is a very big deal, whether you like it or not. As some of you might be aware, I subscribe to a geopolitical forecasting publication called Stratfor. It was recently pwned by Anonymous Antisec hacktivists. The hacktivists obtained and revealed usernames, passwords, credit card numbers and addresses of thousands of members in the [...]

One of the coolest things about my job in recent years has been the addition of student staff. I generally have a handful of students: convergence or broadcast journalism, graphic design, computer science and Information Technology. Apart from having someone young around to show me the latest cat video on YouTube, it’s really refreshing to [...]

I love the Apple Magic Mouse. It makes browsing the web and documents a breeze. However, the slightest misplaced touch to the mouse while in Illustrator or InDesign and poof — you’re taken via unstable wormhole to a different quadrant of your artboard. I searched for a simple solution that does this: If I open [...]

If you follow me on Twitter, you see this phrase almost every Sunday: I am my own economic recovery act. What does that mean exactly? I subscribe to two philosophies about money. One is the Robert Kiyosaki’s concept that you should master your own home finances before you begin entrepreneurial enterprises. The other is Dave [...]

At the close of each year, I always want to post one of these kind of retrospective web design  industry posts with a local focus on Columbia, MO. And it never works out.

What an interesting year. Here are some thoughts and ideas I can share about the web design business. You can’t hide a web site that’s stagnant One of the hardest things to keep in mind about a new web site is that it will have to be maintained. A web design that doesn’t change and [...]

Some people are being very reactionary to the new Facebook stories filter, claiming that Facebook is now useless, or that you need to segment your audiences in higher education. I think that very few people do social media right to begin with. On top if that, some of the people freaking out over Facebook have [...]

Ahh, okay, you’re interested in becoming a designer? Well, in the same way that knowing MS Word doesn’t make one a successful writer, good design is 3% software and 87% design and communication discipline, and 10% business. So what I would recommend to someone interested in design, is to get a BA in Graphic Design and [...]

If you are going to do additional things in your life, they should be categorized as follows: 1) Things that make money 2) Things that save money 3) Hobbies that can become a source of income. You shouldn’t engage in any of these categories if doing so destroys your quality of life. If you make [...]

The recent Higher Ed Live episode was an intense journey into the issues surrounding why higher education sometimes seems like a place of doom for designers and their careers. I don’t know if anyone has any hard numbers on this, but I can see why people would be jumping ship at this time in history. [...]

Just so that everyone knows, my competitors engage in seriously nefarious link building strategies to stay on the first page of Google for “Web Design Columbia Missouri”. I engage in little to none and remain competitive for free because my work is great. Ask yourself: Which designer would you rather have working for you?

There is a process for design. Here is a short description of the steps I take to arrive at a successful web site. Client Interview All designs start with questions for the client and what it is that they are trying to do. That doesn’t mean that I ask “What’s your favorite color?” it means [...]

Every once in a while I like to peruse the portfolios of other designers and “agencies” in Columbia.I’m just going to share my thoughts with the first few pages of Google search results for “Web Design Columbia MO” and add a few others you may not have seen. Who’s doing great design (web, logo, bochures, [...]

I’ve begun noticing recently that people actually listen to what I say on a surprisingly regular basis. A lot of designers have a feeling that their clients and co-workers don’t listen to them, and I can understand why: They don’t have a backbone. But to have other professionals actually listen to what I say with [...]

I’m amazed by how sick I was one week this year; I rarely get ill — but when I do it is probably gonna wipe me out. I spent much of my time reading, which I really miss doing. I left all my entrepreneur books at my office: Crush It, The 4 Hour Work Week, [...]

Generic Sale Shirt for Show-Me State Games 2011 in Columbia, Missouri

Complete web design for the University of Missouri – College of Engineering in Columbia, Missouri

Website for nanotechnology research at the University of Missouri.

This little guy is currently keeping me company at my desk.

The face of Lafferre Hall looks out on the quad

Great view looking down upon the ocean and sky.