Archive for July, 2010

Las Vegas… what is a content management system?

Saturday, July 24th, 2010

Traditionally web pages had to be managed by hand. Managing web pages by hand meant constantly updating the code to change the content. Everything from main display content to sub-pages had to be updated constantly to add new content or remove existing content. Eventually an easier method was devised in which content could be managed without manually changing the code on the page, this system was deemed Content Management.

Content Management Systems are an easy and efficient way to design, deploy and continue to run and manage a webpage or an entire webpage. A content management system is versatile and often enables for different elements to be added to the system, these are typically referred to as “add-ons” or “modules”. Increasing the functionality with these “add-ons” and “modules” enables a user to add new features to a website without modifying a single line of code. Content management systems are a great solution for websites which have a lot of changing content such as news websites or large communities. Small websites benefit from a content management system because of ability to quickly add content and deploy a website without modifying tedious code.

Many different types of content management systems exist and some are even free and open source. Using a content management system typically involves download and installing the content manage system onto a web server. Some hosting companies offer automatic installation of popular content management systems. Once the content management system is installed on the web server, simply login to the content management system and begin modifying the layout and content as desired. Layouts are often point and click to modify with results displayed in real-time. Different themes can be applied to a content management system to change the design in a snap.

Many website authors and management teams find that the advantages outweigh the cons to a content management system. Typically content management systems are considered to be less useful because of the lack of the ability to customize advanced features of the web page. While this was true in the past, newer content management systems allow for advanced features to be managed as well and themes enable for full customization should a website management team want to modify the code for a more unique look. Utilizing a content management system has many pros. One example of how a content management system could be useful is the ability to allow multiple users access to modify content, permissions can be set so that certain users can only manage certain content. Changing content and themes for specific occasions and themes can be done with nothing more than a click. Content management systems take the work out of managing a website and allow for things traditional HTML management could not.

For more information on Las Vegas content management systems solutions, contact Perkolate at 702.341.0085.

Perkolate Launches McKenna Property Management Las Vegas Website

Saturday, July 17th, 2010

Perkolate is proud to announce the launch of its latest website for McKenna Property Management of Las Vegas at www.mckennapropertymanagement.com.

About McKenna Property Management

With over 50 years of combined real estate experience at your disposal, let McKenna Property Management handle your rental and investment needs. With an unmatched passion for the real estate industry, Broker/Owner Jenni McKenna, along with her highly skilled team of agents and administrative staff, will go above and beyond to ensure a smooth transaction. Call McKenna Property Management today to set an appointment to view our rental properties or to speak with us about managing your valuable rental property.

How to Make a Website for your Las Vegas Business

Sunday, July 11th, 2010

A Basic Rundown on How to Make a Website for your Las Vegas Business

The first step to building a website is to select a hosting company. There are many hosting companies to choose from, so compare prices and packages to see which one meets your need. Find out what webmasters are saying about top hosting companies. The right hosting company is a great support. The wrong one could mean bad service and server issues.

Often hosting companies will include two or three domain names as part of their hosting package. Pick a domain name that clearly states the topic of your website. This technique is part of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Understanding SEO before building your website saves a lot of time. SEO is a way of setting up a website that is search engine friendly, which will ultimately bring more traffic to your site.

When building your web pages, have an idea of design first. This will save time in back tracking. You can create a web page from scratch using software like Dreamweaver, or you can create a website using Microsoft FrontPage. If you don’t want to create a website from scratch, choose a hosting company that offers web builder tools. These tools usually have templates that you can modify to your needs.

Optimize your website. Again, this is a very important step in building a website. It includes choosing the right keywords that will bring visitors to your site and placing them effectively. Keywords should be placed in HTML page tags, such as titles, descriptions, and keywords. They should be a part of content titles and subtitles, and strategically placed in content. Good SEO is a lesson in itself, so make sure you understand the concept and methods clearly so you can set your site up accordingly.

It’s time to launch. The day you launch is not the day your website appears when you Google your URL. It takes time. Search engines need to index your site. This is why SEO is important. Your keywords will be the clues the search engines will use in determining the subject of your site. Webmasters can prompt search engines to visit a site by registering the URL with them. You can register to individual search engines manually or you can submit your site to a service that will register it to all the search engines. But this sometimes requires a fee. A better option is to check your hosting company and see if they have a free submission tool that registers your website to all the search engines for free.

Now it’s time to market. This again is part of SEO. You must tell people about your site and create links back to it. Various ways of doing this is to add comments to other websites with the same topic as yours and leave a signature with your link. Write on content sites and add a link back to your site. Join forums and offer helpful information and link back to your site. Also, keep your content updated so search engines continue to visit your site to re-index it.

Perkolate Launches BILMAR Landscape Industries Las Vegas Website

Saturday, July 10th, 2010

Perkolate is proud to announce its latest website design launch for BILMAR Landscape Industries of Las Vegas. The website features a helpful Learning Center wiki as well. Visit their new website at www.bilmarlandscape.com.

About BILMAR Landscape Industries

BILMAR Landscape Industries has been providing outstanding service to our clients for over 13 years.  This has earned us the reputation as one of Southern Nevada’s premier commercial landscape companies.  We are locally owned and operated and specialize only in Commercial Properties including office parks, homeowner associations, retail shopping centers, apartment complexes and public spaces.

How to Write a Marketing Plan for Your Las Vegas Business

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

How To Write A Marketing Plan for your Las Vegas Business

A marketing plan is the portion of your overall business plan that describes the market for your products, an analysis of your competitors, and your marketing budget. It is a complete breakdown of the services or products you will provide, your unique selling proposition, and your distribution plans. It will also describe your strategy for sales and pricing, as well as plans for promotion and advertising. Each of these topics are summarized in brief paragraphs with separate headings. Each paragraph will explain how you plan to get customers or clients to buy your products, and the advantages they can expect in return.

The products and services portion of your marketing plan will clearly define the unique qualities of the products or services you plan to offer, and how your customers can benefit from using them. This section of the marketing plan characterizes your product telling what it does, how it works, and how it differs from similar products distributed by your competition. Your marketing plan will define the services you are presenting to customers, and list the advantages you have over other companies that provide the same services.

Depending on the products or services that you will be providing, the benefits for your customers may be tangible (can be touched or felt), or intangible (untouchable). For this section of your marketing plan, think about the products or services that you will be providing, and then list as many benefits as you can. Narrow your choices to the benefits that suit your target customers, and write a paragraph highlighting the advantages of each one. Your marketing plan is a detailed description of your company’s products, and the benefits or incentives that you will offer your customers.

The heart of your marketing plan will define the unique selling proposition for your company’s products or services. It is important that you give specific details showing which features set your products apart from that of your competitors. The goal of your marketing plan is to send a message to your customers showing the advantages of using your products or services. The marketing plan is a direct form of communicating with your customers, it’s message should be clear and concise. An essential document for your business plan, your marketing plan will need to be updated regularly. Your updates will address issues such as changes in the market, product prices, and customer demand.

Writing a marketing may seem like an overwhelming task when you consider all the information that has to be included. A company with unlimited funds can hire a professional to write the marketing plan for them, and keep it updated. Small companies or home based businesses can have a well written marketing plan without spending a lot of money. Business software programs can be used to help you create a business plan, and a marketing plan for your company. There are websites that offer free downloads of templates that you can use to write your marketing plan. This templates can be customized to suit your business, and they include step by step procedures for writing a successful marketing plan.

V Finance is a website with free templates to help you write business and marketing plans for your company. They have an extensive website with templates that are designed for a large number of industries and careers. You can visit them at: www.vfinance.com.