Making the Web a Better Place.
Lucid Element is dedicated to providing solutions for all of your web and multimedia needs. We understand that having a professional web presence will increase sales and expose you to thousands of new clients. Let us show you how easy it is to get your business where you want it to be.
Website and Application Design
Building fast, efficient websites and applications designed to drive customers to them is what we do! I will help with you create a stunning, effective and professional website complete with ‘wow’ factor.
Website and Application Design FAQs
How much does a new website cost?
There’s not one single answer to this question. A website design is quoted based on the needs of each individual project. Every website is unique and requires different components; I design and develop custom websites specifically for your small business. I’ll ask a lot of questions, assess your needs, and give you a quote based on that assessment. Most of my sites run in the $2,000 – $5,000 range, but can be more or less depending on needs.
How long will it take to get a new website?
On average, it takes six to eight weeks to turn a project around. However, that really depends on each client. How much input you can provide during the initial stages, your availability with feedback, how soon the content is ready – all this affects the speed of completion. The functionality needs may also play a role – more complex sites will take more time to develop.
Will I be able to update the site myself when it’s finished?
Yes! I love it when my clients take control of their website and learn to manage it on their own. I’ll provide you with a set of comprehensive video tutorials to help you learn your way around, as well provide you with a training session to help get you on your way. (Note: I love to answer your questions!)
Hosting and Development
Enjoy the peace of mind that you are safe with a website hosting solution that is dependable. Lucid Element does not host websites, however, we consult and set up hosting services with a number of providers tailoring to your specific needs.
Hosting and Development FAQs
Where should my website be hosted?
Hosting is super important! When it comes to hosting, you get what you pay for. I’ve developed a list of our absolute favorite hosts to help you find the right host at the right price.
Will you maintain my site for me?
I sure can! I provide on-going support for several of my clients.
What if I need help on my site down the road?
I am only an email away! I’m here to help you as much or as little as you need, and I won’t disappear once the site is launched. Ive been doing this for 18 years, so I am not going anywhere anytime soon.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engines are a vital component of your web presence. Lucid Element will also ensure that you can be found on the web, easily. Good SEO involves ongoing analysis of your site or app’s content that search engines look for including titles, keywords, descriptions, context and other metadata.
Search Engine Optimization FAQs
Do I Really Need SEO?
Why? Picture all of your website visitors as a massive pie. For the average website, 50% of that pie will come from search engines like Google.
Search engines are a discovery tool, meaning that many of these website visitors are discovering your website for the first time. As more and more people discover your website from search engines, you’ll see each other traffic channel (email, social media, etc.) increase as well. In other words, as this part of your pie gets bigger, the rest of your pie will get bigger as well.
How Does SEO Work?
Search engines look at 3 primary factors when trying to understand all of the websites in their index: authority, relevancy, and crawlability. I’ll skip crawlability to keep things simple. Crawlability gets more into the technical side of SEO and ain’t nobody got time for that.
Authority is a measure of how reputable your website is in the eyes of Google and other search engines. Sticking with our pie example, authority is a measure of how big your pie is.
Everybody loves pie, so focus on making yours as big as possible.
Relevancy helps Google to understand what your website is about so it can send the right people to your website. In other words, Relevancy is all about making that 50% of your pie that comes from search engines taste better. Nobody wants a lot of bad pie, so as your pie gets bigger, it becomes more and more important to focus on relevancy.
If you type “cars” into Google, Google will sift through trillions of webpages and order them based on how trustworthy they are, and how relevant they are to “cars”.
SEO is all about helping Google to better understand your website, while also increasing your authority so you start appearing for the search terms that are most valuable to your business.
Can People Find My Site On Google Right Now?
The easiest way to test this is to go to Google and type in “site:[mydomain.com]” and see if your website pops up. For example, to check if Jlucidelement was indexed, I would type “site:lucidelement.digital” into search engines.
If your website doesn’t pop up after doing this search, then your site isn’t on Google right now. To fix this, add your website to Search Console and submit your sitemap after verifying your site.
Struggling to find your sitemap? Try typing “[mydomain.com]/sitemap.xml” into your browser. In most scenarios, this will pull up your sitemap, or at least redirect you to your sitemap page. If this doesn’t work, then I have a lot of work to do.
Schedule a call and I’ll help you to get started.
I Used to Get Twice as Many Visitors from Google. What Happened?
You probably got hit with an algorithm penalty.
Google updates their search algorithm every day to provide a better experience for searchers. Part of these updates consists of penalizing websites that go against Google’s rules.
There are two major algorithm penalties that could be hurting your search rankings: Panda and Penguin.
Panda is a series of updates to Google’s search algorithm focused on eliminating “thin” content from the internet. Think articles that scraped content from other sites, or short articles that are 100-200 words.
Penguin is a series of updates to Google’s algorithm aimed at eliminating webspam from search engines. Some classic tactics that could get a site penalized under these updates would be keyword stuffing, paying other websites to link back to you, or getting links from a lot of low-quality websites.
Fortunately, your website can recover. Tell me a little about yourself and I’ll help you identify exactly what happened to your site.
Social Media Development
If there is one thing that is undeniable about the web, it is the recent explosion of online social media. We have a desire to be informed & stay in touch. Online communities make it easy to connect and this is the main reason social networking websites are so successful: they increase efficiency.
Social Media Development FAQs
Social Network Design & Development
I build custom social networks to reflect your vision and your goals. My design packages include comprehensive branding and interface design solutions (to include custom logo design and brand development), viral Internet marketing, and the ability to easily enhance your website as the community grows.
Core Features
- Facebook Connect & Email Login
- User Dashboards & Profiles
- Status Update Feed
- Photo Gallery & Comments
- YouTube Video Gallery & Comments
- Media Rating System
- Private Messages
- Friends List
- Blogs & Blog Comments
- Rich Text Blog Editing
- Wall Comments
- Basic Privacy Settings
- Community Discussion Threads
- Featured Content
- Groups
- Event Calendar
- Classifieds
- Search by Keyword, Username or Zip
- Content Flagging
- Basic Email Notifications
- Administrator Panel
- Content Management System
- Ad Management System
- Landing Page w/ Newsletter Signup
- Tracking & Analytics
- Keyword Research Analysis & Report
- Meta Tag & Content Optimization
- Press Release Writing
- Press Release Paid Submission
- Search Engine Submission
Advanced features
- Customizable Profiles
- Profile Themes
- Viral Downloadable Media
- Facebook Applications
- iPhone Applications
- Mobile Applications
- iPhone & Mobile-friendly Site
- WordPress Integration
- Flickr Feed
- Twitter Connect
- Advanced Facebook Connect
- User Polls
- Contests
- Forums
- Instant Messenger
- Chat
- Ecommerce Marketplace
- Memberships
- Affiliate Programs
- User Storefronts
- Hosted Videos & Custom Players
- Music / MP3 Players
- Basic Widget Library
- Flash Slideshows
- Intro Animations
- Advanced Content Management
- Advanced Ad Management
- Advanced Email Notifications
- Social Media Account Customization
Concept Consultation
Prior to the construction of a large-scale social network community website, it is strongly recommended that you consult with your project manager to identify your goals and a specification list. During this time, we will create a site plan, brainstorm and research site features, discuss branding options, and perform preliminary market research. When all specifications are finalized, a complete proposal will be prepared for your review prior to commencement.
“Anthony has a great visual sense, understood our priorities and rendered them in a highly functional and visually appealing end product. Fantastic website (and a good cook, too ;o)!“
“Anthony redesigned our website and, along the way, enhanced our brand. His consulting was very helpful. Building business is our goal and he doesn’t dissapoint”
“This is the finest web design experience you will ever have. Get ready to be heard, understood, and rewarded for choosing a local rock star over (insert costly corporate outfit here). Anthony is the truth!!”