Website Samples

Samples of three favorite websites I've completed in the past couple years are available below. I also have a couple of pro bono nonprofit websites that I can share by request. Please let your friends and colleagues know you have a web designer to refer!

GINGER boyle, attorney / MEDIATOR

Ginger Boyle (www.gingerboyle.com) is a sole legal and mediation practitioner who had a programmer develop a website for her in 2008. It was effective early on, of course, but was far out of date by the time we collaborated on her new site. After a brief false start, we got down to work, collaboratively developing content, layout, and design details together. The content was the most fun. I wrote all the first drafts, then Ginger read every word, sentence, and paragraph aloud to make sure they were in her voice and phraseology. We laughed together as we worked, tightening her language and online presentation. Along the way, we undermined a foreign hacker and created new business cards for Ginger, too. A great creative, cooperative experience!

TESTIMONIAL:

I have used Bob's business services on multiple occasions. The largest project was design and development of my new website last year. My previous website had been developed in 2008, was out-of-date, and felt lifeless to new visitors.

As an independent attorney, I had little time to spare and trusted Bob to develop the first-round of content for the new site. His writing, including specifics of my legal practice and specialty, was excellent. Only after I signed off on the first round of content did we begin the design process.

Design took several weeks, in which we first went one direction, and then took a 90-degree turn and went another. Bob remained patient and fully engaged as I became comfortable with the significant changes he recommended for my web presence. The design we ended up with was much more colorful and flamboyant than I had originally anticipated, and I love it!

Once design was completed, my schedule had opened up, and I had more time to focus on site content. One of the many characteristics I share with my fellow attorneys is that I consider myself a "wordsmith." Now that Bob and I had raised the bar for my website's design, I wanted to raise the bar for its content, too. Again, Bob patiently worked with me until I was satisfied.

In fact, we shared a series of phone calls in which I read every word on my website aloud. Bob and I discussed alternative concepts and phrasing, and he edited my website in real time, both of us refreshing over and over again as changes were made. By the time we were done, I had signed off on every single word. Easily 70% of Bob's original content remains on my website today. The other 30% reflects my wordsmithing and my taking of my own web presence.

I could not be prouder of the work Bob and I did together. My contact page began generating new clients immediately and today my business is booming. Bob's talents as a writer and designer, and his stellar ability to collaborate, have heavily contributed to my success.

---- Ginger Boyle, Attorney / Mediator, Seattle, WA

WHAT SOME OF GINGER'S FRIENDS SAID ON FACEBOOK: Very clear & attractive site! ~~~ Wowie-nicely done! ~~~ Nice, Ginger!! ~~~ Really nice job, Bob. Congrats, Ginger, great site. ~~~ Very nice, Ginger. It's a great looking site.

SPRINGBOARD TO WEALTH

Springboard (www.springboardtowealth.com) teaches Real Estate Agents, Investors, Builders, and Lenders how to build wealth through Real Estate by using traditional tools matched with non-traditional means. They had been using a variety of different websites for separate but related events and activities and were finally ready to consolidate. With two weeks until a significant launch opportunity, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. The clients had a clear idea of the site they wanted, based on what was currently succeeding in their industry. So, besides a few design options they weren't aware of, my primary contribution to layout was technical. There was much more flexibility with content, though, and I prepared a first draft, allowing my clients to do other things until it was time to edit. Finally, I was allowed to select all of the images, colors, fonts, icons, etc. This was my first paid website on the wix.com platform, and it is now my favorite source for web services.

TESTIMONIAL:

I've used Bob Applegate's marketing and business services many times, each with great success. These engagements have been for a couple different ventures I am involved with. At Springboard, we’ve used Bob for development of collateral materials and creation of our website.

We talked with Bob about developing our website for six months but could never quite make time for the project. Then we suddenly had a launch date, based on an upcoming event, and had two weeks to get our website online. I called Bob and asked: “Can we be live in two weeks?” His response: “Of course!”

I led the charge on our site navigation, working closely with Bob and Stephanie Owens, our Operations Director. With Bob’s help, our navigation was in place within three days. At the same time, we’d shared all of our favorite competitor sites with Bob to show him what we were looking for. We then turned Bob loose to create the first round of content.

Bob’s copywriting skills exceeded our expectations. There were rewrites for Stephanie to do on specific pages; she especially wanted her style highlighted on our home page. Her personal writing style is much more promotional and “in your face” than Bob’s. And we both provided small edits and corrections throughout the pages of content Bob had written. But we had expected the content development portion of our website to be much more work for us than it turned out to be.

Then we moved into the design and development phase, just three days until our due date. Again, I called Bob and asked: “Can we be live in three days?” Again, his response: “Of course!” With almost no input from us over the next few days, including pulling an all-nighter the night before our launch date, Bob worked to design the website we had told him we wanted. We had corrections to make over the next few weeks, but the website we shared with our audience at our big event was 10 times the website we had expected in two weeks’ development time.

Design, development, and especially copywriting, had obviously gone well and quickly. Our web traffic has exceeded our expectations and I believe the great site content has already made an impact. Bob is great at understanding our vision and culture, then communicating the vision clearly and concisely to our audiences. He does this in a powerful way they connect with, while maintaining our culture and values.

I highly recommend Bob for any writing project you have in the works. You won't regret it!

---- Marc Erickson, Principal, Springboard to Wealth, Bellevue, WA

TARAH WRENN POTTERY

Tarah Wrenn Pottery (www.tarahwrennpottery.com) is owned by a friend I worked with a decade ago. At the time we were both deep in our finance and accounting phases, and we have both since found our inner artists. Connected on Facebook, I fell in love with Tarah's pottery as she began sharing pictures. In a mix of web design and business coaching, Tarah allowed me to help her increase her prices, to add pottery classes to her already busy schedule, and to sell gift certificates for both classes and pottery. I prepared all of the site content for Tarah's review, which she accepted with few changes. Then we went to work choosing the best images of Tarah's beautiful work. We laughed together as we worked, letting the world see Tarah's art in its best light. IN ONE WEEK! Taking a collaborative design approach, we took four days from competitive research through publication and mobile version modification. Each of us, Tarah and myself, spent about a dozen hours on the project. We obviously had an easy rapport together. Along the way, we created new business cards for Tarah, too. Another fun and wonderful adventure!

TESTIMONIAL: So awesome! Huge thank you to Bob Applegate for all his hard work and dedication to designing my site, in a week mind you! Make sure to contact him for all your web design and business marketing needs. He's intuitive, creative, and a superb guide through the complex waters of the business/internet world! Trust me when I say you all want Bob Applegate to guide your web design and business marketing experience. He's the best!

---- Tarah Wrenn, Owner, Tarah Wrenn Pottery, Shoreline, WA