Greetings from the beautiful Pocono Mountains!  As we get ready for winter, we want to share a few of our recent projects, along with some ways to make your website more effective.  

In this issue:
Another very happy client (recent testimonial)
Sites that generate ad revenue
Sites that build communities
PDF Form Submissions

As always, I appreciate referrals!  

Thanks,
-Nate

Welcome to the C2 Support information page.  We are making a few changes to the handling of email and support requests:

How does it work?

• You can now submit a support ticket by sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Our support ticket system now offers the ability to "cc" people on each support ticket; to use this, either cc: these people in your email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or use the "cc" field on the Submit Ticket page.
• If you are the owner (original sender) of a support ticket, you are able to log in and add/remove people from your ticket's "cc" at any time.
• If you are a "cc" on a ticket, you can log in and view the ticket at any time.
• The system will check for new "cc'd" users each time a ticket is replied to via email.

We've been hosting clients' web sites and email on our server for the last few years - and one of the most common areas of confusion, questions, and support has been with the configuration and usage of the email system.  Since the email system frequently yields responses such as "I didn't know it could do that," I figured that I would put together this video tutorial that addresses uses, tips for setting up an email client (Outlook), and common issues.

Video Contents:

• Configuring using Outlook 2007 (or any other Email client such as Outlook Express, Eudora, Thunderbird, etc…)
• Adjusting outgoing server settings for blocked port numbers (e.g. Comcast or Verizon blocks access to the outgoing server and you need to use a different port and/or outgoing server
• Using multiple devices to connect (e.g. your PC and smartphone)
• Accessing email via webmail, changing your password, forwarders, and auto-responders

Register for an account here:
http://www.covingtoncreations.com/create-an-account.php

Sign in here:
http://www.covingtoncreations.com/log-yourself-in.php

View the tutorial here:
http://www.covingtoncreations.com/tutorials/video-tutorial-email-configuration-and-usage.php

Getting Started with C2 Online Support:

1. To create an account, go to www.covingtoncreations.com
2. Click “login.” Then, choose “register” at the bottom of the “Login” page.
3. Once you log in, you will be able to check the status of your support tickets, access client-only resources & tutorials, and make payments via PayPal.

C2 Online Pricing:

Our project proposals typically include time to customize the site’s design and workflow, load the site's
content, and provide training so that our clients are able to update their sites once the project is
completed. We've had a number of people asking if they could save money on a web project by:

• Using a stock template
• Loading the content themselves (basic knowledge of HTML a major plus)
• Providing their own design(er)

YES! Our new Joomla Setup & Installation package is $750. Hourly support as low as $75:
Here's how it works:

1. Log in to www.covingtoncreations.com
   
2. Choose “Payment Plans”
3. Purchase Joomla Setup & Installation Package and/or Hourly Support via PayPal.
4. Upon completing your order, we will install and configure Joomla for you, to your specifications, and give you administrative access to your site.
5. We deploy your site on the final hosting server when you're ready. Pay for hourly support, training, and customization on an as-needed basis.

Note: You DO NOT need a PayPal account to complete the transaction.

Hosting Payments:

We now offer online payments for our hosting clients using PayPal. Further, the rate is $120 per year if
you pay for the full year up front. To make a hosting payment:

1. Log in to www.covingtoncreations.com
   
2. Choose “Payment Plans” and select the $120/year Recurring Hosting Plan.

Note: You DO NOT need a PayPal account to complete the transaction.

In an effort to increase the quality of our services, we are conducting a survey in order to collect feedback from all our clients. If we work with multiple contacts in your organization, we ask that each person submit a survey:

http://www.covingtoncreations.com/survey/

The survey should only take a few minutes of your time and is greatly appreciated. We look forward to working with you in the future.

Warm regards,
-Nathan Covington, CEO

We're now running on a new hosting server.  All of our hosting clients will now enjoy a beefier, more robust server, featuring RAID drives, automatic backups, and a secure firewall.

 

[Note: This newsletter was also sent out via email, but I am posting it here as well.  If you've already seen it, no point in reading twice.]

Oops.  This "monthly" newsletter hasn't "sent itself" since March.  I guess getting busy isn't bad, but it's time to officially retire this newsletter. I've started to put company announcements, hints and tips, and general commentary here instead.

(Something didn't feel right about blasting out emails like that every month anyways.)

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"It was time for the Lambertville House to update its web site. After listening to a presentation by Nate Covington at the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce, I decided to break with tradition and work with a new web builder. My objectives were quite clear, I wanted to streamline the site and increase search engine optimization. After meeting with Nate I was confident that he was going to work hard to understand what was needed to communicate our message to our customers. Nate was a patient listener and it was obvious from the start of the project that he wanted to make sure the finished product would exceed my expectations. The professionalism, attention to detail and overall quality of work has been a pleasure. Nate has provided guidance and useful tools to enhance and promote our site in an easy to understand format. I highly recommend Covington Creations and Nate who is reliable and creative. We look forward to a long standing working relationship."
- Mary Ellen Mason, Proprietor, Lambertville House

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We felt the first thing that had to go was the daunting navigation menu because was too long and wordy to let people make easy choices.

Before:

After:

We wanted to keep the existing look & feel, but made a few changes:

a.  Breadcrumbs
We added "breadcrumbs" to the top of every page; that way, visitors have a quick and simple way to navigate the site.  Plus, it gives plenty of extra text links for the search engines to enjoy.  Best of all, the breadcrumb menu is automatically generated by the custom-tailored content management system that powers the site.

b.  Lightbox (Thumbnails)
Throughout the site, there are small thumbnails that enlarge to show a full-size picture.  The best part?  They're also automatically generated by our fancy control panel.  Want to swap out the pictures?  Just upload new ones to a folder on the web server and, bang.  Done.

c.  Blog.  RSS Feeds.  Social Bookmarking.
We added an Announcements section to the Lambertville House site and equipped it with all of the latest goodies.  First, adding content regularly to the site will feed Google wonderful content to chew up and help gain exposure for the site.  Second, social bookmarking links on all of the new articles allow viewers to share the articles through services like Facebook, Digg, Technorati, and Del.icio.us.  The best part?  You guessed it.  Automatically generated by the CMS software.

d.  Search, Site Map
Let's make it as easy as possible for people to navigate the site.  For those who can't manage the newly simplified navigation menu, let's add a quick and easy site search function.  Studies show that half of all web surfers use Search instead of menus.  Also, the site map gives visitors a hierarchal view of the content while feeding Google some more links.

View Site:
www.lambertvillehouse.com