A newly released Missouri University of Science and Technology study found that Houston website designers have only 2.6 seconds to make a first impression on their clients’ audiences. If people do not like what they see or find the information they’re looking for within that very brief window of time, they are gone for good! Using eye-tracking software, researchers were able to pinpoint the seven most important areas to focus Houston website design efforts.

Your Logo

The average person spends about 6.48 seconds gazing upon your company logo before moving on.

Your Navigation Menu

We’ve long known that navigation is the heart of a Houston website. On average, people spend 6.44 seconds assessing this portion of your site.

Your Search Box

Users focus their attention on the search box for an average of 6 seconds.

Your Social Networking Links

Most web users will spend about 5.95 seconds browsing your links to Facebook and Twitter.

Your Main Image

A website’s dominant image fixates the gaze of users for about 5.94 seconds.

Your Written Content

Users will peruse what you have to say on your homepage for 5.59 seconds before navigating to another page to learn more.

Your Bottom Navigation

User spend about 5.25 seconds looking over the navigation links at the bottom of your website.

What Does This Study Mean For Your Houston Website?

Note: It’s important to note that this study was completed by college students viewing law school websites, so their increased attention to the social networking links may be skewed toward greater importance than if your demographic were 40+ year old web users. Also, study participants noted that “pleasing colors” were very important to their overall browsing experience.

These results are helpful when prioritizing where to spend  more time and money on designing your Houston website. For instance, you may not want to spend a quarter of your budget on copywriting if people are only going to briefly peruse your text — or you may want to have your writer create a short paragraph that sums up your core, rather than the long manifesto you had originally planned. You may want to invest a little more in your logo creation that you had asked one of your partners to sketch real quick, rather than a professional artist. You also want to find a Houston website development firm that values simplicity and clean navigation, as this area draws the most attention overall.

Why Nuesion Houston Website Design & Development?

We’d like to be your #1 resource for Houston website design and development. We work quickly and efficiently to create a customized WordPress-based website that is inexpensive and easy to update. We also deal with domain name registrations and cheap hosting solutions if you need it. We’re here for you, day and night, to provide the best customer service possible, as we are a small company that values relationships.

 Call 1-800-870-3721 for a quote within 24 hours!

A Design That Doesn’t Suck!

If you hire an amateur web designer, outsource your work to another country, or go the D.I.Y. route with a template site, you could very well end up with a site that appears to be designed by a lab chimp. Case in point:

(Sorry, Bob! We're sure your ideas are perfectly valid! But this website's gotta go!)

You’ll be happy to know, we don’t have any lab chimps working here at Nuesion (that we know of, anyway… there is always the odd chance someone may have left a back door open…). Your custom web design will be handled by seasoned veterans (web design veterans, not war veterans) who know how to make a clean, easy-to-navigate, professional-looking page, sort of like this:

Do we know how to make Political WordPress Websites look good, or what?!

Back-End Support!

By “back-end support,” we’re not talking about adult diapers or Tucks pads. We’re talking about the time you try to install a new WordPress theme and the whole site goes kaput — including all of that content you never bothered to back up. It’s suddenly as if your site never existed… like a giant black hole just opened up and swallowed you whole. This doesn’t feel good, trust us! Worst of all, you have no one to blame but yourself! Who wants that level of responsibility? Well, we’re so crazy we don’t mind it. We back up all your data and we know HTML like the back of our hands (which we are currently looking at and admiring right now!) You can feel comfortable knowing that you can IM / Skype / Text / Call / Email us at any time for answers. Heck, you can even show up at our doorstep like a bedraggled puppy dog and we will let you in. Nuesion is noted for quick solutions, not just fully functioning custom web design.

Everything You Want!

Well, almost everything… If you wanted artificial fireworks going off, an animated marching band banner, and the “Star Spangled Banner” auto-playing, we might try to talk you out of it. That’s just the wise-cracking designer speaking. Yet, a custom web design team can really give you so much more functionality than the basic WordPress comes with. If you want added analytics data, SEO tools, a photo slider, or automatic social bookmarking tools, we will make sure your site is equipped with all these goodies. Most people choose custom web design to have this level of personalization and functionality, so their sites have a leg up on the competition.

 So there you have it! Tell your friend your custom web design is what gives you all that you want. It’s not just quicker and easier, but it’s also practical. Call Nuesion at 1-800-870-3721 for a quote within 24 hours.

Here are 10 WordPress site looks that caught our eyes recently…

10 Favorite WordPress Site Designs

1. We love the N-Design Studio’s unconventional use of color and tattoo-like artwork…

2. We like the easy navigation and oversized images on the Creative Ad Awards WordPress site…

3. We feel URB really nailed the magazine theme layout on this one…

4. We liked how the colors pop and dazzle the eyes with 101 Holidays’ custom web design…

5. It’s wonderful how Shawn Groves put his latest blog front and center with this WordPress site layout…

6. Logo Realty Associates created a nice aesthetic through use of illustration, widget size and font choice…

7. Lake Nona is an attractive WordPress site that creates a sense of place that makes you want to be there…

8. Don’t you just love Bear Grylls? His Live WordPress site doesn’t disappoint. The header, the wording: it’s epic.

9. We love how the use of color and imagery of this Egyptian travel WordPress site evokes a certain mood…

10. Well, okay… we had to sneak at least one of our sites here!

 Here’s a WordPress site we did for our friends at Chicken Kitchen Houston. (If you haven’t been there, the “Fajito Wrapito” is out-of-this-world!) Anyway, what we wanted to do with this WordPress design was use an uncommon color that would stand out from the competition. Gold adds a sort of opulence and sophistication that says: “This isn’t your local KFC or fast food joint!” We wanted a clean navigation menu and a way to showcase all the dynamic, changing content their site offers. We loved their mission statement and thought they had quite the food photographer, so we wanted to put their “About” page front and center.

If you’d like a WordPress site or custom web design for your business, please contact us for a quote within 24 hours. We work with businesses big and small! Call 1-800-870-3721 or contact us any way you feel comfortable.

About WordPress

Currently, there are more than 70 million WordPress websites worldwide. Of course, that number will change quickly, as about 100,000 new WordPress websites are created each day. Over 327 million people read more than 2.5 billion pages each month. On an average day, 500,000 new posts are created and 400,000 people comment on a website in WordPress. Many well-known publishers have chosen WordPress as their Content Management System of choice, including Tech Crunch, NBC Sports, CNN, UPS, Gigaom, and CBS Radio, to name a few. I guess what we’re trying to say here is that WordPress is really, really popular!  Of course, that doesn’t tell you the whole story.

#1 Benefit of A WordPress Site: It’s User-Friendly!

Once upon a time, you couldn’t add a blog or a page to your site — or even update the homepage content — unless you had an in-depth understanding of computer programming languages. So, more often than not, what would happen is you’d call up your website developer and ask them to implement the changes you need. Not every Houston web company is as responsive as us, so you can imagine all the aggravation business owners would endure while waiting for their content to be updated! Worse yet, imagine if you had hired a totally unscrupulous character to design your site at the lowest price… and he dropped off the planet altogether, leaving you with no option but to create a whole new website since you had no way of ever updating the old one!

Anyhow, the good news is that you will never have this problem with a WordPress site. Once you login with your user name and password, the sidebar menu makes it easy to add pages, testimonials, multimedia, blogs, images, links, or whatever strikes your fancy. You can edit any page and add all these goodies without any knowledge of HTML or web programming whatsoever! So by creating a WordPress site for you, we are giving you all the tools you need to update your website whenever and however you want.

#2 Benefit Of A WordPress Site: SEO-Friendliness

Our goal in creating a custom web design for you is not just to give you a parking spot online, but to drive business for you by enabling search engines to crawl your site. The thing about WordPress is that it’s one of the few Content Management Systems that is specifically designed to be more search engine friendly. These sites have especially fast loading time, which is important, not to mention a number of plugins you can add to help enhance search engine optimization.

#3 Benefit Of A WordPress Site: Versatility

There are tons of templates we can use for your WordPress site, tweaking the images, the colors and other design features to match your branding. Later on, if you decide you want a different look and feel, it is very easy to update and change the layout, without disturbing any of your content. It’s so easy to update, many of our clients browse the free and affordable templates themselves.

This is an example of a Houston WordPress site we’ve created.

The Bottom Line:

As you can imagine, all this ease of use leads to one inevitable conclusion: a WordPress site is also less-expensive than other systems! We spend less time developing your site and you can manage your content in a more autonomous way, so you can really cut out a lot of the expense in running a blog or webpage. WordPress also links with limitless hosting solutions, so you can save money there too by using your affordable provider. (If you don’t already have one, we’d be happy to help you in that department!)

Are you curious how you can get a WordPress site of your very own? Please contact us at 1-800-870-3721.

As Houston web designers, we think of ourselves as party hosts: we bring the plates of cookies and the drink trays the moment your guests walk in the front door, so they feel welcome and want to stay. Presentation is key, as it’s your visitors’ first impression of your business. Here are the four most common Houston web mistakes we see (so you can avoid the same!)

 Are You Guilty Of These Houston Web Blunders?

Here at Nuesion we offer full-service web design and hosting. Whether you need a simple cosmetic face-lift, an in-depth reworking, or your very first website for a fledgling business, our Houston web company would be happy to help! Ok, enough of the sales pitch.. lets get to the list!

Houston Web Issue #1: Poor Navigation

“Where am I? How did I get here? Why am I here?” These are the absolute worst questions a visitor can ask about your site! Most businesses say that navigation and usability is their top concern, but far too often we see creative types run wild with the design features. There are several recommendations we make to improve navigability, notably:

• Use visually appealing icons that are easy to understand
• Keep your most important links on the top horizontal navigation bar
• Stash your legal, copyright, privacy, and terms at the bottom of the page
• Use breadcrumb navigation within your text to guide people through the site

Houston Web Issue #2: No Call-To-Action

Sure, people are coming to your Houston web site for information; and yes, “Content is King.” However, you must also give the end user a call-to-action, which gives them a set of options should they decide to act based on the information you’ve provided. The 2011 Social Media Matters Study found that 53 percent of blog readers admitted they make purchases based on blogs they’ve read, and 69 percent of adult American women confessed they rely heavily on blogs to research technology they plan to buy. So, you see, it is very important that you give these eager buyers somewhere to go and something to buy! To improve this area, we recommend:

• Creating a button that takes into account size, shape, color and position when directing users
• Choosing your words carefully (for instance, it’s preferable to use the term “costs” versus “fees”)
• Deliver one call-to-action per page
• Use content to answer the question, “What’s in it for me?”
• Use the call-to-action to answer the question, “What do I do now?”

Houston Web Issue #3: Clutter

As a company, there is so much to say! This is especially true if you are trying to appeal to different target audiences. However, people browsing the web have unbelievably short attention spans. We partially blame TiVo, which lets people speed through commercials… Or maybe it’s those moving sidewalks in airports… At any rate, you need to get rid of all non-essentials on your landing page if you want people to click and explore. Here’s an example:

Chicken Kitchen’s Houston Website.. now thats a tasty looking site!

We challenge each item on a Houston web page and ask, “Does it really need to be there?” Often, it takes an impartial third party eye to make these kind of judgment calls, as it’s easy to get lost in your own mission statement and message.

Houston Web Issue #4: Content

People have arrived at your site to digest some type of content. Some pages serve up content like they are delivering filet mignon in a cardboard pizza box! What we’r saying is that you can lose a lot of perceived value if the presentation isn’t favorable. What we focus on is…

• Lots of whitespace so users can focus on the text
• Lengthy paragraphs are broken into shorter ones
• Bullets and lists are used as often as possible
• Never forget headlines
• Selecting the right text and colors is essential

Are you looking for Houston web solutions? Nuesion would love to help! Please contact us in any way you feel most comfortable so we can discuss your Houston web project. Not from Houston? No problem! We also work with companies remotely across the United States.

We love the response of the online community coming together in an effort to keep the internet free and open. We agree and hope you will do your part against SOPA. https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/
-J. Villarreal

What Your High-Quality Insurance Website Design Comes With…

• User-Friendly Navigation: A good insurance website has a clean, easy-to-follow layout with large tabs, full color photos and clear navigation. They want to get the information that matters most within 30 seconds or less. Your phone number and contact information should be readily visible on every page.
• Functionality: Features like online customer chat and a link to a “free quote” system will make your website more competitive. If all your competitors are offering these features, you will need an insurance website that performs well.
• Search Engine Optimization: What good is having the best insurance website design if no one can find your page? You’ll need your site fully optimized with back-end coding that is easily indexed by search engines and well-researched keywords that connect prospects with your insurance website.

Why Choose Nuesion?

At the end of the day, we understand that custom websites are a dime a dozen, but what matters most is customer service. We feel that your small to medium size business deserves enterprise-level insurance website design at an affordable price. We pride ourselves on having a team that is easy to work with and that is very responsive to all our clients’ questions or concerns. We understand that you need an insurance website in a timely manner and we are fully committed to delivering just that!

How To Get Started…

For more information on hiring our design team to help you with your insurance website, do not hesitate to contact in whatever method is most convenient for you!

Benefits of the WordPress Platform include:

• Easy Updates! Even with no prior web development knowledge, site admins(candidates, campaign managers, or staff) can post blogs, photos, videos, news stories and event listings with the straightforward dashboard.
• Connect Remotely! Whether campaign staff is on a PC, iPad, iPhone or laptop, they are able to make updates from anywhere there is a Wi-Fi or Internet connection.
• Multiple Admins! Candidates can allow access to multiple administrators, all who have their own login passwords and customizable level of access.
• Versatility! There are literally thousands of features, upgrades, plugins and options. The look of these websites can be altered in no time at all, should a campaign wish to update.
• Link to Social Media! Political campaigns can save time and effort by auto-linking all new blog posts to their social media sites like YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Digg and more.
• Interact With Donors! The WordPress platform allows for taking online donations, posting event calendars, and reaching out to donors with a newsletter signup box.
• Effective Search Ranking! There are over 20 million websites powered by WordPress today and 301 million people read these blogs each month. The sites are coded for easy search engine bot scanning and are very easily discovered by end users. Get your issues out and in front of the eyes that matter.

There are countless other benefits of working with Nuesion as a one-stop-shop for all things web-related…

• Hosting Solutions
  Nuesion works directly with candidates and campaign managers with all their online solutions, from design and hosting to implementation and web marketing. In fact, campaigns can purchase domains directly from Nuesion’s Accredit Domain Registry for just $9.99 – the lowest price in the industry.
• Search Engine Optimization
  Nuesion’s strong suit also includes Search Engine Optimization, which helps new pages rank quickly and efficiently. The company can research keywords, test different web designs and actively seek out ways to enlarge the site’s scope of reach.
• Ongoing Support
  New online marketing avenues are emerging all the time. Nuesion provides all clients with free ongoing consultations to help campaign managers succeed in their online marketing efforts.
• Access to Discounts
  All clients will also enjoy discounts from YouTube promotions, Google AdWords and other partners

Nuesion brings over a decade of professional web experience to political candidates who are looking for a professional, no-nonsense website that effectively connects with voters and campaign supporters. For more information on affordable custom sites, please call 1-800-870-3721 or email info@nuesion.com.

This has been a long standing standard with large corporations that have stood the test of time. With a professional voice over talent creating your professional audio message, you’ll present a professional and personal touch to your business’ automated voicemail system. No strange words are invented by a robot or mispronounced words when you choose Nuesion to create your high quality voice message.

Voicemail Greeting Packages	One Recording	Three Recordings	Larger Orders
Number of Recordings and Time	1 x 60secs	3 x 60secs	? x 60secs
Selection of Style and Talent Including Gender, Accent, and more
Delivery Time	within 24hrs	within 24hrs	Varies
Includes Free 30 Day Trial to Leading Virtual Phone System Multiple Extensions Internet Fax Dedicated fax number True 800 number Mobile phone integration Free iPhone App and much more
You provide the script and we’ll email you your audio file	$19.95	$49.95	Contact Us to order

Web design doesn’t always have to be strikingly beautiful to attract a large readership. Here at Nuesion, we pride ourselves in designing contemporary web experiences but ultimately it’s the passion that our customer have for getting their message out that creates a great synergy. In this case, our client wanted to launch a financial news aggregator site called The Daily Economy Report. To create the right feel, the client asked us look at top competitors in financial and political news – one being The Drudge Report (www.drudgereport.com), which is – admittedly – a somewhat chaotic-looking site; however, with a Page Rank of 7 and a staunch position as the 430th most visited website on the entire Internet, this page is nothing to scoff at! (Check out this article titled: Study Says Drudge Report Drives More Traffic Than Facebook & Twitter Combined http://mashable.com/2011/08/10/news-traffic-referral-study/)

Next, we thought, “How can we take our clients’ desire to be as successful as The Drudge Report, while also create an end-product that looks and navigates better for readers?” We decided to cut down on the top-of-the-page advertisements, first and foremost. Next, we put the site logo up top in a prominent position and put the feature story at center stage. We also felt it was very important to add some navigation to the site, so we put in a horizontal bar directing people to the Homepage, Blog, Knowledge Center, Videos, and News Archives. Since web video is a mainstay for current and relevant news, we wanted to feature a few of those as well. If you continue down the page, you’ll see the site does as expected by consolidating valuable links and articles, much like the Drudge Report, and also including a Facebook widget to encourage open discussion on these stories. Lastly, we added some incredible backend features that allowed for quick content publishing, management and maintenance from our client’s iPhone or iPad. All this was done on a WordPress foundation with a custom design and features. Despite the minimalist feel, this project did present a challenge in keeping our instinct of creating a more visual intense web experience in check. Ultimately the client knew what they wanted and we delivered.

The Daily Economy Report Vs Drudge Report

In the end, our client was exceedingly satisfied, “we are off and running with what I believe to be an amazingly simple, yet powerful design that my followers will grow to love.” (read full testimonial here).

We look forward to The Daily Economy Report’s success and encourage you to visit the site: www.thedailyeconomyreport.com as well as connect with them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheDailyEconomy