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How NC Web Designs volunteered at the Harrisburg ARTwalk

Who knew one conversation with Teresa Stern, while helping my daughter raise money for her Girl Scout troop at their car wash, located at Hardees in Harrisburg NC, would lead to a great opportunity to help raise money for a scholarship fund for a future Hickory Ridge High School senior. 

Teresa Stern, Harrisburg ARTwalk Coordinator & Event Planner, kindly brought her car over to get washed and to donate to Girl Scout Troop 1050. While the girls washed her car we had a delightful conversation.  As I learned about Teresa and what she was doing for Harrisburg and local area Artists, I knew I wanted to get involved to help her vision grow the Harrisburg NC community and "Just Make It Happen!"

Later, Teresa and I managed to connect on LinkedIn and she took me up on my offer!  On the morning of the event, my daughter and I set out to volunteer not sure what to expect. It was a unique experience for both of us.  I got to know Teresa more as the day’s events went on.  I sure was appreciative of the cup of coffee from Rocky River Coffee Company and was brought lunch from Hawthornes Pizza (They have my new favorite waffle fries, which are by the way, what I consider, worth it calories and total yum!)  

There were things about the experience we learned that will continue to improve the event.  The next Harrisburg ARTwalk will be Saturday, August 16th.  You won’t want to miss it.  There should be more local artists and vendors participating (i.e., crafts, jewelry, painting, photography, pottery, unique gifts).  We had many asking to go ahead and sign up for the next one.  The interest is building and ideas for the next Harrisburg ARTwalk are growing.  Teresa is hoping to have more volunteers, donations and sponsors because without them the event would not be possible.

Please share the information about the event.

For more information or to contact Teresa Stern about the Harrisburg ARTwalk visit the website, http://www.harrisburgartwalk.com/, Be sure to Follow the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/HarrisburgARTwalk.  

I look forward to the next one for sure!!   Here are photos I took showing a variety of local Artists and their unique work.

Honey Bee Rescue Photo Shoot

It was a nice spring day as I drove in returning from a meeting when I was faced with two highly energized partners in honey bee rescue.  

They greeted me as I opened the car door and informed me they were going to save some honey bees in an old abandoned house that was going to be demolished in the coming week.  I listened for a minute and really, it was a minute. They told me what they were going to do.  I really wanted to see it, as I’ve heard about this before.  Not really what I would say as bucket list material, but it was once in a lifetime material. So they said, "Come on!"

I was in business casual clothes and had sandal pumps on and they couldn’t wait. I said, "Y'all are crazy."  I was given less than 5 minutes.  They were anticipating rain.  I ran inside and told them I was getting my tennis shoes on.  Instead, I threw on jeans and a white t-shirt (never tell them you have to change).  I kicked off my sandals, grabbed socks, tennis shoes, and my camera and then headed for the car, barefooted.  A good tip here is to always, always have your camera ready to go!

I said, “Ready, let’s go!   I’m following you.” 

Scenes of classic movies were running through my head the entire way there. The tune Dunt-da-dunt-da-dah-dah from the Wizard of Oz was playing in my mind as we were driving to the site.  Not to mention it totally reminded me of the movie Twister with the storm chasers, instead it was bee chasers.  Oh, and by the way, I did put my tennis shoes on, safety first, right! 

Here are my pictures from the successful honey bee rescue. 

Honey was dripping off the comb as the honey bees were flying around me when these pictures were taken. 

Really, it’s just all in a day’s work of a unique web designer’s life! 

Just make it happen!

Nance Electric, LLC

“A Loose wire will cause a Fire”

After meeting with Mike and Kristin Nance for the first time, I could tell they knew what they wanted in a website, but needed some help in “Just making it happen”.  Our ideas unfolded and we brainstormed together.   As I listened, I began to visualize!  We got started and it really turned out eye catching. To read more on this project visit my portfolio.

Nance Electric, family owned and operated local company in Harrisburg, NC with over 15 years experience.

They are a licensed, bonded, and insured full service electrical company serving the Charlotte, NC area near Harrisburg, NC, Matthews NC, Kannapolis NC, Salisbury NC, and Huntersville NC.

Nance Electric, LLC

They offer a wide range of residential and commercial electrical services. They specialize in home remodeling, new construction, can lighting, outdoor/indoor security lighting, and media centers (man caves and home entertainment).

Mike Nance, electrician, is committed to safety and integrity. He is licensed, bonded and insured.

Free Quotes | Free Estimates

Designed their logo, marketing card, and responsive WordPress website as a CMS tool which includes Mike’s Blog, where he offers electrical advice, tips and more.

Links and Connections:

Nance Electric, LLC, Harrisburg, NC | Follow on Facebook
Visit Website: http://www.nanceelectricnc.com

Website Requirements:

CMS | Search Engine Optimization Services | Custom Logo & Responsive Website Design

Design Tools:

Adobe Fireworks | Photoshop | Illustrator

Services

WordPress | CMS Setup | SEO Services | Marketing Card | Logo | Website Template | Social Media | Hosting and Domain Name Services

Dr. Judith Barnett | Marriage Counselor | Coach redesigned website...

NC Web Designs

Helping people help others is something I enjoy doing, so redesigning Dr. Judith Barnett’s website was a delight!

judithbarnett2 Originally we worked together on her first website and it had been successful for many years in her practice and represented her specialties as a Marriage Counselor, www.judithbarnett.com. She has another website focusing on helping people recovering from the effects of infidelity on relationships called www.afterinfidelity.com, that is also a great tool for her practice.   

 It was time for a redesign of www.judithbarnett.com and so after working to update content and provide integration of a little bit of social media, fine tuning SEO and adding responsive capabilities, it is complete!

Judith S. Barnett, Ph.D. is an experienced licensed clinical psychologist, located in Chapel Hill, NC, helping individuals and couples for over 20 years.

 Specializing in relationship issues, Dr Barnett now offers convenient phone coaching nationwide and internationally.

Website Solutions | Requirements:

Search Engine Optimization Services | Custom WordPress Website and Graphics | Maintenance Support Services

Website and Design Tools:  Adobe Photoshop, Fireworks, Responsive WordPress CMS (Installation and Design)

Visit Dr Barnett’s connections and like her Facebook page:

http://www.judithbarnett.com/
http://www.afterinfidelity.com/
https://www.facebook.com/JudithBarnettPhD

How to survive upgrading MySql from 4.1 to 5.0 and upgrading WordPress 3.5.2

NC Web Designs

Just make it happen....

surviveUpgrading WordPress is one thing, but having to upgrade the database is another.  Before you can upgrade WordPress, your database needs to be running MySql 5.0.  This can get a little complicated.  Your hosting company may not support this so you are left to resolve it on your own.  You decide it's just not worth it and forget.  You tell yourself ... it will be ok, so I'm not going to deal with it.  Who would hack my site anyway? 

Let me change your mind.

So one day you discover you can't access your website, it's being blocked in your browser or a client calls and they are having trouble, or worse, no one ever calls because no one ever finds your website online anymore, things have been quiet and you've been wondering what happened!

The security vulnerabilities in WordPress, if you have not upgraded to WordPress 3.5.2, are too risky if you value how much your site helps your business, your blog, your branding and your life!  It takes way more effort to resolve a hijacked website than to upgrade your database. 

I have had personal experience cleaning up hacked sites and there's more time involved in fixing things than just upgrading and you will also be blocked from Google if your site was hijacked and is serving malware on the internet.  

You may see "This site may harm your computer" warning in Google search results.

The reason for this is that someone more than likely has compromised your server into allowing them to modify files on your site. They do this by inserting malicious code into your web pages or database tables, or alter the code of your website.

There is an answer on how to survive updating WordPress, just call me! If you would like assistance in upgrading a MySql database to 5.0 or WordPress to 3.5.2 please contact me.  I highly recommend doing the WordPress 3.5.2 update which addresses multiple vulnerabilities for all previous versions.  What could take 4-5 hours, take less than 30 mins!

Now is the time!

Upgrade to WordPress 3.5.2 | Avoid Website Downtime

Grace Church located in Harrisburg, NC refreshes their website, logo and gets moving with Social Media.

Grace Church has needed an updated website for quite some time. Grace was experiencing growth and technology challenges as many churches do. Wanting to be self sufficient and keep costs down was also a concern.

Already having a new logo that reflected their congregation of inter-generational members. They also desired a little touch of modern to the website and wanted to include photos of their members to add genuine character.

Website Requirements:

• Social Media
• Calendar
• e-Prayer Chain
• Administration to be able to update content
• Grace Hymns, a website for purchases
• Paster Doug Agnew’s sermon’s downloadable on http://www.sermonaudio.com

NC Web Designs

SEO services are also needed for church websites just like any other non-profit business today. So, of course, the choice was WordPress for a CMS.

Come Discover Grace

Visit Grace Church on the corner of Stallings Rd. in Harrisburg, NC and to learn more about their Mission, Vision, and Core Values go to their website.

Passionately Proclaiming the Gospel of Grace

http://www.graceharrisburg.org/
https://www.facebook.com/GraceChurchHarrisburg

Certified Mechanical, Inc. (CMI) Redesigns Website & Refreshes Brand

Having worked with CMI since 2007, it was a great honor to be able to redesign their website.  The challenge was to create a re-designed website that would continue to be optimized across the Internet and also improve their search ranking.Certified Mechanical, Inc. (CMI)

In order to provide a significant cost savings to CMI, they wanted to transfer their domain name and change hosting companies.  This is never an easy process, in fact one of the support technicians referred to it as a “delicate process”.  Working with both hosting companies, I managed to “Just Make It Happen”. After working thru transferring the domain name and setting up the hosting services, it was time to launch the website.

The new website optimizes CMI’s online web presence and refreshes their brand.  They also wanted to integrate with their Facebook and Linked-In sites.  The re-designed custom website is built with WordPress and is functioning as a CMS for the company.

Certified Mechanical, Inc. (CMI) is a full service licensed mechanical contractor providing services in Automation and Controls, Electrical, Plumbing, HVAC serving North Carolina, (NC) and South Carolina, (SC).

NC Web Designs Blog

CMI has over 30 years of experience and specializes in Industrial, Commercial, and Critical Facility environments.

CMI is a complete Automation, Controls and Systems Integration provider.

Ask CMI about sustainable, energy efficient solutions!

Website Requirements:

Search Engine Optimization Services | Custom WordPress Website and Graphics | Maintenance Services

Website and Design Tools:  Adobe Photoshop, Fireworks, WordPress CMS, Domain / Hosting and Transfer Consulting Support

Visit their connections and like them on Facebook!!

http://www.cminconline.com

http://www.facebook.com/certifiedmechanicalinc

http://www.linkedin.com/certifiedmechanicalinc

Scenic Gifts of Mount Airy, NC launches new website and Facebook brand!

It has been and awesome blessing designing Scenic Gifts’ WordPress website and Facebook page! This unique, family owned and locally operated gift shop, focuses on products made in the USA and custom handcrafted wood tables. Yes, they ship!  You can find directions to the store, check out their custom built handcrafted wood tables by their own Wood Genius and see their new arrivals on their website.  Be sure to like their Facebook page to get updates and sale announcements.

This site was designed to creatively display all the unique products they carry as well and bring together their existing brand that so many of their favorite customers know and love.  Updating their look and bringing together a rich brand and Facebook profile was ideal.  Search engine optimization was included of course, as well site setup on WordPress, a CMS tool.

You’ll find Scenic Gifts nestled in the foothills of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, a scenic drive no matter which direction you are traveling, so stop in and try their fudge!  You’ll experience, plenty of Southern hospitality and see their one-of-a-kind handcrafted furniture that has made this extraordinary shop legendary.

I can smell the homemade fudge right from my computer screen!

Animal Supply House of Rock Hill launches new website and Facebook Page!

It has been a pleasure designing the Animal Supply House of Rock Hill's website and Facebook page! I have enjoyed the opportunity to focus on a local business that is providing customer service to our community and our pets! I personally love them all, have a dog and cat and would have more if I could!

This website was designed with SEO services for pet supplies, targeting sells as a local small business in Rock Hill, SC. Holistic By-product free foods are their specialty. They have a complete line of pet foods, accessories and offer grooming services. They also carry environmentally friendly pet products and supplies.

They had a logo but needed a complimentary website and Facebook Fan page to boost store traffic and increase sales. Animal Supply House has pet supplies for dogs, cats, birds and small animals and specializes in holistic by-product free foods in Rock Hill, SC. Animal Supply House in Rock Hill, SC believes in great customer service to serve you and your family members of the canine, feline, and avian variety. They carry food and supplies for reptiles and small mammals. Their goal is to provide their customers with the absolute best pet nutrition and service available. "Come on in and Sniff Around."

Find out about their grooming services and take their 28 day food challenge!

Hand Up Africa launches a re-designed Facebook page and Website!

Hand Up Africa needed their website redesigned to build awareness of their mission and provide a portal for communicating accomplishments to their community of supporters and also provide project updates on a more regular bases.

Hand Up Africa is a non-profit African Mission Organization that provides farming equipment and training for churches, schools, orphanages and other groups that specifically target at-risk children in Africa. Their goal is to create opportunities within African communities and to give them a Hand Up, not just a hand out!

Site enhancements include a Photo Gallery, HUA News, their Facebook link and acceptance of Online Donations through PayPal.

It's exciting to see such an organization grow and use their website and the Interent to embrace the benefits of today's marketing strengths. If you would like to learn more about their mission work in Africa or find out ways to get involved, just visit their website and click on Ways to Help!