Displaying items by Blog Tag: #Santa Cruz

Most of the website design mistakes people talk about are the obvious ones. Slow load times, a site that's impossible to use on a phone, a contact form that doesn't send anywhere. We covered the obvious five here, and if any of those sound familiar, start there.

But here's what I've noticed after working on hundreds of small business websites: the sites I get called about aren't usually broken. They load fine. They look decent. Nothing is on fire. They're just not producing calls or inquiries, and the owner can't figure out why.

I have built websites for small businesses in Santa Cruz since 2011. In that time, we have quoted thousands of projects, and a common piece of feedback is some version of "I found someone who will do it for $500." Sometimes that is the right call. Sometimes it ends up costing more than the “more expensive” option would have.

The price in the proposal is not the cost of a website. The cost is what you spend over the next two or three years in time, lost business, and rebuilding what should have been done right the first time.  

I build websites for a living. I've been doing it since 2011, here in Santa Cruz. So you'd expect me to tell every business owner that yes, you absolutely need one.

I won't do that. Because honestly, it's not always true.

"Do I need a website?" is one of the most common questions I hear from small business owners. My honest answer, the one that sometimes costs me a project, is: it depends on where your customers find you. Some businesses genuinely do not need one. Others are losing money every month without one and don't realize it.

What Is Local SEO and Why Does It Matter?

Local SEO is the process of optimizing your online presence so your business shows up when people in your area search for the services you offer. When someone in Santa Cruz searches "plumber near me" or "best electrician in Capitola," Google uses local SEO signals to decide which businesses to show.

This past week Tree Top Web Design proudly sponsored the Santa Cruz Sunrise Rotary’s 27^th Annual Youth Scholarship Golf Tournament. Corresponding to one of warmest days of the year our staff was setup at Delaveaga Golf Course on hole number 5 to greet this year’s 100 tournament participants. Besides helping cool golfers down with ice cold refreshments we were also providing free website audit reports.