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URL: www.LanguagesOfTheWorld.info
Time to prototype: 8 hrs
Start to finish: 15 hrs

Went Live In: December 2011

Page Rank: PR stands for Page Rank, and is the public view of Google’s ranking of a site on a 10 point exponential scale, according to the number and quality of incoming links that site has pointed to it.

Alexa Rank: Alexa is a web information company and subsidiary to Amazon. The Alexa Rank represents the company’s ranking of a site’s traffic when compared to all the other websites on the Internet.

LanguagesOfTheWorld.info is the language and linguistics blog of author and Stanford educator Asya Pereltsvaig. It had been a simple Blogspot website with outstanding writing since early 2010, and we helped transform it to a site with much more functionality, usability, and potential for growth avenues towards the end of 2011.

The opportunity to work on Dr. Pereltsvaig’s site came about because of her familiarity with our previous work on GeoCurrents.info. (Dr. Pereltsvaig had been one of GeoCurrents’ most avid readers and commenters, and now she writes for the site herself). Because her site was in a similar situation to that of GeoCurrents’ before our renovation (that of being limited by the Blogspot platform), it was a natural fit for us to work together to renovate Languages Of The World as well.

You can see the aesthetic differences between the two versions of the site in the photos below, before a more detailed account of the potential we think we have helped unlock in the site with the upgrade.

Before

After

Blogger has been an entryway for a lot of people to start publishing online. Google seems like they are finally getting around to making it a better service, but it is still far behind other content management systems in terms of the quality of site it can produce. For one, the ability to organize content is a bit cluttered from what I have seen. The only navigational system available on Languages Of The World in the “Before” site above was an archive that sorted old posts chronologically by month. If I am a new visitor to the website, who is in that crucial moment of either being won over as a fan or hitting the back button back to the sea of other sites, knowing the number of posts written by the author in June of last year gives me precious little to inform my quickly-made decision to read on or not.

On the other hand, having a neatly sorted and compact list of the most popular articles on the site–the posts that have generated the most discussion–could lead me very quickly to conclude that this is the type of writing I want to invest my time in reading. In the after picture above, the top portion of the left sidebar is exactly this functionality, placed with the intent of turning newcomers to the site into repeat and engaged readers.

Beyond these design and usability improvements, the Languages of the World renovation has also focused considerably on optimization. For a Blogspot site, LOTW was actually doing quite well in terms of traffic before we got our hands on it. Dr. Pereltsvaig had cultivated a following of avid readers and commenters, and some of her posts were bringing in outside traffic from the search engines.

However, we quickly realized that this traffic was nowhere near its potential. Like most sites out there, the meta information of Languages Of The World, which is used to communicate relevancy to the search engines, was lacking. There was also substantial potential in targeting specific keywords to rank well in at the search engines. A couple of the most obvious examples included the title keyword “languages of the world” (searched 6,600 times per month at Google) and the keyword “language blog” (searched 600 times per month). If we could provide an honest, white-hat boost to the homepage’s relevancy for these terms, we could organically increase the exposure of the entire site to a very large magnitude.

As I write, we’re just getting started (the launch of the site was yesterday), but by the time you are reading this some fruit may have blossomed. How are we doing? Do you see LOTW in the top 10? Do a Google search for our title keyword by clicking here.

Perhaps most importantly, the content that Dr. Pereltsvaig is spending so much of her time creating is now on a domain name that she herself owns, rather than on a subdomain of blogspot.com, whose future is nearly entirely out of her control. By making the move to her own domain, she has added a significant asset to her net worth that she is in complete, legal control of.

That is really what we aim for at K&J Productions: leaving our client with an asset that turns out being worth much more than what they paid for it. We understand our service is an investment, and our success goes hand in hand with the success of those investments. We wouldn’t want it any other way.

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URL: www.SuperstitionMotors.com
Time to prototype: 4 hrs 50 min
Start to finish: 18 hours

Went Live In: October 2011

Page Rank: PR stands for Page Rank, and is the public view of Google’s ranking of a site on a 10 point exponential scale, according to the number and quality of incoming links that site has pointed to it.

Alexa Rank: Alexa is a web information company and subsidiary to Amazon. The Alexa Rank represents the company’s ranking of a site’s traffic versus all the other websites on the Internet.

SuperstitionMotors.com was our first step into the field of automotive repair. The business, Superstition Motors Ltd. in El Cajon, California is owned by Jack Doherty. Jack wanted to revamp the company website, which at this point in time was a three-page static site. He had been unsuccessful in finding a web designer willing to work for a reasonable rate. Also important was our policy of working without a design contract–others had tried to lock Superstition Motors into a hefty bill before the designer produced so much as a design concept. We agreed to work with Superstition Motors on an hourly basis with no up-front cost. We wanted to make sure they liked the direction we had in mind before they invested any money. Now it was time to realize the vision.

The site we made for Superstition Motors is a blend of elegant usability with a touch of the raw quality you’d expect to find from an auto repair shop that is going to get its hands dirty fixing your car, while offering you honest, qualified advice. The goal was to communicate through design that this is a no-frills independent shop where you can go to get quality automotive service while not having to pay the salary of a customer service rep in your bill. The dust-filled background image preserved from the original site adds the unique personal touch, while the overlaid content, sliders and rotating tabs create the elegance and usability.

Built into the design are also several components that will be key from both a visitor’s and a search engine’s standpoint:

In its original state, Mr. Doherty did not want the business’ web address on its business cards. The early site had a very cool background image, but the rest of the design did not accurately reflect the quality the business offered, and it contained very little information beyond its address and phone number. Further, it was not professionally done and Doherty feared it would leave potential customers with a bad impression.

Now, Mr. Doherty and the whole crew at Superstition Motors have expressed that they want to show off their new website at every opportunity, because it now reflects the quality of the services customers can expect from the business.

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URL: www.GeoCurrents.info
Time to prototype: 5 hrs 40 min
Start to finish: 30 hrs 30 min

Went Live In: March 2011

Page Rank: PR stands for Page Rank, and is the public view of Google’s ranking of a site on a 10 point exponential scale, according to the number and quality of incoming links that site has pointed to it.

Alexa Rank: Alexa is a web information company and subsidiary to Amazon. The Alexa Rank represents the company’s ranking of a site’s traffic when compared to all the other websites on the Internet.

GeoCurrents.info has been one of my favorite website development projects to work on. The site is the geography blog of Stanford University Senior Lecturer Martin W. Lewis, a man whose extensive knowledge of the world is near-baffling to witness first hand. On GeoCurrents, Professor Lewis taps this knowledge to provide map-illustrated commentary on current events through a geographical lens. As I write this in November 2011, the site reaches over 11,000 visitors each month.

To understand how the site has reached this point, I’ll provide a little bit of the background and thought process behind the current set up.

I had the pleasure of attending Prof. Lewis’ lectures for two quarters of his course Global Human Geography during my junior undergraduate year at Stanford. Prof. Lewis integrated GeoCurrents with the class during this year, using his articles as starting points for class discussion. The design of the site at this time though, done through Blogger, did not allow for any categorization or archiving of old posts, of which there were hundreds, and the permalink (url) structure of the site made it impossible for search engines to recognize individual pages.

Before

After

The result of all these considerations was what I consider a dream project: fascinating, high-quality content that when re-structured and optimized could reach a vastly larger audience.

I told Prof. Lewis of the vision I had for that potential, and he began to tell me of his own concerns for the site. Soon after we had reached an agreement on the direction we wanted to take the site though, I left the country to study abroad in Italy. Thus, all of the work was managed remotely. Fortunately, the collaborative redesign of a website can work just about as well from 8,000 miles away as it does from next door.

It took less than 6 hours to produce a prototype of the site, and most of the rest of the 30.5 hours we list as having spent working on this site had to do with going through each of the 300-plus posts that had already been written.

Once the main framework of the site had been created and optimized, I also utilized some third-party plugins to put together an interactive map page, called the GeoCurrents Master Map, that lets users browse each of the site’s posts geographically.

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URL: www.San-Diego-Beaches.com
Time to prototype: N/A**This is an article-based site that Jordan owns and continuously updates, so its time ranges are outside the scope of our usual client projects.
Start to finish: N/A**This is an article-based site that Jordan owns and continuously updates, so its time ranges are outside the scope of our usual client projects.

Went Live In: January 2011

Page Rank: PR stands for Page Rank, and is the public view of Google’s ranking of a site on a 10 point exponential scale, according to the number and quality of incoming links that site has pointed to it.

Alexa Rank: Alexa is a web information company and subsidiary to Amazon. The Alexa Rank represents the company’s ranking of a site’s traffic versus all the other websites on the Internet.

San-Diego-Beaches.com is an informational site created by Jordan Sandoval. Inspired by her many experiences with San Diego’s beaches, the site serves as a platform for her to share the knowledge she has accumulated on her countless beach trips. However, the value of the site’s content is only part of its appeal.

The sunny look and feel of San-Diego-Beaches.com complete its attractiveness by matching quality content with an equally quality, fitting design. One visitor said that she could “feel the virtual sand between her toes.” We strive to create sites that evoke this type of reaction with any K&J Web Productions project by thoughtfully designing to effectively convey each site’s theme.

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URL: www.Money-Saving-RV-Repair.com
Time to prototype: N/A**This is an article-based site that Kevin co-owns and continuously updates, so its time ranges are outside the scope of our usual client projects.
Start to finish: N/A**This is an article-based site that Kevin co-owns and continuously updates, so its time ranges are outside the scope of our usual client projects.

Went Live In: January 2010

Page Rank: PR stands for Page Rank, and is the public view of Google’s ranking of a site on a 10 point exponential scale, according to the number and quality of incoming links that site has pointed to it.

Alexa Rank: Alexa is a web information company and subsidiary to Amazon. The Alexa Rank represents the company’s ranking of a site’s traffic when compared to all the other websites on the Internet.

In 2010 Warford’s RV Repair Service turned to the Web in hopes of finding more business and began working with Kevin Morton to create a site. Thus began the journey of building a site that efficiently and accurately channeled the company, with the Warfords providing the content and Kevin providing the design and keyword research savvy. The end product was Money-Saving-RV-Repair.com, a successful hybrid business promotion and informational website.

What do I mean when I say this is a hybrid site? Besides showing the world what Warford’s RV Repair Service does, it also gives visitors helpful information for DIY repairs that can save them a ton of money. Why do this? Kevin’s keyword analysis showed that there was a sizable number of people searching for low-cost solutions to their RV troubles, hence incorporating this component of the site attracts more visitors.

Now in addition to the customers who seek out Warford’s services through the site, other visitors stop in, find information helpful, and become repeat visitors. This yields positive results as more visitors provides the potential to rake in more money. As of summer 2011, Money-Saving-RV-Repair.com brings in a few hundred dollars a month from Google AdSense and has complimentary businesses paying to advertise on the site.

It doesn’t stop there. During the design process, the Warfords learned about the online process and now manage the site alongside Kevin.

Putting it all together, through Money-Saving-RV-Repair.com, Warford’s RV Repair Service attracts more customers, has an additional revenue stream, and a website that they are capable of sustaining.

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URL: www.End-Your-Sleep-Deprivation.com
Time to prototype: N/A**This is an article-based site that Kevin co-owns and continuously updates, so its time ranges are outside the scope of our usual client projects.
Start to finish: N/A**This is an article-based site that Kevin co-owns and continuously updates, so its time ranges are outside the scope of our usual client projects.

Went Live In: April 2010

Page Rank: PR stands for Page Rank, and is the public view of Google’s ranking of a site on a 10 point exponential scale, according to the number and quality of incoming links that site has pointed to it.

Alexa Rank: Alexa is a web information company and subsidiary to Amazon. The Alexa Rank represents the company’s ranking of a site’s traffic when compared to all the other websites on the Internet.

Created in 2010 by Kevin Morton, End-Your-Sleep-Deprivation.com (EYSD) began as a project for one of his classes at Stanford, Sleep and Dreams. At the outset it was a small informational site aimed at expanding the reach of sleep science to a broader audience. Since then it has expanded with amazing velocity—it currently has thousands of pages and attracts around 50,000 visitors a month!

The key to its incredible success lies in Kevin’s organization and planning. Resourceful as he is, Kevin thought of adding student-written articles to the site and inviting visitors to share stories as well, giving EYSD the ability to grow organically with awesome speed. All the while he steadily researched keywords in order to optimize pages so they can be readily found by Web surfers using search engines.

Due to Kevin’s careful research and the growing number of pages on the site, EYSD is found thousands of time each month via search engines. The greatest result is an easily accessible resource for sleep education.

And, of course, all of this is done in style. Just take a look at that site design!

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URL: www.EnnissInc.com
Time to prototype: 5 hrs
Start to finish: 15 hrs

Went Live In: August 2011

Page Rank: PR stands for Page Rank, and is the public view of Google’s ranking of a site on a 10 point exponential scale, according to the number and quality of incoming links that site has pointed to it.

Alexa Rank: Alexa is a web information company and subsidiary to Amazon. The Alexa Rank represents the company’s ranking of a site’s traffic when compared to all the other websites on the Internet.

When family-owned construction company Enniss Inc. wasn’t seeing results from their previous website and had enough of paying a high monthly fee to keep it, they began looking for another option.

K&J Web Productions took on the task of designing a new site for them, one that would serve as a great representation of the firm and attract more business. Not only did we want to display the services Enniss Inc. offers, but we wanted to do so in a personal way that lets potential customers see what the firm is about at its core.

The result is a site that gives visitors a holistic view of Enniss Inc., with information on its services, completed projects, the company’s history, and the people who run the operation. We think this personalization is key to standing out online. Every business has a story behind it after all, so why not share that story with the people you hope to do business with?

Behind the scenes we methodically research the best keywords for each page, maximizing the chances for their site to be found through search engines.

Combining personalization and careful analysis to a clean, thoughtful, attractive site design is a recipe for success. Now Enniss Inc. has all the ingredients.

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URL: www.KevinMorton.me
Time to prototype: N/A**This site is one that Kevin owns and continuously updates, so its time ranges are outside the scope of our usual client projects. But a similar prototype would probably take 2-3 hours.
Start to finish: N/A**This site is one that Kevin owns and continuously updates, so its time ranges are outside the scope of our usual client projects.

Went Live In: January 2010

Page Rank:

Alexa Rank:

KevinMorton.me is Kevin’s personal website. He uses it to share projects, writing, and academic pursuits and the result is essentially a resume that’s a lot more interactive than a piece of paper.

Interested in establishing your own presence online? K&J can hook you up with a personal website in short order.

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URL: www.Classic-Rock-Drum-Charts.com
Time to prototype: N/A**This is a product-based site that Kevin owns and continuously updates, so its time ranges are outside the scope of our usual client projects.
Start to finish: N/A**This is a product-based site that Kevin owns and continuously updates, so its time ranges are outside the scope of our usual client projects.

Went Live In: July 2007

Page Rank:

Alexa Rank:

Ah, this is the site that started it all. Kevin Morton created Classic-Rock-Drum-Charts.com at the ripe old age of 16 as a way to help his father, professional drummer James Morton, promote his drum sheet music.

Before the site’s creation James mailed out a paper catalog of drum charts to customers, but he and Kevin saw the potential to reach a much larger market through making the sheet music available for download on the Web. Thus began Kevin’s web design career.

He aimed to channel his dad’s personality and experience, to give visitors a sense of his character, as well as to provide a platform for drum chart sales. Working through design challenges and early keyword research built the foundation for Kevin’s skills, and the site has evolved along the road as he has gained experience. Since those early days the site has grown to reach thousands of drummers each month, many of whom buy charts, translating into profit for the Mortons.

Though Classic-Rock-Drum-Charts.com has changed quite a bit from its starting point, the basic philosophy of Kevin’s site building hasn’t changed and it lives on in K&J Web Productions. Making sites that are unique, personalized, and carefully planned, just like this one, is our ultimate goal. We hope that we can make your website every bit as successful.