Web design

GHI: Elevating a site for Nepal

By Theresa CassidayJuly 1, 2019in Global Humanity Initiative, Web design

One of the things I enjoy most about my job is helping clients whose businesses have grown, and their first websites need to be upgraded to meet their new needs. I got to do this again when I helped Global Humanity Initiative (GHI) update their website this spring.

GHI is a nonprofit that raises funds to care for children and senior citizens in Nepal. Its founder, Alicia Demetropolis, started it in 2017 after a three-month trip to Nepal inspired her to establish a long-term program to keep assisting the people she’d been helping.

Alicia had set up her original website on WordPress.com with a very simple template. The organization has formed partnerships with other like-minded nonprofits around the world, and was getting ready to start a fund-raising campaign for a new project. They needed to elevate the quality of their website so it would better highlight their mission and reflect their growth.

Farewell to an employer and friend

By Theresa CassidayJune 6, 2019in Catena Creations, Proposal writing, Web design, writing

This week I said goodbye to a friend who was also an employer. Charles E. Peterson Jr. died May 24 at the age of 92. His funeral was June 4.

I met Chuck in 1993 when I started working for TransEquity, which offered corporate relocation management services. It was a partner company of Byron Reed Company.

I worked for Eileen Segan, the vice president of marketing, and was a backup to Chuck’s secretary as well.

TransEquity is where I learned to do proposal writing. Chuck and Eileen taught me how to review a proposal, how to collect and edit the responses, how to format it and put it all together to meet the guidelines, and how to get it shipped on time.

TransEquity also is where my web design career started. I had left the company in July 1995 and had stayed in touch with Eileen. One day in spring 1997 she called and said, “Come back and run our website.” They were in the process of designing their site but needed someone to finish it and manage it. I returned in June, and that’s when I became a web designer.

Polishing up a software website

By Theresa CassidayFebruary 4, 2019in Catena Creations, Web design, writing

Sometimes, the cleaning service manager needs to call in a cleaning service. In the case of MaidEasy Software, the company’s WordPress website needed some polish and shine.

Catena Creations had the pleasure of redesigning the MaidEasy Software website this fall. The redesign launched the first week of December 2018.

Owner John Schwery has been working with my partner, Annastasia Webster of Webster Digital Marketing, on search engine optimization and website management. Stasia referred him to me to update the site and make it more visually appealing and modern.

John and his wife, Brenda, used to own a Merry Maids franchise in Lincoln. A few years after they sold the franchise, some of their previous customers asked them to come back to the cleaning business. When they started Maid to Please, Brenda started looking for software to help her manage the business. She couldn’t find anything that was industry-specific. So MaidEasy Software was born.

As Catena Creations addressed John’s concerns about the look of the site, we also discovered a need to rewrite the copy to change the focus.

When Catena Creations designs a website, we talk to the client about who is most likely to use the site. From that information, we create a “persona” that represents each type of typical customer for the business. Then we design and write to meet the needs of those personas.

New year, new direction, new website

By Theresa CassidayJanuary 19, 2018in Catena Creations, photography, print design, Web design, Web site, writing

Every business owner knows that it’s important to look back and see where you’ve accomplished, as well as look ahead to see where you’d like to go in the future.

One of the hazards of freelancing is the temptation to do ALL the things you can do just because someone asks for them. On the surface, it seems like you’re offering good service to your clients. But over time, you risk becoming a jack of all trades, master of none.

After evaluating the services we’ve been offering, Catena Creations has defined a new direction for 2018. Our core services will be:

Website design. First and foremost, we design great websites.We use WordPress to make sure our sites are user-friendly, secure and fully functional. We also make sure our websites have search engine optimization (SEO) techniques incorporated as we build our websites so our clients can be found online once their sites launch.

Noting 9 years of Catena Creations, 20 years of web design

By Theresa CassidayAugust 21, 2017in Catena Creations, Web design

Today, on Aug. 21, 2017, I’m watching the eclipse. I’m also celebrating the ninth anniversary of starting Catena Creations. Here’s how I got started. My thanks and appreciation to everyone to has supported me and my business during the past nine years.

At the end of June 2017, I celebrated the 20th anniversary of my decision to add website design to my portfolio of skills. This life-changing decision had made such a huge impact on my career and my creativity.

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