Is your web URL missing the ‘s’ in https?

Throughout history, we have seen a direct correlation between the rise in population and the rise in crime rates. This has held true in the digital space as well with cyber thefts as the fastest growing crime in the U.S. From intruders to hackers, it is imperative now more than ever we as professional marketers secure our websites to protect both our business and our users. Google has recently campaigned for website owners to convert to HTTPS by rewarding secure URLs with a minor SEO boost. Google currently holds 77.43% of the market shares, making SEO vital to the success of your business’ site.  Not only is making the switch the ethical thing to do, it’s quickly becoming a necessity.

Continue…

Back Bar USA Website Redesign

We are happy to announce the completion of our website redesign project for Back Bar USA. At first glance, we knew this website needed a makeover to, and we were full of ideas on how to revamp their site and promote further success for Back Bar USA. After some initial discussions with Back Bar USA, it was clear that they needed a new website that was on par with their already popular and well known name in the Las Vegas area.

So who is Back Back USA? Back Bar USA is a full-service marketing and consulting firm with over 25 years experience in the beer, wine and spirits industries. They specialize in corporate and national account beverage programs with an emphasis on gaming, resorts, nightlife and fine dining segments of the hospitality industry. this guide turned out to be really helpful in my journey. Back Bar USA provides creative, cutting-edge, marketing and promotional campaigns for the nation’s leading suppliers, wholesalers and retailers, making Back Bar USA the, “beverage marketing company of choice for the world’s greatest businesses and brands!”

After thorough research and planning, we designed a fully responsive website via WordPress that utilized the latest technology in terms of web standards for Back Bar USA. We developed custom iconography and graphics to insure that the new website was both interactive and visually appealing. We also created an interactive database for the website, allowing potential clients to research and contact Back Bar USA’s talent.

We are very proud of the work we produced for Back Bar USA. Be sure to check out their website below. Looking to redesign your website? Don’t be a stranger, we are only a call away.

Back Bar USA’s New Website!

15 Reasons To Use WordPress

WordPress, the most responsive web designers for your business, has been around since 2003 and is the most popular blogging software on the market. WordPress is the world’s most popular tool for creating and managing websites — any kind of website, from a simple blog to a full-featured business website. Here are our TOP 15 reasons why WordPress is so popular and why you should consider switching to a WordPress platform for your company’s website.

1. Less $$$ Spent on Maintenance

With WordPress, you will no longer need to call your web designer every time you want to make a change. With WordPress, you can make the edits yourself, whenever you want, and save the money you would’ve paid your designer for more important things by adding new pages on your own.

2. Your Site becomes 100% Customizable

It shouldn’t come as a surprise but it is wort highlighting that WordPress gives you 100% customization freedom. Do you want a big website? Small Website? Blog? Lot’s of images? Social media integration? All of those are up to you, and can be done with ease. Change your mind later on? Fear not, you can always make changes to the site layout/design whenever you want.

3. Generate A Conversation With Your Visitors

Because of things like comments, you are now able to actually talk back to people via your webiste. Sure, you can always have a “contact us” page on your traditional Web site, but blog comments allow for anonymous two-way discussion between you and your readers. And, every time someone makes a comment to one of your posts, the inclusion of their content full of keyword phrases helps you to build better search positioning. It’s like getting free SEO help from the general public!

Continue…

Why WordPress is a Win for Non-Profits

It’s always our pleasure to work with local non-profit organizations here in Central Texas and learn about their causes. When creating a website for these entities, we often rely on the functionality of WordPress for the back-end framework of our projects. In addition to the features mentioned in our previous blog Why We Use WordPress (And You Should, Too), there are a few components of the vastly popular platform that lend itself specifically to our use for these organizations that largely depend on their digital presence to promote and provide key functions in their mission of helping others.

Here’s 6 reasons WordPress rocks for non-profits:

Continue…

Project Highlight: Glucology

Back in April we met Dr. Lisa Gorn, the developer of Glucology and part owner of garcinia cambogia, an all-natural blood sugar dietary supplement. She came to HMG Creative adjustable dumbbells with the need for a complete online web presence with e-commerce capabilities that could handle the various purchase options Glucology offers. Dr. Gorn also needed a platform to communicate with her audience and keep them up-to-date with product news and related information. Reliability, responsiveness, and ease-of-use were additional critical factors we took into consideration when planning her new website design.
Continue…

The Latest Version: Why WordPress Updates are so Important

We’ve talked before on here about how much we love WordPress, and it’s definitely no secret. One of the reasons we’ve mentioned is that it’s an open-source platform, meaning that at any given time there are numerous developers fixing it and making improvements to it across the world. With so much constant attention and many new features being added, updates are released periodically making these enhancements available to the entire WordPress community.

Take advantage of these! We know it can seem overwhelming to alter the site that you’ve built, installed plug-ins and themes for, and is running smoothly, but there’s a danger to skipping these updates and benefits you’ll miss out on if you don’t.

Continue…

Why We Use WordPress (And Why You Should, Too)

When you think about WordPress, your mind may automatically drift to blogging. Indeed, WordPress started out as a blogging platform—but since its inception it has emerged into much more than that. With the addition of more and more features, WordPress has become a fully functional CMS (Content Management System). A CMS enables the end user to make changes to their site on an as-needed basis; regardless of how tech-savvy they are or how much HTML they know.

So, wondering what makes WordPress so great?

Continue…

RetailMeNot Scores with HMG Creative

By now, you have most likely heard of or used RetailMeNot.com.  (Their daring holiday spots created by local GSD&M still have advertisers talking.)  With more than 500,000 active coupons and 140,000 stores, the daily-deal site is the leading destination for online coupons. By encouraging users to upload deals and help grow the site, RetailMeNot has established a vibrant discount marketplace and passionate user base. The site also allows our users to rate and rank coupons, so the most successful coupons move to the top of the page, ensuring that the best deals are just a click away.

HMG is excited to announce our web development work completed for the national coupon website sensation.  Last year, RetailMeNot came to HMG requesting web design and development assistance for a new Customer Appreciation Campaign. The project had very detailed specifications and guidelines for converting the current RetailMeNot blog interface into styled-out blog pages that highlight the new campaign, the company’s bloggers and recent articles as well as the integration of a live Q&A chat section, reader polls, advertising and of course all social media platforms.

While the timeline was tight and expectations were tall, the entire web project was completed ahead of schedule and the end-result was a design and development approved by the highest standards, our client’s.

Go ahead, take a peek and also visit RetailMeNot and voucheroo.co.uk to score with savings you want.

Continue…