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I recently had the pleasure of collaborating with the incredibly talented abstract artist, Zsuzsa Londe, during two Design Intensive sessions. Zsuzsa approached me with the vision of enhancing her existing website by adding an online store, allowing her to sell and ship her one-of-a-kind abstract art pieces to a global audience. During our initial consultation, I recognized the tremendous potential for Zsuzsa to expand her reach and increase revenue by incorporating an online store function. I proposed the idea of offering her artwork as print-on-demand items, including prints, canvas wraps, tote bags, and t-shirts. Enthusiastically embracing this opportunity, we decided to split the project into two distinct four-hour design sessions. The design journey commenced with a comprehensive exploration of Zsuzsa's artistic vision, facilitated by her completion of the W-Design Method Content Planner homework. This crucial step aimed to deepen my understanding of the core elements of her brand, her unique philosophy, and the specific audience she intended to engage. When asked if the homework was helpful, Zsuzsa said, “I think the W-Design Method is brilliant: it prepares the client to focus on the issues an make decisions prior to the intensive meeting. I thought that such a meeting is is really effective and in my case it was also extremely useful and effective. In retrospect it feels like we accomplished a lot with great results.” Establishing this personal connection was paramount to ensuring that the forthcoming website updates authentically reflected the essence of Zsuzsa's exceptional talent and resonated with her target audience. Our first Design Intensive Session focused on a comprehensive revamp of the layout and navigation of Zsuzsa's website, seamlessly integrating the online store functionality for selling and shipping her artwork. Leveraging my extensive experience as a website designer, I endeavored to craft a design that not only showcased Zsuzsa's vibrant artwork but also provided visitors with an intuitive and visually pleasing experience. The outcome was a website that immediately conveyed the depth of Zsuzsa's artistry the moment visitors landed on the homepage. The second Design Intensive Session was dedicated to the exciting task of integrating Printify, a third-party print-on-demand service, into ZLonde Art’s eCommerce website. This strategic move expanded Zsuzsa's product offerings, including custom prints, canvas prints, t-shirts, and totes, and also opened up new avenues to market to a broader audience of art lovers. The integration with Printify not only enhanced the overall user experience but also enabled Zsuzsa to connect more effectively with her audience. Now, art enthusiasts can explore Zsuzsa's creations and bring a piece of her unique artistry into their daily lives with just a few clicks. “When Melissa walked me through how the shopping, and payment pages were set up, and they WORKED, I felt like I have finally joined the 21st century!” - Zsuzsa Londe. The revamped ZLonde Art website, now equipped with a seamlessly integrated online store, marked a significant milestone in Zsuzsa Londe's artistic journey. Positive feedback is pouring in, with art lovers commending the user-friendly interface, diverse product range, and the seamless fusion of art and technology. Through this collaborative endeavor, I witnessed the transformative power of combining technical expertise with artistic vision. Zsuzsa's new website serves as a testament to the incredible possibilities that arise when a website designer and an artist work in tandem, each contributing their unique skills to create something truly exceptional. As Zsuzsa Londe's new website, Zlonde.com continues to gain traction, I am thrilled to have played a part in bringing her vision to life. Follow her on IG @Zlondeart and enjoy holiday shopping on her website. Whether you're an artist looking to elevate your online presence or a creative entrepreneur seeking to redefine your digital footprint, I am here to turn your vision into a captivating reality. Let's embark on a journey of creative collaboration together. #artistwebsite #artist #abstractartist #artistsoninstagram #CreativeEntrepreneur #WebsiteTransformation #printify #artisticjourney #smallbusiness #entrepreneur #onlinebusiness #websitesthatconvert #strategicwebsite #strategicdesign #websitedesigntips #websitedesigner #womenownedbuisness #supportart #supportartists #supportsmallbusiness

Did you know that 89% of consumers shop with the competition after a poor website user experience? Is your website making the best first impression? As a designer, I often hear "I don't have the time to work on my website." I get it. 🙋‍♀️ We're all busy, especially entrepreneurs who wear multiple hats every day. You can’t afford to waste any more time on your website. This is why I created the Business Accelerator package, a one-week solution for eCommerce websites that require online booking, stores and take payment through the website. You’re an ambitious entrepreneur in need of a stunning website design to showcase your products and services. Stop wasting time and causing yourself frustration trying to DIY your website. Start putting your talent and energy into the things that you do best. 🙌 I specialize in visually stunning brands and functional website designs that help entrepreneurs like you stand out and achieve their business goals quickly. Let's build your dream website together! ​ Our website services are for doers and shakers ready to invest in their business and make a statement online. 💼🚀 Skip the long wait lists and utilize our done-for-you web design service to get you a site you are proud of, up and running quickly. Swipe through to see ALL the details of our Business Accelerator design service! 💻 Get on my June calendar while there are still slots available at the link in our bio. If you want more info, comment the words “ONE WEEK” below, and I’ll reach out so we can talk more! And if you’re already in our client family, drop a wave down in the comments!! 🤗 Let's build your dream website together! .#webdesign #websitedesign #websitedesigner #websitedesigning #websitedesigns #websitedesigners #websitedesigncompany #webdesignagency #websitedesigntips #Branding #strategicdesign #Entrepreneur #smallbusiness #onlienbusiness #businessgoals #womendesigner #womenownedbusiness #websitetemplates #wixwebsite #growwithwix #buildtwithwix #madewithwix #wixtemplates #wixwebsitedesign #wixwebdesigner #wixwebdesign

"I'm kind of embarrassed by my website." As a designer, I hear this often. If you've postponed your website to the "to-do later" list because you are frustrated and overwhelmed trying to DIY your website then this is for you! I get it. 🙋‍♀️ We're all busy, especially entrepreneurs who wear multiple hats every day. 📢 Your time and talents are valuable which is why I created the Brand Creator package, a one-day solution for service-based businesses that do not need to take payments online or do so through their client management software like Dubsado, Housecall Pro or Paperbell coaching software. Skip the overwhelming feeling of customizing your own website and utilize our done-for-you web design service to get you a site you are proud of up and running quickly. 💼🚀 🙌 Our website services are for the ambitious entrepreneur who is ready to kick ass and take names. No more novice branding, or DIY websites. Our services are for doers and shakers ready to invest in their business and make a statement online. Swipe through to see ALL the details of our Brand Creator design service! 💻 Get on my June calendar while there are still slots available at the link in our bio. If you want more info, comment the words “ONE DAY” below, and I’ll reach out so we can talk more! And if you’re already in our client family, drop a wave down in the comments!! 🤗 Let's build your dream website together! #webdesign #websitedesign #websitedesigner #websitedesigning #websitedesigns #websitedesigners #websitedesigncompany #webdesignagency #websitedesigntips #Branding #strategicdesign #Entrepreneur #smallbusiness #onlienbusiness #businessgoals #womendesigner #womenownedbusiness #websitetemplates #wixwebsite #growwithwix #buildtwithwix #madewithwix #wixtemplates #wixwebsitedesign #wixwebdesigner #wixwebdesign

The UpCity “Best of” Awards have returned after a successful inaugural year in 2021. To commemorate the top 50 B2B providers in each U.S. state and Canadian province, the UpCity “Best of” Award highlights the tremendous work being done by our partners and more in their local area. Awards are given based on the UpCity Recommendability Rating, which was developed to determine a B2B service provider’s credibility and trustworthiness, giving UpCity the confidence to recommend them to potential buyers seeking their services. We are proud to reveal that Winebrenner Designs LLC has been recognized as a Best of Kansas Award winner by UpCity! UpCity is a B2B online marketplace that connects businesses to trustworthy service providers. With 70,000+ listed providers—from digital marketing agencies, consulting firms, development specialists, and many more—over 1.5 million businesses have used UpCity to find exceptional partners for their needs. UpCity’s proprietary algorithm pulls from digital data points like reviews (both on UpCity and other third-party review sites), rankings in relevant search results, domain authority, website speed, and user experience to connect businesses with high-quality service providers like us. Heidi Sullivan, SVP of Product & Marketing at UpCity, had this to say about Winebrenner Designs LLC: “Melissa and her team are down-to-earth professionals that never underestimate the value of personable 1-to-1 service. It’s my distinct pleasure to name them a 2022 Best Of Award winner!” —Heidi Sullivan, SVP of Product & Marketing, UpCity This honor has been possible, in part by our 5-star review rating on UpCity. Here is one of our favorite pieces of feedback we’ve received from our excellent clients: “In 2018, after quite a frustrating search for a new web designer partner, I found Melissa Winebrenner with Winebrenner Designs. Such a blessing! She is professional, efficient, NON-condescending (which is a very big button for me.) Melissa takes my art business visions and makes my site look so inviting with her innovative ideas. She is a valuable mentor turned caring friend…. and we have yet to meet personal! I have no hesitation in recommending Winebrenner Designs. Melissa knows her industry. She’s the real deal.” - Paula M., August 2022 Thank you to UpCity for naming us a 2022 Best of Award winner, and thank you to our customers for coming out and showing your support through your reviews.

Thank you for your feedback! I listened and created a solution to the most asked request from customers. I am happy to announce that you can now launch your online business faster with our designer-made Wix Templates and signature process. You want a website that you can be proud of. Stop wasting time and causing yourself frustration trying to design your website. Start putting your talent and energy into the things that you do best. With over 22 years of marketing and website design industry experience, I have helped hundreds of entrepreneurs just like you clarify their brand message and build a website that attracts their dream clients and helps their businesses grow. Or, as I like to say, “I build websites that convert clicks to clients.” All of our templates are built to attract your ideal customers and get your business off the ground and running in a matter of days. Check out our sister website, WD Templates. Let us know in the comments which template design is your favorite and why. Send us a suggestion for a new industry template design. If we choose yours we'll send you a discount code for 10% off the purchase of the template. #businesswebsitedesign #websitetemplates #websiteinaday #websitedesigner

To create an impactful homepage there are four key elements to include: Who you are- your company name and logo What you do- a leading impact statement that succinctly describes what your business does and who they serve. What sets you apart from competitors- describe why your company is unique and will serve the customer’s needs How to take action- what do you want the site visitor to do next? Provide a clear path for the user to complete the action you want most whether it is buying a product, subscribing to your mailing list, or booking a service. 💻 Does your website include these four elements? Use this link to get our Homepage Makeover Workbook. #designtips #websitedesign #homepage

The brand identity of a company is the overall look of its visual brand collateral and the use of specific fonts, colors and graphic elements. Visual brand collateral includes both print and digital marketing materials. In this digital world, business website is vital to being found online. The first impression of your business is often your website. "I don't need a website, I use my Instagram account and DM customers." "I already have a website. I had some company out of Ohio build it. I don't really look at it much." Sound familiar? It takes only 50 milliseconds for a website visitor to form an opinion about your website. In that time they will decide whether they like your website or not, and whether they’ll stay or leave. There are multiple factors that dictate their decision-- the logo, layout, colors, fonts, images, copy text and user experience. Below are five key considerations of we well-designed website: Visibility: With more and more consumers logging onto the Web to research products and services, if they are going to find your business, your business needs to be on the Web. A first impression of a business is often their website. The site needs to reflect the professionalism and quality of the business through the style and design of the site. Reach With a website, you are no longer limited to a customer base that is in physical proximity to your main office. Your place of business may be in Virginia, but your customers can be in Hawaii. This aids in growing your business past word of mouth. Customer Experience When customers can log onto your website and easily find the information they want-when they want it--their satisfaction increases. ​ 89% of consumers shop with the competition after a poor user experience. (WebFX) When Covid hit small business owners across the world realized just how important an eCommerce website was to their annual revenue. There has been a shift in mindset. Business owners started implementing online appointment booking, online ordering, orders for pick-up. At first customers needed this to interact with the business. Now, customers want these features on their websites to make it easier to interact with the business and to keep up with their competition. None of these online features are going away. They are in more demand than ever. Is your site mobile optimized? The majority of website visitors are logging on from a mobile device. If it is hard to navigate your site from a mobile device, guess what, visitors leave your site. Competition A professional looking website can level the playing field for smaller companies trying to compete against larger enterprises. It's also a way to stay in the game. Even if people can't find you on the Web chances are they can find your competitors. Credibility When you can point customers, partners, even potential employees or investors to a visually stunning website, it tells them you are a serious business. Does your current site check all of the boxes of a well-design website? Ask yourself: How is my current website working for me as a business owner? Can I capture visitor's contact information to grow my contact list? Can customers book appointments with me from my website? Can customers easily find what they need on my website? ​Can customers order products or RSVP to events from my website? Can customers contact you through your website? Can you respond to website messages easily? How many website visitors does my site get a month? How many qualified leads come from my website? How is my website ranked in search results? Is my website mobile optimized? Most websites have one or two but not all of considerations discussed above. Contact us for a consultation to discuss improving your website presence online. #websitedesign #website #userexperience #mobileoptimization

What is a brand identity? According to Wikipedia: “A brand's visual identity is the overall look of its communications. Effective visual brand identity is achieved by the consistent use of particular visual elements to create distinction, such as specific fonts, colors, and graphic elements. At the core of every brand identity is a logo.” Your company’s brand identity starts with a logo. There are four characteristics of a great logo: A great logo is unique. Your logo should stand out and be recognized among the slew of others in the same market space. A great logo is adaptable. Strong logos translate well across different mediums. Will your logo evoke the same meaning on a business card as it will on a billboard? Make It timeless. A great logo will last for years. Make It appropriate. Before embarking on any sort of marketing campaign, you must first nail down your target audience. A logo needs to accurately reflect a company's culture and values: the company's essence. Color is a major attribute in determining the appropriateness of a logo design. Different colors are associated with different meanings in different cultures. It's important to think about how the colors in your logo reflect your brand values and the services or products you sell. A great logo is one that you can recognize what it is without the text of the company name. Or, if you hear the company name you visualize the graphic logo. If I say, "Red and White Bullseye" you visualize the Target logo. A business logo sets the foundation for brand identity. This identity is seen by audiences and then attracts your ideal customers because the perception your company depicts. The perception of your company to customers is established from the the design style of print and digital collateral. The business design style brands your company as "insert adjective." Is your business depicting a distinct style? Is your design style projecting an upscale or classy feeling? A technical refined feeling? Or, a whimsical and relaxed feeling? A business with a consistent brand identity use consistent fonts and colors with coordinating design themes on print, web and social media. It all starts with a logo design. Does your business logo meet the four characteristics of a great logo? #brandidentity #logo

What is SEO or Search Engine Optimization? Simply put, SEO is the ranking of your website on search engines. How do I get SEO? Search engine ranking algorithms continue to change, but a few SEO ranking factors continue to be the most influential. These factors work together to boost rankings. The top four factors that boost SEO rankings are: Content Engagement Backlinks Time Content Content continues to be the most important factor in search engine optimization. The content on your website includes not only the copy text but also the alt text on your images and how they all relate to the overall website. All of the content on your website needs to support the keyword and keyword phrases for each page of your site. If you Google the phrase "purple elephant" what comes up in your search? A collection of images and websites. The images are coming up with the search because the filenames and/or alt text of purple elephant are what search engines can index for queries. The W-Design Method created by Winebrenner Designs gathers a client's SEO search terms and phrases as part of the homework phase. We help write SEO keyword-friendly copy text. In phase 2 of the W-Design Method, we design the website following SEO best practices. Useful Content Tips: Write content for your target audience (not bots) Focus on content topics before specific keywords Remove duplicate content Use H1 Tags, optimized page titles, alt text on images and keyword-rich copy text Image Optimization: alt text, the file name, title and description are important for image search. Internal linking to other pages of the site. Choose keywords specific to the content of the page Engagement We have all been to a website that was hard to find what you were looking for when the page loaded, or the colors were too hard to read the text on the site. Did you stay on that website very long? No, probably not. The key to user engagement is a website design strategy. Website strategy is the purposeful use of certain words, colors, and design elements to guide a ideal target customers visiting your website exactly where you want them to go on your site to take action. Function + Design = a stunning and professional website that meets goals of business. Winebrenner Designs creates a website design strategy for each of our website designs. We have mastered the art of interweaving website function and stunning design elements to meet the goals of the website. Useful Engagement Tips: Website design is in a friendly layout. Google has launched a Page Layout algorithm that penalizes sites with distracting ads and annoying pop-ups. Optimize the website experience Web Accessibility Mobile-friendly website design Web design/navigation Website Traffic Content freshness. Regular blog postings are a great way to add fresh content to your website. Customer interaction: reviews and comments. Be present and engaged on social media platforms. Backlinks A backlink is a link created when one website links to another. Useful backlink tips: Register on local & industry directories Backlinks from sources relevant to the referred page are strong ranking signals. Matching NAP (name, address, and phone) Fix broken internal links Unique titles and meta descriptions Maintain a clean URL structure Seek relevant, quality links from the press, news, and guest blogging. Claim business listings. Time It is a common misconception that if you build a site and index it on Google, then the next day your site will rank in the top 10. Ranking takes time. Useful tips regarding time: Higher website rankings do not happen overnight. Be consistent Be patient Stay on top of search engine ranking algorithms. Content, engagement, backlinks and time go hand in hand to create your website SEO. Contact us to help you infuse website strategy and SEO-optimized copy text into your website. This article was updated for 2023. #winebrennerdesigns #wdesignmethod #SEO #onpageSEO

Website accessibility is a hot topic in 2019. Website Accessibility refers to the ability of a person when interacting with the computer system that the computer system be accessible to all people regardless of disability type or severity of impairment. Winebrenner Designs LLC designs websites that are accessible. The below article is reprinted from Restaurant Startup & Growth Magazine 9.14.18  Written by: Alisa P. Cleek All rights reserved. Online Accommodations How to Insure Your Website and Mobile Applications Comply with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). When Title III of the Americans with Disability Act (“ADA”) was signed into law on July 26, 1990, it was written to ensure that consumers with physical and other disabilities have the same access to physical places of public accommodation as non-disabled consumers. Over the last 20 years, U.S. restaurants and other retail establishments have been the subject of thousands of lawsuits alleging that various aspects of their restaurant create access barriers for disabled patrons. These barriers include, but are not limited to, improper signage for parking spaces, the ramp being too steep from the parking space to the sidewalk, a narrow entrance door, not enough seating for disabled patrons, and bathrooms that are not easily accessed. Restaurants are required by the ADA to remove all “physical” barriers whenever it is readily achievable to do so. It is highly unlikely legislators anticipated the ADA would apply to restaurants’ websites or mobile applications, as the World Wide Web did not go live until August 6, 1991, a year after the ADA was enacted. The first mobile applications were not launched until July 2008, more than 15 years after the ADA was enacted. The paradigm, however, has now shifted from a restaurant’s physical facility to its website and mobile applications. Currently, one the most litigated areas regarding Title III of the ADA is whether it applies to a company advertising products and services on its website. Restaurants should beware and ensure that they take steps when first setting up their websites and mobile applications to ensure they comply with the requirements of Title III of the ADA. Is Your Restaurant’s Website Required to Comply with Title III of the ADA? There is now a hotbed of ADA accessibility cases against restaurants claiming their websites are not accessible to disabled patrons. The courts are split on whether the ADA applies to all websites that fall within the twelve types of businesses classified as “places of public accommodation” such as restaurants or only those that have a physical connection to goods and services available at a physical facility. The First (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico and Rhode Island), Third (Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania) and Seventh (Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin) Circuits have ruled that all websites must comply with the ADA. As such, in these states, restaurants need take immediate steps to comply. The Sixth (Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee), Ninth (Alaska, Arizona, California, and Hawaii), and Eleventh (Alabama, Florida and Georgia) Circuits have ruled that websites do not have to comply unless there is a nexus between the website and a brick and mortar facility. In these states, restaurants need to analyze whether their websites are linked to their physical location, and if so, immediately take steps to comply. Below is an overview of the most common elements of a website that may subject a restaurant to the compliance requirements. The remaining Circuits have not ruled on this issue; therefore, restaurants in those states are left guessing whether they need to comply. A number of district courts within those Circuits, however, have ruled that all websites must comply, such as New York, one of the states in which the highest number of these cases are filed. If your restaurant is located in a state comprising a circuit that has not yet ruled, we recommend that you take immediate steps to comply, as a majority of courts are leaning toward all websites complying, or are applying a very lenient standard when determining whether the website has a nexus to the physical location. One might wonder how a restaurant’s website is “physically connected” to a physical location. If a restaurant offers online ordering, whether for delivery or pick-up at the restaurant, is it not offering its product through the website? If a restaurant offers coupons on its webpage, is it not offering a special deal that one must be able to access through the website in order to take advantage of the offer? Many courts have found the fact that a website includes a store locator search mechanism as support for a determination that it is physically connected to the brick and mortar restaurants. As such, the Courts have set the bar fairly low with regard to the elements of a website that can satisfy the nexus between the website and the physical restaurants. What Are the Guidelines for Compliance? Disabled patrons want to have the same access to the products and services offered by restaurants as do non-disabled patrons. Plaintiffs’ attorneys across the country are filing a multitude of lawsuits to ensure this happens. One of the biggest issues in this regard is that Congress did not anticipate the ADA applying in cyberspace, and as such, Title III does not include any guidelines regarding website accessibility. This failure by Congress may have slowed down the commencement of these lawsuits, but it has not dissuaded plaintiffs’ attorneys from bringing them altogether. With recent court decisions siding with plaintiffs’ attorneys representing disabled patrons, these lawsuits are beginning to be filed at fever pitch. The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) is responsible for issuing ADA Standards, but thus far, it has failed to do so for restaurant and retail establishments. In 2003, the DOJ issued guidelines for state and local government websites. In it, the DOJ referenced the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (“WCAG”), issued by the World Wide Web Consortium. In 2010, the DOJ issued a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding not only websites of state and local governments but also those of public accommodations, which includes restaurants. On December 26, 2017, however, the DOJ announced that it was withdrawing the regulations and will continue to assess whether specific technical standards are necessary and appropriate. Restaurants are therefore, left wondering whether to comply with WCAG as suggested by the DOJ in its initial guidelines for state and local governments. WCAG 2.0 Level AA Success Criteria (WCAG 2.0) that the DOJ has advocated should be followed when involved in litigation in the courts, a newer version of the WCAG guidelines, or some other criteria altogether. Given the recent court decisions and the DOJ’s support for WCAG 2.0 in cases that it has prosecuted, restaurants are encouraged to, at a minimum, ensure their websites and mobile applications are compliant with WCAG 2.0. WCAG 2.0 is a complicated and highly technical set of guidelines that an average layperson will not understand how to implement. Four Principles The WCAG Guidance is broken down into four principles of compliance, including perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. Under the perceivable principle, the website should provide text alternatives for non-text content, provide captions and other alternatives for multimedia, create content that can be presented in different ways (e.g., assistive technologies such as screen readers) without losing meaning, and make it easier for users to see and hear content. Under the operable principle, restaurants must ensure that all functionality of the website is available from a keyboard, give users enough time to read and use content, refrain from using content that causes seizures, and help users navigate and find content. Under the understandable principle, text on websites must be reasonable and understandable, content needs to appear and operate in predictable ways, and it should help users avoid and correct mistakes. Finally, the robust principle requires that the website maximize compatibility with current and future user tools. Examples of Compliance Examples of compliance required under these principles include providing captions for all prerecorded audio, refraining from using color as the only means of conveying visual information or prompting for a response, and providing a mechanism to pause, stop, or hide any non-essential moving, blinking, or scrolling information that starts automatically, lasts more than 5 seconds, and is presented in parallel with other content. Websites should also provide web pages with titles that describe the topic or purpose of the page and provide labels, guidance and instructions where user input is required. Users on the website should also have the ability to resize text up to 200 percent without using assistive technology, loss of content and functionality. These are just a few of the requirements under WCAG 2.0 Level AA. In 2018, WCAG 2.1 was published with very little differences from the prior version. The main differences are that under the operable principle, it continued to states that websites should not use content that cause seizures, but also included that they not use content that causes “physical reactions.” It also added a requirement under the operable section that it should make it easier to use inputs other than a keyboard. It would take a little extra effort to comply with WCAG 2.1 if a restaurant is just starting the process of bringing its website into compliance. What Are the Potential Damages if Your Website is Not in Compliance? The only damages under Title III of the ADA that are available to a private citizen who files a complaint against a restaurant for non-compliance is an injunction requiring the restaurant to comply, and attorneys’ fees are also awarded. The Department of Justice, however, has the ability to seek civil fines and penalties if it is involved in the enforcement efforts. Restaurants need to check state laws to determine if there are state statutes that may also require compliance. For instance, in California, the Unruh Civil Rights Act (“Unruh”) requires websites to provide equal access to disabled patrons. In a recent case, a California State Court held that websites need to conform to WCAG 2.0 Level AA. Unruh provides for a minimum of $4,000 in statutory damages for each incident of discrimination. However, in the same case, the Court recently limited the damages to $4,000 regardless of whether the consumer made numerous attempts to access the website, reasoning that the later attempts at access did not establish separate offenses for purposes of damages. What Are the Next Steps for Restaurants? Restaurants should consider modifying their websites to conform to WCAG 2.0 Level AA, at a minimum. There are a couple of options to do so. Restaurants can hire a website designer that understands the intricacies of the WCAG to recode their website. If you chose this option, consider including an indemnification provision or warranties from the third party vendor in your contract that the website conforms with WCAG 2.0 Level AA. As an alternative, there are various software products that a restaurant can purchase or license that can provide website compliance. If you want to find out if your website is compliant with the WCAG 2.0 guidelines, visit the Web Accessibility Initiative’s website at www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tools/ for a list of vendors who provide online tools to assess your website’s compliance. Many of these same vendors offer software products you can use to modify your website to be compliant. Restaurants should also train staff on how to respond to customers’ accessibility concerns. A best practice is to provide a customer service telephone number for customers who experience difficulties using the website. While this is not a defense to a failure to comply with the ADA, it sends a strong message to disabled patrons that you support their ability to access your website and want to cure any problems that arise with them doing so. Editor’s note: This article is for general information only. For legal guidance specific to your business and jurisdiction, you should consult a local attorney with expertise in this area. #WixExpert #SEO #AccessibleWebsite

I was going to post a Freebie Friday today and next week but I just can’t wait. I am going to give away two freebies today! Yes, you read that correctly. TWO FREEBIES! What can I say, I am in a giving mood. Thank You Basket Sign We all have Thanksgiving traditions and other Holiday traditions. In our family, our Holiday shopping starts on Black Friday. I tend to do most of my Holiday shopping online. Inevitably, this means that UPS, USPS, Amazon and FedEx frequent our home often. Very often. To the point that our dog Murphy doesn’t even flinch when a stranger carrying a package steps on our porch. Arrive by car without a package and he whines, paces and he-haws for you to ring the doorbell. (He is an excellent doorbell warning system.) Last year we started a new tradition. I was searching Pinterest and saw cute signs and baskets of goodies for delivery people. I loved the idea to thank these amazing men and women who brave the cold, rain, ice and snow to deliver our packages. I designed my own sign and rallied my daughters to help me fill the basket. My daughters had fun choosing snacks to put in the basket. Last year we filled the basket with different items each week. We gave away apples, granola bars, chips, Christmas Cakes and bottled water in the basket. It was an on-going bet among our family to see if any of the “healthy items” would be taken. I was all for the healthy snacks would be snatched. But alas. The girls won the bet. The Christmas Cakes were far too appealing and always the first to go. This year on Black Friday, I got out the basket and filled it with treats. And, Yes, the Christmas Cakes are in the basket this year. Click here to download your free copy of the Thank You Sign. I printed mine on card stock and placed it in a plastic sheet protector (to keep it dry in the rain and snow.). Then I taped a ruler to the back of the sign and attached it to the basket. Holiday Wine Tags Tomorrow is the first of December and marks the first of many Holiday Parties for the month. I love all of them. Cookie exchanges, White Elephant Parties, Ugly Sweater Parties, Christmas PJ parties... It’s a month of joy and laughter with friends and family. I can’t wait! We often give a bottle wine as a hostess gift to our friends. I designed these fun Holiday Wine Tags for that very reason. They work well on other bottled beverages too—scotch, vodka, tequila, rum—is it Five O’clock yet?! Click here to download them for your gift giving this Holiday. ENJOY! Happy Friday! #Freebie #graphicdesign #holidaydrinktags #thankyoubasketsign

Wix released new badges for Wix Experts this week. Originally, we were called Wix Pros (in 2016). A while back the title changed to Wix Expert. My website now proudly displays my new Wix Expert Badge. Sharp, isn't it?! I have been a proud Wix Expert and member of the Wix Arena since 2016. #wix #wixexpert #wixpro #wixarena