Author Archives: Christopher Merrill

About Christopher Merrill

Christopher Merrill is a Chicago freelance website designer, doing business since 1999. Specializing in website design for small- to mid- sized businesses and individuals, Christopher Merrill works closely with his clients to provide high-quality website design at an affordable price. Mr. Merrill has designed over 200 websites for his clients in Chicago and nationwide during the past decade. Christopher Merrill prides himself on providing an honest, hands-on approach with each individual client, in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. Turnaround and response time are kept to a strict minimum, and Christopher Merrill is always ready to respond to all of your questions, whether you are looking for a Web design solution, or working closely with him to update your already-existing site.

Vertical Scrolling Allowed

Posted on May 4, 2017 by Christopher Merrill

The days of trying to keep everything above the fold are over, some design experts say. Many experts are saying that users are now accustomed to scrolling down the page. More and more often we are seeing important information posted below the fold … Continue reading →

Posted in General Web Design Tips | Leave a comment

Widgets and Plugins?

Posted on February 6, 2015 by Christopher Merrill

WordPress widgets and plugins add functionality to your website. Widgets can be found on the WordPress Dashboard under Appearance. Choose the widget you want from the list on the left and then drag and drop it to where you want the … Continue reading →

Posted in Wordpress | Leave a comment

Why Are Blogs So Rigid?

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Christopher Merrill

WordPress templates provide a variety of formatting possibilities, but they do not allow for much reformatting within the templates themselves — that is, unless you are a web design professional. However, what is lost in flexibility is gained in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Do-it-yourself SEO | Leave a comment

Content Driven SEO

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Christopher Merrill

If you are looking for a do-it-yourself method for search engine optimization (SEO), try providing your audience with regular updates that contain information that is useful to your potential clients. If the information you provide is something that users might be … Continue reading →

Posted in General Web Design Tips | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Show ’em Where to Click

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Christopher Merrill

Have you ever had the experience of coming to a website and wondering where the links are? Irritating, isn’t it? Don’t assume users will be patient simply because it’s YOUR website they are looking at. Make sure the links on … Continue reading →

Posted in General Web Design Tips | Leave a comment

Research Your Plugins

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Christopher Merrill

WordPress Plugins can do everything except clean your kitchen sink, it seems (and I hear they’ve started working on that one). Some plugins do wonderful things; others, not so much. And some plugins used to do wonderful things, but not any … Continue reading →

Posted in Wordpress | Tagged | Leave a comment

Google’s SEO Starter Guide

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Christopher Merrill

Consult Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide for SEO basics for your website. You will probably notice that the parameters they list make sense. Imagine you are in charge of running a search engine. You’d prefer sites that have a strong track record (been … Continue reading →

Posted in General Web Design Tips | Leave a comment

Test Your Website

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Christopher Merrill

You’ve got everything on your new site up and running in a development folder. Now’s the time to launch it, right? Wrong. You need to test it first. Testing means trying — aggressively — to find errors. Essentially you want to try … Continue reading →

Posted in General Web Design Tips | 3 Comments

But Is it Really a Logo?

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Christopher Merrill

A common mistake that many small businesses make with their first logo design is to try to do too much. There’s a simple rule of thumb for logo design for the web: Keep it clean, simple and small. Size Matters! … Continue reading →

Posted in General Web Design Tips | Leave a comment

All Hosting Companies Are Not Created Equal

Posted on September 26, 2014 by Christopher Merrill

There are big differences among hosting companies. Here are some things to consider when you are shopping for one: Do they often have site downtime? How long has the company been in business? Is the company reselling from another source? Are site … Continue reading →

Posted in General Web Design Tips | Leave a comment