Web Development with Lone Star Media

While it may seem like a daunting task, we are here to make every function imaginable possible for you on your web site! Specializing in application development, Lone Star Media has been providing our clients with viable solutions to their online needs for over five years. We focus on completing your project on time and without any unnecessary expenses. Working with you every step of the way, you are a part of the development process, after all, it is your business and no one knows it quite like you! We simply enable you to provide users with the best online experience possible. Whether you are looking to create an e-commerce site with a broad spectrum of products, or you want to build an intranet that makes communication more effective with your sales force, we can show you how to outperform your competition! 

ColdFusion Development

Lone Star Media specializes in ColdFusion application development. ColdFusion is a development tool that can handle a mass of data quickly enabling an interactive, dynamic, and information-rich web site. We work with you to determine what will enable you to better serve your users. Do you need an application to help your sales people? Would you like to be able to sell your product online while protecting any information which your users pass, such as their personal information or credit card number? This and more can be achieved using Macromedia's ColdFusion ColdFusion provides a robust development platform which we can use to achieve your goals. 

Database Integration

Lone Star Media can take your existing database, or create a new one and take it online. You no longer have to toggle between your sales and agent databases. Let us integrate them for you and make them interactive on-line. The possibilities are endless!

Data Warehousing

Lone Star Media has Data Warehousing solutions to meet almost any need. If you have a lot of data but can't seem to query it and get prompt results, call us today!

Data Storage

Need a secure site to house your data which is backed up nightly? Lone Star Media is inexpensive data storage options to suit any need.

Intranet Development

Would your company benefit from an Intranet? Would your employees be able to work more efficiently if the lines of communication were streamlined? Want more information?

Portal Development

Online Portals enable you to create a unique experience for each user visiting your site. Portals allow your users to have an all-inclusive Internet experience. Many portals offer free email, personal home pages, news updates, games, chat and more for their users.

You-Can-Do-It! Website Builder

Home Page What You Need What You Get How It Works Sign-Up Now E-mail Us


FAQ: Domain Names 

Do I need a domain name? 

Most sites need a domain name . If you don't have one, you'll be assisted during sign up. A domain name should not cost more than $15/year.

ProBiz Hosting will offer subdomain hosting to qualifying organizations at no additional cost. Your website address would be www.yourevent.pbhevent.org .
If your site is a "limited run" site and you don't want to worry about a domain name we offer subdomain service for a one-time only fee of $10. See Domain Options for more details.

Do you register domain names for me? 

No. We will lead you through the process from a registrar that we trust and work with often. You need to be in control of your own domain. Many problems website owners experience over the long run can be avoided by owning and managing your domain.


What is a nameserver and what do I have to do to make my domain name work?

The nameserver information is like the address of the server your site is hosted on. You'll be given that information as you sign up. The actual nameserver will depend on the server your site is assigned to. Your domain registrar will need this information to point your domain to our servers.

Search Engine Optimization

"How-to Generate Massive Amounts of Income While You Sleep"
Surefire Strategies to Turn your Business into a Revenue Generating Machine
Vision Media, our search engine optimization and web marketing firm based out of Phoenix, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada, satisfies the needs of both large corporations and small businesses. We specialize in providing website promotion services, internet marketing solutions, and search engine marketing techniques to give your website the highest possible search engine rankings. Our search engine optimization process ensures our clients will always achieve their business goals online and maximize their presence on the web. Vision Media can truly redefine your business too. See for yourself by taking advantage of our FREE consultation service now.

If you currently own a business or have thought about becoming a business owner, it is important that you read every bit of the following information. Learn what it is that not even those claiming to be the "experts" in search engine optimization (SEO) and web marketing know. Read the following article, and you will know the number one secret to web marketing and search engine optimization.

THE FUTURE IS NOW

In order to be successful in business now and in the future, we must no longer talk about the web as being the future of business, and instead be asking ourselves the question- what am I doing NOW to ensure the success of my business in the future? More and more we are hearing business people talk about the future of business as if it is some abstract reality. What they- as well as many others- have not realized is that the future of business- the Internet- is NOW. Innovative methods of marketing that are focused building customer relationships such as those found at Amazon.com, Yahoo!, and AOL, are widening the gap between the “leaders” and the “laggards”.

TRAFFIC DOES NOT EQUAL SALES!

Another thing we here a lot of is people talking about "driving traffic" to their website. If their cash flow isn't what they had envisioned, we'll hear most business owners say "I just have to drive more traffic." In some cases, we'll even hear this from owner's whose websites are generating thousands of hits per week! So where does this stem from? Unfortunately, they are simply repeating what they've heard from search engine optimization "specialists". This is the result of almost ALL SEO and web marketing strategies, which is an outside-in approach to marketing websites.

THE OUTSIDE-IN APPROACH TO WEB MARKETING

Keyword optimization, meta tags, link-building- the list goes on forever. Some optimizers and web marketing firms have gotten creative with their marketing techniques, but generally the methods of bringing traffic to websites are pretty well known not only by the people providing the services, but also by the search engine companies and even an increasing amount of the general public. Any savvy web developer knows that you can't "trick" the search engines. The search engine optimization companies will always be one step ahead of the "optimization artists." How do I know this? Because I used to think the same way. I learned SEO from some real gurus in the industry, yet it always bugged me that we could bring hoards of people to a website, and then be ok with getting less than 1% of them to actually make a purchase. It was always just a matter of "driving more traffic" in order to get more sales.

If we had just developed a good sales model that was focused on providing a great experience for the visitor, not only would sales have increased, but return sales would've provided for exponential increases in the income for these websites. It was at this point that I realized that the approach was all wrong, and I was seeing it everywhere. The whole concept of "search engine optimization" is usually completely backwards. Why bring hundreds of thousands of people to a website that doesn't have well-written copy material, interactive content, valuable educational information, a personalized experience (think Amazon.com), and a strategic sales model? It just didn't make sense... and that's when our company- Vision Media- was born.

The truth is, Amazon.com has reported conversion rates of 20% and sometimes even more, with an astounding return sales rate of 80%. Dell computers isn't much different. They've reported conversion rates in excess of 18% and 70% return buyers. Although they may blow other websites into the stratosphere comparatively speaking, they see it as "what are we doing wrong, or what are we NOT doing that causes 80% of the people that visit our website to leave? This is much different than the typical paradigm, where its considered a major win if you're able to get a 2% conversion rate.

OUR APPROACH: INSIDE-OUT MARKETING

The secret to web marketing is very simple. Focus on innovation. In other words, what can we do, that nobody else is doing, that would be of absolute value to the visitors of our website? And here's the kicker- whose purpose are you trying to serve, yours and your company's, or your clients and customers'? The fundamental mistake in business- with everything from product development, to marketing, to website development- is companies and business owners getting lost in their own agenda and forgetting about who it is that they're serving. The bottom line is that the future of business is such that this isn't going to fly. There are enough small businesses formed by young entrepreneurs with innovative business models that are entirely centered around human-relations based marketing. Whether it is the call center, the FAQ section of the website, or an innovative web-community that allows for collaboration between the people they are serving, the true winners are those that are willing to give unconditionally and make other people's lives a little bit easier. That's inside-out marketing.

SO WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?

So now you know the secret. The interesting thing is that we let people in on our "secret" all the time- even our competitors, because the truth is that the majority of the people that read this won't truly do something with it. You may be reading this and thinking to yourself "this makes sense, I'll have to think of some ideas of how I could turn my website or marketing plan inside-out." ...and the thought will be gone as quick as it came. Will you utilitze this information? I strongly doubt it. Its really not your fault though. See, as a business owner, there is this illusion of knowing what's best for your company, when its really hard to see things from an outside perspective when you're on the inside.

Often times, we'll take on a client and implement a program so simple that we'll usually hear the business owner at some point say "why did I not think of this?" or "how is it that none of our people could see this?" The answer is simple: its hard to recognize problem areas and weaknesses when you're "in it"- meaing you have some emotional attachment to it. Ultimately, that's what we're here for. So what does this have to do with web marketing? Everything.

TOUCHING BASE

by Minh D. Tran


Wow! It's been a long time since I last shared my thoughts with my readers. There's been alot of happenings in my life during the past 3 months.

First, in October, I moved back to Albuquerque, NM, where I was raised. I came here with a sales position for a web designing company from Santa Fe, NM. However, after settling in and stabilizing my life in Albuquerque, I discovered a new position that is more suitable for me at STC.UNM, and am liking it very much. Plus, it's a company in Albuquerque, so the drive is much shorter.

Second, in December, after a whole year of planning, I was finally wedded to my beautiful wife. The wedding took place in San Diego, CA with 350+ guests. Pictures to come soon! It was a beautiful day and there's no word that can describe it so I will let you see for yourself when I get a chance to post the pictures.

We enjoyed our honeymoon in romantic Italy. We visited Rome, Assisi, Venice, Verona, Florence, Pisa, Sorrento, Amalfi Coast, Isles of Capri, and Pompeii. Wow, took me two full breaths to say all that. It was a magical and romantic honeymoon. Again, pictures to come.

THE 2006 W³ AWARDS

THE 2006 W3 AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED GOLD, SILVER, AND BEST IN SHOW HONOREES UNVEILED

Sony Pictures Imageworks, VML Inc, and Worktank among Best in Show Winners

Los Angeles, CA - (October 16, 2006) - The Winners of The 2006 W3 Awards have been announced by the International Academy of the Visual Arts today. Receiving over 2,300 entries, The W3 Awards honors outstanding websites, web marketing, and web advertising created by some of the best interactive agencies, designers, and creators worldwide. Please visit www.w3award.com for a complete list of W3 Award Winners. The W3 Awards is sanctioned and judged by The International Academy of the Visual Arts, an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from a "Who's Who" of acclaimed media, interactive, advertising, and marketing firms. IAVA members include executives from organizations such as Alloy, BRANDWEEK, Coach, The Ellen Degeneres Show, Estee Lauder, HBO, iNDELIBLE, Monster.com, MTV, Omnicom, Polo Ralph Lauren, Refinery, Sotheby's Institute of Art, Victoria's Secret, Wired, Yahoo!, and many others. For more info, and a full member roster, please visit www.iavisarts.org.

"We were amazed at the caliber and quality of work we received this year. Our winners continue to push the envelope of internet creativity and web design, and it is gratifying to see such great work from the smallest agencies to the biggest firms" said Linda Day, the director of the IAVA. "On behalf of the over 200 members of The International Academy of the Visual Arts, we are honored to recognize our winners as they continue to set a high standard of excellence for Web development."

A complete list of winners can be found on the W3 Awards Web site at www.w3award.com.

Sponsors and partners of the W3 Awards and include The Creative Group, Adweek Magazines, and the American Marketing Association.

The W³ Awards honors creative excellence on the web, and recognizes the creative and marketing professionals behind award winning web sites and marketing programs. Simply put, the W³ is the first major web competition to be accessible to the biggest agencies, the smallest firms, and everyone in between. Small firms are as likely to win as Fortune 500 companies and international agencies.

The W3 Awards is sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from a "Who's Who" of acclaimed media, advertising, and marketing firms. Please visit www.iavisarts.org for a full member list and additional information.

For more information about the W3 Awards, please visit www.w3award.com, or email The W3 Awards at info@w3award.com or call (606) 326-9326 .
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Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006

BAD GOOGLE, I AM DISAPPOINTED

Google's very own email service, GMail, built on the idea that "you should never have to delete any mail and you should always be able to find the messages you want."

Google is known to have unlimited storage space for your emails and encourages everyone to not delete any emails so that with their powerful search tools, you can find any message that has ever been written to you or by you. Sounds like a good deal?

Here's the catch...

Google admits that any deleted messages from your email will remain on their system, and may be accessible internally at Google, for an indefinite period of time. With that being said, is it possible that the contents in our email messages be searchable by the public? I mean, c'mon, all secrets will somehow be uncovered, and therefore, internally accessible information may one day be leaked to the public.

Let's say, one day you decided to email your friend some private information (credit card numbers, social security numbers, confidential information on your personal life, or whatever it is you did last summer, etc.), someone may someday be bored and submit a search and tah-dah, all your information is shown.

Makes you want to go back to Yahoo! Mail.