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I‘ve been in Santa Cruz County since 1981, designing and maintaining websites since 2002. You can be confident of my skills because as a CEO myself, I want to help you grow your business. Melody Sharp Web Design has designed hundreds of websites—from WordPress to Shopfiy, SquareSpace and Wix—but specializes in collaborating with smaller clients and nonprofits to give them a unique and successful online presence.

Melody Sharp, Beachgoer and Website Designer

Melody Sharp Web Design is small enough to give you one-on-one service, yet well-connected enough to recommend other local professionals for larger projects, including project managers, marketing people, logo designers, programmers and search engine optimization gurus. We collaborate to offer content creation, blogging, SEO, SEM, e-mail marketing, Web analytics and social media.

Check Out My Portfolio

Journey of an Online Buyer Guide

Are You Looking For... ● Trends that can drive steady website traffic and boost site visibility;● Understanding buyer motivations during every stage of their online journey and catering to their needs;● Getting hosting tools and other recommended services that can...
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Why I Use Divi Builder

A Myriad of Features:So today I added a new plugin for developing cool tabs and other clever ways to increase visitor pleasure.  Hundreds of third-party developers make plugins for Divi, my go-to Builder.  Builders make it easy to add images, multiple columns, custom...
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New SEO Steps for Success

Things Are Always Changing ...on the web, and Search Engine Optimization is no different. Google has developed a WordPress plugin call Site Kit.  The idea is to make it easy for us to set up and configure key Google products, giving you authoritative and up-to-date...
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You Should Verify Your Website With Google

Google wants to know that you are you, or that you are a legitimate representative of your organization. This is as important for you as it is for Google – they want to have the most correct information, and you want to be able to have a say in what Google displays...
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How Much Does a WordPress Website Really Cost?

You might find this post from Elegant Themes really helpful As they say: Despite being advertised as a free platform, WordPress pricing isn’t quite that simple. Sure, you can set up a free account on WordPress.com, however, the site comes with limitations that many...
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WordPress Website Hosting Nightmares

Want cheap but solid hosting?  Their StartUp Managed WordPress plan is $3.99 per month for the first year. After that, it will be $15 per month. Your site is backed up daily.  SSL is free.  Link to complete instructions to set up hosting at SiteGround.Flywheel hosting...
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Google Analytics and Google Search Console

Understanding analytics is important to any SEO strategy and there are resources that will help. Google Webmasters Tools (GWT) is a valuable (and free!) resource that helps users uncover information about their site and those who visit it. Within GWT are two...
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Why do I need to update PHP?

Your WordPress site will be faster and more secure. I recommend my clients be sure to host their WordPress sites with "Managed Wordpress," an upgrade that offers better security and automatic updates.  Your hosting company doesn't offer it?  Then get new hosting. In...
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Yes, You Gotta Have an SSL certificate

Time is precious...so who wants to burn through hours of drudgery making websites more secure?  Well, in this case, we have no choice.  Starting July, 2019, Google marks all sites that haven't adopted HTTPS as not secure.  To make matters worse, eventually those sites...
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SEO: What should you do first?

I first encountered Joost de Valk at one of the early WordCamps in San Francisco.  He struck me as a smart, good guy; willing to provide plenty of insights.  During the ensuing years, I've seen his free plugins grow into a whole set of various free and pro...
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Why I believe in net neutrality

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Getting Set Up With Google Local

Google has been working to make things easier for people who want to verify a local business on Google but that doesn't mean it isn't time consuming and frustrating! Add to that, when trying to help a client set up their local business, Google sets up all kinds of...
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Study of SEO Ranking Factors

I use a software called SemRush when working with my business partners on Search Engine Optimization projects. They just did a survey and revealed some interesting new insights into how Google rates one website higher than another. The main goal of the study was to...
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WordPress Just Gets More Popular

Grousing with a colleague recently, as web developers often do, about all the "you'll have a website up and running in a few minutes" ads on TV (not really true, frankly).  Those "hosted" solutions can be the right choice for, say, a photographer who just wants to...
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Why WordPress Sites Need Maintenance

One of the reasons I attended a recent WordCamp in Sacramento was to find out how WordPress as a Content Management Solution is faring and whether other "hosted" solutions are gaining traction. When WordPress got started in 2003, it was hailed as a minor miracle for...
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Step-by-step with Yoast SEO Plugin

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Here's my step-by-step guide when using WordPress SEO by Yoast. I used this resource: How to Install and Setup WordPress SEO Plugin by Yoast, the most complete, all-in-one SEO solution. General Settings: Check "Use meta keywords" tag.  This will allow you to see the...

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Adding Categories and Tags to your blog posts

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When you add something new (a "post") to your WordPress website, you want to get the most bang for your buck by including titles, tags and categories, so your content can be organized and found out there in www-land.  Basic SEO is built right into WordPress.  But, in...

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How to add Google Analytics to your website

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Google Analytics is free and gives you insights into your website traffic and marketing effectiveness. See and analyze your traffic data. With Google Analytics, you're more prepared to write better-targeted ads, strengthen your marketing initiatives and create higher...

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January 2012 Classes and Seminars

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Social Media & Engagement Marketing: January 19, 2012Free Seminars by Lia Kay Barrad. and Maggie Barr. It's time to learn new skills and gain new customers - now. Attend one, attend both. Just be sure to attend. 2012 has not yet begun. Social Media has become an...

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The Downside of Living in the Redwoods

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We live in one of the most beautiful (and expensive) places on earth.  In our case, we actually have a creek in the backyard on Polo Drive.  "Polo" Drive?  Yes, no polo ponies lately but the area was named thus because Sugar King Spreckels used the property for his...

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Before and After

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Websites are always a collaboration...and what a pleasure!  Here's a new client with a tutoring business.  She provides very reasonable tutoring to get kids learning and up to grade level.  She didn't have a logo, so I sent her to one of my business partners and Hedi...

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