We Do Weddings

Yes indeed. I am a reverend.

paul+jayne from Toy Box Productions on Vimeo.

‘Game Over’ Phishing Attack

Please be aware that the FBI has posted a bulletin on a particularly successful malware attack that is currently active and poses a direct threat to anyone who utilizes online financial services such as online banking.  The attack is very sophisticated, but starts as most others do, simply with the unsuspecting user receiving a fraudulent email.  Emails may appear to be from a government or other “official” source – for example, Amazon, eBay, the Federal Reserve Bank or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).  Clicking on the links in the email, or opening attachments, will cause malicious code to be silently downloaded and installed on your system, which then collect banking credentials and send these to a remote party for later misuse.  This attack has been nicknamed the “Gameover” attack because once the user has unknowingly installed the malicious software, it’s usually “game over” for their finances.

These kinds of attacks are generally referred to as “phishing” attacks and are often difficult for many security systems to automatically mitigate.  You are even more vulnerable on your personal computers at home.

You can read the FBI bulletin as well as a very good description of the attack at the links below.  However, threats like these are persistent in our environment.  We continue to recommend the following key practices to keep company and personal information safe online:

1. DO:  Be very careful when opening attachments or clicking links in emails that you receive, especially if the email seems odd (how did the FDIC get my work address?) or if the writing style in the email doesn’t appear to match up with the sender (indicating someone’s account may have been hijacked).   If you do need to use the links or open the attachment and it looks suspicious, verify with the sender via some other means prior to doing so.
   WHY:  Phishing attacks (attacks that originate via a fraudulent communication) are growing in number and are often extremely successful.  Attackers often masquerade as a legitimate source to trick users into trusting the contents.   It generally takes only one mistake to end up as a victim of this type of attack, and often times the fact that you have been compromised can go undetected until it’s too late.
2. DO:  For home systems or systems not managed internally by IT, be sure to keep all operating system and applications patched and up to date.  Use automatic updates when possible to make this a simple task.
   WHY:  An overwhelming percentage of software vulnerabilities that are exploited by hackers are known vulnerabilities, and that have had patches available for several months.  Keeping your systems patched and current will reduce the potential for you to be a “target of opportunity”.
3. DO:  Change passwords for critical systems often, at least every 90 days.  This includes important personal accounts such as email, online banking, and accounts tied to financial data (such as iTunes accounts).  Be sure to use strong passwords that incorporate length and complexity.  DO NOT USE DEFAULT PASSWORDS.
   WHY:  Often when credentials are stolen, they will not be immediately used.  Changing your password often reduces the window of opportunity should your information get stolen.  Using a longer, more complex password substantially decreases the potential for your password to be stolen successfully.

Original FBI bulletin on the “Gameover” Attack:  http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/january/malware_010612/malware_010612

ZDNet article describing the “Gameover” Attack:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/zeus-returns-fbi-warns-of-gameover-id-theft-malware/10002?tag=nl.e550

Seven Strategies for Improving Your Website & Your Bottom Line

Creating an engaging and informative website that earns you more business, clients and money can seem like an overwhelming challenge. This is especially true when you start wading into the details of what goes where and why. Throw in some assumptions about your clientele (that may or may not be true), an ever-evolving business strategy, and changing communication technologies—perhaps even some inter-office rivalries—and the resulting traffic jam in decision-making can make a Friday evening rush hour seem downright peaceful in comparison.

Fortunately, there are antidotes to this common ailment. Here are seven strategies that can bring some clarity when you decide to launch a new site or upgrade an existing one.

#1 Your Website Strategy Has to Match Your Business Strategy

There is a reason this tip is number one. If you forget everything else in this blog post, don’t forget this: Your website strategy has to match your business strategy. Simple concept, but it’s as deep as the ocean in terms of wisdom.

What does it mean? In countless usability studies (more about that later), people visiting a website for the first time, on average, devote eight seconds to scanning your site before deciding if they are in the right place. If they don’t see what they like, they are out of there. Eight seconds. That’s a helluva deadline.

What’s your niche as a home builder? Are you after the first-time buyer? Move-ups? Remodeling? Or are you building high performance homes? Whatever your strategy is, communicate that quickly and clearly in eight seconds or less.

Does this mean you have to ignore new services or products that may increase your business in the future? Nope. You can devote pages to those products or services. In fact, it’s an excellent strategy to measure if they have potential. But bury them inside your site. Concentrate on your biggest money makers first and foremost, on the home page and main navigational links. This will help you earn more income.

#2 Perfection Is Not an Option

Whether this is your first website or your 15^th, there’s always the motivation that, “We need to make this site perfect before we launch it.” But like life itself, a website will always be a work in progress. Resist this impulse to get everything “perfect.” Reach instead for “good enough to get us more business.”

#3 “Let’s Get Everyone’s in the Company’s Input on Our New Website!”

Great ideas can indeed come from anywhere. But this “Let’s get everyone in the company involved in creating our new website” approach strikes terror into the hearts of website designers. Why? Because it’s a politically correct approach to decision making that will slow the development process to a crawl (or even a complete standstill), while grinding away any creativity or uniqueness.

Who should you listen to? Your company’s sales and marketing people and your website developer. Speaking of which…

#4 Let Your Sales & Marketing Prioritize Direction

Even if operational and decision-making blunders have crumpled the fenders of your company, sales and marketing—that engine that powers all—can help you accelerate out of the red and into the black. That’s why the first people a talented website developer will want to talk to is your sales and marketing people. It’s these people on the front lines of your business that are already familiar with what your clientele wants and what their most common objections might be.  Let these sales and marketing pros prioritize much of the direction for your new site. A website built to help turn visitors into prospects, and then into satisfied clients, will only help your bottom line. In those rare instances where a company does not have a sales staff, the new site must do that job for you.

#5 Put Visitors’ Needs First

When creating a new site or improving an existing website, always look at your website site from a visitor’s perspective. Visitors to your website have their own priorities—how can you make my life easier, more profitable, happier or more comfortable? That’s why you must answer their unspoken questions with the right answers. Unless you put your visitors’ needs first in the design and navigational structure of your site, it is extremely unlikely that your financial objectives will be met.

#6 Usability Testing

Before launching a website, conduct some basic usability testing. That is the process of showing your test site to people in your target demographic and asking them some basic questions. (If you’re going to do this yourself, I recommend reading some books on usability testing, including Steve Krug’s “Don’t Make Me Think” or his “Rocket Surgery Made Easy: The Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems.”)

I recommend my clients have a usability test performed annually, because once one becomes accustomed to a website, one cannot see it with fresh eyes. The whole point of usability testing is to simulate being a fly on the wall while a real visitor experiences your site for the first time. At Bevier Creative, we pay people in the target demographic $40 for a half hour of their time. And the questions you ask shouldn’t be leading. Basic questions should include:

A)    Can you determine what this website does?

B)    Who do you think this website is intended for?

C)    Whose website is it?

D)    Without clicking on any links, if you were about to explore this site, what would you click on first? What would you click on second and third? Why?

E)     After exploring the site, do you have a favorable impression of this company, unfavorable impression or no opinion at all?

This feedback will prove invaluable when formulating a strategy to improve your site. I also promise that what you will discover about your website will be fascinating. (By way of example, I once performed a usability test on an existing website for a client and the 10 participants in our usability test could not determine what services that company offered, even after exploring the site for more than 30 minutes. Even their guesses were far afield from the company’s core products and services. So you might say they failed the eight-second test in a spectacular fashion.)

#7 Make the Call to Action Clear

Capture visitors name and email and any other information you can by making the call to action abundantly and blindingly clear. “Ask for Quote” “Sign up for our newsletter and get a free booklet on how to make home buying easy.” Get them to click on “Tell Me More” or even a simple “Contact Us.” Just make it easy to understand and compelling.

Now go improve your website! Make it fun and informative. Don’t make it safe and boring.

Buy a T-Shirt & Calendar to Help Build a Log Home for a Wounded Marine

The Gizzarelli family was chosen to receive a new custom log home mortgage free for many reasons, but not the least of which is the fact that though Vincent is dealing with the after-effects of two tours of duty in Iraq, including debilitating head injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder, he, too, can’t sit idly by when he sees others in need. Recently, he and his wife, Jamie, have opened up their home to three foster children, ages 4 years to 23 months. They are currently in the process of trying to adopt them.

Operation Finally Home, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing custom made mortgage free homes to wounded and disabled veterans, is building a log home for a wounded Marine and his family in North Carolina. You can help by buying a T-Shirt and Calendar from this website, which was built by Bevier Creative.

• All proceeds benefit Operation Finally Home to build a home for wounded Marine Sgt. Vince Gizzarelli and his family in Jacksonville, NC
• All donations are tax deductible
• The Red, White and Blue Ridge Poker Run is sponsored by Log Homes of America
• Calendar available for purchase at $10 Donation
• T-shirts available for purchase as well
• Lunch will be offered by Woodlands BBQ
• All drawings and prizes will be awarded at 2 pm

For more information, visit Red, White & Blue Ridge Poker Run!.

Who Benefits from this Charity Event?

Buy a $15 calender--Gorgeous Gals for GI's--to help support the cause.

All proceeds from the Red, White and Blue Ridge Poker Run benefit Operation Finally Home and its efforts to build a custom log home for a wounded Marine Sgt. Vince Gizzarelli and his family in Jacksonville, NC. All donations are tax deductible.

Giving Back to Our Service Men & Women
It’s time to remember our servicemen and women who give everything for our country’s safety and our citizens’ freedom. But what happens when they find themselves wounded, discharged, and permanently disabled? The regimented lifestyle, the plans for a military career – it can all be taken away by a single bullet or piece of shrapnel. And yet, if you ask one of our wounded warriors if they would do it all over again, the answer is almost always “yes” without a moment’s hesitation.

That’s why when members of the NAHB’s Building Systems Councils (BSC) learned that they could help a North Carolina Marine and his family, they, too, said “yes” without hesitation.

The members of the BSC—manufacturers, suppliers, builders and industry professionals in the concrete, log, modular, and panelized home building industries–are designing and constructing a 3,000-square-foot custom log home in Jacksonville, N.C.  The systems-built home will be located near Camp Lejeune—the largest Marine Corps base on the East Coast and a perfect fit for the Marine and his family who learned earlier this summer on the nationally syndicated radio show, “The Big Show with John Boy and Billy,” that they will receive it, mortgage free.

About Sgt. Vince Gizzarelli
Thirty-year-old Sergeant Vincent Gizzarelli and his wife were selected by the BSC’s partner in this project, Operation Finally Home — an organization founded by Texas builder, philanthropist, and 2010 CNN Hero Dan Wallrath when he realized that far too many of our wounded warriors were living in poverty upon their return to civilian life. He couldn’t sit idly by.

The Marine and his family learned earlier this summer on the nationally syndicated radio show, “The Big Show with John Boy and Billy,” that they will receive a new log home, mortgage free.

The Gizzarelli family was chosen for many reasons, but not the least of which is the fact that though Vincent is dealing with the after-effects of two tours of duty in Iraq, including debilitating head injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder, he, too, can’t sit idly by when he sees others in need. Recently, he and his wife, Jamie, have opened up their home to three foster children, ages 4 years to 23 months. They are currently in the process of trying to adopt them.

The Gizzarellis’ new log home package is being provided by Log Homes of America, a North Carolina-based company owned and operated by Nicole and Joel Robinson. Nicole, along with Operation Finally Home’s Executive Director, Daniel Vargas, and BSC Associates Council Chair Roger Nelson of Andersen Windows, is also spearheading the coordination of the project.

Carolina Diversified Builders Prospers in a Challenging Housing Market

Bevier Creative recently built a new website for Carolina Diversified Builders, helping educate home buyers on high performance homes.

Gilbert, SC—Oct. 5, 2011 Carolina Diversified Builders, an award-winning home building firm that constructs high performance homes in South Carolina and North Carolina, today announced the launch of its new, expanded website, http://carolinadiversifiedbuilders.com/.

Designed to educate home buyers on high performance homes, the new website highlights the company’s history, portfolio of designs, industry certification and multi-faceted construction services.

The new website, designed and developed by Bevier Creative, provides a high-quality visitor experience with enhanced features to provide visitors with testimonials from happy home buyers, press updates, social media interaction, an expanded photo gallery of completed homes, a note from the owner of Carolina Diversified Builders and much more.

“While many home builders in the Carolinas did not survive the slowdown in the housing market, Carolina Diversified Builders is still going strong,” says Bill Seymour, owner of Carolina Diversified Builders. “We have been fortunate to prosper in this economy, largely because of the high-quality, modern building systems we use in construction. We pride ourselves on for changing the way new homes are built in the Carolinas. With our new website, we can help buyers make smart choices when making their dream home a reality.”
Carolina Diversified Builders offers a wide range of construction technologies, including modular, log, timber frame and structural insulated panels. As certified green builders, Carolina Diversified Builders has built some of the most energy efficient and sustainable homes in South Carolina and North Carolina.

“In short, we build homes that we are proud of. We are very happy to have the first locally and nationally certified green home in the Greater Columbia area,” says Seymour.
Carolina Diversified Builders built the first home to be certified green by the Build Green Greater Columbia program. Additionally, the home is ENERGY STAR Certified and is a certified Gold level green home in the National Green Building Certification Program administered by the National Association of Home Builders Research Center. There are three levels of certification in the Build Green Greater Columbia program: Bronze, Silver and Gold. The home built by Carolina Diversified Builders is certified at the highest level – Gold.
Affiliations:
• Member of the National Association of Home Builders
• Certified Green Building Professionals
• Member of the Green Building Council of Greater Columbia
• Member of Bonded Builders Warranty Group
• Energy Star Certified

“We have the know-how to make your new home in South Carolina or North Carolina the most energy efficient on the market. Many of our clients save as much as $1,500 a year over their neighbors. That’s money that can be spent on vacations, hobbies and more, Seymour says. “Should you become a client of Carolina Diversified Builders, I know that you will love your new home. That’s our promise.”
ABOUT CAROLINA DIVERSIFIED BUILDERS: Carolina Diversified Builders was founded in 1999, when Bill and Kathy and their two sons, William and Daren, decided they wanted to start a family business. They’ve built dozens of high performance homes in South Carolina and North Carolina since they opened their doors. Visit their website, http://carolinadiversifiedbuilders.com/, for portfolios of award winning designs and photo galleries of completed homes.

Terrible Twos

Bevier Creative is more than two years old now. Just like a toddler, we are headstrong and willful. But that’s what it takes to succeed some days.

Toddlers are still lovable though. And you know we just LOVE here at Bevier Creative? We love working with clients that produce great products. Have you ever noticed that when there’s quality, when there’s originally or brilliance on one side of the deal, it tends to raise the bar on the other? But that’s when it gets fun, right? We love that challenge. We met that challenge head on with a new website we just finished for Mountain Girl Organics.

Small business entrepreuners, owner Paula Aurand-Stephens and her husband Scott make handcrafted organic olive oil soaps, shea whip body butters, bath fizzies , spa gift sets and more. All their products are made under Colorado blue skies, in small batches with organically sourced raw materials whenever possible.

To really craft the look and the feel of the site, we felt it necessary to use their products. Live like a customer. Owner Paula Aurand-Stephens personally brought by samples. The verdict? Wow!

The difference in these products when compared to something store bought? Like apples and oranges. Night and day. Bonnie and Clyde. Well, that last metaphor was reaching. But we’re saying these products are amazing. Highly recommend you just give it a try. We encourage you to relax, renew and revive by visiting Mountain Girl Organics. We personally recommend the shea whips, lip quenchers, bath salts, well, basically the whole dern catalog is awesome. So check it out. For Valentine’s day?

How did we do it? We built the Mountain Girl Organics website on the wordpress platform, using the shopp plug in for e-commerce. It’s worth noting that the team at Bevier Creative offers two kinds of content management systems for clients to access their website directly, to add content, images or blogs. In addition to sites built on wordpress, we also offer sites built with Drupal. Both wordpress and Drupal are open source content management systems, meaning they constantly evolve and improve. Recently both wordpress and Drupal have come out with new versions, wordpress 3.0 and Drupal 7.