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We hire an expert in medicine to perform our surgeries, we hire an expert in mechanics to repair our automobiles, and we also hire computer geeks to repair our machines. Why not hire an expert in internet companies to build your website. Heck, websites are the essence of our business. Think if Google offered web design services… you would consider them right? People like us do exist.
Services > Web Consulting
At Hurst Consulting, LLC, we hire individuals who have years of experience just designing websites. We not only find the experts, but we identify the artists as well. The presentation layer of the site is what sells your product. We focus on creating unique, visually stunning designs. Our portfolio speaks for itself.
For your convenience we have made all the categories of our service offering expandable with AJAX... cool web 2.0 buzz word! What does it mean? Don't worry, it's hidden below.
Web Design [+EXPAND]
At Hurst Consulting, we hire individuals who have years of experience just designing websites. We not only find the experts, but we identify the artists as well. The presentation layer of the site is what sells your product. We focus on creating unique, visually stunning designs. Our portfolio speaks for itself. [Click any of the blue "expand" buttons below to learn more about each subject.]
Web Development [+EXPAND]
Whether you are developing the next world changing Web 2.0 application, a viral marketing widget or an innovative mash-up, Hurst Consulting is here to help. We’ve worked with the big corporations and the small mom and pops. We don’t discriminate. Don’t hesitate to start your project with us!
Developers are a dime a dozen, but not all of them are proficient at all the available technologies. At Hurst Consulting we hire developers that jump off the charts. Our developers love to code, continuously refactor code, use design patterns, leverage existing code, focus on usability, write maintainable code, and are required to be proficient in multiple Languages.
Web Standards - Unparalleled Backend Architecture
i. XHTML/CSS2.0
The funny thing about the guys that create the web browsers is that sometimes they don’t like to follow standards. Therefore, some web browsers render your website differently than others. At Hurst Consulting we are focused on making sure your website works in every browser. This requires tedious coding and applying hacks to ensure your site doesn’t break. It’s a lengthy process to some, but at Hurst Consulting we only hire the guys that have been doing it for years.
ii. Semantic Web
The Semantic Web is an exciting emerging technology that will be a major traffic-booster for the first-movers. We're all over it! In a nutshell, making your website semantic simply means making standard data sets tagged and categorized so that search engines and other sites know what it is. For instance, all social profiles we build have something called an “hCard” which is a block of code that says: "This is the user's name; this is the user's profile picture; this is the user's email address, this is the user's friend list etc." Similar standards are being formed for data sets like plane flights, real estate listings, hotel listings, etc. This benefits your site because all the cool search engines (including Yahoo and Google) are quickly picking up on this to add more intelligence to their search results. The sites that take advantage of this will benefit by major traffic increases. It's like saying: "Hey Google, here's a real estate listing," rather than saying: "Hey Google, here's my real estate site, see what information you can find on it."
By supporting semantic "Data Portability" technologies, we switch the whole paradigm: it used to be all about “How many users/page views can I generate?”--Now it's about “How far can I get my message out?”. By making your data available to 3rd party sites through semantic standards for tagging your data, we not only generate you tons of “link-backs”, which is great for SEO, but we can also get you ad-revenue by “encapsulating”. For instance, we can put your videos in a video player with a, built in, video ad system. The same holds true for any data set. We can put text ads in news articles that appear on other sites; we can auto-watermark pictures, etc. At the end of the day, just because your data is on another site, it doesn't mean you can't monetize it. It's about encapsulating it right. At Hurst Consulting, we specialize in “encapsulation strategy” and making your site cutting edge!
Web Standards - Unparalleled Backend Architecture [+EXPAND]
XHTML/CSS2.0 [+EXPAND]
The funny thing about the guys that create the web browsers is that sometimes they don’t like to follow standards. Therefore, some web browsers render your website differently than others. At Hurst Consulting we are focused on making sure your website works in every browser. This requires tedious coding and applying hacks to ensure your site doesn’t break. It’s a lengthy process to some, but at Hurst Consulting we only hire the guys that have been doing it for years.
Semantic Web [+EXPAND]
The Semantic Web is an exciting emerging technology that will be a major traffic-booster for the first-movers. We're all over it! In a nutshell, making your website semantic simply means making standard data sets tagged and categorized so that search engines and other sites know what it is. For instance, all social profiles we build have something called an “hCard” which is a block of code that says: "This is the user's name; this is the user's profile picture; this is the user's email address, this is the user's friend list etc." Similar standards are being formed for data sets like plane flights, real estate listings, hotel listings, etc. This benefits your site because all the cool search engines (including Yahoo and Google) are quickly picking up on this to add more intelligence to their search results. The sites that take advantage of this will benefit by major traffic increases. It's like saying: "Hey Google, here's a real estate listing," rather than saying: "Hey Google, here's my real estate site, see what information you can find on it."
By supporting semantic "Data Portability" technologies, we switch the whole paradigm: it used to be all about “How many users/page views can I generate?”--Now it's about “How far can I get my message out?”. By making your data available to 3rd party sites through semantic standards for tagging your data, we not only generate you tons of “link-backs”, which is great for SEO, but we can also get you ad-revenue by “encapsulating”. For instance, we can put your videos in a video player with a, built in, video ad system. The same holds true for any data set. We can put text ads in news articles that appear on other sites; we can auto-watermark pictures, etc. At the end of the day, just because your data is on another site, it doesn't mean you can't monetize it. It's about encapsulating it right. At Hurst Consulting, we specialize in “encapsulation strategy” and making your site cutting edge!
Data Portability [+EXPAND]
Screen Scrapping
Well you aren’t scrapping ice off your windshield, but it’s just as cool to watch! In the world of technology, “screen scrapping” or “scrubbing” is the process of controlling a website without human contact. So for instance, a screen scrapper could log into your Myspace account, copy all the personal data and populate it on another social network. The scrapper could also populate the forms on the Myspace account for you with information you provide it. These programs allow you to interact with sites that don’t have accessible APIs. At Hurst Consulting, we not only will build a working scrapper, but we will offer support for it in case the site we are tapping into swaps up their platform. The goal is to aid more convenience to your users, and to them on your site longer.
Standard Integrations such as OpenID
For users, a whole new world of features is opened up. By supporting data standards like OpenID, you can let your visitors simply arrive at your site, type in their OpenID login credentials and know exactly who they are without having them fill in a million forms and potentially lose them as a user.
Web Application Development [+EXPAND]
At Hurst Consulting, we are a full service shop. We can create online applications that make your competitors drool! It’s not just about building the next Social Network or Video streaming service. At Hurst Consulting we take it a step further and put real brains behind our technology. Ever dreamed of creating an artificial intelligence engine that recognizes audio patterns, or developing online pixel recognition software that can determine what type of sea shell you are looking at by searching Google images for similar results? How bout we create an online video editing suite or widget generation engine. Hurst Consulting takes on any challenge and delivers with pride!
Api/Web Service Integration
Why code stuff from the ground-up when you can gain access to a wealth of data, and even users through 3rd party APIs! Often, it's important to own the source code and be able to make all the changes you need, but sometimes when using Software as a Service (SaaS) and APIs from sites like Youtube, Flickr, and Google, you can not only gain access to a wealth of features that other would have taken months to develop, but also their user base and content distribution mediums.
However for each API there are different totally unique benefits. Let's take a look at a few:
Facebook + Open Social [+EXPAND]
Facebook and Open Social APIs are the key to Viral Heaven! The idea is that we can sync your site user database with any users acquired through Facebook and the myriad Open Social sites (Myspace, Hi5, Ning, Linkedin, etc). Any user who adds your application can be automatically emailed login credentials to your site. Moreover, with Myspace and Facebook releasing "Data Availability" and "Connect" respectively, the same viral features will soon be brought to your site. Instead of having just an app within Myspace or Facebook that hopefully brings users back to your site, we can now facilitate new users to your site importing their friends and content to your user base and content database!
Youtube + Flickr [+EXPAND]
Say goodbye to hosting large video and image files. With the Youtube and Flickr APIs users can arrive at your site and immediately fill your content database with all their own content and favorites from Youtube and Flickr. And you don't need to pay the hosting bill. How awesome is that? Moreover, all data related to the images and videos can be pulled: tags, descriptions, titles, ratings, etc. We can also program your site to push content to these sites. That way when users want to upload new content, you're still not paying the hosting bill.
Mobile [+EXPAND]
The iPhone is a great example of the future of cell phones. It provides instant access to the web in the palm of your hands. The iPhone is only the beginning though. With over 4 Million iPhones already sold, handset manufacturers are quickly adopting the trend. New mobile operating systems emerging such as Android allow for phones to be just as technically savvy. At Hurst Consulting we can develop WAP sites, or mobile versions of your website. We can also create Java applications that will run on the majority of mainstream phones. We are always one step ahead of the curve, and now with GPS in every phone you will be able to target ads based on location. We can make that a reality!
Flawless CMS Integration [+EXPAND]
Does your site just need an overhaul? Being stuck in the 90’s is painful, but don’t let upgrades scare you! Here at Hurst Consulting, our developers are keen on keeping the look and feel of your backend the same, so you aren’t forced to learn any new things. You will still manage it all the same way.
Click Here to view a case study on an advanced CMS we built for a leading auto-tuning shop.
Mash-ups [+EXPAND]
A great example is Google maps. With Google maps, we can put anything you want anywhere on a map and create complex interactive mash-ups that make maps come to life. Thumbnails and pop-ups can be placed on any point of longitude and latitude. Distance calculations can be pulled for users. We can push the data to Google, so any data placed on the map is now indexed in their mapping search engine. Full-fledged travel and real estate mash-ups can be based completely on Google maps and have every database row synched to longitude/latitude coordinates, all which are browse-able and searchable within your site. The possibilities are endless, and launching a satellite and indexing the world is not required!
Ecommerce [+EXPAND]
Developing online stores is something we do well. We take it to the next level though. An integrated technology we have built at Hurst Consulting allows us to recover revenue lost to shopping cart abandonment. Did you know 4-6% of all online transactions are abandoned inside of the shopping cart? At Hurst Consulting, not only do we build you an online store; We ensure that you can monetize that store in the most efficient manner.
Search Engine Marketing [+EXPAND]
SEM is a form of Internet marketing that increases a website’s visibility on search engines like Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft Live, and Ask. These search engines offer SEM programs like Google AdWords and Yahoo! Search Marketing. Hurst Consulting has been offering SEM services since the late 90’s when companies like Overture, now owned by Yahoo!, first emerged. We understand the strategies to get you the best results at the most cost-effective rates!
Search Engine Optimization [+EXPAND]
At Hurst Consulting we thrive on getting you noticed! We increase conversions by making sure your site appears when your clients are searching. We identify the keywords that are searched most frequently by your clients. On top of that we develop those creative, enticing phrases that your clients read when they see your site in their search results. We don’t just pull them out of a corny, overused box. At Hurst Consulting, our SEO experts are up to date on all the new search technologies as well as the old industry knowledge. We know how to format your page so it’s best found by search engines and web crawlers. This combination of wisdom allows us to get you the most targeted search hits. We make sure you are always satisfied, so you can log in and see how your campaigns are going at anytime.
Email Marketing [+EXPAND]
At Hurst Consulting, we create quality campaigns that are creative, eye catching, and formatted for your client’s email inbox. These campaigns are targeted at individuals that will be most likely to purchase your product. At Hurst Consulting, we don’t rely on purchased lists. We create our own lists. That way you are assured that we are delivering at the highest professional standards. Hurst Consulting will make your retention soar!
Internet Marketing [+EXPAND]
Viral Marketing [+EXPAND]
Did you know the Hurst Consulting team executive produced an instructional DVD on viral marketing that was part of a six figure production? Viral Marketing is an intracle part of today’s web culture. Links are shared via e-mail, instant message, on blogs, and much more. Before you know it, one person could have told five of their friends to visit your site. Those five people could’ve shared the information with twenty-five more. The challenge is in getting the word spread quickly and freely and finding connectors. Web services such as Digg, Stumbleupon, Twitter, Technorati, and del.icio.us can be used in strategic ways to drive traffic. Sites like Myspace, Facebook, and YouTube can be utilized as free marketing platforms and already have extensive demographic data mines accessible absolutely free. At Hurst Consulting, we specialize in viral strategy and know all the tricks to drive the traffic.
Viral Widget Generation [+EXPAND]
A widget is an interactive module that can be embedded on another site. These could be News Feed Readers, Photo Slideshows, or Games. Even YouTube’s video player can be classified as a widget. Musicians create widgets for their fans that allow video, audio, photo, and text to all be embedded in one centralized module. These widgets are then embedded all over the web and new fans can discover new artists to listen to. At Hurst Consulting, the widgets we create use the latest in viral technology. We leverage free services such as Gigya and Clearspring in order to bring you features such as “1-click Share“, enabling your users to embed your widget to their Myspace, Facebook, etc., in just one click! We track full analytics of your widget so that you know exactly where it’s being viewed the most.
Fully Customized Myspace Page Design/Integration [+EXPAND]
Have you ever wondered why Myspace pages for Celebrities, Athletes, and Movie Premieres look so cool? Well it’s mainly because Myspace will re-vamp your page for a price. Fortunately, Myspace is flexible enough to let us overhaul your page as well. We won’t charge quite as much as Myspace and we probably can move faster too! Make people think you have a featured profile on Myspace and let us drive traffic from your demographic.
Did you know Hurst Consulting has even created a customized Myspace page for a pizza company in Bloomington, Illinois? They were a few blocks down the road from Illinois State University, however they couldn’t get people to come in and buy pizza. What we did was blast everyone from the age 18-22 with in a five mile radius. We sent them friend requests as well as messages telling them about our pizza promotion. The promotion was: If they put us in their “top 8” friends, (which essentially just got the profile more page views) and printed it out, we would give them a free order a breadsticks. This campaign worked wonders! Contact us today to develop a creative Myspace campaign for your business.
Facebook Application Development [+EXPAND]
Wouldn’t you like to Tap into Facebook’s 100 million+ user database and promote your product to all of them? Facebook allows you to do this for free! They also allow you to monetize your application at the same time, and they don’t want to share in the revenue. At Hurst Consulting, we use creative inspiration to build applications that will be adopted by Million’s of users and will also promote your product at the same time.
Blog Network Seeding [+EXPAND]
At Hurst Consulting, we have access to a strong network of blogs and we can get many high-trafficked bloggers to talk about you. It’s the ultimate press opportunity because it’s similar to being written about in a newspaper or magazine. However, when a user is online reading about your website, there’s a greater chance they will share your link immediately creating the viral effect.
Web 2.0 (The "Buzz Words") [+EXPAND]
Hurst Consulting lives and breathes Web.2.0. Web 2.0 is latest generation of the web. Web 1.0 was the “dot-com” era, right before the bubble burst. Web 2.0 is making it possible to monetize sites and advertisers are flocking in herds! Essentially it’s the meshing of moderator and user collaboration. The users are utilized to help build the site. These sites, provide their visitors a job per say. That being, to peruse the end goal: A largely diverse website built by, and for, the users. These sites, which aspire to make possible sharing between users, are the new generation of the web. The social factors make return visitors are more common, thus creating higher page views. Web 2.0 doesn’t just define social sites; there is also a common theme across sites that give them a “Web 2.0 look and feel”. Web 2.0 sites focus on simplicity by minimizing noise. Technologies like AJAX allow modules to be contracted, or hidden so that user’s aren’t overwhelmed. Glossy icons, reflections, gradients, and all the other popular Web 2.0 styles have become a standard across the web.