In addition to offering research project support, Maria offers coding and updating of websites in XHTML / CSS. Websites written in XHTML (or HTML) load quickly, are functional across browsers, are efficiently indexed by the search engines, and are also more easily accessible to those with disabilities.

Maria especially enjoys working with micro or small business owners and non-profits on developing affordable, yet effective, marketing plans that might also include helping to set up a website, make updates to an existing site, analyze visitor statistics to optimize sites for the search engines (SEO), and improve website ROI and productivity.

She also offers content management and visitor analytics of existing websites for larger organizations and Graphics Designers.

Whether you have a 1-2 hour task or an on-going need, contact Maria to find out more about how she can help you set up, update, or maintain your website.

These websites are the best examples of Maria's XHTML/CSS coding and SEO/internet marketing abilities. Maria continues to serve as the Website Content Manager for each of these organizations.

www.DownHomeRanch.org

• Description: This website is for Down Home Ranch, a unique, holistic, residential, working farm and ranch community for people with disabilities in Elgin, Texas. This non-profit organization has been featured on CBS News' Assignment America and People Magazine.

• Objectives: The primary objectives for this website are to provide information about the many events, programs, enterprises, and volunteer opportunities offered at Down Home Ranch, while encouraging donations and sponsorships, recruiting quality staff, and inviting parents, volunteers, and the general community to enjoy all that Down Home Ranch has to offer.

• Results: Serving as the Content Manager and working with a Graphics Designer, Maria hand-coded the HTML/CSS to completely update this website. It is functional across the 3 major browsers (IE, Firefox, and Safari). Next steps for this website include expanding the resources available to visitors, while also adding functionality for online donations, e-commerce, building community awareness, and Web 2.0 social networking.
  

Wahkiakum School District:  Home of the Mules Sports Teams

• Description: This website is for the local school district in Wahkiakum County, in Cathlamet, in southwest Washington.

• Objectives: Initially, Wahkiakum School District wanted to have an online presence in order to provide basic information to students, parents, and the local community, including official notices, monthly newsletters, contact information for faculty and staff, sports schedules, and a calendar of upcoming events.

• Results: Over the years, Maria has teamed up with the administration, their technology consultant, and faculty to significantly expand the features of the District website, increasing the productivity of the District staff, while significantly improving the ability of the District to deliver information in "real time" to the local community.
  
  Most recently, the team added the ability to easily update school closure information, a student portal for accessing classroom assignments, an online District forum to encourage interactive discussions among faculty and students/parents, and a resource page for high school Seniors, as they navigate completing their requirements for graduation, plan for the future, and apply for college and scholarships. The Wahkiakum School District website can be validated with the W3C Markup Validation Service.

www.WelcomeToWahkiakum.com

• Description: This website is an on-line visitor information center and local business guide for Wahkiakum County, Southwest Washington, and the Lower Columbia region.

• Objectives: This website is a place where local residents, prospective tourists, people thinking of moving here, and other visitors can easily find what they want to know about Wahkiakum County and southwest Washington, while also offering an effective, yet affordable, advertising platform for local businesses. When Maria first created this website in 2002, there was no other website offering general information about Wahkiakum County.

• Results: This website is extremely effective at generating click-throughs for the local businesses who advertise on this site (95% renewal rate) and has first-page rankings in all the major search engines for a variety of relevant keywords and phrases.
  
  Maria actively manages this site using Google analytics, continually adding new information and pages based on what website visitors are searching for. The number of unique vistors has grown consistently over the years, even though several other similar sites are now available.