North Hills is a unique place. It has more local merchants than national chains. It has restaurants, not just fast food. It has underground parking.

It took vision to redevelop an old-skool mall into a modern urban village. In building a new web site for North Hills, we’ve tried to live up to that standard.

North Hills told us to focus on creating quality content. Each store, restaurant and spa has its own page, its own picture and descriptive text. After researching the category, it was surprising to find how few developments had this much information.

We’ve taken over 1500 pictures for the new site (our favorite is the flash panorama on the home page). Many thanks to the management and merchants at North Hills for all their help and patience. Special thanks also to North Hills Security.

Goodtree & Co. credits:

• Leslie Huffman - Project Manager
• George Gumpert - Design & Programming
• David Holt - Senior Designer
• Hal Goodtree - Creative Director

Also thanks to Allen Weiss, Michael Kimsal, Paul Harnett, Anna Smith, Dorothea Bitler and Mike Smith.

More about the things we’ve learned from this project later. Surf up the NorthHillsRaleigh right now and let us know what you think.

North Hills is focused on the development and management of retail and mixed-use properties of the highest quality where people will naturally want to live, work, shop, dine, play, stay and renew. - Kane Realty Corporation

A new website and internet features are planned.

For website owners and creators, it’s important to check for broken links. Here’s our favorite broken link checker.

A broken link, of course, is a link that goes nowhere. It’s usually caused by a spelling error or a web address that has moved.

But how to check an entire website for broken links? The easy way is to use a broken link checker.

Lots of link checkers exists on the internet courtesy of private companies and public organizations like the W3C. Our favorite is from Website Goodies:

Website Goodies - Broken Link Check

Just enter the web address of your home page and click on “Check Links.” In moments, you’ll have a complete report on the links in your website.

Even if you have tested your links in the past, it’s good to test again from time to time to ensure the integrity of your web site.

This is our second site for SVI. As our understanding of vascular medicine has progressed, we’ve been better able to explain complex medical stuff in simple, concise language. Or, anyway, that’s the theory.

ADWORDS AND WEBSITE DESIGN

The impetus to expand SVI’s website was motivated by our ongoing Google AdWords campaign.

AdWords can tell you a lot about what products and services interest the public. We structured the new website around keywords that generated the greatest traffic.

Experts call this “optimizing conversion.” The goal is to turn a greater percentage of viewers into customers by offering content tailored to their needs. So, because we were able to track high consumer interest in “Vascular Surgery,” we created a page specifically to answer that interest.

LOWERING FRICTION

Another key to a successful website is “lowering the friction.” Friction is any kind of a barrier between the viewer and taking action.

To make it easier for people to get in touch, we’ve included a mini-contact form on every service page. Our hope is that this will encourage more people to communicate with us, removing the barrier of navigating to a contact page.

IT’S A PROCESS, NOT AN EVENT

The doctors and administration at Southern Vascular Institute recognize that success on the web is an ongoing process, not a one-time event. We’ll continue to look for ways to build SVI’s brand, generate traffic and drive revenue.

Thanks to Drs. Arthur Freedman, Roger Moccia, Mark Jackson, Brian Baghdady, Kyran Dowling, Richard Harp and Michael Ludkowski. Thanks also to Nurse Practitioner Amanda Faile and special thanks to N.P. Kim Waldenmaier for medical guidance. We also wish to gratefully acknowledge the support of John Engle and his administrative staff at SVI.

Credits:

• Concept and Copywriting: Hal Goodtree
• Design & Programming: George Gumpert
• Photography: Kenneth Wilson