You Are Here: Blog » website design

Posts Tagged ‘website design’

27
Jan 2011
Posted by Jasmine
0 comments

Weekly Roundup: Working with Desingers and Slow Your Readers Down

How to Collaborate With a Designer

My career started as a graphic designer and getting in tune with clients was one of the hardest parts for me to learn. It is partly that because as designers we put too much of ourselves in the process. But it is also partly because clients are often really bad at communicating their wants and needs.

Even now, there is nothing that makes me happier than receiving a well thought out work request from a client. It gives me a clear picture of their needs and objectives and gives me a clear path. If you often find yourself frustrated when with working with your design or marketing people, give this post a read. It has helpful suggestions for communicating your ideas.

Cones In The Road

It is a fact that we don’t so much read online as skim articles. Do not lose your readers—start out with something interest and make them want to slow down and read the whole thing. This newsletter gives some helpful advice and examples to do just that.

Posted in: Blog, Marketing

01
Jul 2010
Posted by Jasmine
1 comment

Small Business Photo: A Smart Website

I met Laird Brown over a year ago and have enjoyed getting to know him and his Phoenix, AZ photography business. As a savvy and cost conscious small business owner, Laird has created a lot of his marketing collateral himself. I will tell the truth here—I normally turn my nose up at self-made marketing materials especially websites. Most of the time they look very templated and have very poor content.

Laird’s website is absolutely the exception. It is not a super sophisticated design but it looks nice (and not at all templated) and more importantly the content is completely optimized to the needs of his consumer. You can tell from his website that he totally gets his client, knows what they want, and has made it easy to find.  Check out Laird’s website below or at smallbusinessphoto.com along with a few of my points on what makes this website so strong.

Read More

Posted in: Blog, Business profiles

01
Oct 2009
Posted by Jasmine
0 comments

Three Rules for Successful Social Media

With all of the talk about social media and services like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, you are probably thinking about giving it a try—if you haven’t already. There is a big difference between just doing something and doing something right. I have three simple rules to follow in creating a successful social media campaign.

Read More

Posted in: Blog, Marketing, Marketing tips

20
May 2009
Posted by Jasmine
0 comments

How to get a good search engine ranking (in a nutshell)

To achieve a good search engine ranking (SEO), you will have to look at a lot of factors. You will hear experts throw around words like page titles, keywords, Meta tags, and links. The simple truth is that only two factors really matter—they contribute 90% to your link placement. Everything else is nice but really just icing on the cake. To achieve a good search engine ranking, you should focus on:

Read More

Posted in: Blog, Marketing, Marketing tips

04
Mar 2009
Posted by Jasmine
0 comments

Little cards, Big upgrades

Client: Amy Loeffler, Initial Greetings

Project: When Amy hired 910 West to update her current site, she was happy with the current design but she had recently added to her greeting card product line and needed to promote the new pieces on the website. She also wanted to add a shopping cart so her customers’ could easily purchase her items online.

Results: To accommodate the new products we reworked the navigation to include a submenu and added new sugpages to the current sections. Because Amy didn’t want to pay merchant fees, we used PayPal for her shopping cart. A cool pop-up helps customers’ to choose from her many fun designs.

Amy’s words: Jasmine has been my web designer for the last five years, and so far we have collaborated on two websites. Recently, I wanted to upgrade one of them to include additional products, an online store, a news section, and costumer contact form. Though I had a vision, Jasmine’s work always exceeds my expectations! Not only are her sites wonderfully designed but just as important she has the technical background to create them to be very user friendly with strong navigation plus she always has an eye on the future with solutions for planning room on your site to grow and expand as your business does. As a result of Jasmine’s work I have a professional site to represent my business and the confidence as a small business owner to compete with the big ones!

Her knowledge and talent are remarkable and I couldn’t image going to anyone else. More than just my web designer over the years, Jasmine has become my business web consultant and friend. She is extremely thorough, professional, friendly and overall a pleasure to do business with. I highly recommend 910 West for all your web needs!

Posted in: Blog, Case studies

01
Mar 2009
Posted by Jasmine
0 comments

Word Play: Web Host

What is a web host?

Service provider that offers space on a server allowing their clients to post websites and making them available over the internet. The web host distributes the website to the world.

Posted in: Blog

01
Mar 2009
Posted by Jasmine
0 comments

Word Play: Domain Name

What is a domain name?

Address used to access your website commonly referred to as the “web address” or “URL”, e.g. 910west.com. The domain name is the street address to your website.

Posted in: Blog

14
Feb 2009
Posted by Jasmine
1 comment

Word Play: Blog

What is a blog?

A user-generated Web site where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order (from Wikipedia). A blog is a less-formal, lower-cost alternative to a traditional website but is also more limited in style and functionality.

Posted in: Blog

01
Feb 2009
Posted by Jasmine
0 comments

Design by Definition

Print Design

Printed design covers much of what is thought of as “traditional” marketing. Though the Internet is a powerful marketing tool, businesses shouldn’t ignore traditional marketing methods. Successful print promotions compliment and enhance online marketing efforts and can reach customers missed in web campaigns. They are an important part of any comprehensive marketing plan.

Identity Design

You never get a second chance to make a first impression—that one line says it all when it comes to business marketing. To be successful, you must make your first impression unforgettable. Many times an ad, business card, or website is the first interaction between you and a potential customer. To make sure that your marketing efforts stand out, they should represent the personality of your business. A good designer is skilled at identifying the qualities that set you apart from the competition and capturing them in a logo, the core of the business identity.

Website Design

The Internet is a powerful marketing tool and every business should be using it. When thinking about online marketing (specifically a website), you should consider its role within your overall marketing plan. At the core, your website should be informational—like an online brochure or an electronic alternative to a phone book ad. Beyond the basics, you can add interactive features that build customer relationships and enhance their buying experience. These features include email newsletters, blogs, and online pressrooms.

Posted in: Blog

31
Jan 2008
Posted by Jasmine
0 comments

The 910 West story

My husband and I started 910 West in response to a need I discovered while working with a good friend to market her salon. She had just acquired the business and needed help bringing in more clientele. At the time, I was working full-time as a computer technician but would mention my “side job” to friends and family. I was surprised by the number of them who had a business they wanted to promote or knew someone who did. I realized that nearly all small businesses need marketing help.

Since my initial realization, I have worked with my husband to create a small business based on meeting the marketing needs of other small businesses. Our mission is to increase your business through effective marketing solutions including print, web, and identity design. We make your business look good while helping to make it successful.

Posted in: Blog, News