"Business Creative" Web Design

Stu Macik, Broken Sky Studio Web Design & Development, Branding, Marketing, and Technology Solutions

Another new project launch from Broken Sky Studio LLC this time for Linda Lupatkin of  The Imagemakers, Ink! LLC in Denver, Colorado. This project is a unique visual design with 3D style custom graphics and entirely hand coded with valid, semantic HTML5.

On the sites “Accolades” page a very cool background hover effect is utilized to highlight each testimonial from the others to make it easier to read since we had to use a smaller font size on the testimonials to fit them to our preferred page height.

Thanks Linda!

-Stu

Another new project launch from Broken Sky Studio LLC this time for Jo Myers of Jo Myers Real Estate in Denver, Colorado. This project is a clean custom design with custom graphics and entirely hand coded with valid, semantic HTML5.

One interesting aspect of the project was that we wanted an easy way for Jo to be able to add her listings to the site herself as she needed without using a CMS (content management system) which would have been overkill on this site. We did a little “out of the box” thinking and came up with the idea of using Tumblr for her listings since Tumblrs “photo” post turns a set of photos into a very nice slide show. Add a text post after the photos and the listing is complete.

If you’d like your next website project to use some out of the box” thinking. Give us a call at 303-800-7617, we’d love to hear from you.

Stu Macik, Broken Sky Studio Web Design & Development, Branding, Marketing and Technology Solutions

Ok, this is a really big deal. We’ve got some “thinking” to do here.

The content of your small business website is ultimately what’s going to determine if you’re going to have a new customer/client or not, so you need to have a well thought-out strategy as to what is most likely to “convert” a consumer who visits your site into profit for your business.

As is the case with most marketing this is not only not “easy”, it’s actually a big-time pain in the butt that most small business owners would rather not think about or deal with, but “think” you must. If you don’t have a strategy and a decent information architecture then you may be staring down failure when we all know you can be a success if you can just get the (right) word out.

Since failure is NOT an option for you, here are a few things to “think” about when putting together the copy for your website that have proven over and over again to increase conversions if applied in a calculated and consistent way.

First off, think about “pain points”. What exactly is your customer or client’s problem(s) that you can help solve? This is where it’s important to approach your website copy from the consumer’s point of view rather than as the owner of the business. If you can specifically state, in no uncertain terms, how you understand and can take away their “pain”…you can get their attention and be able to lead them into “stage two” of the strategy.

What’s stage two? Well, that’s when you answer the question…Why Should I Choose You?

I mean after all, there are ten other guys out there on Google that do what you do, what makes you so special? “Think” about it. You know your competition and what they do. Put that knowledge to use and explain, without going all nasty on the competition, how and why you can do what you do better.

Are you more experienced or skilled? Are you less expensive? Are you faster? Are you the better value (even though you’re not the cheapest)? Do you have a niche that perhaps the competition lacks? What makes YOU and YOUR BUSINESS different and better.

If you can communicate these things in a thoughtful and articulate way your small business WILL win on the web. That’s right…even in today’s tough market!

“Think” about it…and grow rich!

-Stu

Stu Macik, Broken Sky Studio Web Design & Development, Branding, Marketing and Technology Solutions

I love WordPress. So much so that I decided a while back to use it as my primary blogging platform. It’s absolutely the best when installed on your own domain and I recommend it without hesitation to all of my clients who want to add blogging to their arsenal of web marketing tools.

I also love Twitter. It’s become a “must use” in my opinion for any small business because of it’s ability to “instantly” disseminate information to potential customers and clients as well as the fact that all those tweets are now being indexed by Google.

The problem that I was running into is that there are a lot of times where I want to post a tip or some advice for small businesses that’s too long to tweet and too short to blog.  What’s a Web Marketer to do?

Well, the answer my friend is Tumblr. Tumblr flat out rocks at being the “in between” Twitter and a full blown blog. I can’t say for sure if that’s what the Tumblr guys were aiming for, but what they’ve come up with is an incredibly useful tool that I’ve now started to integrate into my clients web marketing portfolios.

Tumblr’s interface is incredibly intuitive (not to mention gorgeous) and excels at getting you up and running with a “Tumblog” in a very short time. Just fill out a few information fields, pick your theme, and start Tumblogging. You can even host your Tumblog on your own domain, if you choose, just like WordPress.

The free themes for Tumblr are very nice indeed, much nicer than say WordPress.com or Blogger themes. The premium themes are some of the best I’ve ever seen for any blogging or CMS platform, check out my Tumblog for Broken Sky Studio to see one of the premium themes in action.

Bottom line? You’ve got to check out Tumblr as a marketing tool for your small business. In my mind Tumblr, along with WordPress and Twitter have become the holy trinity of Blogging tools for small businesses looking for exceptional results from their online promotional efforts.

-Stu

Stu Macik, Broken Sky Studio Web Design and Development, Denver, Colorado

Ok, I know a lot of you small to medium sized business owners out there are still a little dubious about using social networking to brand and market your business. I mean, you’ve been doing ok without it so far right? Well, as Dylan opined, the times they are a-changin’.

Social Networking has become a powerful tool for businesses to brand and market their products and services and Twitter, in my opinion, has become one of the linchpins to success.

How is that you ask? Well, in a word Twitter is “instant”!

Instant product updates!

Instant services updates!

Instant sales updates!

Instant specials updates!

Instant customer feedback!

And if your Twitter feed is embedded in your website you can update your site with any information you want…well…instantly! In this last scenario, you don’t even need “followers” for Twitter to be an effective tool, it can simply be used as a mini content management system to update your website. You could even do it from your mobile phone.

The most helpful aspect of using Twitter now though is that Google search indexes Twitter posts almost immediately. What that means is that your tweets are searchable so that potential customers can find out about you and your business through a Google search that brings up your tweet or Twitter profile. This is very cool and powerful as well as a great way to expand your “footprint” on the web beyond just your website.

At Broken Sky Studio we provide Set-up and Consulting on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Buzz and others as well as Blogs (WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger and more) . We can develop a multi-tiered social network branding and marketing strategy for your business.

We can also incorporate social networking into your new website to help you realize all the benefits of these compelling marketing tools that can help grow your business. Visit us at Broken Sky Studio Web Design and Development today and give us a call. Let us show you what you’ve been missing.

-Stu

Stu Macik_Broken Sky Studio Web Design and Development, Denver, Colorado

Recently, I was asked by a prospective client “Do I really need a website for my small business?”

I think the answer lies in the fact that I’ve never been asked that question by one of my clients with a larger, more established business because they already know the answer is “absolutely”. In fact, the question I hear most often from them is “What’s it going to take for my site to be effective against my competition?” The question of needing a website has already been established through real the world experience of owning a business for a longer period of time and having been through the wars.

So if you’re asking yourself this question, let me relate to you what some of my clients with established businesses have told me about the benefits of having a professionally designed and developed website.

1. A professional website can help establish your Brand. Building brand identity can be a difficult task, no doubt about it. A professional website aids in the process by giving you a valuable marketing tool on what has become the “go to” resource for anyone seeking goods and services.

2. It can tilt the playing field in your favor. Almost every business has some kind of website and though in some situations no site can be better than a bad one, there is practically no debate as to the value of a professionally designed and developed site in a competitive business environment. People respond positively when they experience an intelligently crafted and aesthetically pleasing site which in turn helps grow your business and profits.

3. It gives “Easy Access” to your business. Even small service companies can benefit from a web presence in that a website becomes an easily accessible on-line business card or brochure that establishes credibility in the marketplace. For larger companies, a website becomes an easy, cost effective way to market to potential customers.

4. It says “I’m A Professional”. Of course the caveat here, once again, is that the site must be professional in content, usability and aesthetics. A site with a poor Information Architecture (IA) or that is poorly written or executed can just as easily say, or perhaps more likely shout “Hey, I’m an amateur”. We’ve all visited sites where we’ve said to ourselves “You know, based on this site, I don’t think I want to do business with these guys”.

These are but a few of the benefits I’ve heard over the years but I think they make the point that a professionally designed and developed site is a sound investment for any business wanting to grow and prosper in today’s business climate.

-Stu

Stu Macik_Broken Sky Studio Web Design and Development, Denver, Colorado

It may not have been spawned from a Jackal but a heinous predator is prowling the small business community in search of prey. This beast…this marketing nightmare lurking in the shadows of the internet is a creature I call…the “Anti-Site”.

The Anti-Site is a website so ghastly that the business who possesses it (or perhaps who is possessed BY it) would be far better off without any website at all.

I know what you’re thinking… that you never thought you would hear a Web Designer/Developer say something like this…I mean after all, surely having something out on the web HAS to be better than having nothing at all.

Well my friend, you would be wrong because the Anti-Site has the ability to actually sabotage your business in ways that you never imagined. One of the most serious points to understand is that you may never even know what’s happening because the Anti-Site is a silent assassin. It drives customers away without remorse or conscience and perhaps the worst aspect of all is that it may have been spawned by…dare I say…an individual or company referring to themselves as “Web Designers”.

I recently had the pleasure of slaying such a beast for a client who suspected that something with his site was very wrong (negative comments and analytics along with a drop in sales). He was having a hard time believing however that since he had “paid” to have the site built that there could possibly be any chance that it could actually be hurting his business. When I explained to him that what he had actually purchased was an ugly template, sloppy (invalid, non-semantic) code and content cobbled together with no organizational or writing skills, he finally admitted to me that the “developer” he used was of a breed I call the “dollar-menu guy”.

The moral of the story? Like everything else in life, when it comes to websites you get what you pay for. My advice is to do your homework and interview multiple developers. Like any field, those with superior skills will be obvious to you and they’re also likely to be more expensive. Because they can be. Because they’re good. Because they can help grow and market your business…and that’s the bottom line.

-Stu

Stu Macik_Broken Sky Studio Web Design and Development Denver, Colorado

One of the best pieces of advice that I can give anyone looking to acquire or build a website for their business is to take the time to learn a little about where the web is trending in terms of look, feel, and usability. I’m constantly amazed at the large number of websites out there that look and feel like they came straight out of the way-back machine (circa 1995-1998). What’s even more disturbing is that many of them were built in the last couple of years by web design companies who haven’t seemed to noticed that “what works” (and more importantly for business, “what sells”) has changed since 1998.

Perhaps you’ve heard or read the term “Web 2.0” used and wondered what it means. Well, quite simply Web 2.0 is where web design evolved to emphasize aesthetics and usability (along WITH content) to create websites that are visually more appealing and easier to use. In my opinion, we are currently at another transformation (Web 3.0?) that adds to what Web 2.0 gave us.  Now we also have options for displaying content dynamically with Javascript (jQuery, MooTools, etc.) that add to the user experience by creating interaction which, from a business perspective, can help a potential customer stick around and check out your site.

I guess what I’m saying in a nutshell is, give sites that just feel “better” a longer look and take notice of what makes them different. I think what you’ll find is that “modern” sites have a design aesthetic that feels clean, uncluttered and polished (as opposed to cramped, crammed and multi-colored). They have navigation that is user friendly and they get their message across quickly and succinctly.

If you can understand exactly what it is that you like about those sites you think are “better”, you can then find a designer who specializes in current design styles or at the very least have a better idea of what works and sells on today’s web.

-Stu

Stu Macik_Broken Sky Studio Website Design and Development Denver, Colorado

One of the nicest compliments we hear from clients at Broken Sky is that we’re able to design and develop websites that are aesthetically very attractive while also being very business centric in purpose. This is because we believe that “thinking different”, in terms of design, is critical to our clients marketing success in what amounts to hand to hand combat out on the web.

Personally, I like to think of designing for business as “coloring between the lines”. While there are definitely some rules that need to be followed on a business site, they don’t all have to be regimented or black and white. You CAN be creative and pragmatic at the same time. Here are a couple of tips from a “modern design” point of view that may help you realize more success from your site.

First off, consider that less can be more. The generous use of white space can have a profound impact on your design. Use white space to highlight and off-set important information as eyes will travel directly to those areas. Also make sure that your text has “room to breath” by making sure that your text size and line spacing is sufficient for the font your using. Nothing is more frustrating than straining to read information that is too small or cramped.

Second, consider “flow” from left to right instead of top to bottom. With the advent 16:9 and 16:10 monitors (instead of the old 4:3 CRT monitors) modern web design has widened to take advantage of the new technology. This allows you to use that screen real-estate to get more information in front of your potential customer with less scrolling.

At any rate, these are just a couple my “best practices” for “Business Creative” design. Hopefully, you can take advantage of these ideas and have both a great looking and performing website.

-Stu