It was always sort of easy to have the trusting mentality because we had never been burned… until that fateful day.

Long story short – we wen’t out on a limb and did extra work that would have been compensated for at the end of the project, but they bailed.

At that point we had two choices, we could get bitter, or take the high road. We took the high road. We had already put so much energy into trying to get payment we were loosing more money. Ridiculous.

You see, we are in the business of helping people… Helping people advance their business, cause or dream. Sometimes that means we get creative in helping our clients reach that goal and this incident could have been enough to squash that mentality.

But then that would mean one bad client would ruin it for all our amazing ones. Nope, no way.

You’re probably thinking, did we learn ANYTHING? Oh yes we did, but we didn’t let it define us.

It’s web design that’s, well, responsive. That means content or image containers wiggle around in a predetermined manner depending on the screen size. Blocks of content and images re-size, stack and sometimes convert in order to give the best possible user experience for that screen size.

Here’s an example of how navigation can shift to become more userfriendly on a mobile device.

This example also shows a shift in navigation, but also how content blocks can stack and become considerably more readable on a mobile device versus the website simply shrinking.

You need this if…

You have a website of any kind. Mobile phone Web browsing only continues to rise so why not make it easy on your viewers to find the information you want them to find on the go.

Heck you can even tailor what content is displayed on a mobile device… give them the nuts and bolts they need for the mobile experience and save the lengthy bios and such for the desktop browsing experience. How fancy, right?!

It’s an art that revolves around five best practices. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Organized content

Understand what exactly your viewers are looking for – This can be achieved by checking out your analytics. Also, what important thing do you want them to know about that they’re missing? Finally, understand many repeat visitors know exactly how and where to find what they’re looking for. It’s important to catch first timers with really crisp home page content.

2. Interactive content

We know by now that people don’t read anymore, they skim. That’s why interactive content is so important. It makes viewers want to read because it’s fun. Interactive components could include sliders, hover actions that reveal more content or call-to-actions that visually tell the story of your service or product.

3. Beauty images

Impressive photography is a worth investment. Like I said before, people don’t read. In fact, before they even skim, they are going to look at the pictures. Beautiful and interesting pictures make people want to know more because they’ve made a connection with your company they wouldn’t have otherwise. Plus, good images compliment content which increases understanding.

4. Short and snappy copy

Third time is a charm… People don’t read. Conversational or direct copy is imperative to getting your message across. If there’s too many words, the viewer will get overwhelmed and go elsewhere.

5. Inspirational design that speaks to the customer

Design should provide an experience for the viewer. What that experience is like is what your customer will conclude your company as a whole is like. It’s important to get it right. Think of it this way… what is the feeling I want to evoke from my customer when they interact with my business? Your designer should be able to guide you through the rest.

Since college, I always thought Liquis would be a cool name for a design company, so I that’s what I named my freelance business. Since then, it revealed so many great meanings based on the premis that  it would be a company opposite of all things rigid… and it still works, thank God.

Anyway, somewhere down the line Andy was expecting her first child and decided to leave the demands of a full time job across town, for even more demands as a work at home mom with her PR and marketing consulting gig.

We ended up working together on mutliple projects in common and before long she was trying to persuade me to quit my steady job, where I had just been promoted (again), to focus on growing Liquis into something much, much bigger.

Jackie, our general manager who is also my wife, didn’t want to see me, or her daughter, put all our eggs in one basket so she asked me not to quit my job until I had three contracts ready to go. Andy called a couple days later to let me know she had three signed contracts.

It was intense to leave my cushy job for the unpredictable nature entreprenuership. There are lots of peeks and valleys and four years later we’re still working on regulating that.

We’ve come a long way from business meetings in my den, to now having our own awesome space, working with top notch designers and developers, and having the ability to invest in the latest technology that keeps our business moving forward.

The three of us make an awesome team. We’re obviously not your typical family business, but we think that’s the coolest part.

1. Celebrity portraits

2. Cute and crafty

3. Draw and re-draw

4. Sharpie eggs

5. Leaf dyes

1. Technology changes and I can’t afford to keep up with it all.

True that. Major browsers such as Safari, FireFox, Chrome and Internet Explorer are constantly updating which can affect how your website displays. Plus, the way we use the Internet evolves, such as the drastic increase of mobile Web surfers.

So what’s the solution? First off, make sure your website is built with the latest coding languages, which currently is HTML5 and CSS3. Another way to make sure your website is built for tomorrow, is by implementing responsive design.

Responsive design makes viewing your website on any mobile device or screen size simple and beautiful. This means the design displays differently depending on the screen size it is being viewed on, instead of just shrinking. Here are some great samples of responsive design to visually understand how this works.

2. Design looses its freshness over time so what’s the point of custom design?

The problem is really design fads and phases. A design concept catches on and what was once fresh is now stale. What comes to mind are post-its, page peels, wood grain and coffee rings, for example.

The best way to avoid becoming a casualty of any given trend, is to either redesign as trends evolve in order to stay ahead of what’s hot – or – keep your design simplistic and focus on functionality and user experience instead.

3. Content can’t be static anymore, so how do I manage that if I don’t know how to code?

Static content refers to content that is not meant to change frequently, and changing it usually means calling your Web developer. This used to work just fine, but social media has changed the way we want our web content. Everything is NOW and social media gives you the ability to quickly spread the word about a promotion or event, but you need somewhere to point your fans and followers for all the details and that should be your branded website.

The good news is that you don’t have to know code anymore to be able to do this. Most websites these days are built on a CMS (Content Management System) which means all you have to do is login to an admin area to add/edit/remove pages and content. Sweet huh?! The time frame from when you think of the idea to making it public is virtually minutes.

4. I don’t understand hosting. The whole process is overwhelming.

Hosting companies speak a language that is totally foreign to most people… and that can be scary. I would presume that most Web design companies would assist in this process if not completely handle it for the client, as we do. As a word to the wise, it’s always best to choose a hosting company that is largely supported and available 24/7 for customer support.

5. My budget restricts my ability to have a good website, but a sucky website is better than nothing.

Budgets can be a b*#@&, but a sucky website is an even bigger problem. It can frustrate customers and destroy your brand perception.

If there is absolutely no budget, I would invest in a professional logo to put everywhere and work your Facebook page, hard. Then make sure your business is on Google Maps and add your Facebook URL to your company profile so customers have a better chance of finding the right information.

If there is a small budget, you can hire a designer to customize a WordPress theme. Here at Liquis we have developed a variety of WordPress themes ready for branding and content. These layouts are not available to the public, only clients, so the chances of someone ever seeing a website with the same theme as yours is slim to none.

Of course both of these solutions are only a quick fix. If you want to your business to grow, your brand has to grow first. Only you know when the right time is to make that investment, but don’t discount what professional design and customized Web development can do for your customer’s experience with your brand.

Don’t beat yourself up. Unknowingly you have already developed a brand for your company, now it’s just a matter of understanding it and making intentional changes if needed.

So what IS your brand?

It’s that feeling your company evokes in your customers. It’s everything all rolled into that one perception. Everything your clients have heard, seen or experienced about your company.

What it’s NOT is your services. It’s beyond concrete information about your company or employees, but rather, what does the entire experience mean to your customer’s perception of your company?

It’s easy to overwhelm your audience which really puts that perception at risk. That’s why it’s so important to be focused and most importantly, consistent.

How do you hone in your brand?

Ask questions. Ask your audience, and ask yourself. Compare the answers and improve areas that muffle your desired perception. Here are some sample questions from our own Discovery Worksheet that can help you understand the key drivers of your brand and what your perceptions should be tailored to:

1. Who is the audience (i.e. occupation, gender ratio, average age, nationality/location, lifestyle preferences, etc.)?
2. Who are your competitors?
3. How do you want to set yourself apart?
4. What are some words that describe the current overall perception of your brand?
5. In what ways does this differ from the desired overall perception of your brand?
6. What are some words that describe what you don’t want your brand perception to be?
7. What is the main message you want to portray?
8. How do my current logo, website, marketing materials, storefront and business practices affect that message?
9. What is the common thread that all of your business practices are based on (i.e. following through, doing the right thing, customer happiness, over servicing)?

Is any of this even important?

It is if you want people to pay attention to you. A good brand gets attention because there is a concise factor of interest that pulls your audience in and guides them to understanding. What is that factor of interest? It’s the foundation of what makes your company an individual.

Noodle on that for a while.

If you’re starting a new business or re-branding, you might want to consider these color concepts. To start off, here’s a theory about Green:

Green is a member of the “Cool Colors” which also include blue and purple. It’s no shocker that green is a “down-to-earth” color that is often reflective of nature. But dig deeper, and green can evoke feelings of harmony and balance. It has the same calming effect of blue, but gains the energy of yellow.

It’s quite a positive color, but change the hue or saturation and you can be tinkering with emotions. For example, brighter greens are more energizing, olive greens are more holistic and dark greens represent affluence.

Another consideration with considering color meanings for design, it is completely subjective based on your audience culture. For example, green can alternatively represent envy or jealousy.

Even so, it’s safe to say that green is an excellent color for designs relating to wealth, renewal and nature.

Examples:

Web:

Identity: 

]]> http://www.liquisdesign.com/a-theory-about-green-in-honor-of-st-patty/feed 0 http://www.liquisdesign.com/basic-wordpress-admin-cheat-sheet http://www.liquisdesign.com/basic-wordpress-admin-cheat-sheet#comments Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:22:31 +0000 Andy Ptacek, Marketing Director http://www.liquisdesign.com/?p=2171 Read More »]]> The back end of every WordPress website is a little different depending on customizations and when you last updated. However, there are a few evergreen items outlined below that can help you manage your WordPress website…

Content Editor

Copy (verbiage): You may type verbiage right into the editor or copy and paste from another source. When pasting verbiage, ALWAYS use the clipboard button with the T to copy in as plain text. This will eliminate any formatting issues on your website, although you will have to bold, italicize, hyperlink and possibly add spaces between paragraphs once pasted in. Once your copy is in place, you can further format using the buttons above the content box. If your bottom row of buttons mysteriously disappears, click on the button that looks like a little keyboard (it’s called the “Kitchen Sink” button) and your bottom row of buttons will appear again.

Photos: This may differ depending on where you want to add the photo and the configuration of your website, but generally, to add a photo in the content area of your website. Simply put your curser in the area of the content box that you want your picture to reside, click on the picture frame button next to “Upload/Insert” above the content editor and follow the directions to upload an image. You may also want to rename your image when prompted with a search term relevant to the image and your page content. Keep in mind that your image will have to be resized if it is too large to display on the Web. You can use Photoshop, Paint or free online tools to do this.

Videos: To embed a video into your blog, the best way to do this for optimization reasons is to first upload the video to your YouTube channel and then copy the embed code. In the top right hand corner of the content editor you will see two tabs, “Visual” and “HTML.” Click on “HTML” and paste the code in the appropriate spot. You can click over to “Visual” to see where the box will appear. Then click on “Preview” on the right column of the page to see how it will look live. If you need to adjust the height and width, you can do this in the embed code in the “HTML” view.

Documents: Should you want to upload documents, such as a PDF, for users to open on your website, simply put your curser where you want the document link to appear and click the button next to “Upload/Insert” that looks like a starburst to “Add Media” and follow the instructions. Your document will generally appear as a link with the same title as the document so you may need to re-name your document to whatever you want your link to say before uploading.

All in One SEO Pack

At the bottom of the webpage for Pages or Posts you will see a container with the title, “All in One SEO Pack.” This is where you can create your page titles, descriptions and key phrases using words you think your audience would use to find the information on that page. The title and description is what search engines will display in relevant searches.

Pages VS Posts

Pages are the areas such as About Us, Contact Us, etc. on your site. Posts are generally blogs or other areas of special/featured content.

Additional functions

For information on additional functions feel free to contact us to schedule a private training session or inquire about our semi-regular WordPress Workshops.

Perhaps copywriting tips, photography do’s and don’ts, how to choose color palettes, etc.

We look forward to sharing your expertise!