1. Do they have a portfolio?

Make sure they have some experience under their belts and unless you want to be a designer’s test subject, make sure they have some experience behind them.

2. Can they cater to any type of business?

Look through the portfolio for variety. Do their client’s websites all look similar in format and structure? Make sure you are paying for a custom web design service, not a cheap template.

3. How is their response time?

This is vital to the success of your website. Take note of their choice of response (e-mail, phone, fax, instant messenger, chat) and how quickly they can respond to your inquiries. If you prefer to do business over the phone and the designer doesn’t, then it’s probably best to move on to your next choice.

4. Do they have a contract?

If it’s not written – it’s not true. Everything should always be put down in writing. Before you sign anything, make sure you read the entire contract, including all the fine print. If you have any questions on anything: ASK! Don’t sign a contract unless you understand everything in it. If the company’s representative makes you feel awkward or uncomfortable with your “bothersome” questions, then end discussions and find another designer.

5. How reasonable are their prices?

Make sure you get what you pay for and if you are on a budget, that the designer you choose won’t exceed it. But it is also important to insure you put plan for extras and have a plan to continually invest into the website’s construction. Your website is going to the link between you and your customers, so make sure it is the best it can be. Nowadays, you can find websites for $500, or “package deals” that will “save” you money. You’ll soon find that these kinds of deals are like going to McDonald’s when you should be going to the grocery’s healthy foods section.

If you can’t afford for everything you feel your website should have then settle for a smaller website and create it in stages. Don’t settle for a cheaper designer. You get what you pay for.

6. Can they help you market your website?

Online marketing is key to your website’s success It is best to find a designer that knows how to promote the sites they work on whether it be through search engine optimization, pay-per-click marketing, viral marketing or another method. Ask your design firm what they feel is best for your company. You should feel comfortable in their explanation and reasoning, otherwise ask some other firms what they’d recommend.

7. Are their clients satisfied?

Can you find client testimonials on the site? Don’t hesitate to contact their clients to ask for opinions and get their feedback on how their service with that company went. It’s your money after all. It’s better to spend 15 minutes on the phone than months of hassle and pain with the wrong developer.

8. Are they able to meet all your needs?

Do you want an e-commerce store, Flash elements or a custom web application? Can they do everything you want? The last thing you want is different companies meddling with your website’s design. Choose a firm that has the full corporate solution for your needs – whether it’s Flash intros or database-driven websites.

9. Can they deliver on time?

Are they willing to meet reasonable deadlines? If you need your site done by a certain date, can the designer you choose get it done by then? Be sure to ask about delivery times when you’re on Step #7.

10. Do they take a personal and friendly approach?

Is the designer willing to help and suggest his/her own ideas, or do they robotically go along hoping they got everything you want? It’s always best to find a designer that has some ideas of their own, with fresh ideas and that knows their limits and won’t insist something be done a certain way if that’s not what you want.

Although this article can seem like a no-brainer to some, many companies will often run into difficulties and conflicts within their design process. These are simple yet often overlooked steps, and can be the difference between a rough or smooth design process. Keep this list in mind when looking for a web designer and you should find the right one to create your website!

The post Choosing A Web Design Company appeared first on Xemion Website Design.

The salaries for top web designers, developers, and internet technologists only continue to grow as businesses and organizations demand better looking, more functional, higher performing, and ultimately, more profitable websites and web applications.

Here at Xemion, we’ve collected salary information in the area of web design from the United States, the United Kingdom, and India, and broken it down to provide useful salary comparisons across industry, specialty, and location. We have salary information for web designers, web development, and network administration and information technology. We present that information by employer type ranging from non-profit organizations, universities, hospitals, private practices, franchises, and many more.

See our final report below to find out where your web technology salary stacks up and where you should be looking to earn more money.

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If you’re looking for a professional ecommerce web design firm, Xemion is your trusted source. We have over 1,000 US-based design firms in our directory, many specailizing in ecommerce development and design.

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Why can’t developers just speak English? – A guide to intra-nerd communication.

Communication is the single most difficult aspect of any development process. It can literally cost millions of dollars. Most of the people who can’t write a ‘hello world’ statement that have to tell me what to program think the problem is that they need to understand more about my job. They hear a couple of us developers get into a room and swap intimidating acronyms and phrases like ‘refactor query methods’ and ‘extrapolate abstraction layers’ and think that what they need to do is understand this gibberish. I don’t know if I could truly relate to the reader how terrible this notion is. Please, if you don’t understand what your programmers mean when they talk about ‘instantiation’ and ‘parsing’, don’t try to understand now. Remember, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. You want to back as far away from that as possible, or you might as well just pour kerosene into your wallet and light a match. We simply want to know what you want to do, and what you want to happen when you do it.

What did you do, and what did you expect to happen.

The phrase “what did you do, what did you expect to happen” was a product of a meeting between several of my co-workers and I as we were trying to determine a way to phrase the instructions of a bug report for a web application that would minimize such infamous bug fix requests as “site broken”, “doesn’t work”, and “numbers wrong.” None of which are even requests.

Of course, the biggest catch is asking a user to ‘repeat’ what they did. They get asked that a lot, and the responses may sound reasonable to all of the non-initiated, but to us geeks getting that information is exasperating to the extent of promoting suicidal thoughts at best. Computers don’t think like us. They take everything so absolutely literal it can boggle the mind of the technologically naïve. Computers don’t make sense to most people. Even those trained to communicate with computers will frequently lose control and shout at their monitors. The most staunchly religious conservatives I’ve seen who work as web developers will stand up and shout shocking threats at inanimate objects that make me feel nervous, and I have an awful reputation of running my mouth like a sailor in front of the most sensitive folks.

So there was some understandable skepticism that these instructions would promote a user to give us the information we needed. But when people came to us with troubleshooting requests and we asked them to do what they did again and tell us what they thought would happen were unlike anything I had seen before. I could actually, for the first time, understand a client. For the first time I knew what someone really wanted. I felt like I had struck gold, found Avalon, and then rode a unicorn.

It’s not a question, it’s a new philosophy.

So it came to pass that I was in a meeting with four other individuals asking me to do something that seemed to make sense to all of them, but when I asked for some clarification they all looked at each other with some silent question which, from the looks on their faces, I could only assume was “how do we stop this alien monster from sucking all intelligence from our brains?” The answer, of course, is to tell the antisocial alien with the creepy beard and magnifying lens glasses exactly what you want to do and what you want to happen when you do it. I finally understood, this wasn’t just a question that was helpful to getting a user to tell me what they did to break a web application that successfully passed all of my unit tests, it was a concept that I had to practice allowing to pervade all of my thoughts as I communicated with non-developers in order to understand, and make myself understood. The question itself may not be much, but keeping that vision in mind has changed my experiences with evaluating requirements with people who still refer to the internet as “the email.” What’s more, as I evolved in my communications with clients, so did they. They came to understand what I expected to hear from them.

This new philosophy in understanding what a client wants transcended the concepts that I had previously held regarding web development. The client hates the development process. They don’t want the development process to be easier; they want to buy the product like they buy a stapler from an office supply store. What’s more, we already know what clients want to do, and what they expect to happen when they do it. And yet so few people are able to deliver a single product that delivers on this expectation to their clients.

Where this change in thinking has taken us.

Lexy Sites can handle all of the needs of 90% of the clients I’ve developed a website for, but every blue moon a client needs something very specific, and if they want to get it as cheaply, quickly, and accurately as possible I hope this advice helps. First, focus completely on the user interface. This is the furthest you can get from 1’s and 0’s that your developer is going to actually understand, and the closest you can get to writing computer code that you will understand as well. Second, be as clear as possible as to what you expect to happen for all use cases with the user interface. Clients are particularly bad about assuming their expectations are obvious, and developers are particularly bad about understanding how things in a company work beyond the user interfaces of the software they develop.

Communication always takes time and effort. There’s no way around that, and it is particularly difficult to communicate to a developer if you don’t know how to write computer code. Just remember that the furthest away from the computer’s logic that your developer is likely to understand your business is the user interface, and so the battleground in the war of developer-client communication should focus almost entirely on the expectations of the user interface.

The post Intranerd Communications – Maintain a clear line of communication between clients and developers appeared first on Xemion Website Design.

1. What types of services does your website design firm offer?

John: We offer complete web design and development solutions. From simple static websites to elaborate custom developed database dynamic sites. We offer complete 100% custom designs and never use any templates, making sure that our clients get a unique look for their business.

2. What are three things a person needs to consider when hiring a website design company?

John: Make sure to look at the design firms portfolio. This speaks volumes of the type of work they create for their clients.

3. What are your thoughts on choosing a template-based website versus a custom website?

John: We do not recommend templated websites. Templates float around all over the internet and if you are serious about your business then you should stay away from templates. You cannot get a unique look with a template and there could be some other company using the exact design you have. By doing this you are not showing your potential clients that your business is serious about what it does.

4. I’ve decided to use your design firm to build my website, what happens next?

John: After choosing your web design firm we like to discuss with the client the layout, colors and schematics of the design. This helps get a better understanding of what exactly your business design needs are. We can then submit mock up designs to the client and make any necessary revisions from there.

5. How has web design changed in the last five years?

John: We believe that the designs are getting better from the professionals that know what they are doing. The monitors are getting bigger and the criteria for designing websites are becoming more unique. Table-less designing is the way to go and CSS has helped achieve things that were never possible back in the day.

6. What is search engine optimization and why should clients care about it?

John: SEO is very important from the beginning of your project. If your website is not designed and coded properly you can hurt yourself with SEO in the long run. SEO can help you target traffic that your website desperately needs. In order to survive in your target market you need a SEO plan that not only covers keywords and competition but also social media marketing and link building as well.

7. What is a content management system and why is it needed?

John: CMS is a way for clients to easily manage and maintain there website without the knowledge of html or php programming. This has become a huge hit with our clients as its easier for them or a team member to login to there website and upload images, text, videos and even create news blogs and extra pages. Content Management Systems are the way to go if your business website is ever changing and content must be updated periodically.

The post Web Coast Concepts – Affordable Quality appeared first on Xemion Website Design.

1. What types of services does your website design firm offer?

Jeff: SoCal WebWorx offers a full range of website design and development services and in-house search engine optimization.

Our services include:

• Custom website design from simple landing pages to content management systems & ecommerce websites.
• Expertise in multiple platforms including: Drupal, joomla, ZenCart, WordPress, HTML/CSS as well as jQuery and Flash animations.
• Template customization and branding, e-commerce websites and add-on shopping carts.
• On-Site and Off-Site Search Engine Optimization, hosting and on-going maintenance plans.
• Additional creative support services include: marketing copywriting, photography and logo design.

2. What work needs to be done BEFORE hiring a web design firm?

Jeff: Before actually signing a contract and hiring a specific web design firm you are well advised to do some homework.

Most importantly, you should make decisions regarding the functionality and features you desire.  Are there specific dynamic requirements that the site must have?  For example, secure on-line shopping e-commerce, on-line testing, blog or forum, etc. It’s helpful to research related sites. Find examples of your likes and dislikes. This will help you make decisions regarding your website needs and will assist in defining a realistic budget. It will enable web design firms to give you accurate quotes and proposals and for the chosen firm to move your site development in the right direction from the start.

In addition, you should give serious consideration to the Search Engine Optimization and marketing expertise of the company you choose. Many aspects of on-site SEO are more economical and efficient to do in tandem with your website design and development. When handled in synch decisions regarding site content and formatting will result in a site that is visually enticing to people as well as search engine friendly for maximum organic search engine traffic.

Lastly, if your website is going to be a marketing vehicle for your company or organization hire a firm that understands marketing communications to maximize your brand identity, develop a benefits-oriented website and create a positive experience for visitors.

3. What factors determine the price of a custom website?

Jeff: At SoCal WebWorx we like to gather significant information on a prospective website before providing a final price.  Ideally we can speak with the client on the phone, via Skype or in-person to gather sufficient information on the site requirements and functionality. This also gives the client a chance to ask questions about specific features and their pricing.

Following our conversation(s) we will draft a preliminary sales agreement with pricing determined by the following client determined factors:

• The platform the site will be built with. For example, is it static or will it utilize a content management system; does it require easy client access for frequent revisions and additions; etc.
• Design time estimated for project. Based on client expectations and provided reference websites.
• Number of pages to be designed.
• Animation desired if appropriate.  Simple or complex, Flash animation, animated giff files or jQuery?
• Form processing requirements. Standard e-mail information gathering forms for simple user contact or extensive form development?
• Search Engine Optimization services desired.
• Schedule – standard or rush?

4. What is the process like for designing a website and what can a client do to make it go smoother?

Jeff: At SoCal WebWorx we approach the website development process as a collaborative process with our clients. It is especially important to have an initial discussion with the client of their preferences and expectations.

Our process follows these steps, although the sequence is not cast in stone.

• Client provides input and assets. Assets include logo, photos and graphic files as well as verbiage. The page count and site scope are reviewed from the sales agreement and finalized. An in-person brain-storming meeting with the client is often a good way to kick-off the project. Having clients provide the needed assets in a timely manner is extremely helpful to the process.
• If we are incorporating search engine optimization services we request the client provides a list of keywords and a short company description of services. Knowing what terms and phrases are important for the client site to rank high is crucial to the effort.
• Following brain-storming we develop mock-ups of the site home page and sample sub pages for client review and feedback.
• Mock-ups are revised and refined for a second client review / revision cycle.
• At this point the design is firmed up and decisions are finalized regarding common website features including the banner and navigation.
• Once the common graphic elements are finalized our site programmers begin converting the graphic files to web pages.
• Individual sub-pages are propagated as content is provided by the client.
• The site is posted to a test location for client review, testing and debugging. We test the site on both Mac and PC platforms using all of the major browser platforms.
• Upon final client approval the website is switched to the appropriate hosting location and is posted to the Internet.

5. Are clients asking more questions about social media and seo? What should they know?

Jeff: Yes, we have definitely seen a steady increase in concern for social media and search engine optimization over the past several years. As marketing preferences continue to shift away from printing and print-based advertising the competition for traffic on the Internet continues to grow.

Clients need to understand that organic seo (as opposed to paid Internet advertising) is an ongoing process. Simply adding a blog to a new site will not in and of itself help your rankings and traffic unless you are posting original content on a frequent basis.

The same hold true with putting up a Facebook fan page or Twitter account.

Other seo efforts also need to be ongoing for maximum effectiveness. This includes building ‘back links’ to your website, contributing to blogs and forums and getting listed in all important directories.

Even as your site reaches top positions for specific keyword terms you should continue expanding your seo efforts to reinforce your rankings and stay a step ahead of your competition.

6. What can clients do to make sure their website is found by search engines like Google?

Jeff: Having Google “find” your site is actually a very simple process of submitting your URL to Google upon completion after posting live to the Internet. At SoCal WebWorx we submit all completed sites to Google, Yahoo, and MSN.  If we are providing SEO services we also install Google Analytics so that Google search traffic to your site can be recorded and easily monitored. We have been asked to work on many websites that were never properly submitted to major search engines and even more sites that lack Google Analytics or any other traffic reporting.

Of course, just getting “found” by search engines is only the beginning of the seo process. With proper seo assistance your site will steadily move up in its Google page ranking and appear closer to the top for specific keyword terms potential visitors use in searching for your services.  For many businesses and organizations the Internet competition is fierce. Just being “found” buy Google is insufficient for viability. Ranking in the top five websites for specific keyword terms is what most website owners are asking of us, and that usually requires an ongoing seo campaign.

7. What type of ongoing maintenance is required with a website? How does your firm help with this?

Jeff: Despite the claims of some web design firms, the only maintenance required of your website is to pay your hosting and domain name registration bills on time. You can often save money by registering your URL for an extended time period up to ten years. The same holds true of hosting services.

At SoCal WebWorx we do provide on-going seo programs if desired, but this is certainly not required and can be easily customized to fit your monthly budget.

We also provide ongoing maintenance if desired by clients seeking to have us make frequent changes and update to their sites, such as monthly specials, newsletter posting, etc. Again, there is not a requirement for such fees if the services are not needed or you the client has the know-how to make edits by themselves or on a site developed for them to easily make changes from their side.

8. How often should you update your website design?

Jeff: Just as with brochures, catalogs and other traditional print-based marketing materials, your website will most likely eventually need some updating and revisions.

From time to time most websites need to be refreshed as information and images on your site become outdated. At some point you may even consider a total re-work of your website to reflect a timely image.  You may also have features you want to add to your website which require major rework.  It may turn out to be less expensive to simply start again than adding patches on an old website. Your website may be built for older browsers and some functionality may not be working properly on new hand-held Internet browsing devices.

The right time to rework your website is an individual business or organizational decision. Some companies redo their websites every year to reflect changes in products and services. Many companies rework their sites within three years of going live and within five years most companies are re-visiting their website designs. Many large companies have in-house web designers and developers for making on-going site changes. Of course most smaller companies cannot afford such a staff and will turn to a professional web design firm for assistance.

We live in a time of rapid social and technological change that demands a concerted effort to “keep up with the times”. Sometimes a “Marketing Makeover” is all it takes to revitalize sales, reach new customers and increase profitability.

The post SoCal WebWorx – Website Design and Marketing in SoCal appeared first on Xemion Website Design.

1. What types of services does your website design firm offer?

Susanne: We break our services down into three main categories: Advertising, Web Development, and Internet Marketing.

Our Advertising services range from naming and tagline development to planning, creating, and implementing full-scale, multi-channel campaigns. They also include copywriting, media & press relations, and competitive analysis.

Our Web Development services include web design, ecommerce solutions, mobile website design, content management, hosting, and application development.

Our Internet Marketing department provides search engine optimization, paid placement, social media, analytics, and conversion optimization.

2. As a potential client, how can you tell if a web designer understands your needs?

Susanne: A good sign that a web designer understands your needs is that they let you speak. The initial meetings should not be about the designer’s accomplishments but rather about what the client wants to accomplish. A web designer gains understanding by asking key questions like:

• Who is the target audience?
• What is the brand requirements?
• What is your service or product?
• What is your competitive advantage?
• What are your long term goals? What do you want your website to do?

A potential client needs to thoroughly address these questions to eliminate any misunderstandings. The next point in which a client can be assured their designer has a full understanding is when the initial comps are presented.

3. What factors determine the price of a custom website?

Susanne: Website design is not one-size fits all. Factors that influence the price include:

• Overall size of your website – larger sites will cost more.
• Complexity of the design – more complex designs require additional editing time.
• Features and functionality – do you need a content management system? Custom forms? A shopping cart?
• Custom graphics and photography – do you require stock or custom photography? Do you require animations or flash.
• Internet marketing – do you require search engine optimization or marketing services?

Some requirements cannot be predicted. If there are certain items needed, that are not part of a normal, quoted web site design process (e.g. custom applications or database backups/dumps), your should inform your web firm of these so they can be properly quoted.

4. What is the process like for designing a website and what can a client do to make it go smoother?

Susanne: Our unique 6D project methodology ensures projects are on-time and remains within the defined budget. Our process is:

• Discover: Learn about your business, customers and competitors.
• Define:  Outline the marketing strategy, features and functionality for your website.
• Design:  Put the mouse to pad to create a masterful design for the website.
• Develop:  Build the website based on the site architecture and web design.
• Debug: Final testing to ensures its ready to be viewed by the general public.
• Deploy: Launch the website and begin the internet marketing campaign.

A client can make the process smoother by adhering to the delivery schedule. They can also make it easier by thoroughly understanding and answering the discovery questions listed above. It is also extremely important that one person be assigned by the client as the primary contact to the designer. It also helps when the client has a vision of what the final product will look like.

5. How has web design changed in the last five years?

Susanne: Five years ago, web design was focused exclusively on the medium in which the website was viewed. Back then, that meant the computer screen. Now we must design for mobile devices, tv screens, large projections, and the visually impaired.

Another big change is the rise of social media. Web visitors expect to be able to interact with your website and connect to your organization through various other channels like Facebook and Twitter.

Websites are also doing more. A brochure-style website doesn’t cut it anymore. Five years ago websites were informational driven – here’s our services, here’s our team, here’s how to reach us. Today websites more visually impactful , visitor-centric, and interactive.

6. How do you approach search engine marketing like seo and ppc with your clients?

Susanne: We take an extremely wide-view when it comes to internet marketing. To us, SEO and PPC do not exist inside a bubble. It is extremely short-sighted to solely pursue a high rank or increased traffic if your site doesn’t provide a great user experience.

It doesn’t matter how much traffic comes across your site if that traffic doesn’t convert into a lead or a sale. At Alter Imaging, we practice CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) alongside SEO and PPC. CRO entails testing multiple version of a web page to see which version is most likely to complete a sale. To accomplish this we run A/B and multi-variate tests utilizing Google’s Website Optimizer.

For PPC, we strongly believe in customized landing pages for each ad instead of sending the traffic to the front page. Landing pages allow for a better match between the searcher’s query, the ad displayed, and the offer presented on the page the ad links to. Utilizing landing pages also increases your ad’s quality score and can drive down the cost per click and cost per conversion.

7. What is a content management system and why is it needed?

Susanne: Content management systems allow the client to make changes to their website in real-time easily and without requiring technical expertise. Typically sites with built-in content management systems cost more up front to develop and deploy. In the long run, this saves the client billable hours.

The post Alter Imaging – Ranked a Top 25 Web Design Company appeared first on Xemion Website Design.

This post is written by guest author Rachel Modiano.

Rachel is the Director of Marketing for iGoDigital, the leading provider of personalization and product recommendation tools that guide smarter retail. The company currently serves many of the world’s most successful and respected retail brands, including Best Buy, Walmart, Nokia, Lids and Scholastic. iGoDigital is headquartered in Indianapolis, IN and was named to the 2008 “Inc 500” list of the fastest growing private companies.

As I scroll through the pages of my favorite industry pubs, it is hard to avoid the topic of mobile shopping. It’s everywhere! It’s going to be a race to the finish line for the top 500 retailer to see who wins the mobile shopping race.

You might ask why is mobile so important now?

Mobile is changing the way consumers shop. According to a recent Internet Retailer survey completed by Oracle and ATG, 29% of U.S. online consumers have made a purchase of digital or physical merchandise using their mobile devices. 40% of online consumers ages 18-34 have made a mobile purchase. That figure is 27% for ages 35-54 and 17% for age 55 and older. What does a retailer need in order to have a successful mobile site? The site needs to be optimized for mobile – the jury is still out on which platform retail should use to launch their mobile site – weather an App, WAP, or m. site is the best option.

The Mobile Shopper vs. the Mobile Researcher

Putting actual mobile sales aside there is another trend emerging – the mobile researcher. Even more than purchasing on their mobile devices consumers are researching products on the web, the survey finds, showing that mobile sites and apps hold potential for boosting multichannel sales. 48% of U.S. adults have browsed or researched products on their mobile devices. Additionally, at iGoDigital, we’ve seen consumers take their researching to the next level with the ability to transition their search from mobile device to web.

This might sound great in theory but let me show you a practical example as to why this multi-channel continuity is so important. I was recently at a beauty store and forgot the SKU number of the makeup I usually use. I know I had purchased the product on my home computer so; I took out my phone, launched the company’s mobile app and signed into my account – under recent purchases there was the SKU of my makeup, clear as day. The connection to my information “offline” was the key differentiator weather I made a purchase or not.

Exponential Impact – Mobile + Product Recommendations

You could also use this multi-channel connection in the form of product recommendations and ensuring the recommendations are accurate regardless of channel. Let’s revisit my makeup scenario again. I am standing in the beauty store, I’ve logged into my account, I have my makeup sku and I click through to the product page to ensure this is my makeup. Along the right hand side of the product page are product recommendations – “shoppers who bought this may also like…” – I see a smoky eye shadow kit and decide that would be great to purchase and try out this Friday night. So I also purchased the smoky eye shadow kit. I went to the cash register and paid for my foundation and eye shadow.

I am going to pause the story for a second – this personalized recommendation was instrumental in increasing the value of my basket, which in turn positively impacted the retailer’s bottom line.

Here’s how a retailers can dramatically increase their basket value by adding recommendations:

Pre- recommendations basket value: Foundation = $38
Purchase total = $38.

Post recommendation basket value: Foundation ($38) + smoky eye shadow ($24)
Purchase total = $62.
Recommendations $ impact = 61% or a $24 impact.

On a single purchase this might not seem like a like a big deal but, let’s say 100 people per day utilize product recommendations to boost their basket value.

Let’s check out the impact:

100 people x $24 basket value increase = $2400 more rev/day
= $16,800 additional revenue/week
= $873,600 additional revenue/year.

You can see how much on an impact recommendations on any channel can make. (For more information on iGoDigital’s ability to add personalized recommendations to channels check out the channel page on the iGoDigital Website.

Connecting The Dots Across Channels

Now that we understand the impact of mobile product recommendation Let’s get back to our story. Later that night, the beauty retailer sent a batch file of in-store purchase history to their personalization provider – this tied my in-store purchases to my customer profile. Now the next time I am standing in the store forgetting the shade of foundation I wear or that awesome smoky eye kit I purchased I’ll be able to connect the dots using my mobile device.

This small nuance is changing the way retailers utilize their mobile platform as well as the impact of additional tools, like a basket builder or product recommendations can make in a retailer’s bottom line. Additionally, retailers need to change their thinking in regards to “window shoppers” or shoppers “just researching.” You never know when customer might jump across channels and become your next customer.

The post The Mobile Explosion – The Device Changing the Face of Retail appeared first on Xemion Website Design.

1. What makes your web design firm unique?

Eric: We are a client-centered web design and development company and we are trying to differentiate ourselves this way. Everyone says this, but we believe it and live it. As a small boutique company, we take on just a few projects at a time. We look for the right fit and aim for long-term relationships with our clients, mutually beneficial partnerships.

We look at our web projects holistically – how they fit in the business model of the organization and over-all marketing strategy. We explain the importance of website optimization, offer free online business consultations, and spend a lot of time consulting our clients. We have a lot of experience working with NGOs and see all good business as a service.

Another advantage of our firm is that we offer custom web programming. Not all firms will touch complex custom programming. They don’t have this capability. There are some good reasons for not undertaking custom programming, one of them is that most simple content-based sites don’t need it, but for clients that need to develop a one of a kind web application, custom programming is essential. They can’t integrate their front-end with WordPress and call it done.

2. As a potential client, how can you tell if a web designer understands your needs?

Eric: Make sure you are being listened to. If they can’t listen to you in the beginning, you are having a communication problem, and it can only get worse. We always look at the needs of our clients, not at what we could sell them. If they don’t need to redesign their site, we tell them. At the end of the day, it’s all about creating value for our clients, it’s what they need and what they appreciate.

3. If a potential client chooses a website based on the lowest price, what types of features/benefits might they be missing out on?

Eric: Basically you always get what you pay for. You would most likely be missing out on custom design and quality of the overall product. Make certain you are getting custom design, not a template that could be used on many other websites. You want to make sure that the company is going to be there to support you, that they actually have a business model that would keep them in business. Because if they are not making enough money, they wouldn’t necessarily be around when you need help. You want to make sure they are not cutting important corners in terms of security, marketing strategy, etc. You have to ask exactly what’s included and see it in writing.

4. What are the different steps in website development?

Eric: It depends on the scope and complexity of the project. Some of the projects require ten people full time for a year, yet another could be done by one person in a week. Obviously the steps involved are different. It’s like building a house. You can build a very small house or a 10,000 square foot mansion. Larger corporate sites have different process than personal sites, but in general for all websites, you will need to decide on the domain name and reserve it, find capable and reliable web hosting for it, decide on the look and feel for the site, get it designed, convert designs from original image format to HTML. You need to decide if you are going to have a content management system, it’s pretty much a requirement today. You need to choose your content management system and integrate it. You need to do any custom programming in the site front-end, and test the site on different browsers. You need to decide what type of relationship you establish!

5. How has web design changed in the last five years?

Eric: Web design became more utilitarian. It went from being an art form more towards pure usability. Successful web design is now all about creating elegantly simple systems that put design in the background and focus on functionality. It’s become more like designing quality software rather than differentiating yourself with color and graphics.

Clients are starting to perceive SEO as essential. They understand that websites that don’t budget for SEO work or other advertising that would bring them traffic fail.

6. How has social media changed the way you design a website?

Eric: Integration with Facebook is increasingly becoming essential. Clients are starting to ask about integration of Open Graph and Like buttons. If you are not familiar with the term Open Graph, it’s a protocol for embedding basic Facebook commands into a website. It’s now widely used on large media sites. If you go to New York Times site, for example, you’ll see your Facebook profile embedded in their site with your own newsfeed. But what we most commonly integrate are the Like buttons. If you like something, you can click on it and it would get published real-time on your Facebook page. Your friends then can see that you like something and may want to check it out too.

It makes sense for marketers to take advantage of social media, but that said, the most important feature of the website is still the quality of your offering. The product or service you are selling has to be valuable and relevant. You got to have good clean copy so people understand what you offer. You must have user-friendly site design and navigation so users can successfully find what they looking for. And if you have limited budget and have to choose carefully, I think that SEO is still more important than social media. You should be able to be found on search engines in your category for your relevant keywords.

7. What type of ongoing maintenance is required with a website? How does your firm help with this?

Eric: If websites correctly programmed from beginning, they are remarkably stable and need very little maintenance. Of course, over time people’s expectations for what needs to be on a site change. Businesses outgrow their websites, customers requests new features, or the design just starts to look dated. Frequently what we call maintenance is in fact changes to the site. Either changes to functionality clients want to make over time, or new functionality. Most of our support contacts are for serious  online businesses that constantly look for ways to improve their websites to make them more effective; this requires a continuous round of development and testing.

8. How do you see the future of web design for small-screen devices? Will mobile phones adapt to website design or websites would have to adapt the mobile standards?

Eric: We are seeing both. Increasingly web designers are using W3C standards, essentially table-less XHTML/CSS programming, to make sites that would work well through all platforms and browsers. On the other hand, the device makers are making browsers that are capable of correctly resizing and formatting most websites. Most sites at this point work well for browsing information, but not necessarily for purchasing products. Most large ecommerce websites have specifically designed versions for popular mobile devices like iPhone. Those sites will detect the device you’re using and reroute you to the appropriate version of the site.

The post Centauria Design – A Go-To Firm for Complex Custom Websites appeared first on Xemion Website Design.

1. What makes your web design firm unique?

Sagar: Snyxius is unique in its approach and attitude to each project. We are not just “any other” Web Design or Development company. We offer very specific and custom tailored digital business services & solutions that involve – Web Design, Web Development, Mobile Application Development & Internet marketing. We work with start-ups & small to very large corporations across various industries and our solutions to each are very specific to their requirements.

We strongly believe that no two projects are alike; each project and client is unique and we pay special attention to listen and understand all our clients. Our 3 step approach – Listen, Strategize and Deliver helps us hit the mark every single time with all our projects.

2. What advice would you give to someone trying to hire a web design firm?

Sagar: My advice would be to ensure the company has a good track record and understands you and your requirements clearly.  Its very important that you and the company are comfortable with each other to be able to deliver the project successfully.

Speak over phone as much as possible than just communicating over emails & chat. It always helps to be on the same page and be clear about your vision and ideas.

Ask for the project plan and approach upfront.

Ensure there are no hidden fees.

3. What are your thoughts on choosing a template-based website versus a custom website?

Sagar: It is essential that your website truly represents your business and is professionally tailored to attract your target audience and convert your visitors to prospects and customers. A template-based website would not only be very general and common but it will also risk presenting your business as “just another” company. It may give an unprofessional image and may not convert at all for you.

A website that does not convert is of no use. You’d rather not have a website than risk your business with a template-based website.

A good & wise investment in a custom website would definitely give you the maximum return.

4. I’ve decided to use your design firm to build my website, what happens next?

Sagar: The first thing would be for you to get in touch with us and communicate your requirements. You can phone, email, fax or meet us in person. We would need to analyze and understand your requirements in detail. Once we are clear with your ideas and are on the same page, we will put together a proposal for you with the complete scope of work and deliverables along with pricing and other terms.

As we kick off, we would start with the prototyping of the website which may include wireframes, mock-ups and HTML/CSS. This would then be followed by database design, code development, QA/Testing and final deployment.

5. What trends are you currently seeing in the projects you’re being asked to do?

Sagar: We are seeing an increasing number of requests for mobile app development and mobile websites. With the massive increase in the number of smartphone users and with the advent of 3g and 4g technologies, businesses are trying to reach out and cater to a larger population by going mobile. iPhone/iPad and Android are the popular technologies for mobile app development, whereas HTML5 is getting increasingly popular for mobile websites.

We are also often being asked for social media integration and search engine optimization. Snyxius has already helped many organizations reach out to a large base of their target audience through these medium. We have a dedicated team of experts working on organic seo and social media platform.

6. What is search engine optimization and why should clients care about it?

Sagar: Search engine optimization is a process of optimizing and popularizing your website to get noticed by users through search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN. There are a whole lot of online and offline ways of seo which also includes making your website user friendly and seo friendly. Even though you have an awesome website it may just not be enough; if people do not know about your website or do not visit your website, you might be missing out on a lot of prospects and revenue.

Millions of people use search engines everyday to look for a service, product or some information and if you are listed on top for your target niche then you are likely to drive so much good traffic to your website. In the web world, traffic is money.

Through years of effort and research we now have a proven track record of helping many businesses succeed by getting them on the top ranks for their target niche.

7. Do you see more clients concerned about how their websites will look on the iPhone or other mobile devices?

Sagar: Yes. With the increasing mobile population, it is natural for clients to be concerned about how their website would look on a mobile phone. Lot of our clients have specially asked us to make their website compatible with mobile phones. One important thing that they need to know is that mobile phones support a different kind of browser and markup language. To have their website compatible with mobile phones, they should consider doing a mobile website which is custom tailored to a smartphone browser.

Smartphones have smaller screens and are usually touch enabled. Having a custom tailored website for mobiles would give an awesome user experience.

The post Snyxius – Listen, Strategize, and Deliver appeared first on Xemion Website Design.