Posted on

What’s in a Logo

ideasDeveloped Logo
ideasDeveloped Logo

Visually, how can you tell a coke from a pepsi or mcdonalds from burger king? Those golden arches, the logo on the computer, the phone or tablet you're using right now; your logo matters! If you don't do anything else, I encourage you to invest in a logo that you are proud to use when representing your products or service.

My voice is never to judge or point out what's good or what's bad. My goal is you and helping you understand your web presences is more than a website. Many of the people I work with don't care about their logo and I want to do everything I can to change that frame of mind. You work hard to create those products and services...why wouldn't you want a logo to represent the amazing things you create?

Logos cover many categories but here are just a few:

Recognition: Help loyal customers find you in a crowd of others. How do you become one of the leaders in your industry if no one can identify you?

Legitimacy: Again, if I handed you a red can and said it's coke; would you believe me or maybe this one, would you put your money in a bank with no logo?

Ownership: This is yours and you both claim it and stand behind it with pride and if you don't, why would a customer!

Quality: How many items without a recognizable logo do you see as quality products or services? Your favorite things, shoes, clothes, groicery items; think about the logo associated with that item and would you trust the same item if it didn't have a logo.

Again, these are just a few simple reasons to get you started thinking about the logo you want to represent your hard work. Don't settle for something someone created in MS Word or Paint, invest in a logo you want to represent you. There are many free services on the market that let you use some clip art and a pool of fonts, I hope you will want more for your buisness but again, I encourage you to start somewhere.

CJ Price Construction Logo
null
Posted on

Pretty Pictures Rock!

Ok, now that you're here, let's change pretty pictures to great photography. Everywhere I look, there's someone boasting of being a photographer then pull out a cell phone or have a Canon but  know idea if it's a Rebel or a 7D. Camera lens matters and what's a full framed camera or when to use it! Time for a Test...don't worry, it's kinda fun!

Which Images Would You Choose?

cake       Beautiful work by Pinkcake         cake       Beatiful work by Style Me Pretty

With all the wonderful advancements in cellphones and digital cameras, people sometimes forget that photography is still an art form and well worth investing in.
 
Great lighting, proper white balance, beautiful composition and appropriate depth of field are all key factors in great Product Photography.
 
Look at the images on the left compared to the images on the right; okay, maybe you can't tell why the images on the right look better but you can see the handy work of a capable photographer.
 
I'm certain the artisan, on the left makes amazing cakes but it's so much easier to convince people your products are amazing if you  take pride in presenting your work. The eye will linger just a little longer on a beautiful image than on a image of poor quality.
 
Images that are pixelated, contrasty and filled with unintentional shadows are unpleasant to look at and they are representing your hard work! When I look at the images on the right  I think to myself, if they don't care why should I...you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. Beautiful photography is worth the investment because beautiful photographs tell potential clients you take great pride in the services and products you offer.
 
 
A beautiful presentation is your first impression and your great products and services deserves a beautiful presentation.

 

null
null
null
Posted on

Overwhelmed? Start Here!

I need a website, now what?

There's a long and short answer to this question depending on your needs. Because I specialize in assisting small business owners with websites to showcase delicious foods, products and services, I'll focus on their needs and provide a little more information to some frequently asked questions:

Why do you need a website?

This may seem like a dumb questions...but can you answer it? A website will serve you better if it has a specific purpose. Do you want people to order products online, call you, visit your shop, etc! Give your website a purpose so it can better serve you.

Think about the service(s) or product(s) you offer, why do they need a website? Let’s say your business provides a service such has delivering meals to individuals with certain disabilities such as auditory, speech or cognitive; what purpose will your website service? Do you want clients to order online, see menu choices, contact you and if yes, is the site accessible? Or maybe your business is lawn-maintenance; do you want people to schedule maintenance online, see your amazing work, or call you? A website will better serve if it has a purpose(s).

Brand:

Although logo, colors, style guides and a slogan are an important part of your Brand, there’s a little more (a lot more) to it. Your brand is a promise, a commitment to current and future customers. It builds credibility, differentiate you from your competitors, build loyalty and clearly expresses who you are to customers. This can be overwhelming and time consuming but fortunately, there are some great organizations to help with the challenge of building a brand and marketing strategies. This is worth the time and effort, just look at your competitors and ask, what is their brand and why should a customer choose me over my competitor? Again, this is a very brief summary and I encourage you to learn more about Brand and why it's so important to your business.

What is your brand? Do you have a style guide in place or will these items be created for the first time while building a website? Take just a moment to think about some of these items if you haven't already and discuss them prior to building a website.

Logo:

You WILL need a logo, non-negotiable...! Do Not...do not build a website without a logo! Your logo and tagline are needed to help customers separate you from competitors. If you have a logo, please provide a png file, minimum size of 400px. If you don’t have a logo, now is a great time to build one. Logo(s) are a separate product from your website and an additional charge. A great logo can easily transfer to grey-scale or black and white, it can shrink down to small sizes and still be readable and helps customers immediately identify your website. For more information on logos and why they matter:

Content:

Content is the writing, the descriptions, summaries, photography, icons and any information needed to build the website. Many business owners do not have content readily available when looking to build a website.  To save time and money, have all copy typed, spell checked and organized by page and section, for example:

Homepage/hours of operation:

  • Monday 9am to 11 pm
  • Tuesday Closed
  • Wednesday 7am to 10 pm

All copy should be typed, labeled and ready to add to the site. If you don't have content, create a plan of action or be prepared to pay more for content creation. If you do have content, gather, organize, digitize and if possible, optimize photographs. If you as a business owner, don't care what's on your site, why should potential customers?

Photographs:

What do those photographs look like, what's the quality and are those photos worthy of representing your work, products or services? Before answering yes, read more about photographs

Hosting:

I'm always caught off guard by comments from angry customers because they received an annual bill for hosting and domain name; so this section will give you a clear understanding of what to expect once the site is live.

Domain:

If you want a dedicated name such as www.yourname.com, a not, www.someoneelsename.yourname.com, a domain name must be registered. Domain is not the website, it is a completely separate service from web hosting.

I'm going to keep things simple and compare domain vs hosting to land vs house. Think of the domain as the land;  that land has an address, 123 Property St, Atlanta, GA 30000. The domain name is the land and the address is: www.yourdomain.com and just like land is not a house, a domain is not a website, these are 2 separate services and expenses.

You pay builders to build a house on the land/property, the same principle applies to the domain. Once the domain is registered, now the builders (web designer or developer) can build a website on that domain.

Will people order online?

If yes, you need a site with eCommerce: https://www.business.gov.au/news/thinking-of-setting-up-an-ecommerce-business

Although eCommernce isn’t my specialty, hopefully this blog will get you started to find a web solution just right for the way you do business.

https://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/ecommerce-solutions/

Already have a site?

You probably have a pretty good idea of what's working or not working. It's one thing to have a website and another to have a web presence that's working for your business. Don't just look at design, look at the information on your site. Does it represent your business, is it fast and responsive, what are customers saying about the site, have they voiced frustrations? Can customers quickly find what they’re looking for and how do you know? The next step is to evaluate the site, look at the analytics and user data to determine what changes (if any) are needed.

Last but not least, where is the website? No really…..where's the site hosted?You should know the name of the domain and hosting service providers and have access (username and password) to your account. Is there a back-up copy of the website? If not, contact the company or individual initially hired to build the site for this information. If you’re having trouble getting this information, please allow time for me to investigate further.