There are many subjects in life that people can learn the basics of, but becoming a skilled professional or expert in that subject is a whole other ballgame. Take cooking for example. After all almost any person can cook up a grilled cheese sandwich, but not everyone who makes a mean grilled cheese can call themselves professional chefs. The same goes for having a website. While it might seem intimidating if you spend some time online, or maybe with a couple of resource guides, within a few hours you could have a website for your business, but is it a professionally looking website. Does it function well? Is the design intuitive and easy for people to see and use? These are questions that many people might not consider, or really know how to answer when building a website, and a good reason why you might want to hire a website designer.

For background information it might be useful to know that there are millions, if not billions of websites and blog sites online. That is a lot of information floating out there on the Internet. If you have a business and want a website for your business how will you know if people will be able to find your site? More importantly how will you keep people engaged on your website? After all you do not want people to leave right away because of poor design. Using website designer can help people find your website and stay there when they do. A designer can create a site that not only looks good, but is even easy for search engines to find, which means it will be easier for potential clients and customers to find the website as well.

A professional website designer means they have the time and the skills to devote to creating the best website possible. They can design a website that looks great and functions well for their clients. This includes the general layout of the website, the colors and typography used, the placement of images and graphics, even a designing banner or logo for their client. They can consult with the client before starting the design, throughout the designing process and after the website is finished to make sure that the client is satisfied with how everything looks. If there is something the client wants the designer can work on implementing that in the website, and if it is not possible or feasible the designer can offer alternative suggestions.

If you try to design a website on your own then it is up to you to fix something if it is broken. This could mean countless of spent, often unpaid, hours for you as you try searching for answers on how to fix a line of code in JavaScript, php, html, or css. If some of these terms are foreign to you don’t worry, if you hire a website designer they will know these terms, and they’ll know how to fix issues if something in your website design is wrong. Hiring a website designer is a worthwhile investment every business should make and contacting us at Dburns Designs is a great place to start.

When Americans visit Europe, they’re usually surprised by how small everything is: the cars are small, the apartments are small, even the furniture is small. When Americans visit Asia, they usually comment on the strong smells, the close proximity of strangers, and the bright colors and images. Cultural differences are real—and they’re real in design, too. If developers can adapt designs and content to reach and target different groups of people, they may be surprised with the results.

If we can factor in cultural variables in design, we can create sites for a vast amount of users around the globe. Simple things like icons and images make a huge difference—there’s a difference between a user accepting an interface and a user understanding an interface.

First, determine if the culture in question is a high context culture versus a low context culture:
High context cultures tend to:

• Most communication is understood rather than stated
• The “understanding” of a statement rests with the listener
• Have a higher tolerance for ambiguity and understatements

Low context cultures tend to:

• Be more explicit
• Rely on directness and “true” feelings
• Create an external set of rules
• Responsibility of understanding rests with the speaker

Within the high and low context type of cultures, there are four variables that have an important part in design:

1) Collectivism versus individuality: The West tends to have the “individual” at the core. In America, it’s important to differentiate ourselves from one another. However, many Asian and South American countries have a “collective” cultural outlook—they’re very “group” oriented—one person doesn’t stand out more than the next.
2) Ambiguity versus directness: How a message is interpreted has a huge impact with different cultures. In the West, we try to be as clear as possible. However, some cultures value mystery and ambiguity as an effective (and preferred) form of communication.
3) Fast messaging versus slow messaging: Slow messaging cultures tend to be more relaxed and easygoing where a fast messaging culture demands information now. This is important when designers construct interfaces and feedback mechanisms.
4) High power distance versus low power distance: “Power” plays an integral part in cultural variables. High power distance cultures place a higher level of authority with their leaders while low power distance cultures have bosses that are “ranked” closer to their employees. For example, a culture with high power distance might place a market cap on their website while a low power distance culture would not.

How to adapt:

It’s important to design for our culture as well as other cultures—after all, our users need to feel welcome with the cultural variables in our designs. Using the 4 variables above is a subtle way to do this. Localizing language and translating content can make the site useful for non-native speakers.

You can also make the design relevant to the user. For example, different colors mean different things in different cultures. A little research can go a long way.

As designers, we need to try and reach larger audiences. We have to adapt our sites to reach a wide variety of people in different cultures and lifestyles. Implementing these cultural variables into our designs is a great way to start.

The success of a website, a web app, a mobile app, or any other platform relies on one thing: content. The word “content” is an ambiguous term—its definition is “anything that conveys information.” Content isn’t just text. Its graphics, images, illustrations, logos, buttons, audio, video, and icons. When a website is broken down piece by piece, all you’ve got is content. Content isn’t optional—it’s critical.

Programmers and developers don’t create content just for websites anymore. Now we have one huge dynamic mobile and interactive digital platform to work with. Content is the only thing the web has in common anymore. It’s our job as developers to utilize this.

Consider the different channels

Everyone involved in the creation of digital content needs to consider the different channels that will distribute it. The landscape for digital content is constantly changing. Although meeting the needs of your users is important, if you want your website or your app to become a success, you have to try to meet your site’s objectives as well. Whether you need to sell 1,000 plastic knife sets or get 100 names and addresses for a petition, your content must meet your website’s objectives and goals. If you don’t do it creatively and strategically, your content will drown, sink, and get lost in the internet’s vast ocean of information.

Find your creative strategy

Your design goals need to be directly aligned with each of department of your organization. It’s important for web designers to play an active role in the content process—it gives them context. Content strategy can help clarify your goals and provide direction and structure.

Content strategy is a huge part of business and marketing strategy in large organizations. However, in smaller companies, content strategy is a shared task among those involved in the delivery. No matter what, it’s crucial to think strategically and creatively when content is involved.

How to make your content great

If you want your content to be great, you need to do one thing—make it “findable.” If your content isn’t “findable,” your content can’t do its job. Making content findable isn’t the responsibility of a copywriter. Although copywriting is important, it shouldn’t be mistaken for content strategy. The best text in the world can’t improve poor technology, an inconsistent UI, an unattractive design, or garnish iconography. Copywriting can get your brand’s message across…but that’s about it. Help users find your content.

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts

Content strategy is about visualizing your website as a whole. Content strategy needs to be:

• Solid and consistent, but have an easily malleable architecture
• Attractive and inviting with an on-brand design
• Informative and engaging with an on-message text
• Fluent with a considerable and accommodating UX
• Memorable and straightforward

Understand your audience

The distribution, creation, and management of content involves the entire team at various stages. For your content’s strategy to be successful you should involve managers from other departments too—not just those involved in the content’s creation.

You are more able to serve your users if you understand them. In order for your content to do its job, you need to learn about your users. You need to think and plan. It’s critical that content strategy is involved in all aspects of the design and developmental processes.

Understanding the content life cycle

The content life cycle is a continuing process that follows these 10 steps:
1). Learn
2). Analyse
3). Report
4). Think
5). Plan
6). Design/Create
7). Distribute
8). Manage
9). Measure
10). Evaluate

Each element is interconnected with each other. If you follow these steps, you can ensure every aspect of content strategy is considered. With good design, great structure, and specific content you can guarantee great results.

Designers are not artists. We are not paid to produce art — we’re compensated to meet a need for a business. We are hired to make sure that our clients make a return on their investment. When it comes down to it—we’re just service providers. Design isn’t a way to “show off” the latest technology or the latest techniques…it’s how we communicate.

The purpose of how we design needs to have a business objective. If our designs don’t, then we are designing solely for ourselves. We need to design for the client and the user.

Year after year, designers have had to go through various trials that involved separating the need of design from design want. Ten years ago, Flash was a big deal. With animation, everything moved, everything was impressive. We added background music and sound effects to create engaging experiences for our users.
Today, we still do the same thing—but instead of Flash, we use HTML5 and CSS3. Sometimes “flashy” isn’t always good. If you design for the user and fulfill specific objectives, you’ll have a better result.

Designers need to steer clear of being superficial. Galleries like Awwwards and Dribbble have amazing resources that serve a great purpose. However, these galleries don’t help us ask “why?” Why is a design choice made? Why is this the best way to do something? It’s natural to want to follow the newest and latest trends in the industry, but unless your “why” question can be answered by “it’s the best decision for the user,” you don’t necessarily need to.

The fundamentals of web design came from the same structure of a newspaper: A logo at the top, a headline, the text. If you deviate from that structure it can affect how your users digest the content on the page. If the user is confused on how to navigate a site, you can lose them. The format of a newspaper is easy-to-follow and easy-to-understand. It doesn’t require critical thinking. If a design requires the user to work hard, the use will start to analyze and categorize the experience. Analyzing and categorizing is important for learning—but it isn’t good for business. Websites have a uniform structure because easy-to-follow and easy-to-understand equals longer exposure, lower hesitation, and better satisfaction. A happy user buys things.

Although it may be against your inner artist, you need to design for the user—not yourself. When you design, try to use the objectives of a particular project as the blueprint. Easy is a good thing—create a design to meet those objectives in the simplest way possible for users.

It’s crucial to build stimulating visuals around your narrative

Adding depth and richness to your web designs is necessary for optimal visual interactivity. Using the parallax technique is one of the many ways web designers can do this. Parallax is a “displacement or different in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight.” In web design, the parallax technique delivers depth and movement on a page by scrolling two or more different image elements across different site lines.

The Parallax technique has recently become popular with companies and websites like Smokey Bones, Beer Camp, Campaign Monitor, and Movember and we’ve included how they’ve implemented the technique with examples below. These companies add visual interactivity by having movement follow your mouse from the left as a user moves around on a screen. Another way to utilize the Parallax technique is by building vertical scrolling into every page to create a uniquely rich user experience as they make their way down your website’s page.

You want to entertain your audience. The best way to get this trick to work in a big way is not to use the Parallax to look “cool” or to be “cutting edge.” You want the Parallax to work the effect around a narrative, or a story. People want to be entertained. People want a story. If you as a web designer, can involve the visitor into your “story,” you can ultimately get them to do what you want: buy something. The Parallax can do this. Give them something to dig their eyes into. Give them something they can connect with.

Give your audience a narrative. Think about one of your favorite websites. Why did you remember it? The reason you remember it is probably because you recall a great narrative built around some really cool visuals. Narrative in web design is crucial. Whatever you design, a user visiting you or your company’s website is experiencing something. You want to make sure “what they experience” is a good experience. Create a good narrative.

Here are five great examples to check out:

Smokey Bones: The restaurant chain Smokey Bones’ sells barbeque sandwiches and burgers. They use the parallax effect to sell the experience of dining at their BBQ joint. (http://smokeybones.com/)

Beer Camp: The interactive studio throws a major party at SXSW each year. This website was created for their 2011 event. Beer Camp scrolls type and images from itself. At first it’s a little confusing, but after you understand what they’re doing, it’s pretty cool. (http://2011.beercamp.com/)

Campaign Monitor: Campaign Monitor, an email marketing app, recently decided to start hiring new employees. They created a vertical scrolling parallax based website on their careers page to show what it’s like to work there. (http://www.campaignmonitor.com/careers/)

Movember: This website is really just a large invitation card, but the invite unfolds as a user scrolls. As you scroll you find out more details about the event, at the end, you’re invited to make a ticket purchase. (http://mosandbows.com.au/)

Using a website design company will bring in new customers while keeping the existing ones coming back.

Business owners must remember that a website is the first impression many potential customers get about your business. These days, it really takes something special to bring in the customers followed by profits. In order for your website to reach its full potential for maximizing your profits, you will need to hire a good website design company to make your website more than just a sign for your business but rather a money-making online location that results in conversions for your business.

A website design company already understands that your website is the frontline for potential customers. If someone is impressed with your website from the moment they land on your web page, then they will be more likely to trust the product or service that you are selling. It also goes without saying that a negative impression of your website may result in ‘disillusionment’, or a ‘bad taste’ about your products or services, before they have even been experienced. A good website design is not only beneficial to bring in new customers, but also in helping you keep the customers you already have. A website design company recognizes the needs of the audience you are trying to attract and makes your website more than attractive, but also effective, in the sense that not only does it keep your visitors on yours website, but keeps them interacting through various modes of social media, blogging, and more.

If you are a fairly new business, then a professional looking website can ease a potential customers mind about your seriousness and the investment of their money. A website design company is very aware that a cheap looking website design causes customers to click away no matter how established the business. This is why they take so much on their professional reputation to deliver you the very best in website design that is available.

Another benefit to a super website design is the ease of sales. The website design company incorporates links and the proper functioning ability with icons, and such that allows customers to book rooms, email you, or various other actions including ordering and/or purchasing the products you have for sale, and all without ever having to take extra time out of their day to call on the telephone. Any business that maximizes the capability of their website via a great design company is able to give round the clock customer service without having to keep staff on the clock all hours of the day.

A unique and attractive website design will not only help sell your products, but will also give customers the assurance of professionalism about you and your company, plus make purchase power easier for the customer. Your profits will excel when all of these aspects are attended to by a great website design company that uses their talents to move your website from the bottom of the list to the top of the search engine pages. Without the right website presence, you are sure to lose countless sales to your competition who has taken the time to call a website design company. Contact our professionals for a consultation about your web presence, and how our website design company can help you maximize your profits.

Reasons why your company should invest in a good website designer.

In this age of the Internet, your company’s online presence is just as important as any other facet of your business, if not more. Every day consumers buy products, order services, and request estimates from the convenience of their computer, phone, or tablet. This affords people the supreme luxury of shopping for anything from anywhere. When they land on your website, they are going to want to see something attractive, and pleasing. A lackluster website may be an initial disappointment to visitors. Just like the scenario if you are down the block from your competitor, and the customer doesn’t enter because they are not impressed with your storefront, this works the same way because you are only a click away on the web, and with that, your customer is gone. It is vital to keep your potential customers clicking on your site buy using a creative website designer that’s ready to serve all your company’s needs.

You will want to look for a website designer, or design company, that has the knowledge of the newest software, and latest trends in online marketing.  They should be able to analyze your company’s situation to determine how to best maximize your online presence. There are many tools a professional website designer uses to maximize your incoming traffic, including:

• Site Design : Your online face should be attractive as well as effective
• Mobile Web Development: Make sure your site is compatible with today’s mobile devices. Ensure it looks good and functions even better.
• Flash Animation and Images: Keep your site looking fresh. Integrate video, audio, text and images using the latest technological advances.
• SEO: The professionals at a website design company will have all the tools, resources, and knowledge to make sure that your website is Search Engine Optimized so that you can attract the maximum amount of traffic and move up the search ranking engines by means of a quick strategy and organic results.
• Ecommerce: Whether it’s just a shopping cart application, or a full corporation commerce management system, a website designer can write the perfect program for you, and make your clients feel at ease shopping on your site.
• Web Site Maintenance: It’s always a relief to know that you can contact the website designer should there be any problems, questions, or concerns. Technical assistance is always crucial to have when you have any website difficulties.
• Graphic Design: Design firms will often have a graphic design department. This guarantees the graphic design work will be unique to your company. This could be anything from the aesthetics of your site or creating your logo.

Having the ease and convenience of a mobile functioning website for those that use their mobile devices is essential to increasing your fan base, followers, traffic, and sales. A website designer will have your website pulled up on cell phones, net books, and tablets everywhere. In 2011, the average number of gadgets per household in the United States alone reached twenty-four. Of these gadgets how many do you estimate are internet accessible? The majority is correct. It is clear that in 2013 and beyond, you will want to reach every potential customer and keep them coming back for more.

Get one of our talented and experienced professional website designers here at Dburns Design; they can work with a team and create a versatile, user friendly and fully functional site to ensure a successful online future for your business or organization.

Images have meaning—they aren’t just there to spice up or decorate the page

Design isn’t just about “beautifying” things. Design is about communicating meaningful content in the most accessible, usable, and readable way possible. Without meaningful content, design is just decoration.

Users’ needs are complex and very diverse. As designers, we should strive to comprehend their medium of choice on both a psychological and a technical level. Users should be able to choose how information is given to them; whether it’s text, audio/visuals, or text, users should have the ultimate say in the matter. Not the designer.

Communication problems

As babies, our parents and educators read vivid picture books to us. As we reached reading age, we learned how to read by making associations by the pictures and the words on the page. As we continued to grow, we learned how to interpret visual metaphors and cultural references which helped us navigate through a world of information. For as long as we can remember, pictures and words have shared an intimate relationship.

Imagine how incomprehensible science would be if we didn’t have visualization of DNA’s double helix. What would life be like if we had Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland without John Tenniel’s illustrations? Visual content and text are equally important.

When designers treat their content as packets of data, they must sacrifice the control of its design and presentation. The end result puts a great strain on the relationship between image and text. There are communication problems. Educator and graphic designer Ellen Lupton said, “One of design’s most humane functions is, in actuality, to help readers avoid reading.”

The design relationship between text and visuals is damaged. So what can we do? Developer and designer Josh Clark recently started speaking about art direction as a matter or metadata. He suggested that only through structuring content and methodical naming, do designers maintain any control over how their data is distributed, interpreted, and portrayed. The HTML5 Specification introduces a plethora of new elements to assist us in defining the relationship and purpose of our content. CSS and JavaScript libraries enable us to dynamically generate graphs and charts based on enhanced data.

Design with a purpose

Displaying a clichéd stock photo is meaningless when it can be viewed outside the context at its own URL. The images we use should be treated as distinct content chunks. They should be images that communicate a story or an idea without a full explanation. It’s the duty of designers and writers to make better choices with complementary content, such as photography, audio, video, and illustration. We need to allow our images to have a purpose and a meaning whether or not they are viewed alone or as a part of a larger piece of content.

Designers need to relearn these old methods and principles. How can we expect to have full control over the web if we don’t have any chance of creating predictable patterns of how content is displayed and delivered? These principles are nothing more than a return to the original laws of the web and the art direction of content.

Los Angeles website design professionals enhance the growth of your internet presence

In an ever-changing and improving technological world, the demand for internet-based advertising and marketing has grown exponentially. No longer are companies identified by billboard, radio, television, and word of mouth marketing, they are now known by the presence they have on the World Wide Web. With California being at the forefront of much of the change regarding internet design, development, and application, it is vital for any business owner or individual in the LA metro area to retain the services of professionals that will help them stand out in the realm of Los Angeles website design. Competition is crucial in the business world. In an age where people are routinely on the internet every day, the functionality and design of a website can help make a company, individual, or service better exposed to target audiences and the general public alike. There is not even a question as to whether the company should have a website or not, because everyone expects a website to be there for any given business that they have an interest in.

Evolution of Website Design

Over the last decade, the internet has become increasingly included into people’s lives from a personal and professional angle. As this has happened, Los Angeles website design experts have also had to move forward, and progressively change to appeal to the way that people utilize and access the web. Since the creations of HTML codes to CSS, and Flash in 1996 to the more modern browsers, and JavaScript programs that are prevalent today, Los Angeles website design professionals use an array of available tools to gain the upper hand. This includes, but is not limited to, page layout, design, graphics, typography, aesthetic value and usability of a website. It is vital that all of these components are carefully chosen for your target market audience.

Website Creation

Form follows function when it comes to developing attractive and effective websites for individuals and companies. From the creation of a website to e-commerce, a Los Angeles website design firm can develop, design, and deploy a business’s online face and help open up avenues for interactive communication. By determining the goals that an individual wants to achieve, along with the latest technology, a Los Angeles website design professional can create an in-depth analysis of the particular project, design an attractive and informative site, and oversee the website launch, it in an effort to make the company or individual stay ahead of the pace of the Internet, and communicate with their audience better.

By listening and utilizing expertise in various areas of web marketing and business, Los Angeles website design professionals can get you set up with a cost effective solution to address your needs when it comes to your Internet face.

If you are a business owner or individual looking to gain better Internet visibility within the sea of cookie cutter websites, then you should consider consulting our Los Angeles website design company to see how we can help get you where you want to be.

The various ways a website design firm can encourage business growth and create a positive representation of your company

As the English rock band Motorhead once said, “It’s all about the game and how you play it.” That statement can be applied to any area of competition from sports to dating to business. In the Internet Age, a company’s success can often hinge on its accessibility, functionality, and visibility on the Internet. It is important for you as a business professional to make sure that your website is not just present, but excellent and easily found by those looking for your products or services. It does not matter whether you are a small family-founded business owner on the rise, an entrepreneur, or a large corporate executive you need to make sure that your company’s name and services are ahead of the competition, and ahead of the game. A website design firm can provide the tools and services your company needs in order to succeed in online commerce and marketing to capture those leads and traffic that is in need of what your business offers.

Web design is not just related to the way a particular site appears, but it also incorporates various programs that develop, deploy, and maintain the face of your Internet existence. The term web design itself usually refers to the front-end, or client side of a site’s design. The different aspects that a website design firm can handle for you are interface design, web graphic design, user experience design, search engine optimization and authoring. A quality website design firm can also provide your site with a high level of visitor usability.

There is a process that a website design firm can use to ensure maximum efficiency when it comes to the design and functionality of your company’s website that caters to your business’s needs. They first strategize your business internet marketing plan and website design by examining all facets of your website project from its creation to completion. They then design the site using the most up-to-date technology, programs, and innovative layouts and graphic. They stay up to date on trends and keywords being sought out the most, as well as staying in line with the internet search engine’s rules and regulations by constantly adapting to new trends, methods, and skills. They can put timely, relevant content onto your company’s website, so that a visitor will see real information about your services and not a bunch of fluff. Finally, through use of advanced Intranet, Internet, and database solution technology, their experienced professionals can help make your business is stronger and on the way to continued growth and prosperity.

A website design firm can get together a team of creative web designers, web consultants, writers, marketing professionals, and programmers to give your company the site it deserves that will stand above the competition. Through eclectic designs, creative thinking, and solid business principles, you can rest assured a quality website design firm will look out for your company’s interests and needs. This is just the kind of support your business needs to put you ahead of the game when it comes to your Internet presence.