The DCR Incorporated website was redesigned to showcase their sand heaters and sand heating solutions. Features of the website design include a content management system for easy editing, a gallery page to show previous work, and a customer testimonial and rating system to allow visitors to leave reviews. DCR Incorporated is based out of West Fargo, ND and serves the US and Canada.

Website Design: DCR Hotmix is a post from: The Web Shoppe

Implementation Specialists of Hawley, MN provides software solutions for the financial industry. The website redesign offers a professional look with clear and simple navigation that allows the visitor easy access to essential information. The blog is a new addition that helps them keep visitors and customers abreast of industry news. The new mobile friendly design is mobile responsive and will reformat itself according to browser size. This one website design works for viewing on mobile devices, tablets and desktop computers.

Website Design: Implementation Specialists is a post from: The Web Shoppe

When designing an effective business website, it’s easy to put far too little effort into your “About Us” page. After all, once all the separate sections and pages about your products and services, pricing, sales pitches and more have been exhausted, pages like “About Us” and “Contact Us,” can easily become an afterthought. This is simply poor web design practice, though, and if you that pay short shrift to About Us, you may be doing so at the expense of lost business.

A high-quality About Us page will actually draw business when other flashy pages may have failed. This is because this page can enable you to make a personal connection with your visitors. Of course, this connection can only be made if you pay strict attention to a few crucial guidelines for creating an About Us Page.

Connect, Don’t Sell

The truth that many fail to grasp regarding About Us pages is that customers do want to know who you are. They need to be made comfortable with your business. This must be the sole aim of a good About Us page. It’s not about telling a dry bio or, much worse, selling even more products. Keep this in mind when creating this page and don’t be tempted to make more sales pitches. That’s what the rest of the site is for. By no means should the About Us page be used to, in a roundabout way, make your company look good. Instead, it should be used to explain your benefits for your customers.

First, the Basics

Every About Us page usually contains the following:

• Company History
• Owner and employee bios
• Mission Statement
• Contact Information

These are a great start, but a truly effective About Us page is so much more than that. It’s not what you say. It’s how you say it.

Tell Your Story with Humor

Your business started with a few people and a dream. How about telling prospective customers about it? Doing so with an amusing anecdote is even better. This will create the kind of immediate connection that a dry “history of our business” simply cannot. A good story will amuse customers, capture their attention and set the pace for building your brand’s image in their minds.

Share Your Mission Statement – Just Don’t Call it That

The best companies are the ones that fully grasp and can effectively communicate their core values. Your moral focus can become your mission statement and explaining your goals to customers will build a sense of trust. The only caveat here is to not explicitly call it a “mission statement.” This has fast become a corporate buzzword and using terms like that will feel disingenuous and can throw trust out the window. Instead, you should rely on terms like “Our Values,” “The [your business name] Approach,” “How We See Things” and similar emotive headlines.

Keep It Visitor-Focused

Too much “I” and “we” is the perfect way to come across like your business is selling something, thus ruining the About Us page. Use more “you” instead and the site visitors will relate better to you. If you can get them to start going along with you, it’s easier to turn the visitor into a customer.

No Products or Services

You need to always remember that the About Us page is solely for your company and the site visitor to make a connection. Nothing gets in the way of that like selling a product. The About Us page is where you sell yourself, not products, and you’ll do so in a friendly, unobtrusive manner. The “hard sell” may work elsewhere on the site, but we’re all friends just having a conversation on this page.

Let’s create the perfect About Us page for your company! Give us a call at (218) 422-0000 or use the handy contact form to tell us all about you. We’d love to help!

What should you put in your About Us page? is a post from: The Web Shoppe

The Anatomy of an Effective Homepage is a post from: The Web Shoppe

10 Reasons to Realign Your Website is a post from: The Web Shoppe

Post contributed by Beth Cooper, on behalf of DesignContest.com, a crowd sourcing company utilizing Logo Design Contests to supply unique and affordable designs.

In a perfect world, every business owner would only need to develop a basic website to capture the attention of their niche market. This website would be the equivalent of hiring an army of talented reps who worked 24/7 with no breaks. They would be tireless, focused, and prepared with just the right pitch to exponentially increase your customer sales and retention. All this might sound like a pipe dream, and it is, if you do not take full advantage of the benefits graphic design can create for a website. Without proper graphic design, your website will do little to actually communicate your message to potential customers — or worse, could even communicate the wrong message.

Purpose of Website Graphics

Simply setting up an online existence is easy enough; ensuring its success, less so. Many websites fall into the trap of merely throwing a wall of text at their visitors. No matter how useful the information this text contains, most visitors will not take the time to read and understand it. The proper use of graphics presents a chance for you as the website owner to stage an effective show and tell. You probably could list many different ideals that made you fall in love with the business you represent, but this passion can be difficult to communicate through the written word alone. Through graphic design, you can help your customers become excited about the same things that excite you.

Proper Use of Website Graphics

So how can you actually benefit from adding graphic designs to your website? First, take a long, hard look at your objectives — what points are the most important for your website visitors to understand about your business immediately after they reach your site? These are the points you must use to capture your viewers’ attention; fortunately, that is what graphics do best. Whether through the use of a professionally designed motto or logo, Flash animation with pictures or any other strategy, graphic design can have a powerful impact when used properly. It helps you build your image and brand, become a conversation piece worth sharing and enhance your company’s standing as a go-to resource for trustworthy products or services. No matter what specific type of customer you market to, he or she wants to find a company worth trusting. If you truly are a company worthy of this type of trust, communicating this fact is far easier through the effective use of graphic design services.

Precautions Regarding Website Graphics

The bottom line is that your website is a piece of real estate that needs just as much attention as any brick-and-mortar storefront. When properly maintained and improved, it can be an incredibly effective business tool. Consumers have become dependent on the idea of being able to access a company’s web site to help them make informed choices, so building a well-thought-out, interactive and aesthetically pleasing site is a must. But on the other hand, overusing poorly designed graphics can actually decrease the impact of your message and give your entire site an amateurish feel. Relying on an experienced professional graphic designer can help ensure that you maximize the effectiveness of your website.

Maximize the Popularity of Your Website with Graphic Designs is a post from: The Web Shoppe

To Download an Image:

1.    Right click on the link below the image
2.    Click “Save Link As”
3.    Select a file location
4.    Save

Right Click to Download – We Are the Music-Makers

Right Click to Download – Be Yourself

Right Click to Download – Barefoot in the Spring

Amazing Graphics for Facebook Timeline – Free Download is a post from: The Web Shoppe

To keep your use of color under control, the simple rule is: don’t use more than three colors. That alone won’t guarantee that your use of color is perfect, but it’s a start. Begin by identifying the colors in your logo, which should be used to reinforce your brand. Need proof? Think of a retailer such as The Home Depot, and consider the use of orange in their ads and on their website.

By limiting your palette of colors to three, you’re forcing yourself to identify which features on a particular page you most want to draw attention to. Consider your website’s home page, and the many different items you’re presenting to its visitors. From copy blocks and photos, to “click here” buttons and a navigation bar, there’s a lot to digest. By using color to your advantage, you can ensure that visitors don’t skip past the areas that are of most importance to you.

To make that happen, keep these strategies in mind as you do your design work.

Don’t be afraid of white space

One of the biggest mistakes that inexperienced designers make is pouring color on every feature of a web page or ad. By putting your color on everything, you are essentially calling attention to nothing. Instead, use areas of “white space” to accentuate a colorful “click here” button or an important block of copy.

Today’s design programs, whether for print or the web, offer an endless palette of color choices, and too many designers jump around the color selector simply because they can. Again, before you start, build your own palette of three colors and resist the temptation to splash color on every feature.

Reinforce your brand identity

As previously mentioned, color is one of most identifiable aspects of your company’s branding efforts. It’s likely your logo includes no more than two predominant colors, with potentially a third and fourth used as a highlight. Build your company identity by using those same colors on materials that serve as a conduit between the public and you. Chiefly, focus on your use of color in print and digital ads, direct mail pieces, and on your company website.

Keep the body copy black

Few things scream “unsophisticated” like a bright-blue block of text on your website or print ad. If the background is white, or any lighter color, keep the body copy black to maintain a cleaner look. Larger-type content, such as headlines, can be dressed up with smartly used color, but smaller copy blocks are easier to read if presented in black type.

We’ll take on your graphic design project! Give us a call at (218) 422-0000 or use the handy contact box on the upper left to tell us all about it. We’d love to help!

How Much Color is Too Much Color? is a post from: The Web Shoppe

Your website is one of the most important marketing tools you have, so you need to have all the right content. Failing to properly position yourself as a leader or having insufficient content can lead to significantly lower sales, especially since people are using the Internet more and more to find and judge businesses. Here are some points to consider when planning your website.

Go-To Source

When people want to find out about your business, they should be able to get all the information they need from your business. If you don’t include enough information on a product, for example, then people may migrate to other websites. This leads to losing customers. Your website must provide a customer with all the information he or she needs to make an informed decision about buying from your business.

Leader Positioning

Not only should the content on your website tell the customer everything he or she needs to know, but it should position you as a leader in the industry. This can be done by including expert information, and by detailing your expertise in your niche. What does your company do? What sets you apart from your competitors? Customers like buying products from the best, so they will often seek out the leader.

Graphics

Graphic design serves an important purpose on your website.

• Connect with customers.
• Convey emotions.
• Serve as selling points.

Some businesses are afraid of using graphics, but they can help you in many ways. By using the right graphics, you can hit an emotional note that is difficult to convey with words. Use the right graphics in your website, and you should see sales climb.

Add a Blog

Being social and constantly adding content to your website is essential now, and the easiest way to fulfill both is by using a blog. It is easy to add content to a blog, because the platform quickly uploads your posts as Web pages. Blog posts are more often shared on social networks, which can help you land a bigger customer base. Plan on releasing a new post every day or at least once a week.

Contact Information Positioning

While people commonly use your website to judge you as a business, and while people often buy directly from the website, your customers may want to contact you prior to buying. Businesses that hide, or don’t include, contact information look shady. You should prominently feature your contact information along the top of your website.

Along with contact information, you should make your phone number ready to click. This allows mobile browser users to click your number so they can call your business. This is both convenient, and easier for mobile users.

Mobile-Ready Website

In the US, over half of all mobile phones are smart phones. Every year, more people are using mobile browsers, and they expect to find mobile websites. These websites are easier to read for mobile users, and they load much quicker. Getting a mobile website will ensure you are not a latecomer, and it can definitely push up sales with the mobile audience.

Proper Navigation

Difficult to find content is the same as non-existent content. Your website must be easy to navigate, otherwise people will leave your page out of frustration. This sends a very bad signal, and has often led to decreased sales. When planning your website, make sure all the content is properly labeled and very easy to find.

We’ll help you strategize your position online. Give us a call at (218) 422-0000 or get a web design quote online. We’d love to help!

Planning Your Website is a post from: The Web Shoppe

Color

Your color scheme is perhaps the most important aspect of your website design. Colors set the tone for everything else and are the foundation of website readability.

Color choice speaks volumes about what the visitor can or should expect. Muted colors speak of elegance and conservatism. Bright, clear colors convey energy and vibrancy, but be careful not to go overboard with a multitude of vivid shades. There is a fine line between “bright” and “annoying.”

Very dark colors with vivid accents convey edginess or technology. Medium to dark, warm colors can inviting and comforting. A mix of warm tones and a light background in the text area is refreshing and professional. Light colors feel open and are well-suited to topics or products that break boundaries or offer freedom of one sort or another.

For color, check for:

• Aesthetically pleasing combination
• Color tone matches content

Readability

The most readable color schemes are dark text on light backgrounds with a fairly high contrast. White on black can be tiring on the eyes, but medium colors can be used with great effect, provided the text still contrasts sufficiently with the background.

Readable text means uses an adjustable font size or one large enough for anyone to read comfortably. Senior citizens particularly need higher contrast and larger text. Break up paragraphs and use subheadings to help readers navigate to exactly the information they want.

For readability, check for:

• High contrast between background and text
• Adjustable or medium to large font size
• Short paragraphs and subheadings

Easy Navigation

Easy Navigation is more than just sensible menus. Sit back and look at your website for a moment, taking note of what first draws your eye and where you look after that. The path the eye follows should emphasize what your visitors need and what you offer. You may find crucial elements are missed altogether.

For navigation, check for:

• A sensible and logical menu structure
• Emphasis of the most important items on each page

Graphics

A plain text website is boring. A successful website engages the visitor with attractive images and graphics that speak to the bottom line and the ideas you want to convey. Professional graphics that are well-placed and relevant can lend weight to your content and give an impression of quality. Poor graphics convey amateur work and make your website unappealing.

For graphics, check for:

• Images that match your content, tone and color scheme
• A professional, pleasing appearance

Your website is your face to the world. For an attractive website that keeps your clients coming back, make sure that face is as appealing as it is possible to be.

How Important is a Beautifully Designed Website? is a post from: The Web Shoppe