If your current site was last designed about 5 years ago, it might be time for something new and fresh. You may have new products to sell, new employees to show off (hopefully), or perhaps a new message or fundraising campaign if you are a non-profit organization. If you do plan to launch a new website this year, please take advantage of the expertise and design know-how of a website designer.  In the past I’ve blogged about how it’s not the best idea to use a “Do-It-Yourself” website builder, and I want to emphasize again that money is well spent on a professional who can not only guide you through the design process but also create the spectacular website that your business or organization deserves.

Happy New Year!
Jason

Take a look at this site from Web Design Ledger: http://webdesignledger.com/inspiration/25-examples-of-footers-in-web-design

In website design (or in any profession that involves a creative mind), everything is a design opportunity. This is a piece of advice that was given to me during an internship while I was in graduate school. While a footer may not contain any textual content that describes your business (it may include links to such content), the design of the footer should contribute to the overall cohesiveness of the website design. This directly plays into the concepts of balance and unity – concepts that I aspire to incorporate into all of my designs.

By definition the footer is at the bottom of the page. If this is the last thing that a visitor sees on your page before going on to the next page (or different website entirely), doesn’t it make sense that this leaves a lasting impression with the visitor? Yes, it should, which is why I will be developing more detailed footer concepts into future website designs.

As a website designer, having the iPad has come in handy for a number of things. I can administer my WordPress-designed websites through the WordPress App. Latest tech news comes in through the Flipboard App by way of RSS feeds. I get my tweets out through the Twitter App, and write blog posts (like this one) on my PlainText App that is linked with my Dropbox Account (which also has an App). Next month I will be marketing myself at a local health fair and my iPad will be in tow, in the hopes of showing off my websites to prospective clients. It’s light, it’s portable, it’s quick, and still has that “wow factor” even though it has been on the market for over a year.

One of the biggest benefits of having the iPad is how it is making me more keenly aware of how my sites are viewed on mobile platforms. I recently dissuaded a client from including a Flash animation feature on his new site because it wouldn’t be viewable on the iPad and iPhone. I also now make sure that link buttons are big enough to be navigated with fingers and not just a click from a mouse. Doing cross-checks across various browsers during development always includes Safari on the iPad to make sure all of my bases are covered.

It’ll be quite some time before I ever give up the vast capabilities of my laptop and I certainly cannot design without it nowadays, but having the iPad makes many of the other aspects of my work easier and should be part of the arsenal of any good website designer if it isn’t already.

If anyone knows of other Apps that would be helpful to website designers, please let me know by leaving a comment. Thanks!

Although I had heard about this website recently, today I had a few moments to check out The Internet Explorer 6 Countdown (http://www.theie6countdown.com/).  At first glance it appears like a tongue-in-cheek website created by a designer with a sense of humor and I certainly relate to its message: dropping support for IE6 would save hours of work for web developers.  After spending a few minutes on the website, though, it appears that it was created by none other than Microsoft – the creator of Internet Explorer browsers.

So why is there a reason to celebrate a drop in use by Internet Explorer 6? Simply put – it’s outdated and there are much better options out there.  Internet Explorer 6 (or IE6 as it is commonly referred to) dominated the browser wars for years since it was bundled with Windows XP. During that time Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Opera, and others have introduced feature-rich browser options to the public, which add so much more to the web experience than IE6 ever could. The inability of IE6 to properly display modern CSS code and other scripts made it a thorn in the side of any web developer (including mine) seeking to create compatibility with the “least common denominator.”

Is Microsoft trying to cannibalize itself by seemingly celebrating the drop in IE6 usage? Not really – they want to tout the features of their current offering: Internet Explorer 9. The fact that Microsoft would create a website such as this is a clear indicator that they want to disassociate themselves from a browser that is not up to snuff with today’s internet and I’ll give them credit for that. Many websites and online services that I use today are dropping their support for IE6 (including Google) so clearly the movement is growing and I couldn’t be happier. Despite the subtle humor in the Internet Explorer 6 Countdown, don’t be quick to drink Microsoft’s Kool-Aid and start using IE 9 without checking out the other options available.  I’ve been a loyal Firefox user for several years now and I simply love it.

I came across a PC Magazine article this week (Are You Ready for .anything? Generic Internet Domains on the Way) discussing generic top-level domains. According to the article, representatives of various industry groups will attempt to convince lawmakers that the ICANN is “ramming through” what might be called “dot anything.” What this means is that there would be the opportunity to register generic domains such as .airplane, .bank, .baseball or whatever else you can think of with Latin letters.

As a large corporation capable of forking over the nearly $200,000 registration fee, who is to say that General Motors couldn’t register .gm? Or, as the article points out, McDonalds buying .mcdonalds?

For the small business owner (like myself), the potential for endless top-level domains brings on a larger headache than it would a benefit. To demonstrate my point, one of my clients contacted me recently with a question about his website’s domain name. His question: “What can I do to prevent someone else from buying my domain name in a different country?” My response: “You would have to buy it yourself.”

That’s the sad truth for businesses that have a distinct brand and online presence and want to protect it from others who register similar domain names.  To spend money on domain name registration with multiple top-level domains (not to mention registering similar sounding or similarly spelled domains which could grow the list exponentially) could become very cost prohibitive. Add into the mix a batch of new generic top-level domains and the problem gets worse for the little guy. For the big guys it gives them the chance to solidify their brand online even more.

For small businesses that are concerned about dilution of their brand by others using a similar domain name, one of the best ways to cover yourself in this instance is to have your business name federally registered as a trademark.  It just so happens that I know the best person to help you out here (my close friend and client Morris Turek at yourtrademarkattorney.com).  It may not be prudent to buy every single domain name you can think of, but it would be wise to purchase a handful of the most important ones and to seek federal trademark registration of your business name for the peace-of-mind and protections that come along with it.

Homer Simpson's First Web Page

Once I checked out Facebook I quickly jumped ship from MySpace and have never looked back. Aside from the barrage of advertisements that would consume the MySpace experience, the “over-customization” of the profiles became a complete turn-off. The simplicity of the Facebook layout made for a much more pleasing experience.

This week I came across a blog post on The Next Web where the author has taken the opinion that Facebook needs customizable profiles. I couldn’t disagree more. His argument that the inability to use custom CSS to modify ones profile limits self-expression. I’m of the opinion that if you want to have the most customization and ability to express yourself on the web it’s best to make your own website, blog, YouTube Channel, Podcast, etc.

My point is that there’s more than one way to express yourself online. Keep Facebook simple. Let’s not make it unbearable to use.

If the adage “time is money” is right (and I have no reason to think it’s not), going about creating your own website without using a website design professional is not the best idea. Here’s why:

1. The project will quickly get relegated “to the back burner.” As a small business owner, your concentration has always been on running your business. Finding time to build a website will be hard to come by. Assigning this task on an outside party will give it the attention it deserves. The sooner your website is up and running, the more exposure you will ultimately have.
2. Not everyone knows how to design. Much in the same way you wouldn’t build a porch if you know nothing about construction, being able to design using proper scale, proportion, color, contrast, and source code is not an ability we are all inherently blessed with. A website you create yourself could look very “amateurish.”
3. Your website will not be unique. Online website design service like Inuit and Vistaprint are based on pre-designed templates. This feature is often touted as a benefit, but can make your website look ordinary and “cookie-cutter.”
4. Website designers have other graphic design talents (or at least have relationships with other graphic designers) that can make your website part of a larger marketing strategy – matching business cards, letterhead, and other materials with your website.
5. Customization. Good luck trying to create specialized animations, contact forms, and media integration (sound and video) on your own.
6. Search Engine Optimization. If you don’t know what this is, it is best to hire a website designer.

Website designers keep their fingers on the pulse of what is new and exciting in design technology. You will get a better product and ultimately better exposure by hiring an experience website designer instead of trying to do it all yourself.