The full and correct launch of a website consists of multiple parts, with each part being a phase in the design process. If any phase of this process is skipped, you lose the benefit of that item either immediately or in the long run. I’ll briefly go over my design process, but ultimately as a designer (or business owner trying to launch your own website) it is important for you to create your own process as you see fit. I’ll be using my good client Trucking Express to illustrate the process as we push forward uncovering the design process.

The overarching goal of commissioning Search Engine Optimization is to increase website traffic, not simply get your ad to show up on a Google search. Website owners need to always remember this, as your website ranking doesn’t do much good if you have no idea as to whether or not people are actually visiting your website!

On all website installations, I currently install Google Analytics. Presuming you’ve had your website optimized for Search Engines already, it’s paramount that you keep track of what is going on with your targeted consumers. Analytics software like Google Analytics, Going Up, Yahoo Analytics and Clicky provide comprehensive reporting of how much traffic your website is receiving, where it’s coming from and how it’s navigating. Even an hour a week will give you much better insight as to how your social networking, content and offline advertising efforts are affecting your website traffic.

This has actually been my wallpaper for a while, I just wanted something clean and simple. I haven’t posted in awhile, so why not post a freebie eh.

A logo is an often overlooked, but critical part of a business or organization’s correspondence, advertisement and overall presence. Your logo is a snapshot of what your business is, and leaves a strong first impression on a customer. So what differentiates a good logo from a bad logo? Can a logo be too complicated? What colors should you use? Here are a couple rules of thumb to hold to as we design a quick mock-up for a fictional aerospace component manufacturer, we’ll call this fictional company Koeing.

I’ll be the first to admit, when I first delved into the pool of social networking websites many years back, I was more than a little overwhelmed. I remember 6 years ago when a hip hop artist referred to his Myspace page during an interview, I thought the concept of people posting information about themselves online was a little strange at the least. Funny thing is now I find myself using at least 5 social networking websites regularly and still have to work at keeping up with how fast the online communities move! Below I’ve put together a quick write up on what certain popular social networking websites are beneficial for. I’m aware that there are at least a dozen other social networking “super powers”, but I felt these would make for a quick read for beginners.

One of the first things I commonly see in an entry-level designer is enthusiasm for crazy fonts, color combinations, and overly busy backgrounds. If a 20/20 vision reader has to slowly scan or squint to read your work, how accessible must that page be for those with poorer vision, or partial color-blindness?

With that said stick to your san-serif fonts for web materials. Times types (anything with “tails” in their typeface) were originally derived from print, and they are best used for just that. Studies show that fonts like Helvetica, Arial, Verdena etc. communicate a professional and credible tone to a reader. With that said, unless you’re trying to pull off the newspaper/magazine feel on the web, stick to san-serif fonts.

When a web designer is starting to get the hang of css, cms, flash and/or xhtml application based web development software, they often find it tempting to jam as much cool content as possible. This is understandable since the first thing you want to do when you find a cool new script or widget is try it out and show it off, however when you bog down your website with tons of meaningless features it detracts from the overall objective of the website much of the time. Whoever may be visiting your website may be confused by the overall clutter of the website, and in-turn may end up being detracted from it! Below I’ve put together just a few design principles I notice very often when surfing the web, as well as reviewing client pre-Trident webpages.

Who are you, really? And why should I trust you? Without face-to-face contact or a trusted middle-man that’s vouched for you, visitors to your web site often have these two questions paramount in their minds when considering doing business with you. Use these five elements to boost your perceived trustworthiness and coax possible customers to step forward and buy.

Contact information

This is the easiest credibility booster to implement. Yet amazingly, many businesses ignore the power of simply stating where they’re located on the planet and providing a telephone number and email address. Without real-world ways to contact you, some visitors will wonder whether you have something to hide and whether you can be relied on to deliver the goods. With contact information, you come across as legitimate and more reliable.