6 Web Design & Marketing Secrets from Santa Claus

Whether Santa Claus meant to or not, Santa Claus created one of the most recognizable brands and symbols in the whole world. It is one that parents and children alike have embraced for many centuries. So how did Santa do it? How did he become such a phenomenon?

Well, it took a lot of research but there are many reasons why Santa has become the sensation he is today. These reasons are lessons we can translate to the web design world.

Santa is incredibly reliable. Every year, the same day, and at the same time, we can expect the jolly man to come to our house and give presents. Most of us woke up on Christmas morning to find gifts by or under the tree, an empty plate, and a glass with some milk residue. Santa never let us down.

• How does this translate to web design? How reliable is your site? Is your site letting people down because of poor design or hosting? Our web visitors expect a site to give them information they seek and to allow them to purchase items or schedule a service appointment. 

Santa surprises and delights us all the time! Who doesn't like to see Santa? When we do, even as adults, we tend to get a little happier and excited (for adults, it is more the flood of memories from childhood). Why do you think that is? Whether it is his great beard or catch phrase, it works.

• How does this translate to web design? Well, being a great web design firm and creating great websites means making people happy. Can you say that it is true of your websites and their ability to surprise and delight web visitors? Study your analytics, your competition, and the web design agency trends. Find that "special something" that makes your site bring smiles to faces when they look at your site. 

Santa encourages us to write. We all know about all the letters that Santa gets every year. Better yet, it is even more incredible that Santa takes the time to read each email every year!

• How does this translate to web design? A website should be designed well enough and have great enough content that it encourages web visitors to do more than look at the site. Your site's goal should be to generate sales, which means that your site should be great enough to encourage people to write by filling out the "contact us" form or send an email. 

Santa rewards good behavior. We all know about the "naughty" and "nice" lists. He gives the well-behaved children on his "Nice List" good gifts.

• How does this translate to web design? Well, those of your consumers who are great with brand loyalty should get some sort of reward, like deals or other goodies. This one is more about the client using your good web design than it is about web design directly. 

Santa has elves and reindeer. Santa would be in some real trouble if he was not assisted by his elves and his wonderful reindeer team. His elves helping him build everything and his reindeer helping him deliver them. 

• How does this translate to web design? Well, it can go two ways-- 1) A great web design agency will have more than one person working on a site to get it finished in a timely manner; also, it helps make sure the site is great from the creativity of many, not just one person. 2) A great site has more than one web page. A page with one site will not perform well. As for the reindeer, a great site will have helpers putting the site out thee such as social media marketing and search engine optimization. 

Santa is unique & one-of-a-kind! There is no one else out there that is similar to Santa with his beard, suit, elves, reindeer, catch phrase, and place of residence. 

• How does this translate to web design? Your website should be unique and like no one else's. A great web designer will be able to create a wonderful, new design each time they create a website. 

Santa just seems to really understand how to champion marketing and give us great lessons about web design. If you want a web design company that really understands design and these lessons, then hire Integraphix, we are a Chicago web design company that operates nationally. 

What is the Difference Between Web Design and Web Development?

Many people use the terms "web design" and "web development" interchangeably, as if they were the same thing. However, they are two different things; despite their undeniable tie together, they are not synonyms.

Web design: This is the front end of the website, the part that web viewers see. A web designer will work with this half of the website and be more concerned with how a website looks to consumers. A great web designer will know how to put this end of the site together based on principles of design that allow for good usability, site navigation, and appeal.

Web development: This is the back end of a website, the technical stuff. This is where all the programming and interactions of the pages is built and maintained. A web developer focuses on how the site functions and fix any problems with it. A good web developer will use a platform to build a site that is customizable and easy to use, in case they need someone else to take over.

Does your business need a website, perhaps a website redesign? Then chat with Integraphix, we are a web design firm in Chicago that works with talented web developers to build custom websites.

If you are interested in a redesign, then start with a free website analysis and see what needs to be improved with your current site.

7 Things You Don't Want to Say on Your Website

Your website is your 24/7 salesman. You need it to be convincing, affirmative, and not be timid. Diction is an important part of successful business; you never hear of a business that started making $100B a year because they spoke passively, "I guess we could help you grow your business."

If you want your chance to impress web visitors, then follow these great web design tips.

1. Let us help you. Well this one just screams desperation, even if you are not desperate. Why? Well, it puts you in a place of weakness. While that statement might sound like a humble approach, people don't often like to do business with a company that sounds desperate. 
2. Something, something "Industry standard". This is just saying that you are average and that is not going to spur confidence nor action in a consumer. Rather, say and show how you are above the industry standard. 
3. Whatever you need. Saying the word, "whatever" shows laziness. "This product will fix whatever you need fixed." Wow, can you get more specific there? 
4. We're unique. Well, aren't you special? I just visited 5 other sites in your industry that also said they are a unique company as well. If everyone claims to be unique, then what is special about saying it? Nothing. Don't just say you're unique, show it. 
5. Premium quality. According to other sites, everyone offers premium quality goods and services. What makes something premium? 
6. Needless to say… No, I'm pretty sure it does need to be said. C'mon. 
7. We can't be beat. Unless you are a truly dominating company and can dominate the industry, then chances are you can be beat… and are. That doesn't mean you are not a good company but unless you are the true industry leader here, then they're just empty words. 

Do you need a new website or perhaps a website redesign? Then hire Integraphix. Get a custom website design that suits your business and impresses the consumer. 

8 Things You Need to Know About Landing Pages

Every website has a landing page, it is the doorway to your website or section of your website. However, there is much to know about a landing page, according to our web design team. So let's dive in.

Is a landing page necessary? Too many people think that a landing page is only needed for an e-commerce site; however, this is not true. Every single website needs a landing page so you can direct your web visitors where to go and showcase things. A landing page is to a website as a lobby is to an office space; it has the entrance and allows people to gauge where to go without dedicating to a direction just yet. It allows you to promote things too, whether it be a product, deals, etc.

How can you make a great landing page? Well, several ways.

• Have good things to promote/sell on it. This means that your products and/or services need to be compelling enough for people to care. If your product or service stinks, then your landing page can only take it so far and you will end up with bad reviews and returns. So you might have to back track a little and make sure your product offering is good enough to build upon. 
• The proof is in the pudding. Social pudding. Getting testimonials about products and services allows you to say, "Don't take our word for it? See what these objective people thought about our product or service!" A great landing page will remove any cognitive dissonance about your product or service. It will give them all the info the consumer needs. 
• Get an endorsement. If you can have a reputable person give an endorsement, that is as good, sometimes better, than a testimonial. 
• It tells the story. You need to establish that connection with your target market and get them to understand the benefits of using your product, not just what is cool about it (the specs). Your landing page should relate to the consumer and get them to have that relationship of trust and loyalty with your brand. As a web designer, this is always something I consider when building sites and their landing pages. 
• It should be attractive. It should generate leads for sales. Here are things to consider:
• Headers and titles
• Buttons and links
• Colors, highlighted areas
• Good mix of colors but not too many. It should lead the eye downward and encourage them to take action. 
• Length of the page- Longer is generally better but it has to have good content, either way. And not too long. 
• Images

Building a good landing page is well worth the time and effort. The good thing is, you don't have to be held down by the time and effort of doing so, you can let a professional web designer build it for you. Contact Integraphix and let us build your site efficiently, artistically, and quickly. We also build sites so they are mobile-responsive and SEO friendly. 

5 Incredible Web Design TIps

The world of web design can be tough to get recognized and have real success in. The problem is that it can be easy to create websites that are too busy and complicated or just straight up boring.

Here are 5 tips that will help you create a website that is worthy of showing off to the internet world.

• Learn and adhere to fundamentals. One key factor to being a great web designer is to remember that a website should be clear and scannable. If someone can't scan the site and figure out where to go next, then it's too complicated. That being said, there are certain things you can do to help improve your odds:

• Make headlines bold and easy to read. 
• Choose a font that is easy to read. Go for practical instead of cute, if you have to choose between one over the other. 
• Make body copy as legible as you can. 
• An easy to read text. 
• If you think the font size might be too small, it is. 
• Shorter lines & small blocks of text. 

• Pick a great typeface. You will likely want to choose one that is easy to read, graphic, and with a touch of style. Like we said, if you have to choose cute OR practical, then go with practical but there are plenty of fonts that allow great practicality and a bit of style. Some designers will tell you that Helvetica Neue is a great choice. 

• Choose three colors for a palette and don't deviate. Having too many colors on a website will be a great way to make it too busy and people will leave. The color palette should be easy to choose if it is for a company or team that has a color scheme already chosen since you'll just adhere to that. The main goal is consistency. If you have your choice of colors to use, then neutral palettes with a bold accent can be a solid choice. 

• Photo size is critical. You don't want to have photos on a site that are too small, or worse, stretched. You will never be given credibility with photos on your site that are stretched. As a web designer in Chicago, I have seen lots of websites that feature photos that are ill-sized. 

• Give it some space. Your content needs to have breathing room. Don't have everything compacted together like a junked up garage. Utilize margins and breaks. It is easier on the eyes to read something with space and people are more likely to read something that is broken up. 

The rule of thumb is be aesthetically pleasing and consistent. If you need a website designed, then contact Integraphix. We are a web design company in Chicago with offices in LA, NYC, Charlotte, and Phoenix. 

How To Make a Good Website: 2 Tips

A website that is intriguing and effective is something that is not always the easiest thing to do; sure, in the past, all you had to do to get business from your website was to simply have one on the web. Nowadays, you need to do more than just put your site on the web, you have to make it worth while.

Your website has to be intriguing and eye-catching, there are two things you can do to keep your site up-to-date, fresh, contemporary, and worthwhile.

The first thing you should remember when you do web design is that sometimes, simple is best. You need a website that caters to the needs of someone who is viewing your site; one of those needs is to navigate through your site without having to jump through hoops and have a compass. Have a simple design that is not complicated or busy and makes viewers feel at home. Now, this does not mean you should have little content and images on your site. You need plenty of content on your site, 300-500 words per page, include pictures, etc. Make it appealing and cool but do not make it complicated and busy.

The second thing you should remember is that your site should feature storytelling. Use compelling copy on your site with captivating images to draw people in. Make your site fun to look at. Let people who view your site to be wanting more and establish that connection. Your site can be like an adventure. Yes, this can be a challenge but it is a challenge that is worth while and should be one you'd like to conquer.

If you have questions about web design, then contact Integraphix - a Chicago web design agency. See how we can help improve your presence on the web.

Graphics in Web Design: Helpful Tips

Chicago Web Design

Graphic Design elements in Chicago Web Design can sometimes be complex. Not only do you need to design for comfort and function, it has to be easily navigated no matter how illustrated or off the wall your graphics are. Use these tips for effective alternative web design using graphics.