Signs Your Website Needs a Redesign

Is it time to update your website? Odds are if you think your website could look a lot better, you’re probably right, so make 2013 the year to redesign your web site. The importance of keeping your website up to date is often ignored. Technology and design trends are constantly changing. Not only is redesigning websites today about changing the look and design, but with technology constantly evolving website redesigns are mandatory for success. As Chicago web designers, we have met many people who have ignored site maintenance for years and years and their websites show it. Your website is the most powerful online marketing tool you have at your disposal, so neglecting it won’t do you any good.  Keeping up with regular maintenance and making updates is essential to make sure that your website is always serving your business to the best of its ability. The functionality, presentation, and load time are all important components that impact whether your web design is successful or not. Are all the signs there that you need to redesign your website?  Ask yourself the following questions:

Is it a hassle to update?

It is very important to constantly update your website. As Chicago web designers, we work with many different clients that come to us with a multitude of web design needs.  Some clients already have a website, but doing the updates for it are just a hassle for them.  Some clients are in need of a new website design and don’t want to do the updating or maintenance that is necessary.  Some clients are more than willing to do the updates.  Everyone is different. If your website is a hassle to update, perhaps it’s outdated or the format it is built in is too difficult for you to modify or work in, then you may want to consider a website redesign.   Depending on what you are hoping to do with your website, you may want to be able to do all of the updates and be able to make changes to content or pictures whenever you want. Some people are looking to be more involved with their websites rather than others and really, we all have different computer skills, which is why this varies from person to person. If you cannot make the necessary changes you want to your website, you may want to contact a web design firm to help make it easier for you. It could be as simple as building your website on a CMS (content management system). Content management systems can make doing edits to your website a breeze. We often times build our websites for clients on Wordpress, which is a very user-friendly CMS. To read more on Wordpress and other content management systems visit our previous blog, Choosing a CMS.

Does your website take a long time to load?

If the load time on your website is too long, viewers will stay far, far away. As it has been noticed by our very own web designers, the time it takes to load your website can greatly affect the amount of viewers who return to your site. We believe that if your website takes longer than 5 seconds to load, you need to consider a redesign of your website and internal optimization of your website. If your site takes longer than 5 seconds to load, there is a big chance you will lose your site visitors quickly. This can be tricky because there are many different Internet providers and cell phone providers that provide different quality of service. If you’re experiencing load time that is lengthy, contact Integraphix for a free website analysis and consider a website redesign.

When was the last time you redesigned your website?

If you can’t remember the last time you had your website redesigned, then this might be a good sign that it is time. As an integrated marketing company in Chicago we have worked with clients in multiple industries including, PR agencies, dental practices, hotels, restaurants and more. No matter what your competitors are doing and no matter what others in your industry are doing, you must maintain and keep up with your website regardless.  Although these businesses and the industries that they belong to are very different, we keep one general rule when it comes to all websites: you should completely redesign the look of your website about every three years. With the change in technology and web design trends changing daily, revamping your website every three years is a necessity for the success of your business. Since it’s a new year, take the time to go through your website. If your website is outdated, contact Integraphix for design support.

Can the search engines find you?

As a marketing company in Chicago we provide a variety of different services including web design and search engine optimization. Your website design and your SEO should go hand in hand. If your website is not being crawled by Google or any other search engine, your website is not doing your business any justice. There are many different factors that make up SEO and what makes websites searchable. Keeping up with the SEO of your company is a full time job, and we certainly recognize that, but if it’s not done at all or done correctly your website will stand no chance being ranked by search engines. Since most people find websites through Google, Bing and Yahoo, search engine optimization for your website is essential. If you are looking for SEO services, contact Integraphix for more information and tips on getting your website on the first page of Google.

Up top is our own website's redesign sneak peak. Not only have we built it on a new, easier CMS, it will provide us with better SEO capabilities and has a slick new, appealing design.

Have comments or question on website redesigning?  Feel free to comment below or contact us.  

The Power of a Process

As web developers at a creative agency, we find ourselves completing the same tasks for each of our web design projects. Creating a detailed website design and development process can help make you complete your projects faster and make you more efficient. Not only can it keep you as the web designer on track for the project, but you can also include your client into project making decisions and help them understand their role in the project. All web developers and designers work at their own speed and truly have their own work style. The best way to become successful is to create your own process that fits your style as a web designer.

A web development process is an outline of steps that need to be taken from start to finish to complete a web design project. The process divides and categorizes all of the work that needs to be completed step by step. As web designers in Chicago we like using web development processes in order to track the progression of each project.

Planning

As web developers in Chicago we believe that the planning stage in any design project is the most important. Whatever is decided and mapped out during the planning stage sets the stage for the rest of the project. The planning stage involves the web designer and client having contact on what needs to be done and when it should be done. When in the planning stage, be very conscious of your client’s goals and target audience in order to create a powerful tool for their business. While planning your project, document it all! Gather all of your information into one consolidated document. Also be sure to include a site map. Before making any move on a CMS or website, always create a rough site map of what you plan on having on your website.

Design

The design portion is probably the most fun part of the entire process. The main purpose of the design stage is to create a visual representation of what the completion of your project will look like. Creating mockup based designs can give you a great idea on what your website will look like before even entering the development stage. Mockups are also a great way to share information with your clients and gather their input as well.

Development

The development stage involves the bulk of the work in a web design project. When in the development stage be sure to keep all of your code organized and refer frequently to the original plans made in the first step. When beginning the development stage, take a strategic approach and take it one step at a time. If you are using a CMS like Wordpress, Joomla or Ruby on Rails now is the time to implement the CMS and make customizations. The final step in the development stage is filling your web design with content. Even the simplest pages require tight typography and careful attention to detail. Ultimately your web design should be a clear representation of the quality of your work, so be sure to test all of the links and pages that are attached to the website before launching.

Launch

Once you believe the project is completed and the client has approved of the site, it is now time to launch your website. The purpose of the launch phase is to prepare your website for public viewing. It is time to transfer your site and all files that go along with it to a live server. Once it’s moved over, check it out on your computer, mobile device and make sure it looks perfect.

As web designers in Chicago, we have a certain web design process that we use on every single project. When creating your own process, keep in mind your own personal work habits and set goals for yourself to help keep the project on time. The process will be different for each designer and will vary based on each client and project. Develop a process that fits you, only then will the process be truly useful. 

Comment or questions on developing a creative process?  Feel free to comment below or contact us.

Choosing a CMS

Have you ever wondered what is lurking behind all of your favorite websites? Web designers in Chicago have many different options when they are first presented with a web design project. There are many different Content Management Systems available for web designers such as Wordpress, Joomla and Krypton. With so many options how to you choose the one that is right for your website?

There are many different types of CMS available for editing and managing.  When considering a content management software there are many things that may come into play with your decision. Some CMS platforms are more based around blogging than a pure CMS website. Other CMS platforms are more compatible Search Engine Optimization. Before the design comes into play, you always need to consider what your main target is with your web design. Things to consider when choosing a CMS:

1- Cost: Cost is always an important aspect when making a business decision. There are many different types of CMS available for free and commercial.

2- Security: There is nothing worse than experiencing spam on your beautiful web page. Commercial CMS are licensed version platforms. They may be expensive, but they will be worth the money when it comes to security.

3- Flexibility: Open source CMS provides the flexibility that most designers in Chicago strive for. With flexibility you will be able to create exactly what you are envisioning on your computer screen.

We have collaborated a list of different Open Source CMS to highlight the differences.

­Wordpress:

Wordpress was released in May of 2003. Wordpress is a free content management system based on PHP and MySQL.  It was first introduced and geared towards bloggers and is now used by over 65 million users and not just for blogs, but for websites as well.  As mentioned in the previous blog Awesome Wordpress Plugins, Wordpress allows for many different customizations.  Plugins allow Wordpress users to extend their abilities with web development in a multitude of ways.  There are over 18 million Wordpress plugins available.  Wordpress is very well-organized and very easily learned by new users.  It is a favorite CMS among SEO companies due to its ability to implement and track Search Engine Optimization results.

Joomla:

Joomla is also a free content management software and is written in PHP.  There are over 30 million Joomla users and it is still rapidly growing.  Joomla was introduced in 2005 and just recently released their newest version, 3.0.2, which was produced last month.  There are over 10,000 free and commercial extensions available for Joomla users.  The Joomla extensions include plugins, templates, modules, components and languages.

Drupal:

Drupal is another content management system that has a very large amount of users.  Instead of focusing on blogging like Wordpress, Drupal is purely CMS for websites.  There are a wide variety of optional modules that can add forums, user blogs, profiles and more to your website.  The Drupal CMS is used by 2.1% of websites worldwide.  Although Drupal is seems quite difficult to use, it has very basic website administration and installation.

Awesome Wordpress Plugins

As a marketing company in Chicago we like to use different types of websites with different features depending on our clients' needs and goals. We truly enjoy working with Wordpress for the simplicity and versatility it provides.  Wordpress offers a wide range of options and downloadable plugins for your convenience.  Plugins are available for download on the Wordpress website and can range in price.  Below are some of our favorite plugins:

User Spam Remover:

If your planning on having viewers become users on your webpage, the User Spam Remover plugin is a must for your Wordpress website.  Not only does the plugin serve as a protection plan, but it’s also conveniently free of charge.  The plugin was designed to automatically delete spam accounts that have never been used.  There are customizable settings that allow you to set a threshold for inactivity to easily separate spam users from real users.

Social Metrics:

If you’re a fan of social media, the plugin Social Metrics would be a great find for you. Social Metrics is an additional dashboard on your WordPress admin panel that allows you to easily track your posts on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.  It’s an easily designed plugin that gives you important results seconds after being downloaded.

W3 Total Cache:

One of the most important things you need to keep in mind with your website is the speed in which it takes to load and its overall performance.  Web surfers are very impatient and will not waste their time on a website that is moving slow.  By downloading the W3 Total Cache plugin your website will load 10x faster. The plugin will easily cache every page on your website giving viewers the user-friendly site they will love and want to visit again.

SEO Rank Reporter:

As a Search Engine Optimization Company, it is very important for us to check our SEO status on a daily basis.  Wordpress now has a plugin called SEO Rank Reporter that can be viewed directly on your admin panel on your website.  You can now easily check the your SEO rankings through Wordpress without having to use a third party software.

WPTouch:

Web design is at a technology peak especially with all types of smartphones and tablets at nearly everyone's disposal.  As Chicago graphic designers, when we design a website, we always consider the mobile version aspect and ask ourselves, “What will this website look like on a smart phone or tablet?”  Fear not because after installing the WPtouch plugin your website will automatically generate into a mobile or tablet version if someone were to view it on a smart phone or tablet.  The plugin has detection abilities and scales down according to the device your viewing the website from.  This is an easy way to create an efficient website that will be perfectly viewable on any device.   

ThreeWP Activity Monitor:

For the security of your website, installing this free plugin will definitely be worth your time.  The ThreeWP Activity Monitor allows you to track all of the activity on your website.  Any time anything is added or updated it will be recorded on this plugin.  It will show exactly what has occurred including logins to help ensure that your website is completely secure. 

Have your own favorite Wordpress plugin you’d like to share with us?  Feel free to comment below or contact us.