Our Ultimate How To Guide

If you’re in the market for a new website, here’s a roundup of our favorite posts that walk you through the most important steps of the process. Because to us, a website is more than your presence online.

The All Inclusive List of Fundamentals

To kick things off, here is an exhaustive list of fundamentals you should check out when you’re searching for a partner to design, or redesign your website. Even though most of these articles were written years ago, the basics are still the same, and still extremely relevant today.

• Things to Ask a Potential Studio/Website Developer
• CMS – What’s Possible? 
• Website Design
• Where to Start
• Website Scope
• Budgeting for Your Website
• The Cost of Website Ownership
• Hosting
  

Now, here are some additional How Tos we think will be helpful during your journey!

How to Tell if a Custom Website is Right for You

Ahhh, Relax. It’s Custom Built.

Having something made specifically for you can’t compare to anything created for the masses, no matter which way you try to spin it. It’s just that way.

Some people have been going the cheap route lately when it comes to print and web stuff. We won’t lie- on some level we understand; we’re not exactly in a booming economy, anyway, and we’re finding our own ways to spend smartly. But there’s one thing we refuse to compromise on: quality.

Read the whole thing > 

How to Know if You Have Taste.

Taste. Do You Have it? Why?

Do you believe you dress well?

Can you look at someone else and diagnose their inability to put together a savvy outfit?
Are you able to look at a car on the street and deem it ugly?

If you answered yes to any of these, here’s another question for you: How do you know? It’s an honest question…

Read the whole thing >

How to Write Content for Your Website

Why You Should Outsource Copywriting, and How to Decide Who to Hire.

If you have an in-house creative team, copywriters are probably part of it. Many times, this setup is ideal. After all, they’re immersed in your business all day, every day. They know the terminology. They’re right down the hall to yell at if you don’t like something, or praise if you do.

Having said that, outsourcing your copywriting can be incredibly beneficial – oddly enough, for some of the very same reasons.

Read the whole thing > (more…)

New Website Launch: Weckworth Manufacturing

We recently flipped the switch on a brand new website for Weckworth Manufacturing. They assemble durable products for different government branches, business owners and entrepreneurs alike. If a material can be cut, sewn, welded, glued, or otherwise bonded together, Weckworth helps their clients put the pieces together. We love projects like this because we get to help dig in from behind the scenes. The redesign was a great opportunity to reevaluate how they position themselves to their existing customers, and reach out to their ideal target market at the same time. It was also a chance to clarify what people thought they did, elaborate on what they actually do, as well as broadcast capabilities nobody knows about.

We worked with the team at Weckworth to do more than just tell people what they do. Now they’re telling a story – both verbally and visually. The story told on their website is something their clients and potential clients can put their faith in. They know Weckworth will have as much passion for the project as they do! The entire process was fun, inventive and best of all – creative! We wish Weckworth the best of luck. Visit their new site here: www.weckworth.com!

Why You Want a Website that Grows With You.

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” – Walt Disney

Just because your company is where it is now doesn’t mean it will be there next year … or in two years. You’ll grow, you’ll add employees, you’ll add departments, you’ll expand your target audience. Maybe one of those things – maybe all of those things. The website you have now might be perfect for today, but who’s to say you won’t outgrow it? You might decide you want a virtual portfolio, a blog, or an entire online store. That’s perfectly normal, and a fabulous problem to have, but it can get expensive if growing means you have to build an entirely new website each time.

Just like women’s clothes, websites are NOT one size fits all. A package deal might sound good on the surface (“look at all those features!”) but don’t judge a book by its cover. Your initial excitement over all those features will probably turn into confusion, or frustration when you realize you only use a core few of them and the rest are baggage slowing your system down.

We believe in a custom-made web presence, so we are of the opinion that you should pay for only what you need. It’s why we build websites around the idea that building a strong foundation is key – additions are easy after that.

Along with being able to add features like a blog, e-commerce and photo albums, here are some other things you should think about to make sure your website grows right along with you. (more…)

Why You Should Outsource Copywriting – And How to Decide Who to Hire.

If you have an in-house creative team, copywriters are probably part of it. Many times, this setup is ideal. After all, they’re immersed in your business all day, every day. They know the terminology. They’re right down the hall to yell at if you don’t like something, or praise if you do.

Having said that, outsourcing your copywriting can be incredibly beneficial – oddly enough, for some of the very same reasons.

Benefits of Outsourcing Copywriting

A Fresh Perspective

The same perk that works for the in-house copywriters can also work against them. They’re immersed in your business – all. the. time. If the message you’re sending needs freshening up, a new angle might be just what the content marketing doctor ordered. It’s hard to get that type of freshness when you’re too close to a project, though, so take a proverbial step back. Someone who can objectively look at your business can also offer a fresh twist on your business’s objective – and help reach new audiences. All, of course, without deviating from your overall brand message.

Quality

Let’s pretend for a minute you don’t have a creative team in-house. Let’s also pretend your sales manager is writing your ad headlines. On the surface it might seem like you’re saving money by using the resources you already have. But think about it this way: you’re actually missing business opportunities by not having an expert talk to your audience. Not an expert in your business, per say, but an expert at putting the words in the right order to make your target audience perk up their ears and listen. A professional copywriter is going to make sure all the elements of well-written content is there, including a call to action.

(more…)

Congrats From Go Welsh.

We’ve been fortunate enough to have our work featured in quite a few books over the years. But this is a first. The folks at Go Welsh sent us a nice thank you gift in the form of a letter and a little Moleskine notebook. Thanking us for getting our work featured in their book is an unexpected, but fantastic gesture. Thanks guys!