Considering this small business had been around for over 20 years, it was a surprise to hear, but up until now they had just gotten by on their reputation. This got us talking, it turns out the reason that the company was ready for a website now was because they had just lost a potential new client. After a few good phone conversations their client was impressed, but wanted to do a little more research about them before entering into an agreement. That’s when she headed to her computer to make her final decision. The companies lack of a website made the client nervous. In an age of technology how could any company rely only on what others said about them when they were face to face?

Even with a great reputation in your field without a website, new clients, especially ones who may not be able to meet you in person, judge you by it. Now I’m not saying your reputation isn’t important, rather your website helps to solidify your reputation.

Back to our clients dilemma, they spent the next few months working on their site with us, all the wile keeping what had happened in the backs of their minds and considering their clients reactions at every turn.

The result was a great, client focused custom website that even many months after the launch of the site, still receives rave reviews from their current and potential clients, including that very client who push them into creating a website in the first place.

We are offering three enticing incentives to encourage owners of websites that are in serious need of an upgrade. 1) A 20% discount of our normally competitive pricing 2) Free Web Hosting for 1 year and 3) Up to 80 % financing at 0% interest for 1 year to qualified upgraders.

The goal of our Cash for Web Clunker program is to make it easy for business owners to get that new 2010 model website. By now all business owners realize that their website is the vital to their success. And our aim is to reduce the economic barrier that might have created a roadblock in the past.

Just like the governments Cash for Clunker Program all good things don’t last. Our offer is on the table until the end of September.

For more details call me at 212 -679-1212 or go to http://www.csdesignworks.com/discountonwebdesign.html

There’s a lot of pressure out there to blog, to Twitter for business, to at least have a Linkedin profile for goodness sakes! And it’s true, you can’t “sit this one out” and “see where it goes.” Oh, it’s going. Our social lives and our business marketing will never be the same. Your business must participate in the online social sphere.  I’m just one more peer here to say, go on, try it.

It’s a curious feeling, even just posting photos that anyone could see, never mind a status update. So start slow. One site at a time, one profile at a time. Linkedin is an excellent place to begin, since it’s business oriented. When you’re ready to advance to the next level of posting videos on YouTube or setting up a Facebook page for your business, think of it as just that: for your business. It’s true, there’s blurring between the personal and the professional lines, you will be out there with your business – but take comfort in the fact that so is everyone else. That’s right, everyone is doing it.

As you get more comfortable, you’ll enjoy networking online because you’ll be finding old friends and new contacts. Your website will attract more traffic from the additional visibility. It will be worth it. And then there will come a day when you post on a blog and it gets some seriously snarky responses. And you’ll cringe and wish you had never set foot in cyberspace. But so what? It’s just people’s opinions and it will pass. And as they say, all publicity is good publicity. Just stay true to yourself, on message with your company, and keep making connections – online.

Okay, there are images of cables, plugs, and even fiber optics (and those are kinda pretty). But: 1. when we get tired of those …? And 2. Does the viewer identify and connect? It’s hard to be specific. I’ll admit, sometimes when I see these images I process it merely as “something techy.”

And by the way – did you know that blue is the unofficial color of tech? (Is it that fiber optic pulses really ARE blue?) 90% of stock images representing tech, data, or internet concepts are some shade of blue. At left is one example of a techy collage, in blue. And further down is a very, uh, clear example of what an online money transfer looks like.
Well, there is the good ol’ visual metaphor. (Blurred speeding train, anyone? Backlit spider web?) This works in some instances–they can really enrich the viewing experience and strengthen the message. It all depends on the project. And conceptual imagery comes with its own set of challenges. Again, will the viewer get it or is it too removed from the subject matter? Does it tie in with the copy? Do these images get tired too? (Padlocks=data security, for example.) Gotta keep brainstorming.

It may be as we move away from print and even static images in any media context, video can represent these ideas better. But until then, what’s a designer to do?