Articles Posted in Web Design

If you’re in the Internet marketing business or run your own company’s online campaign, you’ve probably heard about the 6th annual Google I/O conference in San Francisco that began yesterday and will last until May 17. Mainly targeted for software programmers, the developer conference has raised eyebrows and drawn the attention of many. One of the biggest highlights so far is the Google+ redesign.

If you’ve ever felt like a website redesign wasn’t worth your time or money, think again. If Google launches a redesign of its social platform, it shows us that there is always room for improvement.

To Redesign or Not to Redesign …

Coming from the company that mostly calls the shots as far as search engine results go, changing the look, features, and navigation of Google+ is a huge move. On that note, don’t jump into a redesign of your own website without giving it a lot of thought first. According to Mashable, 190 million users participate in the Google+ stream. That’s a lot of people to satisfy. Even if your audience isn’t that vast, one of the main things to focus on in a redesign, as shown by the below points, is improving the user experience.

The Google+ facelift is likely to plant a different image in people’s minds when they hear the phrase “social network,” maybe even replacing the brain’s automatic response to Facebook. The redesign is meant to keep up to speed with, and possibly even surpass, competitors like Facebook and Pinterest, or at least encourage Internet users to jump onto Google+ as well or more often.
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Designing a website is a complex process.

There are many aspects involved in creating a successful website design that helps draw in customers and gives your company a better chance at success.

However, finding a balance between the appearance of your website and the functionality of each page can be difficult for many.

When redesigning an old site or designing a brand new website, it is important to balance style and function.

A skilled designer will not simply favor one over the other, but will rather focus on both and create a site that naturally combines the two for the benefit of the company and visitors alike.

Easy-to-Find Links vs. Visual Aesthetics

Visitors should be able to easily move throughout the site, exploring various pages and being able to get to the topic they were originally searching for in the first place. However, the links found throughout each page should not compromise the look of the site. Make sure that the presence of links fits into the look of the page through color use, font, and placement within the page as a whole.
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The holiday season is a wonderful time to spend time with friends and family and give thanks for any and all of the things you may be thankful for this year. If you are an attorney with a passion for the law as well as for helping others, you may be appreciative of the different ways in which new clients can discover your legal services and learn how you can help them if they are in need of legal assistance. One of the most excellent tools to achieve this goal is your website, and there are many components to making a legal website a successful one.

With this in mind, the following is a sample letter to the beloved seasonal figure Santa Claus with some ideas as to what you may want to ask for in order to make your attorney website informative, memorable, and marketable:

Dear Santa Claus,
I hope this letter finds you, Mrs. Claus, as well as your employees in wonderful spirits! Though I am sure you are quite busy preparing for the holiday season and your annual trip around the world, I wanted to send you a quick letter with just a few things that I have been dreaming of this year for my law firm’s website. As an attorney, I aim to help those in need, and with a number of successful cases this year, I feel without hesitation that I am on your “Nice” list and may ask for just a few things from you this Christmas.
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There are many elements of law firm website design that businesses must consider when pursuing online success, and while some aspects, such as being pleasing to the eye and easy to read readily come to mind, there are deeper aspects of functionality that play a large role in success. Among these, having an easily searchable website can improve your law firm’s online presence in multiple areas, some that you may not currently know.

Drawing in Visitors
First-time visitors to a website can easily become lost, even if they have come to the site with a specific purpose. In order to prevent your visitors from getting lost, and then likely leaving the site altogether, giving them the ability to easily search your site will help them to find the information they need. While there are many ways that search functions can be integrated into the site, it is best that users can easily find the search toolbar on any page. Additionally, searches should be able to lead them to the pages they are searching for with as little effort as possible and accurate search results. In essence, search functions on your website should work to draw visitors deeper into your website and encourage them to trust your business, not push them away.
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Now that we’ve covered some logistics about the importance of keeping conversion and your target audience in mind when redesigning your legal website, we can get to the good stuff.

Questions to Consider
Take some time to answer these questions:

• What do you dislike about your current website?
• What do you like about your current website?
• What new features would you like your website to have?
• What other websites (doesn’t have to be other legal sites) have you been to that you like the look of and why?
• Do you have a preference of color scheme or do you like your existing site?
• Do you prefer a more in-your-face look where “contact us” is by far the most important? Or a more subtle tone of the site where you want visitors to see what you’re about (case results, testimonials, etc.) before making the decision?
• What kind of audience/clientele are you trying to hit? In other words, who are your ideal clients and what type of message do you want your site to provide to them?

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It is with great enthusiasm that SLS Consulting announces winning not one, but two 2012 Website Winner 18th Annual Communicator Awards: one for Excellence in the Corporate Communications category and one for Distinction in the Law and Legal Services category. The Communicator Awards is a leading international creative awards program that makes honoring creative distinction among professionals in the communication industry its priority.

SLS Consulting has won the website design and development award for excellence for its work on and creation of the legal website for Nebraska personal injury law firm Cullan & Cullan, LLC, http://www.cullanlaw.com/. Considering that the Communicator Awards receives over 6,000 entries from around the world from public relations firms, in-house creative professionals, production firms, graphic designers, design firms, interactive agencies, and ad agencies, receiving recognition from this organization is an outstanding honor.
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