Just launched a new site for Survey Systems. Sally our new designer created the logo and website design and I coded the site and put it onto WordPress using it as a CMS. We’re really happy with the results. http://sur-sys.com/
Keep coming back,
Matt
This has been a great podcast that I thought I would share. It renews my enthusiasm for the outdoors when I’m stuck at my desk in the middle of winter with no snow.
This is not good for the internet. Check out this link for more information.
Haven’t posted in awhile because it’s been a busy summer. We’re working on a new design for Wooly Mammoth Design along with launching a few new websites. Our goal is to keep this blog updated frequently with posts about the industry and the business. I thought I’d share a photo of my office mate, Tuna. I think he’s on strike today because it’s a beautiful Friday afternoon and I’m working.
It’s been very busy… but that’s a good thing. I just launched a big project that I’m really happy with. It’s built on WordPress for content management.
Work has been busy and that’s a good thing. We launched another eCommerce site on the Magento platform for In-Range Supplies. The site was integrated into Quickbooks using a daily dump from Magento. It eliminates the manual step of having to enter orders from Magento to Quickbooks. It was a very interesting project and a lot of work but the launch was successful! Magento has been a beast to learn but it has a lot of built in fuctionality to help store owners makes the most of their website.
Website Launches and a New Designer at Wooly Mammoth Design
I am happy to report that 2010 was a busy year for Wooly Mammoth Design. With the new year well underway – I can’t believe how fast January is going by – I’d like to share some news.
We recently did some work for one of Minnesota’s largest beer distributors, Chisago Lakes Distributing. CLD was looking for a complete renovation of their current site, including branding elements. We started with the logo. They were looking for a modern, updated design with a vintage, “craft beer” feel. To the right is the logo our new designer, Sally, created for Chisago Lakes Distributing.
The new logo provided a nice cornerstone on which to build out the website. The look and feel, along with the color palette, were exactly what Chisago Lakes was looking for.
As we start the new year we are busy with projects and excited to have a new designer on board. Life is good.
Look for updates to our Portfolio in the coming weeks as we will be adding examples of some recent website design work.
This is a common question and a good one. In our opinion, there is no “right” answer; the best option varies depending on the situation. We like to use an analogy to help people answer this question for themselves.
Looking for a website is a little bit like shopping for a car. A template website would correspond with the older used car that you can get fairly quickly and cheaply. Great if you don’t have a big budget and you desperately need a source of transportation. There are several unknowns that come with the purchase of a used car. It might run great for a few years, or it might need a lot of work that you may or may not have the expertise to take on, making it less usable and/or more expensive in the long run. It is also more likely to break down more often and it is hard to predict how long a used car with high miles on it will last before it stops being worth the money you keep having to put into it.
So, if you are on a tight budget that is keeping you from getting on the web, a template design could be the right option for you. Depending on the type of site you are looking for, a basic template design might suit your needs sufficiently. However, bear in mind the following:
It is possible that many other sites out there are using the same template, so your website will probably not be unique.
Customization of the template will be very limited, especially if your website coding abilities are lacking, so the template may not support all the functionality you had in mind.
Many available web templates use out of date, antiquated design code that may not accommodate your content or render your site properly in some web browsers.
Few template designs are built with search engines in mind, meaning your site might not rank well in search engines. Particularly bad code actually hurts your search rankings.
A custom web design is like a new car. It is significantly more expensive, but for some good reasons. It is exactly what you want; you chose it because it is packed with all the modern features that you want and need, it will (should) last a long time, it helps boost an image of professionalism and success, and the reliability of a new car eases the mind and reduces stress.
If you have the budget for it, a great option is a fully customized website designed by an experienced web designer. With a custom web design, you can enjoy the following benefits:
A fully customized, completely unique design that accommodates all your needs in terms of style and functionality.
A custom website by a good designer will be coded with search engines in mind. Clean code will significantly aid your site’s search engine rankings.
The website is designed from the ground up with your company’s specific goals in mind. The structure and flow of the site are built to strengthen your calls to action and ultimately improve web conversion rates.
Custom websites are adaptable. If you don’t have the budget for everything you want right now, your designer can add it later.
Bear in mind that the costs and quality of template websites and custom web designs vary according to their sources. All templates are not created equal, just like all custom web designers are not created equal.
The best way to make this decision is by doing a lot of research. Figure out what you want to get out of a website. Then figure out how much you are willing to pay to get it. This will give you a great starting point for your research. The features and pricing of most template websites are listed on the websites offering them and most web design companies are willing to give free quotes. Both are great opportunities for you to make the best choice possible.
Happy website hunting! We hope these ideas help you decide which website design option is best for you.
Keep coming back,
Matt
I haven’t posted in awhile. It’s been busy around here but I’m open for business! I’ll be posting more soon. Wrapping up a big e-commerce site on the Magento platform I have a few things I’d like to post about it.
Keep coming back,
Matt
I’m excited that March has been a great month for signing new clients. I’m excited to work with the Magento e-commmerce platform again and using WordPress as a CMS. WordPress has become such a great tool to work with and I couldn’t be happier with it.
On another note I was supposed to be deep in the mountains in Colorado this past week doing some serious snowboarding and had to cancel the trip due to sick dogs. The only postive is that I was able to get a great start with my new projects. Another positive is Southwest airlines gave a credit to use our flights at another date.
Keep coming back,
Matt
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