Soon companies will be able to use their name as the internet domain name. Names like .coke or .nike or .whatever name you can think of, will no longer limit companies to .com, .net, or .org. There is a catch though, and its a pretty big catch.The application fee to register these .anything domains comes in at a hefty application fee of$185,000.000, and that does not include the $25,000 annual fee. (more…)

Recently I was watching an episode of the new hit TV show “The Voice” on NBC. I had seen a few episodes and it seemed fairly decent. The cast of stars is quality, the singers are good, and I was actually excited to see how some of the contestants would perform under pressure. (more…)

When Ray Kroc bought and modified the McDonalds concept in the 1950’s, I’m not sure he understood the impact and influence the brand would make throughout the world. They experienced incredible growth in the 1960‘s & 70‘s, and won “The Burger Wars” with Burger King in the 1980‘s.

The 1990’s were a bad decade for the fast food giant. Their advertising strategies were changed, to target adults, and the Deluxe Line of sandwiches launched. Ultimately bombing and costing the giant over $200 million dollars. Not a small price and was considered one of the biggest marketing flops of all time. During this campaign in 1996 the company launched its first website on www.Mcdonalds.com. This was to be the first of several key designs in the next 15 years, leading to possibly one of the best looking sites on todays web. (more…)

Whether you use your website as a business or as a leading authority of information, your website is your face and presence on the Internet. The web design of your Internet site is the first impression others have of you. Your web site can be considered your “Internet Face.” It is the first chance people will have to form an opinion about you or your company or business. (more…)

I think that most businesses today realize the importance of having an online presence – whether that be through a website, or a Facebook page, or a Twitter profile, etc. If your business does not have an online presence, the chances are you could be losing valuable business and customers to your competitors who do have effective and active online presences. (more…)

Clients looking for a website designer look for different things. If the client has an idea in mind, the designer can work from the idea in addition to tossing his own ideas to the client to see what works best, depending on the client’s brand. The client might not have a clue, in which case the designer’s ideas and work can shine which will net the client an eye-catching site. Yet other clients might not know much about the Internet at all, but recognize the need for a presence on the web. In cases like that, the designer can guide the client through to the right decisions based on his business type and both of them can shine. (more…)

It is an established fact that roughly half of all businesses fail within its first few years. A major source of this failure is believed by experts to be due to poor and ineffective marketing. If the marketing materials of a business do not stand out above those of the competitors, the sales of a company will take a major hit. (more…)

When it comes to marketing, advertising and connecting meaningfully with your clients, a strong presence on the web is absolutely invaluable. In today’s America virtually everyone spends at least a small portion of each day browsing the internet. According to a study performed by Nielson//NetRatings, a world class media analysis conglomerate, more than 75% of Americans have access to the internet from home. (more…)

The keys to a successful call to action are so often missed on designers’ attempts to market themselves. There are some clear-cut ways that you can address this missed opportunity and begin to get noticed as a designer today. Follow these tips so you can have the career that you have dreaming of all your life. (more…)

The current economic state has forced a significant change in business operations. Ten or twenty years ago, it was commonplace in the business world to plan extravagant offsite meetings for the purpose of assembling with potential clients. At these meetings, future clients came to know business owners through the presentations that were given, the product samples that were distributed, and listening to discussions that laid out the goals and intentions of the business owners. During these carefully planned gatherings, many profitable deals were hatched and closed. Additionally, relationships were established that blossomed into long-lasting affiliations. (more…)

A website is integral to a company or individual’s professional presentation to the world. It is impossible to be successful without one in today’s world. A great website will open up your company or self to the global market, as well as make it easier for local clients to reach you and your information. A website can also be a great jumping off point, a place to really make a name for yourself. Having a website with original content and relevant updates will keep your clients and audience interested and buying what you have to sell. (more…)

We’ve all heard the cliché before: a bad picture is worth a thousand words. What? That’s not how it goes? Well, that’s how it ought to go. A bad picture, after all, speaks volumes of you, the designer. And if you’re not giving photography the attention it needs in your designs, you’re shooting yourself in the foot. But that’s a cliché for another day. Today, I want to emphasize the importance of using high quality images in all your marketing collateral materials and web designs.
(more…)

There are plenty of web design firms offering their services today, but only some of them have the qualities of a top web design firm. While nearly anyone can offer prefabricated websites that are built with the press of a button and offer little to no customization and even less customer service, a top web design firm goes much further for their clients, offering superior design services as well as excellent customer service. (more…)

There are a variety of website platforms available for anyone that desires to start a website. The functionality has become more complex, but the methods for design have become much easier. Some designers still prefer manual coding, but there are lots of wizards and design applications that help users perfect their web pages. The main thing a web designer has to figure out is what platforms will best meet their needs. The following is a web design 101 overview of what’s available and how each of the platforms can be used.
(more…)

Starting your own business can be exciting, scary, and overwhelming all in one bite!  There are so many things to think about including but not limited to:  logistics, employees, rent, business planning, funding, customer satisfaction, marketing and much, much more!  While juggling all of these concerns, new business owners often think that creating a website is a “nice to have” or is more of a luxury item instead of integral part of starting a business.  Often times small business owners believe that creating a website is costly and complicated.  But as the small business world is changing rapidly, more and more people are entering this area and competition is becoming tougher.  Ensuring that you have a custom-designed website can create a competitive advantage.  It is one of the best ways to move your business forward and create revenue!
(more…)

In the days where searching for your website consisted of typing in the URL, many people jumped on the bandwagon of purchasing multiple domains with catchy keywords with hopes of selling them later for big bucks.  The right keywords in a domain name used to greatly affect how much traffic your site acquired.  The reason being was that knowing the url, or blindly typing in what you were looking for was the only way to access your site.  If you wanted to find pet shops in Phoenix, a valuable domain name would be www.PetShopsPhoenix.com .  The less obscure the name was, the more likely it would be memorable.  A memorable domain name would have higher traffic contributing to its value.  Now most people use search engines to find your products or services, it is not as much of a necessity to have the most perfect domain name or multiple domains.
(more…)

A Visual Identity is part of the Arizona web design community we love working with local businesses. We know the importance of a significant presence on the web and how that empowers your company’s brand to be notable and recognizable. Within the Arizona web design community we believe that our web presence has to be especially notable as there is fierce competition within the Arizona web design community. Our business is making your web presence impressive so we must certainly make ours that way.
(more…)

“Plug it in, Plug it in.”  Do you remember that phrase from the Glade Plug-in commercial?  So besides a device that is used to freshen your house, what is a browser plug in?

According to Wikipedia it is a set of software components that adds a specific capability to a larger software application.  Some common examples of a browser plug in are Adobe Acrobat for reading .pdfs files, Windows Media Player, and Anti-virus software.  browser plug ins enhance your web experience.  Instead of just viewing HTML text, you can watch video, play games, view specific documents, and do 3-D interaction.  There is a variety of browser plug ins for each of these purposes and they are easy to download.  Unless you have the most current browser that already has all of the browser plug ins installed, you may need new plug-ins in order to appropriately view a web page’s content.  About 80% of the time a new browser plug in will find you.  This occurs when you are browsing the web and particular software is needed to fully view the web page’s content, you will then receive an alert to download this plug-in.
(more…)