nancyjfoster |

If you’re in business, you need a web presence. It’s a way for your business to be available 24 hours a day. Prospective clients can find out what you offer, how to reach you, when you’re open, where you’re located, etc. Even if it’s just a single page, you need to be online.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to an effective website is that just about everyone out there has a friend or cousin who claims to be a web designer. Just because they’ve got some software that helps them build a site doesn’t mean they know the first thing about good design, reader-friendly writing, and search engine optimization (SEO). If you want a successful website, hire a professional designer. Remember the old adage… you get what you pay for.

Another problem I’ve seen is clients opting for template sites. By that, I mean the various web companies that offer online tools to build your own site. You choose from one of their templates and can do a basic amount of customization. These companies often charge a rather hefty monthly fee and you’re left to do the work. Plus you’ve got a site that may look just like a competitor’s. A much better solutions is to have custom built website that’s just as unique as your business. It doesn’t have to be expensive — I specialize in budget-friendly web design.

Once you have your website up and running, it’s time to tie it to the various social media platforms. For instance, if you market to consumers, Facebook and Twitter are great additions. YouTube provides a great place to store videos that educate clients and prospective clients.

All businesses need a logo. Ideally, a logo illustrates your product, service, or business name (think Apple Computer’s logo). Please don’t make the mistake of using a piece of generic clip art for your logo. Think about it… a competitor could have chosen the same image. Your logo needs to be as unique as your business.

Your logo should work at all sizes, from a business card all the way up to billboards and building signage. That means two important things: First, don’t make your logo overly detailed. When you shrink it down to the size typically used on a business card, all that detail may be lost. Second, your logo absolutely must be in a vector graphic format, so it can be enlarged without any degradation. Graphic images come in two basic types: bitmap (made up of individual “bits” or pixels) and vector (made up of mathematical equations). Too many times a client has provided me with their logo, but in bitmap format because that’s all they have. When you try to enlarge this type of image, you get that jagged “stair step” effect around any curves. That’s because all you’re doing is making the individual “bits” larger. I always provide clients with both bitmap and vector versions of their final logo. This way they have whatever they need for future marketing material.

When working out the colors, your logo should be clear whether rendered in a single color, say via fax, or in full color. I always start out the logo design process working in black and white. That way I know it will hold up if reproduced with a single ink color. Once the design itself is finalized, then I work on colors. An important consideration here is budget. I recommend logos be kept to two ink colors (yes, black is an ink color). This will keep a client’s expenses low when they need to print business stationery, but looks more professional than a one color logo. Occasionally I’ve had a client who insisted on a higher-color logo. I just make sure they understand what that will mean when they need to print anything with their logo.

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