Communication Is Key: Be Honest With Your Website Designer

When you first meet with a web designer or a website design team, you may be intimidated or unsure. Perhaps you don’t really know what you want your web presence to look like. Or maybe you are confident. You have a clear picture in your head of what you want the website to look like, and you’re worried your designer won’t be able to get it exactly right.

Whichever camp you fall into, you shouldn’t be nervous about meeting with a web designer. They are there to help provide the best web presence for your company. If they are a reliable website design firm, they will listen to your needs and take all your input into consideration. They should offer revisions and follow the guidelines you provide for them. So, there is nothing to be worried about. Whether you have no computer knowledge whatsoever or you are a technological whiz, the website design firm should make you feel comfortable expressing your needs. They are at your service, after all.

At Codank Web Design, we are dedicated to offering multiple revisions, providing custom designs, and making sure our clients are 100% satisfied with our final product. 

Keeping an open line of communication with the web designer is the first step to getting the website that best represents your business model. If you don’t have any idea what you want the website to look like, just explain it as best as you can. The web designer will come up with a mock up and you can go from there. Tell them what you like about the mock design and what could be improved upon. If you hate something about the mock up, say so. It’s important that the web designer knows exactly what you want.

Another good tactic for giving the website design team a good idea of what you like is browsing the web for other companies’ designs. Find some that are appealing to you. Provide links or print out pages and make notes on what you like in a web design. There are endless options and a huge variety of website templates out there, so just look around and see what appeals to you. This will help give you and your designer an idea of how your website should look.

The most important thing is to be honest with your web designer and to provide constructive feedback. Be specific! Having an effective, communicable relationship with your website design team will ensure that your website will turn out exactly how you envisioned it.

Looking for a reliable website design firm? Contact Codank Web Design. Give us a gander and you won't be disappointed. 

RWD: The Revolution of the Smart World

One of the hot topics for website design is responsive web design. There’s been some buzz about it ever since the explosion of the smart phone, tablet, and other “smart” technologies. But what does it mean for a website to be responsive?

You know how sometimes you pull up a website on your smart phone and the picture looks distorted? Well, that website isn’t responsive. The goal of RWD is to make websites viewable from different windows of technology. Whether you have a tablet, an iPhone, or a laptop, a responsive website will appear equally clear on all mediums. These days, a lot of web designers recognize the importance of RWD, but it’s still a pretty advanced technology. In 2012, more website design companies will be investing time in responsive sites to increase the viewing population of their clients’ websites. At CODANK web design, we work with our clients to ensure their designs are responsive to a variety of forms of technology.

There are three important things to consider when dealing with RWD: flexible grid, responsive images, and media queries.

Flexible grids make the template of your website moldable on different technologies. You can download flexible grids, or make them yourself from scratch. There are also several types of tools to help you sketch out your templates. First, there are sketch sheets and sketchbooks, which allow you to see what the template will look like before your website goes live. You can keep the designs just like a real sketchbook. Responsive wireframes and multi device layouts also help you see what your template will look like before you proceed with other steps in your responsive web design.

Once you’ve laid out the template in a sketchbook, you can proceed with a template. There are lots of tools out there for making flexible grids.

Next you have to consider responsive images. You don’t wait your images to be distorted when viewers see your website on their smart phone or iPad. There are tools to help convert images on your website as they move from the computer screen to the smart phone. Responsive images are adaptable no matter what the viewing device.

Lastly, media queries help shift your web pages’ elements to make them responsive and adaptable.

Read these articles for suggestions on the specific tools that are out there to help you with responsive web design. As technologies become more advanced, and screens become smaller and more portable, responsive web design is going to become essential in the world of web design. Getting Started with Responsive Web Design: 50 Fantastic Tools for Responsive Web Design:

One of the hardest and most frustrating things about blogs is breaking the 100 views per day threshold. Your blog has quality content, it’s intriguing, and you have a steady following. But you want to make the leap to get thousands, not a hundred, views a day. So, how do you do it?

The first step is to write one killer article per week. A killer article is a really informative, creative, and alluring article that is sure to capture your viewer’s attention and keep them reading. It’s an article that’s so helpful, so enticing, that viewers will tweet it, facebook it, and repost it to their own blogs. Killer articles take a long time to write; you’ll want to work on it for one hour every day of the week until it’s finished.

Unfortunately, posting one killer article a week won’t be enough to get you lots of exposure, even if the article is earth shattering, life changing, or the best thing you’ve ever written. You have to make sure you network with other bloggers in you niche. You can comment on other blogs that relate to your company, post links to other blogs on your website, or contact other bloggers about their work. Build relationships with people in your blogging niche so you can create a support system. These people may start reading your blogs and reposting them on Twitter or adding your link to their websites. You can also post your own blog on social network accounts so that your friends and followers can get access to it. Do these networking activities every day.

Along with networking, promote your blog. It’s important to take advantage of social networking accounts so that your friends and followers have easy access to your blog. Get friends to submit the articles to bookmarking sites or put links on their Twitter and Facebook. Send out a mass email to your friends and family telling them about the blog and encouraging them to tell their friends. You can also post the article in online forums as to expand your readership.

Killer articles are a great way to attract readers and promote your blog, but also remember to post daily. Each blog doesn’t have to be a work of genius; you can post just a few thoughts or a link to a relevant article online. You could even start a discussion and ask readers to respond. Write a smaller article to get people’s thoughts flowing.

It is definitely frustrating to see that the views on your blog are stagnant. But if you dedicate time and energy to promoting, networking, and writing quality articles, your hard work will pay off. It’s all about making those connections and engaging in a conversation with your online niche.

For more blogging and website design tips, contact Codank Web Design. We are dedicated to helping you create a successful web presence with our custom designed websites. 

Web Design Tips Centered on Usability

Websites should always be easy to use. Studies show that the reason a viewer abandons a website is either because the page will not download or they are confused by the website. Don’t make the mistake of underestimating the power of usability. Here are a few tips on making your website as user oriented as possible.

We Hold These Website Design Elements to Be Self Evident:

Everything on your website should be visually clear to the user. Create a visual hierarchy using font size and prominence. The headlines should always be larger than the content and they should stick out to the user. Always place a headline or a main idea higher on the page so that the user knows it is important. If you want certain content to receive visual priority, place it higher on the page. Also, make sure you group your pages according to similar content. Each page should have a clear theme, idea, and purpose. Each page should also have similar style, but at the same time be definitive so that the user knows the difference between an FAQ page and the shopping cart checkout page. Links should be clearly defined and clickable items should be obvious.

Break it Up:

When users are searching for something in particular, they will seek the page link that corresponds most to their needs and ignore the rest. Separate content by page and make sure there is little or no overlap. Also, avoid hiding advertisements in your content; keep ads separate as they can distract from the content and force the user to ignore the page altogether.

Follow Conventions:

Breaking from convention is good in many instances, but web design isn’t one of them. There are certain things users expect when they go to a website. For instance, navigation links are usually on the left side of the page, log in and username input is located at the top right of the page, and navigation links are usually at the bottom of the page. Hyperlinks are underlined in blue (or some other color that stands out) and, if you are selling online, always use a small shopping cart logo in the upper right hand corner. Following these conventions will prevent users from having to search for elements of your web pages that should be obvious to them.

Don’t Underestimate Simplicity:

It’s tempting to create a web design that is a work of art with lots of colors, font styles, and words. But to make your website more user friendly, tone down the number of words, font styles, link styles, colors, and images. Keeping it simple will allow the content to stand out while the design serves as a compliment. Minimize the use of background images and background colors. Don’t be afraid to use white space and allow the text to speak for itself without the help of too many additives.

User friendliness should be the number one priority when you design your company’s website. Creativity and captivation are important, too, but the user wants to feel welcome and confident when they visit your website. Follow these tips on maximizing usability on your company’s website and ensure that your website gets traffic and viewer satisfaction. For more website design tips and solutions, contact Codank Web Design. We are dedicated to crafting custom websites that consider both your company's business model and the importance of usability. 

Combat Writer's Block

Blogs are a great way to attract viewers to your company’s website. They are continually being updated, which keeps readers coming back for more, and they help you enter into a conversation with those who visit your website. Website design needs to be eye catching, but don’t forget to keep your content alluring as well. Blogs help keep your website’s content fresh and exciting. But blog writing can also be hard. Here are a few tips on how to combat writer’s block, creativity lapses, and anything else that might stunt your blogging.

The dreaded writer’s block. It happens to all of us. Sometimes we sit down to write and nothing comes to us! We have no ideas, no thought provoking conversations we can enter into, and no motivation. Well, there is no cure for writer's block. However, there are some things you can do to help overcome it. First of all, if you are having one of those writer’s block days, just take some time to walk away from the computer or notepad. Give your mind a break from thinking, and just relax. Think about what you’ve written in the past, what subjects have attracted readers before, and what sort of things would be relevant to write about today. More than likely, you will be able to think of something.

If that fails, try free writing. Write down ideas or sentences or paragraphs of different things. One of your threads is bound to take you somewhere, and you may be able to flesh out an entire blog post. Free writing is a great exercise to do before you even sit down at your computer. It gets the creative juices flowing!

When you’re out and about, keep your ears open and have a pad of paper and pen with you at all times. Inspiration can strike at any point, and if you catch wind of any good ideas for blogs topics, you should write them down. It will help you in those moments of writer’s block.

A good blog always needs a good title. Some writers create a title after their blog is complete. For others, the title is the first thing they write down. Whichever camp you fall into, make sure your title is catchy and informative. It should draw the reader in without being misleading. You can use catch phrases, old sayings, or alliterations; the more creative your title is, the better. Another good tactic is combining a catchy title with a subtitle that describes more what the article is about. For example: From Riches to Rags: The Story of the Kardashian’s Fall from the Top. The Kardashian’s, of course, have not yet fallen from the top, but if they had, people would be interested in reading about it. This title would definitely peak some reader interest.

When you are writing, make sure spelling and grammar is in check. Have someone proofread your work, or enable spell and grammar check on your computer. Everyone makes mistakes, but you won’t earn credibility among your readership if you have poor grammar.

Blogs have the potential to attract lots of readers to your company’s website; just make sure that you have interesting things to write about. Anything that you have to say that is relevant to your company and your audience is worth sharing with your readership. So start blogging, and keep these tips in mind.

The Outline for a Successful Web Presence

Having a successful web presence is key to taking your company from local to global. Creating a website can expand your customer pool from the areas around you to the world around you. It makes your business accessible to customers 24/7 with the click of a button. The potential of your company’s web presence is great, no doubt about it. But in order to turn potential into results, there are a few things your web presence has to have in order to be successful.

Homepage: The first thing your website design should have is a homepage. This is the place where customers get their first impression. It has to be catchy, comprehensible, and organized. The homepage should give the viewer some basic info on what your business model is. What does your company do? Why are you reliable? What do others have to say about you? You should have some captivating images, maybe a few quotes, and the basic layout of your website. Use tabs or infographs to show your other web pages. Make sure they are easily accessible and interesting as well.

About: The next thing your web presence needs is an about section or company info page. This is the place where you can really shine. Explain to the customer why, specifically, you are the company they want to invest their time and money into. Show that you are trustworthy, reliable, and confident. If your customers were impressed with your homepage, this is where they will probably go next. Continue to impress them with details about your business model and your company’s m.o.

Testimonials: If there’s one thing customers trust, it’s the word of a fellow customer. Include a section of laudable reviews or quotes on why others have been pleased with your company. If someone is browsing your website and sees real life testimony of your previous customers, it’s bound to help your company gain their trust and peak their interest.

Blog: Don’t underestimate the power of the blog. Having a blog is a great way to enter into a conversation with your customers. Blogs usually have a laid back feel and a conversational tone that is appealing to customers. They also help prove your credibility; if you are a pet sitting business writing blogs that offer tips on how to train your dog to stop barking when the mailman comes to the door, people will trust you know what you’re talking about. Blogs are also constantly changing and being updated. This will keep customers coming back to your website to see the latest post.

Social Media: Don’t forget to incorporate social media into your web presence. Add share buttons for Twitter, facebook, Google Plus, and other social sites so that viewers can share your company’s website with their friends. In addition to share buttons, create a presence on Twitter and facebook so that you can connect with customers on a social level. Become one of their likes, interests, or favorites.

Need assistance setting up your web presence? Contact CodankWeb Design. We design custom websites for our clientele. We will work with your company every step of the way to create a website that accurately represents and promotes your business model.

Website Design Errors You Should Avoid

Creating a website for your business is a great way to put your company name out there and display your business model to potential clients almost anywhere in the world. But before spending all that time and money on a website design company, you need to make sure you are getting your money’s worth. You want your website to attract customers, increase website traffic, and draw in more business. Here are a few blunders you should avoid when planning out your company’s web presence. Keep these in mind when consulting with your website design company.

Give the viewer some room to breathe:

Cool images, videos, and fonts can be good for your company’s web presence; however, you need to know when enough is enough. Don’t have too many animations or widgets that take a long time to load--people won’t want to wait. Too many images and videos can also distract the viewer from the actual content of your website. Remember, the goal of your website is to promote your business model. Some fancy web design features are good, but keep the main focus on the content of your website.

Spelling and Grammar:

Speaking of content, you want to make sure you have good spelling and grammar. This may sound like a no brainer, but you’d be surprised how many errors appear on company websites. Take the time to proofread and edit your content. If you have typos, your readers won’t find you credible or trust the quality of your service.

Don’t Be Afraid of White Space:

You may have the urge to take up every square inch of white space on your web pages. But stop and think about using the white space to your advantage. White space can make images pop and make your content clearer. Too much color can distract the viewer and be too overwhelming. Contrast between content and design can be a good thing, forcing the reader to appreciate the design and still focus on the content.

Don’t Forget About SEO:

You want to make sure you content is search engine friendly. Create an SEO plan and figure out how you want to incorporate your website design and content. High quality content with key words related to your business will help put you higher on the search results page.

Your company’s website should do its job of informing people about your business and projecting your company name on a global scale. It’s important not to make these blunders so that your website can be effective, alluring, and informative. If you’re thinking of creating a website for your company, contact Codank Web Design. We are dedicated to making original websites for all our clients.  

Let's Start Pinning

Pinterest is a web phenomenon that is taking the world by storm. It’s an online pin board that’s driven mostly by the imagery and photo quality of the products on the site. Pinterest combines social networking and consumerism; it allows users to share products, design tips, crafts, recipes, and pretty much anything else that peaks their interest. But where does online pin board, seemingly directed mainly towards women, fall in line with website design?

The growth of web design all depends on the sharing and exchanging of ideas and techniques. If you search under the technology section of Pinterest, you can often find web design ideas. You can then “re-pin” them and use them for inspiration later. It’s a great way to see what else is out there, what other web designers are using, and what’s popular among the web design community. You can also create a page on Pinterest and list yourself as a website designer. Pin some samples of your work and include information about yourself and or your company. People can see your work, re-pin it to their pages, and your website design skills will get more exposure.

With Pinterest, you can also include links to your facebook and Twitter pages, as well as your company website so that people can follow you more closely if they are interested. Also, make sure to include key words in every picture you post on Pinterest. That way, if someone is searching for “wedding website design” and you have a pin board dedicated to wedding websites, they can find you easily.

Pinterest is, in large part, a site saturated with pretty images of things that people find interesting. But if you look under the right categories, you can actually find some useful tips on web design, technology, computers, and the like. Post pieces of your design portfolio to Pinterest and see who re-pins your posts.

Socialize your Website: Why it’s important for your company to reach out with social media.

Let’s Socialize: Social media has made the internet an extension of our social lives; it’s become a place of sharing thoughts, ideas, and interests. Getting on facebook means connecting with friends through pictures, posts, and articles. Getting on Twitter means opening up the line of communication between you and people all over the world. The online experience has become a portfolio of favorites; you can share favorite recipes, articles, quotes, ideas, and much more with all your friends while sitting at your computer. Getting online means exchanging ideas and entering into a conversation about the things you like and the stuff you’re interested in. 

That’s why it’s vital to incorporate social media into your company’s website design. Having pages on facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and others puts your company’s website into the social world of the internet. Without the help of social networking, it’s like you’re sitting on the bench at a high school dance; you’re watching and can see what’s going on, but you’re not hanging with the crowd. In order for your company’s website to get the best exposure, you have to get up off the bench and dance your way into the online conversation. If you immerse yourself into the social lives of potential customers and clients, you are guaranteed to have more success.

Brand Recognition: Social media websites get lots of traffic, so if you make a facebook page for your company and your company’s website, then you’re guaranteed to get some views. People will see your pages and start to recognize your brand. Check your stats daily to see how many likes your pages get and how many people are frequenting your facebook page. If your numbers are low, include social media share buttons on your company’s website. This will encourage people who visit your site to share your page with their friends on facebook or tweet about your company.

Social Media is About Sharing: Having a facebook page isn’t just for posting information. As stated before, facebook is a way to share and exchange ideas and enter into a conversation about the things we like and take interest in. Use videos and pictures on your facebook page to attract more visitors. Think of your facebook page as a giant advertisement. Include pictures, articles, videos, and quotes. Make it eye-catching and stimulating. Also, take advantage of other people’s ideas. You can re-post an article from someone else’s page or use a video from someone else’s website (as long as you give them credit). Social media is about sharing, so share other’s ideas on your pages if it is relevant to your company.

When it comes to promoting your company’s business model, social media can integrate you into the intimate part of people’s online conversation. If you can wedge your way into their social activities on the internet via facebook and Twitter, your company can become part of their interests. When considering website design and social media networking, consider contacting CODANK Web Design. We can provide more tips and tools when it comes to your company’s website presence. We also create one of a kind websites for our clients and assist with social media marketing. Contact us today for a free quote.

Do I Need a Separate Marketing Website for my Products?

Lots of ecommerce merchants use a main website to advertise their products and provide important information about their company. But when the time comes to promote or sell a certain product, separate marketing websites are essential to increasing your sales and marketing your products effectively.

People may browse your ecommerce website because they need information about your ecommerce business, but they may not look there specifically for product sales and reviews. Contact a website design company, like CODANK Web Design, to make separate websites to market your products. If you sell a variety of products in your ecommerce business, create different websites to target each category of products. Customers shop online by the product they want. If they need shoes, they will browse ecommerce shoe products. If they are looking for power tools, they will search for sites that sell power tools. Having those separate ecommerce websites for your products will reach more customers as you narrow down the inventory to match their interests.

The website you use for your ecommerce marketing business is usually run by an IT team. If you use a website design company, they will be dedicated to making sure the product is marketed in the best way possible. CODANK Web Design understands the art of making marketing websites to attract customers to a certain product. Our team will design custom websites to help market your products and contribute to the growth of your ecommerce business. Our ecommerce websites are enabled by content management systems (CMS) to help you add and change updates, coupons, or special promo deals on your products.

If you want to see tangible results in selling your ecommerce items, you have to capitalize on the services of a website design team. They will know what it takes to market your products to attract customers. Expand your ecommerce business and customer base by contacting a website design team. CODANK Web Design can help you make these external ecommerce websites. Contact us today for a free quote.

What's "In" for Website Design?

Website design is always changing; with new technologies emerging constantly, web design gets more creative, unique, and advanced all the time. But there are a few trends that have been recurring often enough that we know they will probably stick around for a while. Here are just a few:

Font Styles: Lots of website designers are employing the use of rich typography for their websites. Use a variety of readable, but eye-catching fonts to draw viewers in. Not only does this have a cool look, but it also makes your text more of a piece of artwork than just a page of information. Use a larger, bold font for your heading and a loopier, cursive font for subheadings. Mix and match flowy fonts with stark letters. Taking advantage of font styles for your web designs can add the finishing touch to an awesome web design. Some font styles are online for free, but others cost money. Make sure you figure out if you need to pay for your funky fonts.

Blocks: Lately a lot of website designers are using block style templates to make their websites. With block style web design, you can use a lot of different pictures and images to enhance your site. It also offers a segmented, organized view of what the website has to offer; web designers like to use blocks so that everything is clear and easy to find. It also creates an appealing visual with the variety of images and colors. You can contrast different colors and fonts to make a website look exciting, but also informative. Also, use different size blocks to create a collage-like web design. If you are designing for a company that has a lot of different things to offer, consider blocking off the different sections and including a contrasting image in each block.

Photography: Some companies want to bring their websites to life. This can be done using photography backgrounds, which enhance the reality component of the website. Users like seeing good photography on websites because it emits a life-like feel and connects them to the web design. Sometimes animated images can come off as fake or hokey. Real images remind us that web design is an extension of real life.

Large Background images: Opposite of the blocking approach, this web design tactic has the viewer focused on one big picture. Web designers will place one image in the background to summarize the overall feel for the website and the company.

Infographics: These have been in the business a long time, but they are still part of the trend. Infographics are little pictures or symbols that stand for a different web pages or features of the website. If you want to contact the company, for instance, you might see a pencil or phone infograph. If you want to learn about their policies you may see a question mark. These are good ways to save space on your website and also avoid running the reader down with too much wordage.

Handwriting: Using font that appears to be handwritten can give a website an easy going feeling. Also, using images that look hand drawn (albeit professionally) can add a touch of home feeling to the website design. If you are designing for a company that wants to attract families or feminine items, this may be a good approach.

Trends in web design may change, but these are some that are sure to be popular for a while. Website design is geared to making the online experience as real for the user as possible. Use photography, vibrant colors, and unique fonts to get the readers’ attention, but also remember to make your websites user friendly and easily comprehensible. CODANK Web Design is dedicated to designing websites for the customer, ensuring that the company’s business model is portrayed professionally and creatively. Contact us if you have questions about how your company can maintain a web presence today.

Take Control of Your Website

Many website design companies have IT staff and professional web designers on hand to make updates, revisions, and additions to their clients’ websites. But, as a client, being able to revise your own website makes it easier and more efficient to keep your company’s web presence up to date. That’s why CODANK Web Design employs content management systems as a part of our web design platform. We let you take control of your company’s website.

When handling updates and revisions with a website design team, the process can take more time than necessary. Let’s say you want to add something to your site—a calendar event, a blog post, or a new page. Let’s also say that you aren’t too computer savvy. Well, first you’ll have to get in contact with the web design company and IT department, or a web developer. Then, you’ll have them make the change, approve the change, and then see the revision live on your website. What if you want to make several changes? You’ll have to have a lengthy, descriptive conversation with your web design firm or internet technician about the additions you want put on your website. With a content management system (CMS) enabled website, you can make all the changes easily by yourself. You can make revisions and additions whenever you see fit without being at the mercy of the professionals on the web design team.

CMS enabled websites allow you to update your site as you see fit. CODANK’s custom made websites are all CMS enabled to ensure that the client will always have access to the website. We believe that the website is yours to mold and shape as your business changes. With our system, you can manually add calendars, upcoming events, links, images, blog posts, pages, text, contact information, and more. CODANK creates websites for the client, so we believe the site should be user friendly.

When it comes to online marketing, your website is an extension of your business; therefore, it should be yours to maneuver and control. For a custom designed, CMS enabled website, contact CODANK today for a free quote.

Read It or Watch It?

Why YouTube videos are important for website marketing

People love YouTube videos. They can be funny, concise, and entertaining to watch. They allow people to self advertise and have the potential to reach billions of viewers. What’s even better is that they’re free—whether you want to watch a video or post one. When people are searching on the web and see the window with the video player and the play button front and center, they are most likely going to hit play. That’s why it’s important for you to utilize YouTube videos as an opportunity to advertise for your company’s website. At CODANK, a Charlotte web design company, we help our clients make YouTube videos for their websites.

In this age of internet speed and knowledge exchange, people want information—fast. Watching a video takes less time and energy than reading. If given the chance, most people will opt out of the long winded piece of writing and go for the short video clip. That’s why YouTube videos come up on the search results page first, before all the written articles. Videos are captivating and easy to absorb. They are also often more intriguing than a written work. People will be more likely to keep watching a video than keep reading an article if it gets boring. If you have a stimulating visual advertisement for your website, you will reach out to more people and increase popular knowledge about your company.

When trying to advertise your company on the web, it can be difficult to spread the word about your business. If your company’s website is at the bottom of the search results page, you’ll have trouble getting website traffic. SEO techniques certainly help, but that still won’t guarantee that people will click on your website’s link before the others on the search results page; therefore, you need to implement YouTube videos into your marketing strategies. When searching for anything on the World Wide Web, videos come at the top of the search results page; search engines know that people are likely to click on videos before they click on an article. By creating YouTube videos to advertise your business, you are raising the possibility that your video is going to come up at the top of the search results page. People will click on your video and be instantly directed to your company.

As a CODANK team, we help you make videos to improve your website marketing techniques. We work closely with our clients to ensure that we take the best route when creating websites and promoting businesses on the web. Check out our website to learn more about how CODANK can assist you with your website design and marketing needs.

Why Website Design Companies Should Offer Multiple Revisions

Many website design companies view website design revisions as a design team’s worst nightmare. It can be frustrating and time consuming when a client is not yet satisfied with the website layout and keeps asking for revisions. But while it can be frustrating, revisions should always be a part of the contract between a client and the design team. CODANK, a website design company in Charlotte, offers multiple revisions to ensure customer satisfaction and design variance.

When a client sees the first website layout, they may be thrilled and want no changes; most times you aren’t that lucky. The client wants a website that represents their business model, which means that it needs to promote what their company stands for. If you aren’t promoting it in the way they see fit, they have the right to suggest revisions.

As a website design company, it is important to offer revisions in order to let the magic of the design process run its course. Here are the benefits of offering revisions as a website design company.

The Growth of Web Design: The worldwide web is always changing. With a plethora of design possibilities at our fingertips, each website created has a different flair and a unique aesthetic. When clients ask for revisions, it forces your website design company to think outside the box and design in more innovative ways. In turn, this expands the variety of your portfolio and allows you to explore design options you may have never considered.

Customer/Designer Relations: Revising website designs not only strengthens the versatility of your website design company, but it also reinforces the line of communication between the design team and the customer. Customer service is of utmost importance when working with a client, and creating revisions shows the client that you are dedicated to making their website the best it can be.  Revisions also help you get a better picture of the client’s business model—what exactly is their business platform and how can the design company best display it through a website design?

CODANK believes in crafting custom designs for the client, offering after sales support and revisions. We will work hard to revise websites for our clients until they are completely satisfied.

CODANK is a top rated website design company in Charlotte, NC. Our commitment to top notch custom website design means you can be confident that whatever your project demands, our web developers deliver on time and on budget. We guarantee the best customer satisfaction!   

How to Find a Reliable Website Design Company

The internet has opened the gateway to world-wide communication. Having a solid website for your business can expand your clientele from local to global. It allows your business to remain open for twenty-four hours, reaching every possible customer anywhere in the world at any time. This makes finding a reliable website design company of utmost importance when considering the global image of your business. At CODANK, a Charlotte based web design company, we work closely with prospective clients to make sure we understand the design services, or web development services, they need to promote their business model. There are three important aspects to finding a website design company that will portray your business in an accurate, eye-catching way.

Credentials:
The first thing to look for when searching for a reliable website design company are the credentials of the web design team. Check out their website. If you aren’t impressed by the web design firm’s own website, it’s hard to gauge how well they portray their clients’ businesses on the web. Being impressed by their website doesn’t mean you have to approve of its style—just make sure the necessary website components are there. They should have, at a minimum, an “about” section (who are they and what do they do?), a content section (including blogs, some type of portfolio, and some stats about their company), and contact information. They should also have a site that is eye-catching and alluring, but also easy to access and comprehend. Funky icons and excessive coloring may mean that they care more about pizzazz and not enough about making websites user friendly.

After looking at the web design company’s site, you should be sure that they offer after sales support. This means that they will work hard to ensure that you are 100% satisfied with your website after its creation. They should offer regular updates and edits to your site as your business continues to grow. They should also respond to your suggestions in a timely manner. If the company does not offer after sales support, you might as well be making the website yourself using a free template. You are paying this company to make a solid website for your company; therefore the site should meet your every need. Remember, this is website represents your business on a global scale. It should portray your business exactly as you see fit.

 Once in contact with the website design team, make sure that they ask lots of questions about your business. Their job is to portray your business model in your image. They may know how to create the most important pieces of a website, but you know exactly how you want your site to look and what information is vital to your business model. A good website design team, therefore, will work directly with you to ensure complete satisfaction.

Portfolio:
As I said before, when checking out the website design company’s website you should find some sort of portfolio. Who have they worked with before? What other websites have they produced? It’s important that they have unique, varied designs for each of their client’s websites. You want to make sure that they approach your business’ site from a new angle; having a unique brand for your business is key to getting lots of website traffic and drawing in lots of customers. Also, make sure they create websites from scratch. You want your business to have an original website, not one designed from a template. The design firm’s portfolio should showcase the website design firm’s ability to create original, varied websites for each of their clients.

References:
Make sure you ask for a list of client names and numbers and find out what this company has done in the past. Call previous clients and ask about customer service. The website design firm should be reliable in terms of meeting your needs. They should communicate openly with you, even if you know nothing about web design. As I mentioned before, they should also heed your suggestions and revisions. If you like their work and if their previous clients assure you they are reliable, they could be the company for you.
If you are currently searching for a reliable and reputable design team, contact CODANK. CODANK is a top rated Web Design and Internet Marketing firm located in Charlotte, NC. We are dedicated to providing the highest quality, cost effective custom software development services, delivering a broad range of business consulting and outsourcing services.

Ten awesome, grungy rock-n-roll fonts

Two of the latest design trends over the past year have been unique, outstanding typography and grungy website and graphic designs. Although not all trends should be followed, this is one that's caught my attention and has warranted a lot of interest. While doing a lot of browsing on the web, I compiled a list of some of my favorite grungy fonts that are available – for free. Take a look; you might find something you can use in a design concept. If nothing else, just take the time to look at how far typography for the web has come since the days of Comic Sans and Verdana.

1. Old Press

Old Press lives up to its name; it has this nice, old school punk rock feel to it. The eroded print makes it look almost like it came from newspaper. It's perfect for posters or designs that have newspaper elements to them.

2. Birth of a Hero

This font caught my interest because it looks a lot like a font one of my favorite bands uses for their logo. The difference here is that the clean, sophisticated lines are juxtaposed with deconstruction. It gives it this nice grungy look without being overwhelming or looking too dirty. This is one of the cleaner grungy fonts out there – it's sure to catch attention when used in posters, banners, and graphics.

3. Acid Label

Acid Label reminds me a lot of something you'd find on an alternative clothing label. The hatching and speckled displacement is in all the right places to make a really spectacular impact. You won't forget this one easily.

4. Far Cry

While some of the other fonts could be described as punk rock if compared to a genre of music, Far Cry is more reminiscent of 80's arena and glam rock. The way some of the characters are larger than others makes them really stand out and draw attention – it's a bold statement in more than one way.

5. Requiem

Although I tend to prefer sans serif fonts, Requiem caught my eye. It's a strong font that makes its statement – it's grungy but elegant.

6. HVD Poster

7. VTKS Ink

8. Denial

There's something about Denial; maybe it's the backwards N character that drew me in, or the subtle stroke lines around the lettering. This font looks like something you'd use on a stamp – it's bold and loud with an industrial flair.

9. Keyboard Plaque

10. Trash

Trash is one of the most interesting grunge fonts I came across. I love how it looks like it's been cut out of a magazine, with the print smeared. But what really makes this font fantastic is how the letters are at varying angles. It's a real eye- catcher.

Even if you aren't a designer or aren't interested in being involved in designing something, hopefully these free fonts have given you some inspiration for a concept. You can contact a designer, like Codank Web Design, to discuss any ideas you have and set up an appointment to launch your design project into reality.

What to offer on your mobile website

As a business owner, you have to be in tune with the latest developments so you can keep up with the world and promote your business on top. The latest development, as you may already be aware of and have experienced yourself, is for sites to offer a mobile version of their websites. With mobile device use on the rise, even at home, it is important to offer people quick and easy access to your information. So when you're looking for a web developer to complete your site, here are a few tips you should keep in mind to discuss.

Provide the same engaging content. You might have heard people talking about having a "stripped down" site. I have even mentioned it in past articles. However, we have to think about the meaning of "stripped down." It does not mean that you should include almost no information except for a few lines and your contact information. People don't just visit mobile sites to find a phone number or an address; many people regularly browse the Internet using their smart phones or tablet computers. Therefore, it is important to develop content that provides all the necessary information. You can provide an abridged version, but do not sacrifice important information or points. Cut out any introductory speech or fluff if you need to; get straight to the point and your users will thank you.

Include interesting visuals. Just like with your desktop version, you need to include pictures, graphs, and anything else you have on your regular site. You can edit the size of the files yourself or you can have your graphic or web designer do it for you. You can use some of the same pictures as your desktop version, just scaled down and saved in a format that optimizes the size for mobile sites to decrease the loading time. Provide bold, attention-grabbing pictures; the small text on mobile screens is sometimes difficult to read, so graphics are more important than ever to draw the eye to the areas you need your users to look at. If you want to create graphics (such as buttons and banners) or include photographs you don't have on your desktop site, be sure that it doesn't add information the desktop site doesn't have; the only difference should be that they are bolder and designed specifically for mobile use.

The design should be similar to the desktop version. Your design is part of your brand, your corporate identity, and you don't want to jump too far from that. Furthermore, users shouldn't be confused or question what site they've visited; it's important to maintain consistency with colors, logos, and styles. With more people using mobile, you also want to give them a good user experience and make the site seem inviting. You don't need to only display a white background, the logo, and contact information anymore. Mobile design has come a long way, giving you more freedom than ever before. There are many beautiful mobile designs out there – you just have to spend some extra time discussing it with your developer.

Mobile design is becoming increasingly important. Many believe mobile Internet will be the next big thing, overtaking desktop usage over the next couple of years. Don't be left behind the times; contact a web development company, such as Codank Web Design, and get started on your mobile site today.

About CODANK Web Design

CODANK is a top rated Web Design and Internet Marketing firm located in Charlotte, NC. We are dedicated to providing the highest quality, cost effective custom software development services, delivering a broad range of business consulting and outsourcing services.

For more information, visit us at www.codank.com

How to whiten teeth in Photoshop CS4

Many artists will photoshop models and actors these days for magazines, shows, or advertisements. One of the most prevalent changes has to do with teeth whitening, which is not that difficult to do. Even if you're not working on professional photos, you still might have some pictures you want to clean up. So in this tutorial, we're going to look at how to whiten a model's teeth using Photoshop CS4.

First, open the picture you want to use in Photoshop. I'm using a stock photo of teeth from MorgueFile. Once you've loaded the document, press Q on your keyboard to enter quick mask mode; this will allow us to paint a selection. Click on the brush tool on the Tools panel (on the left hand side of the workspace), then click on the color swatch at the bottom of the Tools panel and change the color to black. You'll use black to make a selection and white to erase a part of a selection. Make sure you have a relatively small brush size to start with by clicking the arrow next to the brush tip preview along the top bar (mine's set to 24 px).



Using the brush tool, paint a selection around the edges of the teeth first. Carefully outline them; a pink-red color should appear as you paint. If you make a mistake or slip, you can always change the color to white and paint over it to erase it. Keep working until you've outlined all the teeth neatly.



Now change the brush size to something larger (like 66 px) and brush over the middle of each tooth, taking care to stay inside the outlines. Again, if you make a mistake, you can brush over it using white.



Once you've made sure you've painted over every bit that you want included in the selection, press Q to exit quick mask mode. You'll see the marching ants marquee appear around the area and the rest of the picture; this means that everything except the teeth are selected. So we need to click Select (along the top bar) and Inverse in order to select the teeth.



Now it's time to whiten the teeth. To do this, we need to add an adjustment layer. Click on Layer, then New Adjustment Layer, then Hue/Saturation. Navigate to the right hand side of the workspace and find the adjustments panel above the layer panel, then move the saturation slider to the left to desaturate it and get rid of the yellow. I've moved mine down to about -40. Then you can move the Lightness slider up a little bit (I've moved mine to about +15) so add more whiteness. If you find any places where the white overlaps the gums, then you can grab a black brush to fix it.





It's that simple! You can play around with it to get the amount of whiteness you want; just be sure that it looks somewhat natural and that you don't have too much gray by desaturating too much.

About CODANK Web Design

CODANK is a top rated Web Design and Internet Marketing firm located in Charlotte, NC. We are dedicated to providing the highest quality, cost effective custom software development services, delivering a broad range of business consulting and outsourcing services.

For more information, visit us at www.codank.com

20 beautiful winter stock photos

It’s that time of year again. When the days get shorter and the temperature drops, we start anticipating snow. Many northern states and regions have already experienced their first snowfall for the year. However, for those of us where snow is a rare occasion, looking at photographs of winter wonderlands and chillingly beautiful, frost-covered landscapes is a real treat and the best way to enjoy the season. So while some of you may be sick of snow covering your streets and driveways and may anticipate spring, you can still kick back, relax, and enjoy the beauty from the comfort of your own warm, cozy home. Here we have compiled a list of 20 beautiful, free stock photos for your viewing pleasure – or for your personal use in seasonal projects.





































Photo by steppelandstock on deviantart.com.



Photo by crazymadness on deviantart.com.



Photo by philippel on deviantart.com.

About CODANK Web Design

CODANK is a top rated Web Design and Internet Marketing firm located in Charlotte, NC. We are dedicated to providing the highest quality, cost effective custom software development services, delivering a broad range of business consulting and outsourcing services.

For more information, visit us at www.codank.com

Web Design vs. Web Development

Over the years, many people have used web design and web development synonymously. When people think of web design (and sometimes even graphic design), they generally think of the entire process of creating the site from the conceptualization of the design to the back end programming and database work. Although there are many web designers who can do these things, web design typically refers to a smaller niche of web development. In order to clear up the roles of web designers and web developers, let's take a closer look.

Web design refers to planning and creating the site as well as the graphic and media elements. This is where web development and graphic design cross; many graphic designers also create the concepts and designs for web pages, using programs such as Adobe Fireworks or Photoshop. Many web designers also know HTML and CSS, and how to write JavaScript. However, this does not mean that web designers are always programmers. As a whole, web design generally has to do with the front end work on the site, focusing on the appearance, the layout, and the first impression.

Web development, on the other hand, refers to the overall creation and maintenance of the website. This can include web and graphic design, but it more often than not refers to work with coding and programming the site functionality; this includes database work, application development, networking, and work with servers - back end work. Web development is a more general term that covers all niches of the Internet and website creation.

When seeking out someone to work on your websites, you should understand the difference and know what you are looking for. In many small scale cases, web design and development are handled by the same person, but for larger scale sites, you should look into hiring a web development company, such as Codank Web Design and Application Development.

About CODANK Web Design

CODANK is a top rated Web Design and Internet Marketing firm located in Charlotte, NC. We are dedicated to providing the highest quality, cost effective custom software development services, delivering a broad range of business consulting and outsourcing services.

For more information, visit us at www.codank.com

How to paste a picture on a TV in Photoshop CS4

If you pay attention to advertising, then you might have wondered how the photographer captured the picture on television and computer screens so clearly. Generally, taking a picture of a screen won't render properly and will leave you with a poor photograph. For this reason, graphic designers usually photoshop the picture on blank television or computer screens. In this tutorial, we're going to look at how to paste a photograph on a television screen in Photoshop CS4.

First, select the pictures you want to use. I'm using a stock photo of a television from stock.xchng and a stock photo of a butterfly from MorgueFile. Open both files in Photoshop and look at their sizes by pressing Ctrl + Alt + I or going to the top bar and clicking Image and then Image Size. Compare their sizes and - making sure the constrain proportions and scale styles checkboxes are selected - reduce the size of the butterfly. I've reduced the width to 800 px (though this can always be made larger or smaller later).



Now switch back to the photo of the TV. We need to select the inside of the screen, and the easiest way to do that is with the polygonal lasso tool. Click on the little black arrow at the corner of the lasso tool for more options and select the polygonal lasso tool.



Click on each of the four corners of the television screen, making sure to draw the line just the smallest bit past the black edge framing it because you don't want to leave any white spaces. Once you finish, click back on the first point to complete the selection; you should see the marching ants marquee appear.



Switch back to the butterfly picture and select it by pressing Ctrl + A or going to the top bar and clicking Select then All. Copy the picture and go back to the tab with the television. Next, go to the top bar and click Edit then Paste Into to put the picture inside your selection.



The picture will appear, but it won't fit the screen just right because of the angle of the television. To adjust the picture angle to match the television, we need to transform it. Go to the top bar and click Edit, then Transform, then Perspective.



Use the corners on the bounding box to tilt the picture to the right; since the television's right side is pushed back, you should pull on the right side of the picture as well. Once you are done with that, click on the arrow at the top of the workspace to apply the transformation. Then, press Ctrl + T to further transform the picture and make it bigger to fit the TV screen. Hold down on the Shift key while pulling on one of the corners to constrain the proportions. You may have to give it more perspective when you're finished scaling it.



The only thing left to do is give the picture layer an inner shadow to give it some depth. Click on the fx at the bottom of the Layers panel on the right hand side of the workspace. From there, choose Blending Options and then Inner Shadow. You want the distance and the size to be 8 px and the angle to be 30 degrees.



And it's that simple! Once you get the hang of it, editing images of televisions and computers for your ads will be a snap. You can always call a web and graphic design company, such as Codank Web Design, for help with your graphics.

About CODANK Web Design

CODANK is a top rated Web Design and Internet Marketing firm located in Charlotte, NC. We are dedicated to providing the highest quality, cost effective custom software development services, delivering a broad range of business consulting and outsourcing services.

For more information, visit us at www.codank.com

How to make regular photos look like miniature models

You may have come across photographs that make something normal (like a street with cars) look like a miniature model. Normally, this effect is created by something called tilt-shift photography, which requires a specific lens that can be extremely expensive. Although you can learn to create this effect through photography if you want, it is easier (and cheaper) to achieve it by using a digital photo editing program. In this tutorial, we're going to see how to recreate a tilt-shift effect using Photoshop CS4.

First, find the picture you want to use. I'm using a stock photo of a city from Morguefile, but you can use any photo you'd like, as long as it was taken from an angle that is higher than the object you want to focus on. Once you've found your photograph, open it in Photoshop and select the gradient tool from the Tools panel on the left hand side of the workspace. If you don't see the gradient tool, click the little black arrow at the corner of the paint bucket tool to show more options.



Click the drowdown arrow next to the gradient preview bar and choose the black to white gradient. Then, choose the reflected gradient type from the options next to the preview bar (it's the second to last one).



Press the Q key to enter quick mask mode. Then find one of the taller buildings and click a third of the way from the top, dragging the gradient down a little (but don't drag it all the way down). You may need to keep playing with this until you're satisfied with the selection (it will show up in red).



Press the Q key again to exit quick mask mode. The marching ants marquee should appear everywhere but the selection you made in quick mask mode. Now we're ready to add a blur to make it look like the photograph is being taken from closer than it is. Go to the top bar and click Filter, then Blur, then Lens Blur.



A preview window that fills the whole screen will appear. Keep the default settings (unless you wish to play around with them) except for the radius, which will be changed to 20. This will change the amount of blur in the picture.



Once you've applied the Lens blur, you can leave it at that if you want - or you can play with adjustments to enhance the picture a bit more. I wanted to adjust the saturation and the contrast, so I decided to add some adjustment layers. To do this, I clicked on Layer, then New Adjustment Layer, then Hue/Saturation.



The adjustments window should appear in the panels on the right hand side of the screen. I dragged mine out of the panels, but you can leave yours where it is. Play around with the saturation until you're satisfied with the way the picture looks; I changed mine to 30.



Go back to the top bar and click on Layer and New Adjustment Layer again. This time, select Brightness/Contrast from the list of options. I just wanted to darken the contrast a little bit, so I set the contrast to 5. If you'd prefer a different value, then you can play around and find what looks best for the photo you're using.



And that's it! Creating a tilt-shift effect in Photoshop isn't hard and it doesn't take that long. The most time will be spent figuring out where you want the blur to be and tweaking the adjustments.

About CODANK Web Design

CODANK is a top rated Web Design and Internet Marketing firm located in Charlotte, NC. We are dedicated to providing the highest quality, cost effective custom software development services, delivering a broad range of business consulting and outsourcing services.

For more information, visit us at www.codank.com