Web design has come a long way over the past 5 years. With the emergence of new technologies, more bandwidth, and faster browsers, designers have had opportunities they have never had before. The emergence of new programming mediums such as video streaming, flash, silverlight, and CSS technologies have opened up new design initiatives across all web portals. With new opportunity come more c...

If your website leans towards e-commerce or drives revenue through various subscription models, the art of cross selling and up selling will ring especially important for you. We call these methodologies an art, because achieving a balance between educating users on options vs. coming across as a pushy sales site is not an easy one to attain. It is important that your users feel like they are making an informed decision through knowing their opportunity cost, but you do not want to confuse or drive them towards prolonged research or analysis. Keep them focused on the transaction, do not shift their intention towards an informational visit....

Mobile advertising is on the verge of affecting the everyday lives of billions of consumers across the globe. It is the next logical step in the progression of advertising over digital mediums and is being closely watched by every major B2C company. With the increase in cell phone technology over the past few years, especially following the advent of the iPhone, opportunities for exploiting these mobile channels have become apparent. According to M Metrics (Now comScore), in 2006 Mobile advertising equated to $871 Million which equated to just 3.5% of the $24 Billion spent on stationary internet advertising. Informa Telecoms & Media pr...

With the increase in online web mediums it has become progressively more important to create a powerful mobile presence. More and more users are relying on their cell phones and other hand-held devices for internet access, so catering to these users has now become a top priority for many web companies. As designers begin to choose how they would l...

In light of some recent experiences, I thought it valuable to explain some of the trials and tribulations, and eventual success of simplifying website forms. I have been advising on the format, presentation, structure, and technology used in a signup form for a major internet company with the sole purpose of increasing registration conversions. They are current...

Building a well known, trusted, and dependable brand is a complex process that requires strategy from the very beginning. It is a persistent process that can go well beyond the interactions of a website and penetrates the thoughts and perceptions of user’s everyday lives. It is what people remember when they have the need for your services and what keeps repeat customers relying upon you. When examining the broader picture of culture (specifically American/Western Culture), we see a permeation of brand suggestion and brand advertising in almost every aspect of our daily routine. The Colgate toothpaste we brush with, the clothes we wear, ...

Creating a thriving interactive online community involves many design and programming features effectively organized to promote interaction, trust, and unification. The creation of an online community takes time and continuous efforts on multiple fronts. Social Networks are a type of complex community type that has seemed to spring up and, in some ways, overly saturate the internet over the la...

The homepage of a website is crucial in properly portraying the emotion and overall impression the designer wishes to impart on the user. The homepage is the most highly trafficked page of almost any website and must incorporate a number of diverse design features to effectively demonstrate value. A homepage has no limit as far as len...

The initial stages of the design process involve a plethora of ideas, motifs, layouts, and overall project blueprints that will decide the look and feel of the site to come. When organizing the ideas and requests of the websites owner (in some cases that may be you), it is important to fully understand the theme which they wish to portray to the end user. One of the more important aspects of...