Web Design Archives - worktrainweb

How to Successfully and Confidently Rebrand Your Web Based Business

Rebranding your business can be a time consuming and costly undertaking. Large corporations often spend millions of dollars on their rebrands. They do so for a reason. A successful rebrand can elevate your business to the next level so it’s a worthwhile effort. This article will cover a few helpful tips on how to rebrand your business along with some free resources to hep you do so in a time and cost efficient way.

Do You Need to Rebrand?

The first and most obvious question is, do you need to rebrand? Don’t simply go on a hunch but base your decision on unbiased feedback. The best way to find out whether you business is due for a rebrand is to conduct a survey. Who better to task than your existing customers, business stakeholders and most important potential leads? You can conduct this survey via email, in store or even by telephone. Make sure your survey questions are well thought out and to the point. If you rather not engage in direct surveying you can also gather feedback from the general public. For that purpose try a free tool like Google Surveys.

Once you tally the results you’ll know whether or not to put your business through a rebrand.

Rebranding Starts With Your Logo

Whether you are just starting a business or rebranding you need to start with your logo. Your logo sets the creative tone and direction for all of your other brand assets. Your logo doesn’t just need to be a pretty but rather represent your business and what it stands for. In addition it needs to resonate with your target audience. The best way to make sure your logo conveys your business message is through color and font choice. To play around with your options try a free logo tool like Logo Creator.

Colors

Colors convey different meaning. Don’t simply choose your favourite color but make conscious choices. Find out which message each color communicates and then choose a color palette that represents your business appropriately.

Fonts

Just like with colors, fonts also convey different messages. Is a bold font choice appropriate and does it speak to your core demographic? Or is a slight script font a better choice? Make sure you understand what the different font types represent and then make your choice.

Build Out Other Branding Assets

This is the fun stage of the rebranding process. Once you have a logo in place that resonates with your customer base you can build out all of your branding assets. Try a free tool like Canva for these design projects. The next typical step for a web based business is to create a new website. Make sure your website includes the core brand color as well as accent colors used in the logo. The logo and website will set the design direction for all of your other web based branding like social media channels, ad campaigns, etc. These promotional items need to consistently include your new logo, core branding colors, messaging, etc. While working on your web based brand assets make sure you don’t forget about your print material. Your business cards, flyers, etc. should all be consistent in style too.

Take Score After Your Rebrand Launch

The purpose of the rebrand isn’t just to launch a beautiful new brand but to help you gain more market share and growing your business. Many businesses do a rebrand launch party as a fun way off introducing the new look to the world. However you introduce your brand take score after 3-6 months and then again after a year. Do another survey to see how your business stakeholders respond to the brand and track your KPIs. After all a successful rebrand should move your sales numbers.

In Summary

A rebrand is a powerful way to reposition your business so it’s better aligned with your core demographic. If you have been in business for a few years and your sales have fallen flat or you can’t penetrate the market successfully it’s worth analysing whether your branding is the culprit. If you are going the rebranding route keep in mind to start with your logo and to get that absolutely right. Only then should you go about redesigning your website and any other brand assets.

Web Design Top 3 Digital Responses During COVID-19

COVID-19 has been a challenge for many of our clients. From temporary business closures, through to moving schedules back by months. This has meant there’s been a strong need for digital communication with customers, and a shift to new ways of operating, and perhaps digital opportunities to support social distancing measures. But we’re happy to report that resilience has prevailed and many of our clients are operational again, and in many cases, different to before.

We’ve been able to assist our clients extensively during COVID-19. The top 3 ways we’ve been able to really address business operation, and strengthen our client’s business response and resilience include:

Some of our clients have needed solutions for contact tracing, including added details for digital bookings, as well as increased ‘spacing’ and adjusted/reduced ‘session sizes’ within specified time-slots.
Communication as mentioned has been understandingly imperative for businesses and clients, and we’ve helped customer engagement through new websites in response to changed conditions, website banners to show times and visitation guidelines, website announcement widgets to further support informing customers and general public.
We’ve also helped businesses move to online forms of delivery (such as membership-based subscription services in eLearning and training spaces, and have helped aid customer engagement digitally with businesses operating by mail or reduced in-person appointments to improve customer experience and the continuation of business for our clients.

It’s been a ground shifting exercise, but we’re happy to report stronger relationships as a result between not only worktrainweb and our valued clients in the physical-digital world, but even-more flexible businesses models and a greater levels of relationship strengthening between our clients and their customers. Support and trust that has been fostered during this time, and flexibility in valuing and continuing to meet customer needs. We’ve loved being instrumental in strengthening this iron triangle with our clients and their customers, and we extend the service outwardly of course. If you’re looking to shift more to online/digital service delivery, or want to explore possible ways you can service clients remotely, or are just interested in alternative technology options that could support your business operations, or simply would like a new way to retain and develop relationship communications with your customers, then we’re always around to explore ideas, plan (and implement) digital and ‘distance-workable’ and friendly solutions for your business.

Top 3 Core Business Values Underlying Your New Website

When refreshing your businesses website, it’s time to put yourself in your customers shoes, whilst also balancing your own concept of progress made over the years, coupled with resolve that points to the value you’re providing your customers, your accomplishment and achievements your proud of and sense of purpose you’ve defined to be sure you’re delivering a service that is prospering the community and the businesses you’re working with. The continuation of your business can be forged comfortably after careful reflection and consideration of the business values that you can also use to define your design process, copy writing angles and the imagery and media that you use to present your services to your customers. The areas we looked at with our recent 2020 website development included exploring a process of reflection, and depicting the uncompromisable values of authenticity and trust.

1. Demonstrate Work You Can Reflect On

Motivation is a core element for a business looking at revitalising their website. Behind the work that you’ve completed, are stories of adversarial triumph and victory, demonstrating capability to your current and potential clients. Having your own work featured on your website rather than just listing off general services, is also a great bullet to load into the chamber, for when firing off strategised consideration of innovative services and approaches that you might suggest to your new and existing clients. You can use case studies, screenshots and descriptions of functionality, design choices and decisions, or custom built themes and designs to help you communicate your work with pride to your clients, and help you to reflect on how accomplished you are as a web design company. When you load up your website with your ‘actual’ completed work and projects, it a refreshing and formidable combination that will help you digitally, and physically represent your business, and prepare for selling and presenting your services to others.

You will find benefits by having reflection projects/examples of work on your website including:

Being better prepared for meetings just by reviewing your own website
Helps generate confidence behind your business by showcasing real examples of work your selling having been completed
Also, helps customers consider alternative/extra serviceable areas online, that might aid their business from a marketing perspective

2. Portray ‘Authenticity’ Through Your Content

Another core value you should aim to portray is ‘Authenticity’, showing that you believe in what you do by showcasing work that you’re happy with, that is relevant to your customers and that you’ve done well and are happy to do again. Authenticity elements can come through in clients, companies and organisation pieces you’ve completed, including presenting examples that you’ve done pro-bono as a part of your corporate social responsibilities to your fellow man. Showing authenticity can also be depicted through the element of time, where as a web development business owner, you can show dedication to clients over time, showcasing not only similar work being completed year in and year out, but also, a timeline of work that you’ve completed for a clients as the years have progressed.

To show authenticity as a core value within your new, refreshed website, be sure to consider including:

Timeline of work completed to show devotion to the ‘kind’ of service/work you offer
Consider a timeline of work completed to individual clients showing relationship through service over the years
Demonstrate authenticity by showing continuity of work to choice organisations and try and include jobs that may fall under the Corporate Social Responsibility category

3. Represent ‘Trust’ In Your Copy and Media

The third and highly valuable perspective and Core Value that can serve as the basis framework for consideration around your website redevelopment choices and decisions is Trust. Trust serves as a key ingredient that helps customers open-up to you, explore possibilities with you, and create ‘an accurate’ canvas or blueprint that means you’ll deliver with greater certainty, a website, design, marketing plan, elearning or development project the first time around. Trust is integral to quality and willingly approached communication and opens up avenues that allows for openness, psychological and capability security, and sets a precedent and rule of engagement, laying the foundation for future communications, relationship formation, and leading indeed to continued work and high working performance.

You can define your warm and safe communications environment and build a basis of trust for greater rapport with your clients by:

Including strong testimonials with current clients that check out when looked into by prospective clients
Produce examples of your services been completed for a client that demonstrate being fit for service, good developmental choice, and continue to prosper in terms of marketing, functionality or usability.
Write your website’s copy with a style that puts your customers needs first, and whenever demonstrating a service, use humility to demonstrate new ideas and prospects that might enhance the way your clients operate in an online capacity.

Having core values and living by a particular mantra means that your vision to promote quality, assistance and service is intrinsic to everything you present, demonstrate, provide and outline. It helps you carve out your purpose and build upon the reflection of your personal service and brand, demonstrates authenticity and endeavouring to provide a purposeful service, whilst also generating iron bound trust that will serve as a foundational ingredient for all engagements with your current and future clients today, and in the togetherness and relationship prospering years to come.

Tips to Know Before Buying a Website 2020

You’re here because you’re looking into buying a website. Congratulations for taking the time to do your research. I assure you that you’ll benefit immensely from what you’re about to discover. Whether you’ve an existing website that needs upgrading or you’re entering unchartered territory there are a few important things you should consider before you get started.

Transferring a Domain

The process of transferring a domain name to a new host is fairly straight forward. All you need is the password of your existing domain and a choice host that hopefully gives you better performance, reliability and supports the languages of your online applications.

Maximise Creativity Cost Effectively – FREE Stock Photography

In Web Design, It is important for designers to have the potential to maximise their creativity in a cost effective way, which means having maximum exposure to the FREE photo and graphic stock libraries available right now on the web. It’s just knowing where to find them that’s the quandary.

Web Designers – Making The World a Better Place

Web designers and developers are changing the world and not just pixel-by-pixel. The role, which is perpetually defining itself, and in contrary to popular assumption, extends well beyond the practice of exercising the creative muscle, processing layouts, aligning and animating buttons and making sure everything works ok in Internet Explorer. A web designer should incorporate into his skill set, the qualities that make him a businessman, a correspondent, good researcher and excellent communicator. These days, imagine your web designer as a spandex-clad figure with piercing abs, harbouring a cape, a pair of D&G slim line glasses and a MacBook (or just a smart guy or gal who seems themselves this way).

As a web designer, your journey onto the information super highway should begin with integrity. Being a designer of integrity means you demand quality, you will settle for no less and you should try to hold off offering your services until you can meet this prerequisite or have others around you that can help you to do so. It is integrity, mixed with passion and a solution oriented mindset that materialises the visions felt and conveyed by the client, with integrity more specifically being the core process that ensures that the developer has invested in his ability to deliver.

It is important for the designer to consider that their contribution is part of a much larger scale – thinking in terms of making content to add value to the web where value can be derived by others, avoiding adding to the mass of clutter that already exists. That’s why a web designer should take responsibility to be conscientious of their work acknowledging that what they produce can potentially reach billions of people. A good web designer will recognise their responsibility to be an ambassador of good practice and quality information on the web.

In modern times, web design has become a more intricate task. Although it doesn’t necessarily require a cape and abs of steel to get the job done, it does however require commitment, patience and a thirst for knowledge for bettering ones self, their service and the quality of their offering. Complacency is disabling in the wonderful sphere of web design and a personal investment into developing a core of integrity will help keep you grounded and on the straight and narrow to success with your work, production and ultimately success with your clients. At worktrainweb, we are devoted to good practice, delivering more than we promise and understanding that we can always do better.