Wednesday 27 September 2017

Have You Outgrown Your Website? Hire a Web Design Agency in New York


A New York entrepreneur seeking web design services recently contacted me. The project entailed a redesign of their current site, which became cluttered with content. I’d describe it as – they literally outgrew their website; as businesses expand, so should its website. Many of our clients contact us needing not just a redesign but, more importantly, a reorganization, a bigger space – I describe it as it’s time to do a little renovation and cleaning up.

When a business expands products and offers new services the idea is “let’s get this up on the website ASAP”. If you happen to be a small company without a marketing department, or a trained employee who specifically handles the website, then all this new content gets uploaded to the site improperly. The results are disastrous. Without considering design, organization, and proper navigation, these new revisions are added. Content becomes cluttered and worse yet placed somewhere never to be found.

These types of actions could go on for several years causing poor search ranking, high bounce rate, and a visual eyesore: seriously wrong for your ROI.

When it gets to this point, there is only one thing to do, seek a professional company who offers quality web design services. At Hummingbird Web Design, our approach would typically be to “repackage” the content in a new template focusing on a company’s core services, brand, and niche.

Let’s examine how a business can benefit this type of reorganization.

Reorganizing your website and your brand is an amazing and worthwhile thing to do. It opens up new opportunities, and I’ve witnessed first-hand the invigorating lease of energy it gives business owners to change direction and evolve.

You need to think of your core values, your services, and how you plan on presenting them via your website and in your branding. You will need to consider whether your key markets are targeted effectively. In my experience, the best web design services tend to offer bespoke services for individual clients – not adapting a ‘one size fits all’ template (this happens a lot with some companies). But why is a content refresh and reorganization so important?

It shows you care!

Uplifting and developing your brand demonstrates that your company is dynamic and adaptable to the changing times. Customers – both existing and potential – are more likely to instill trust in a brand if they feel that it is forward-thinking and cares enough about its future to update and move with the times. It gives an air of longevity.

It will reduce overall marketing costs.

It’s a familiar cycle: people invest substantially in marketing activity, in the beginning, achieve a fantastic ROI, then the website gets ‘matted’ with content and marketing efforts become harder. Marketing is as ineffective, and the budget becomes tighter and tighter.

When websites are overloaded, and directly added to rather than strategically edited, marketing becomes harder – and therefore more time-consuming and expensive.

Investment in web design will pay dividends in the long-term. Future marketing activities become much clearer and less daunting, often meaning lower capital outlays. I’ve seen real results many times in this aspect of a redesign.

It will attract new customers

Good news spreads fast. And in today’s instantaneous, 24-hour world, it’s never been easier – or harder to make an impacting first impression and lasting impression.

Plainly put, the tools are all there for you, but they are also there for everyone, so it’s about how you use them to stand out and to attract new customers. A clean, fresh and optimized website with an enticing brand behind it is always a solid foundation for success. Early adopters to a site are likely to remain loyal, and new customers will only remain loyal if a site is functional, easy to navigate, and visually pleasing.

It’s a tall order, which is why there are companies who specialize in such work. My team and I have achieved this many times. If you’re looking for Search Engine Optimization services in New York or a web design agency in New York, then give us a call.

It will help grow your business faster

When a website is cluttered, difficult to navigate, visually displeasing and full of out-of-stock items or out-of-date information, visitors see little reason to stick around – or return. A reorganized site will allow your customers to navigate easily and find what they need, fast. With more and more people using their smartphones to do the majority of their browsing and buying, it’s never been more crucial to get this right. All our designs are developed to perform well on mobile devices.

If customers have a good experience on your website, for example, they can find what they need quickly, check out or download with ease and enjoy using the site, they are highly likely to return. Hello, new repeat custom! Again, news will spread, and your site will find itself with plenty of new and returning customers.

The ROI for investing in your brand is huge. The best honest advice I can offer is to really think about where your business is heading, and where you want it to head – are they aligned? Reflect on how you will achieve your business goals, what your niche market is and how you will capture more of your target market. It is a difficult task, so the expertise and assistance of professional web design services are a worthwhile investment if you are time-poor (which many business owners tend to be!)

Hopefully, you have learned a little more about why it is important to keep rolling with the times when it comes to your online presence. Give us a call so we can get started!

This is the syndicated copy of an original article posted at https://hummingbirdwebdesign.com/outgrown-website-hire-web-design-agency-new-york/

Wednesday 6 September 2017

Logo design in NY – An Essential Step to Rebrand Your Company


Rebranding a company is a major albeit worthwhile investment. When your logo is your brand – and your brand is a household name, i.e., the Coca Colas and Apples of the world – then perhaps a complete redesign is detrimental. Such companies usually opt for subtle tweaks and modernizations. However, for smaller businesses, the world is quite literally your creative oyster; but where to begin?

What’s in a logo?

Your logo reflects the identity of your brand, it helps you to stand out from your competition, and (when properly designed and planned) becomes synonymous with the trust your customer base has in your company. It is therefore imperative to get it right. It says everything about your company without saying anything at all.

“K.I.S.S.”

“Keep it simple, stupid “is the working method of many creatives and writers alike, and with good reason! Well designed, simplistic logos tend to stand the test of time and escape the pitfalls of looking dated. You don’t want to try and cram your entire brand narrative, history, ethos, products/ services and direction into one logo (trust us, it is near-impossible and rarely works well!). But it is important that your logo is in keeping with your industry, and is something that will resonate with your target audience and existing customers. That said, don’t be afraid to be creative!

Some great examples of creative and minimalist logos include Filmaps – an app where you can share and discover film locations; Bipolar – a design for a Bipolar awareness campaign, and; CodeFish – an app design company. Less really is more and a changeup really can work wonders for your brand.

Know when it is time to rebrand

A rebrand can completely reinvent an organization. If your logo is looking a little dated, no longer fits with the direction of your company or you simply no longer like it, then it is time to make a change. The logo is a huge part of your business, and getting it right is imperative. It is the first logical step in a company rebrand – alongside color palettes and company style.

The whole package

Dare to be bold, but don’t do it alone. If you live in the New York area, it’s best to choose a professional company offering both logo design and web design in New York, so the over all design of the website unites well with the new logo design.

A new logo is fantastic – but if it is in contrast to the outdated website, you should consider modernizing your company’s online presence.   A strong website will instill confidence in your brand: we have all been on enough outdated, malfunctioning and tedious websites to know that they are detrimental to a brand’s reputation.

A sleek, scalable and intuitive website will continue to look after your customers, their impression of your company, and also your bottom line – even while you sleep!

As a web design company in New York, we’ve seen our fair share of misaligned logos and websites – and it barely ever works out well for the organization. Invest time and resource into your brand now to reap residual awards for many years to come.

It’s a tough call to be able to properly align a logo, website and overall brand, so a professional local web design company is often necessary to a prosperous rebrand. They will take you on an exciting and energizing journey from ideas and brainstorm through to the fruition of a seriously effective logo, website, and overall brand.

So often we see small business owners too busy running the business that they just don’t even notice how trends and designs have changed. It’s amazing what a rebrand can do for your business, its reputation and the morale of your employees. Get started today by contacting us for a chat; we’re always all ears (and ideas!)

This is the syndicated copy of an original article posted at https://hummingbirdwebdesign.com/logo-design-ny-essential-step-rebrand-company/