All posts in Site design

6 Easy Ways To Spice Up Your Website

By | September 27, 2012 | Design Tips, Digital Marketing, Marketing, Online Marketing, Site design, Tips | No comments
6 Easy Ways To Spice Up Your Website

This is a post from Sara Nash; Sara earned her degree in Public Relations from Penn State University. From there, she worked a PR agency in Boston before joining the PR and Social Media team at Vistaprint.

We’ve mentioned how important it is to keep your content fresh, and earlier in the week, we provided you with a few places to look in your every day life for content inspiration. Now, we give you six MORE examples of how to make your website a bit more interesting, from using images to updating your design:

Images Are Key
When visitors first reach your page, great images are the perfect way to catch their eye. If you are a local restaurant, for instance, take some pictures of your most popular dishes that will get people rushing out their door and into yours. Tip: It’s very obvious when a picture is outdated, so update your pictures regularly. And if you own a storefront, pictures of the outside of your building will help new visitors find you on the street. Read more…

Websites We Love: A Reflection

By | September 19, 2012 | Digital Marketing, Online Marketing, Site design, Websites We Love | No comments

This week’s edition of Websites We Love is all about just that–love. Specifically, we wondered what our Internet Marketing community on Facebook loves about their Websites.

As usual, our team had a tough decision selecting a winner, as we received a number of great submissions. But we had to choose one! This week, our winning site comes from Anne Thietje-Pantoja, who says that she loves her website because it’s a clear representation of her business.”It’s a great reflection of who we are as a business,” she says. “[It's] quirky, fun, and stylish!” And she makes a great point: One thing that really makes a website shine is when it’s a true extension of a business.

We were especially impressed with the site’s Custom Products page, which showcases unique picture designs customers can order, as well as the site’s Events/Specials page, which features not only upcoming events, but also a coupon for customers visiting the site, which is a great incentive! The About Us page was also impressive, as it gives visitors a behind-the-scenes story of The Laurel Tree, and insight into the personalities behind the business.

Congrats on a great site, Anne!

Websites We Love: Bundles of Fun

By | August 8, 2012 | Digital Marketing, Online Marketing, Site design | No comments

This post is written by Maya Tarabishy, a member of Vistaprint’s Social Media team.

Wednesday is a great day for our team at Vistaprint. Why? It’s the day we get to feature another Website We Love! Earlier, we asked our Internet Marketing Facebook Community, “What’s one thing you love about your website?” Websites mean so many different things to their owners, and we were very intrigued by all of your great responses. It was difficult narrowing the decision down to one, but this week we especially liked Bundles of Fun.

Claudia, owner of this party and event planning business, believes her website has allowed for her “success, advertising, and professional reputation.” And we agree! We love the great customer resources, such as the helpful testimonials section, and extensive photo gallery. We were also impressed with the site’s easy-to-navigate format, and clean design. Plus, as a party rental business, showcasing product is key–the site does a good job of that, and is neatly organized into sections such as Rentals, Custom Cakes and Treats, Balloons, or Event Services. Congrats on a site well done, Claudia!

Now you tell us: What is one thing you love about your website?

Websites We Love: Follow Your Passion

By | August 1, 2012 | Digital Marketing, Online Marketing, Site design | 1 Comment

This post is written by Maya Tarabishy, a member of Vistaprint’s Social Media team.

What is ONE THING you’ve accomplished with your website? When we asked this question on our Vistaprint Internet Marketing Facebook Page, we received a lot of great responses…so many, in fact, it was difficult for us to select just ONE website to feature.

Many of you shared inspiring stories of how your website has helped your small business prosper; one of those stories came from Karen Coyne, who wrote that her website, Just Due Designs, “[made] it easy to turn a hobby into a business.” She goes on to say that, because of her site, she “went from just making jewelry, to having a jewelry-making business.”

Clicking through her website, we can see why she was able to transform her passion into a career. Her beautifully hand-crafted designs make for unique statement accessories, and unique website content. In addition to images of the different jewelry items she has to offer, we also liked how Karen included a news blog to update her customers, and a design archive where customers can browse and zoom in on previous designs. But what we liked the most? Karen makes sure to give back, and has an entire line of jewelry dedicated to charity. You go, Karen!

What has your website allowed YOU to achieve? Let us know in the comment section below!

Websites We Love: Sweet Art

By | July 25, 2012 | Digital Marketing, Online Marketing, Site design | No comments

This post is written by Maya Tarabishy, a member of Vistaprint’s Social Media team.

It’s hard to believe another Wednesday is already upon us. But we don’t mind, because it means we can feature yet another Website We Love; we always enjoy looking through everyone’s fantastic submissions! This week, we asked our Internet Marketing Facebook community what the first word was that came to mind when they thought about their website, and, as usual, we received an overwhelmingly large response. In the end, we chose to go with the website described by its owner as “authentic.”

This week’s winner is Claree, owner of Claree’s Sweet Art. Where to start with what we love? Perhaps it’s the mantra behind the business, “Every cake has a story.” Indeed, as we browsed through galleries of tier cakes, cookies, and even breakfast, not only did our stomachs growl, but we could also see that she and her team infused passion into all of their creations–and their website. We were also impressed with the unique Biographies section that includes short descriptions of all Claree’s team members, including her kids! We love that Claree managed to provide her small business with a big personality, not only through her bios, but also on her great blog. Hats off to you, Claree!

Now you tell us: What do you think when you look at your website. We’d love to hear in the comments section.

Websites We Love: Little Bakery, Big Website

By | July 18, 2012 | Digital Marketing, Online Marketing, Site design | 3 Comments

This post is written by Maya Tarabishy, a member of Vistaprint’s Social Media team.

It’s Wednesday, and that means another Website We Love! This week, we asked our Vistaprint Internet Marketing Facebook community why they were proud of their sites. We received so many great responses it was difficult to only feature one. But in the end, we chose to feature Jill’s Little Bakery, a site submitted by Jill Bowden.

Jill says she is proud of her website because “It looks great [and] was so easy to build.” Plus, she writes, when it comes to her website, she’s “had loads of compliments.”

Browsing through Jill’s website, we couldn’t help but come up with compliments of our own! Some of our favorite spots? The Our Cakes, Cupcakes, and Cake Toppers sections each have beautiful galleries of her cakes and accessories; the Prices & Portions section is a great resource for customers to use prior to ordering; and the site’s Testimonials section is full of helpful reviews that illustrate Jill’s small business for potential customers. Congrats, Jill!

How about you? What are you proud of your website? Let us know below!

Websites We Love: Class Act

By | July 11, 2012 | Digital Marketing, Online Marketing, Site design | 1 Comment

This post was written by Maya Tarabishy, a member of Vistaprint’s Social Media team.

“Brilliant!“ When we asked the Vistaprint Internet Marketing Facebook community how they would describe their website’s style in one word, Class Act Carpentry thought that word was the most fitting. So, we did a little research. After reviewing all of the entries submitted on our Internet Marketing page, we found many unique websites, and choosing just one was difficult! In the end, we decided we couldn’t agree more with Class Act Carpentry, and chose to feature the small business as this week’s Website We Love.

Why did we choose this site? In addition to an easy-to-navigate, organized layout, we were especially impressed with Class Act’s creative homepage copy, specifically the first attention-grabbing sentence: “Don’t move…improve!” We also appreciated the strong messaging throughout the rest of their site. And after browsing through their slideshow that includes great pictures of past projects, from decks to kitchen cabinets and fences, we can see they are committed to customer satisfaction. Kudos, Class Act Carpentry!

What about you? What one word could encompass your Website’s style? Let us know in the comment section below!

How To: List Your Site on Major Search Engines

By | June 15, 2011 | How To, Marketing, Micro Business Issues, Site design | 1 Comment

There is no question that having a website is vital for your business, but that is just the first step in getting your company truly visible online. The second part of the equation is to get your website in front of the major search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo!.

While there are hundreds of search engines out there, the previously mentioned three search engines are the most popular. Getting your site listed on them is simple and free; all you have to do is click on the links below and enter your site’s details into their form fields.

Please note that even though you have registered your site with the search engines, it may still take a couple of months to show up on specific searches for keywords. This is because it takes the search engines time to index your website, so please be patient.

If you are looking to get listed on a niche search engine for your industry, you may want to type Getting my URL on [Search Engine Name] on their site or one of the major three search engines. This should give you relevant results on how to list your site with them.

If you are strapped for time, but want to get your site listed on hundreds of search engines, there are many companies that offer the service for a fee. For example, Vistaprint currently offers a local search product.

Have you registered your site with the search engines, or have you paid a vendor to complete this for you?

 

The “Make an Impression” Contest

By | June 8, 2010 | Marketing, Offline Marketing, Online Marketing, Site design | No comments

As a micro business, you know the value of marketing, especially local marketing.  But have you ever had anyone help you in the production of those marketing materials?  Or have you had to design your own emails, direct mail pieces, and produce your own web commercials, if you’ve done them at all?

Because you have been such loyal customers to Vistaprint over the years, the company today launched the “Make an Impression” contest, designed to help give back to the community that has helped make it a success.   By telling us your story at www.1-800-Vistaprint.com/contest, you can enter for a chance to win a marketing package worth $10,000, but also promote your entry to your customers, employees, and friends.  Votes count, so make sure you spread the word!  For more details, please click on the video below and visit the site.

Good luck!

The Inside Scoop on Graphic Design

By | February 22, 2010 | Site design | 12 Comments
graphic-design

This guest post is part of our ongoing Small Business Experts series, and is written by Cathlyn Driscoll, co-founder of Best Business Mastery in New Jersey.

What do Graphic Designers really do? Many business leaders I’ve met in my time have limited knowledge in the area of graphic design. Some assume that graphic designers are just there to make a page in a brochure or web site ‘pretty’ or ‘interesting.’ Read more…

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