Posts in Web Design/Development
Should you create a starter website for your business?

It’s no secret that people spend HOURS everyday online, browsing the internet on their phones and computers. In fact, a recent study estimate that the average American adult spends over 12 hours a day consuming media in some form or another. That stat is absolutely bonkers, but the craziness doesn’t end there. Because we are spending so much time online, we are also doing more shopping online and online sales are estimated to reach $39 billion in Canada alone by 2019.

Businesses of all types are realizing that they NEED to get online if they want to profit from all this traffic because if they don’t, they risk being left behind and missing out on untold amounts of money.

Most businesses know that they need an online presence of some sort and more often than not, that comes in the form of a website. They (mistakenly) think that all they need to do is throw something together and that they will get around to fixing it later. But will they actually?

As a web designer/developer, I see people and businesses make this mistake all the time and it truly breaks my heart! Because here’s the thing: “later” doesn’t always happen. The updates to the starter website keep getting pushed further and further and further back and before you know it, it becomes a major undertaking. While a business might have created a starter website with good intentions, the truth is that it can actually do more harm than good in the long run.

In this post, I’m going to give you my professional opinion on starter websites, go over the pros and cons, and let you in on everything you need to know about them before you get started. You might not share my opinion but I hope see my perspective and that it gives you something to think about if you’re considering a starter website of your own!

Let’s take a look.

Read More
Everything you need to know about parallax scrolling and Squarespace - video tutorial

Today’s post was inspired by a recent conversation I had with a client where we discussed which Squarespace template to use for their new website in order to present their content in the best way possible. I love it when a real-life situation or question comes up as a topic that I can share with you all here on my blog! 

In this post, we are going to dive DEEP into one of the hottest web design trends. You might not have heard of it but you definitely know it when you see it. That’s right, it’s parallax scrolling!

There’s a ton of information here because I want to make sure that you have everything you need to decide if parallax scrolling is a design feature that makes sense for you to use on your own website. If you decide to use it, I’m also going to show you how that works with Squarespace and walk you through you exactly how to get started with it!

Consider this your #nerdalert and keep reading if you’re ready to get technical!

Read More
6 foolproof ways that a professional website will grow your business

Serious question : if you don’t have a website, do you even exist?

You might think I’m being a little dramatic here but trust me, you NEED to have a website if you have a business that you want to grow. And not just any old website either. You need a professional website!

It’s not enough to have an online presence on social media either because as we’ve seen in the past, platforms go in and out of popularity all the time (MySpace, Vine and Snapchat, I’m looking at you). You might build up an audience on one platform only to have all those people jump ship and leave you without a way to stay in touch with them.

That’s why it’s SO important to have a website. It’s your “home” on the internet that you own and it can’t be taken away from you. Websites are a way to share information with your audience, capture their contact info so that you can stay in touch with them (hello, email lists!), sell products or service, and generally build up your brand visibility.

All of this is well and good, and once you have a website up and running, it’s time to make sure that it’s working FOR you - not against you! 

This is where the professional website comes into play. We aren’t talking about casual, personal blogs here. Those hold a special place on the internet but they aren’t the focus of this post. Instead, our attention is on professional websites that support a business, no matter the industry.

In my experience as web designer/developer who works with small, professional business, I’ve noticed that there are 6 foolproof ways that a professional website will grow a business, and I’m going to share those with you today. I’ve seen my clients grow their businesses many times over after they’ve redesigned or launched a new website, and almost all of them agree that there’s enormous ROI on our projects.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at how a professional website will grow your business!

Read More
Website Reveal for Current Talent

Recently I had the pleasure of completing a brand new website project for Current Talent, a career coaching and talent management consulting firm based in Vancouver, British Columbia. This project was a real joy to work on because our process was full of collaboration and the founder, Marketta Jokinen, was very receptive and open to my ideas on design, layout and digital marketing features. I loved being able to launch a website from idea to completion, and showcase the exciting business in a new digital platform!

In this blog post I’m going to walk you through the website design and development process from start to finish, tell you about our goals for the project, and also explain the different design features and decisions we made - and why. 

Let’s take a look!

Read More