Category Archives: Web Design Insight

We swim in it all day – web design and development. Even when we’re not actively developing a website, we’re looking at sites, doing market research, keyword research, website analytics, you name it. In this category, we share some insights from our experience with web development that can help you communicate better with your web developer or create a better site for yourself.

What you see is not the same as what Google sees

I’ve been working with the acupuncture clinic of Brookline on their website and one of the most important changes we had made to their site is replacing the logo, which was a background image with a text based logo.

The old logo was not only all image based, but was also hidden in the background. It was invisible to the search engines since background images don’t get ALT tags and the valuable words acupuncture, clinic and Brookline were losing one turn on each page. We’ve kept the lotus flower but turned the rest of the logo into text. You can see it for yourself at www.acupunctureclinicforwomen.com. This also gave us a chance to update the business tagline to Natural Healing Endorses Wellbeing. The new headline area now takes better advantage of the space at the top and helps with the business’ SEO efforts.

The gift of the Magi?

One of our former clients – Day Spa Magi has been transferred to new ownership. It’s always a little unnerving and exciting at the same time when this happens to a business. It’s unnerving because it’s change. It’s exciting because you don’t know what’s coming and in which ways it will be different.

We’re not involved with Magi any more, but it can still be fun to exercise our thinking caps and come up with a list of things a spa should do to reinvent itself. So, here it goes:

New Name – New Image with a new brand. Choose different colors, update the entry room, basically, give a different look to your business.
Same People? This is a tough one because your customers, those who come regularly, are used to their specific hairdresser, cosmetologist, etc. And since you want to retain the customers as much as possible, it’s best to keep those members of the staff who are performing well. And of course, weed out those which are not. Try to balance this off with some new faces and some new services.
Offer an introductory coupon – you’ll need to entice past customers and new customer to come and try something new – i.e. your services, so offer a 20% off your first treatment coupon to get them in the door.
Fix the website! Of course, with every new brand, there must be a new website. I would also recommend this for spas which are also not going through an ownership change – every 3-5 years, redesign your site. It will keep your business looking fresh to potential customers.

And, as I am left with a $38 Magi gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket, I anxiously await the opening of the new spa, even if just to see whether I can still get a manicure with my certificate.

Spring cleaning – a redesign of Gretje Ferguson’s Website

I’ve written about Gretje Ferguson before – she’s a photographer in Boston taking amazing images of everyone from her children and grandchildren to business professionals and authors. And now, Gretje’s site has a new look – thanks to her ever expanding list of offerings, we’ve split the menu into 2 and came up with a clean, fresh new look.

Take a look:

This one is for librarians

Getting it right or getting it right now

I watch more and more of my clients struggle with the content of their website. How do you describe yourself? How do you describe your business? What colors to use? What information to post and what to keep private? All of these questions swirl around and become the proverbial writer’s block or developer’s block, I suppose, when putting together a site.

My best advise is don’t focus on getting everything right. Creating a website is much like writing a resume for your business. You’ll have to revisit it at least once a year if your business is doing well and more often if it’s not. Start off with the basics. Most businesses have a set of marketing materials even if they are oral and disorganized. Start with those and update them every 3 months or every month if time allows. It’s important to have a plan on how your site will grow, so when you add more information, it doesn’t become disorganized and you don’t have to spend money on a redesign. Having this basic goal – start off small and build from there – will help your business get a presence on the web, or reclaim the presence it might have lost.

A picture is worth a thousand words

We often recommend a photo gallery for our clients. Not only do customers like to see many different pictures of a product (think Zappos with their 8 images of the same pair of shoes), but they also like to see pictures of your organization, your staff (think day spas) or meeting you’ve organized (think a professional organization such as NEWBO).

I am very pleased to announce that IBEX, one of our busiest customers, has posted a photo gallery of their destination countries and past tours. Check it out: http://www.bioexploration.org/photo-gallery.html. The pictures are breathtaking and we are adding more albums every week, so check back often. If that doesn’t wet your appetite enough, read through the tour descriptions and start saving for a trip of a lifetime.

Well, now we have a face

I wrote in the previous post about the challenges of defining what a consulting firm does for its customers. Having solved that problem, I moved onto another. How to represent myself? Post a picture to the site or not? Finally, I decided that since my business is very personal – and we pride ourselves on that connection with our customers, I should have a picture posted. So, here is my first professional headshot.

: Daria Mark, Principal, Brown Couch Consulting

This photo was taken by Gretje Ferguson (who is also a client of Brown Couch). Gretje partners with a makeup artist to offer a business headshot special for $300. Check Gretje’s blog for more info.

To most people, the idea of getting your picture taken can be daunting. Especially if this image is to serve as your business profile. I have to give Gretje a lot of credit. Not only did she make me feel comfortable during the whole process, but she also captured the image that best represents how I view myself. And for that, I am very grateful.

Brown Couch Consulting

A blog of thoughts and ideas on small business website development.