But aside from posting company or product updates, commenting on industry news and answering customer questions, how do you keep your Facebook community alive?

The Social Media Examiner has recently published a list of the ten best Facebook apps for building community.

Facebook apps don’t just mean Farmville anymore. There are now tons of apps on the social media giant that help highlight top fans and helps you engage with your fans by sharing videos, photos, slides and get feedback from users. And what’s great is that, since they’re designed to be used and disseminated in the social networking world, they’re pretty easy to use.

Praise Your Customers

Everyone likes a little positive feedback – especially in social media. I mean, why else do we post our best San Diego sunset pics? We want the “likes”! A couple of the apps noted by the Social Media Examiner – “Fan of the Week” and “Booshaka” — track your fans’ activity on your page and get points or even a personalized shout out for being active.

Interaction Action

Many of the Apps in the top ten have to do with company-customer interaction. Livestream lets you post live video events to your page and even has a chat feature for interaction. ContactMe lets you customize fields for fans who want to get in touch and Constant Contact lets fans sign up for newsletters right from your Facebook page. Scribd, the company that offers document-sharing services in the real world, also offers a service for the virtual one, Scribd for Pages.

Other apps can help you manage updating content and scheduling posting. For the rest of the top ten, check out the article. Or, for a deeper list, check out Top 75 Apps for Enhancing Your Facebook Page.

Skybox Creative is a San Diego based Branding Agency with an emphasis on Web Design and SEO. Get in touch for a free quote on your next design project or search engine marketing campaign! info@skyboxcreative.com or call us at 619.381.3825

The client was looking to develop a more modern, masculine look. New products and growth in the Florida-based company prompted them to reconsider the message they were sending with their old color palette – soft blue, light gray and a thin font.

Applied Fiber Logo - Before + After

Skybox jumped in to give the company the look and feel they aspired to. Keeping the icon on the left of the logo was important to Applied Fiber — it’s the universal symbol for fiber. But we identified darker tones of blue and gray to give the design a more modern feel. The darker shades really hit on the growing company’s maturation and expanding business. It also adds gravity, masculinity and sophistication to the look and feel of the brand. We also designed new typography for the brand. Slightly thicker, it has a more substantial feel and really fits an established company that is growing its brand along with its business.

For the website design, multiple layout, design and color options were explored. A few of the initial design comps are shown below.

Web Design Study - Multiple design directions and color options were explored.

Web Design Study - Multiple design directions and color options were explored.

For the final website design, the client chose a simple, clean design direction focusing on the products and expertise.

Applied Fiber Final Web Design

Part of delivering that sleek, modern feel, too, was simplifying the design. Each web page now features simple, clean design and easy-to-navigate web pages. The photography we chose is sleek and the close-up product shots foreground the technology without losing the visual appeal.

Our design choices were in-step with the company’s goals for growth and their forward-looking philosophy. For Applied Fiber, reaching out to a San Diego-based company for rebranding and redesign turned out to be a good move – and we’re proud to be working with them!

Skybox Creative is a San Diego based Branding Agency with an emphasis on Web Design and SEO. Get in touch for a free quote on your next design project or search engine marketing campaign! info@skyboxcreative.com or call us at 619.381.3825

We approached their branding from a holistic perspective taking into account everything from product name – “Save me” which is short for “Save Mother Earth” – to their logo design, packaging design and temporary landing page/web page. Each one of our design choices support the feel and philosophy of the company.

Simple Design

Skybox Creative chose a clean, simple and (literally) green design scheme that underscores the company’s eco-friendly message. Their logo features smooth lines, a friendly font and creative use of batteries inside the lettering. The tone of the company is clear – the lower-case lettering tell us that they’re young and fresh and the clever use of batteries inside the letter “m” speaks to a fun and friendly attitude. Their tagline, too, “Save a battery. Save the planet.” is short and sweet – see how simple their green solution is?

The web design color choices underscore the simplicity of the product and the mission. A white backdrop with green and charcoal lettering makes for an easy to read, clean website.

Custom Info Graphics

Save Me’s website makes great use of fun, friendly graphics. We created custom “How it Works” illustrations that are bold and completely stylized to match the look and feel of the brand. Save Me’s overall message that saving the planet can be easy is clearly communicated throughout the brand materials. The illustrations are clean and simple, like the rest of the company’s design. And the Info graphics – the single icons against green circles anchor the page with color, without veering from the clean and clear design look of the company.

Maybe Kermit was wrong. Maybe it IS easy being green. At least Save Me makes it look that way.

Skybox Creative is a San Diego based Branding Agency with an emphasis on Web Design and SEO. Get in touch for a free quote on your next design project or search engine marketing campaign! info@skyboxcreative.com or call us at 619.381.3825

Considerations: Web Page Layout, Text and Images

The cornerstone of responsive web design is a fluid page layout. The pages should seamlessly adapt to the size and features of an iPhone, a laptop, or an iPad. There are a number of templates and tools out there that can help you make design decisions, for example, PXtoEM, a resource that can help you convert fixed-width design to a fluid layout.

Beyond page layout, text may be the most noticeable of the elements, since readers are familiar with certain spacing to make sense of what they’re reading. Flipping an iPhone sideways makes for a lot more real estate and you don’t want to disrupt your website’s design or content. Tools like Lettering.js and FitText can help with responsive design of your typography.

Images, too, need to be flexible in your responsive web design. Tools like the script imgSizer.js can ensure clean rendering of images across different browsers and Photo Swipe is a great image gallery for touch and mobile devices.

Several recent articles have taken a deeper look at the best tools for responsive web design including Six Revisions and Splashnology and are worth a read.

Models

Web Design Ledger recently highlighted twenty-four outstanding examples of responsive design. These websites can be great references for your own design plans.

Across the board, model websites did a great job of selecting scaled-back visuals from their larger pages for their mobile displays. Some even opted to go image-less in favor of a clear typographic message.

With these tips and tools along with the stand-out sites to serve as models, you should feel ready to look good in landscape or portrait, iPad or MacBook.

Now go forth and design responsively.

Skybox Creative is a San Diego based Brand Consultancy with an emphasis on Web Design and SEO . Get in touch for a free quote on your next design project or search engine marketing campaign! info@skyboxcreative.com or call us at 619.381.3825

Self-promotion is an important – and intrinsic — component of web design. We all know that the look, feel, flash and style of your website immediately brands you – which is why you spend time carefully considering design choices. But other features on your site, and even your behavior away from your site, are also factors that brand you.

Control Your Story

The “About Us” page has always been the place where you get to tell your story. Just an easy bio, right? Not anymore. Just as the world of web design is constantly changing, so too is the world of how to spin yourself – how to self-promote through your own narrative.

New companies have emerged to help job-seekers and business owners tell their story a little better than a standard resume or “About Us” page might — about.me, curv.me and getstoried.com. The first two are sites where creative workers can learn to describe their vision, contextualize their work and discuss their credits and accolades in an organic way. Getstoried targets entrepreneurs looking to capture their narratives for prospective customers. You can use these sites to help you tell your story — not just what you do, but why you do it. Information like this can help customers connect with you on a personal level. It’ll help them “get” you.

For example, if Skybox Creative were writing its bio, it could say that its business is web design in San Diego. The story’s true, accurate and informational. But it doesn’t answer the why. How about, “founded by San Diegans, Skybox Creative loves working closely with local businesses to identify the companies’ goals and deliver dynamic websites that fit their aims.” A little more personality, right?

Google Thyself

The way you behave online can also brand you. This may sound scary — customers can be one Google search away from your Facebook photos or Twitpics on Twitter. But aside from being on top of your social network privacy settings, you can also use your recorded online activity to your advantage.

Leave an online path that shows your passion. Jump into online communities that focus on what you’re doing. Engage with your own visitors with a blog. Make a space on your website designed for customer interaction.

Just go ahead and Google yourself and see if you like what you see. And if you don’t, start proactively leaving a trail that promotes yourself and your business the way you’d like!

Get in touch with Skybox Creative today! Whether your looking for copywriting, web design, SEO or brand development, we’ve got you covered! Skybox Creative is a Brand Consultancy with an emphasis on Web Design and SEO. Get a free quote for your next project! info@skyboxcreative.com or call us at 619.381.3825

Tip 1. Research and provide examples of designs you like

This is a crucial step in the web design process for a couple reasons. Firstly, by identifying the design style you like, you will be able to recognize if a web design studio’s portfolio matches up with your style/expectations. Secondly, it will help the web design company understand your taste. We would recommend that you provide somewhere between 2-8 examples, more than that may actually hinder the process. Also, it’s very helpful if you can describe what you like about each design. This may be difficult to do if your not a designer, but take a moment to review the examples you’ve gathered. Is it the color combination that appeals to you, the brightness or depth of the photography, the logo treatment or the writing style/headlines? This may take a couple of hours to do in the beginning of the project, but could save hours, even days of going back and forth trying to get it right.

You may want to look at your competition or at a web design gallery showcase, such as www.unmatchedstyle.com or www.cssremix.com

Tip 2. Understand and communicate your needs

Do you know what you want your website to say, is the content already written? If you need help with this, make sure your estimate includes copywriting. Do you know how you want your website to be structured, do you have a navigation or wireframe planned out? If not, you may want to check if the estimate includes website planning, consulting and/or wireframing. Do you already have photography? Are you interested in using stock imagery or do you need to schedule a photoshoot? Typically a photoshoot will be estimated out separately although it depends on the agency. Double check if stock photography is included or if it is an extra expense. Photography is typically added to the project upon completion since the cost is based on how many photos were purchased and where they came from, this can be tricky to estimate up front. Some famous stock photography resources are: Veer, iStock Photo and Getty Images, among many others.

If you’re not well versed in the web design process, you may assume that these elements are included in the proposal but a bare-bones estimate typically only covers design, changes and programming, depending on the studio. Skybox Creative is a Web Design Consultancy so all of our estimates include planning and consulting as part of the project cost.

Tip 3. Changes can really add up

This is the most difficult thing for an agency to estimate: client requests and changes. Because every client has a different method of working and design will always be subjective, changes vary greatly from client to client. It is crucial that you know how many changes are allocated in your estimate and understand what qualifies as a “change” or “round of changes”. You may have heard the term scope creep before, this means that client requests have become so significant that the project no longer falls under the same estimate. As Wiki puts it “This phenomenon can occur when the scope of a project is not properly defined, documented, or controlled.” The best way to avoid scope creep and stay within the allocated changes for any given project is firstly to select a studio that has work you love but also take the time to asses all the changes before responding. Everyone has on occasion, spit out rapid fire emails based on random thoughts as they come to mind, but if you want your project to stay within budget, you may want to gather your thoughts before getting in touch.

Tip 4. Provide timely feedback

People tend to get very busy with their day-to-day responsibilities, sometimes so much that they don’t respond with feedback necessary to move the project forward. This is counter productive for the web design company you hire but also for the timely launch of your project. A schedule is typically planned out at the start of a project with deliverables, presentation dates and launch date. If feedback isn’t received within a reasonable amount of time, all the subsequent dates may be pushed back as a result. General rule of thumb: provide well thought-out feedback within 24-48 hours of receiving design comps or a development link.

Tip 5. Plan for updates

Do you want to be able to manage your own content after your site is launched? If so, make sure your website is built on a Content Management System (CMS), such as WordPress, Joomla, Drupal or Magneto (for eCommerce).  All the aforementioned are open source options that cut a lot of cost out of the development process. Each platform has it’s own benefits and limitations. Make sure you understand the extent of changes you will be able to make and ask the studio why they’ve chosen a particular CMS platform before the design process begins. Once your website is launched, will the studio provide training? Skybox Creative provides 1-2 hours of training after the launch of a CMS-based website. Our training not only includes a thorough review of how to use the system, but we also teach you techniques on how to optimize your site for search engines.

Do you want the web design studio to manage your website after launch? If so, think of how often you want updates and the extent of those updates to get an accurate estimate you can budget for.

Tip 6. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

It’s good to have a base understanding of SEO before hiring a web design firm to create a website for you. Here are a few rudimentary basics; search engines can’t read Flash, if text is an image (jpg, png, etc) search engines can’t read it either, HTML tables are generally no good (they slow down your website by creating unnecessary code), etc., etc. Talk with your web design company and ask them how well versed they are in SEO. Do they offer a basic or advanced SEO package with your website? Do they offer ongoing SEO packages? Are you looking for local traffic or non geo-targeted keywords? It can be more difficult to rank well for non geo-targeted keywords, make sure you set realistic expectations and goals based on your budget for your launch and ongoing SEO campaign.

Tip 7. Dynamic or “sticky” content

Dynamic/interactive content is not only preferred by Google, but is almost expected from visitors these days. People want to get to the point, and fast! Does the web studio your looking to hire also create video content? Could you potentially get away with animated stills? In other words, a composite of photos and/or graphics, thereby eliminating the need for video footage. This is an easy way to get some video content on your site with a lower out-of-pocket expense.

There are many things to consider to get the most out of your website, as you can see it is about much more than just design. Email us at info@skyboxcreative.com for more info and a FREE Web Design Consultation.

Skybox Creative, Inc. – Elevate your business with strategic brand + web design.

Read Google’s official announcement regarding the update

The effect of the algorithm change could have companies scrambling to tweak their online marketing strategies – nearly 12% of its queries will be noticeably impacted. Could this major change direct traffic away from your business’s web presence in the cyber world? Let’s take a closer look at the changes made and what kind of websites are affected.

The core of Google’s new algorithm is the use of temporal duration, data used to determine the quality of a webpage. In other words, search results will now be ranked by the length of time that a visitor spends on a particular website, before resorting back to the page of search results. Content used to be the determining factor for the order in which Google prioritized websites in the search results. However once companies understood the algorithm, useless sites began to cheat the system using duplicate content, high advertising-to-content ratios, or deviously embedded keywords. As a result of search engine manipulation, many high quality sites with less content were loosing their Google ranking. With Google’s new algorithm, websites that are more engaging in a visitor’s eyes will be recognized with a higher search results ranking.

Read a more in-depth study of who Google’s update affects

With that in mind, many SEO factors that previously influenced your website’s ranking still apply – the scope of your businesses social involvement (discussions, linking, sharing) is still an influence on the value of your site. However, now that content is no longer Google’s primary determinant of quality, website/business owners must realize that impactful web design is more crucial than ever – the focus has shifted to creating a pleasant user experience, in harmony with stimulating content.

So what can you do to make sure your business doesn’t go down under the new algorithm? Here are some secure ways to ensure that your website stays competent:

6 Tips to Keep Your Website High Quality:

1. Don’t forget that every page on your site factors into the equation – low quality individual pages could drag your whole domain down.
2. Don’t click the back button on your own site …and don’t tempt your visitors to click it either by presenting substandard content.
3. Avoid amateurish graphical errors. This means no clip art, no irrelevant artwork. Less is more.
4. Be professional, be trustworthy. Include an About Us page, Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, etc. Build trust by displaying professional trade association logos.
5. Add sticky content: videos or engaging photos or audio can keep a user occupied longer.
6. Prove the user with a comfortable viewing experience — if you’re going to keep your ads, make sure they don’t interfere with the content. With the content, use fonts designed for online viewing (try Georgia, Trebuchet, or Verdana), and take the time to choose colors/sizes wisely.

What page of search are you on for your target keywords?

Remember, Google’s new algorithm is a machine that reasons with time and statistics, but what determines those numbers are human users. Learning more about SEO tools and seeking quality design is a surefire way to keep your website in the loop – Email us at info@skyboxcreative.com for more info and a FREE SEO website evaluation.

Skybox Creative, Inc. – Elevate your business with SEO-conscious brand + web design.

The need for a dental plan that suits a specific set of needs is what has drawn thousands of people to New Dental Choice’s unique membership plan. Users can choose an individual, family, or group plan, and they can rest assured that the network of dentists allied with NDC’s program are the same as the ones offered by major insurance carriers and Fortune 500 companies. An affordable alternative to dental insurance, New Dental Choice boasts plans that are void of annual premiums, deductibles, and waiting periods.

In line with New Dental Choice’s philosophy of keeping it straightforward yet specially tailored, Skybox has set up a web 2.0 navigation menu that allows users to search for a suitable dental plan using three different approaches. The site’s color palette is now consistent with their new branding – it is illuminated by fresh, modern, cool blue gradients, and the introduction of vibrant pops of lime green modules and buttons on each page present straightforward searching and sign-up features.

A site map is easily accessible on the foot of each page, and includes the useful links found in the navigation bar, as well as ways to find out more about the company and connect with it via various branches of social media. Skybox Creative is excited to match New Dental Choice’s convenient services with this fittingly user-friendly website design.

Questions? Email us at info@skyboxcreative.com

Skybox Creative, Inc. – Elevate your business with Web 2.0 web design.

Google is at the forefront of every business owners mind, ranking high translates directly to business growth, there’s no denying that. So what are a few ways a website or blog can increase their search engine foot traffic? Here are 5 tips that can help get you started:

1. Title Tags on Your Website or Blog
This is one of those tried and true SEO tactics that has been around for a while and still makes a significant impact on your SEO today. One thing to keep in mind when writing your title tags is to think of the person searching on Google (or any other search engine for that matter), try to think of something that will make people want to click on your link. One way to do this is include the topic and a benefit, this easily allows for 2 keyword phrases to fit into the title.

A rule to remember: only 65 characters will display in the search results, anything after that will show up as … in the results.

Quick fact: 80% of top ranking pages include keywords in their title.

2. Blog Updates
We all know we should be blogging regularly, but who has the time right? People used to say once a week was good, but things are changing and fresh content is the key to search engine favorability. The new rule of thumb is to update your blog every 1-2 days (or more if you can manage that) to keep search engines indexing your pages regularly. Remember to use keywords in your title, URL string, body copy, categories and keyword tags. That’s the beauty of blogging, WordPress and other blogging tools make it easy to add keywords in a number of different places that really help you rank. Oh and don’t forget about linking…

3. Link to Other Blogs and Websites
As part of your SEO campaign, it’s a good idea to include outbound links. Google likes links to relevant and reputable websites.

4. Backlinking
This is one of the cornerstones of a good SEO campaign. The quality of your backlinks is very important though, the better the page rank and the higher the foot traffic, the better the backlink. Also what anchor text are you backlinking from? There are amazing free tools like BlueBacklinks.com that allow you to see how many backlinks you have and what anchor text is linking to you.

5. Internal Linking
If a blog post or page within your site has achieved a good page rank, use it to build in a few links to other pages within your site. Links will still hold search engine value even if they are coming from within the same site.

For an SEO website evaluation, contact us at info@skyboxcreative.com or call 619-381-3825

Skybox Creative, Inc. – Elevate your business with engaging brand + web design.

Is your business up to speed with Social Media? Do you have a customized Facebook profile image? Branded Twitter page? Using a variety of tools, Skybox Ceative can get you up and running with our Cross Media Campaign. For more information, contact us: info@skyboxcteative.com

Want to learn more about Facebook stats, activity and global reach, click here.

Skybox Creative, Inc. – Elevate your business with phenomenal brand + web design.