The Ocean Agency

Our web design firm would like to formally introduce our most recent launch: MedicareSupplementsForYou.com. The new site for this supplemental insurance vendor features a clean design and very simple to use navigation– perfect for anyone who needs information but isn’t entirely web-savvy.

For senior citizens in Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois, you can visit the new site to get the information you may need about your medicare supplement plans. As the Medicare and insurance markets change with the administration, Medicare Supplements For You can help you understand the changing policies and choose which plan is best for you.  With one simple step of filling out a contact form, you start the ball rolling. Medicare Supplements For You will find and compare the best options for your supplemental plan, and supply with a quote of the lowest rates available.

Friday’s here and so are our links. This Memorial Day weekend, we’ll be thinking about online business development, branding and business cards.

Mayhem Studios gives recommendations on how to better brand your Twitter presence with a customized background– check out the do’s and don’ts.

Web Designer Depot talks branding, too, and shows us 50 great circular logos. Check ‘em out. We do love NASA and Wordpress!

Smashing Mag talks cool (but maybe impractical) business cards. It’s good to have a stand-out card, but don’t get this attitude.

Finally, advice on pleasing clients is always good. Vandelay Designs gives some good tips on understanding your client from the get-go.

Have a safe Memorial Day weekend!

The most successful businesses have distinctive brands and the ability to communicate their marketing messages in such a way that people remember it.  After all, it doesn’t matter how clever or creative your logo or corporate identity is if it is not memorable – if it doesn’t stick in people’s minds.

You want your company’s message to inspire, excite, and appeal to your visitor’s emotions – that is what will make it memorable.  If your message is unclear or bland, it is unlikely that your brand will stick in your reader’s minds, and it is even more unlikely that they will end up becoming your customers.

We’ve written about this quote on our blog before, but it’s essential to remember that people might forget what you said or did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.  You should remember this when you craft your brand’s message – consider how you make your customers and prospective clients feel about working with your company first and foremost.

In response to this post on Conversation Marketing, our SEOGroup discussed 10 reasons why SEO is not like bacon, but rather like cupcakes.  Well, we think creative web design is a little more like cookies. Here are our 10 reasons why.

1. Well, of course, there are tons and tons of varieties. Oatmeal raisin, snickerdoodle, pecan sandie. Ecommerce, flash-based, social network. Your absolute favorite kind might not be the best choice for goal you’re trying to achieve (or the meal you’re finishing with dessert!).

2. Both run the range from simple to elaborate. Cookies can be simple (chocolate chip) or insanely difficult to execute. (Have you ever tried any of Martha Stewart’s cookie recipes? Yeah. They’re hard.) Web design can be simple, and good. Or simple and bad. Or elaborate and bad. Or elaborate and great. A practiced web design company will serve your needs better, just like an experienced cook will whip up the best cookies, no matter the skill level needed. 

3. You can buy them both premade, but they might not be as good. I don’t think anyone will argue against the fact that homemade cookies are better (possible exception to rule: Girl Scout Cookies). Similarly, you can buy a template web design, but it just fails to compare to a custom-made site.

4. It isn’t always about how pretty they are. Yes, we’d love it if every website was a beauty to behold. But sometimes, a website that is plain in design may function better for your customers. Similarly, just because some cookies may not look like they came straight from the bakery doesn’t mean they aren’t delicious!

5. Sometimes, less is more. We probably all went through the phase where we loved the cookies from the bakery that had cream filling and sprinkles and chocolate chips and ice cream on top. But perhaps, as your taste became refined, you found yourself craving a simple sugar cookie instead. Flashy websites lose their luster, too– especially if they don’t function well.

6. Sometimes, less is more, again. You know what happens when you a whole box of Oreos. Stomachache. If your company has multiple websites that aren’t tied by a common design, or too much irrelevant content on your website, you may be giving your users too much info (and a headache, too). 

7. This might be predictable, given the subject, but… you don’t want too many cooks in the kitchen. Too many people adding to your tried-and-true cookie recipe might ruin the finished product. Too many opinions on your online identity might take you too far from your established brand. Keep true to your original recipe– the brand that made your company successful in the first place.

8. In baking and online design, you need customer responses. You’ll never know if your website is functioning well if you don’t track its performance with your users. And you’ll never know if that dash of cinnamon was the missing ingredient if you don’t let your consumers (ha) give you a little feedback.

9. Have a sense of humor. On a website, a little humor injected into the design, whether on the about page or the 404 error message, goes a long way to engage your users. And cookies always taste better if you get to lick the bowl and make a mess. You may be laughing, but it’s true.

10. Finally, it’s about a complete experience. The best cookies look good, make the house smell great, and have a satisfying crunch you can hear when you take a bite. The best websites are more than just copy and design– they are an interactive experience for users. 

And that’s it! Now, can someone explain to us how online marketing is like a great steak or how quality content is like a fine wine?

Corporations are constantly tweaking their image to the public. From new advertising campaigns to logo redesigns to slogan changes, a company’s brand must be able to adapt to changing markets to survive. Our web design agency relies on adaptibility in design and in branding to make our work valuable and relevant.

This article from Instant Shift, and our own recent redesign, inspired us to rethink adaptability. If these 20 successful corporations can alter their brand so much over the past 100 years, but keep their integrity, your company should be able to as well, no matter its size. A great time to make changes to your brand identity is during the building or redesigning of your website. Your online platform exposes you to tons of new customers; making sure your image and representation is perfect in that platform is key. So what better time is there to make sure you are emobdying your brand with a current logo, design scheme, and image?

A simple web design company might not cut it for a complete overhaul of your image. However, an online business development agency can build your new identity online while also refining your image and branding. As you gain new users who can have interactive and memorable experiences with your company in their first visit to your website, you’ll show them exactly the image you want to. 

A website is simply an extension of the representation of your brand. Each aspect of a site– the design, the copy, and the experience– should reflect your business. And you should have a web design company that understands that.