Seek and Design: Using City Directories to find Clients

Wix.com has revolutionized the simplicity of web design. Millions of sites have been created by designers, photographers, entertainers and small business around the world! Yet, the fact is, over 40% of businesses do not have a website. This number is unsettling considering 82% of consumers turn to the search engines when finding a local business.

Why don’t they have websites? Well, your guess is as good as mine. But we believe that most business have not found professional quality designers at an affordable price. (That’s where YOU come in!)
Using business directories, it’s easy to find and connect with the companies that lack an online presence. Should you be an ambitious Wix designer looking to help these companies, here is the best way to use these directories:

City Directories
CitySearch.com and Yelp.com are online directories that have detailed listings of restaurants, bars, hotels and beauty salons in every major city in America. When you queue a search, sometimes you will see listings without a website link. That’s a pretty good sign that they are missing a web presence all together.

CitySearch.com

The black arrow indicates where the website is located. The red arrow shows no website available.

Yelp.com

If you find a business without a website, do a little research. Check Google or Yahoo and make sure nothing comes up in a web search. Sometimes the owner simply failed to update their listing. If nothing comes up, however, you’ve found a potential client! Contact them by phone (listed) or meet with a manager at the given address.
Search Directories
Google Maps and Yahoo Local have business listings, usually to compliment their map services. You can use these resources in the same way.

Google Maps

As you can see, even businesses that appear on search engine directories do not always have a website.
Make sure you always approach potential clients with tact and respect for their business. Once you develop a relationship and show them the advantages of a website, you may have won a client for life. Good luck and happy searching!

Seek and Design: Using City Directories to find Clients

Wix.com has revolutionized the simplicity of web design. Millions of sites have been created by designers, photographers, entertainers and small business around the world! Yet, the fact is, over 40% of businesses do not have a website. This number is unsettling considering 82% of consumers turn to the search engines when finding a local business.
Why don’t they have websites? Well, your guess is as good as mine. But we believe that most business have not found professional quality designers at an affordable price. (That’s where YOU come in!)
Using business directories, it’s easy to find and connect with the companies that lack an online presence. Should you be an ambitious Wix designer looking to help these companies, here is the best way to use these directories:

City Directories
CitySearch.com and Yelp.com are online directories that have detailed listings of restaurants, bars, hotels and beauty salons in every major city in America. When you queue a search, sometimes you will see listings without a website link. That’s a pretty good sign that they are missing a web presence all together.

CitySearch.com

The black arrow indicates where the website is located. The red arrow shows no website available.

Yelp.com

If you find a business without a website, do a little research. Check Google or Yahoo and make sure nothing comes up in a web search. Sometimes the owner simply failed to update their listing. If nothing comes up, however, you’ve found a potential client! Contact them by phone (listed) or meet with a manager at the given address.
Search Directories
Google Maps and Yahoo Local have business listings, usually to compliment their map services. You can use these resources in the same way.

Google Maps

As you can see, even businesses that appear on search engine directories do not always have a website.
Make sure you always approach potential clients with tact and respect for their business. Once you develop a relationship and show them the advantages of a website, you may have won a client for life. Good luck and happy searching!

Wix Tips: Portfolio Assets

Over the past few months, we’ve noticed a lot of portfolios created on Wix. We’ve seen some remarkable work! Since there are so many portfolios created every day, we’d like to share some tips to help you build the best site possible. Here’s a list of the five most important assets to have on your professional portfolio.

1. Creative Work Examples

Lead your site with creative work examples. You want this to be the main attraction. Make sure that every item in your portfolio is a completed piece. If you have a large body of work, you may want to select your best 8 to 12 pieces to display.

Make sure to include the details about each piece including client’s name, start date, complete date, project objectives and materials used. If you are showcasing a website, make sure you include an active link.

2. Client History

To maximize your credibility, showcase a list of the clients you’ve worked with in the past. Highlight the most recognizable ones. If a client has given you a positive recommendation, ask for their permission and quote them on your site.

3. Services and Work Rates

Potential clients should be well aware of the services you offer. Make sure they are presented in a clear and concise fashion. If you offer several different services, group them together by category.

Be careful! Listing work rates can either work for or against you. If your business has fixed rates for creative services, it will be important to list them openly. Otherwise, if your rates change on a project basis, take the opportunity to direct potential clients to contact you for a discussion on budget and scope.

4. Company Info

Here’s a chance to tell your story. Keep it brief and exciting. Proudly showcase the awards and accomplishments you’ve received throughout your career. Display the professional organizations that you belong to. This may also be a great place to post a resume for download.

Don’t forget to include your logo and/or portrait.

5. Contact Form

Your contact form should be a place where clients can contact you directly. You may want to include other contact information including your business phone number and address. Feel free to provide links to the rest of your web-universe including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

For more information about developing your portfolio, visit the Wix Learning Portal or visit these fantastic examples on Wix:

WEB DESIGN: Roadmaps

“If you want to know your past, look into your present conditions.
If you want to know your future, look into your present actions.”
- Padmasambhava, Buddhist philosopher

Where you are today determines where you will be tomorrow. In order to have an impact on this equation, you must be conscious of both your current actions and your future goals.

The same concept applies to a website. In order to build a successful site, you must create a roadmap. A roadmap will help guide your creative decisions. Drafting these ideas is very similar to creating a marketing plan. In fact, you should approach this stage of design with a marketing-mindset.

1. Define your product.
Ex. A presidential hopeful for the 2008 elections
A graphic designer looking for freelance opportunities
A Recycled Cotton-Acrylic Blend Knit Tie manufacturer

2. Define your objectives.
Ex. Increase awareness of political campaign
Display portfolio to prospective clients
Increase business revenue with online storefront

3. Define your user.
Ex. Age: 41 – 55
Income: 80 – 120k/ annual
Sex: Male
Status: Married
Location: America, Midwest
Computer skill: Limited
Existing relationship: Very little preexisting relationship with the product
Personality: Conservative

4. Define the user’s current perception of the product.
Ex. Unaware of potential candidate, yet similar political views
An oversaturated market of designers; few stand out
Ties are standard business/ formalwear


Now that you’ve made a list, you can begin to see paths emerge. The paths may lead you to focus development on particular sections of your site.

WEB DESIGN: Sitemaps and Mazes

Have you even seen the image of a labyrinth? A simple pathway complicated by detours... Once you enter the maze, you must avoid pitfalls, find trap doors and navigate your way to the other side.

A website is similar to a labyrinth. Correction: a poorly designed website is similar to a labyrinth. It's confusing, difficult to navigate and the target is unclear. These sites make the user feel stupid – even if they end up at the proper destination.

As a designer, it’s your responsibility to make sure that everything makes sense. A well designed website has clear pathways to any destination. Whatever the user’s task may be, you should make them feel empower by a successful journey.

TIP: create a detailed site map.

A site map is one of the most important features of your website. It clearly outlines the way each page is connected. Every time you add a page to your site, think of how it relates to the other pages. Make sure there is a logical connection.


For advanced users:
Public sitemap documents are highly effective for SEO purposes. You should consider posting a file titled “sitemap.xml” in your website’s root folder. For further instructions on creating the sitemap document, visit sitemapdoc.com.

Approaching Web Design: An Overview

Web design is not a science. A science, by definition, is a system of knowledge covering general truths. Unfortunately for designers, there are no creative absolutes.

Designers approach a website the same way painters approach a canvas. They see the potential of each untold detail. The difference? Designers create for interaction; not just observation.

"Design is where science and art break even."
– Robin Mathew

Web designers must create with the user in mind.

Over the next two weeks, I will be discussing several approaches to web design. I will be sharing some strategies that will help you effectively communicate information on the web while maintaining superb aesthetics.

EDITORIAL: New York City vs. Los Angeles, a collection of thoughts

City Details:

Los Angeles, CA
Population: 3,849,378
Density: 8,205/sq mi

Primary industry: Television/ Film/ Entertainment
Nickname(s): L.A., La La Land, The City of Angels, The Entertainment Capital of the World

The City of New York, NY
Population: 8,274,527
Density: 27,147/sq mi

Primary industry: International business and commerce, and finance
Nicknames: The Big Apple, Gotham, The City That Never Sleeps, The Capital of The World (Caput Mundi), The Empire City.


Famous Quotes:

LA is the loneliest and most brutal of American cities; New York gets god-awful cold in the winter but there's a feeling of wacky comradeship somewhere in some streets. LA is a jungle.
- Jack Kerouac, American poet/ author, "On the Road"

People with intelligence and ambition move to New York.
People with intelligence move to San Francisco.
People with just ambition move to LA.
- Jim Meskauskas, Chief Strategic Officer, Underscore Marketing

Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles.
- Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect

Los Angeles is nineteen suburbs in search of a metropolis.
- H.L. Mencken, American journalist/ essayist, "Americana"

New York is the biggest collection of villages in the world.
- Alistair Cooke, British-born American journalist/ broadcaster

[New York is] the city of right angles and tough, damaged people.
- Pete Hamill, American columnist/ novelist

Cut off as I am, it is inevitable that I should sometimes feel like a shadow walking in a shadowy world. When this happens I ask to be taken to New York City. Always I return home weary but I have the comforting certainty that mankind is real flesh and I myself am not a dream.
Helen Keller, American author/ activist, "Midstream: My Later Life"