Designing Your Site For Success

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Overall Thoughts

The look of your website is one of many important things. But, in my opinion it is in the list of the top most important things. First impressions matter, if people like the way your site looks, they’ll stay and explore it. Here’s some things to keep in mind when designing your site.

Stop thinking of web design as an art.

The design of your website is not an art, it’s a strategy. Everything on the site must serve a purpose. You should design it to help your viewers find answers or to complete a task. Yes, you want artistic aspects of your website to look creative and neat and interesting, but do so in a way that makes your site easy to navigate, and helps the viewer’s interest in it. Use big buttons, bold type, or anything that might grab the viewers attention. Once you have their attention, you’ll most likely have their business.

Prioritize clarifying everything on your site and focus on the things that are most important to the viewer. You yourself will want the site to be beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, but you need to focus on the viewers.

Going back to the basics

Now that you know you’re designing your website for it’s viewers, you can put work into the design. But, in order to do that you have to go to the very first design choices – grids, frameworks, and themes. There are lots of pre-made templates, grids, frameworks, and themes you can choose from you are just beginning. Or you can choose parts from different ones and customize your own.

These three design choices are aimed at beginning coders a lot of the time. But, they are also important first steps to anyone creating a website. This is the foundation of your website. You can decide how you want the home page and all of the sub pages layouts to look, you can decide on colors, fonts, images, and so much more. Write it all down, think it all out. Envision what you want.

Colors

While everyone loves choosing a color pallet, you don’t want to pick something that’s overwhelming or hard to read on. Look into what colors are trending at the moment, and pick colors that have the effect you’re looking for. You may even want to look at colors that are simple, but still effective.

Pictures or Images

When you go to a website and look at the pictures and images the creator has put on there, what do you think? Do they look genuine? Authentic? Do they relate to the product or purpose of the website? You want to have these questions in mind when you are creating your own site. You want to aim for authentic images. Make them relevant and make them original. Something no one has seen before.

Use images or pictures of your products, this will show the viewers that they are seeing what they’ll actually be getting if they purchase your product. Use images of people using your products. Make them staged, take a candid, however you’d like. Just make the pictures helpful and believable. But keep in mind that overused pictures and too many staged images can lead to your site looking out dated. These pictures help you show the product, the quality of the product, and help you sell the product.

Using Video

Keep in mind when using video that you don’t want to post a movie on your website. Keep videos short and sweet. Many site creators put a background video on their homepage to tell the story of the site and business in a few seconds. You want the video to make a lasting impact, but also to help get a point across and intrigue the viewer.

Navigating Navigation

Navigation is how users find things and go to different places in your site. Make it easy for them. Do not put more than 5 – 7 items in your menu, reduce to the absolute minimum number of items you are able. More than seven is too many for the viewer to look at and can make things confusing.

Make sure you have a clear menu that is easy to see and easy for the user to maneuver. Use big buttons for shopping carts, buying options, or viewing product details. If they can’t find pages or products, then they won’t want to use the site.

Marketing, Marketing, Marketing

Pictures, video, and design are all aspects that are going to help market and advertise your business. You need customers so you need to be aware of your marketing! Look at emailing customers so they return, ads online, and keeping followers updated on social media. It all makes a difference. Make your business known. Otherwise it’s not going to be a business!

Make sure you have a blend

Will all of these strategic design aspects, you need to make sure the site is still yours. Be sure that the site has a good blend of personal and professional space, as well as integrity and ethics. Your site can be personal, but know where the personal/professional line is, and don’t cross it.

Most important of all, make sure you tell people about yourself! Making your viewers or customers feel that you are really involved and that you are genuine can make or break your success.

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Now That I’ve Chosen My Business, How Do I Make My Website?

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My Main Thoughts

When I came into this week’s content, I had absolutely no idea what to really expect. I didn’t know what to think, or what I should know, or what I would learn. I can say now though, that I am pleasantly surprised by what I did find! Let me share some of my findings with you.

Things You Should Think About Paying Attention To

Firstly, there are some key things that should have attention when first building an online business site. Think about actually creating the site. Yes, you have your business idea in mind, but how are you going to create the physical website for the online business itself? You need to think about and pay attention to host builders, site builders, costs, monthly subscriptions, and domain name prices. But what exactly are all of these things?

Host Builders and Site Builders

A site builder builds your physical website. Choose one that is in your area of expertise and knowledge. Or, choose one that you are committed to learning and mastering. Also, when choosing a host builder, make sure it works well or easily with your chosen site builder.

A host builder is what you use to turn your website into a business. When looking at host builders, you need to first determine your budget. You’ll most likely be paying a monthly subscription fee. And with some host builders you may be paying this monthly subscription fee for 2-3 years to get the best monthly price.

Be Practical.

Make sure you are real with yourself throughout this whole process. If you are going to do this online business, make sure you make time for it. Otherwise you are wasting your money.

Also think in terms of reality if you’re going to keep this business up for a longer amount of time. If you are doing it for a class and you are only going to be creating and running it for a couple of months, then do not pay for a subscription that only gives you a good price if you run the business for 2 or 3 years.

Stick to your budget. Don’t pay more in the beginning if you aren’t going to be able to swing that monthly cost later. Look at hosts that have a lower monthly cost (preferably month-to-month) and that has promo codes to help with the overall cost. Also look for if your domain name (website name) is included in the cost of the host.

Make sure the host offers some kind of support. You most likely will have questions. So choose a host that offers the ability to answer them!

Do The Research to Make This Work For You Specifically

Make sure that you are choosing hosts and site builders that you can work with. Do not choose one that someone with lots of experience in this field uses, because it may be expensive and much more difficult. This is your business, so personalize it and make it unique. Don’t try to be like the other business owners in the world. Everyone is different and has different visions. Do want you think is best for your own business.

Concluding Thoughts

Make your website and online business the way it is best possible for you. There are a lot of opinions in the world and from your peers and teachers that can persuade you to choose options that could make things harder for you and lead your business to be unsuccessful.

Do the research and make a plan. I can’t emphasize this enough. If you have questions, research until you find the answers. Make a plan of what you want and the process of how your going to achieve that. I was once told to plan your work and then work your plan. Some of the best advice I’ve ever received!

And last of all, don’t be afraid to try something new. The greatest things in life often come when we do just that!

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Sourcing My Business: Where do I Start?


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Overall Thoughts

This week, I was faced with a lot of questions. I kept feeling them surface as I was trying to understand exactly what ‘sourcing a business’ means. I didn’t quite understand, and I was so overwhelmed. But, here’s a few things I learned:

What does it actually mean to source a business?

Sourcing a business is finding a manufacturer or wholesaler to provide the inventory for your business. Finding this provider is the first step, and sometimes can be a difficult one.

How do I find a wholesaler or manufacturer?

Well, first you need to decide on what inventory you actually want for your business. Then, you need to do your research and find some providers. Keep in mind that not all wholesalers or providers serve the same market. So be careful when you’re looking around. You also need to figure out and understand where you fit in the supply chain, knowing this will help you when talking to possible future providers.

Upon understanding of where you are in the supply chain, work the network. All of the advice I have heard on meeting people and knowing people in the business world to move ahead in your career is this: network, network, network. Don’t be afraid to contact a larger number of people. Attend trade shows for manufacturers to meet them, subscribe to industry’s trade publications, check B2B marketplaces, you can even check eBay! Just put yourself out there and network people.

Understanding Distribution Channels

An important contributing factor in finding your manufacturer or wholesaler is understanding the types of distribution factors. There are four types:

  1. Manufacturer. This type of distribution factor is where someone buys from small or one person manufacturers and sells their product. This is what boutique stores do. They are paired with small companies to sell their product.
  2. Exclusive distributor. These people set up or sell to smaller local wholesalers. In this situation, suppliers and distributors make an agreement that allows only the distributor to sell specific products.
  3. Regional distributor. This type breaks down box-car sized lots and sells truckload boxes of products to different wholesalers.
  4. Jobbers. These are individuals that make daily deliveries to local grocers and retail brick-and-mortar stores.

Knowing these different types enables you to better understand not only what type of distributor you may what, but also how they would distribute your product.

Use Quantify and Compare Charts

Now that you’ve decided what kind of distributor you’re looking for and have found some wholesaler and manufacturer options, it’s time to decide which to use. Make an excel sheet with your wholesaler options. Place the alternative companies to use on the left. Then break down important parts. Such as if you were doing a swimsuit company, weigh the important components such as price, style, and quality. Weigh each but make sure they add together to make 100%. Then rate each company on those three categories out of ten, get an average score, and rank them. Higher scores means higher ranking.

Don’t be fearful!

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes are what we learn from. When you fail, the only way to progress is by taking what you learned and moving forward. There are so many opportunities out there. Be adventurous, go out of your comfort zone, and start a business!

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Choosing A Business: The Learning Process

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Overall Thoughts

This week created a new aspect of learning for myself I never imagined I would be learning about. I have never been one of those people who think about creating a business, or about thinking of how one does so.

I reached outside my comfort zone, and I learned more than I initially thought I would! Which is both an amazing and frightening experience. Here’s what I learned this week:

Brainstorming

It is okay to lay all of your ideas out on the table. No idea is wrong or stupid, even if you feel it may be. If you think you could make that idea into a business throw it onto your thinking board. Thinking through everything is a sure fire way of making sure you are invested in the right business for you! When it comes to creating a business, whether you pick a business model first or whether you brainstorm all of your business ideas first, in my opinion, it doesn’t matter. You do what you feel is right, not what others or the internet tells you.

Researching

Don’t be afraid to research for ideas as well as researching your own! After you have your list of ideas, it can be overwhelming trying to choose which is the best for you and your future business. See what businesses are trending, which are successful, which are not successful. This can help you learn more about your business ideas while helping you rule out the ones you feel would be unsuccessful. You could also use programs such as GoogleAdwords and its keyword search or excel to help you do your research and weigh all of your options.

Be Open to Different Options

Allow yourself to be open-minded to all sides of opinion when it comes to choosing a certain business. Don’t let yourself get scared if it seems difficult or unpopular. If you find your ideas don’t work, don’t be afraid to try something new. You may find that you like something you never thought you would!

Go Out of Your Comfort Zone

Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Not enough to make you completely uncomfortable, but enough to push you towards success. Often times the best things that happen in our lives come from pushing ourselves. Don’t be afraid to experience and learn new things!

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American Eagle Ad Reverse Design

https://www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/brands/american-eagle-outfitters/advertisements/2015/autumn-winter/13040/maia-cotton-315594/

American Eagle Outfitters began its journey throughout the world in 1977 when it was founded by brothers Jerry and Mark Silverman. Together they had already owned and operated Silverman’s Menswear, but they created American Eagle Outfitters as a part of their previous company. This is one of many ads created by the company. In this post, I am taking this wonderful add and using the process of reverse design to distinguish its specific design qualities!

Contrast

Beginning with the light background and the black text, this ad gives the eye a vast light and dark difference that draws it to the text. They also have the pale background against the model’s clothing, also drawing the eye in.

Repetition

As we can see, the font used in the ad is two similar fonts, but the repeating factor is the upper case state of each letter. All words and phrases are also the same color, and only short phrases are used.

Alignment

In looking at alignment, we see that the designer used the rule of thirds to align the text with the model, as well as putting both the model and the text used in a spot where the eye is drawn. We can also see that the top of the text is lined up with the wheat field along the horizon, as well as within the middle portion of the model.

Proximity

This particular ad has lots of proximity. There is the spacing and grouping of the text phrases as we can see with the solid black line that was placed. There is also a set amount of space between the text and the model, making the picture of the ad more pleasing to the eye.

Color

This ad uses the concept of light and dark colors to its advantage. It uses the light colors of the sky and field to give a relaxed and calming theme. While at the same time they have the model’s clothing as the only actual coloring in the image. This causes the eye to catch because it stands out.

Concluding Thoughts

This ad was well thought out and was beautifully presented. It was well designed with basic principles as a strategic tool to really draw the eye of its viewers.

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