G Squared Studios Blog
9 Instant Design Boosters for Any Website
What if I told you that you could do a few simple things to your website to greatly improve its effectiveness? Don’t scoff, you know it’s true deep down, but I’m guessing you’re not sure where to start. Do you know what design boosters will bring you the most impact? The main focus you should have for your website is results. Whatever you’re doing, it should all drive results towards the end goal. It doesn’t matter if your goal is to gain more subscribers to your newsletter, or to sell more physical products. Maybe your goal is to drive more traffic to your website in general. Whatever the case may be, here are 9 things you can do to effectively boost your website’s design effectiveness. Instant Website Design Boosters Create a Color Palette You shouldn’t be using every color of the rainbow on your website. Instead, why not select a color palette that reflects your brand? This will make everything much more consistent and pleasing to the eye. Think of your website like a plate of food. If it looks like slop, your mind is going to think that it doesn’t taste as good as it does. If it looks […]
How Web Design Packages Work
Web Design Packages What if I told you that you could save a lot of money on your website’s overall costs with web design packages? I know that it sounds strange. I am a web designer, telling you how to save money when building a website. The truth is, I’d rather you buy an entire web design and development package from me, rather than having me to create a single part of it. Why would I care? The truth of the matter is, there are several reasons why I would want you to choose from my website design packages, instead of ordering things separately. But here’s the thing… It has nothing to do with me making more money off of individual services. In reality, I make more money handling everything myself, and offering you a good deal at the same time. Here are a few reasons why: I don’t have to go behind someone else and try to fix their work. I have complete control over the entire project from start to finish. I don’t end up being the middle man between other parties and my client. I can work faster and more efficiently. It Comes From Experience The factors […]
Web Page Essentials for a Fast Loading Site
Your Web Page Needs to Load Fast Now, more than ever, it is essential for your website to be super quick. Before, it was just a matter of people’s preference and their impatience. Now, if your web page loads slowly, you can be penalized in Google Search for it, and no one wants that. That’s quite a slap on the hand for not keeping things neat and tidy. Fear not, because I have a few tips to help you optimize your website so it loads lickety split. Compress those images! This is so much easier to do than ever before. Even if you create a lightweight image in Photoshop or some other graphics editor, you can use a handful of different online tools to optimize them even further. I use Compress Jpeg for all of my images. Don’t let the name fool you. Not only can you compress jpeg images, but you can even compress PNG files and PDFs, too. You can upload multiple files at once and download them all in a pack. Just make sure you upload images of all the same kind. In other words, keep your PNGs together and your Jpegs together. Use Caching For those […]
Website Design Pricing Factors Every Business Should Consider
What if I told you that website design pricing is different for every single project? I am willing to bet you’d be shocked, but it’s true. Every web design project I have been involved in has always come out to be a different price. The thing is, if you understand the different factors that go into website design pricing, you’ll be more prepared for the process of building a website for your business, and the expenses that will go into it. You’ll also be more prepared, and better equipped to handle these fly-by-night web designers that only care about making a quick buck off of you. I’ll cover the website design pricing factors that affect the overall costs of every website project. The Main Website Design Pricing Factors The size of your website This is the main factor that determines the overall cost of your website. Not only do you have to consider your main pages, like home, about, services, contact, etc., but you have to consider all of the other pages as well. You might have internal pages, such as a page for each service you provide (which is good for SEO, by the way), or individual product pages […]
Clever Logos With Hidden Imagery You Likely Never Noticed
Clever Logos Get Attention It wasn’t until I became a graphic designer that I started to take notice of the graphics and logos around me. Even after a couple of years of school, I never realized that some logos had hidden images and dual meanings built right in. When I finally did realize this, you can imagine that my mind was officially blown. I decided to put together a collection of clever logos with dual imagery you probably never noticed before. Tostitos I don’t know if it’s your favorite snack, but with a little nacho cheese and salsa, it’s one of mine. I bet you didn’t notice the 2 figures and the bowl of salsa in the middle. On the bag, it’s easy to miss because of the colorful patterns and designs all over it. Toblerone I don’t ever remember eating a Toblerone, but it does have a cool hidden image if you look closely. you’ll find a bear on the left side. That’s cool! Baskin Robbins Everyone knows about the 31 flavors. Honestly, I think they have some of the best ice cream out there, if you can find them. If you look at the pink letters, they create […]
67 of the Best Free Photoshop Brushes You’ll Actually Use
The Best Free Photoshop Brushes for various projects When a client wants creative work that combines images for one powerful message, the right brushes can make the difference between mediocre and professional-level work. You can combine Photoshop brushes with layers and masks to create realistic effects. Just remember, no matter how awesome your Photoshop brushes are, the best designs are concept-driven, so start there first. In this collection, you’ll find the best free Photoshop brushes for fur, hair, clouds, smoke, and more. Clouds Cloud brushes are great for creating realistic sky designs or scenery. High res cloud brushes can be used to create serene backgrounds for websites. They can be combined and layered to create your own custom sky designs. Best Free Photoshop Brushes (Clouds) Download Fire Fire brushes are great for creating explosive designs. You can layer them, adding inner and outer glow effects with layer styles to create realistic glows. Remember, subtlety and soft edges are key to true realism. rarely do you see hard edges in the fire. Download Free Photoshop Brushes (Fire) Download Flames Download Smoke Smoke brushes are great for creating abstract work, or for giving your work a smoldering look. You can do a […]
8 Key Elements of Great Web Design
What Makes A Great Web Design Experience? One of those words in the title above should give you a huge clue. It’s all about the user experience. A website should be easy to use, no matter what platform they are on. Things like quick load times and elements that are easy to tap on mobile devices are just a few things that contribute to great website design. Let’s take an in-depth look at what makes a great web design experience for everyone. Easy to Read Text I don’t know where this trend came from, but light grey text on a white background is not easy to read. The key to easily read text is contrast. The contrast from the background doesn’t just mean the color of the text and the background. It also has to do with the line-height, or the space between each line of text. The typeface is key, too. There has to be enough contrast between positive and negative space for each letter. Your body copy is not the place to “get funky”. Navigation Even though people say they hate the hamburger navigation menu, everyone knows it stands for a mobile menu. Don’t cram a bunch of […]
Creating Web Solutions Not Just Websites
Stand Out With Web Solutions There are so many tools out there to enable you to create a website. There are tools like Simbla, Webydo, Wix, and dozens others that allow you to create a website from scratch, or using a pre-made template. So how do you stand out as a Knoxville web designer among all of the stiff competition? You learn to create custom web solutions for your clients that solve problems. Let’s Face it: Anyone can build a website There, I said it. Now, I didn’t say they could build it well, I just said they can build it. However, if you can edit pre-existing content from a template, you can build a cookie-cutter website. That can get you by for a while, but what clients don’t understand is that there is so much more that goes into a professional business website. Branding A website should reflect the essence of the brand. When you go to Coca Cola’s website, there is no question where you are. You know, without a shadow of a doubt, that you are looking at the genuine website for Coca Cola. Your clients’ websites should be the same way. In my opinion, there’s nothing […]
10 Elements Every Effective Home Page Needs
Every Effective Home Page Needs Certain Elements Your website’s home page is like the central hub for your website. The success of the rest of your website depends on the effectiveness of your home page. If you have a terrible layout or a confusing message, or it is difficult to find information, it’s likely that no one will go further than that page. Let’s take a look at a few essential elements that every effective home page needs. Eye Catching Images Have you ever came to a website where the imagery was generic or bland. Low resolution and grainy images will kill the success of your website. There really is no excuse for bad images, with all of the free high-resolution stock photography websites available now, like Pixabay, Unsplash, Death to Stock Photo, and dozens of others. Key Points (That Lead to other pages on the site) On your home page, you should have sections that build interest for your main topics. Whether you’re selling products, web design services, or providing key information, there should be a section, or lead in, for each main topic. This will lead interested people to the areas of your site where they can find […]
My Top 5 Favorite Social Media Tools For Efficiency
Why I Have Used Dreamweaver For Web Design For Years
Dreamweaver for Web Design? Some people love it, and some people really hate it. It really depends on your preference, and your style of working. When I first started in web design over ten years ago, I wanted to make it as easy as possible. I wanted something that would help me make websites. I wanted to be able to click a couple of buttons or sift through a couple of menus and build a feature in seconds. I wanted to share why I’ve used Dreamweaver for web design for years. It’s Use for Me is Fleeting I don’t use Dreamweaver as much as I used to. I can definitely admit that, but I do still use it for working on html websites. I like and understand the FTP functionality, and I like the interface. The biggest reason is probably because I am used to it. I have built an entire system for finding files and working with them, so it has always been integrated with my workflow. The Search Feature I have always loved Dreamweaver’s search feature. I can hit Command or Ctrl+F at any time to bring up a find and replace window. Then, can make a few […]
Unlocking Instagram Business Profiles For Success
Many businesses thrive from using Instagram. I’ve seen businesses grow from a small entity to a social powerhouse overnight with Instagram. It’s more than just fun photos. It’s a way to show your work, your office, your staff, and your overall company culture. It’s a way of showing the personality of your business and your employees. As with anything, Instagram has made some changes recently, adding business profiles. I’ll show you how to take your current Instagram profiles and convert them into a Instagram Business Profiles. Instagram Connects to your Facebook Page If you don’t have a Facebook business page, it’s important that you go ahead and set it up. Make sure all of the fields are filled out on your Facebook Business page. Information like your address and phone number will be carried over to your Instagram business account. Setting Up Instagram Business Profiles From your Instagram account, click the gear icon in the top right corner of the app. If you scroll to the bottom of the options on this page, you’ll find an option that says “switch to Instagram Business Profile.” Click on this option and it will ask to connect to your Facebook account. Then it […]