web designers mn Archives | Studio 544 Web Design

What is Creativity?

Studio 544 — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 20:41:13 +0000

[wow_lead]
[wow_h3]Hey everybody! Did you know there is another “C” word out there besides “cancer”? [wow_colorme]It’s called CREATIVITY![/wow_colorme] [/wow_h3]
[/wow_lead]
And much like the disease, [wow_colorme]creativity[/wow_colorme] can spread through your body and make a statement about you as a person or organization. I’m always amazed when I come across something that blows the creative lid off the pot and gets me thinking. I actually came across the video below by accident while I was researching a musical artist (Jef Stott). If you need an injection of visual and audio bliss, take a few minutes to watch and listen to this remarkable video.

[wow_panel1]
[span size=”12″]
[wow_h4]
When you are shopping for a new car, how many of you would prefer to order a vehicle with everything you want on it or just take what’s available at the dealer’s lot?[/wow_h4] And when you’re cooking a nice meal, do you like to add spices, herbs, etc. to make it tastier or simply add the basic ingredients and eat a tasteless meal?
[/span]
[wow_clear]
[/wow_panel1]
[wow_clear][wow_spacing size=”20px”]
This is the same thinking you should put into choosing the company you hire to build your online presence – your web site! Let’s face it; there are tons of choices out there when it comes to web designers and web design companies. Many of them are good and many of them are not.
[highlight]You can have 2 different web designers working on the same base web theme and come out with 2 completely different looking and functioning web sites.[/highlight] Much like the options on a car and the spices in your recipe, it all comes down to creativity and if the company or freelance web designer you hire is willing to go the extra mile to ensure your site is unique and exceeds your expectations.
[wow_fancybox1 title=”The goal at Studio 544 is to exceed your expectations!” icon=”star” hidelink=”yes”]
I deliver a professional web site to you at an affordable price while starting a lasting working relationship with you or your organization. [wow_colorme]There is a reason why many of Studio 544’s clients come from referrals of existing clients.[/wow_colorme]
[/wow_fancybox1]
[wow_colorme]

Discover the other “C” word for yourself and contact me today to learn more about what Studio 544 Web Design can do for you.

[/wow_colorme]

The post What is Creativity? appeared first on Studio 544 Web Design.

WordPress.com Hosted Web Sites

Studio 544 — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 23:09:25 +0000

Are you thinking about using WordPress.com to host your business or organization’s web site?

[wow_panel1]
This recently came up with a client of Studio 544 and I thought my findings might be helpful for others considering using WordPress.com hosting services.
[/wow_panel1]
Wordpress is a GREAT CMS (Content Management System) and one that I often recommend to my web design clients when it comes to their projects. It’s loaded with powerful editing features right out of the box and there’s a multitude of free (and paid) plugins that can do just about anything you will ever need for your web site. The community support at WordPress.org is wonderful and most hosting companies include WordPress as part of their cPanel arsenal to allow for one-click installation.
[important title=”Wordpress.com Hosting Features”]
While the free hosting services offered by WordPress.com may be fine for personal blogs, students, grandparents, etc. it is not something I would recommend for my web clients.
[/important]

Aside from the added security you may get from a WordPress.com hosted site because of not being able to install third-party plugins, this is about the only benefit I can see in going that route. On the flip side, It’s also one of the biggest disadvantages of hosting a site with WordPress.com. Why would you want to limit your site’s functionality to the standard features that come with their hosting packages when there are so many fantastic WordPress plugins that can bring your web site’s functionality to the next level?
On several occasions while working with my client on their WordPress.com hosted site, the features they were asking for just could not be done because of the inability to install any third party plug-ins and many other request required work-arounds to accomplish the desired results. If you’d like to watch a video that explains the differences between a hosted and non-hosted WordPress site, click here for more information.
On top of this, it also seems like most WordPress.com Premium themes are considerably more costly than other premium WordPress themes and offer fewer features plus much more basic designs. WordPress.com offers several available upgrades to their hosting packages but read carefully about what they do and how much extra they will cost you. You can read more about WordPress.com available upgrades.

Contact Mark Lewandowski at Studio 544 Web Design in Hutchinson, MN today to learn more about the professional freelance web designer services offered.

The post WordPress.com Hosted Web Sites appeared first on Studio 544 Web Design.

Pay Per Click Advertising

Studio 544 — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:07:46 +0000

Is pay per click advertising right for you? Many of my clients ask me about this at one point or another regarding the promotion of their web site, business and services. The short answer is “It all depends.” I know this may sound vague but you need to ask yourself some basic questions before jumping into pay per click advertising.

Are pay per click ads right for you?

Do I have something special to promote or sell? It’s been my experience over the years that using pay per click advertising to promote a special offer or sale typically works better than using it to simply promote your business in general.
Do you have a budget set for your ads? It’s important to have an idea about how much the keywords you want to bid on with your ads will cost. Some keywords are more affordable than others and that discount coupon you may have received in the mail from Google Ad Words can be used up pretty quickly if your keywords are commanding some seriously high bids for decent placement.
Do you have the time and knowledge necessary to set up and monitor your ad campaigns? This is where talking with a professional web company or freelance web designer like Studio 544 comes in. A proper ad campaign requires frequent tweaking and adjusting to ensure you are getting the most for your ad budget. With over 10 years of experience in setting up and administering pay per click ad campaigns on both Google and the Bing/Yahoo network, I can take the anxiety out of this for you.

Take advantage of the reports and stats available to you. This is really the best way to analyze your campaign’s performance. I go over all of these points with my clients and encourage them to ask questions and contribute their input. After all, they know their business better than I do so I rely on them in the beginning set up stages to think carefully about what they think will entice someone searching for them online to “take the bait”.

Studio 544 can help generate more traffic to your web sites through the use of pay per click advertising but once they click, it’s up to the content of the site and the quality of the offer that will determine whether or not the site visitor will be converted into a paying customer.

Contact freelance web designer Mark Lewandowski at Studio 544 in Hutchinson, MN today to find out if a pay per click advertising campaign is right for your business or organization.

The post Pay Per Click Advertising appeared first on Studio 544 Web Design.

Shopping for a web designer

Studio 544 — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 14:51:01 +0000

If you’ve been thinking about getting a web site for your business or organization and don’t really know where to begin, one of the first things you should do is figure out what you really need on your site (pages, content, features) and how much you want to spend. The number of people who contact Studio 544 for website design are in the minority when it comes to really knowing what they want and how much a professional web site should cost.
Many of them come to me after they have listened to a “song and dance” routine from other freelance web designers or web design companies who have a tendency to tell them what they should have rather than ask them what they really need and want. This is where Studio 544 is different and quite frankly, this is why I am able to obtain new clients from across the country on a regular basis. I cut through the b.s. and actually take the time to listen to client’s questions and concerns.
Being a small business with a limited budget myself, I understand that not everyone out there can afford a $10,000+ site nor do they need anything like that in most cases. 9 times out of 10, there is a solution out there we can pursue that will fit within your budget and provide you with a clean, professional, easy to navigate website that you can be proud of. Many of Studio 544’s clients are repeat customers or referrals. There is a reason why. Contact Mark Lewandowski at Studio 544 in Hutchinson, MN today to find out for yourself.

The post Shopping for a web designer appeared first on Studio 544 Web Design.