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Lots of people, many designers included, think a “brand” is just a nice looking logo. Wrong. So, so wrong, designers. A brand is about a lot more than simply a logo, or a stationery set, a cool t-shirt, etc. As a branding creative director, I’ve accumulated a bit of knowledge about what, exactly, goes into a successful brand that users truly connect with.

Today, I’m going to take you through the 5 essential things I believe a brand needs other than a nice looking logo, which is also important, but it’s also sort of a given, right?

Recommended Reading: 5 Tips To Better Brand Names

1. A Mission

The brand you’re designing has to have a reason for existing. If it doesn’t, run far, far away from that project. A mission doesn’t have to be anything especially complicated. It can be as simple as a dream or an ideal that the founder had to reach out to more people through their business, or perhaps they want to continue a family business started by a parent or grandparent.

But, if the business owners have no motivation or guiding principles that inspire them to work hard on their business, how are they going to expect you, the designer, to do the same?

Read Also: When Does Brand Design Actually Matter?

Some entrepreneurs have lost the “spark” they once had, that motivation that made them start the business in the first place, and they are looking for outside help to try and get it back.

That’s all fine and good, but you usually don’t want to be in a situation where you’re the only one who’s passionate about the business. What tends to happen is actually the opposite of what the client hopes: their “meh” attitude will actually infect you too, and you’ll soon be dreading going in to work every morning.

2. A Target Market

You don’t just create a branding strategy because you want some cool looking stationery. Your client’s brand needs to have a target audience, people who get the main message and will respond positively to it. This legwork will likely already be done by the client, but not always. Sometimes, it will be your job to be market researcher as well as designer.

How do you go about researching a target market? First, you have to know something about the industry. If you don’t, now is a great time to familiarize yourself and do some rooting around. Talk to potential users of the product or service and get a feel for the kind of people they are. What are their likes and dislikes, their expectations when using a website, software, product, etc.

Read Also: International Marketing – Why Cultural Awareness Is Important

3. Something Of Value

Brands provide value. Usually, this value is of an emotional nature – making people feel happy, safe, secure, entertained, etc. The actual product itself may not be worth much, financially speaking, but there is a lot to be said about people’s perception of a brand. If a user believes that something has value, then it does. This is both a good thing for designers – and a bad thing.

On the one hand, it means that you only need to come up with that one, great design that really connects with a large number of people and your reputation is basically set. On the other hand, it means that you need to be discerning about the exact kind of value you choose to provide your users.

Read Also: How Inspirational Logos Can Affect Your Bottom Line

4. Trust

More accurately: users have to Know, Like, and Trust your brand’s message if they are going to continue to value it and support your client’s business. These are the basic fundamentals of branding that every designer needs to be aware of. It’s not just your client’s responsibility; if you’re going to build a niche and have only the best clients on your roster, you have to become a mini-brand expert yourself.

First, people need to know the brand exists. That’s where marketing and spreading the word comes in. Next, if people don’t like a particular brand, they aren’t going to use it. This may be a matter of simple perception.

Read Also: 5 Reasons Why Your Products Are Not Selling

The bread on the bottom shelf may taste the same as the top shelf bread, but people are going to assign a lower value to it regardless. Or, it could be that they genuinely don’t like the product or service. There’s nothing you can do about that – no brand can please everyone, nor should they try.

Finally, if people don’t trust the brand, then all the fancy logos in the world aren’t going to fix the problem. This is more a problem with your client, and how well they convey trust, not only to their audience, but to everyone who works for them – including you. If you don’t trust them, there’s no way users will.

5. Genuine Communication

A brand needs to speak its target market’s language. If it comes across as phony or artificial, people will pick up on it immediately, and the brand will be a source of ridicule. This is related to trust – people have to agree with your message and trust that you know what’s best for them.

Nowhere is this more apparent than the social news site Reddit. The Reddit community is famously selective – not just anything can make it onto its coveted front page. Many marketers have tried to crack the code, failing miserably because they don’t understand how Reddit works and what Redditors value in a brand. Because Redditors have the power to “downvote” posts, it creates a purely democratic experience that proves the sincerity of any marketing attempt and keeps brands honest.

What Do You Think?

What else do brands need to have (other than a logo)? How important do you think it is for designers to have a solid understanding of brand creation?

via hongkiat.com http://ift.tt/1s2yy0F

Lots of people, many designers included, think a “brand” is just a nice looking logo. Wrong. So, so wrong, designers. A brand is about a lot more than simply a logo, or a stationery set, a cool t-shirt, etc. As a branding creative director, I’ve accumulated a bit of knowledge about what, exactly, goes into a successful brand that users truly connect with.

Today, I’m going to take you through the 5 essential things I believe a brand needs other than a nice looking logo, which is also important, but it’s also sort of a given, right?

Recommended Reading: 5 Tips To Better Brand Names

1. A Mission

The brand you’re designing has to have a reason for existing. If it doesn’t, run far, far away from that project. A mission doesn’t have to be anything especially complicated. It can be as simple as a dream or an ideal that the founder had to reach out to more people through their business, or perhaps they want to continue a family business started by a parent or grandparent.

But, if the business owners have no motivation or guiding principles that inspire them to work hard on their business, how are they going to expect you, the designer, to do the same?

Read Also: When Does Brand Design Actually Matter?

Some entrepreneurs have lost the “spark” they once had, that motivation that made them start the business in the first place, and they are looking for outside help to try and get it back.

That’s all fine and good, but you usually don’t want to be in a situation where you’re the only one who’s passionate about the business. What tends to happen is actually the opposite of what the client hopes: their “meh” attitude will actually infect you too, and you’ll soon be dreading going in to work every morning.

2. A Target Market

You don’t just create a branding strategy because you want some cool looking stationery. Your client’s brand needs to have a target audience, people who get the main message and will respond positively to it. This legwork will likely already be done by the client, but not always. Sometimes, it will be your job to be market researcher as well as designer.

How do you go about researching a target market? First, you have to know something about the industry. If you don’t, now is a great time to familiarize yourself and do some rooting around. Talk to potential users of the product or service and get a feel for the kind of people they are. What are their likes and dislikes, their expectations when using a website, software, product, etc.

Read Also: International Marketing – Why Cultural Awareness Is Important

3. Something Of Value

Brands provide value. Usually, this value is of an emotional nature – making people feel happy, safe, secure, entertained, etc. The actual product itself may not be worth much, financially speaking, but there is a lot to be said about people’s perception of a brand. If a user believes that something has value, then it does. This is both a good thing for designers – and a bad thing.

On the one hand, it means that you only need to come up with that one, great design that really connects with a large number of people and your reputation is basically set. On the other hand, it means that you need to be discerning about the exact kind of value you choose to provide your users.

Read Also: How Inspirational Logos Can Affect Your Bottom Line

4. Trust

More accurately: users have to Know, Like, and Trust your brand’s message if they are going to continue to value it and support your client’s business. These are the basic fundamentals of branding that every designer needs to be aware of. It’s not just your client’s responsibility; if you’re going to build a niche and have only the best clients on your roster, you have to become a mini-brand expert yourself.

First, people need to know the brand exists. That’s where marketing and spreading the word comes in. Next, if people don’t like a particular brand, they aren’t going to use it. This may be a matter of simple perception.

Read Also: 5 Reasons Why Your Products Are Not Selling

The bread on the bottom shelf may taste the same as the top shelf bread, but people are going to assign a lower value to it regardless. Or, it could be that they genuinely don’t like the product or service. There’s nothing you can do about that – no brand can please everyone, nor should they try.

Finally, if people don’t trust the brand, then all the fancy logos in the world aren’t going to fix the problem. This is more a problem with your client, and how well they convey trust, not only to their audience, but to everyone who works for them – including you. If you don’t trust them, there’s no way users will.

5. Genuine Communication

A brand needs to speak its target market’s language. If it comes across as phony or artificial, people will pick up on it immediately, and the brand will be a source of ridicule. This is related to trust – people have to agree with your message and trust that you know what’s best for them.

Nowhere is this more apparent than the social news site Reddit. The Reddit community is famously selective – not just anything can make it onto its coveted front page. Many marketers have tried to crack the code, failing miserably because they don’t understand how Reddit works and what Redditors value in a brand. Because Redditors have the power to “downvote” posts, it creates a purely democratic experience that proves the sincerity of any marketing attempt and keeps brands honest.

What Do You Think?

What else do brands need to have (other than a logo)? How important do you think it is for designers to have a solid understanding of brand creation?

via hongkiat.com http://ift.tt/1s2yy0F

Lots of people, many designers included, think a “brand” is just a nice looking logo. Wrong. So, so wrong, designers. A brand is about a lot more than simply a logo, or a stationery set, a cool t-shirt, etc. As a branding creative director, I’ve accumulated a bit of knowledge about what, exactly, goes into a successful brand that users truly connect with.

Today, I’m going to take you through the 5 essential things I believe a brand needs other than a nice looking logo, which is also important, but it’s also sort of a given, right?

Recommended Reading: 5 Tips To Better Brand Names

1. A Mission

The brand you’re designing has to have a reason for existing. If it doesn’t, run far, far away from that project. A mission doesn’t have to be anything especially complicated. It can be as simple as a dream or an ideal that the founder had to reach out to more people through their business, or perhaps they want to continue a family business started by a parent or grandparent.

But, if the business owners have no motivation or guiding principles that inspire them to work hard on their business, how are they going to expect you, the designer, to do the same?

Read Also: When Does Brand Design Actually Matter?

Some entrepreneurs have lost the “spark” they once had, that motivation that made them start the business in the first place, and they are looking for outside help to try and get it back.

That’s all fine and good, but you usually don’t want to be in a situation where you’re the only one who’s passionate about the business. What tends to happen is actually the opposite of what the client hopes: their “meh” attitude will actually infect you too, and you’ll soon be dreading going in to work every morning.

2. A Target Market

You don’t just create a branding strategy because you want some cool looking stationery. Your client’s brand needs to have a target audience, people who get the main message and will respond positively to it. This legwork will likely already be done by the client, but not always. Sometimes, it will be your job to be market researcher as well as designer.

How do you go about researching a target market? First, you have to know something about the industry. If you don’t, now is a great time to familiarize yourself and do some rooting around. Talk to potential users of the product or service and get a feel for the kind of people they are. What are their likes and dislikes, their expectations when using a website, software, product, etc.

Read Also: International Marketing – Why Cultural Awareness Is Important

3. Something Of Value

Brands provide value. Usually, this value is of an emotional nature – making people feel happy, safe, secure, entertained, etc. The actual product itself may not be worth much, financially speaking, but there is a lot to be said about people’s perception of a brand. If a user believes that something has value, then it does. This is both a good thing for designers – and a bad thing.

On the one hand, it means that you only need to come up with that one, great design that really connects with a large number of people and your reputation is basically set. On the other hand, it means that you need to be discerning about the exact kind of value you choose to provide your users.

Read Also: How Inspirational Logos Can Affect Your Bottom Line

4. Trust

More accurately: users have to Know, Like, and Trust your brand’s message if they are going to continue to value it and support your client’s business. These are the basic fundamentals of branding that every designer needs to be aware of. It’s not just your client’s responsibility; if you’re going to build a niche and have only the best clients on your roster, you have to become a mini-brand expert yourself.

First, people need to know the brand exists. That’s where marketing and spreading the word comes in. Next, if people don’t like a particular brand, they aren’t going to use it. This may be a matter of simple perception.

Read Also: 5 Reasons Why Your Products Are Not Selling

The bread on the bottom shelf may taste the same as the top shelf bread, but people are going to assign a lower value to it regardless. Or, it could be that they genuinely don’t like the product or service. There’s nothing you can do about that – no brand can please everyone, nor should they try.

Finally, if people don’t trust the brand, then all the fancy logos in the world aren’t going to fix the problem. This is more a problem with your client, and how well they convey trust, not only to their audience, but to everyone who works for them – including you. If you don’t trust them, there’s no way users will.

5. Genuine Communication

A brand needs to speak its target market’s language. If it comes across as phony or artificial, people will pick up on it immediately, and the brand will be a source of ridicule. This is related to trust – people have to agree with your message and trust that you know what’s best for them.

Nowhere is this more apparent than the social news site Reddit. The Reddit community is famously selective – not just anything can make it onto its coveted front page. Many marketers have tried to crack the code, failing miserably because they don’t understand how Reddit works and what Redditors value in a brand. Because Redditors have the power to “downvote” posts, it creates a purely democratic experience that proves the sincerity of any marketing attempt and keeps brands honest.

What Do You Think?

What else do brands need to have (other than a logo)? How important do you think it is for designers to have a solid understanding of brand creation?

via hongkiat.com http://ift.tt/1s2yy0F

Web builders are basically a magic toolbox for non-web designers. What was once out of people’s reach can now be grasped with just little effort. But there are things that web builders can’t do that web designers can. The question now is, should you hire a web designer to make your website for you or just use a web builder and build it yourself?

Web builders like Wix, IMCreator, Weebly, and Jigsy have helped millions of people create websites easily, even without Photoshop or coding experience. For people with small website needs, these tools are of great help. There are many web builders that have popped up in the last couple of years and people can just drag and drop and launch their sites within a day. In the same fashion, there are literally millions of talented web designers out there, and their numbers are growing by the day.

It can be confusing, especially when you are new to owning websites, but both web builders and web designers have their pros and cons, which you should weigh carefully before making a decision.

Recommended Reading: Web Design: 20 Hottest Trends To Watch Out For In 2014

The Beauty of Web Builders

For those who do not speak the same language as web designers, web builders are a gift to them. There are lots of free web builders out there with hundreds of templates to start from and everything is very simple.

No coding, no FTP handling, no domain name registration and nameservers, and all the other technical stuff. Once satisfied, users can simply publish their websites and voila, it’s up and running.

1. Drag and Drop Features

The web building site’s main attraction is their ability to enable regular users to create websites with just a few mouse clicks. By simply dragging elements to a canvas, users have control over how they want their websites to look like.

2. User-Friendly Systems

Editing a website is easy too. If users want to change fonts, colors, and even images, all they need to do is click and apply the necessary changes. No editing of HTML and CSS files.

Another note-worthy thing about web builders is that they are built in a way that is easily understood by people of all ages. Take Weebly as an example. Once users sign up, they will be greeted by a step-by-step website creation guide. All they have to do is choose from a wide range of options.

This user-friendly guide can be found at most web building sites.

3. In-House Features And Support

Web builder companies understand that many of their users aren’t technical people, so they all have a team of people who are on stand-by just to answer people’s questions and help them with their troubles.

Why You Should Probably Hire a Web Designer

While web building sites appear to be all sunshine and rainbows, they can easily lead to a big mess when not enough preparation is made. Problems like transferring websites to a different host, limited features, and design redundancy are just some of the common problems that you might experience in the long run. Let’s take a closer look at them.

Transferring files Might Be A Problem

Take Wix as an example. Since Wix websites are built using their specialized system, hosting the same websites on a different server is close to impossible. It would mean anyone who wants to migrate will have to recreate everything from scratch.

Other web building sites like Weebly allow transfers from their host to another web server. But features like forums and their own blogging and shopping systems won’t be included with the transfer, including everything that is native to their system.

If you hire a web designer who can provide all of the features mentioned above, you will have your own hosting account and won’t have to think about transferring your website from one server to another. And you won’t be limited by the features and flexibility.

Your immediate needs will definitely increase as your business or audience grows. This is the problem with every web building site, they won’t be able to keep up with your needs as your website’s traffic grows. With a great web designer, you can ask for features that are otherwise hard to come by on web building sites. Features like an image slider, a user poll, fancy navigation, a robust image gallery, and other things that you might need.

Web builders (Potentially) cost more

The average price to use a website building service would cost around $100 per year for premium services. Domain name and hosting included. Most web builders have monthly subscription plans, which helps you to spread the cost. But in the long run, it might cost you even more.

To give you an idea, web builders generally cost around $100 per year. But if you want additional features, you can either purchase add-ons from the web builders themselves or via third-party providers, which usually range from $10 to $50.

Now, suppose you hired a web designer to build your website for $3,000. A one-time fee of $3,000 and a monthly hosting fee of $7 (for a decent hosting). Initially it will cost you $3,084 on your first year, and just $84 on the succeeding years. But the steal here is that you can ask for tons of features and things you want to be included on your site.

Another thing that could potentially rack up the cost for web builders is when it’s time to move on to another hosting service. And trust me when I say that if a website becomes half as successful as intended, a transfer will happen 100%. Especially for e-commerce sites. Aside from paying someone to do the transfers, there will still be several issues to address such as replicating the features that were left on the web builder’s system amd updating everything that needs updating because web builders aren’t exactly known for rolling out quick updates among other things.

Which Should You Go For?

If your needs are simple, and will most likely be so for years to come, spending a few hours building your own website via a web builder is practical. This is because usually catalog websites don’t need a lot of fancy features. Just a gallery, a place to include text, and other simple stuff. The same is also true for restaurant websites.

But if you need to open an online store, a news website, membership sites, forums, and similar heavy-featured websites, I highly recommend looking for professional services. This way you will save time, money, and energy.

via hongkiat.com http://ift.tt/1tpgaA2

Web builders are basically a magic toolbox for non-web designers. What was once out of people’s reach can now be grasped with just little effort. But there are things that web builders can’t do that web designers can. The question now is, should you hire a web designer to make your website for you or just use a web builder and build it yourself?

Web builders like Wix, IMCreator, Weebly, and Jigsy have helped millions of people create websites easily, even without Photoshop or coding experience. For people with small website needs, these tools are of great help. There are many web builders that have popped up in the last couple of years and people can just drag and drop and launch their sites within a day. In the same fashion, there are literally millions of talented web designers out there, and their numbers are growing by the day.

It can be confusing, especially when you are new to owning websites, but both web builders and web designers have their pros and cons, which you should weigh carefully before making a decision.

Recommended Reading: Web Design: 20 Hottest Trends To Watch Out For In 2014

The Beauty of Web Builders

For those who do not speak the same language as web designers, web builders are a gift to them. There are lots of free web builders out there with hundreds of templates to start from and everything is very simple.

No coding, no FTP handling, no domain name registration and nameservers, and all the other technical stuff. Once satisfied, users can simply publish their websites and voila, it’s up and running.

1. Drag and Drop Features

The web building site’s main attraction is their ability to enable regular users to create websites with just a few mouse clicks. By simply dragging elements to a canvas, users have control over how they want their websites to look like.

2. User-Friendly Systems

Editing a website is easy too. If users want to change fonts, colors, and even images, all they need to do is click and apply the necessary changes. No editing of HTML and CSS files.

Another note-worthy thing about web builders is that they are built in a way that is easily understood by people of all ages. Take Weebly as an example. Once users sign up, they will be greeted by a step-by-step website creation guide. All they have to do is choose from a wide range of options.

This user-friendly guide can be found at most web building sites.

3. In-House Features And Support

Web builder companies understand that many of their users aren’t technical people, so they all have a team of people who are on stand-by just to answer people’s questions and help them with their troubles.

Why You Should Probably Hire a Web Designer

While web building sites appear to be all sunshine and rainbows, they can easily lead to a big mess when not enough preparation is made. Problems like transferring websites to a different host, limited features, and design redundancy are just some of the common problems that you might experience in the long run. Let’s take a closer look at them.

Transferring files Might Be A Problem

Take Wix as an example. Since Wix websites are built using their specialized system, hosting the same websites on a different server is close to impossible. It would mean anyone who wants to migrate will have to recreate everything from scratch.

Other web building sites like Weebly allow transfers from their host to another web server. But features like forums and their own blogging and shopping systems won’t be included with the transfer, including everything that is native to their system.

If you hire a web designer who can provide all of the features mentioned above, you will have your own hosting account and won’t have to think about transferring your website from one server to another. And you won’t be limited by the features and flexibility.

Your immediate needs will definitely increase as your business or audience grows. This is the problem with every web building site, they won’t be able to keep up with your needs as your website’s traffic grows. With a great web designer, you can ask for features that are otherwise hard to come by on web building sites. Features like an image slider, a user poll, fancy navigation, a robust image gallery, and other things that you might need.

Web builders (Potentially) cost more

The average price to use a website building service would cost around $100 per year for premium services. Domain name and hosting included. Most web builders have monthly subscription plans, which helps you to spread the cost. But in the long run, it might cost you even more.

To give you an idea, web builders generally cost around $100 per year. But if you want additional features, you can either purchase add-ons from the web builders themselves or via third-party providers, which usually range from $10 to $50.

Now, suppose you hired a web designer to build your website for $3,000. A one-time fee of $3,000 and a monthly hosting fee of $7 (for a decent hosting). Initially it will cost you $3,084 on your first year, and just $84 on the succeeding years. But the steal here is that you can ask for tons of features and things you want to be included on your site.

Another thing that could potentially rack up the cost for web builders is when it’s time to move on to another hosting service. And trust me when I say that if a website becomes half as successful as intended, a transfer will happen 100%. Especially for e-commerce sites. Aside from paying someone to do the transfers, there will still be several issues to address such as replicating the features that were left on the web builder’s system amd updating everything that needs updating because web builders aren’t exactly known for rolling out quick updates among other things.

Which Should You Go For?

If your needs are simple, and will most likely be so for years to come, spending a few hours building your own website via a web builder is practical. This is because usually catalog websites don’t need a lot of fancy features. Just a gallery, a place to include text, and other simple stuff. The same is also true for restaurant websites.

But if you need to open an online store, a news website, membership sites, forums, and similar heavy-featured websites, I highly recommend looking for professional services. This way you will save time, money, and energy.

via hongkiat.com http://ift.tt/1tpgaA2

Web builders are basically a magic toolbox for non-web designers. What was once out of people’s reach can now be grasped with just little effort. But there are things that web builders can’t do that web designers can. The question now is, should you hire a web designer to make your website for you or just use a web builder and build it yourself?

Web builders like Wix, IMCreator, Weebly, and Jigsy have helped millions of people create websites easily, even without Photoshop or coding experience. For people with small website needs, these tools are of great help. There are many web builders that have popped up in the last couple of years and people can just drag and drop and launch their sites within a day. In the same fashion, there are literally millions of talented web designers out there, and their numbers are growing by the day.

It can be confusing, especially when you are new to owning websites, but both web builders and web designers have their pros and cons, which you should weigh carefully before making a decision.

Recommended Reading: Web Design: 20 Hottest Trends To Watch Out For In 2014

The Beauty of Web Builders

For those who do not speak the same language as web designers, web builders are a gift to them. There are lots of free web builders out there with hundreds of templates to start from and everything is very simple.

No coding, no FTP handling, no domain name registration and nameservers, and all the other technical stuff. Once satisfied, users can simply publish their websites and voila, it’s up and running.

1. Drag and Drop Features

The web building site’s main attraction is their ability to enable regular users to create websites with just a few mouse clicks. By simply dragging elements to a canvas, users have control over how they want their websites to look like.

2. User-Friendly Systems

Editing a website is easy too. If users want to change fonts, colors, and even images, all they need to do is click and apply the necessary changes. No editing of HTML and CSS files.

Another note-worthy thing about web builders is that they are built in a way that is easily understood by people of all ages. Take Weebly as an example. Once users sign up, they will be greeted by a step-by-step website creation guide. All they have to do is choose from a wide range of options.

This user-friendly guide can be found at most web building sites.

3. In-House Features And Support

Web builder companies understand that many of their users aren’t technical people, so they all have a team of people who are on stand-by just to answer people’s questions and help them with their troubles.

Why You Should Probably Hire a Web Designer

While web building sites appear to be all sunshine and rainbows, they can easily lead to a big mess when not enough preparation is made. Problems like transferring websites to a different host, limited features, and design redundancy are just some of the common problems that you might experience in the long run. Let’s take a closer look at them.

Transferring files Might Be A Problem

Take Wix as an example. Since Wix websites are built using their specialized system, hosting the same websites on a different server is close to impossible. It would mean anyone who wants to migrate will have to recreate everything from scratch.

Other web building sites like Weebly allow transfers from their host to another web server. But features like forums and their own blogging and shopping systems won’t be included with the transfer, including everything that is native to their system.

If you hire a web designer who can provide all of the features mentioned above, you will have your own hosting account and won’t have to think about transferring your website from one server to another. And you won’t be limited by the features and flexibility.

Your immediate needs will definitely increase as your business or audience grows. This is the problem with every web building site, they won’t be able to keep up with your needs as your website’s traffic grows. With a great web designer, you can ask for features that are otherwise hard to come by on web building sites. Features like an image slider, a user poll, fancy navigation, a robust image gallery, and other things that you might need.

Web builders (Potentially) cost more

The average price to use a website building service would cost around $100 per year for premium services. Domain name and hosting included. Most web builders have monthly subscription plans, which helps you to spread the cost. But in the long run, it might cost you even more.

To give you an idea, web builders generally cost around $100 per year. But if you want additional features, you can either purchase add-ons from the web builders themselves or via third-party providers, which usually range from $10 to $50.

Now, suppose you hired a web designer to build your website for $3,000. A one-time fee of $3,000 and a monthly hosting fee of $7 (for a decent hosting). Initially it will cost you $3,084 on your first year, and just $84 on the succeeding years. But the steal here is that you can ask for tons of features and things you want to be included on your site.

Another thing that could potentially rack up the cost for web builders is when it’s time to move on to another hosting service. And trust me when I say that if a website becomes half as successful as intended, a transfer will happen 100%. Especially for e-commerce sites. Aside from paying someone to do the transfers, there will still be several issues to address such as replicating the features that were left on the web builder’s system amd updating everything that needs updating because web builders aren’t exactly known for rolling out quick updates among other things.

Which Should You Go For?

If your needs are simple, and will most likely be so for years to come, spending a few hours building your own website via a web builder is practical. This is because usually catalog websites don’t need a lot of fancy features. Just a gallery, a place to include text, and other simple stuff. The same is also true for restaurant websites.

But if you need to open an online store, a news website, membership sites, forums, and similar heavy-featured websites, I highly recommend looking for professional services. This way you will save time, money, and energy.

via hongkiat.com http://ift.tt/1tpgaA2

Web builders are basically a magic toolbox for non-web designers. What was once out of people’s reach can now be grasped with just little effort. But there are things that web builders can’t do that web designers can. The question now is, should you hire a web designer to make your website for you or just use a web builder and build it yourself?

Web builders like Wix, IMCreator, Weebly, and Jigsy have helped millions of people create websites easily, even without Photoshop or coding experience. For people with small website needs, these tools are of great help. There are many web builders that have popped up in the last couple of years and people can just drag and drop and launch their sites within a day. In the same fashion, there are literally millions of talented web designers out there, and their numbers are growing by the day.

It can be confusing, especially when you are new to owning websites, but both web builders and web designers have their pros and cons, which you should weigh carefully before making a decision.

Recommended Reading: Web Design: 20 Hottest Trends To Watch Out For In 2014

The Beauty of Web Builders

For those who do not speak the same language as web designers, web builders are a gift to them. There are lots of free web builders out there with hundreds of templates to start from and everything is very simple.

No coding, no FTP handling, no domain name registration and nameservers, and all the other technical stuff. Once satisfied, users can simply publish their websites and voila, it’s up and running.

1. Drag and Drop Features

The web building site’s main attraction is their ability to enable regular users to create websites with just a few mouse clicks. By simply dragging elements to a canvas, users have control over how they want their websites to look like.

2. User-Friendly Systems

Editing a website is easy too. If users want to change fonts, colors, and even images, all they need to do is click and apply the necessary changes. No editing of HTML and CSS files.

Another note-worthy thing about web builders is that they are built in a way that is easily understood by people of all ages. Take Weebly as an example. Once users sign up, they will be greeted by a step-by-step website creation guide. All they have to do is choose from a wide range of options.

This user-friendly guide can be found at most web building sites.

3. In-House Features And Support

Web builder companies understand that many of their users aren’t technical people, so they all have a team of people who are on stand-by just to answer people’s questions and help them with their troubles.

Why You Should Probably Hire a Web Designer

While web building sites appear to be all sunshine and rainbows, they can easily lead to a big mess when not enough preparation is made. Problems like transferring websites to a different host, limited features, and design redundancy are just some of the common problems that you might experience in the long run. Let’s take a closer look at them.

Transferring files Might Be A Problem

Take Wix as an example. Since Wix websites are built using their specialized system, hosting the same websites on a different server is close to impossible. It would mean anyone who wants to migrate will have to recreate everything from scratch.

Other web building sites like Weebly allow transfers from their host to another web server. But features like forums and their own blogging and shopping systems won’t be included with the transfer, including everything that is native to their system.

If you hire a web designer who can provide all of the features mentioned above, you will have your own hosting account and won’t have to think about transferring your website from one server to another. And you won’t be limited by the features and flexibility.

Your immediate needs will definitely increase as your business or audience grows. This is the problem with every web building site, they won’t be able to keep up with your needs as your website’s traffic grows. With a great web designer, you can ask for features that are otherwise hard to come by on web building sites. Features like an image slider, a user poll, fancy navigation, a robust image gallery, and other things that you might need.

Web builders (Potentially) cost more

The average price to use a website building service would cost around $100 per year for premium services. Domain name and hosting included. Most web builders have monthly subscription plans, which helps you to spread the cost. But in the long run, it might cost you even more.

To give you an idea, web builders generally cost around $100 per year. But if you want additional features, you can either purchase add-ons from the web builders themselves or via third-party providers, which usually range from $10 to $50.

Now, suppose you hired a web designer to build your website for $3,000. A one-time fee of $3,000 and a monthly hosting fee of $7 (for a decent hosting). Initially it will cost you $3,084 on your first year, and just $84 on the succeeding years. But the steal here is that you can ask for tons of features and things you want to be included on your site.

Another thing that could potentially rack up the cost for web builders is when it’s time to move on to another hosting service. And trust me when I say that if a website becomes half as successful as intended, a transfer will happen 100%. Especially for e-commerce sites. Aside from paying someone to do the transfers, there will still be several issues to address such as replicating the features that were left on the web builder’s system amd updating everything that needs updating because web builders aren’t exactly known for rolling out quick updates among other things.

Which Should You Go For?

If your needs are simple, and will most likely be so for years to come, spending a few hours building your own website via a web builder is practical. This is because usually catalog websites don’t need a lot of fancy features. Just a gallery, a place to include text, and other simple stuff. The same is also true for restaurant websites.

But if you need to open an online store, a news website, membership sites, forums, and similar heavy-featured websites, I highly recommend looking for professional services. This way you will save time, money, and energy.

via hongkiat.com http://ift.tt/1tpgaA2

Web builders are basically a magic toolbox for non-web designers. What was once out of people’s reach can now be grasped with just little effort. But there are things that web builders can’t do that web designers can. The question now is, should you hire a web designer to make your website for you or just use a web builder and build it yourself?

Web builders like Wix, IMCreator, Weebly, and Jigsy have helped millions of people create websites easily, even without Photoshop or coding experience. For people with small website needs, these tools are of great help. There are many web builders that have popped up in the last couple of years and people can just drag and drop and launch their sites within a day. In the same fashion, there are literally millions of talented web designers out there, and their numbers are growing by the day.

It can be confusing, especially when you are new to owning websites, but both web builders and web designers have their pros and cons, which you should weigh carefully before making a decision.

Recommended Reading: Web Design: 20 Hottest Trends To Watch Out For In 2014

The Beauty of Web Builders

For those who do not speak the same language as web designers, web builders are a gift to them. There are lots of free web builders out there with hundreds of templates to start from and everything is very simple.

No coding, no FTP handling, no domain name registration and nameservers, and all the other technical stuff. Once satisfied, users can simply publish their websites and voila, it’s up and running.

1. Drag and Drop Features

The web building site’s main attraction is their ability to enable regular users to create websites with just a few mouse clicks. By simply dragging elements to a canvas, users have control over how they want their websites to look like.

2. User-Friendly Systems

Editing a website is easy too. If users want to change fonts, colors, and even images, all they need to do is click and apply the necessary changes. No editing of HTML and CSS files.

Another note-worthy thing about web builders is that they are built in a way that is easily understood by people of all ages. Take Weebly as an example. Once users sign up, they will be greeted by a step-by-step website creation guide. All they have to do is choose from a wide range of options.

This user-friendly guide can be found at most web building sites.

3. In-House Features And Support

Web builder companies understand that many of their users aren’t technical people, so they all have a team of people who are on stand-by just to answer people’s questions and help them with their troubles.

Why You Should Probably Hire a Web Designer

While web building sites appear to be all sunshine and rainbows, they can easily lead to a big mess when not enough preparation is made. Problems like transferring websites to a different host, limited features, and design redundancy are just some of the common problems that you might experience in the long run. Let’s take a closer look at them.

Transferring files Might Be A Problem

Take Wix as an example. Since Wix websites are built using their specialized system, hosting the same websites on a different server is close to impossible. It would mean anyone who wants to migrate will have to recreate everything from scratch.

Other web building sites like Weebly allow transfers from their host to another web server. But features like forums and their own blogging and shopping systems won’t be included with the transfer, including everything that is native to their system.

If you hire a web designer who can provide all of the features mentioned above, you will have your own hosting account and won’t have to think about transferring your website from one server to another. And you won’t be limited by the features and flexibility.

Your immediate needs will definitely increase as your business or audience grows. This is the problem with every web building site, they won’t be able to keep up with your needs as your website’s traffic grows. With a great web designer, you can ask for features that are otherwise hard to come by on web building sites. Features like an image slider, a user poll, fancy navigation, a robust image gallery, and other things that you might need.

Web builders (Potentially) cost more

The average price to use a website building service would cost around $100 per year for premium services. Domain name and hosting included. Most web builders have monthly subscription plans, which helps you to spread the cost. But in the long run, it might cost you even more.

To give you an idea, web builders generally cost around $100 per year. But if you want additional features, you can either purchase add-ons from the web builders themselves or via third-party providers, which usually range from $10 to $50.

Now, suppose you hired a web designer to build your website for $3,000. A one-time fee of $3,000 and a monthly hosting fee of $7 (for a decent hosting). Initially it will cost you $3,084 on your first year, and just $84 on the succeeding years. But the steal here is that you can ask for tons of features and things you want to be included on your site.

Another thing that could potentially rack up the cost for web builders is when it’s time to move on to another hosting service. And trust me when I say that if a website becomes half as successful as intended, a transfer will happen 100%. Especially for e-commerce sites. Aside from paying someone to do the transfers, there will still be several issues to address such as replicating the features that were left on the web builder’s system amd updating everything that needs updating because web builders aren’t exactly known for rolling out quick updates among other things.

Which Should You Go For?

If your needs are simple, and will most likely be so for years to come, spending a few hours building your own website via a web builder is practical. This is because usually catalog websites don’t need a lot of fancy features. Just a gallery, a place to include text, and other simple stuff. The same is also true for restaurant websites.

But if you need to open an online store, a news website, membership sites, forums, and similar heavy-featured websites, I highly recommend looking for professional services. This way you will save time, money, and energy.

via hongkiat.com http://ift.tt/1tpgaA2

It was the great Coco Chanel who once said, “Fashion changes, but style endures.” Well, regardless of your thoughts on the matter, there’s anothing thing that changes along with fashion. It is technology. With the amount of innovation happening these days, it kind of makes sense to bring the two together. After all, technology opens up so much more possibilities.

By combining style and functionality, there have been a few people who have taken fashion to the next level. From coats that can turn you into a mappable hotspot to dresses that will make you reconsider that little white lie, we’ve gathered a collection of 15 ongoing projects that could just be turned into reality.

We can’t say for certain if they’ll actually catch on but these futuristic fashion styles do look pretty awesome.

Recommended Reading: 10 Upcoming Technologies That May Change The World

CHBL Jammer Coat

This coat is designed by an Austrian architecture company, Coop Himmelb(L)au and you can use it to disappear. Nope, it is not Harry Potter’s clock of insivibility. What happens is that the metallized fabrics block radio waves and makes the wearer untrackable from modern devices. It works great in a sense that your credit card information will be safe but this also means that you won’t be contactable via phone.

via Coop-himmelb(l)au

Rain Palette

Since acid rain remains a threat to public health nowadays, the Korean-born, London-based designer Dahue Sun had invented a natural cabbage dyed dress that could act as a pH indicator when rain falls onto the fabric. To take it even further, it even comes with a smartphone app that allows people to scan and upload colour changes to a cloud based database. This will update the rest of the world with real-time environmental data about the rain.

via Materiability

BB. Suit

Designed by Borre Akkersdijk, a Dutch textile developer, this prototype is basically the opposite of the Jammer Coat because it is embedded with copper wires that enable WiFi, GPS, NFC and Bluetooth that will turn you into a mappable hotspot with MP3 streaming capabilities. All those wires won’t hurt though as there are two layers of cotton to protect the copper wires inside, thus making it comfortable to wear.

via Adafruit

Karma Chameleon Project

What if your energy could be harnessed and used to change the display of a specific fabric? A group of researchers at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada have managed to weave electronic components into pieces of fabric to do just that. The result is illustrated in the picture below and as you can see, it’s something really cool. They’re even looking at other applications for this fabric as well, such as for charging and medical purposes. As more research is being conducted, this won’t be in retail stores any time soon.

via Bravenewgear

Gaze activated dress

This dress knows when you are looking at it. Embedded with eye-tracking technology, the dress responds to the human gaze. Gazing at the dress activates tiny motors which moves certain parts of it. One of the dresses is covered in tendrils of photo-luminescent threads that dangle from ruched fabrics while the other one is made up of glow-in-the-dark threads which forms a base layer.

via Urdesign

Intimacy 2.0

One look at the details of this dress and you can already tell just how provocative it’s meant to be. Throw some technology into the mix with opaque smart e-foils and the dress is taken to the next level. Oh did we mention that it becomes increasingly transparent when your heartbeat increases? This is one that makes a statement fashion wise and via its message of personal space too.

via Fashioningtech

The Unseen

How about clothing that responds to the weather around you? This jacket is treated with liquid crystal to make it respond to friction. Lauren Bowker does this by combining textiles and ink technology. A gust of wind or a ray of sunshine would have an effect on this beautiful piece of clothing, as indicated by the picture below.

via Wired

Living Pod

Ying Gao, the same Montreal fashion designer responsible for the Gaze Activated dresses, also created these dreses that look like they’re living and breathing. The folds of the dress curl and unfurl when exposed to light and the rate at which it moves changes with the light’s intensity as well. What’s great about this piece is how natural it moves.

via Fashioningtech

Wearable solar fashion

This is a handy one for the minimalists out there. Crystal solar panels are integrated into leather flaps on the jackets shoulders and waist so they can be revealed when there is sunshine and hidden when not in use. When worn in the full sun for an hour, it can store enough energy to charge a typical smartphone for up to 50% in capacity.

via Dezeen

Bubelle emotion sensing dress

This prototype by Philips Design gives us a look into the future of fashion where clothes does not merely to protect, but also reflect our emotions making it a forward form of communication. The first layer of the dress contains biometric sensors which projects emotion which comes in the form of colorful lights onto the second layer, the outer textile. It is both stunning and functional.

via Crunchwear

Holy dress

his garment punishes its wearer whenever a lie is told and is not invented for those who are weak in conscience. It has a speech recognition system, which constantly checks for lies. The dress will light up when you are talking, growing with intensity as the likeliness of a lie increases. If you have the guts to lie, it lights up and flickers while stunning you with an electric jolt as a repercussion.

via Melissa Coleman

Paparazzi lover

The name says it all really. Embedded with 62 LED lights that are sensitive to camera flashes, this dress lights up when it is photographed. This is a great way to remind the paparazzi who the real star is… the dress!

via Onascimento.com

DareDroid 2.0 Cocktailmaking Dress

Compared to the rest of the dresses, this one rewards another person and not the wearer of the outfit. If you’re interested in a refreshing cocktail, all you’d have to is play a touch screen version of ‘Truth or Dare’ and a combination of medical technology, customized hardware and human temperament will ensure that you get that well-deserved drink. However, get too close and the dress shuts down on you.

via V2

Smoke dress

At first glance, this dress will intrigue you merely by the flirty sparks. In essence, it is operated by a micro-controller-based, battery-driven sensory system that can detect when people are near you and releases smoke if they invade your personal space. How’s that for a warning sign for people to stay away?

via Toptenz.com

Robotic Spider Dress

Combining robotics and fashion, this dress has 6 robotic legs perched on the shoulders which responds to nearby movements. This piece of fashion also deals with the theme of ‘personal space’. It attracts the attention of those who are curious whilst protecting the user wearing the garment at the same time.

via Fashioningtech

via hongkiat.com http://ift.tt/YyyrBv

It was the great Coco Chanel who once said, “Fashion changes, but style endures.” Well, regardless of your thoughts on the matter, there’s anothing thing that changes along with fashion. It is technology. With the amount of innovation happening these days, it kind of makes sense to bring the two together. After all, technology opens up so much more possibilities.

By combining style and functionality, there have been a few people who have taken fashion to the next level. From coats that can turn you into a mappable hotspot to dresses that will make you reconsider that little white lie, we’ve gathered a collection of 15 ongoing projects that could just be turned into reality.

We can’t say for certain if they’ll actually catch on but these futuristic fashion styles do look pretty awesome.

Recommended Reading: 10 Upcoming Technologies That May Change The World

CHBL Jammer Coat

This coat is designed by an Austrian architecture company, Coop Himmelb(L)au and you can use it to disappear. Nope, it is not Harry Potter’s clock of insivibility. What happens is that the metallized fabrics block radio waves and makes the wearer untrackable from modern devices. It works great in a sense that your credit card information will be safe but this also means that you won’t be contactable via phone.

via Coop-himmelb(l)au

Rain Palette

Since acid rain remains a threat to public health nowadays, the Korean-born, London-based designer Dahue Sun had invented a natural cabbage dyed dress that could act as a pH indicator when rain falls onto the fabric. To take it even further, it even comes with a smartphone app that allows people to scan and upload colour changes to a cloud based database. This will update the rest of the world with real-time environmental data about the rain.

via Materiability

BB. Suit

Designed by Borre Akkersdijk, a Dutch textile developer, this prototype is basically the opposite of the Jammer Coat because it is embedded with copper wires that enable WiFi, GPS, NFC and Bluetooth that will turn you into a mappable hotspot with MP3 streaming capabilities. All those wires won’t hurt though as there are two layers of cotton to protect the copper wires inside, thus making it comfortable to wear.

via Adafruit

Karma Chameleon Project

What if your energy could be harnessed and used to change the display of a specific fabric? A group of researchers at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada have managed to weave electronic components into pieces of fabric to do just that. The result is illustrated in the picture below and as you can see, it’s something really cool. They’re even looking at other applications for this fabric as well, such as for charging and medical purposes. As more research is being conducted, this won’t be in retail stores any time soon.

via Bravenewgear

Gaze activated dress

This dress knows when you are looking at it. Embedded with eye-tracking technology, the dress responds to the human gaze. Gazing at the dress activates tiny motors which moves certain parts of it. One of the dresses is covered in tendrils of photo-luminescent threads that dangle from ruched fabrics while the other one is made up of glow-in-the-dark threads which forms a base layer.

via Urdesign

Intimacy 2.0

One look at the details of this dress and you can already tell just how provocative it’s meant to be. Throw some technology into the mix with opaque smart e-foils and the dress is taken to the next level. Oh did we mention that it becomes increasingly transparent when your heartbeat increases? This is one that makes a statement fashion wise and via its message of personal space too.

via Fashioningtech

The Unseen

How about clothing that responds to the weather around you? This jacket is treated with liquid crystal to make it respond to friction. Lauren Bowker does this by combining textiles and ink technology. A gust of wind or a ray of sunshine would have an effect on this beautiful piece of clothing, as indicated by the picture below.

via Wired

Living Pod

Ying Gao, the same Montreal fashion designer responsible for the Gaze Activated dresses, also created these dreses that look like they’re living and breathing. The folds of the dress curl and unfurl when exposed to light and the rate at which it moves changes with the light’s intensity as well. What’s great about this piece is how natural it moves.

via Fashioningtech

Wearable solar fashion

This is a handy one for the minimalists out there. Crystal solar panels are integrated into leather flaps on the jackets shoulders and waist so they can be revealed when there is sunshine and hidden when not in use. When worn in the full sun for an hour, it can store enough energy to charge a typical smartphone for up to 50% in capacity.

via Dezeen

Bubelle emotion sensing dress

This prototype by Philips Design gives us a look into the future of fashion where clothes does not merely to protect, but also reflect our emotions making it a forward form of communication. The first layer of the dress contains biometric sensors which projects emotion which comes in the form of colorful lights onto the second layer, the outer textile. It is both stunning and functional.

via Crunchwear

Holy dress

his garment punishes its wearer whenever a lie is told and is not invented for those who are weak in conscience. It has a speech recognition system, which constantly checks for lies. The dress will light up when you are talking, growing with intensity as the likeliness of a lie increases. If you have the guts to lie, it lights up and flickers while stunning you with an electric jolt as a repercussion.

via Melissa Coleman

Paparazzi lover

The name says it all really. Embedded with 62 LED lights that are sensitive to camera flashes, this dress lights up when it is photographed. This is a great way to remind the paparazzi who the real star is… the dress!

via Onascimento.com

DareDroid 2.0 Cocktailmaking Dress

Compared to the rest of the dresses, this one rewards another person and not the wearer of the outfit. If you’re interested in a refreshing cocktail, all you’d have to is play a touch screen version of ‘Truth or Dare’ and a combination of medical technology, customized hardware and human temperament will ensure that you get that well-deserved drink. However, get too close and the dress shuts down on you.

via V2

Smoke dress

At first glance, this dress will intrigue you merely by the flirty sparks. In essence, it is operated by a micro-controller-based, battery-driven sensory system that can detect when people are near you and releases smoke if they invade your personal space. How’s that for a warning sign for people to stay away?

via Toptenz.com

Robotic Spider Dress

Combining robotics and fashion, this dress has 6 robotic legs perched on the shoulders which responds to nearby movements. This piece of fashion also deals with the theme of ‘personal space’. It attracts the attention of those who are curious whilst protecting the user wearing the garment at the same time.

via Fashioningtech

via hongkiat.com http://ift.tt/YyyrBv