Introduction

As promised, these are the new website template samples for the online clothing store. Keeping in mind the concept behind the logo and your client market, and your request for a modern look. It is important that I mention here, that these are just samples, and should be considered as such. They are not the final product, and nothing is etched in stone. These are designed to give an idea of what the final product will look like. Once you decide upon a template, you will be able to modify that template to bring it to the final product.

First Submission.

Second Submission

Third Submission

The images used in all samples are royalty free and included in your cost. The low resolution, watermarked samples were used in the presentations. The high resolution versions will be used in the final website.

Feel free to send your feedback on the choices so we can move forward with one design and the set up of the mock website.

Best Regards,

GemGfx

Go to Phase Two:

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Introduction:

Following are the submissions for the design and feel of the Tutors are Us Website Project. Included in this submission also is the modification of the supplied logo so that it better conforms to a Web 2.0 standard and appearance.

It should be noted here, that just like these submissions are just drafts. They are not the finished product and should not be looked upon as such. They are designed to give an idea of what the finished product would look like. No aspect of any of the designs is etched in stone or final.

Regards,
Everard

First Phase Design:
The first thing that I needed to do was make some very slight modifications to the logo to allow it to look and feel more web applicable. As I mentioned in our telephone conversation, when I first saw the logo, it reminded me of a peace symbol. This is what I meant by that.

Both the colors and design made the icon look to me more like a peace symbol than like a pie chart. I added some small modifications to the logo, which involved adding gradients rather than flat colors, as well as giving it an outline. They were very subtle changes, but they made a difference as you can see in the logo comparison below. The modified logo is above and the standard logo in beneath it. If these are modifications you are not happy with, please feel free to let me know and we will look for an alternative.

After the completion of the logo modification, the task ahead consisted of finding a way to incorporate the logo and elements of it, into a brand that could be applied to the website aspect of the project.

The Submissions: These designs are representative of the index or landing page. The first page visitors will see when they log on to the site. The proposed media for all submissions is a combination of flash, css and php code.

First Submission:

For this option, I chose highlight the colors used in the logo, as well as the icon. I pulled that element out of the logo and magnified it. I used also the colors to represent the links that will be used in the site. In relation to the images used, I chose to use ethnic images of young students, which should appeal to parents who are looking for a tutor for their children.
The idea is using strong imagery to capture the attention of the visitor and compel them to enter and take a closer look. As said before these are just drafts, and should not be considered the final product.

Second Submission

For this option, I chose to go more information based. I still used the brand colors and logo, but this is an approach of giving as much information on the first page as possible. They will get the important information when they arrive at the homepage. It is not my favorite option, but I would still give it as an option so that you can have a choice. It should also be mentioned that if you find aspects of one of the submissions that you would like to combine with another this is also a possibility.

Third Submission:

For this option, I took a bit more professional approach. Both the color and imagery used is for a more adult professional. Again the icon element is used and prominently displayed. I am always an advocate of a strong brand. When you’re build and market your brand your customers and potential customers will recognize your brand anywhere it appears no matter what aspect of the brand is displayed.

Feel free to have a look at the submissions and give me your feedback. The objective at this stage is to find the design that grabs you, or is closest to what you would like to achieve with your site. From that we can build and begin by a process of modifications to get to the final look and feel that you want and that speaks to your target market.

Thanks again for making GemGfx your choice.

Best Regards,
Everard.
GemGfx

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GemGfx recently had the pleasure of working with Mr. Sam Graber and his team at The Directors. Sam is one one of the Partners at The Directors, LLP which is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. USA. The Directors produces and presenter commercial theater. Our
mission is to grow a national network of venues that consistently delivers the magic of live theater entertainment to targeted audiences.


We were called upon to design the logo and brand for an arm of their company that went under the name The Directors Studios. It was basically a place where professional creative people could rehearse and perfect their craft. GemGfx was responsible for designing the brand that would communicate this ideal and philosophy.

The following was the result of our collaborated effort.

The end result is the Sam and the folks at The Directors studios, were extremely pleased with our product and have signed on with us for more projects. We are grateful to God for His continued blessings. Both for sending us quality clients, and giving us quality ideas and the skill to make it happen.

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Good morning gentlemen,

The following is a detailed outline, as detailed as I can get, of what needs to be done for a basic search engine optimization of your current site. It is an expansion of what was said in an earlier email.

Search engine optimization can be done for the entire site, but it is only completely necessary for the first or index page. Some of the stuff you guys heard already, so forgive me if I sound redundant.

1. Meta Tags: Meta Tags are hidden code snippets that are placed on a page that tells Google what the site is about. The Meta Tags are placed in between the tags of the page and can have several titles but the two important ones are the Keywords and the Description. It is important to enter the appropriate and relevant keywords and also an appropriate description. If you need help coming up with the appropriate keywords or you would like to know what people are searching terms people use when searching you can use Google’s Keyword tool found here:

https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

You can enter the keywords or key phrases each separated by a comma. You can also limit your keywords or phrases to about 12. This is because Google has begun a crackdown of sorts of people who Spam keywords. That’s those who have too many keywords on their index page. You should make sure also that the keywords that are in your head tags, also appear as content on your index page. It shows the relevance.

This is how the Meta Tags look for GemGfx.com.

Right now if you do a search for “design outsourcing Trinidad”, “graphic design outsourcing Trinidad”, “web design outsourcing Trinidad” GemGfx appears on the first page both in Google and Yahoo.

2. Content: Make the actual content on the first page relevant to the search. Google’s search bots not only search your meta tags, they also crawl your page for text. It the text is not relevant or does not match the keywords, it will reflect in the ranking.

3. Optimize Code: Optimize the html code of the index page. Google’s bots search for links and text on your index page. They are not interested in colors or formats. So it is the practice of many to separate their styles from their pages. CSS or Cascading Style Sheets come in here. All the “styles” that determine the look and feel of your site should be put in a separate file and linked to the index page. This way Google’s bots will crawl the page faster. A file can be created for the CSS and given a name for example: “style.css” then a link is placed within the head tags that links to the file. It would look something like this:

If there is any Javascript on the page it can also be placed in a separate file and linked to the page.

4. Submit URL: Add the URL to Google by submitting it.
Again if it hasn’t been done before, the URL of the website should be submitted to Google. Often because Google does the crawling they will come across your site eventually. Submitting the URL to Google speeds up the process. It’s just a matter of submitting the address of the site to Google using a form found here:

http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl

5. Sitemaps:
It is also a good practice to submit a site map to Google. This is different to just submitting the URL. Sitmaps are small text files that basically map out the layout of the site for Google. This brings into the picture a very handy arena set up by Google called Webmaster Tools.

To access Webmaster Tools, you need a gmail account. It can be found here:

http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/

With Google Webmaster Tools you can submit a sitemap that Google’s staff will download and check periodically. This will also assist the site’s ranking in Google.

First you generate a Sitemap. This is relatively easy because there are online resources that do it for you. The one I use is XML-Sitemaps found here:

http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/

a. Just enter the URL of the FOBA and the site will crawl your site for you and generate a sitemap that you can download. Usually looks like “sitemap.xml”

b.Download it. Check it over make sure all is ok.

c. Upload it to the main directory of the website.

d. Go to Google webmaster tools and Add the site to the dashboard.

e. Submit the location of the sitemap to Google. by entering it’s location to the file. Should look something like “http://www.foba.fatima.edu.tt/sitemap.xml”. Google will periodically visit this file and use it to index your site.

6. Link Exchanges:
This one is from personal experience. It is widely believed that link exchanges help raise the ranking of your site. This is true to a point. The situation is that some unscrupulous individuals have begun selling links. Creating pages on the web with just links so that when Google’s bots do a crawl, many links to a particular site will come up. The links sites have no content other than links and have no relevance. In recent times, Google has begun cracking down on this and drop the ranking of sites involved in spam-like link exchanges.

This does not necessarily mean link exchanges are bad, but it just means you have to be careful who you link to and who links to you. It has to be a relevant link or else Google will frown upon it. So perhaps linking to educational type websites ect and they linking back to your site. This might be an option.

Till next time Ladies and Gentlemen,

Admin,
GemGfx.com

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We recently put together a promotional video experimenting with the same programs and some voice overs. (Yeah, the voice was done by me, I know I need some work)

We hosted the video on YouTube, Google Video and on our main website GemGfx.com. Check it out and tell us what you think.

The best is yet to come by the grace of God.

Admin,
GemGfx

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Author: Brooks D. Freed

Creating your own website has many advantages. You are solely responsible for the content and appearance of your site, and this means you can control every aspect of the way people view your business. When you create your own website, you also learn many valuable skills that will help you perform basic maintenance and upkeep on the site. Knowing these skills ends up saving you money and time.

Step 1: Conceptualize Your Project

The first step to creating a successful webpage is to come up with a clear idea of what you want your site to represent. How do you want your business or service to appear to others when they see your page? What do you hope this webpage will do for you? Having clear goals means that you can make sure you new site meets all the necessary criteria. In the end, you will be happier if it does.

Some common goals for a website include offering information about a business or service, giving potential clients a positive view of a company, and increasing sales traffic. Think about the specifics of what you would like your website to accomplish.

Step 2: Select a Domain

Selecting the domain for your website is very important. You want to make it easy for new and existing clients to find your site when they do a web search. It is also important to avoid potential trademark infringement issues. When you have selected a domain name, do a search to make sure it is not linked to anyone else’s business as a slogan or trademark.

Next, register you domain on a reputable domain hosting site. Make sure you have rights to that domain name for the foreseeable future. You never know how long you will have this site, so extend the registration for as long as possible.

Step 3: Select a Host

Once you have selected and registered your domain name, you need to decide who will host your website. Hosting services can be basic or can include eCommerce features and the ability to handle high traffic volume. Assess your needs in order to determine the appropriate host for your site.

Step 4: Code Your Website

Next, you will need to do the actual creation of your website. Before beginning, think back to Step 1. What do you hope to get out of this website? Let these goals dictate your choices when designing the pages. Some of the things you’ll need to consider include background, borders, layout, and choices for graphics.

Learning to code your website is actually easier than you might think, but it pays to invest in quality tutorials before beginning. The more you know about coding, the less time you will waste in undoing tasks that were performed incorrectly.

Step 5: Test Your Website

Many people choose to build a website on their own computer and test it there prior to deploying it on the Internet. To test your website, make sure all functionality is working properly, such as forms, message boards, and eCommerce solutions. Rigorous testing is important because it ensures that your website will provide the best possible view of your business to potential clients.

Step 6: Deploy and Promote Your Site

After you have made sure your new website meets your goals and functions properly, you are ready to deploy it. However, actually deploying your site is only part of introducing it to the world at large. It’s also important to make sure you promote your site properly.

To give your website the attention it deserves, make sure you include your web address on all business cards and professional correspondence. Consider using tricks to optimize your website for search engines and make it more likely that it will attract additional business.

About the Author:

B. D. Freed is a website developer who has found a unique way to train people on the creation of new websites. His DVD tutorial program, available at www.youmustget.com, offers important website creation information in a format optimized for visual learners.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-marketing-articles/creating-your-own-website-in-six-steps-580321.html

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