Jacobito Design's Blog

Importance of Typography in Web Design

2010-08-17T15:57:33Z

In the age of instant gratification, it is more important than ever to attract visitors to your web site and draw them in from there. One way of doing this is by having a well-defined typography layout. In this post we’ll talk about attracting visitors to your web site with typography, holding their attention with elements of typography and setting up a hierarchy that is relative to the importance of your web site.

Attracting Visitors With Typography

The first and probably most important way in which typography can help your web site attract visitors is by having a well-designed logo and brand. A well-designed logo should be simple, yet distinguished enough, so that it’s word-mark speaks clearly and tells the viewer this is the brand and this is what we’re about.

The second way in which typography can attract visitors is by giving your web site an associational value. What I mean by this is: if you wanted to start a web site that sells popular items to young adults, you wouldn’t really want to use a typeface that is viewed as being highly classical, such as Baskerville. Generally speaking, you would want to use a typeface that speaks to a younger adult visitor – something they can associate with and subconsciously feel comfortable reading.

A third way of attracting visitors through typography is by clearly defining your sites main navigation so that it stands out and says, “these are all the general subjects we offer in our web site”. This can be applied by using a slightly different typeface that is easy to read and complements the overall look & feel of the web site.

Holding Your Visitors Attention

Holding your visitors attention is no small task, but no less important than attracting them to your site in the first place. Ultimately you want your visitors to feel comfortable enough to return another day. This can be done by applying three elemental rules to your web site’s typography:

Contrast
Size
Space

Contrast

Having well defined text is of the utmost importance in web design. Content should be easily defined and have enough contrast so that it doesn’t fade into the background. Also think in terms of reading a book; you want to make your content easy to read for long periods of time. It might not be a great choice of designing a dark background with a lighter color text. Some viewers might find it hard to view while reading for longer periods of time.

Size

The size of text definitely matters when designing for the web. You don’t want to strain your visitor’s eyes by making the text too small to read. Your visitors should feel comfortable reading your content whether they have glasses or not.

Space

Comfort is the key issue here. Give your type some room to breathe. In doing so you’ll give your site more focus; the reader won’t get that stifling claustrophobic feeling. Line space is important to remember as well. Paragraphs that are compressed will not only be less readable, but will also hinder the overall user experience.

A Web Page’s Hierarchy of Importance

Giving a web page a hierarchy of relative importance is the semantically correct thing to do. By doing so, people experience a sense of instant gratification, a way of finding information fast and easy. Using varying typeface and or size between your titling and paragraphs is a great way of achieving this. If this is done consistently through out a web site, it signals to the reader that these titles are the important topics and these paragraphs are supporting details.

So, when you are thinking in terms of being able to attract more visitors to your web site, don’t disregard typography; it can work for you or against you.

Web Browser Testing For Clients

2010-08-10T23:33:29Z

I’ve witnessed first hand web sites that look great in one web browser, and look like a train wrecks in another. I often wonder if the owners of those web sites know they have a major problem on hand, or if they just don’t care. Either way lets get those of you who aren’t in the know up to date to which browsers are being used out there and share how you can test to see if your web site has any design styling flaws.

Common Browsers Used As of July 2010

By looking at our pie graph, you would think all browsers are relative in today’s web market. True and not true. There is a movement out there by which web designers are taking a stance on designing for Internet Explorer 6 (IE6). We at Jacobito Design can’t blame them one bit either:

Internet Explorer 6 is nine years old.
It lacks support for modern web standards.
IE6 doesn’t support PNG transparencies.
Most inportant of all, IE6 doesn’t fully support CSS version 2.

For all of these reasons, designing for IE6 can be a bit cumbersome, not only with design in mind, but also estimating client projects. For the time being, Jacobito Design does support IE6, but starting January 2011, we will discourage our clients from having us design for IE6.

How relative are the other browsers?

The other browsers are very relative. These browsers tend to be updated regularly (except for Internet Explorer 7), they support PNG transparencies and CSS version 2, and most of the time displays web sites similarly. There are some exceptions though. These exceptions tend to correspond with a previous article written Search Engine Friendly Web Sites, in which I explain that some web sites are outdated or designed using dated code and no styling.

Flawed Design Styling Mitigation

Lets talk about testing for these problems. More often than not flawed design lies within the styling created for a particular web page (if any) - by which your designer should be checking and know how to correct. If you and your designer no longer have a relationship, or you think you might be dealing with someone not in the know, you can always do some easy testing yourself… And it is easy! Simply download the modern browsers I have listed below, load your web site up, and in each one of those browsers, navigate through your site to see if there are design flaws.

Modern Browser Links:

Now that you know how many web browsers are out there and how to mitigate a potential design styling flaw, you can now double check your designers work and make sure they’re taking care of everything they should be take care of.

New Web Design Firm in Santa Fe

2010-06-25T13:54:30Z

Yes, we are the new web design firm in Santa Fe. That doesn’t mean we aren’t familiar with what it takes to do business in a town that is saturated with web design competition. In fact we feel like we have the upper hand. We’re cheaper, leaner and offer unique custom web sites that are search engine friendly from the get-go. Plus, we enjoy interacting with our clients and making them very happy!

Affordable Santa Fe Web Design

Oh yea, we’re affordable… Even in these hard economic times. We have low overhead and believe in sustainable practices. This means that we can charge less than the average web design firm. “How much less?” you ask. On average, we charge $20 (per hour) less than most web designers. And it won’t be one of those scenarios where you say, “Well, I guess we got what we paid for.” We want our clients to feel as though they not only got the most for their money, but also enjoy the way their new web site works, looks and feels.

Lean, Not So Mean Web Design Firm

Costs are kept relatively low at Jacobito Design. We follow “Green Protocols” that we’ve written into our business plan. These “Green Protocols” definitely help us save money by reducing facility energy costs, fleet costs and waste. Ultimately by keeping costs low and following green protocols, we feel that we are not only helping our bottom line, but also helping the bottom line of our clients – not to mention our contribution to the wellbeing of the environment.

Search Engine Friendly, Custom Web Sites

Our previous blog post detailed search engine friendly web sites. In that post we wrote about underdeveloped code-hoarders that generally haven’t bothered to update their skills and evolve. We believe there is quite a bit of this that goes on in the Santa Fe web design community. Not every designer is this way, but there are quite a few. We pride our selves on creating clean-coded, custom websites that are easily indexed by search engines.

So, even though Jacobito Design is new to Santa Fe, we feel like we have a structure that our clients will be happy with. It can also save them money before and after the web design process is complete. We invite you to see how we can best serve you and your web design needs.

Search Engine Friendly Websites

2010-06-20T22:30:33Z

Whether you are aware of it or not, not all websites are search engine friendly… And it’s more prevalent than you think! There are many websites out there that are either outdated, written by code-hoarding designers that haven’t bothered to update their web development skills in the last decade, or just plain missing important search engine friendly code all together. You might be saying, “Why would this make a website less search engine friendly?” Let me give you general examples of why!

A Decrepit, Jaded & Surly Website

Some website owners believe it necessary to neither update the content of their website, nor update the design and code. They just let it wither away into web antiquities. Ultimately, in the long run, this is a very bad choice. Websites should be thought of as being alive and needing some attention from time to time. Content should be kept fresh, so loyal visitors aren’t bored by seeing the same old content. Minor design changes are important too from time to time for the same reasons. And if you’re still rocking that website from 2001, chances are it was built with old clunky code that not only slows the website down, but hinders how it’s indexed by search engines. In the long run this can effect your search engine rankings. Plain and simple, neglected websites over time become jaded and surly just like your best friend’s neighbor’s decrepit grandmother who doesn’t bother answering the door for trick-or-treaters on Halloween anymore.

Beware of Underdeveloped Code-Hoarders

Like website owners that are guilty of neglecting their own websites, code-hoarders tend to be guilty of neglecting to update their web-knowledge. I mean let’s face it, all web designers/developers know (or at least should) the web is a fast paced ever-changing realm of new and exciting web design features. Yet there are designers/developers out there that refuse to change and evolve. They get stuck, and build websites with unnecessary code-clutter, it bogs down the website so that it doesn’t perform as well as it would than if it were designed by someone who were writing light-weight code that is easily indexed.

So What’s Missing?

Web designers should at least have some working knowledge of the semantic web and how to use meta-tags properly. Yet, it is surprising how many websites out there are missing aspects of both. Web semantics are probably the most important; they give your site clean structure that tells search engine robots what content is most important. This takes the guesswork away, so robots can index a site according to salient information. Sure it’s great to have a website that looks great, but if it’s not working for you and gaining you more viewers, then it might as well be pretty paper stuck in a filing cabinet.

Overall it really doesn’t take much to make a website search engine friendly - mostly just a little love and proper code. With a little knowledge and a little less neglect, a website will be well on it’s way to eventually gaining higher search rankings. Of course there are other strategies involved with gaining higher search engine ranking, but we’ll save that for a later post.

SEO in Santa Fe

2010-06-03T16:13:13Z

In the age of instant gratification, where digital devices get you what you want faster than ever, it pays to have a marketing campaign that is as specific as possible. One of the ways of achieving this is through a search engine optimization (SEO) campaign for your website.

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an internet marketing strategy, that improves the amount of visitors to a particular website. Generally, this works by focusing on specific industry keywords and regional keywords (if applicable—based on client base). These keywords are then strategically placed within a website’s code and content so eventually search engines will place that particular website higher in their search results. Higher search results equals that needed edge over your competition in the digital realm.

SEO vs. SEM

First off, what is SEM? Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is an internet marketing strategy where website owners pay to be placed on search engine result pages (SERPs)—usually in the right side of the page.

“Well, why not just forgo SEO and pay for placement?”

First, people in western societies read from top to bottom, left to right. These placements tend to be shown on the right side.
Second, you’re paying for placement. Which could be understandable if in a denser community, such as New York, NY.
Third, because of the nature of strategic content and keyword placement, your website will be more user friendly. Which will enhance the user experience (UX—reserved for a later post).

You can certainly use both SEO and SEM in conjunction; this is definitely recommended for larger markets. In the long run, if you had to choose between the two, we definitely recommend SEO over SEM. It’s just a win-win situation.

Google Docs Office Suite

2010-03-07T19:47:45Z

The concept behind Google Docs is the same as an office suite, only it’s free. It’s a web-based program, so it can be stored virtually, not on your hard-drive. Google Docs works with most popular file formats, including DOC, XLS, ODT, ODS, RTF. As an added feature users can view docs on their mobile devices and view and edit spreadsheets they’ve created. Pretty convenient, don’t you think?

How do I start using google docs?

First you need to start an account with Google. You don’t necessarily have to start a gmail account (those familiar with gmail, the interface with Google Docs is similar to that of gmail); you just have to use an existing email address. From there it is all pretty self-explanatory.

Am I stuck to just using Google Docs online?

No, once you start using Google Docs you will find an “Offline” link in the upper right hand corner of your home page. Click on the link and you will get a dialog box that prompts you to “Get Gears now”. By downloading Gears you will add a browser extention that in turn adds offline functionality to your browser. This way you can edit documents without an internet connection. There will be an “Offline help” link in the upper right hand corner of your home page once the download is successful.

Will I be able to email the documents created?

This is a huge yes! Not only will you be able to email documents created, Google Docs also lets you share documents by inviting people to see your document. You can also share links so people are just one click away! Google Docs also can be set so that people can have full editing privileges.

So, if you want to have an office suite such as Microsoft Office, but with more options such as mobile editing, we overwhelmingly suggest Google Docs! Google Docs is free, easy to set up and use, plus you can share the documents you create!

Instapaper… Read Later

2010-01-15T17:31:48Z

Instapaper is definitely one of Jacobito Design’s favorites of 2009. This easy to use bookmarking tool is perfect for those who don’t have time to read every web page visited, but due to a special interest, need to read at a later time.

How do I get it?

Instapaper is super easy to set up and free! First you want to go to www.instapaper.com and register to set up an account. You’ll want to give instapaper either a login or email address to set up the account (It’s advised to enter your email just incase you forget your login at a later date). Once you have done this, you’ll be directed to your account page that prompts you to drag the “Read Later” icon button to your bookmarks bar. This way next time you’re on a page that you want to read later, just click the “Read Later” icon and it will be added to your Instapaper reading list… Super easy huh? We also advise that you bookmark the actual account page next to your “Read Later” icon.

What makes this different from just bookmarking a page for later?

If you’re like Jacobito Design and you read a ton online, it’s not necessarily conducive to just bookmark everything you want to read online. First of all the bookmark bar only has so much spatial room to have folders and bookmarks. Second, you may forget where you put that bookmark. Lastly, Instapaper gives you an account page to sift through pages you have selected to read later. This keeps your bookmark bar free from clutter and unnecessary bookmarks.

Is there an organizational system within?

Yes! Instapaper is great for organizing the pages you have come across, so you can easily find and read any subject your little heart desires. You can organize folders per subject. You can star pages you’ve read, so you can either trash those pages, or archive them for later. Instapaper makes organizing your tangled digital web a snap.

Is there an app for that?

Oh yea!!! iPhone does have an app for that. It costs $5 dollars and works just like your account page, only in an iPhone-friendly format. This app is especially handy while waiting at the doctor’s office, commuting in mass transit, or whenever you feel you have a little down time.

We at Jacobito Design highly recommend Instapaper. It’s made our lives easier and we can’t tell you how many minutes it’s saved us in keeping up to date with what’s going on in the tangled web we weave.

Social Networking for Businesses

2009-12-23T15:51:07Z

Social networking sites, such as Twitter, LinkedIn and FaceBook, are fast becoming a normal day-to-day business activity. Businesses use these sites as a marketing tool to drive traffic towards their websites and keep their clientele interested in their business activities. Because the overhead cost of being part of a social networking site is minimal, it really does pay for a company to be involved.

Social Networking… A Driving Force

Businesses that want to drive traffic towards their website might want to think about setting up a social networking account. Major corporations are in on the game because they realize the benefits of being able to interact with their customers. These corporations also realize how social networking sites can drive new clientele towards their sites by using social networking as a promotional base.

Keep Them Coming Back for More

As business owners we all want to keep our clients and customers interested and coming back for more. Some of the ways in which social networking can help with this are by displaying sales and promotions that are going on at any given moment. Another way is by “tweeting” or posting about new products or services that are currently being offered within the industry. Yet another way is to interact with customers so that they feel that they are contributing to products they care about. Companies such as Starbucks use Twitter for this very reason.

A Low Cost Benefit

Businesses these days are seeing the low-cost benefit of using social networking for their business marketing needs. It usually doesn’t cost anything to set up an account. Plus, as an added benefit a company can provide a link from their social networking page to their website. This aids in search engine optimization (SEO).

Investigate it for yourself and you will see that social networking isn’t just for kids; it also serves as a driving force in business today and keeps customers coming back for more.

Greening Design

2009-11-18T02:45:07Z

As it is with all startup businesses, Jacobito Design has written into its business plan to eventually make a profit. We’ll complete this goal by starting out lean, saving money, and being as Green as possible. Our thought is that if we set up green protocols in the beginning, we’ll save money through energy and operating costs over the long run. Plus we’ll feel good about it!

Our Green Protocols:

Reducing the amount of energy we use within facility
Reducing fleet costs
Reducing waste

Reducing Facility Energy

At the moment, because we rent the facility used for business, we’re unable to completely be in control of the amount of heat used to be comfortable. We can however control the amount of energy used in other aspects of business. Our cooling costs are at zero because we’re in the mountains, so that’s not an issue. This leaves lighting and energy used for IT.

The amount of lighting we use for day-to-day business has been well thought out—we really try to only use what’s necessary. We do this by using as much natural light as possible, and by using energy efficient lighting, such as CFLs. CFLs are great because they are four times more efficient, and last up to 10 times longer than regular incandescent bulbs. Plus, they can be used anywhere an incandescent bulb can be used.

Reducing the amount of energy needed for IT is a little more difficult to control, but can be controlled none-the less. For laptops, chargers are taken out of the wall once a laptop is charged. Once a laptop is charged, if it isn’t being used, it is shut down. At night we make a habit of turning off desktops, so a non-functioning machine doesn’t drain energy.

Reducing Fleet Costs

Reducing our fleet costs is probably the easiest protocol to follow. Jacobito Design is, for the most part, run out of living quarters. So there are days when fleet costs are non-existent. When planning meetings or running errands, we plan our trip a head of time, so time and fuel expenses are optimized.

Reducing Our Waste

At Jacobito Design, we are true believers in "Reduce Reuse Recycle"! We reduce the amount of waste we have by going paperless – we keep files on hard drive & on our cloud server. We take notes either on smart phone or on computer. We reuse paper by using both sides of the paper when printing – this reduces both amount of paper used and also reduces the amount of ink used for printing. And we recycle paper, plastic and glass.

Ultimately by following these green protocols, we feel that we are not only helping out our bottom line, but also contributing to the well-being of others and our environment.

Are you Omnifocused?

2009-10-27T16:48:55Z

Have you ever been stressed out when trying to complete tasks during a busy day? Yea, us too! Jacobito Design uses Omnifocus (a Mac specific program) for this very reason… We like to cruise through our day with the least amount of stress, moving easily from task to task, without thinking, “what needs to be done next?” It’s all easily managed with Omnifocus.

Omnifocus Features

Omnifocus has simple features that make project management a snap. It has an inbox to easily create tasks, projects, or whatever is on your mind. From there, you can drag and drop those tasks into the library to create a new project or you can add tasks to an existing project.

Omnifocus lets you assign a context to a task so you can optimize your time in getting things done. For example, if you have several people to email or phone, just view your list per that context. You can add details to the contexts, combine lists, make notes to your self, and when you are done, simply delete the task, so it is no longer on your plate.

Omnifocus’s syncing possibilities are what seal the deal for Jacobito Design. Omnifocus can be synced with iCal and iPhone. This makes it a magnificent tool for organizing meetings, planning errands while on the go, or just saving a little time here and there.

The iPhone App

We really love the convenience of Omifocus’s iPhone App! It’s like having your own personal assistant. Similar to the base program, typing in tasks is just as easy. At $19, this app more than pays for itself over a short period of time. It’s the perfect tool for days when we have no choice but to take our office with us.

So if you’re a Mac user and you’re looking to decrease the amount of stress in your workday, we suggest Omnifocus. We just feel that it’s the perfect choice for dealing with task and project management. Try it out. We’re sure you’ll agree.

Jacobito Open For Business

2009-10-11T15:30:13Z

Jacobito Design is officially open for business! We’ve worked hard to set up an easy to use website that illustrates what we’re capable of. Although our focus is in web design, we feel that graphic design is a service that would be silly not to offer. Our prices are competitive, and we offer a free 30- minute preliminary consultation. Plus, we’re super friendly!!! What else would you like in a design agency?

Picking a Web Designer

Picking a web designer is tricky. The first dilemma, is knowing whether or not you are getting enough bang for your buck. The second dilemma, is knowing what is standard in modern web design and if the designer is current. Third, you want an agency that will implement a SEO (Search Engine Optimization) campaign from the get-go.

HTML, SEO, MySQL?

I know… “What did you just say?!” Yea, we’re nerds at Jacobito Design, and we do our darnedest to articulate what terms mean, what the acronyms stand for, how they are used, and whether or not you’ll be needing them for your website. We would like to include you in the design process. We feel that if you’re not involved, we’re not really making a website for YOU.

Modern Web Design

At Jacobito Design we think of ourselves as contemporary designers. We stay abreast to current topics in a fast moving industry and are constantly learning and probing for the latest standards. Reliable communication plays a key role between us, as the designers and you in the development of your site from start to finish.

Bang for Your Buck

Jacobito Design is a small agency that occasionally hires out, so prices are kept competitive for our clients. We feel that in order to be flexible and competitive in this economy, costs need to be kept lean and within budget… for everyone! As a company, we aren’t out to gouge our clients and suggest services that aren’t necessary. We won’t suggest services you don’t need and aim to keep you informed of all the options that are available to you.

Graphic Design

Yea, we do that too! We might as well… We have the tools and more than enough passion to deliver. Plus, we get to use a little more of the right side of our brains through the process and cultivate artistry.

Services we offer range from logo design and posters to vinyl top-sheet graphics, for your skis or snowboard.

I need a website… Now what?

2009-10-08T16:32:53Z

Even before choosing a web designer, it can be a real challenge figuring out where to start. That’s why we want to share three pointers that will help you visualize what kind of website you want and what features to best showcase your business.

1. Target Audience

Your first easy step is to writing down who your target audience is. Ask yourself what age groups would be attracted to your site? Think about their general social structures, how they interact with one another, and how they might use your site. Start thinking of how you want your site to be perceived and what type of color theme you want.

2. Visit Similar Sites

Visit similar sites within your industry. List all the web addresses you visited. Make a sub list of all your likes and dislikes. Pay attention to the features they have within… Do they have a photo gallery or video? Do they participate in social networks such as Twitter or Facebook? Ask yourself what you’d do differently and how it could work better by having a different navigation structure or color theme. Lastly, Ask yourself if you got frustrated with their site, and what made it so frustrating?

3. Keywords and Location

While visiting these similar sites, what keywords did you type in to find them? Write down all the keywords you anticipate your visitors typing in to find you products or services. Is your business a local company or a national business?

By following these steps, you’ll not only be well on your way with the brainstorming stage of your new website, but you’ll also have notes that will aid your chosen web designer in estimating you envisioned web project.