Non-profit or government website design, development and maintenance can be a challenge. Creating a eye catching and efficient website that represents you and your community properly is important to the people you serve. Market-Ting!’s team can help navigate the process. From creation of a robust website that will drive engagement to updating post-launch we can help you in all aspects of web design and development. Market-Ting can design websites that are fully optimized for viewing on all platforms. Post-launch Market-Ting can host your website and continue to manage your content or assist you with it. When you are ready to step forward and develop the website that accomplishes your objectives, and is user friendly reach out to Market-Ting!.
indianapolis
Need a website designed in Indianapolis, Indiana?
Sometimes being straight forward is needed in this crazy world of information, were everyone is an expert. I decided to write a blog to those individuals who might need help with a website, new or old, and just aren’t sure which direction to turn on a company that matches and meets their specific needs.
Market*TING in specific is a company that is wired for “SMALL BUSINESSES.” This is not the federal term for small businesses because those number can be anywhere from 50 people to 1,000 people. The average size company I am working with probably has 4-5 individuals, so first thing to note is NOT ALL SMALL BUSINESSES ARE THE SAME.
I prefer the opportunity to work with one person on these web projects (input of course is appreciated), but the biggest thing that helps make the directives and decisions the easiest is having a technical representative from the company, even if that person is not technical. That helps us with delivering the information to the right person.
Market*TING’s process for websites is as follows:
1.) Sending a general website questionnaire to client that gives us basic information on what is it you are trying to accomplish, who is the audience, what are some colors that are important. Who are some websites that you really like (or parts of the site) what are some website that you really not like.)
2.) We then start mock-ups based on information provided and directives and inspiration from client and design team. Mock-up can be helped with a pre-built template idea, but could also be built from scratch.
3.) All information updates, and check offs for approval will be shared on www.basecamp.com our online Project management system. It is all cloud based so can be viewed, and downloaded anywhere.
4.) The last steps really come in the meat of the work, which can take anywhere from 1 month on a very fast track projects, to an entire year depending on the scope of the project, and how responsive people might be once updates happen and once items are turned in.
Things to think about when building a website go beyond just the website (of course). Super important items to consider include: photos (real or stock), video, fonts, number of pages, functionality, should it be responsive design? Do I need eCommerce? This is just a few items to consider. If you need to process this more, or maybe talk to someone that might help you decide more on what your process might look like, we’d love to speak with you. Give us a call at: 317.847.3904 Ask for Ryan. Market*TING – Giving Companies Great Ideas.
Market*TING is a Central Indiana Marketing and Communications firm that services the greater Indianapolis area, but also surrounding areas in Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield, Carmel, Zionsville, Whitestown, Avon, Brownsburg, Muncie, Columbus, and also regionally here in the Midwest. We provide Logo Design and development services, Branding, Website design and development, social media and marketing strategy. We hope to work with firms who need a strategic marketing consultant with all the resources of the big box full service agency,but the ability to focus on growing the relationship, and taking on projects no matter big or small.
Hacking isn’t just a Winter time sickness..!
So a lot of people just seem to be completely unaware of hacking…truth is I was one of those people….until it happened to me! Now, it wasn’t me specifically…but it did effect one of my clients. I did feel a little bad about the situation, but one thing I DO try to warn clients is, invest in the extra security just in case something goes wrong…..I’ll come back to that story in a bit. Let’s start with some basics like, WHAT IS HACKING?
It is simply the method somebody uses a computer to gain unauthorized access to data in a system.
Now you’ve seen major companies get hacked on the news, the Ashley Madison’s, the US Government, Yahoo, Google, Facebook….but what about ma and pa’s record shop, or upholstery cleaner? Why would someone want to hack them…. Simply stated because they can. Just like anyone who takes advantage of someone else who doesn’t have control, it’s to effect them mentally, and somewhat physically (functionally not being able to use their website).
Is it possible to stop, are there full proof methods? Not exactly…..there are tons of software, programs encryption methodologies and more….but nothing is full proof. Companies paying 1000’s of dollars monthly still get hacked. Why, because vulnerabilities pop up through the biggest weakness involved in the technical process, human error.
We forget to update plugins, we give weak passwords, we give our password out to everyone, we don’t add extra layers of security. we avoid minor costs. There are a number of reasons, BUT prevention starts first with:
1. PICK A STRONG PASSWORD – Please pick one you haven’t used before, hackers pick up on rhythmic things like that… Make up one using all types of cases and characters, write it down and move on.
2. Invest in extra layer of security – One I just invested in for a client that has worked like gangbusters is Site Lock. They scan daily, and send me warnings right away not only if or when I get attacked, but also if there are warning signs from the design infrastructure that say…”This could be a problem down the line”
3. Change can be good – This sounds a bit like one, and two as well – Change to a secure password regularly, don’t always have blog posts that people can comment on, eventually disable those comment areas.
There are a lot of things you can do….as I was telling you this did happen to a client, however they did not want the extra security or my reassurances, what was done was done…..learning lessons.
If you are looking for more information on the subject matter, there is a ton out there. However if you are infected, or feel like you might need help cleaning up your backend up, or getting rid of malware? Call the team at Market*TING – Central Indiana’s marketing and communication leaders. We do web design and development, branding and graphic design services. Social Media consultation and training, and lastly website design and development services for both new and existing clients. Let’s see how well your website might be protected.
Website Design Process
We’d like to talk about some basics of website design and development, and give you a better idea of what our process looks like.
What does the “typical” process look like when it comes to working with Indianapolis based Market*TING on developing a new, or redesigning an existing digital space online. First things first is our “discovery” process.
The discovery process is going to ask some basic questions like. What does your organization do? What is the purpose of developing the website? Who is the audience that we are designing for (this isn’t always your typical consumer, or customer).
After we get the main information for who, what, where, when (idea of), and why. We move on to the next steps of discovery.
1. Getting a sense of what is your online brand, and what does that strategy look like? Having a website is good, but it is never enough in this time and age of internet marketing.
2. What is the website structure that will make up your website? There are a multitude of ways we can build your website, but we need to figure out what road map and construction will be best for your particular audience. This could include building a wire frame, a site map, or simply determining which, and how many pages will be needed for the website.
3. Functionality is always the difficult part when it comes to websites, and what the client wants. A lot of times clients aren’t aware of the time frame that goes into the programming of a website, determining what functionality they want on the website will a lot of times determine how difficult of a programming challenge the design might be. Early on I was advised, anything under the sun can be designed on a website, it’s just how much time, and how much money does a client want to spend. Functionality could include flash graphics, special forms, drop down menus, custom branding, video, or a dancing baby going across the screen.
This is just the first phase of what we go through in the web design process. Stay tuned for our follow up on the “process” If you are exploring a new web presence and located in Central Indiana or beyond, give Market*TING a call. We would love to develop a web solution that is right for your organization.
Logo Design: Nothing More Fun Than This!
Marketing and Brand Strategy is the foundation building blocks for our company, but there is nothing we enjoy more than developing the ethos of a companies visual appeal, and the logo design process is where it’s at.
I love Logo Design.
I love Logo Design.
I love Logo Design.
Have I mentioned I love Logo Design? This isn’t an exercise to convince myself that the logo design is really cracked up to what I am saying it is. It is just reinforcement that having the ability to develop the entire look and feel of an organization is a fun process. It just doesn’t stop at a logo however. Once you get beyond developing that logo/identity mark, you then are able to spread that elements of that identifier to other components like the website and the digital space (and it is very important that all of those follow similar look and feel). The visual branding can then be carried through all brand and physical pieces as well.
If there is a strong rationale developed for the logo design, organizations are also able to carry those brand identifiers into long lasting campaigns that speak to, and represent their organization
If you are located throughout central Indiana or beyond, give the team of Market*TING a call, we would love to sit down and learn a little bit more about what design challenges you might have, and if you are looking for a new logo design, or a tweak to your existing identifier I don’t think you’ll find too many other teams who are as thorough as Market*TING.