Have a Happy 4th of July!

In honor of Independence Day we will be closed on Friday, July 3rd but will return, hard at work on the 6th.

How’s this for cheesy? Set your website free on this Independence Day and have it redesigned to include a Content Management System so you can declare your independence from having to wait for a website designer to make edits.

Sorry, that was really lame, but we do offer great rates and outstanding functionality that really will let you make edits to your site anytime, even at 2am in your bunny slippers.

HAPPY 4Th Of JULY!!!

Ready, Set, Redesign!!!

AUGH!! Is that what you think when you look at your site? It may not be as bad as all that, it may just be you’re bored with looking at the same old site. We specialize in web redesign and will give you an honest opinion, constructive criticism and will never make you feel dumb. We know that at some point your site may have had to be created by your cousin’s, nephew’s, girlfriend and it served the purpose it originally was intended for. Now, you know that you need to be as cutting edge as your competitors, and that you want to add some doo-hickies here, and a doo-dad there, but not sure what they are called.

Let us help you. We’ll talk to you in a down-to-earth manner, explain what features may enhance your site, provide you with a realistic timeline and cost and let you do what you do best…manage your business.

We just returned from Boston & learned ALOT!

This year’s An Event Apart conference in Boston, MA was a great learning experience. Last year when we attended we knew that it would become an annual experience due to the culmination of so many aspects of web development. From learning about consumer trending, to the latest in programming, to just how to make our customer’s lives easier, the conference gave us the tools we need to keep up-to-date with web standards, how to make beautiful sites function like the big guys, and an insight into the many new technologies exploding on the development horizon.

As we knew last year, we’ll be attending next year’s conference so that we are able to provide you with top notch design and development technologies.

Blogs vs. Forums OR?

Recently we have been presented with alot of requests for a way to allow visitor interactivity on a website project. The first thing that would come to one’s mind would be a blog OR a forum. Both very good options but one is a little light on true interactivity and the other is so robust you need to have alot of spare time on your hand to get it going, monitor the different categories and such.

We’ve been working on developing a VERY special project that will be announced in the coming months, but the way we are going to incorporate interactivity is through a social network. One we set up, not use through Facebook or MySpace. The community will be set up through Ning.com. It’s a free service and although (like anything else) there are some not so great communities out there, there are some outstanding ones we are looking to for inspiration. Two that come to mind are http://pickensplan.ning.com/ and http://momlogic.ning.com/ . They both are nicely designed using this open source (free) platform.

Give us a call if you’d like to learn more about setting up your own Social Networking Site.

Unorthodox Web Design

Unorthodox website design…what!? How many studios have you called to only get their sales pitch of how “we have these custom website packages to meet our client’s needs”? Seriously, “custom website package” should mean only what you need or want, not what the design studio wants to sell you to make a handsome profit on features you’ll never use.

Your web developer should listen to you and what you need. Only recommend what they think would work for your company and let you decide. Ask your developer to give you options or to break the project into phases. This way you can decide for yourself what’s the best road to take.

graphXevolution will have a conversation with you, not sell you, and after the conversation we’ll put together options. That doesn’t mean we’ll say you can get by with a 5-page static site alone, it means we’ll give you advanced options, a lower-end option and everything in between. If you tell us “hey that sounds awesome but we can’t do it all now,” we’ll work with you.

Yes, we’re in business to make money, feed our children and have a warm place to program in, but we’re not in business to rip off our customers.

Our form of unorthodox website design consists of actually caring about your project, being as passionate about it as you and delivering a product we’d be proud to put our name on.

Submit your information to graphXevolution today to begin the conversation. Visit our website at www.graphXevolution.com.

You Wanna Fight?

OK, so here I am sitting trying to think about what to write that would be profound enough for our third post on the blog. This topic came to me because I had just finished a tense conversation with someone who I know could tell what my expressions and attitude were just by reading my typed words. Needless to say I was very touchy and shouldn’t have been talking but instead relaxing. You’ll love the call to action at the end.

There have been so many instances where I’ve been told “you sound happy” and the person doesn’t even hear my voice. There have been other instances where I could tell I was being portrayed as unhappy or dare I say, b#@$%? Mostly after a very long day of being pulled in a million directions and wearing way too many hats. The tone of my typed words, the timing of my response, the edgy nature the words convey, all effect how I’m being perceived.

There are many business professionals who are utlizing a mirror when they chat online or on the phone with colleagues or clients. This was suggested to our business by one of our board members because even though you may not be grumpy or unhappy, your tone will reflect the expression on your face…and I believe it does, even in typed words.

I can understand how a written word is sometimes easier to put down on paper than to speak them. I understand that someone may say, well if I write it down I have a chance to see it on paper and edit my response. But on the other hand, if we loose that passion of spontaneous conversation, even confrontational conversation, what does that say about our socialization skills? Conflict isn’t bad, but insults and hostility have no place in my world.

Always remember that words can harm, especially those that are written down….sometimes even more because they can be saved and pondered upon long after they were composed.

So what’s my call to action for tonight? Go to bed, get at least 7 hours sleep and wake up refreshed because tomorrow is a new day and we’re going to start kicking business in the butt!!!!

~ Darlene

Get Out Of The Box!

“What on earth are you talking about woman…”

I get that often but would rather have people look at me funny because I’ve said something to make them go “hmm”  rather than ignore me because they don’t think I have anything to say.

Many times I’ll interject humor into my conversations with clients just at the right time (in the proper context) to not only lighten the conversation, but in doing so ease their minds, allowing them to feel comfortable with me. More often than not I’ll have a client say right after a humorous exchange, “I know this is a stupid question…” and my response is 100% of the time, “The only stupid question is the one not asked.” My lightheartedness opens a door for them to be educated…be empowered.

Again and again we’re told to think outside of the box. Well I don’t believe I’ve ever been inside of the box, at least not a rigid, geometrical sort. Not with how I dress, how I express myself, nothing…so my motto is now…

“Forget thinking outside the box, get on that damn thing and shout to the world!!!”

Especially in today’s uneasy atmosphere where we aren’t sure what’s up or down, you need to make you and your passion the most memorable thing a potential customer hears or sees. That doesn’t mean to scream at them like a 2am infomercial (nothing wrong with it, if that’s what you do); and it certainly doesn’t mean to spam customers or annoy them with flashy doo-hickies all over media. It simply means to give a consistent reminder that:

• you do what you do better than most;
• have a passion for what you do;
• and will make your customer’s lives either easier or enriched by this passion.

Remember the 9 dot puzzle? Here it is, thinking outside the box is the only way to connect all 9 dots without ever letting your pencil leave the paper.

Here’s one of the answers. Don’t worry I didn’t get it either…so much for my crazy radical thinking

We all have a passion, what’s yours?

Welcome Main St. America!

Welcome to the graphXevolution Main St. America(tm) marketing blog. It’s not going to be a stuffy resource, but something that small business can find ideas about how to make their businesses extraordinary.

We hope we can inspire you or at least get you thinking enough to participate.

~ Darlene