tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135224672010-02-05T17:20:08.340-06:00Blog of a St Louis web designerSt Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.comBlogger402125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-73396312475068590992010-02-05T17:20:00.000-06:002010-02-05T17:20:08.348-06:00Hiring a web design company can be a daunting task. Here are three steps to make it a little easier.<br /><br /><b>The Planning</b><br /><ul><li>What are your internet goals. Setting your objectives is the foundation of any project and creating a web site is no exception. </li><li>Create a "must have" list. For example it may be really important that your site include a blog or that it is configured so you can maintain it yourself.</li><li>Got some ideas on the architecture of your site? Get out a pad of paper and pencil and create a rough sketch </li><li>Don't be intimidated to do a little research, e.g Check&nbsp; <a href="http://www.godaddy.com/">Godaddy</a> to see if can you get the domain name you want. </li><li>Get online and start browsing, bookmark sites you like, they don't have to be in the same sector as your business or organization but this exercise will help determine what appeals to you and also enable to articulate your design preferences.</li><li>Check out your competition</li></ul><b>The Search</b> <br /><ul><li>Try a simple Google search for your area. Here are the results for <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&amp;q=st+louis+web+design&amp;sourceid=navclient-ff&amp;rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS260US260&amp;ie=UTF-8">St Louis web design</a>. <b><br /></b></li><li> Word of mouth, ask members of your business network if there is anyone they can recommend.</li><li>Found a web site you really like? Very often a web design company will have a simple link at the bottom of the site directing visitors to their web site.</li><li>Draw up a shortlist of design companies you would be interested in meeting. </li></ul><b>The Meeting</b><br /><ul><li>Arrange to meet three design companies.</li><li> The research you have already done will put you in a great position to talk about the specifics of your project.</li><li>Do they seek to understand your business?</li><li>Are they goal/objective driven?</li><li>Do they listen? </li><li>Ask to see a portfolio of their work. Does it show a diversity of style or does everything look the same?&nbsp;</li><li>Do they know their limits or will they try and sell you "everything" </li><li>Discuss the creative process they follow. Is it flexible?</li><li>Do they seem like a good fit for your project, do you feel a connection? </li><li>Will you enjoy working with them?</li><li>Ask them to put together a comprehensive web design proposal which outlines all the specifics of your project, pricing and terms and conditions.</li></ul><b>You're Hired!</b><br /><br />The contract is signed, the deposit&nbsp; paid and the project&nbsp;<b> </b>is well underway. Is it time to site back and relax? Next time I will talk about <b>how to work with your web designer</b>.<br /><br />2010 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-7339631247506859099?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-9522151271114179662010-02-04T09:52:00.000-06:002010-02-04T09:52:34.676-06:00Last week I talked about&nbsp; how color can be used in <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/2010/01/uses-of-color-in-web-design.html">website design</a>.<br /><br />Quick pop quiz. What do the follow three web sites have in common?<br /><br /><img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/orange_websites.jpg" /><br /><br />The answer is <b style="color: #e69138;">ORANGE</b><br /><br />Does the use of orange in these designs conjure up the same emotions or associations?&nbsp; Lets take a look at a breakdown of their color palettes.<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/palette_1.jpg" /><br />The color palette used in this site results in a cozy and friendly feeling. The use of orange here really adds warmth.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/palette_2.jpg" /><br />Teaming orange with cool blues produces an invigorating pop which not only helps guide the eye but also adds an element of energy.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/palette_3.jpg" /><br /><br />Here again orange has been teamed with blue but in this case the use of yellow and orange adds a sense of friendliness and approachability.<br /><br />So three designs and three different emotions, warm and friendly, invigorating and approachable.<br /><br /><br />2010 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-952215127111417966?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-51759556329159110232010-01-28T07:27:00.006-06:002010-01-28T11:52:41.159-06:00Color is one of the most important tools in a web designers tool box. It happens to be one of my favorite.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The uses of Color</span>: <span style="font-weight: bold;">Define</span>:<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Engage</span> : <span style="font-weight: bold;">Differentiate</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Color can can be used to <span style="font-weight: bold;">define</span>, think of brands like T Mobile (they have a <a href="http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2007/11/04/beware-t-mobile-owns-the-color-magenta/%20target=_blank">trademark for Magenta</a>) , UPS ( What can brown do for you) and our very own Indigo Image.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/color_logos.jpg" /><br /><br />It can be used to<span style="font-weight: bold;"> engage </span>- look at these example of call to action elements.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/color_engage.jpg" /><br /><br /><br />And can be used to <span style="font-weight: bold;">differentiate</span>, look how the use of color on this web site is tied into the navigation.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/dif.jpg" /><br /><br />Colors are also associated with different <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/2006/02/meaning-and-associations-of-color.html">emotions and meanings</a> but interestingly these emotions can change depending on the palette in which they are used.<br /><br />Stay tuned for more about color palettes next time.<br /><br />2010 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-5175955632915911023?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-54851828499966899942010-01-21T14:31:00.004-06:002010-01-21T15:00:37.064-06:00Here are two time saving tools recently launched by Google.<br /><br />Firstly if you are a blogger and use Twitter to promote your blog posts (it was one of my best uses of Twitter - <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/2009/10/can-twitter-help-my-business.html">Can Twitter Help My Business</a>), <span style="font-weight: bold;">Google's Feedburner now incorporates a "socialize function"</span>. This allows Feedburner to automatically tweet any new blog post directly to Twitter. It can be customized in a variety of ways including<br /><br /><ul><li>Post content: Title, Title and body or body only</li></ul><ul><li>Inclusion of a link</li></ul><ul><li>Automatic creation of hash tags</li></ul><ul><li>The ability to add custom text</li></ul><br />A nice little time saver, you can read more about it here:<a href="http://adsenseforfeeds.blogspot.com/2009/12/socializing-your-feed-with-twitter.html" target="_blank"> AdSense for Feeds: Socializing your feed with Twitter.</a><br /><br />Secondly is the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Share button</span> built into the latest Google Toolbar, download it <a href="http://www.google.com/toolbar/ff/index.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />The share button enables you to send any page you visit to a huge variety of social networks, blogging accounts, email address anything from Facebook to Yahoo Bookmarks. It provides a shortened version of the URL - particularly useful for Twitter accounts where you are limited to 140 characters.<br /><br />As usual both of these tools are offered for free. What tools are you using to save time?<br /><br />Click for more <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/labels/Indigo_tips.html">tips and tricks </a><br /><br />2010 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-5485182849996689994?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-33853747998317913342010-01-20T08:10:00.005-06:002010-01-20T08:47:09.744-06:00<img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/color_sheet.jpg" alt="color sheet" /><br />Looking to design a unique repeating pattern? It is easier than you think.<br /><br />Start with a simple shape like an oval<p> <img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/repeat_pattern_1.gif" alt="repeat pattern" /></p><p>Duplicate and rotate to form a flower shape<br /></p><br /><img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/repeat_pattern_2.gif" alt="repeat pattern" /><br />Duplicate horizontally<br /><img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/repeat_pattern_3.gif" alt="repeat pattern" /><br />then vertically<br /><img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/repeat_pattern_4.gif" alt="repeat pattern" /><br /><br />Voila!<br /><br />Printed out these are a great coloring project for kids.<br /><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.indigoimage.com/freebies/repeat_pattern_indigo_image.pdf" target="_blank">Download repeating pattern here</a><br /><br />2010 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-3385374799831791334?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-19307083261234393142010-01-18T10:27:00.002-06:002010-01-18T10:30:25.095-06:00Fabulous spirals in an ice sculpture down in The Loop this past weekend.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/st_louis_ice.jpg" at="St Louis Ice" /><br /><br />2010 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-1930708326123439314?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-35686465923724350592010-01-15T09:08:00.005-06:002010-01-15T09:37:54.510-06:00I have an usual name, Zoe Feast. That's Zoe with a long "eeee" sound at the end and Feast pronounced Feast... as in Thanksgiving Feast. It really is that easy!<br /><br />As a self marketing project I have made use of my name and launched <a href="http://www.zoefeast.com/">ZoeFeast.com</a> today. It follows the lines of a " business card website", inspired by this great <a href="http://line25.com/articles/inspirational-showcase-of-business-card-websites" target="_blank">blog post</a>. A simple, one page portal to my networks and company.<br /><p><a href="http://www.zoefeast.com/"><img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/zoe_feast.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><br />I broke away from my Indigo Image corporate brand image for this project and enjoyed the creative freedom.<br /><br />What unique aspect do you have with which to market your business?<br /><br />2010 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-3568646592372435059?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-84673082858213475232010-01-12T07:43:00.003-06:002010-01-12T08:13:04.210-06:00Do you provide web hosting? This is one of my popular "Frequently Asked Questions".<br /><br />The short answer is no, but the long answer is yes.<br /><br />We are a web design company not a web hosting company and are happy to leave the intricacies of web hosting to the experts. However we can work with any web host of our clients choosing (or recommend a hosting company). This is a seamless process for our clients and all the nuts and bolts of getting a site live are taken care of. Once their site is ready we will open a hosting account suitable for their needs, upload all the files, configure email addresses and make sure their domain names are pointing to the right place.<br /><br />This one stop shop type service is what most clients are wondering when they ask "Do you provide web hosting"<br /><br />2010 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-8467308285821347523?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-30432206107428386712010-01-06T13:47:00.004-06:002010-01-06T13:57:06.925-06:00In honor of the "great snowfall" we are due over the next 36 hours, here in St Louis, here is a <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/freebies/winter_pattern_from_indigo_image.zip"><span style="font-weight: bold;">free vector graphic</span></a> of a repeating pattern with a winter theme. The great land of Twitter is busy speculating inches. Snow anyone?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/freebies/winter_pattern_from_indigo_image.zip"><img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/winter_graphic.gif" border="0" alt="free vector download of a winter repeating pattern" /></a><br /><br />2010 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-3043220610742838671?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-24038636666443590492010-01-04T13:42:00.005-06:002010-01-04T15:42:33.291-06:00<img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/10years.jpg" alt="10 years in web design" /><br />Happy New Year! 2010 will see <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com">Indigo Image</a>, home of the <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html">St Louis web designer</a>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">celebrate 10 years in business</span>! It is a milestone we are extremely proud of, showing that we can not only survive but thrive in this highly competitive market.<br /><br />We have had lots of really great clients over the last decade but have a particular soft spot for our very first client "Jacqueline's Journeys". The web site is no longer active but I will always be grateful to Jacqueline for putting her trust in us to build her online presence.<br /><br />So we are looking forward to what the next 10 years will bring, the clients we will meet and the new technological tools in our "tool box".<br /><br />2010 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-2403863666644359049?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-81340455992771542832009-12-23T07:18:00.007-06:002009-12-23T09:03:43.994-06:00<img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/12days.jpg" /><br /><br />On the first day of Christmas my designer gave to me a<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hosting account for free</span><br /><br />On the second day of Christmas my designer gave to me<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Two Domain names</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">and a hosting account for free</span><br /><br />On the third day of Christmas my designer gave to me<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Three banner ads</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Two domain names</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">and a hosting account for free</span><br /><br />On the forth day of Christmas my designer gave to me<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Four design revisions</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Three banner ads</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Two domain names</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">and a hosting account for free</span><br /><br />On the fifth day of Christmas my designer gave to me<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Five logo concept</span>s<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Four design revisions</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Three banner ads</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Two domain names</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">and a hosting account for free</span><br /><br />On the sixth day of Christmas my designer gave to me<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Six Twitter tips</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Five logo concepts</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Four design revisions</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Three banner ads</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Two domain names</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">and a hosting account for free</span><br /><br />On the seventh day of Christmas my designer gave to me<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Seven search engine listings</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Six Twitter tips</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Five logo concepts</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Four design revisions</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Three banner ads</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Two domain names</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> and a hosting account for free</span><br /><br />On the eighth day of Christmas my designer gave to me<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eight email addresses</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Seven search engine listings</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Six Twitter tips</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Five logo concepts</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Four design revisions</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Three banner ads</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Two domain names</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> and a hosting account for free</span><br /><br />On the ninth day of Christmas my designer gave to me<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nine Google Ads</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eight email addresses</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Seven search engine listings</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Six Twitter tips</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Five logo concepts</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Four design revisions</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Three banner ads</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Two domain names</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> and a hosting account for free</span><br /><br />On the tenth day of Christmas my designer gave to me<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ten fine tuned JPEGS</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nine Google Ads</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eight email addresses</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Seven search engine listings</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Six Twitter tips</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Five logo concepts</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Four design revisions</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Three banner ads</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Two domain names</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> and a hosting account for free</span><br /><br />On the eleventh day of Christmas my designer gave to me<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eleven copy changes</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ten fine tuned JPEG</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nine Google Ads</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Eight email addresses</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Seven search engine listings</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Six Twitter tips</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Five logo concepts</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Four design revisions</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Three banner ads</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Two domain names</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> and a hosting account for free</span><br /><br />On the twelfth day of Christmas my designer gave to me<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Twelve keyword phrases</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eleven copy changes</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ten fine tuned JPEG</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Nine Google Ads</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Eight email addresses</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Seven search engine listings</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Six Twitter tips</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Five logo concepts</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Four design revisions</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Three banner ads</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Two domain names</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> and a hosting account for free</span><br /><br />Now if I could sing I would have sung you this but alas no!<br /><br />2009 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-8134045599277154283?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-8444431776091119512009-12-22T07:00:00.003-06:002009-12-22T07:18:08.673-06:00Before starting any project we always put together a comprehensive contract - and only proceed when it has been signed by the client. I always explain to my clients that it not only protects my business but their investment as well.<br /><br />Our contracts cover:-<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The scope of the project</span><br />This is essentially what will be included in the project and can cover such things as the number of pages, type of functionality, content management systems, internet marketing and even the number of revisions offered in the process.<br /><br />The scope is established during the <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/define.html">discovery process</a> of a project and while it is unlikely that a client will know exactly what they want on every single page of the site during those early stages, it is essential to get a good feel of the requirements. Getting a good definition of the scope helps keep "scope creep" in check (- in its simplest form, "can you add a few more pages here" or more the extreme, "I'd like to add a shopping cart") .<br /><br />We always build in provision to allow a project to expand to accommodate addition request by our clients and it is vital to have this in writing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Creation Process</span><br /><br />Communication is key to a successful project and we break our web design projects down into logical phases. Our creation process will outline these phases along with any client expectations such as providing timely feedback to posted design concepts or the delivery of web copy.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Payments<br /><br /></span>We outline the total cost of the project and the payment schedule. The costs associated with out of scope requests are also covered here<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">General terms and Conditions</span><br /><br />The general terms and conditions provide legal protection for both parties and may seem over the top but are invaluable if things go "pear shaped"<br /><br />Our general terms and conditions include the following;<br />Authorization, Nondisclosure, Assignment of Project, Copyrights and Trademarks, Ownership to Web Pages and Graphics, Design Credit, Limited Liability, Indemnification, Search Engine Submission Service, Additional Expenses, Cancellation, Payment, Arbitration, Entire Understanding.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/sign.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">It certainly takes time to put these contracts together but it is time well spent.</span><br /><br />2009 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-844443177609111951?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-70189043165719343092009-12-21T09:25:00.006-06:002009-12-21T13:10:23.895-06:00Here is a fantastic video from American Museum of Natural History, "The known Universe", a humbling experience to watch, that will make this Monday morning quite insignificant. The video pans out from planet Earth to our cosmic horizon in time and space.<br /><br />It is a fabulous example of art and science.<br /><br /><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/17jymDn0W6U&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/17jymDn0W6U&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="480"></embed></object><br /><br />2009 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-7018904316571934309?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-72148597831533014202009-12-18T09:30:00.000-06:002009-12-18T09:35:15.716-06:00I like to produce a digital holiday card for my customers each year and this year have spiced it up with a custom video produced using <a href="http://http//www.xtranormal.com/" target="_blank">xtranormal</a>. "If you can type you can make movies". Its a great application and easy use. You can select from a whole bundle of characters, give them different accents set the background, camera angles, make them move and apply ambient sounds... and all for FREE. What's not to love about that.<div>So sit back and enjoy my little message from this fabulous green robot ( he has an English accent of course). I think I may have to make him my mascot! <p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10;" ><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3sP2F6OgE8w&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3sP2F6OgE8w&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object></span></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-7214859783153301420?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-42051800630579866732009-12-14T07:00:00.002-06:002009-12-14T07:04:21.315-06:00I was pretty impressed to reach the <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/2007/09/celebrating-blog-milestones.html">200 blog post </a>milestone, delighted to reach <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/2008/09/celebrating-st-louis-web-designer.html">300 blog posts </a>and today celebrate our 400th post milestone.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/400.jpg" alt="400 blog posts" /><br /><br />It takes time, effort and dedication to write regularly but is worth the reward! What better way to start a Monday morning in St Louis.<br /><br />2009 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-4205180063057986673?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-74266510879137749702009-12-11T12:39:00.004-06:002009-12-11T12:59:47.985-06:00<img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/checklist.jpg" align="left" /><br /><br />Got a website?<br /><br />Use this quick checklist to evaluate it's performance.<br /><br /><br /><br /><ol><li>Does the site look appealing and engaging?</li><li>Is it consistent with the rest of your branding elements?</li><li>Are you archiving your website goals?</li><li>Does the site load quickly?</li><li>Is it easy to navigate around?</li><li>Is the content fresh?</li><li>Are there any broken links?</li><li>If you have a blog have you written a post within the last week?</li><li>If you are using any social media tools such a Twitter or Facebook does your site provide a link to them?</li><li>Do you have a <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/2009/04/custom-404-error-pages.html">custom 404 error</a> page?</li><li>Is your site performing well in the search engines for your targeted key phrases?</li></ol>If you have all those areas covered you are doing well. If not we can definitely help you.<br /><br />2009 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-7426651087913774970?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-41719733835601949512009-12-09T08:17:00.006-06:002009-12-09T09:32:19.284-06:00Web design and web development are two completely different jobs required to produce a web site. To someone looking to hire a company to create their web site this can be confusing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What does a web designer do?</span><br /><br /><img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/web_design.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br />Web design is an art. A web designer is responsible for creating the look and feel of a web site, creating an intuitive navigational tool, laying out the copy and images and producing an overall look which is appealing and engages the user. A web designer needs to understand how to create design elements to influence the user, whether to get them to fill out a form and share their information, or lead them effortlessly through the checkout process of an e commerce site. Typically a web designer will use Adobe Photoshop.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What does a web developer do?</span><br /><br /><img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/web_development.jpg" /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br />Web development is technical. A web developer will take the file produced by the web designer and render it in a form that can be understood by web browsers such as Internet Explorer, Safari etc. They do this by coding it. Basic web sites require just HTML and CSS with maybe some snippets of PHP and java. More complicated sites, such as dynamically driven e commerce ones, require more advance coding languages.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The crossover</span><br />Many web designer are also web developers, which is the case here at Indigo Image. There are various level of web development from basic to advanced and we are capable of handling intermediate requirements. However for projects requiring advance development we collaborate with a local St Louis web development company.<br /><br />2009 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-4171973383560194951?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-29284521531654564272009-12-08T10:17:00.006-06:002009-12-08T10:25:48.589-06:00Enjoy this set of free vector graphics from your St Louis Web Designer<br /><br /><a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/freebies/circular_patterns_from_indigo_image.zip"><img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/circular.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/freebies/circular_patterns_from_indigo_image.zip">Download Here</a><br /><br />2009 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-2928452153165456427?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-62401121226222488132009-12-03T06:45:00.002-06:002009-12-03T06:52:02.056-06:00I always try to go the extra mile for my clients and one one contacted me today asking if I knew anyone who would be interested in buyer his server I thought this blog would be a great place to advertise it. Here are the details.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dell PowerEdge 840 Server w/RD 1000 Internal Back Up Device.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Technical Spec</span><br /><br />Dual Core 3060 Processor, 4MB Cache, 2.4GHz, Xeon, 1066MHz FSB for PowerEdge 840<br />4GB DDR2, 667MHZ, 4x1G, Dual Ranked DIMMs<br />250GB 7.2K RPM Serial ATA 3Gbps 3.5-in HotPlug Hard Drive (Qty 2)<br />SAS 5IR internal RAID adapter PCI-Express<br />Hot Plug Add-in SAS5iR (SATA/SAS Controller) which supports 2 Hard Drives- RAID 1<br />Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 R2 with SP2 Standard Edition<br />CD-ROM, 680MB,48X, INTERNAL<br />RD1000 Internal SATA Back-Up Drive<br /><br />Asking price: $1,350.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/st_louis_web_design_contact_now.asp">Contact me</a> if you are interested and I will put you in touch with my client.<br /><br />2009 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-6240112122622248813?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-7222310555802074572009-11-30T20:30:00.000-06:002009-11-30T20:53:34.236-06:00<span>I thought I'd share a great testimonial I received recently</span><span>:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />"We selected Zoe and her company Indigo Image after meeting with several website design companies. Our choice was fully validated by the Big River Associates logo and website that she created, and by our experience working with her through this process. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Zoe is the consummate professional, clearly laying out the project stages and the timeline from the beginning, while at the same time patiently accommodating changes along the way</span>. In particular Zoe interpreted our intentions, and designed a very clean, quick website that is easy to navigate, while at the same time incorporating a slide show of nature pictures to highlight in a more interesting and pleasing way some key service offers. We look forward to continuing to work with Zoe from time to time, to ensure that our site is current and relevant, and we are very pleased to recommend her work."<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eric Sigurdson </span> <br /><br /><a href="http://www.bigriverassociates.com/">www.bigriverassociates.com</a><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-722231055580207457?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-68472853232437941192009-11-26T08:00:00.005-06:002009-11-26T08:22:43.957-06:00I have lived in the USA for 13 years and in all that time have always celebrated Thanksgiving. Its a good excuse for a slap up dinner so what not to celebrate despite my English origins. However this year is my first Thanksgiving as an <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/2009/09/eye-of-st-louis-web-designer.html">American Citizen</a> so it is a little more special than usual.<br /><br />The list of things I am thankful for is long but where my business is concerned here are three things.<br /><br /><ul><li>My education that has allowed me start and operate my own business - about to embark on my 10th year!</li><br /><li>In the midst of a recession business is good and steady</li><br /><li>The opportunity to work with some really great people</li><br /></ul>What are you thankful for?<br /><br />2009 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-6847285323243794119?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-82317171191560865752009-11-23T07:27:00.002-06:002009-11-23T07:33:36.798-06:00Here is the St Louis Web designer's plug of the week.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.hotshotsnet.com/images/troops1.gif" hspace="10" /><br /></div><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hotshots</span> is currently collecting requested items to send to our boys and girls overseas.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Where</span>: Any Hotshots Location, bulk donation taken at the Fenton location<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What:</span> Snacks &amp; Entertainment items are always the #1 request. See the <a href="http://www.hotshotsnet.com/community.html" target="_blank">Hotshots web site</a> for full list<br /><br />2009 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-8231717119156086575?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-21871934462166906182009-11-20T06:49:00.000-06:002009-11-20T07:43:51.926-06:00Music can often be a great inspiration to me when I am in designing and my ipod is always on my desk. However, hands up if your ipod earbuds fall out of your ears? Mine do, the standard ipod earbuds were swiftly replaced with an in-ear pair but I still have problems with "fall out".<br /><br />A St Louis company, Yurtopia™ has come up with a fabulous novel product to end this misery: the yurbuds™. They convert the standard ipod earbuds to custom fitting earbuds which are not only more comfortable but they DO NOT FALL OUT!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/yurbuds.jpg" align="left" hspace="5" />A pair costs just $19.99<br /><br />Visit<br /><br /><a href="http://www.yurbuds.com/" target="_blank">www.yurbuds.com</a><br /><br />and get <span style="font-weight: bold;">free shipping</span> with this code: <span style="font-weight: bold;">QF5SG</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />2009 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-2187193446216690618?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-85132917507796358012009-11-16T11:04:00.002-06:002009-11-16T12:51:27.001-06:00What better way to start the week than with the launch of a new web site.<br />If you are looking for tax assistance in the St Louis area visit <a href="http://www.robergtaxsolutions.com/">Robergs Tax Solutions</a><br /><a href="http://www.robergtaxsolutions.com/"><img src="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/images/roberg_web_site.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The site is built on the Word Press CMS system for which we built a custom template. What's more is that this project was turned around in just over a week. If you need a web site in a hurry we can help!<br /><br />2009 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-8513291750779635801?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522467.post-53307716929883642552009-11-13T07:39:00.002-06:002009-11-13T07:44:04.730-06:00I received a another great testimonial from one of my web design clients recently:<br /><br />“Zoe was wonderful to work with. We had interviewed a handful of different web designers before we found Zoe. Her portfolio was strong and she seemed to understand our need to reach customers and offer a site that combined simple navigation, a lot of copy, and impactful photos. We were pleased to find that she could also help us with the site's search engine optimization. Zoe guided us through the website building process with good direction, a lot of patience, and quick responses to questions.” <div align="right"><b>Erica Ogden</b><br /> <a href="http://www.goleyinc.com/" target="_blank">Goley Insulation, Inc.</a></div><br /><br />Thanks Erica for taking the time to write this!<br /><br />2009 © St Louis Web Designer<div class="blogger-post-footer">For more posts by the St Louis web designer visit <a href="http://www.indigoimage.com/blog/blog.html"> Indigo Image</a><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13522467-5330771692988364255?l=www.indigoimage.com%2Fblog%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>St Louis Web Designerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02308535870721300731noreply@blogger.com0