WEB DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

We Build Successful Medical Websites for Doctors and Medical Groups in Spokane, Washington

Posted on by jlyman24

Let us boost revenue and advance your practice while you focus on helping your patients.

Creative Reflections Web Design has the knowledge and expertise to build patients trust with a medical website that delivers the best creative online marketing solutions for your practice.
If your patients can find you everywhere, your practice will successfully grow by having a professional image that builds patient trust with a responsive medical website.

Your medical website will include all the features that a medical practice needs to be successful. This includes a Professional Responsive Design, HIPPA Compliant Forms, Captivating Health Care Content, Search Engine Optimization, Online Appointments, Content Management System, Hosting Package, Domain Name, Website Maintenance, Social Integration, and Patient Email Marketing.

Let your patients find your practice online by providing the best browsing experience across any device, from smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, and more.

Take your medical website to the next level with a marketing blog. Let your patients read about expert tips, medical insights or even tutorials.
We have the expertise and experience to design and develop your new medical website.

We have everything covered from a to b, so your patients will feel inspired and confident about your medical practice.

Let us design your new medical website. Get started today by contacting us for your new medical website.

Freelance Web Developers vs Do It Yourself Web Design Apps and Software

Posted on by jlyman24

Has business not taken off like you hoped or is business slow?

If you answered yes to either of these, we have some very important tools for you to get it moving.
Sometimes word of mouth and things such as flyers, business cards, brochures, and social networking just aren’t enough to get your business the recognition it deserves and needs to be successful.

Through education and experience, we quickly learned the best tool for any business is having a quality website built by a professional web developer. Listen closely as we explain to you why it is important to have a professional build your website instead of using apps and software to do it on your own. There are many reasons to leave it to the professionals and the biggest reason being is that they cannot only customize it to a much higher extent for you, but also your page will come up much higher on the search results on search engines. Web designers and developers are trained on utilizing SEO, aka search engine optimization. These apps and programs that allow you to build a website are very basic and poorly built period and your page will go nowhere. Not only that, but you are very limited on customizing your website and it will not stand out from your competitors. Sometimes it’s best to spend some to make some and this is one of those cases.

A great web developer will be able to take your ideas and turn them into reality and should be able to educate you on what options are available to you.

A website is just a waste of time if it’s not built for functionality.
Functionality is the ease of use and allows potential and existing customers to easily find what information they are looking for, and a great web developer knows exactly how to do this.

Web developers also know what can and cannot be done and what is and isn’t a good idea to implement into a website. Sure you can put together a basic website on your own if you’re lucky, but it really is worth contracting a web developer to do it for you, and you can even have them continue regular maintenance and SEO so you don’t have to.

Now that you understand why you should leave websites to the professionals, we want to give you some tips on choosing a web developer or designer.

First, search around on the internet and go to their websites.
Look at their portfolios, examples and creativity.

Keep in mind that ultimately the clients decide on the colors, design, layout, and content, so don’t choose a designer based solely on their portfolios and examples. A great web developer will, however, try to steer clients away from implementing things on their website that may slow down its load time and other things such as poor contrasts in the color schemes that the client wishes to use and more. Look at whether there are mistakes, look at client feedback and contact the web developer to get a feel for them as a designer.

Of course pricing makes a difference in choosing a web developer as well, but cheap is not necessarily better.

You are investing in your business when you have a website created, therefore it is worth the money especially because it is the most effective way to build business and an online presence.
Social media can get you pretty far, but not everyone uses social media websites and not everyone thinks to look up businesses on these websites.

Therefore having an actual website for your business is much smarter and can be found by many more people. Not only that, but on your website you can have direct links to your social media pages, thus helping build business even more. Most web developers will also put links on their website to their clients websites to help market them. What more could you want?

So, we learned the importance of contracting a web developer over using apps and software to try to create your own, and why it’s worth the investment. Hopefully you truly take this into consideration because, trust us, most people regret trying it on their own, and then they are out the money spent on the apps and software. Do it right the first time around and you will be very glad you did.

Do I Need a Web Developer or a Web Designer?

Posted on by jlyman24

Whether you are ready to have a professional website built or are just curious, you may be wondering, what is the difference between a web designer and a web developer?

What can they do?
A web developer is like a kung fu master of designing, creating and coding websites to put it simple.

A web designer is not quite as extensively educated in this industry. Together they are the masterminds behind every single website you see and without them, well, there wouldn’t be any websites to see. They are rarely credited by the consumers the way they should be. Kind of like all of the song and script writers that create some of the best music and films. That’s okay though, most of them don’t mind because they love what they do.

There are some major and some minor differences between a web designer and a web developer.

The biggest difference is that a designer pretty much does that; they design the looks and layout and most of them only know basic coding and protocols.
A developer on the other hand, can design, create, code, and implement it all.

A developer has more extensive training and will be able to customize a website as much as possible. Typically, a developer hand codes all of their websites and does not use prefabricated templates, thus allowing them to make anything possible. A designer often uses templates and this does not allow for completely unique one-of-a-kind websites.

Don’t get us wrong, web designers can build you a website, but it just won’t be as personalized, options are limited and they tend to focus on the looks and layout more than the functionality. Before you decide what company or person you will contract to create your website, you need to know what you are looking for. If you just want a pretty basic website, a web designer will work just fine. If you are wanting to implement e-commerce and are looking for a customized website that is built around functionality and looks as well as the implementation of many things, your best bet is to get a web developer.

Does Your Business Need an App?

Posted on by jlyman24

Mobile apps have continued to soar since 2007 and have never slowed down.

This was the year of the first iPhone, and soon after many companies followed with releasing their smartphones.
It seems like every company is trying to design trendy technology, so what is the next big thing and should my business follow these trends?

So, does my business need an app? Based on trends you may think your business needs an app. This is not always true, and greatly depends on what industry your business is in. Businesses such as a retail shop that deals with goods and client data could benefit more than maybe an attorney’s office that would be more informational. You need to try to visualize your business and compare a responsive website versus an app. Many businesses just have a website that provides its audience with the proper functionality and content to drive its sales and or services, others rely solely on an app or maybe even both.

 

You need to ask yourself, “would an app provide a better solution or would it just provide the same functionality of a website?”

This question can be addressed more efficiently through analytics.
You need to make sure you are targeting your audience across the best platforms, therefore you need to analyze your visitors.

Many websites now provide a responsive design that provides the same experience on desktop computers and mobile devices. It would not be the best practice to build an app and later realize that customers prefer using the website. Additionally, if all users use mobile devices you may not need a website and instead an app would be the best solution.

Evaluate your business needs

This should include the needs of the business, and the needs of your audience.
Your target audience should always drive your platform development decisions. This way, resources are spent on what matters most your audience.

In conclusion to evaluating development decisions, company goals such as budget, content, SEO, interface and accessibility also play an important role. In general, a responsive website is more budget friendly and relies more on great SEO, accessibility, and more frequent updates. Apps are better at handling large amounts of data, more complex user interfaces, and has the advantage of using a smart phones functionality.

While many companies have both a responsive website and an app, many would be more cost effective to have one or the other. These decisions should mainly evolve around your audience and the needs and budgets of your business.

What is a Favicon?

Posted on by jlyman24

A favicon is a small image that is used by a browser to show the image of the website being visited

Isn’t this similar to a logo?
Yes and no. A favicon acts like a logo in the sense that it brands your website.

A favicon though, is very small and is only used in a web browser. In fact, a favicon is usually only 16 pixels by 16 pixels, which is why they are usually very simple yet relevant to the overall look and feel of the website.

A favicon was first used by Internet Explorer to track favorites or bookmarks you created

The word itself is made of two words “favorite” and “icon.”
Favicons were also used to estimate website visitors by counting the number of bookmarks for a particular page.

Favicons are now an important part of the user experience. All major browsers use favicons in the browser address bar, link bar, bookmarking area, browser tabs, and even in a shortcut on your desktop. If you don’t have one, a generic one will appear instead and is not the best experience for the user visiting your website. Most online branding is a daunting and challenging task. A favicon is a simple and easy way to raise brand awareness.

How do you create a favicon?

You can use any image editors with an ico file extension save option.
There is an extension for Photoshop that you can download as well.

Link

To make it even easier, there are many favicon generators out there

Simply upload an image and download the favicon file
One of our favorites is www.favicon-generator.org.

Link

So I have a favicon

How do I use it?
Basically upload the image to your website, and link to it in the header.

Insert the proper code into the HEAD section of your website. Upload the favicon and the files with the added code to your server. Enjoy your new favicon.

Favicons are proof that great things come in small packages. They are small yet very effective from a user perspective, demonstrating attention to detail from a branding perspective. The bottom line is use and create favicons, and your website visitors and clients will appreciate this kind of detail and professionalism.

Open Graph and What it Means to Social Media

Posted on by jlyman24

If you could create links that engage and entice people to interact with them, would your website benefit from it?

The answer should be yes.
Just like marketing ads that are aimed at a certain target market, Open Graph allows you to style your shared links on social networks.

Text based links serve their purpose, but what about a link that is styled nicely with a title, image, URL and a description about the link? People would be more enticed to interact with such a link, and provide more shares to your website. Think of mascots, why do people like them? They are typically someone dressed up in a costume, yet everyone wants to talk to them just because they now look like a cute bear. If links look welcoming then more people will click them. Each click drives more traffic to your website.

Have you ever noticed how every link you enter into Facebook has a nice appearance to it? It shows a title, an image, URL and a description about the link.

This is all accomplished using Open Graph Protocol.
Web developers can now even style these links using Open Graph Protocol in a websites meta tags.

Each page can even have its own unique title, image, URL, and description. This will provide a website with better sharing capabilities, better SEO results, and a great way to boost traffic to your website.

So how is Open Graph integrated into a website?

It is actually pretty easy to add it if you have some knowledge in web development.
Open Graph is just meta tags that are placed into the HEAD sections of your page.

The images linked to them need to come from an external website, or the best practice is uploading them to your website and linking them to the Open Graph meta tags. More information can be found below.

Link

The bottom line is that every website should embrace this protocol.

If you are serious about your website and use social networking, Open Graph integration is a must.
It is becoming more and more widely used by social networking sites such as Facebook and Linkedin.

Twitter uses a similar method called Twitter Cards that work in the same fashion as Open Graph. These technologies will drive more traffic through social media sharing. Use it, integrate it and treat it as another form of SEO and marketing for your website.

Never Just Rely On Social Networking

Posted on by jlyman24

So you’ve started a business, but business hasn’t really taken off as you had hoped, or has slowed way down, so what can you do?

If you haven’t already done so, you need to create a great online presence to further your marketing reach.
Word of mouth is great, but is usually not enough to sustain a business and allow for continued growth.

Obviously, the most important factor in creating an online presence is to have a website built for you by a professional web developer. This should be your number one priority. In addition to this, other options include getting your business set up on social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Google Plus, and so on.

The problem with relying solely on social media websites to advertise your business online is that not everyone goes to these websites, and not everyone that does go on them thinks to look for businesses.

These social media websites are a great way to add to your online presence, but should not be solely relied upon on to be successful with your marketing.
You become limited and are never able to fully show what your business is made of on these social media websites.

We do recommend using them, but we strongly recommend a website specifically for your business where you will also have the option of adding a direct link to your social media pages. These two marketing tools definitely go hand in hand.

Why else is having your own website crucial for the success of any and all businesses?

Well, for one, it is because anyone can find you that has the internet or access to the internet, and you become available to the whole world.
Every minute there are thousands of people using the internet and guess what they are doing?

They are searching for specific needs, and if your website is built by a professional web developer that incorporates great SEO, aka search engine optimization, your business will be found easily on the search results. Another great reason to have a website is so you can market yourself much easier and more effectively than just a business card, flyer, or brochure. When you meet a potential customer or client you can then direct them to your website so they can scope out your business from the comfort of their own home and really see what you have to offer. You can only fit so much information on a business card, and who wants to listen to anyone ramble on and on about your services? Pretty much no one likes sales pitches being thrown at them unwillingly.

 

When you truly want success for your business, you will work hard to market your business as much as you can, but most people don’t have enough time to do it as much as it needs to be done.

So again, a great web presence is very important because once it becomes established, it will do much of the marketing for you.
You will save time, money and energy by utilizing the internet to market.

You will save money in many ways by doing so, but it is always a great idea to continue marketing through traditional ways such as through word of mouth, flyers, brochures, business cards, and so on and so forth.

What Makes A Good Logo?

Posted on by jlyman24

Remember, a logo is intended to convey a message.

The most effective way to convey your message through a logo is simple.
A logo should be just that; simple yet versatile and unique.

An effective logo will always contain these key elements. The logos uniqueness should be memorable. There is a fine line between uniqueness and keeping it simple. Being memorable is achieved by its design being appropriate to conveying the correct message.

An effective logo design will also withstand the hands of time.

Will the logo look good in 20 years?
Some logos have to change with time, but the really good ones barely change over time.

Being versatile is what you want. Your logo should be very flexible and functional. What we mean by this is that logos should always be designed in vector format. This is to ensure your logo is responsive to fit any size and will be compatible across any medium.

Good logo design consists of several aspects to its design to be effective. Creating a balance of simplicity, memorability, versatility, and appropriateness will generate the best logo design. Learn how to implement these into your designs and you will create better logo designs.

Outline of a Great Web Development Project

Posted on by jlyman24

At Creative Reflections Web Design, we don’t just build websites, we build websites that are awesome.

Every great website is built around great planning, and requires a system of checks and balances.
Web development projects need to be outlined and managed properly in order to generate great websites.

In this article, we have included our outline that we use for all of our web design projects. It provides a great base to start with and lays out each step that we use during the entire development process. Please enjoy, and feel free to use our outline on your next web development project.

Outline of great web development

Stage One
Preparation

1. Define website goals and overall strategy

2.Web Design questionnaire

Outline of great web development

Stage Two
Planning

1. Confirmation of website objectives

2. Plan any technologies and functionality

3. Choose web technology

4. Roles and responsibilities

5. Website title

6. Host selection and registration

7. Domain name selection and registration

8. Website structure and architecture

9. Validate Wireframe

Outline of great web development

Stage Three
Layout

1. Overall look and feel

2. Choose fonts

3. Color scheme research

4. Standards and templates

5. Basic layout creation XHTML/CSS

6. Layout approval

Outline of great web development

Stage Four
Content

1. Review content

2. Prep media

3. Copyrights, terms of use and privacy policy

4. Contact details

5. Social details

6. About page information

7. Testimonials, reviews and awards

8. Product information

9. FAQ

10. Optimize target keywords in content

11. Proofread

Outline of great web development

Stage Five
Content Integration

1. Merge mockup data with content layout

2. Define headers and paragraphs

3. Identify and add meta tags

4. Label links with anchor tags

5. Make links consistent and easy to identify

6. Add alt tags on all images

7. Provide text based alternatives for all media without alt tags

Outline of great web development

Stage Six
Design

1. Artwork update and creation

2. Logo updates and creation

3. Favicon updates and creation

4. Design header

5. Design main section columns and sidebars

6. Style special fields errors, validation, etc.

7. Design buttons, sprites, etc.

8. Create splash screen

9. Details, details, details

10. Validate design and send to client

Outline of great web development

Stage Seven
Functionality

1. Build databases

2. CMS, blog, or E-Commerce implementation

3. Forms and scripts

4. Newsletter

5. Custom apps and functionality

6. Restricted areas

7. Account login and registration page

Outline of great web development

Stage Eight
Technical and Usability

1. Make URLs meaningful and user friendly

2. Check URLs consistency

3. Cross browser optimization

4. Create custom 404 error page

5. SEO page titles, descriptions, keywords, OpenGraph, snippets, and TwitterCards

6. Make website print friendly

7. XHTML validation and optimization

8. Protections and .htaccess functions

9. Further security databases, cgi-bin and SSL certificates

Outline of great web development

Stage Nine
Testing

1. Web standards

2. Usability test

3. Accessibility test

4. Typography test

5. Content test

6. Design identity test

7. Link testing

8. Transaction testing

9. Correct errors and overall performance

10. Complete offline testing

Outline of great web development

Stage Ten
Live

1. Documentation

2. Upload website

3. Statistics and optimization setup

4. Configure a backup schedule

Outline of great web development

Stage Eleven
Training

1. CMS

2. XHTML/CSS

3. SEO

4. Other

Outline of great web development

Stage Twelve
Marketing and SEO

1. Create XML sitemap

2. Configure robot.txt

3. Submit to search engines

4. Submit sitemap

5. Internet ads

6. Newsletter and mail campaigns

7. Auto responders

8. Social networking

Outline of great web development

Stage Thirteen
Testing Again

1. SEO testing

2. Marketing testing

3. Optimization testing

4. Database testing

Outline of great web development

Stage Fourteen
Launch

1. Write completion report

2. Make a copy of website and databases

3. Write a page with all accounts

4. Wrap up in portfolio and send as a gift

5. Have a party

Outline of great web development

Stage Fifteen
Maintenace

1. New functionality

2. Analytics

3. SEO

4. Submit to search engines

5. Sitemap updates

6. Social networking

7. Backups

8. New pages

9. Website redesign

Outline of great web development

Stage Sixteen
Management

1. Project evaluation

2. SEO review after website is live for 2-4 months

3. Any documentation updates

4. Ongoing roles and responsibilities