Web Solutions – Blog Design Blog

I was inspired by this thread and am wondering … who are the best designers in the world? Which are the best design firms? I really don’t have a clue. I have seen this site and also this unique firm , but where exactly is a list of the best web designs and web designers the world has to offer? If you know of some designers or designs which you believe are better than all of the others, please follow the links and post them. I want to put together a great list, based on quality only

Why exactly I’m back to posting on this url of mine, I have no idea. I’m currently a part of the great Third Square Webmaster Blog, the Blog Party Network Blog, have finished setting up the Search Engine Blog Network and still have a ton of old blogspot blogs which can be found in my profiles here, here , here and not to forget my V7ndotcom Elursrebmem seo contest blog. The reason why I like this one, is that it’s about me. I don’t need to be bound to a specific topic. I can write about whatever interests me, whether it’s about search engines, marriage, some new service, or a personal opinion about something that I like to share. This blog is about me. A free wordpress subdomain, but so be it. I should have it as a part of my Mike Dammann site, but am afraid to lose my motivation to write should I set it up. I also would like to be able to rank for the keyword Mike and maybe having a subdomain on an authority domain will help do this for me. Anyways, stay tuned for a lot more exciting stuff on Blog Party, a lot more posts from me and some projects involving domain names such as BlogCoders.com and BusinessBlogs.Org. I’m also still offering my Custom WordPress Design services as well as Multimedia Presentation and Design. Feel free to contact me thru the last link and/or leave a comment on this blog. Maybe we can all inspire one another. And if you see something useful or entertaining, link to it so others can enjoy it as well So this will be my Writer’s Block Writer’s Blog where I will let it all out without being bound to any guidelines other than WordPress’ rules, which I better obey. I don’t think that they will delete blogs like some other blog services that we know about But you can’t be too careful when you don’t own the url yourself. Regards, Mike Dammann

If you haven’t seen it yet, here is Google’s new page creator. You can only get onto the waiting list at this time. Reminds you of the whole Analytics thing, doesn’t it

Go ahead and post a joke in the comment section of this post. Whoever tell the best one before this month is over, will get his/her site listed in my Digitalpoint Signature for the month of March

Also let me remind you that our Blog contest is still going on where you can win $250 by making a simple random post

Mike

For info on the blogparty contest visit www.BlogParty.NET or our www.blogparty.net/work blog!

Just a little Poll/Thread I have started on DP.

So our new forum has my intro thread, where I introduce myself …. member Mike when Michael Goldman gave me the idea to get that thread ranked for it in Google. Should not be that hard with that url. Within the thread there is also a link to a DP thread, which probably would be even easier to rank. If you guys are up to it, give it a link or 2 and see where it goes.

Coming up … more about Mike

Here is a list of the domain names that blogwise receives most of the spam for http://www.blogwise.com/stats/spammiest

If you have thoughts, ideas and such, please comment here !

Assumng either one would be. I’ve just asked myself, and I believe fame is not what people really want. I think it’s recognition. If you are good at what you do, and get respected for it … that is really what people want. Not the whole papparazzi following lifestyle. Money is always nice, but only because it enables us to do the things we want to do. I don’t believe that a ton of cash in the bank is what makes people happy. But being able to treat yourselves to things you want or like to do, and having/making enough to keep being able to, that is what gives you the feeling of everything will be ok.

In order to establish a powerful online presence, you need brandability. It’s almost as important as quality of work. Quality of work gets you word of mouth advertising, big time. But how do you get started if you don’t have a foot in the door quite yet?

Branding is what gives you wings. When your name can carry your business, your advertising will no longer be an uphill battle. You’ll be able to move up from marketing to image-marketing. Very important step to take.

Here are the 2 things that are most important in the beginning. According to me that is. The 2 are:

A. Your Domain name.

B. Your Logo.

Your domain name will be what you are. Your name, your web address, what you do, something that is easy to remember. Choose wisely. Do you want to brand your own name? Or do you rather have something meaningless but catchy. I consider the choice so important, because with the right name, you can get new business from repeat visitors a couple of months, sometimes even years down the road. Don’t ever underestimate the power of your name. If you have a name in mind, ask yourself: do you feel natural and comfortable telling it to people?

I am not so much into keyword domain names unless they are easy to remember, such as PhoenixHomes.com

Otherwise, stand out. Sometimes even not so popular names are very powerful once branded right. Which leads us to

Your Logo 

The power of recognition, especially sub-conscious recognition is enourmous. When I go to forums, people know who I am because of my logo. When I hand out my business card on conventions, people recognize it, and it automatically installs a certain feeling within them. I’m no longer a new guy, I am the guy who said this then and stood up when …

People recall you. They have seen your logo on top of a post that they’ve hated or loved, and immediately they will associate you with the same thing that you’ve once written.

Ask yourself how your name corrolates to what you do. Then try to come up with a concept behind it.

Brand yourself, and you will go long ways. Not everyone owns a domain name like homes.com, so work a little bit on your image, and you will exceed their reputation and recognition

Mike Dammann

Or are they? Well, according to the stereotype they are, but let’s think positive. Here is some advice on how to deal with a lazy designers and get the most out of him.

- Don’t praise something that you want changed.

One of the most tiring things for a designer is to get your work praised and then have to change it. When you praise something, say “This is great!” and then move on to other parts. Otherwise it will look like a neverending story and an uphill battle that your designer can’t win.

- Prioritize!

1. Don’t nitpick until the very end. It’s not professional and it will waste a lot of time that could be spent on issues such as navigation and usability.
2. Give him a chance to surprise you, don’t interject until needed
3. Don’t get too excited, if it’s your first site and you’re enthusiastic, try to be as professional as possible. It’s a designer’s job to make you happy, but don’t expect him to share your excitement. It can be annoying
4. Ask him about his opinion and listen to it. Be up front about what your goals are with the site, whether you want something to show people or just increase business as much as you can. Don’t pretend to know it all. Be result oriented and take suggestions.
5. Don’t mention past bad experiences with designers. He didn’t do it. Don’t kill the vibe.
6. Show examples of sites that you like and tell him what it is you like

- Offer a bonus for fast work

Make a good price for the work and then suggest a bonus for getting things done quickly!

 Promise repeat business and referrals as well!