Brooke Desmond
Website animations not only elevate the look and feel of a website, but they also serve as purposeful displays to encourage engagement for users.
Read MoreA sitemap allows us to refine the website user experience better and will guide the content creation on each page. Learn more about sitemaps and how they will help create a purposeful website.
Read MoreWe talk about enhancing the user experience (UX) a lot on this blog, and this post is dedicated to explaining the ins and outs of breadcrumbs and how they support our mission of seamless UX. Leveraging breadcrumbs will not only aid in better user experience, but it could also improve your SEO, conversion rates, traffic, and more. Take an in-depth look into breadcrumbs and how they will improve your site’s performance. What Exactly Are Breadcrumbs Do you remember the tale of Hansel and Gretel? The two children leave a trail of breadcrumbs to help them find their way home as they walk through the woods. Breadcrumbs on your website serve the same purpose; they show your location on a website and offer a quick path back to a higher-level page. Here is an example of what a breadcrumb looks like on a website (boxed in red): Breadcrumbs are usually found […]
Read MoreGoogle Maps allows users to, “get real-time GPS navigation, traffic, and transit info, and explore local neighborhoods by knowing where to eat, drink and go – no matter what part of the world you’re in.” Google Maps has become one of the top resources for people to find local businesses and new places, and in typical Google fashion, only the most valuable, relatable businesses will appear first. Ranking well on Google Maps will bring a plethora of benefits to your business, with one of them being one of the first search results for search queries. Here are some helpful tips to help you rank higher on Google Maps. Have a Solid Organic Google Ranking Google Map rankings are based on several factors, but your site’s overall ranking in Google plays a significant role in Google Maps. Make sure you can do whatever you can to make sure your website is […]
Read MoreWhen we design and build websites for our clients, the website user experience (UX) serves as our guide throughout the whole process. No matter what industry our clients are in, their websites often share the same goals with it comes to UX. These are the common goals they share and help us find the right direction for seamless UX. Goal #1: Give Users What They Need All websites need to be designed with humans in mind and directly give users what they need, and usually, this is achieved by answering their main questions. Is this company relevant to my needs? How do they accomplish this? What do I need to do to get started? Make sure the user experience addresses these needs, both known and unknown, and knowing your audience’s characteristics will be a significant driver to achieve this. Goal #2: Don’t Make Your Users Think Simplicity is another important […]
Read MoreA standard “chicken or the egg” situation we come across here at GreenMellen is whether we create content before designing wireframes or vice versa. There are plenty of arguments that support both, but we are content-first supporters. This is because we believe that website design should support the messaging that’s tailored for a specific audience and not the other way around. No matter if our clients are handling copywriting or we’re doing it on their behalf, we need a content outline as a starting point for our designer and developer. Learn more about content outlines for websites and the benefits they bring. Content Outlines Make Sense Your first introduction to content outlines probably happened when you were in middle school writing classes. You would create an outline to show your teacher what to expect on an upcoming report or paper, as well as guide you with what points to cover […]
Read MoreThe phrase “know your audience” is marketing, business, and success 101, yet it’s astonishing how many businesses ignore their buyers’ characteristics when creating their marketing strategy. Creating marketing pieces that resonate with a particular audience is no easy feat, but it’s imperative for impactful results. If you really want to get into the heads of your customers, start by asking yourself Konstantin Stanislavski’s seven questions, which is a technique used by actors to channel the character they’re playing. Get to know these seven questions and how you can utilize them to getting inside your audience’s head. 1. Who am I? This first question will help you define who your audience really is and uncover important details. What do they look like? What do they believe in? How do others perceive this person? What major life events have happened? Visualize this person and what details make them unique and distinguished. It […]
Read MoreWe’ve learned in our almost ten years of building a brighter web that there is one piece of the website puzzle that always takes the longest: copywriting. On average, depending on the size of the website, it takes us two to five hours to research, craft, and edit copy for just one web page, and when businesses are tasked to create this themselves, it can be even longer. It’s no secret that website copy is vital to your website’s success, but if hiring a copywriter or blocking out time to completely rewrite content is not an option, you can easily work with that you got. Here’s your guide to reworking your current website copy to connect with your audience in just one hour. Break Your Content Up Into Small Pieces A common mistake we see with website content is long, dense blocks of text that are daunting for visitors to […]
Read MoreThe power of a robust digital presence goes a long way for many brands and industries. However, there are plenty of offline, traditional tactics that any business should still be taking advantage of to spread brand awareness and encourage engagement. While they aren’t as measurable as digital marketing, they can go a long way for your brand in the long run. Get to know these five offline marketing tactics that are still as impactful today as they were years ago. Business Cards We’ll get into the importance of print material later, but a business card, specifically, is always a smart offline marketing piece. Business cards help maintain a professional look (if they’re professionally designed), drive people to your website, and give potential clients or customers the most critical information about your business: who you are (your name and business name), how they can contact you (email, phone, and address), and […]
Read MoreYou’ve probably heard of all the benefits a blog can bring your business, ranging from SEO to increased sales, and we would agree that it is something every business should take the time to do. If blogging is something you have considered doing, be warned: it’s no cakewalk, but if you put in the effort needed to make content people want to read, the payoff will be huge. We hope we didn’t scare you off from starting a blog of your own, but to better prepare you, let’s take a look at the top blogging expectations and their realities. Expectation: “All I need to do is write a single blog post, and everyone will want to read it.” Reality: Your writing is not special. We don’t mean for this reality to come off brash, but even the best writers struggle with exposure. There are hundreds of thousands of blogs out […]
Read MoreWhen clients ask us to create a website, they often ask when they will be able to see a design mockup of the site. In our web development process, design happens in the latter end of the project, and this is purposely done to make sure there is some steady groundwork completed beforehand. One of these steps is wireframing, and it’s a step we will never skip when creating custom websites for our clients. Learn more about wireframes and why they’re so important for web design. What Exactly is a Wireframe? In case you don’t know what a wireframe is, think of it as a blueprint for web pages. They are simple, black-and-white layouts that display where the elements of that particular page will live. They do not have any brand elements on them and are created to focus on a page’s structure. Here’s an example of our homepage as […]
Read MoreYour website is one of your most important digital assets, which is why so many businesses go to a web design agency to create their site and digital marketing. No matter your budget or goals, there are certain principles you should come to expect when working with an agency. Take a look at what to expect when working with a web agency on your website or digital marketing strategies. They Will Explain Their Unique Process All agencies should have a set step-by-step process and walk you through what to expect during each phase of your project. While this will more than likely happen before the project begins, it’s up to the agency to remind you of what’s going on during each step and what you need to do to help streamline the process. It’s important to ask any questions or have them explain anything unclear to you, and it’s also […]
Read MoreDigital marketing has quickly become priority over traditional mediums such as display or out-of-home advertising, and for good reason. It’s measurable, meets people where they are today (online), and very scalable. While it’s become stronger and more developed over time, it’s still up to you to make sure you’re using it effectively to increase brand awareness, which will, in turn, convert leads into customers and grow your business. Here are five powerful ways to use digital marketing to boost your brand awareness and presence. Engage with Your Audience Through Social Social media is a great place to showcase your brand personality and engage with your audience. While it might make sense to be on every social platform, you should only spend time where your audience is. For example, if you’re a B2C business geared toward millennials, you would probably want to engage with them through Instagram more than LinkedIn. Once […]
Read MoreIn our opinion, WordPress is the perfect content management system (CMS) for both beginners and experts. It’s user-friendly enough that newbies can manage the content on their website and customizable enough to grow into an eCommerce powerhouse. However, for those who are new to operating a website and working with a CMS, there is a short list of common mistakes many people make when getting into the nuances of WordPress. If you are one of these people, don’t worry; even WordPress experts make these time to time! Keep your eye out for these top six WordPress mistakes new users make. Not Updating Your Plugins, Themes and Core WordPress core, plugins and themes roll out regular updates to fix bugs and security issues, which is why it’s important to manage your site correctly and update these when you can. If you ignore them too long, your site could be vulnerable to […]
Read MoreThe way humans interact with websites has steadily changed throughout the years, and while most of the sites have evolved alongside these behaviors, there are still some small web design mistakes business owners still make. Make sure your website isn’t making these web design mistakes for maximum effort. Long Blocks of Text When people read content on websites, they are more than likely scanning than reading every single word on web pages. This is because we enter websites with a goal (find store hours, learn what a product is about, or see a food menu), and we do whatever it takes to achieve that goal. Large, dense blocks of content only overwhelm people and take time away from finding the information you want them to see, which is counterproductive. Visual hierarchy of content is key, and here’s how you can do it: Add plenty of headings that tell users what […]
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