Collaborating website design and marketing can be tricky…you have limited time and space to keep the user’s attention and get your message across at the same time.

These tips are just a few of many that will help do just that and can even be applied to print design.

1. The logo should be the first thing the user’s eye is drawn to – always somewhere at the top of the page.  The user should instantly be able to know who you are.
2. Design the way we read – from left to right, top to bottom, putting the most important content at the beginning of the site and above the fold.  The goal is to focus the user’s attention in a sequential order.
3. Edit your copy – get rid of words that just add fluff for example; “Our products are really healthy for you.”  And always make sure your message is clear and content is up-to-date.
4. Get rid of useless “stuff” like unused graphic elements, outdated banner ads, etc. that are only there as filler.  Think of your site as a billboard that has limited space to get your message across to optimize your space.
5. Don’t be afraid to use white space! Over crowded websites makes the content hard to find and read.
6. Show hierarchy with color, typography, and distinguished columns in your layout.
7. Keep things simple using a “less is more” approach. Try removing items until the design “breaks” to see how many additional elements you have that aren’t necessary.
8. Separate the footer from the content – this has become just as important as putting the logo at the top of the page.  Users are accustomed to look here for extended information on a site so distinguishing this area is a must.
9. Check for scannability - make sure users can quickly find what they’re looking for on the page.  This is key and relative to all the above.
10. Follow website design standards when it comes to site dimensions, as an example, but don’t be afraid to break rules when it comes to the look and feel of the site.  Design is always changing so keeping up with the newest trends will keep your site looking fresh!

Any tips or tricks that you would recommend?

Caitlin is a Web Designer for Interactive Financial Marketing Group.

What is it?

“The essence of a Presentation Model is of a fully self-contained class that represents all the data and behavior of the UI window, but without any of the controls used to render that UI on the screen.”, Martin Fowler.

The viewModel is a model for a view.  It allows UX developer to use the model without having to know back-end logic which is not their job.  It helps to think of it as Model represents or binds to the database and viewModel binds to the view.

Why use Model view viewModel (MVVM) architectural pattern?

“Represent the state and behavior of the presentation independently of the GUI controls used in the interface “, Fowler.   Having a true dynamic representation of UI instead of following a strict model from the database schema is great way to develop for UI developer and for back-end developer.

Many times UX developers need to add entities time to time that are not part of the database model in order to aid users to interact with your application better.  This is a great way to program on domain driven development (DDD) environments like asp.net MVC, WPF, ruby on rails, php, and java version of MVC.

When to use it

If you are in DDD environment then it makes sense to use it all the time or most of the time.   But this pattern can be helpful for all other scenarios since this is a great way to practice separation of concern architectural model.  This design model makes sense when you need to have a multiple views or objects for a single class or data model.

Example

The modelView makes sense on registration page where you need to have different UI/view based on age.

///If you are age under 13 then display under age view else display adult view.

Public class AdultRegistration

{

public string Username { get; set; }

public string Address { get; set; }  //only in adult model

…

}

Public class ChildRegistration

{

public string Username { get; set; }

public bool HasConsent { get; set; }  //not in database model

…

}

This allows back-end developers to practice separation of concerns and strongly typed model.    It also helps UI developer to work with model that represent the view and only the entities that are necessary to them.

Will Lee is a Web Developer for Interactive Financial Marketing Group.

Got Twitter? What about Facebook? No?… Are you at least blogging?

Social media is booming right now, and it’s never been more apparent than with social media giant Facebook set to hit 700 million users this month. So what exactly is social media? The best way to define social media is to break it down. Media is an instrument on communication, like a newspaper or a radio, so social media would be a social instrument of communication.

How can social media benefit your business? Well I have a few tips below on using Facebook, Twitter, and blogging effectively to help with your businesses reputation and brand.

• All it takes is one person to post a negative review on Facebook or Twitter for your reputation to be compromised. That one person could have 300 friends, and if one of those 300 friends re-tweeted or re-posted that comment, it could reach thousands more. With an ACTIVE Twitter feed, Facebook page, and blog you can cover a lot of ground. You could keep current and prospective customers in the loop on what’s going with your business, respond to consumer issues if they were posted on Facebook, and Tweet any news that you would like to share to keep your name in front of them in a positive way.

Besides the importance of social media to your reputation it is also helpful for business. For instance:

• Facebook is a great tool for personal networking, professional networking, posting ads, contests, campaigns, getting feedback, posting lot pictures, etc. Facebook is a lot more personal than Twitter and allows you to be more interactive with your fans. Post pictures of your inventory, sales team, and/or specials. Converse with your customers/prospects and answer questions they may have. Facebook is a great way to make consumers feel closer to a brand or product, especially when they have that interaction. It lets them know that someone cares about what they have to say.

• Did you know that blogging regularly is critical if you want to maximize search engine traffic? It builds inbound links and drives click-through traffic from other blogs. As you increase your exposure around the blogosphere, and you help to boost your search engine rankings. It isn’t necessary to post everyday but once or twice a week is a good start. And the blogging can be from anyone about anything related to your business. Our marketing and development teams usually write the blogs for our site. You do not need a professional or even an ‘expert,’ just someone who knows their ‘stuff’ and is willing to share it.

• Businesses are on Twitter! Not to say you should be because they are, but they understand that Twitter is a good networking tool, as well as a way to share information and get feedback. If you’re blogging, even better, you can Tweet your blog URL to Twitter whenever you post. Tweet articles or news stories that may be relevant to your brand that you sell. As with blogging, if you are going to join Twitter, you must be an ACTIVE user. Tweet daily.

You may not have time to implement all three suggestions, but starting with maybe one or two out of the three could tremendously help your business. Try it out and let us know how it works out for you!

Have another social media platform that I should have mentioned? Feel free to enter it below in the comment box.

Rosa Luciano is the Marketing Coordinator and blogger extraordinaire for Interactive Financial Marketing Group. Follow her on Twitter @RozaLuciano

So yesterday was St. Patrick’s day.. besides dressing up like leprechauns, drinking beer, chasing rainbows for pots of gold, and having an excuse to wear all the green imaginable, do you know anything about the history of the holiday? Did you know that St. Patrick wasn’t even Irish?! And that the original color associated to the holiday was blue?

Saint Patrick’s Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick, the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church and Lutheran Church. Saint Patrick’s Day was made an official feast day in the early 17th century, and has gradually become a celebration of Irish culture in general.

The day is generally characterized by the attendance of church services, wearing of green attire (especially shamrocks), and the lifting of Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol, which is often proscribed during the rest of the season.

So of course in addition to history, we have to put a marketing spin on the holiday, as we do any other. Here are some of the companies who definitely banked off of the leprechaun this year:

McDonalds- have you had their Shamrock Shake? The Shamrock Shake is a green, mint-flavored milkshake, is a seasonal dessert sold at McDonald’s during March to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. YUMMY!

Hallmark-  Hallmark offers more than 100 St. Patrick’s Day greeting cards. I personally enjoy the cards with sound. This years card played “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” With 8 million St. Patrick’s Day cards being exchanged yearly, business is booming.

Irish Pubs- This is a no-brainer. Theres nothing like throwing on the green and gathering at an Irish Pub on St. Patricks Day.

Party Supply Stores- St. Patrick’s Day is not official unless you have the proper accessories! This year I especially enjoyed my green and white shamrock flower in my hair, cool green sunglasses, dozen or so cool beads, and shirt that said “Ready To Shamrock.”

So how was your St. Patricks Day? Share your suggestions for other companies that banked or add your own story below! Have a GREAT weekend.

Rosa Luciano is the Marketing Coordinator and blogger extraordinaire for Interactive Financial Marketing Group. Follow her on Twitter @RozaLuciano