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Monthly Archives: September 2022

inclusive web design
Posted on Author Roxanne Demakis Categories Web Design

How Inclusive Web Design Can Benefit Your Business

Accessibility is a legal obligation in some countries and a human right. There has been a significant rise in lawsuits relating to web accessibility. Designers are now beginning to understand the importance of inclusive web design. In light of this, here are just some of the ways making website design as inclusive and accessible as possible is a plus for your business.

What is Inclusive Web Design?

Inclusive web design refers to website design that doesn’t rob visitors of their UX experience regardless of their demographics, impairment, or other temporary or permanent conditions.

Accessible web design is crucial in making a website inclusive and it means removing any obstacles for people with disabilities.

There are many things to take into consideration when building an inclusive website experience. To make sure you’re not standing in a way of a visitor from fully using or experiencing a website, here are some factors to think about:

  • Physical limitations that affect hearing, vision, or dexterity
  • Mental conditions that affect speech or cognition
  • Situational limitations that hinder the user from using the product to its maximum potential
  • Technical barriers such as equipment, internet access, and computer literacy
  • Geographical and language limitations
  • Various demographic factors, including age, race, and gender
  • Social and economic divisions

Now that we’ve solved what’s an inclusive web design, let’s move on to the benefits it can bring to a business.

Inclusive Design Lets You Reach a Broader Market

Did you know that over a billion people in the world have a disability? Many people omit that fact from their minds, even though there are barely eight times more people on the planet in general.

So, inclusive web design means you’re making sure you’re catering to these people. It’s a chance to reach a broader marketplace, consisting of both abled and disabled people.

Everyone deserves a maximum of their UX experience, and inclusive web design is one way of making sure that happens.

inclusive web design Demakis Technologies

Inclusive Web Design Improves SEO

In short, Google’s algorithm favors inclusive websites. If you implement elements of website accessibility to your business, Google will reward you for your inclusion effort and optimal UX.

When Google’s crawlers index your website, they will rank you higher just for the accessibility (if everything else is in place, of course). This is your chance to stand out, as many websites sadly still omit website accessibility from their web design.

So if you’re looking for ways to rank better and lower those bounce rates, a good SEO marketing method would be to pay attention to inclusive web design.

Inclusive Design Fuels Teams and Their Optimism

A company that actively promotes diversity on its website is more likely to have an engaged workforce. The team feels happier and works harder if it feels it’s for a great cause. Deep down, we all want our work to have value.

People who find purpose in their work are more likely to stick with their employer, according to research. It goes beyond people who are only driven by success or money. They are also more inclined to advertise their businesses, recommend them to other potential employees, and push friends and family to use the business’ services and products.

Inclusive Design Brings Up Brand Awareness

Everyone wants to feel included. People with disabilities, POCs (people of color), those who grew up in unusual or downright harmful family structures, people from the LGBTQIA community, and minorities – all want to feel welcome and included.

When a user finds your website easy to use, recognizes visual components that have meaning for them or reads language that validates their comprehension, they feel connected, which can give your brand an advantage over rivals who are merely aiming to appeal to the general market.

The greatest method to ensure that your brand remains in their memory the next time they require your services is to create a customer experience they will recognize and feel a part of. That is where we arrive at brand awareness.

Make inclusiveness one of your core values and principles, and connect with the audience on a personal basis with your marketing strategy. Brand awareness is a great long-term strategy since it brings growth and recognition.

Final Word

Try walking in the user’s shoes. Everyone has the right to access, view, and engage with the content you publish online. Don’t take that right away. Make your users happy by considering all aspects of site design.

Although this post scratches the surface of the accessibility topic, we hope that we were able to illustrate its importance and give you actionable tips for making your websites and digital products more accessible to all users.

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Color in Web Design
Posted on Author Roxanne Demakis Categories Web Design

The Psychology of Color in Web Design

Colors are one of the visual cues that are the fastest in sending a message. Or setting an unintentional first impression. That is why you should pay special attention to color in web design.

To help you set the hue of your website and influence people psychologically when it comes to buying decisions, we prepared this color guide.

Let’s dive in!

What is the Psychology of Color in Web Design?

Designers of all mediums know that color is an important aspect of their work. They know their design can drive emotional responses just through color alone.

Color psychology has been used in different ways, both positive and negative. Colors can calm you down, ignite excitement, drive you to action, and much more.

That is why color in web design is a secret weapon for driving up sales, earning clicks, scoring leads, and more.

In the psychology of color, you have not only emotions but psychological reactions linked to specific colors. Let’s check them out.

Color psychology in web design: practical uses

Here’s a look at some persuasive colors and what kind of message they send in web design.

Red

Red is the color of passion. In both negative and positive ways, it evokes confidence, authority, and raw power. It can make the user feel both big and small, depending on other elements on a website.

In marketing, we often see red used to advertise discounts and different promotions. Just recently, the luxury brand Salvatore Ferragamo debuted a new name – “Ferragamo”. But more pointedly, the brand opted for a striking red background for the signature. And when we take a look at some brand giants like Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, we see a bright red that’s hard to miss.

It’s no wonder people call it the Call-to-Action color.

Color in Web Design Blue

Blue

Fun fact – did you know that even at the beginning of the 20th-century pink was referred to as a color for boys, while blue was deemed girly? Trends tend to change, so keep that in mind while reading the article.

But as of now, blue is linked to masculinity and competence. Moreover, it’s used to evoke a zen feeling, wisdom, loyalty, and security. It’s no wonder it does so since research found that looking at the sea or other big areas of water elicits feelings of calmness and strength.

The popularity of the blue color in web design also comes from its versatility – bright blue also evokes energy and freshness.

Yellow

This color immediately puts your mind into a happy stance. It evokes optimism, cheerfulness, and youth. You can soften it by using brighter hues to avoid looking spammy when using yellow on large areas of the website.

On the other hand, a stark yellow color is a godsend for bringing attention to CTA (Call-to-Action) buttons. Again, be careful when using it. Apart from feeling too spammy at times, it can remind people of cheapness and cowardice.

Green

Green has richness to it. It reminds us of nature, life in all its glory, balance, and growth. So it’s no wonder that rich deeper green shades are often seen on brands selling hiking equipment, for example. Other brands that can rely on the green are organic food businesses, too.

To simplify, green calls back to wellness and health. And in the hectic environment of today, consumers are eating it up, because they do want something to calm them down and make them feel as if they’re relaxed and saving the planet.

Another benefit to using the green color in web design? It moves visitors to action. It evokes decisiveness, so you’ll see lots of green CTA buttons on websites, too.

White

The history of the color blue is a perfect example of how culture and history periods impact the way we see color. The same goes for the color white. In Western culture, it evokes purity, birth, and innocence.

Apart from that, you will often see it used in the healthcare industry, for it seems clean. Media companies also love it because it gives websites a crisp feeling and a callback to printed newspapers.

But if you overdo it, you may end up seeming stark, boring, and too stiff.

Color in Web Design

Black

Black is a statement color. It’s a bold color that you should use in subtlety without going heavy on it.

People often see black as a sleek and elegant color, so high fashion often uses it, along with other luxury industries. High-end consultation also resonates greatly with potential clients.

But if you overdo it you may seem too dark, evoking horror and gothic themes.

Final Word

Color psychology should be used by web designers to boost conversion rates. By giving the visitors a satisfying and memorable experience, they can enhance conversions.

Keep in mind that color psychology is crucial to any website design because it has an impact on the site’s success. So if you want your website to be successful, get familiar with color psychology!

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Relocating Your Business
Posted on Author Roxanne Demakis Categories Managed Services, Tech – Business

The Biggest IT Concerns When Relocating Your Business

When you decide to get involved in the process of relocating your business, it’s vital to take the time to map everything out so that the relocation is as smooth as possible and that you stay within the budget.

Here are the top concerns that you should keep in mind when relocating your business.

Equipment and Internet Installation

Many things go into pre-planning. One of the key ones will be thinking about how your equipment and internet will settle into the new environment. That is why you should always include your IT department when making plans for a big move. They are the ones that will be able to tell you if the real estate properties you found are suitable for the scale of your current and future operations.

Not only should you think about the hardware, but you should also think about the internet connection and software. Keeping these things in mind will save you heaps of money – imagine picking out a place, signing a lease, and finding out it doesn’t suit your business!

Another player to factor into planning is your internet provider. Not only are they great for consulting on these issues, but they’re also essential for setting the moving date. Since they need to be part of the moving process and relocate your IT infrastructure, you should look in advance if their schedule has an opening that suits you both.

If the provider is unavailable for a longer bout of time, it may be time to look for another internet provider.

Potential Loss of Productivity and Downtime

There may be a period of lower productivity you should account for, as well as a time when your systems are down. Even the best companies need to deal with those things when packing up equipment, scheduling providers, and moving from one place to another. Try thinking of a plan B that will lower the blow of losing time due to relocating the business. That way, it’ll be easier and quicker to set everything back up.

An efficient way not to slump in productivity is to have cloud-based solutions that let you work from anywhere, anytime. That way, your employees will be able to work from home temporarily. 

Possible Impact on Employees and Stakeholders

People are drawn to companies that make it convenient for them to come and work there. No one wants to spend 30 minutes each day looking for a parking spot. Your company can deal with this by renting a lot or paying for parking. But once more, this will affect the price of your move and needs to be considered.

Next, from the perspective of commuting, the location should be in a convenient area. Take into account the fact that nobody wants to commute for more than 30 minutes to work.

Thinking About Future Growth

Relocating Your Business IT Growth

When relocating your business, it’s crucial to consider how the new location will affect you in the long run.

It is essential to check whether the labor pool at your new site can accommodate any potential employee increase. It might not be a major concern if the majority of your growth will come from business professionals like developers, accountants, lawyers, and marketers.

However, if you need to hire 50 more people with in-depth knowledge of agriculture, you might want to research to see if the local labor pool genuinely has the potential for that.

This is not limited to human capital. It also applies to the requirement to expand your facility’s space.

Renovations

A thing to factor into future growth before relocating the business is possible renovations. Whether you need a server room, meeting space, or restroom facility, you must consider these updates and check with the professional IT team if their needs are met. For instance, they can let you know the ideal spaces for outlets and other tools if you’re building a new conference room.

Final Word

Once you have decided where, when, what, and who you’ll move to, make someone the designated point of contact for the relocation. They will be pretty busy with tasks of all sorts – from soliciting bids from movers to keeping staff in the loop about the plans.

In business, not every move works out. But by making sure the chosen location meets your needs, you increase the odds that the grass really will be greener and that your staff and yourself will flourish at the new location.

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gain ROI
Posted on Author Roxanne Demakis Categories Managed Services

How to Gain ROI from your Managed Service Provider?

Keeping your business up and running can be costly at times. Not to mention a gamble, particularly if you’re a startup.

A trustworthy IT service is not an expense – it’s an investment. Handing a portion of your responsibilities to a proven managed service provider adds value to your organization and helps you gain s return on investment (ROI).

Managed service providers function through economies of scale and shared resources. A proven provider helps you gain a measurable ROI. But some returns on your investment may be harder to quantify – that doesn’t mean you should overlook them.

The Benefits of Managed Service Providers

The demand for managed service providers rose in recent years for a good reason. CEOs and managers clearly see the value MSPs bring. Reports show that the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for a forecasted period of 2022-2027 is at 12.44%!

Here is a rundown of the most obvious ways MSPs benefit businesses:

  • They standardize processes – These are companies that are pros at what they do. They have a blueprint when approaching each new business and its challenges. They standardize processes, leading to better performance and lower costs.
  • They know everything about certain industries – Most great MSPs are experts in a few niches and industries. So when you pick them, you know you’re getting someone who is following the latest trends in your industry.

Top Ways You Gain ROI from MSPs

You’re not just choosing an MSP for a piece of mind – you’re choosing them to scale your business and gain ROI. So you need to choose wisely, otherwise, you risk not getting the neat perks we will be listing below.

Savings with Scalability

Let’s start with a short one, and with a benefit people tend to overlook – it’s much easier to scale up or down when using MSP services.

That way you can make sure you’re balanced in your spending, which can lead you to gain ROI. Saving through scalability means that you pay just for what you need. MSPs provide tailored packages. That is because even in one industry alone, not all businesses have the same needs. So MSPs offer custom-made packages, and it’s up to the user of the services to choose which one they need the most.

gain return on investment

Lower Downtime

Downtime is rarely cheap. In some companies, lost minutes amount to thousands of lost dollars.

When looking to gain ROI, pay attention to the downtime you experience before and after using MSPs. You will probably see that you were saving money when using MSP services, although the exact number varies from one situation to another. But overall, MSPs will provide support, strategic guidance, and an experienced team that knows the ins and outs of the industry and the potential crisis situations.

Pro tip: When trying to calculate your ROI and separate it from reduced downtime, it’s vital you find out exactly how much downtime you had before and after hiring your managed service provider. Furthermore, you should figure out how many of your employees were affected and how long each issue lasted.

Using the Latest Tech

You snooze, you lose. Or translated for this article – if you don’t keep up and innovate, you’ll bleed money eventually. MSPs help you keep up with the competition, as well as stand out – the perfect combo to gain ROI.

Some of the tech perks you get when working with MSPs:

  • AI technology that streamlines processes
  • Optimization for B2B customer profiles
  • CRM platforms and project manager platforms
  • State-of-the-art reports and data analysis 

By partnering with proven professionals, you’re taking the future-driven and proactive approach that leads you to gain ROI.

Project Delivery

You’d be unpleasantly surprised to find out how many businesses miss their project delivery deadline. Why does this happen?

Well, the reasons are many, but often we see businesses and organizations that fail to engage end-users, which leads to drop off and a needlessly missed chance of ROI. Other businesses overestimate themselves and realize in the middle of the project that they won’t be able to deliver everything required. Add inadequate project managers to the mix and you have the recipe for the perfect disaster. MSPs built the foundation of their whole industry based on efficient delivery management. An MSP with strategic expertise has little problem with meeting a deadline and executing projects.

Final Word

The ways MSPs help your business are many. In this blog post, we listed the most obvious ways you can gain ROI when partnering with a managed service provider.

If you’re smart with using your future MSP, you’ll be able to focus on other important business goals you have set.

If you want to be that smart, contact us at Demakis Technologies and begin your increased ROI journey by outsourcing your IT needs to a proven provider.

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Professional Web Design
Posted on Author Roxanne Demakis Categories Web Design

5 Reasons Professional Web Design is Crucial for Your Business

Professional web design is just as crucial to your business as content and images are. It’s a beautiful tool for one very useful thing – navigating the user through your website.

First impressions count, so your website can play a useful role in swaying potential customers your way immediately. You don’t want a website with a design that doesn’t suit your industry at all, because users’ brains will register that they’re in the wrong place, or in the hands of someone who can’t adequately help them.

So in this article, we’ll go over all the reasons why you should focus on telling a compelling story to users and offering a journey fitting to their needs and your industry.

It’s Where You Sell Your Product or Service

In a pandemic world, having a store that’s not solely brick-and-mortar is a must. Also, having a physical location for a store or service business can suck you dry, money-wise. Don’t get us started on the regulations and compliances.

Your website should be done by a professional designer, and that doesn’t always come cheap. But having a redesign once every 3 years isn’t a hefty investment spent unwisely. On the contrary. Good website design with a welcome look can retain customers and help you sell your product or service.

A well-branded website that is easy to navigate is much appreciated these days, especially as people are buying more and more via their smartphones – which leads us to the point that you need a mobile-optimized website.

Professional Web Design ui ux

It Builds Brand Trust and Reliability

Let’s expand a bit on first impressions. Modern website design leads to trust and the feeling your business is up to date. Or even better – looking into the future.

So instead of having users question your legitimacy due to poor design, you can aid your brand’s consistency by having users immediately spot your logo, colors, and style. Help yourself by reflecting on your brand and showing people they’re in the right place.

Your target market needs to be able to pick your brand out of sleight of others if needed. That is why redesigns need to be carefully done. You don’t want to lose your brand identity in the process, thus lowering your brand’s authority.

It Helps Establish Relationships with Customers

A relationship with another person needs a variety of components to be successful. You must interact with them and must be able to see them in some way. Additionally, you want to get to know them and make sure they get you.

The same thing happens when customers develop a relationship with your brand. Your potential consumers discover you and then explore your website to learn more. Through the content of your homepage, blog articles, and service pages, you communicate with them.

And your potential users should also have the feeling that you can truly recognize and meet their needs. That is why you need to know your target audience very well and pinpoint their wishes.

It’s Good for SEO

The most effective SEO strategy can have multiple positive outcomes for your business. And one of them is professional web design. Did you know that Google takes into account multimedia page elements in its ranking algorithm? You can also add relevant tags and coding elements to pages to maximize their visibility.

Enlisting the help of proven web designers can get you closer to that goal, as well as that coveted first page of Google results. They can factor in both on-page and off-page elements that can help your website’s standing.

A well-rounded code and a good SEO strategy that uses good quality content affect how Google and other search engines crawl and index a website. If the website is nicely designed and frequently updated, visibility won’t be that unreachable.

It Helps Keep Ahead of the Competition

Rest assured that your rivals are already enlisting experts to get that professional web design.

To remain in the game, your website should be in top-notch condition. As the pandemic changed our buying habits, people aren’t accessing services the same way as before. They want better, faster, and easier websites to spend their money and meet their needs.

With professional web design, transitioning into a new business reality can be much easier, and you’ll stay ahead of the competition!

Final Word

Stop wasting your time trying to learn a new skill as web design. You can be focusing on getting more clients. Your business revenue can skyrocket thanks to responsive and modern web design.

A professional-looking and credible website form the basis of your longevity. It also ensures that your brand identity is seen and heard. Whether you are searching for a cost-effective website design service for your blog or e-commerce store, many designers can help. You can browse through them and choose the one you feel will serve your needs.

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