Red

Red is an energizing color used to convey love, power, and even aggression. With red, context is essential, as well as the amount of red that you use. Used sparingly and in the right way, red can make quite an impact.

Pink

Pink is a softened version of red, romantic and hopeful, soothing and compassionate. It doesn’t stimulate the way red does so that it can be a good alternative in the right circumstance. But it can come across as immature, lacking power, so think carefully about what message you want to get across.

Yellow

Yellow connotes joy. It is the color children use to make a smiling sun. Why is the sun smiling? It just seems happy. Like red, yellow must be used sparingly. Too much yellow can cause feelings of anxiety.

Orange

Orange is a soothing color, representing the warmth of home, food, and family. Orange is motivating. The color of dark saffron and marigolds is also the most dominant color in India. You can see how significant orange is within eastern spirituality since Buddhist monks, Sikhs, and Hindu saints all wear the color.

Blue

Blue makes us think of purity, dependability, and peace. It is universally well-liked. This is one of the reasons you see it used on prominent social media platforms. It brings a sense of trust and relationship building. The one caveat is that blue can also come across as distant and cold if you don’t balance with other elements.

Purple

Purple balances the physical energy of red with the spiritual reliability of blue. Portraying royalty, magic, and courage, it is a color that promotes creativity. If it is overused, it can cause people to become distracted by introspective thoughts.

Green

Green portrays many things, nearly all of them positive. Because nature is filled with an abundance of green shades, we think of green as life-giving, peaceful, natural, healthy, and harmonious. And of course, we associate it with money in the United States since our paper money is green. That is where the only negative can come in. If you wish to portray greed, you can use green for that, as well.

Brown

Brown is boring. There. I’ve said it. It’s a beautiful color, but it will never lift anyone up or prompt them to act. That said, it is also safe. It will never upset anyone, either. It’s just…. brown. Avoid it if you can. It won’t add to your marketing campaign at all.

Gold

Gold is a luxury color as much as gold is a luxury item. Don’t overuse it or you risk looking tacky and egotistical. It is a great accent color, though, especially when paired with another color that can convey the message you want to get across.

Learn More about Color Psychology for your Website

•         Hubspot did a button color test and found a red call to action button outperformed a green one by 21%.  That’s amazing! The only thing they changed was the color of the button.
•         Iconic Fox has created a fantastic infographic on color psychology.

How to Get Clicks

This brief overview barely skimmed the surface of how color affects our buying decisions. The good news is that you don’t have to become an expert on color psychology. Our web designers and digital marketers understand what makes consumers click. To increase your conversions, contact us today! 

The post Color Psychology and Your Website appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.

In general, we recommend a total website makeover every two to three years to keep up with current design and development trends. Security is another reason for revamping your website every few years. But there are other indicators that it’s time for a new online look.

You’ve made changes to your core values or processes

Has your business received an internal makeover in the last year, but your branding hasn’t received an external one? Maybe you’ve hired new employees or had significant employee turnover. Perhaps you’ve increased your product offering or niched down to serve a more specific audience. Your website should reflect your business – values, services, staff, and processes. Businesses are ever-changing entities, and as yours grows and changes, so should your website.

You’ve Decided to Add Integrations to Your Site

Websites are no longer just for bringing in clients. They are business tools that you can use to hire people, portals for members, renters, or employees, payment centers, and more! If you can imagine it, it most likely can be done.

You’ve started investing in SEO or online ads

If you’re focusing on bringing traffic to your website, you want to make the best possible first impression on your new website visitors. Your website should be up to date and have a straightforward design that lets your website traffic know what they should do. Powerful calls to action on every page will help convert traffic into customers.

Your Site Doesn’t Have a Mobile-Friendly Design

Half of all website traffic comes from mobile users, yet not all websites are mobile-friendly.[1] When encountering a website that is difficult to view on smartphones or tablets, mobile users often become frustrated and leave for another site.

<side by side images of mobile-friendly vs. non-mobile design>

Your Page Loads Slower Than 3 Seconds

Google ranks websites primarily for customer experience. Page speed is an essential factor in a website user’s experience. People are impatient and will click back on a slow site.

•         The ideal website load time for mobile sites is 1-2 seconds.
•         53% of mobile site visits are abandoned if pages take longer than 3 seconds to load.
•         A 2-second delay in load time resulted in abandonment rates of up to 87%.

How fast is your website? You can find out by using Google’s Page Speed Insights. Just put the page URL into the search bar at the top of the page, and within a minute, you will know whether it is fast (green), slow (red), or somewhere in the middle (yellow).

You Wrote Your Website Content

Most business owners write too technically because they know their business’s ins and outs and want to share it all. Professional content writers write from a sales standpoint. We know how to attract site viewers and convert them into customers. We also know how to increase your ranking on a Google search engine results page. This will make your site easier to find when someone searches for a business like yours online.

Nobody is Filling Out Your Website Contact Forms

If people visit your page, but they aren’t filling out your contact form, it is a good indication that you need a layout upgrade, content with the right calls to action, and maybe even a giveaway or lead magnet.

Your top competitor just redesigned their website

If you are going to compete, you have to play on the same field. We always look at what the competition is doing when we redesign a website.

Are you ready for your new website? Contact us today!

[1] Clement, J. “Mobile Percentage of Website Traffic 2020.” Statista, 19 Nov. 2020, www.statista.com/statistics/277125/share-of-website-traffic-coming-from-mobile-devices/.

The post How Do You Know It’s Time for a New Website? appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.

“The 10,000 foot-view of these trends makes it clear that ‘web’ design looks more like traditional ‘graphic’ or ‘print’ design than ever.
The amount of flexibility that designers in being expressive and creatively nimble is astonishing compared to just five or ten years ago.”
–Khoi Vinh, Senior Director of Product Design at Adobe XD.[1]

A dominating grid of cards

Websites are commonly laid out on a grid. Grid web layouts are a direct descendent of the grids used in print layouts. They are consistent, regardless of the screen size on which it is reproduced, allowing them to work well with responsive designs. Read more about the history of the grid as an element of design. Grids can vary in size, spacing, and the number of columns.

Cards are the perfect companion for the grid layout. Cards are essentially containers for clickable information. The style of cards can vary based on screen size. Information heavy content can be arranged in bite-sized previews, which users can dive into by clicking or tapping the card. This is particularly useful on sites that display a lot of items with equal hierarchy (Think Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube).

Muted landscapes

These make beautiful heroes (the large banner area at the top of the website which takes up most of the screen). Popular with photographer’s websites, they are also well-utilized in travel and destination websites such as this site for Trail Breaker Kennel.

Geometric shapes and lines

Geometric shapes, lines (including fine lines), and patterns are making a comeback. Our all-star example of this is the creative innovation company 4000 More Creative. The logo alone includes all of it: Geometric shapes, Lines (including fine lines) and patterns. This site is also an excellent example of…

Trendy color schemes

Trendy color schemes like bright bold colors and retro color schemes are both big this year. Bold colors are used throughout the 4000 More Creative site, but their pineapple takes the upside-down cake.
Just for bonus points, 4000 More Creative uses a video hero, which we looked at last week.

Compatible Visual Design

The goal of visual design isn’t just to be trendy. It’s being compatible with the message of the website. That’s why the 4000 More Creative site can utilize extra creative elements. Trail Breaker Kennel and other destination type sites want to visually transport you. That takes something epic and mystical like a muted landscape. A dominating grid of cards is perfect for a paint store like Hirschfield’s. It evokes the feeling of looking at paint chips in a brick and mortar paint store.

Iceberg Web Design creates websites that are innovative in visual design and compatible with the message that their client wants to send. Contact us today to see how we can help you tell your story.

[1] Turner, Leigh. “10 Web Design Trends That Will Dominate Your Screen in 2020.” Fundamentals | The Next Web, 20 Dec. 2019, thenextweb.com/adobe-fundamentals/2019/12/20/10-web-design-trends-that-will-dominate-your-screen-in-2020/.

The post Visual Design Trends appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.

Not a superhero—a website hero! A hero is the first thing a user encounters on the homepage of a website. It usually takes up most of the screen space and has a minimal amount of text with a call to action. Heroes are one of the biggest website trends of 2020.

There are many benefits to utilizing this space with a hero:

• The hero will generally be the first image your users will encounter on your site. Because of this, they can make an impactful first impression.
• Heroes set the stage for what users will associate with your business. Send a meaningful message.
• A hero graphic allows users to focus in on and connect with the most important message on your homepage, rather than allowing their attention to be distracted by multiple areas of competing content.
• Action heroes! Hero graphics are great for displaying a call to action.
• Heroes grab the user’s attention and encourage them to view more of your site.
•  Hero graphics are a flexible design element. You can use them to achieve the thing you want most from your web marketing. Is there a message you want to promote? Do you want to feature a new product? They can solidify your company’s image in your customer’s minds.

A hero isn’t perfect. Here are some of the flaws you may find:

• Most hero areas are very large, so they take up a lot of screen space. While this has the above-listed benefits, there are drawbacks to them when users need to find important information quickly. You certainly wouldn’t want a hero on an emergency services website.
• Heroes on responsive websites lose their impact on mobile devices. That’s a problem, since “Almost three quarters (72.6 percent) of internet users will access the web solely via their smartphones by 2025, equivalent to nearly 3.7 billion people.”[1]
• Large heroes=longer loading time. Consider that “a one-second delay in page load time has been shown to cause a 7 percent loss in conversion and 11 percent fewer page views.”[2]
• If your hero takes up the entire screen, it might be unclear to users that there is additional content below.
• It may not be clear to users that there is more content below the hero area.

Hero Trends for 2020

Trend: Big, beautiful, backgrounds.

A great example of this is the website we built for G’s Café. G’s is an Irish Café in historic, downtown Anoka, Minnesota. The hero reflects that. The best part is that every page has one of these background images that show the mouth-watering dishes served at G’s.

Trend: Text Only Heroes/Minimalism

Text only and minimalism is a huge trend in 2020. When we built the site for the information technology company,Tailwind, we utilized this concept. The duotone colors and elegant lines express the concept of information and data transfer. As you scroll down, you see the result of that: action.

Trend: Hero Video Headers

Right Turn Recruiting  Is a truck driver recruiting agency that’s “dedicated to 100% driver satisfaction.” The website that we created gets that message across from the moment you open the page. Professionalism and respect for the driver are expressed through a video hero. Video heroes capture the user’s attention and draw you into the message at the same time.

Trend: An Emotional Response from an Image

The site we created for the Animal Behavior Clinic of New Jersey is the perfect example of creating an emotional response with an image. If you are searching for help to modify your pet’s behavior this will grab you. Who wouldn’t love to see this in their pets? This image offers that hope.

Trend: Balance

A powerful image can balance a text-heavy website. That was our goal with the site we put together for Agility IRL. Agility IRL is a leadership training company. There is a lot that can be said about their service—so we say it. But, we also balance that out with beautiful images that express the goals of leadership training and coaching.

If you need a hero when it comes to putting together a powerful website contact us. We are web developers who answer the phone.

[1] Handley, Lucy. “Nearly Three-Quarters of the World Will Use Just Their Smartphones to Access the Internet by 2025.” CNBC, CNBC, 24 Jan. 2019, www.cnbc.com/2019/01/24/smartphones-72percent-of-people-will-use-only-mobile-for-internet-by-2025.html.

[2] “What Is Page Load Time and Why Is It Important?” BigCommerce, 27 Feb. 2020, www.bigcommerce.com/ecommerce-answers/what-page-load-time-and-why-it-important/.

The post Everyone Needs A Hero appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.

As more and more of our daily activities shift to being online, it makes sense that most shopping happens online as well. Almost every company sells their products online and it’s a mystery as to how they stay competitive, especially during the busiest shopping time of the year… Well, let’s clear things up with

Go Mobile

We are living in the age of smartphones where people use their iPhone more than they would use a laptop, desktop, or tablet. While most businesses have taken advantage of this opportunity and created mobile-friendly sites that are easy to navigate, many still have yet to board the mobile train. Creating an online store that works flawlessly on mobile browsers will allow for easy click through and provide less interference during the search process.

Include All the Holidays

People love to shop, especially when they have a good reason to. Most forget, or don’t even know, but the holiday season is made up of much more than just Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. For instance, there is Singles Day, which reached a record high of $30.8 Billion in sales this year across Chinese e-commerce shopping platforms. There’s also Small Business Saturday, which reached a record high of $3.02 Billion in online sales. Make sure to engage beyond traditional holidays and reach into other markets!

Here is a list from Brightpearl of key dates to be aware of during the holiday season for your business.

Quick and Painless Shipping

It’s already difficult getting people to actually buy the items that are in their cart… Why make it more difficult by charging them a shipping fee once they decide to go through with the purchase? It is highly beneficial to offer free and fast shipping at checkout, especially during the holiday season because most people procrastinate buying gifts or they are tight on money. Offering free and fast shipping will make all the difference.  

Looking to Sell Online? Call Us!

We have worked with numerous businesses to create e-commerce websites that are user-friendly and help increase conversions. Feel free to check out our portfolio to explore some of our e-commerce websites and make sure to call today for a free consultation!

The post E-Commerce Holiday Shopping Trends appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.

As the owner of Iceberg Web Design, I would like to personally invite you to join me at the Real Connections Chapter of BNI on Wednesday, April 23rd.

I will be giving a 10 minute presentation on website design as Iceberg enters our 10th year in business this spring. During the presentation, I will be showcasing some of the hottest new trends in website design for 2014.

Here is a list of a few hot design trends I’ll be covering in the presentation:

• Responsive Web Design: This was 2013’s biggest website design movement, and it is still at the front runner for must-have websites today. A study was released just last month suggesting that 30% of e-commerce website traffic came from mobile devices in 2013. In this world of smartphones and tablets, a responsive design is a must for every business.
• Flat Design: Apple nailed this design technique with the iOS7 update, and websites are trending along the same design practices. 3D graphics, shadows, gradients, and textures are out. Clean lines, straight edges, and solid colors are in.
• Modern Fonts: Google Fonts have become very popular in website design over the last few years, and are now commonplace in modern website design.
• Sticky Headers: Keep your logo and navigation menu easily accessible to your website visitors by incorporating a sticky header on the top of your website.
• Animations and Parallax Effects: Subtle text and graphic animations and backgrounds add interest and movement to the flat design technique that has become so popular.

You will also have a chance to introduce your own business to a group of networking professionals.

Additional Event Details

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2014

7:30 – 9:00 a.m.

Coon Rapids Ice Center

11000 Crooked Lake Blvd.

Coon Rapids, MN 55433

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Please be sure to bring at least 50 business cards with you, as visitors are encouraged to pass their cards around the room when they introduce themselves. This is a free event! If you’d like more information about our chapter, we are also holding a visitor day on April 16th.

BNI, or Business Network International, is a worldwide referral-based networking organization. The philosophy of BNI is built upon the idea of “Givers Gain®”: By giving business to others, you will get business in return. This is predicated on the age-old idea of “What goes around, comes around.” Our chapter, Real Connections, has 23 members and has closed more than $1 million in business from referrals passed in the last 12 months.

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The post Join me for Networking and a presentation on Web Design appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.

Don’t forget to take a look at your business website while cleaning up this spring! The average business redesigns their website every three years. If your website hasn’t received a major overhaul since 2012, chances are your competition is sporting a more modern, updated website than you are.

We have been doing a bit of house cleaning ourselves! Last week, we rolled out a new, updated website for Iceberg. We’ve incorporated some of 2014’s hottest new website design trends into the new site.

Fancy website features – the hottest trends of 2014:

• Flat Design: We cleaned up the layout and incorporated a flat design technique, to help emphasize content as the focust of the site.
• Responsive: As with nearly all of our recent development projects, our new website is optimized for Desktop, Laptop, Tablet, and Smartphone browsing.
• Modern Fonts: Google Fonts have become very popular in website design over the last few years. Our new site uses the Google Font Open Sans, along with a couple other modern fonts.
• Sticky Header: (Desktop viewing) Tired of scrolling up and down on a website just to access the navigation menu? Our new website features a navigation menu that stays put – no matter how deep into a page you are.
• Multi-Layer Home Page Slider: If there’s one feature for you to click on our website link for, this is it. The home page slideshow has been standard in website development for years. Now we’re taking it to the next level with multiple layers in each slide, animated text, and unique transition effects.
• Animations and Parallax Effects: Subtle text animations on the home page and in the footer add a nice little piece of interest to the site.
• AJAX Sortable Portfolio: Our website development portfolio has also been updated. Along with a few new projects in the mix, we have enabled an AJAX sorting, so you can quickly view projects by type with a click of your mouse (or tap of your fingertip!).

Hop on over to www.icebergwebdesign.com to take a look!

The post Iceberg launches new website appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.

If you have an iPhone and have upgraded to iOS7, you are familiar with the new user interface. The look is sleek, without color gradients, shading, or three-dimensional looking icons. The fonts are modern, and simple text links replace the old shaded buttons and fancy arrows. This design technique is called “Flat Design,” and it is quickly becoming a popular trend in website design.

The term “Flat Design” comes from the fact that it removes almost all traces of gradients, drop shadows, and textures from the visual design. No more beveled buttons, bulging icons, or drop-shadows on pictures: the design is clean and looks “flat” as the term suggests.

If you think your company would benefit from this modern design approach,contact Iceberg Web Design for information and more examples of this design technique.

The post 2014: What’s New in Website Design? appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.

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Click here for more information and to see examples of responsive website design.

The post The #1 Website Design Trend in 2013: Responsive Websites appeared first on Iceberg Web Design.