Articles by Dana

It was time to reload and show the world the progress and growth Web Design Solutions has made this past year! We are extremely excited about launching this new site which is also now being managed by Web Shop Manager (WSM) eCommerce and Content Management System (CMS).

We look forward to any feedback you might have on how we can improve the WDS experience or contact us if you are interested in finding out if Web Design Solutions, Inc. is right for you.

As part of moving from Hillcrest to Normal Heights / Adams Ave. Web Design Solutions is being welcomed as members of the Adams Avenue Business Association. Stop by and see us any time for a web design consultation at our San Diego corporate offices...

Web Design Solutions, Inc.
2840 Adams Ave., Suite 302
San Diego, CA, 92116
Phone: (619) 282-0424
Fax:     (888) 819-2968

We're always asked by our new clients if there is anything they can to to help our Web Designers through the process of creating their online presence. To that we reply with an enthusiastic and resounding YES! Of course you're hiring us to take care of the whole process, but the more direction we have the better the end result will be.

• Decide what style website you want - retro, future, art deco, classy, simple, contemporary, web 2.0, glossy, organic.
• Take note of other sites that you like or dislike, what about your competitors websites or even websites you visit every day?
• Take great care filling out our Website Design Questionnaire.
• Create your own basic flow chart on how you want the site to flow. Figure out what content pages you must have. Figure out how want a visitor to flow through the site? Are you going to have video, a blog, photo gallery. Planning these sort of site characteristics opens up creative doors at the beginning of the process and are much easier to implement sooner than later.
• Gather design elements and images that you would like to have on your site. If you see a great photo, or a perfect texture or graphic, collect them send them to your designer so he/she can incorporate them into the web design early on.
• Take an active role during the design process. Create a wishlist and push the envelope on what you think is possible. Let your website design team know if they are going in the right direction or sailing into left field. Be active, ask questions, give feedback and input. Don't be shy, this is your website!

Being a Web Development firm at our core, we create a lot of big projects from the ground up. The most affordable, successful, complete, on time projects always start with a detailed specifications sheet. Literally a 10 page, outline format description of every view and page on the site that a visitor would see. There are multiple reasons for this...

• To get an accurate price quote quote before committing to the project and development team.
• Something to point to if later there is a question about what was going to be done for the money being paid.
• The web designers would use this as a basis for creating all the screen shots and UI for your site.
• The developers would use this to make sure they have a clear view of all features needed for initial planning.
• To show your investors or later your purchasing party for a better valuation of the company & website.
• Most important, it allows your team to get all your thoughts together in one place.

The only thing that could be done to improve on this, for pre-production documentation is a full set of wire frames ensuring information architecture is ideal. This is a service we offer, regardless of if your planning on using us or putting out the spec for bid.

Our biggest hurdle in meeting customer expectations is understanding what it is that they like or what creatively. Part of that is customer communication and feedback on the design services we provide, that is why I decided to share today the most amazing logo feedback we have ever received after building hundreds of website logos (and website designs) over the last decade. This is in response to 8 logo concepts...

I like the logos. Some more than others, but Here is my review of each:

Logo 1: I like how the font is two tone and the logo is appealing, but appears to 'fitness' and less holistic, though. The font is mediocre.
Logo 2: Less appealing logo than 1 but I prefer the side by side logo and words.
Logo 3: Excellent use of logo and name. However, I fear that the logo will not be sufficient standing alone.
Logo 4: I didn't know that was a tree. LOL. I'm not a fan of the red, but the logo is good (minus tree). Also, we are not fans of the stacked words.
Logo 5: Alien logo? Font is killer, though!! Logo I could do without.
Logo 6: Perfect. My partner still needs convincing on this, but I love it. It's very creative, fresh and alluring. I am inspired by the logo, font and color coordination. I would love to see this in grey instead of black with sherbert orange accents somewhere, though. Can we do that?
Logo 7: Very 'magazine' Great for print, bad for web. Seems motorsport looking. I love how you are not afraid to utilize shading and fade. Overall, I like where you were headed with this one.
Logo 8: Very eye catching and memorable, but same as 7, as it appears motorsport. Put that font on a motorcycle exhaust and I'll buy it. Maybe this look would be good for muscular health or strength training products for us, though.

Let's see some modifications based on these comments, as well as a closer look at logo 4,6, and 7 in particular.

Moving forward with this feedback we were able to create 8 more concepts and from those the client selected a few that were 'amazing' to mock up in the template design we began working on and the final logo was selected based on a combination of what looked best in the design as well as on a business card.

If you have been looking for the ultimate Automotive eCommerce solution you have come to the right place. Created by an automotive enthusiast for the automotive aftermarket Automotive Web Shop Manager has every feature you could want. The fact remains that people do not want to buy parts from a broker they want to buy from another enthusiast who will help them when they have tech questions and be there to if they need help. Our platform with its complete Automotive Content Management System allows you to post engine tech articles; upload classic car restoration photo; create frequently asked questions and answers; present a survey on what aftermarket lines you should offer next; show a schedule of events including what days you will be at SEMA; even link to partner performance automotive websites.

Here are some more advantages to Web Shop Manager our Automotive Shopping Cart...

• Entire team of passionate automotive aftermarket enthusiasts.
• Top shelf, conversion oriented automotive website design.
• Best in class seamless Catalog Rack DCi eStore integration.
• Year, Make, Model, Color, Size Attributes & Options.
• Statistical dashboard covering sales and inquiries.
• Extensive built in customizable & automatic SEO.
• Google feed uploaded automatically to Google Shopping.
• Yahoo and other shopping site product feeds available.
• Integrated live chat, increase conversions to 20%!
• Web Shop Manager your automotive content management system.
• Extensive Import and Export tools with scheduling.
• Photo Gallery, Event Calendar, News Blog, Surveys, Links.
• Domain Name, Dedicated IP, Secure Checkout, PCI Compliance.
• Internal credit card processing AND/OR paypal processing.
• Revolutionary cart, wish list, and one page checkout.
• Live UPS, Fed Ex or custom shipping rate quotes.
• Limitless coupon, promotion, & order discount system.
• Built in cross sell, up sell, product reviews, Tell-a-friend.
• Automatic real-time Quickbooks and Shipworks integration.
• Total customer relationship management inquiry system.
• Extensive logging and reporting to keep tabs on your business.
• Domain redirects and landing pages for marketing and SEO.
• Point Of Sale order management & processing interface.
• Spend your time making more car parts and truck parts sales!

Get a Free Web Shop Manager Quote Now!

Having been involved with automotive ecommerce websites since the mid ninety's we have seen the growth of technology for the automotive aftermarket sector first hand. It is amazing to see the growth of the internet surrounding a field where most people are restoring vintage rides and avoiding technology for the sake of simplicity and nostalgia. On the other end of the spectrum, our new vehicles have become so advanced that aftermarket manufacturers are faced with the challenge of developing upgrades and enhancements that don't require professional certification to install at home.

Being the leading provider of automotive eCommerce sites on our platform Web Shop Manager, our company Web Design Solutions has been faced with the similar challenges of designing aftermarket websites in a medium that is flat and two dimensional but striving for end results that come alive with texture and depth. Our number one goal is to develop simple and clean user interface that facilitates organize the enormous amounts of automotive data that is available to our store owners.

What is the most exciting right now is the advancements in what is often called Guided Navigation or Layered Search, one of the best examples of this is Newegg which provides you a myriade of attributes to "drill down" that are specific to each category. What this does is allow you to organize your products into more general categories but then provide many ways for the user to essentially build their own category tree on the fly. In the automotive aftermarket take intake manifolds for instance, one user may want to see all manifolds with a polished finish while another wants to see all manifolds that accept a square bore carburetor.

You might say this is not really much more that an advanced Year Make Model lookup like you see on many performance aftermarket websites now, but there is a lot more than goes into it. Specifically linking up attributes to the appropriate categories on the fly and only asking for vehicle information when its critical to select the proper sku to make the purchase. Many consumer may not want to enter their vehicle information until they have found the product they want to purchase, while others may want to put their vehicle in first so they they don't waste time looking at items that may not fit what their car or truck.