Blog
05.17.2010
This private Seattle bed and breakfast had a website, but the Innkeeper wanted to increase search engine optimization efforts. To give Soundview Cottage an instant boost, we moved the site to WordPress, a content management system that includes wonderful SEO benefits right out of the box.
We designed the new Soundview Cottage website to look very similar in style to the old website and used WordPress’ capabilities to add a blog and photo gallery to the site.
In addition to designing a custom WordPress theme for Soundview Cottage, we used advanced SEO techniques to help Soundview rank for their most important search terms.
Working with Annie from Soundview Cottage is truly a pleasure. If you’re going to be in the Seattle area, I highly recommend inquiring about a reservation!
Tags: Clients, SEO, WordPress Websites
Posted in Clients, Wordpress | No Comments »
08.12.2009
Just as many other companies and designers are doing, Mad Hatter will no longer hack up our code to make websites compatible with the dinosaur web browser, Internet Explorer 6. We wish we could drop support for IE all together, but we won’t do that to you.
So, don’t expect us to correct problems for IE6. We won’t do it. IE6 must die!
Clients – If your customers report problems accessing your site, please get the browser name and version number from them. It is important that you tell your customers that IE6 is no longer supported and that they should get with the digital times and upgrade to, at the very least, IE 8!
With this in mind, I thought it best to send a list of guidelines for submitting support requests to me. Should your customers report a problem, I will need NO LESS than the following information from you in order to repair the issue:
1. The exact URL of the page the customer is trying to access. Please have them copy and paste it.
2. The name and version number of the web browser your customer is using. Please note: If they are using IE6 or below, you must inform them that support has been dropped and they will need to upgrade their browser to view your site (and the rest of the web) correctly. Mad Hatter will not support technical issues for those viewing your site in IE6.
3. A thorough description of the problem, including any and all error messages.
Without these three items, your support request will not be processed. Please get as much information as possible from your customer. If you would like a “Report a Problem” button placed on your site that will send support requests directly to me, I can provide this service for you. Extra costs will be incurred as I would be handling any incoming emails and gathering the information myself. You are welcome to gather your own information and send it along to me.
Please see this article for more info on the death of IE 6: http://mashable.com/2009/07/16/ie6-must-die/
Tags: IE6, Web Browsers
Posted in Blog, Clients, General Stuff, News, Web | No Comments »
08.11.2009
From now until the end of August, all fans of Mad Hatter Design + Media’s Facebook page will receive a FREE logo design package with the purchase of a website design package (WordPress or HTML).
Don’t miss this end-of-summer special for Facebook Fans ONLY! 
Posted in Blog, Business, Clients, Specials | No Comments »
07.21.2009
Yes, that’s right – clients can be fired by their designers. It happens all the time, mostly because of a lack of compatibility between client and designer. Generally, though, the designer becomes irritated by the way a client does business.
Here is a quick list of tips to keep you from being fired by your designer:
1. Be organized. One of the biggest complaints designers have about their clients is how clients manage information. If you don’t have your thoughts together, you won’t be able to fully convey what you want to your designer. This results in your designer delivering results that are incomplete or off the mark, which in turn will make you angry or frustrated with your designer. Keeping emails to a minimum, or consolidating lots of tiny pieces of information can also help you stay organized. Get organized before you contact your designer and the relationship is sure to be much smoother.
2. Know what you want. Your designer is not a mind reader. You have to know what you want before you hire a designer. If you don’t know what you want, you won’t be happy with anything your designer sends your way – and your designer won’t know which direction to go.
3. Be honest. Need an extra week to pay your invoice? Don’t care for a concept your designer sent? Just tell them. Most designers are understanding – it’s the nature of the business. But we don’t tolerate dishonesty or no communication. Sometimes a quick email is all it takes.
4. Respect the designer’s boundaries. Most designers have set hours that they take phone calls or work on projects. This is because they have to be in the creative zone to do actual design work. If your designer asks you not to call on Tuesday, don’t do it. If your designer asks you to leave voicemail or email regarding your needs, do it. This will help the designer complete your project more quickly because they won’t be interrupted by calls while they’re working.
5. Pay up! One of the quickest ways to be fired by your designer is to not pay your invoices. If you need more time, communicate that with your designer. Otherwise, get them paid! Most designers need invoices paid quickly for cash flow purposes. Just do it. It’s the right thing to do.
6. Don’t ask for a public critique without your designer’s consent. This may sound strange, but asking for a crtique of a design piece on a public forum is not acceptable unless the designer has given consent. The reason for this is because most people on a public forum do not have the background information needed to make an informed opinion. They may not be your target audience. They may post derrogatory or demeaning comments regarding the design, which in turn can harm the designer’s public image. Asking for public opinion during the design process can also be harmful to your own perception of the design piece. Work it out with the designer, and do public testing together, in a controlled environment.
That’s it! Stay tuned for a post for designers – Don’t Get Fired by Your Client!
Tags: Business, Client Relationships, Designer Relationships
Posted in Business, Clients, Graphic Designers, Uncategorized | No Comments »
01.28.2009
Wanna know a secret? Sure, you do! There is a surefire way to help your business grow. It’s not shameless promotion (well, some of it is), and it’s not whoring yourself out to people for too low of a rate. The secret? Blog. About everything. It’s not hard. I’ll give you a perfect example of how and why blogging for your business works.
Let’s use my dear friend Mirella, who creates beautiful wedding flowers, as an example…I know she won’t mind.
Mirella started her floral business in 2008. It was getting steady, but not really taking off the way she wanted. Mirella starting blogging. Religiously. So much so that I’m embarrassed by my puny amount of posts!
So, she blogged. Then she blogged some more. And you know what? She’s still blogging. Mirella writes about things other than flowers. She writes about wedding planners and graphic designers and anything she thinks might interest her clientele. The woman is a blogging machine. She also promotes her newest creations, seasonal flowers, and wedding shows that she’s attended.
To help further boost her traffic and get some qualified leads, Mirella developed a contest for new brides on her blog. The contest has helped her gather incredibly hot leads for new brides who need wedding flowers. And she blogged all about it.
One of the most interesting things I’ve found is how Mirella’s blogging has boosted traffic to my own site. She interviewed the Mad Hatter on her blog and that one post sends tons of traffic to my site. Mirella’s efforts to boost her own traffic are spilling over into the worlds of those she blogs about. What a fabulous way to build business relationships and trust with other business owners! Just fab.
Ok, so it’s not really a secret that blogging works for business, but so many people don’t do it (or slack off, like me) and there’s just no excuse. It’s one of the cheapest, easiest, most effective ways to drive traffic to your website. Let’s not neglect blogging any longer!
So, if you’re not sure how to get started with your blog, it’s best to talk to a *cough* blog designer to find out. WordPress blogs are pretty simple and straightforward, but you’ll want to host it on your own domain – none of this WordPress.com stuff. Again, if you’re not sure what this means, I know an awesome WordPress blog designer who can explain all the technical stuff!
Happy blogging, people!
Tags: Blogging, Business, Wordpress
Posted in Blogging, Business, Clients, Wordpress, rAnts aNd RaVeS | 3 Comments »
01.05.2009
Mad Hatter Design Co. is proud to announce the launch of another fab Virtual Assistant service, Diamond Virtual Services!
The wonderful Erika Meiser of Diamond Virtual Services wanted an elegant and professional logo and website that included her chosen colors. Erika’s eggplant and cocoa color combo is a sure-fire winner! Erika’s site also includes some cool features like live chat and embedded video!Also, be sure to check out her blog!
Thanks for a fun project, Erika! We look forward to seeing your success in 2009!
Posted in Branding, Clients, Launches, News | No Comments »
12.15.2008
KathyCrofoot.com actually launched a while back, and I was slacking in my launch announcements! Please forgive me!
Kathy’s logo and site have been an absolute joy to develop. Her style and and personality truly show through in her unique logo design.
Kathy asked me to use some special lettering to develop a font for her logo. It’s the Kathy Font! If you haven’t read her About Page to hear the story of her logo, you definitely should!
Kathy’s site is WordPress-based, and includes a blog section. It’s bright, uplifting, and truly unique!
Thanks, Kathy! It’s been a pleasure!
Posted in Branding, Clients, Launches | No Comments »
12.15.2008
Mad Hatter would like to announce a new website design that launched this month!
HaloSecretarialServices.com is an awesome VA specializing in virtual legal assistance. Laurie Mapp of Halo asked Mad Hatter to give her site and blog a fresh, new color scheme and to revamp her logo with the new color choices.
We’re so proud of how it came out! Check out Laurie’s website and blog!
Posted in Branding, Clients, Launches | No Comments »
09.08.2008
If you’re in the Toronto area, you don’t want to miss this ball! Une Belle Soirée is the grand opening event for Rainflower Company, my dear friend’s fabulous new floral design company. You may have seen her site listed in our web portfolio. We built a fabulous custom WordPress theme centered around Rainflower’s branding and Mirella’s lovely design. Please stop by to see her beautiful work, and if you’re in Toronto, you’ll want to attend the grand opening for the chance to win prizes and receive special offers on flowers and event design services! (Yeah, we know it’s RSVP by the 12th, but drop us a line and we’ll make sure you get to partake in the goodies!)
Posted in Clients, Events, News, Uncategorized | No Comments »
