out of the blue

In Michigan these days, it’s getting increasingly more difficult to run across good news.  Which is why when I ran across a contest that could help some of you Michiganders out there, I had to blog!

By now we all know the importance of having a good website on the internet, especially during a recession.  While many people are giving up their vacations, cable, and other luxuries, the one thing they’re not going to give up is the internet.  Think job search!

Therefore, it is increasingly important to make sure that your business, organization, etc. has a clean, attractive functioning website.   It does not have to be top of the line right now, just able to advertise your product appropriately.  Once the money comes in, then you can make the necessary additions.

But a lot of people don’t even have the money right now to get a lower-end site started and this is understandable.   It’s a catch 22 because you don’t want to have a free junky website representing your business and giving the wrong image to the customer, but you can’t make the money until you start to represent your business on the web…it’s a vicious cycle.  Two possible solutions for a new business owner:

*Enter the GreenLite Web Contest.  GreenLite Web, a web design company in East Lansing, MI recently launched a contest to design a site to a deserving business or organization.  Click here for more details.

*Go with a BizWebMachine site.  Your very own DPro Marketing in Rochester, MI has an affordable solution for starting websites for companies.  It’s a modular-based web design program that allows us to quickly and effectively build your company a website that looks profession and is not a template.  The finished product will look top-notch and compete with the best in the industry while at the same time, remain affordable enough for you.  For examples, check out ValhallaLodgeMi.com or Intelliroast.com.

Whatever you decide to do,  just hang tough.  Good times are ahead!

When checking my Google Alerts this morning, I came across a site worth sharing.  The flavored water company, Fruit2O, just launched their new site at fruit2O.com and it’s marketing at its best.  The colors are vibrant and the site navigation is flawless- easy for even the simplest of simpletons (me) to understand.  It doesn’t bombard the potential customer with useless information.  It just makes you want to drink Fruit2O.  Or look at the website- I must admit, the colors are so enchanting, I find myself clicking back and forth between Dproblue and Fruit2O just to look at the colors.  Check it out- you can get some good ideas for your own site- or just admire a good site.

If you’re just in beginning stages of designing your website, it’s not necessarily a bad idea to check out your competition.  Even competition that is not local.  While you could google for hours on end, a simpler way is to just check out the best of the best.  Where, Jade,  you ask?  Why, just go to view past winners and nominees of The Webby Awards.  The Webby Awards were started in 1996 and are considered “TheInternet’s Highest Honor” (The New York Times).  Awards are broken down into categories, making it simple to find your competition.  You can get great ideas for site here.  Hey, go big or go home, right?