Client: My Independent Contractor
Location: Chico, CA
Industry: Independent Contractors, Construction
Spotlight: Create a web site which allows independent contractors to create their own website
Technologies used: PHP, MySQL, HTML & CSS, JavaScript, Flash, XML

Read more about My Independent Contractor

When asked by the owners of McGrath Woodworks to create a website for their business, Chico Web Design’s creativity kicked into high gear! With no previous website or marketing materials, Chico Web Design started from scratch to create McGrath Woodworks brand and image. From business cards, tradeshow banners and truck magnets, to a fully dynamic website.

McGrath Woodworks needed a solution which allowed them to easily update and maintain their own products. We had the perfection solution for them. With our Mavieo Content Management system, we were able to seamlessly integrate their websites look and feel with a graphical administration interface making uploading products, modifying content, and editing categories a breeze.

Launch McGrath Woodworks

Other Design Items

After creating a logo & website design, McGrath Woodworks asked us if we did business cards, tradeshow banners, and car magnets.  The answer is yes!  We’ll be placing them in our portfolio shortly.

Whitchurch Racing, a local father and son Racing team needed a logo design and t-shirt designed that matched their style and racing… See More

“Here you go, I’ll send the logo over in a Microsoft Word Document!” As a designer, I hear these words far too often and my fellow creative artists will we agree with me when I say it makes us all cringe just a little bit. Let me tell you why.

A well-designed logo is the corner stone of your business. It’s a staple of who you are, what your business stands for, and it’s brand recognition you want associated with your company.

A good logo is

• Simple
• Recognizable
• Scalable

Simple

Think logos such as Nike, Target, or Apple. When you break down the fundamentals of their logo concept and execution, it’s quite effortless. A simple logo communicates a clear message; brand recognition and readability. Nike’s logo was originally created for just $35 and is recognizable worldwide.

Recognizable

Possibly one of the strongest, most identifiable logo internationally, may be the Golden Arches of McDonalds. Our children are more likely to recognize the McDonalds Golden Arches before they can distinguish their own name. The logo is essentially 2 rounded arches fused together.

Color

Often times, a logo will be seen in more then one color. For example, it should work in black and white, as well as color. It should be readable in any format. Your letterhead may be faxed, copies will be made, so you want to make sure your logo is readable in various color formats.

Scalable

A logo should work at any size. Whether you want to place it on a business card, or a billboard, the logo should be scalable in a vector format.

File Formats

You’ll want your logo to be in a vector format. Without getting into too much detail in our beginning article, vector graphics use geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and polygons, which are all based upon mathematical equations to represent images in computer graphics. Since they are mathematical equations, this allows us to have the scalability of a logo that is .5 inches or 15 feet. A raster graphic is a representation of an image as a collection of pixels, mostly used to represent photographic images.

Possible Vector Format

• .AI (Adobe Illustrator)
• .EPS (Encapsulated PostScript)
• .PDF

Your graphic designer should provide you with these original files and potentially a .JPEG for your personal use. Most computers will not be able to open these file format unless you have specialized graphic software.

We prefer receiving logos in vector format. We “can” work with your rastered logo images, but if at all possible, we’d prefer them in vector format.

1. Know your target audience
   You know who your target demographic is. We know how to cater to them.
2. What is the goal of your website?
   Will you be selling products? Will you be displaying your inventory online, but not selling? Do you want to display only your basic contact information and services?
3. Once potential clients and customers are at your site, what will they be looking for?
   Now that they are at your site, what will you be trying to convey to them? Will they be looking for information about your newest service or will they be buying a product?
4. Content
   Content is what is going to drive people to your website and keep them interested. Having a properly outlined content will help expedite the quote process and the implementation of your website.
5. How often will you need to update the content?
   Chico Web Design offers a variety of solution for content management. Having an up to date website will not only increase your search engine rank standings, but give customers and potential clients a reason to come back.
6. Artwork
   This is important. Chances are your printer may have a high resolution logo, or the graphic artist who created it initially. Please get it ready for us. Acceptable file formats include, .AI, .EPS, .PSD (.PSD is only acceptable for web design).
7. Domain Name
   Your domain name is very important (ie, your www.yourbusinessname.com). Choosing an intuitive, easily typed domain name will help your customers and potential clients find your site. Something short, to the point, and easily remembered is always best.
8. Web Hosting
   In order for you website to visible on the World Wide Web, you must place your files on a computer which will serve web pages. This is called a web server. Chico Web Design offers web hosting services but we do not require you to host with us.
9. Search Engines
   What do you think people would type into a search engine to reach your website? What keywords or key phrases? For more information, see our article about Search Engine Optimization.
10. Cost
    Anything is possible, it just takes time and money! Having a specified budget in mind will help us accommodate to your exact specifications. Although you may think this is a loaded question, having a budget to work within will let us maximize our time and efficiency.

Are you ready?

Give us a call at 1 (877) 893-5257 or 1 (530) 893-5257 or Contact us.