I’ve looked at a lot of our web designs on the site and I feel like they are all over the board as far as web design. I think we’ve done a great job on all the websites we’ve taken part in. Even the one’s that I feel look generic because I’m not judging them on what the customer wanted with their web design. I’m looking at how it was put together, the functionality, and how good the individual designs are. This is how you look at a website to judge it’s design. People are so nearsighted that they take one quick look and automatically turn up their noses.

          I feel like people are too quick to judge and be negative towards us before they even try to realize our potential. Trying to talk to these people is like trying to talk to a brick wall. They aren’t listening at all and they won’t budge.Typical. Although with any business comes rejection before you can build your way up to the top. This is the way of it and there is nothing to change it. I hope to someone sees this blog who was a total dink and sees that they acting like one. Maybe then they would see that just because they are they one’s hiring for the job it doesn’t make them superior in any way because in the end, they are the ones asking for help. They are the ones who aren’t capable. I don’t mean to offend anyone who is needing help for web design. Just the ones that need to be brought down a notch. I suppose some positive advice for these types of people would be: He who is humble is confident and wise. He who brags is insecure and lacking. Looking to learn about web design? Visit us at DreamCo Design Web Design.

       Lucky for you DreamCo Design offers free search engine optimization when you get a website designed through us. I am proud to say that most of our customers come up on the first or second page of search engines when someone searches for their terms. This is a big deal! That means when someone searches for your terms, your right up there, waiting to be clicked on. Not only that but your website will look fantastic as well. All this will increase your website’s value to visitors.

       There are a lot of other companies out there offering search engine optimization. You should be weary when selecting certain companies. There are a few guidelines to go by. You should know that no one can guarantee a #1 spot on any of the search engines. I read that there is no special or priority submits for Google or Yahoo. So everyone submits through the same page. Secondly, make sure you know exactly what a company plans or intends to do to optimize your web page. Make sure they are using white hat techniques, or techniques that are acceptable to the search engine. Third, companies who have you submit your link to them are pretty worthless, in fact, they may affect your website in a negative way rather than positive. These are the three main tips I can give to a someone out there who is looking to optimize their website through a professional. If you go to each different search engine I’m sure you can find even more helpful advice to guide you in choosing a professional search engine optimizer. If you want to know more about search engine optimization go to DreamCo Design - Marketing. Want to learn about web design? Visit us at DreamCo Design - Web Design.

What is considered to be an art? There are a lot of people that argue what art is just the same way people argue that pool, bowling, cheerleading are sports. They are not by the way. But honestly what is considered to be art today? Everyone pretty much thinks painting, sculpting, music, film, and photography are well established art forms. How about graphic design, or web design? Do we consider these to be jobs or art forms?

If you think about what arts essential elements are you can’t easily decipher what is art and what is not. Of course there is not a really clear cut check list that one can go through to make the determination that what they are creating is art. According to dictionary.com art is “the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.” So we have a pretty vague definition of what is to be considered art. Something that is beautiful, well what is considered beautiful differs from person to person. It works the same for being appealing and quality. And what about aesthetic principals? Aesthetics examines what makes something beautiful, sublime, disgusting, fun, cute, silly, entertaining, pretentious, discordant, harmonious, boring, humorous, or tragic according to Wikipedia.

So every one of the above adjectives all have to do with matters of opinion. Could it really be that simple, that what is to be considered art is a matter of opinion? It all really it makes sense, we all do not like the same movies. We all have varying tastes in music. So if you think about the above you can see where graphic design and web design can be considered art forms.

Not every website that is designed is going to be considered a masterpiece. In fact there is probably very few websites out there that would be considered a masterpiece. Website design and graphic design are newer, exciting forms of art. One day websites will be looked over in museums just the same as sculptors or paintings. You will be saying at a dinner party some where that so and so designed my landscaping or real estate website. And everyone around you will be very impressed. Maybe one day it will be the equivalent of having a Picasso hanging in your home. Okay maybe not that far but you get the idea.

Web design and graphic design are art forms plain and simple. Not everyone can play the violin. Not everyone can take a good picture (not those crappy MySpace artsy pics people take of themselves in the bathroom mirror). And not everyone can design a great website or beautiful logo. So all in all it is almost impossible to have a cut and dry checklist to determine if something is to be considered an art form. There are just so many differing opinions out there that it is best just to leave it up to the public.

DreamCo Design understands that web design and graphic design are the new wave in art forms. In fact we considered all of our web designers and graphic designers, web artist or graphic artist. It makes them feel more important, and that’s what DreamCo Design is here to do, stroke our developer’s egos. Not really but we like them to know their skills are appreciated. We honestly have one of the best team of web and graphic artists around. Give DreamCo Design a call today for all your web design and graphic design needs, and see for yourself. Or for more information on web design check us out at DreamCo Design - Web Design.

The initial conception of a website can be a really easy task or an incredibly difficult one, to take on. There are several things that you have to decipher before going out and spending the money to have one constructed. Being without a website for your business can not guarantee failure, however it may cause a few hardships for you. It is almost dire in today’s world to have a web presence.

If you consider the cost of establishing a well designed website for your business you may come up with a number that seems quite outrageous. You may be thinking that there is no possible way you could ever afford to have a website designed for your business. This is not the case in every situation dealing with web design. Yes, some websites can cost a lot of money. It all depends on the business and how large they want their website and what they expect it to do for them. Some websites are small with only a few pages, some are giant with several hundred pages.

You can not ever really give a ball park figure for web design. Most people expect you to give them an estimate right off the bat. They say “I want to build a site like this one”. We say “okay, what are you looking to do, exactly”. They reply “make a site like this one”. Well after about ten minutes you finally get the information from the customer; that the website they are looking to design has almost nothing to do with the website they want it to look like. And that’s okay. Some people choose things for looks, others for functionality. We do not expect everyone to know what we know. If that were the case why would you be calling us to build your website?

Basically it all comes down to the mind set of the customer. Sometimes customers feel like they might be roped into something if they tell the web designer what they are looking to do. It is a lot easier for them to point out a current website and ask how much? But we want to assure you that it is okay to ask and let us give you a quote for the project you had in mind. There is no red tape unless you want there to be. For instance someone has an idea for the next big web craze, and they do not feel comfortable sharing with a complete stranger. That’s alright; just have your lawyer whip up some papers and we can get started. We are not in the business of pushing customers into something they do not want. We are here solely to ensure you get the best experience possible while having a website designed.

DreamCo Design has all the tools and knows how to put together a great website for you with out breaking the bank. We have the most talented team of designers out there and the best customer service in the industry. Don’t believe us? Give the rest a call and see what they can do for you. We are positive you will come back to us. DreamCo design has all your web design needs in one place. Give us a call today or check us out at DreamCo Design - Web Design for more information about web design.

So why is it that everyone out there is looking to get something for nothing or next to nothing? What ever happened to the term “you get what you pay for”? It does not seem to exist anymore. Everyone out there is looking to get the best of the best for the price lower then the worst. This could not be more apparent in any other industry then web design.

Every time you go on Craig’s List we see them, a web designer’s worst nightmare. They are those posts that usually go something like this.

Hello I am planning on starting my own business website and I am looking for a developer. I cannot pay you because I am just starting out. I will give you an opportunity to use the website you built in a portfolio.

Or my personal favorites.

I have a great idea for a website and I want you to make it the biggest, coolest, most beautiful website ever. I will pay you when I sell the website.

At least the first never promises to pay you. If you decide to get into the first type you understand that you are doing this for free. You cannot work on a huge project website if you are not sure you are going to get paid or not.

Basically it all boils down to this. People of the world if you are expecting to have a website built at least expect to pay for the services. The designers you are looking for have to make a living, and dedicating their time to your project for free means nothing. In fact it makes you look foolish. You would feel terrible if your boss came to you and said “I can not afford to pay you this month, but you still have to come to work and do a better job then you have been doing. And maybe if your work is good enough I’ll pay you later on”. You would quit in a heart beat. So why are you expecting the same thing out of a web designer? If you expect the website to be built for nothing, take a web design class and try to do it yourself. Or wait until you can afford to properly pay a web designer to develop it for you.

The point is to respect the service a web designer is offering. It is an insult to offer them nothing and expect the world out of them. If you expect to pay nothing you will get just that, nothing. You expect to pay for your car, gas, groceries, clothes, insurance, and for your schooling. So expect to pay for web design. Or at least have something cool to trade for it, like tattoos or something.

DreamCo Design understands the plight of the freelance web designer. We have your back. If you are looking to get out of the freelance world and work full time or part time give us a call. You will be properly paid. Make sure to have your portfolio handy. If you are looking for a great web design company that is not going to jerk you around you have found it. DreamCo Design offers the best product for the best price, bottom line. Give DreamCo Design a call today for all your web design needs. Or for more information about web design check us out at DreamCo Design - Web Design.

This is a bad waste of time and a loss of opportunity for that sales rep assigned to the tire kicker, however the term has grown. Tire kicking now consists of “beating around the bush”, “slacking off”, “purposely avoiding or lying”, and “failing to follow up as promised.”

So we ask the question, is tire kicking immoral? As the post states, we have our obvious opinion but it is actually a large, snowball waste of time. Consumers for whatever reason just don’t have the guts to come out and say it like it is for whatever reason. Only god knows why certain individuals just choose to lead people on and create more of a problem for themselves and for the person they are working with.

If you aren’t going to buy, can’t afford it, or have no intention with following through on what was discussed, why not just say so? When did honesty become a bad thing? Why do consumers feel the need to directly lie to the other party and lead them on. If you can’t afford what you are looking at, why not just say so or not bother with it on a personable level at all. It doesn’t matter if you are a web design tire kicker or a customer at a car lot. It is wrong..

Perhaps the worst form of tire kicking is people who don’t follow up. Customers will always tell you “I will call you next week” or, “call me at 2pm”, or “I will be here tomorrow during the early afternoon”, and more often than not, it is total crap. Last time I checked, lying was a bad thing, immoral, and in many religions a sin. So why do it so freely? Perhaps people just don’t care.

It would be an interesting poll to ask tire kickers what political association they fit themselves in. Bottom line is that it has been going on for years and seems to only be getting worse. I think everyone on the other side of the tire kicking would agree we rather just get strait to the truth and not waste hours and hours on a lost cause.

This post is a kick in the butt to all the tire kickers out there that have strung on and wasted the time of sales and service related positions for years. When you say you are going to do something, do it. How much is your word or a handshake really worth when you fall into the category of tire kicker.

I guess this is a way for them to justify their great customer service but cast blame on the client roughly 3% of the time

Customers are people. You are a customer. I am a customer. Everyone is a customer in some part of our society (other than hermits living in abandoned gold houses in northern Alaska.) The bottom line is the population that walks the streets is the people that make up our economy.

Sometimes you walk down the road, or drive your car, and you look out your window or glance to your side and think to yourself “look at that guy, he must be crazy” or “stupid” and so on. Well, though we should not cast judgment, sometimes those thoughts pose as true. Guess what, those people that are part of society are also customers.

It is unfortunate, but there are a lot of immoral and unfair individuals in this world, and businesses are literally starting to “account” for them.

When you deal with a product that is not tangible, such as a website, it becomes even more difficult. Dreamco Design has been smart and lucky enough to develop internal solutions that strive for quality and great customer service. Unfortunately, not all web design companies have had the same type of success.

A lot of web design firms are 1 person operations and when you pair a “% customer” with a poor plan, disaster is eminent and it can become a snow ball effect..

Businesses need to learn to account for certain individuals because everyone is different, and different can at times be unfair. This is why it is at times important to have the “book” to slap down (terms and conditions). Though it would be great if society as a whole was trustworthy, it’s not. This is why you need to sign receipts and so on.

Can you imagine just going off of someone’s moral word and trust, “yea I will take care of it.” Though many might hold their word with high regard and treat the business the way they would want to be treated, others hit the floor running. I can only imagine what this must be like in the healthcare industry.

The bottom line is anything service related means society related. Businesses are leaning more and more to set a curve to account for the “bad” society. Hopefully our company will just continue doing its thing.

“The customer is always right” used to mean, make sure you give the customer good customer service and keep them happy. At least in short that is what it meant, even if you had to bend over backwards a bit for them, but in today’s day and age the term means something more like
“the customer owns you in this unfair world”.

Dreamco Design happens to pride itself in good old-fashion customer service and that is something that is fairly rare today, especially in the web design industry. Typically web developers are some of the worst service minded people and thousands of people that have tried to build a website can relate to that statement, unless you got one through us of course. But the real point here is that we don’t want to live by that “customer is always right” term, we want to live by “let us impress you but let’s keep it fair” mentality.

“The customer is always right” today means “my god, please don’t charge back or I will lose my merchant account.” Now many of you might be like, OK, what the heck are you guys over at Dreamco Design talking about? NO we didn’t have a bad experience, and YES, our merchant will brag about how amazing our track record is. What I am talking about here is that statement in general, not just in the web design industry.

Most people don’t know about it, but by simply flipping over your credit card and calling that number on the back side, you can dispute anything that you have purchased. It doesn’t matter if it was a TV, a box of staples, a website, a bag of potatoes, or a tricycle. Basically most credit card companies just allow you to simply call them within a window of 90 and sometimes up to 160 days and just simply say “I am not happy, I want my money back” and the credit card company won’t even hesitate to argue with you.

Don’t believe me? Well, I am not urging you to try it. Some people still have morals and in my opinion this is out-right theft and taking advantage of someone but the fact of the matter is that you can make that simple call, and literally 9 times out of 10 you will have no issue at all. Don’t believe it? Look up merchant charge-back accounts and statements. Go apply for a merchant account and read the terms and conditions. American Express even ADVERTISES THAT YOU CAN CHARGE BACK! There was a commercial with Ellen in which she didn’t remember if she purchased 1 or 2 socks so she was just going to call AMX to dispute a charge. Yes people, it is getting that ridiculous. The world of credit cards have such a dirty river of money running through them, they are permanently tainted the pretty colors they come printed in.

Why would the credit card company want to upset you. You might take your business and your high interest rates somewhere else and they wouldn’t make as much money from you! So you are probably wondering, what happens on the other side of the equation? Well, basically, merchants get flat out screwed. Even if someone disputed a credit card charge they did not recognize, then suddenly remembered what the charge was for and then called back to cancel the charge-back, the merchant that did the charge has a negative item on their merchant history and the money was deducted from their account for up to 75 days.

Can you imagine pulling up to your bank on a Thursday morning and you go to check your balance and it is $10,000 less because someone didn’t remember if they paid you or not so they called the bank. Then they called the bank back and said, oh yea, I remember, sorry, but then your $10,000 is gone for 3 months! Yup. That is what happens. Why do you think companies like WALMART will let you return a bike from 5 months ago with a flat tire and a bent frame? Do you think it is because they want everyone to be happy? No! It is because they cannot afford a charge back because they could lose their merchant account and the only thing that could put Wal-Mart out of business is if they couldn’t take payments anymore via credit card.

Just think about it. Think of the warming trend over the last 10 years. Over the span of the last 10 years more and more companies have turned to just a “bring it back and we will give you your $ back” mentality. The last 10 years have also seen more credit card growth and usage than ever before. The two go hand in hand. Merchants aren’t trying to always satisfy the client, they are trying to keep the credit card providers happy and it is sick but guess what, no one can do anything about it. The monopoly created by credit card companies is just as bad as some giant oil companies. You simply have no choice as a consumer or business owner unless you want to basically become a Mormon.

So what does all this mean? Morality and fairness need to fight back. “Treat others the way you want to be treated” has a better ring to it than “the customer is always right” in today’s day and age. If people would just smarten up and be fair the world would be a much better place, and not just with credit cards.

Though they did not directly break any rules at all, the administrators immediately banned the users and deleted the posts off of the pre-assumption that they were not really customers even though they stated their website. It is unfortunate, but we do not live in a republic / democratic society on the internet on most forums, they are more like harsh dictatorships.  The mentality and reasoning behind it could be a range of different things, but it seems fairly typical that people that know how to work with technology (IE: websites) than they have the right to be a key-board hardass.

To put this into perspective, let’s use a fairly accurate analogy…

Being banned and deleted simply for stating an opinion and pushing someones brand because you like them would be likewalking into a grocery store, saying that you like coke and you would recommend it and then get tossed out of the store immediately along with having a tress-passing notice posted on the building.

The assumption is most often always guilty without an opportunity to prove innocence; so what did Dreamco Design do?  We did some research and we were able to draw some lines.  Whether we want to get involved in politics or not, it seems that most of these forums were administrated by teenagers or young adults who also had personal involvement on liberal minded anti-american forums.  Drawing an analogy off of this is simplistic for us but we will let you be the judge as you browse the internet.

This topic leads right in to what we like to call being a “key-board hardass”. Though this term has been around for quite some time it seems to be a subject that is growing in its rate and declining in age.  There is nothing like being in a chat room, an online game, or some message board, and having some 13 year old kid tell you how he “pwns” you and he is going to pound your face in and brags about sleeping with your mother.

What has happened to the internet? Being that more and more people are becoming computer savvy on a daily basis and the entire young generation can type faster than they can talk, maybe the question should be: What is happening to society?

The best advice we can offer is just to stay away from these abusive web design forums and keyboard punks though it may prove difficult. As always, happy browsing!