Insights

The use of mobile devices to surf the web is growing at an astronomical pace. Mobile devices are often constrained by display size and require a different approach to how content is laid out on screen. Responsive web design responds to the needs of the users and the devices they’re using. Rather than tailoring disconnected designs to each of an ever-increasing number of web devices, we can treat them as facets of the same experience. We can design for an optimal viewing experience, but embed standards-based technologies into our designs to make them not only more flexible, but more adaptive to the media that renders them. The layout changes based on the size and capabilities of the device. For example, on a phone, users would see content shown in a single column view; a tablet might show the same content in two columns.

L.A. Design Studio® utilizes the latest techniques in web design, including responsive coding. This provides an optimal viewing experience, easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling.

The ideal logo sets you apart from your competitors, conveying the essence of your brand, and connecting to your audiences with maximum impact.

– Less is more
The best logo designs keep it simple. Clean, distinctive, instantly recognizable. Uncluttered with extraneous elements or burdened with slogans and taglines.

The government is one of the earliest organizations that made its mark on the internet. They are also some of the least presentable websites, which makes this one of our favorite sectors.  Government websites should be among the most effective,  demonstrating innovation, usability and functionality for users. Government websites should display effective governmental efficiency and service delivery.

Non-profit organization’s online experience must be the center of all communication efforts. It is your public voice, and serves as a tool to engage and inspire action. It is more critical than ever to create an online experience for your supporters that is rooted in a clear strategy, engaging to supporters, and focused on your nonprofit’s unique goals.

From donor recruitment and retention to building a community of supporters, strategic digital marketing communications is the key to success. L.A. Design Studio can help your organization achieve the reach, results and get the attention your mission deserves.

Browse our web design portfolio for live links of our work.

I wrote this a few years ago…

—-

There is a lot of talk about flash websites, and much of it is just plain wrong.  As with any technology, there are advantages and disadvantages.  Flash is a browser plugin, it offers extended features than the normal browser.  Flash is pre-installed on most laptops and desktop machines and is a free download.  According to Adobe, it is installed on 98% of computers, but this does not figure into mobile devices and tablets…

—-

UPDATE ON 1/28/15
Google just announced YouTube now defaults to HTML5 video as standard in Chrome, Internet Explorer 11, Safari 8, and in beta versions of Firefox. The time has come to ditch the aging Flash in favor of HTML5. It looks like another hatchet to bury flash. In the short term, Flash video looks prepared to survive with online advertising, smaller video sites, and YouTube visitors who aren’t using a modern browser. I just hope the tools and techniques for HTML5 accelerate so that we can see some more inspiring websites.

If you send out email blasts, we strongly recommend utilizing a third party service. There are many email marketing services on the internet.

• MailChimp
• Constant Contact
• Topica
• Vertical Response
• Emma Mail

They  provide statistics on the campaigns you send out. A reputable email marketing company will have special relationships with IPs and know how to send proper headers so that your emails get delivered to your customers. They also provide the proper automated means for customers to subscribe and unsubscribe, many with website APIs for seamless integration.

If you will be selling products online and collecting payments via credit card, you will need a gateway and merchant account. The most trusted and reliable gateway is authorize.net. They offer a secure gateway that communicates with your site via ssl and the credit card companies, verifying, authorizing and transferring funds in a secure manner. We have become a preferred reseller.

Visit Authorize.net here.

If you are looking for a low-cost option, consider paypal.com. They utilize their own gateway, merchant account and even shopping cart. It requires extra steps from your customers, but is a functional and low cost approach.

Cheap Hosting
If you are looking for cheap web hosting, we recommend our reseller account. This type of shared hosting is good for simple, non-database type websites. We find that the servers are efficient for simple sites, but if your site utilizes databases, then we recommend contacting us for space on one of our dedicated hosting machines.
Cheap Hosting Packages

VPS Web Hosting
VPS Hosting is made to grow as your needs grow. Get all the power and control of your own Virtual Server for less! With VPS, your RAM and storage are guaranteed. Plus, you can add more capacity anytime with just a few clicks. Not sure how to set it up? Experts will help get your server up and running fast! Just choose the plan that’s right for you, customize your bandwidth, control panel (Parallels® Plesk Panel or cPanel®) and backup options and leave the rest to them.

Dedicated Servers
Dedicated servers – all to yourself and under your command. Dedicated server plans feature lightning-fast processors, up to 16 GB of RAM, 20 TB of bandwidth, and Intel Core i3/i5/i7 processors, all backed by the best service and support in the industry. With a team of experts, you don’t have to worry about setup — your server will be up and running fast! Customize it to meet your unique needs with even more bandwidth, control panel options, backup plans, firewall protection and more.

Everything you need to get online – FREE with your domain.
Each and every domain name comes with all you need to get online.

Domain Forwarding and Masking
Direct any domain name you own to your website — anyone who types that domain name into their browser is taken directly to your website.

Domain Locking
Domain locking prevents accidental or intentional transfers of domain ownership and stops anyone from redirecting your nameservers.

Total DNS Control
Manage your domain nameserver (DNS) records and set your email, FTP, sub-domains and website location — all from one control panel.

Change of Registration
Assign your domain name to someone else or change the contacts for your domain online anytime. Requires a fee for domains.

Status Alerts
Monitor the status of your domain and get instant alerts if there’s been a change.

Auto Renew Protection
No need to watch expiration dates to make sure you renew on time! Auto renew keeps your domains, hosting, website builders, and other products in your name and under your control.

If you are looking for a cheap, reliable company to purchase domain names from, this is the place. The pricing is the lowest in the industry and the company is reliable, responsive and easy to use. There are many domain name registrars and they all offer the pretty much the same service. It comes down to price, reliability and customer service. We also find it very easy to manage and transfer domains with this company. They offer bulk pricing and many other good add-on services.

Domain Name Registration

Business Class Email

• Use your own domain
• Reliable and secure
• Live, expert help
• Access from any device

Build your business identity
Put your company name in front of customers & prospects, suppliers, vendors and partners with every email you send. Details

Receive only the email you want
We stop spam in its tracks to keep your inbox squeaky clean. Details

Grab your email anywhere
Including from your Web browser, mobile phone, tablet and desktop clients like Outlook or Mac Mail. Details

If you are looking for a cheap, reliable email accounts, this is the place. The pricing is very reasonable and these email accounts offer a great anti-spam tool and can be set up as pop, imap or utilized as a webmail based service. We recommend the unlimited plans.

Email Accounts

Protect transactions and customer data with a SSL Certificate.

If you are looking for a cheap, reliable ssl certificates, this is the place. The pricing is very reasonable and these ssl certificates are perfect for any e-commerce website.

SSL Certificates