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Website Design

Jul 8, 2021

5 Things Your Website Is Missing

Designing a solid website is no simple task. We have all come across a website that is, in all honesty, terrible. The pages seem cluttered, information seems impossible to find, and it has an underwhelming design.  Here at Five Technology, we have over 25 years of experience in web development. So it would be fair to say we know what it takes to make a website successful. So let’s break down 5 common things that your website may be missing!  ...

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Oct 16, 2015

Say ‘Goodbye’ to Adobe Flash

With Adobe Flash being phased out we can all say ‘goodbye’ to the constant update reminders, our devices becoming bogged down, and the security issues that plagued it. Once the final nail is placed in Flash’s coffin, it may not all be sunshine and rainbows. There are still many websites dependant upon Flash and there are already some negative effects that website owners will need to be prepared for: Decrease in Advertising Revenue – According to ...

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Mar 23, 2015

Portal Websites: Powerful Web Designs for Powerful Websites

Here at Five Technology we have completed a variety of portal websites over the past few years. A  web portal is a website that brings information together from diverse sources in a uniform way. Usually, each information source gets its dedicated area on the page for displaying information (a port-let); often, the user can configure which ones to display. Portal web designs act much like online magazines . These informational ...

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Dec 2, 2014

Upcoming Web Design Trends

Website design is ever changing.  We are constantly seeing new ideas and technology to change the standard for a well designed website.  In some cases concepts we’ve seen before are being tried in a slightly different way to great success.  The increase in web browsing on mobile devices is changing the approach and making good design more important than ever. With this in mind, what are the next big trends for web design coming in 2015? Here are 3 we ...

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Sep 26, 2014

Transitioning Website Design & Content Trends

Have you been noticing some website design and content trends substantially changing in the past couple of years?  With the exponential growth of different devices accessing the Internet and keeping pace with best SEO practices Ilya Posin with Forbes points out a few that stand out: Goodbye: Mobile Versions of Websites Instead of building mobile-switched sites (i.e. m.websitename.com), many innovative designers and developers are now focusing on ...

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Aug 18, 2014

Does Your Website Design Suck? Let’s Find Out

These days, websites are no longer an optional asset to a company’s marketing budget. While “free lancers” and “do it yourself” website builders are bombarding the web, business owners are having a tough time seeing the value in an expensive website. While a $500 or less website may seem like a great deal, not investing in your website could be a big mistake. Website design is not a simple process. A great web design takes ...

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Aug 12, 2014

What is Responsive Web Design?

Responsive web design is a term being used and heard more often in the web design world. It’s true that responsive web design has taken on the Internet design world by storm. Sam Kusinitz, writer for HubSpot.com shared a quick and simple definition of what exactly Responsive web design is. Check it out. “Responsive design is the method of designing web pages that automatically appear in their optimized form on all devices. In other words, ...

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Aug 1, 2014

What You Should Know About Responsive Web Design

Responsive web design is all the rage these days. If you’re going to have a website, you better make it responsive. So, what exactly makes a web design responsive? Responsive web design is an approach to web design that adjusts to the user, from varying browser sizes to changes in device. It’s been around for a few years, but it’s finally taking off and having a huge affect on websites. Responsive websites work by using media queries to ...

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Jul 28, 2014

Sharing Your Story with Your Design

Websites are incredibly versatile as a medium, to be used to display information and other content, and if well designed they can do this in an enjoyable way that’s easy for the reader to digest. This can be done through combining a site persona with an ongoing narrative, consistent throughout, which will all come together to create a ‘story’ through which you can deliver relevant content. It’s important to recognize as a designer ...

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Jul 25, 2014

Minimalism and Website Design

Over the past few years, website design has gone through various trends. One of the trends that has staying power is minimalism. This may be simply because it’s a timeless concept that has been popular in various mediums throughout the ages. So why not in web design? One of the best features about minimalism is that it also enhances the user experience, besides looking clean and nice. A complaint of many users has been that some websites are just too ...

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Jul 23, 2014

Your “About Us” Page as an Effective Marketing Tool

Carly Stec, writer for IMPACT describes the benefits from your business’s “About Us” page on your website can have for your marketing and sales. Stec says that often times, the About Us page is undervalued. However, when executed properly, this page serves as a great opportunity to resolve any doubt a prospect may have by highlighting who you are and what you can do for them. Stec says that some businesses don’t focus enough ...

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Jul 21, 2014

Benefits of Responsive Web Design for B2B Websites

With a recent mobile takeover of web surfing activities, it’s important and vital for B2B companies to conform to the trend. However, there’s still a large number of B2B sites that are still not doing anything for tablet or mobile device users. At the same time, traffic from mobile and tablet tends to be much lower than on B2C sites. It’s the biggest downfall for you company to have a poor user experience on your company’s website. It ...

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Jul 16, 2014

eCommerce Website Essentials

In the United States, eCommerce sales are expected to reach over $434 billion by the end of the year. That’s a lot of dough, and this doesn’t even take into account the rest of the world. eCommerce is big business, and has been for a while now. While eCommerce sites were once treated with suspicion by internet users, it’s become as common as checking email. While I’m sure there are some internet users out there who have never made an ...

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Jul 14, 2014

Avoiding a Website Redesign Failure

Mistakes are inevitable,  and we’re all human. We’ve all seen or heard about the horrors of a failed website redesign . Regardless of the size or scale of a website, any redesign may also face potential perils and mistake. One of the biggest dangers of a website redesign is losing existing customers because the user experience is not up to par. Of course, the larger the website, the greater this danger can become. However, even a smaller ...

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Jun 30, 2014

Best Practices for SEO Website Designers

As website designers, it is known that website design is about elevating bland information on a screen into something enticing and easily recognizable. It’s also about communicating an idea with others about what your business has to offer. So what happens when the message you’re trying to communicate to others must first pass through the eyes of a robot? The robot cannot compute the value of aesthetics. It can only operate off of its limited ...

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Jun 17, 2014

What Not To Have On Your Website

Attracting a customer is hard enough. Grabbing their interest and retaining them is even more difficult. It’s important to design your website so that user frustration is kept to a minimum, thereby maximizing customer retention. KISSmetrics.com provides some examples of what not to do when designing your website. Bad Navigation Nothing is more frustrating for a visitor than a website that’s hard to navigate. Complex or inconsistent ...

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Jun 9, 2014

Why Your Website Will Never Be Finished

We’ve got some news for you: Your company’s website will never be finished. If you believe you are completely finished with your website, then perhaps you’re not doing all you should with it. And this adds up to some good news because if you’re constantly updating your company’s site, you’ll develop an advantage over your competitors who aren’t. Here are three reasons why you should never stop improving your ...

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Jun 2, 2014

Does Your Website Have What It Takes?

If you already have an existing website, or plan to develop one in the future, it’s very important to understand the characteristics that can either make or break the effectiveness of your online investment. An unattractive or poorly built website will do more to hurt your business than to help it. We’ll look at the five general components involved in website design and making it successful for your business. Key Elements of an Effective ...

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May 27, 2014

Recent Trends in Website Design

As we enter the halfway point of the year, we’d like to take some time to touch on the trends that we have noticed in website design thus far. If you haven’t enhanced your website yet this year, these trends may inspire you to do so, or at least give you some great things to consider when it is time for a website redesign. Responsive Web Design This has been a trend for over a year now, but it is still gaining in popularity. As more and more ...

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May 20, 2014

Responsive Web Design for Minnesota Bank

Five Technology designed and implemented a responsive web design for a American National Bank, located in Brainerd, Minnesota. American National Bank has been a long time client of ours, we had designed their website awhile back. So, it was definitely time for a website redesign. Design standards and trends change often, so we typically suggest redesigning your website every three to five years. ANB needed a website that provided easy to access information ...

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Apr 7, 2014

Theme Website Design for Assay Hill Lodge Condominium Association

We recently implemented a theme website design for Assay Hill Lodge Condominium Association . Assay Hill Lodge is a condominium complex in Snowmass Village, Colorado that is owned and operated by Viceroy Hotels and Resorts. We created a theme website design for Assay Hill Lodge that can easily be duplicated for other home owner association websites that Viceroy Hotels and Resorts own. This will maintain a level of consistency for the Viceroy HOA brand. When ...

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Apr 1, 2014

A Responsive Web Design Drives Traffic to Your Website Because…

Businesses that do not have a responsive web design yet are most likely failing to reach a lot of potential customers. They may even be losing quality visitors. A responsive web design will help you attract more visitors. Not having an adaptive website might even be hurting your business. Here’s why: You Need to be Optimized for Mobile Use Mobile internet access is increasing every day. Chances are that many of your current and potential ...

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Feb 17, 2014

Custom Website Design for a Ranch Real Estate Broker

Five recently designed and implemented a custom website for a ranch real estate broker in Houston, Texas. RanchLand Network is a premier sporting and ranch property brokerage. Keep reading to learn more about this great addition to our web design portfolio . RanchLand Network approached us to enhance its online presence. It needed a way to display its ranch and sporting properties and its team of real estate agents. Our solution was to create a custom ...

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Feb 10, 2014

Custom eCommerce & Gift Registry for a Minneapolis Retailer

We recently designed and implemented a custom eCommerce website for a Minneapolis retailer, that included a custom gift registry. Baby on Grand is a retail store with a location in Hopkins, Minnesota as well as off Grand Avenue in St Paul, Minnesota. They sell baby supplies like car seats, cribs, and strollers out of their store. Recently, they wanted to expand their online store in an effort to compete with the big box retailers. The team at Baby on ...

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Feb 3, 2014

Reasons for a Website Redesign

Your website is your business or organization’s biggest marketing tool. It delivers the first impression of your brand and serves as the go-to to learn more about your offerings. Starting a website redesign takes a great deal of thought, preparations, and investment. Before redesigning your website, you should discover a purpose for the redesign. A redesign doesn’t necessarily mean a whole revamp of every graphic design element of your current ...

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Jan 22, 2014

Custom Website Design for a Local Law Firm

We recently finished up a custom website design project for a Saint Michael law firm that included a unique element of custom website development that will make this business stand out from the rest. Gries Lenhardt Michenfelder Allen (GLMA) was in need of a website redesign , a logo redesign, and some custom website development. GLMA’s old website design was outdated and its logo needed a major revision because it was going under a name change; Gries ...

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Jan 20, 2014

Internet Marketing Starts with a Good Website Design

According to Rich Gorman, a serial entrepreneur and a visionary Internet marketing leader, business owners should constantly be focused on improving business operations. This includes marketing, and let’s be honest, most small business owners have a little room for improvement in terms of marketing. Gorman created a small business marketing checklist , that started with a good website design . Small businesses need a website, but just having a website ...

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Jan 13, 2014

5 Things Website Designers Do When the Internet Goes Down

This morning the Internet went down at Five Technology. When all of your work is web-related, there is not much to do in these instances. As website designers and website developers, we were left stranded with no Internet and no email. Instead of doing the things below, we took a different route. Here’s what we did instead: Talked about current projects We were able to take some time and catch up on each other’s projects. It was nice ...

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Jan 13, 2014

Website Design Enhances Brand Building Efforts

This morning I stumbled upon a blog that really hit home for Five Technology and our initiatives as a company. Web Designer Depot recently posted a blog “ Brand Building with Website Design ” that discusses the role of web design in building or enhancing a brand. Here at Five Technology we focus on website design and website development, but our overall goal as a company is to help businesses succeed online. While website development and ...

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Dec 16, 2013

Custom eCommerce for a Minneapolis Company

Most eCommerce websites are pretty straight forward. You have a company that sells a product and its customers can buy the products online and have it shipped straight to their door. But what happens when you have a company that has hundreds of products, sells only to businesses, and each customer has slightly different pricing based order amount and frequency? The solution would be a custom eCommerce website that you adapt to fit your client’s needs. ...

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Nov 14, 2013

Responsive Web Design for a School Website

More and more people are accessing the web through devices other than a desktop computer, which has increased the importance of responsive web design . Think about if you were a student, where are you going to go to see what’s for lunch, when an assignment is due, or what time the football game starts? Now you’re a parent. What would be the most convenient way to check your children’s grades, or see if they got out early for a snow day (a ...

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May 28, 2013

A Custom eCommerce Responsive Web Design for Blazing Adventures

Blazing Adventures has over 40 years of experience providing outdoor activities in Colorado, they are the most knowledgeable whitewater rafting and outdoor adventure company in Aspen and Snowmass. However, their web design did not convey this reputation or how adventurous this small business actually was. After seeing the renovations that Five did to Blazing Adventures’ sister company website, Incline Ski, it decided that it seriously needed a revamp of ...

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Apr 23, 2013

Custom eCommerce Web Design – All Natural

Ranchline has been an extensive client for Five Technology. We have done many web designs for various projects within the Ranchline company; including, RL Network, RL Auction, RL Hunting, and now … drumroll please …  Ranchline All Natural . Straight from Felix River Ranch, New Mexico, Ranchline All Natural supplies end-user clientele with all natural meat. This organically grown meat distributor was in need of a custom eCommerce web design for ...

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Mar 28, 2013

Automation.com: A Responsive Web Design for Online Magazine

Recently, Five Technology worked with a partner to design and implement a responsive web design , one that adapts to whatever device it is being accessed from. It was a industry  portal website design for Automation.com, which acts much like an  online magazine for professionals in the automation engineering industry. Our strategic partner assisted with all of the graphic and user interface design work, while Five took care of the CMS integration and ...

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Feb 5, 2013

Responsive Web Design

Over the last twenty years technology has continued to progress exponentially in usability and functionality, which has created an “always connected” world where people want, or need to be online all of the time. Because of this more and more people have been eager to use the newest gadgets on the market. None of these gadgets have advanced in the past few years like the smartphone and the tablet. Every generation, young and old, is becoming more ...

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Jan 18, 2013

Custom E-Commerce Responsive Web Design

Incline Ski & Board shop , located in Aspen and Snowmass, Colorado, is a local ski and snowboard shop. It provides customers with an easy way to travel without all of their bulky ski and snowboard equipment by providing high quality rental gear at fair prices. Incline Ski approached Five’s partner company Blue Tent Marketing for a brand new  responsive web design that heightened its web presence, Internet transaction functionality, ...

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Dec 20, 2012

A Real Estate Firm’s Custom Web Design

Ranch Marketing Associates , located in Colorado has been one of the most successful ranch brokers in the west. It has always prided itself on excellent client relations, immense marketplace intelligence, and has even managed a strong global reach. Such a prominent figure in the real estate industry needs to have the top-of-the-line web design and  Internet marketing tools available at its fingertips. RMA Brokers approached Five ...

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Aug 23, 2012

Custom Website for Spray Rack

Five redesigned and built a custom website for Spray Rack , a commercial manufacturing firm specializing in water and air infiltration products and services. Spray Rack needed a new web design that elegantly displayed its products and services. The custom web design needed to be professional, yet eye-catching as to entice potential customers to contact them for more information and to purchase its products. The website redesign was built on the our ...

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Aug 17, 2012

City Government Web Design: Things to Look for in Professional City Website Design

Have you ever tried to design a website for your city internally with a limited staff? If so, you will know that it is difficult because of minimal programming knowledge, lack of time and resources, and small budgets that lead to limited functionality. Your staff struggles to manage and edit essential community content, and you are left without a useful operations tool you had hoped would streamline less efficient tasks. So what do you do? Many ...

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Apr 25, 2012

Cross These Items Off Your List Before Launching A New Website

A vital part of launching a new website is having a checklist handy. Ideally your list should be completely checked off, signed, and dated before launch. In this post, I will give you a glimpse into some of the items on our checklist. There is much more than can be added for each unique project, but this is a pretty general list that can apply to every project. The Checklist Square away all domain and DNS information. Figure out the email ...

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Mar 28, 2012

Add Online Scheduling to Your Website

Five Technology was approached by Hansen, Dordell, Bradt, Odlaug & Bradt (HDBOB) Law Office to create an online calendar based appointment scheduling application.  There were several requirements to this project. Online Calendar to display available time slots Form that needed to be filled out at the time of scheduling Email notifications to all parties of scheduled appointment Privacy of all parties for a scheduled appointment Ability to ...

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Mar 22, 2012

City Website Design for Delano, MN – Online Agenda & Meeting Minutes

With the first quarter coming to end soon, I wanted to shed some light on a city website redesign that was sent live back in February. The web development project, of course, being the official city of Delano’s government site .  While this online marketing project included web design, custom web development, content management, etc., I want to give some attention the online Agendas and Meeting Minutes application . Custom Programming for ...

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Nov 17, 2011

A Payroll Company Website Design: Source 5 Payroll

Source 5 is an Atlanta, Georgia payroll company that offers customized payroll services for your business. Source 5 came to Five because their old site was out dated, some pages didn’t even work correctly, and most importantly they needed an effective online marketing agenda.  Five created a modern, beautiful design, and then built their site on a foundation of solid fundamentals that will help them rank in search engines immediately.  That will ...

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Oct 7, 2011

Law Firm Website Design: Johnson-Condon

Johnson-Condon is a  Minneapolis, Minnesota law firm . Johnson-Condon came to us because their website was severely outdated and difficult to update content. They needed a modern and SEO friendly design built on a content management system that allows them to update their content frequently. Web Design Johnson-Condon’s new site features a modern and professional design that will give people a sense of trust and authority in their work. The ...

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Mar 25, 2011

Web Design Project: Fehn Companies

Our latest web design project was for Fehn Companies Inc . out of the Minneapolis, MN area. Specializing in excavating, grading, and demolition , Fehn Companies Inc. is a second generation family owned business. Projects Five Technology knew it was important to capture Fehn Companies in action. That is why we did photography at three key job sites. We used these images on the projects page to illustrate what Fehn Companies can do. Check out ...

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Dec 31, 2010

Web Design Project: DOMUS Architects

DOMUS is a Boston based architect and construction firm for over 30 years.  Even with all of their success and awards, this web design is their first website in the company’s history. Focused On The Work It was important to bring the amazing work of DOMUS right to the forefront.  The biggest focus of the website is their past and current architecture projects . Each project features a photo gallery, project overview, highlights and ...

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Dec 15, 2010

Web Design Project: FiberStock

Horses, bison and cows, oh my!  Our latest web design project is a redesign for FiberStock Inc. that produces fiberglass horses , other animals and custom fiberglass statues . A Web Redesign 10 Years Later It’s a little crazy for me to even type this, but I designed FiberStock’s first website over 10 years ago.  While the old site lacked in design compared to today’s web design capabilities, it’s SEO trust continued to ...

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Dec 1, 2010

Web Design Project: Whole Cottonseed for Cotton Incorporated

Our latest web design project was built to communicate the benefits of whole cottonseed for dairy cows.  The project was a microsite for Cotton Incorporated and involved working with the great team at Harvest PR . A Website With A Message The fun part about a microsite is the focused message. Cotton Incorporated needed to reach dairy farmers with the benefits of feeding whole cottonseed to their herds in new ways online.  The website is ...

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Nov 17, 2010

Web Design Process: Sketch to Wireframe to Web Design Concept

I thought I would share some of the thought process and steps that go into taking a custom web design from an idea to something you can see and understand.  The web design process always starts with identifying the goals of the site and the user, the content to be utilized and the features needed. Below is a project we have recently started with example of the sketch, the wireframe and the final website concept for the home page.  With most projects, we ...

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Nov 9, 2010

Google Instant Preview Search Puts An Emphasis On Good Web Design

I saw rumor of it months ago, but Google has announced today that previews are now a part of search results .  Each search result offers a magnifying glass icon that when clicked, displays a preview of the page. ( View full Google Preview search screenshot ) I think this is a fabulous feature for the user and it also plays into the hands of those who create well designed websites and content pages.  Not only does the searcher have a meta title ...

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Oct 19, 2010

Web Design Project: COMPAR

The latest Five Technology web design project is for COMPAR , a Minnesota technology and computer products reseller. New Web Design The old web design for COMPAR was out of date, lacked proper navigation and content structure.  The new web design focused on aligning best web practices with a design that represented their brand today and where they are headed in the future. Content pages, like their technology solutions page, were enhanced ...

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Aug 26, 2010

Web Design Feedback: The Consumer Called

I had something happen this morning that has never happened in the 10+ years I’ve been designing and developing websites. I received a call from the client, of our client , to let us know how impressed and satisfied she was with their website.  Again, it wasn’t our client … it was the end-user of the website, a general consumer. Wow. Of course this is one person’s opinion, but the fact they took the time to locate that we had ...

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Aug 13, 2010

Website Design Project: Heat Yoga Studio

Breathe deep, relax and now reach out to view our latest web design project for Heat Yoga Studio .  Heat is a new yoga studio in Blaine, MN that offers classes featuring hot yoga techniques in a 104 degree controlled room. Heat also asked Five to assist them in the design of their logo and photography. The website features the introduction information needed for someone new to the hot yoga concept.  You’ll also find information on the yoga ...

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Jun 14, 2010

Web Design Project: Joe Mauer’s Quickswing

The most recent web design project to hit the Five starting line-up is for the Minnesota Twin’s own Joe Mauer and his Quickswing baseball training product.  This e-commerce website sells the signature Joe Mauer baseball hitting aid and other batting tools to develop an All-Star swing. A Focus On E-commerce Fundamentals Mauer’s Quickswing has been selling their baseball training products online for years, but their former ...

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Apr 30, 2010

Web Design Project: Johnson Mattson Peterson + Co. Accounting Firm

The latest web design project from Five Technology is for the accounting and cpa firm of Johnson Mattson Peterson + Co. located in Buffalo and Waconia, Minnesota. Johnson Mattson Peterson + Co. provides accounting and tax services to businesses, non-profits and individuals. Their old website was just a handful of pages in a stale accounting industry template.  The new website is clearly organized with multiple routes of navigation to find what ...

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Feb 20, 2010

Web Design Project: West Real Estate Of Minneapolis

Five is excited to showcase our latest web design project for West Real Estate.  West is a Minneapolis, MN based commercial real estate firm that focuses on the development and investment side of the business. Showcasing The Work Of A Commercial Real Estate Firm In just about any line of business, Five works to find the best ways to provide case studies and real world examples to feature on a company’s website.  ...

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Feb 4, 2010

Web Design Project: Rear Window Media

One of our recent web design projects has been grabbing some attention .  Rear Window Media is a real-time, digital marketing start-up that utilizes LCD screens in vehicles to run ads while on the roadways.  Simply put they are mobile digital billboards, but RWM has done so much more with it. A Complete Web Application Rear Window Media runs their business right from their website.  The back-end is a web application that allows ...

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Jan 30, 2010

Web Design Project: Shorewood Bar & Grill

We released another great restaurant web design under our Taste Trend offering last week.  Shorewood Bar & Grill in Fridley, Minnesota opened in the fall of 2009 and now has a new website. The project is fully recapped on the Taste Trend blog . Five also photographed the restaurant and many menu items for the Shorewood to use on the new website.  Below is a photo of their Pepper Seared Ahi Tuna. Visit the website:  ...

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Jan 13, 2010

Usability 101: Make Your Website An Easy Read

This year we’ll be putting out a series of posts on web design usability since it’s such an important piece of a websites success. Many will be very simple improvements that anyone can do . For those of you new to the term Usability , it covers how easy user interfaces are to use. The word “usability” also refers to methods for improving ease-of-use during the design process. So in short: making it easy to use your website. ...

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Dec 5, 2009

Five Technology Client Appears On WCCO-TV

Rear Window Media , a Five Technology client was featured on WCCO news for their mobile digital advertising service.  While the story played to the “controversial” angle of vehicles displaying ads, we’re excited for our client’s exposure of their unique advertising service. WCCO doesn’t offer a video embed, click here for the video . Five Technology worked with Rear Window Media’s President Jessica Netter and ...

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Dec 3, 2009

Web Design Project: Ranchline Network

Sometimes you have to go bigger, the Ranchline Network web design project is an example of that.  The Ranchline brand has 4 other websites on our web platform and I have worked with them for years, including on their logo design. Ranchline Network is a national real estate listing website, focusing on high-end land and ranches for sale . The website features hundreds of listings from brokers and agents all across the US and even Internationally. ...

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Nov 11, 2009

Web Design Project: Concrete Treatments

The web design is now dry and it’s time to announce the release of the new Concrete Treatments website.  Concrete Treatments, Inc. is a Minnesota company specializing in polished, terrazzo and decorative concrete floors. CTI does some amazing things with concrete floors for both commercial and residential clients.  From large retail to a modern kitchen, they can handle your concrete flooring needs.  The client hired Five to ...

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Oct 30, 2009

E-commerce Web Designs: Let It Snow(mobile)

Our latest e-commerce web design projects come in a 2-pack and cater to the snow loving crowd. MotosportsGearUSA.com and SledGearUSA.com feature snowmobile clothing, gear and accessories for the snow and machine enthusiast. MotorSportsGearUSA.com The Motorsports USA Gear site is the flagship of this e-commerce network of sites.  The initial release of the site only lists snowmobile gear for sale, but will eventually offer ATV, ...

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Sep 22, 2009

Web Design Project: Scott Breuer Homes

The newly redesigned and remodeled Scott Breuer Homes website is now LIVE.  Scott Breuer Homes is a custom home builder in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. Scott Breuer Homes has an outstanding reputation and track record with over 30 awards in their 20 year construction history.  In addition to custom home building, they offer home remodeling and real estate services to meet homeowner’s needs. Currently Scott ...

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Sep 17, 2009

Web Design Project: SKiN Medical Spa Launches

With a fresh face, S.K.i.N. Medical Spa’s new web design has hit the Internet.  S.K.i.N. is a skincare and anti-aging spa located in Blaine. S.K.i.N. has been a fun project and client for us as we’ve had our hands in many elements of helping launch this business. From the logo design to photography, to the website, to a social media campaign. This web design project features: Custom web design Transparency ...

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Sep 3, 2009

Website Re-skin Project

The beauty of a well designed, CSS coded and simple layout is the ability to easily re-skin the web design if needed.  This was the case recently for the Buffalo Area Chamber of Commerce as they designed a new logo and needed to not only add the logo to the website, but update the color scheme. New Chamber Logo New Web Design After the Re-skin The Old Website & Color Scheme The website re-skin with the new logo turned ...

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Sep 1, 2009

Our Latest Web Design Project: Realtor Marci Weiche

It might not be hard to notice the same last name as myself for our latest web design project.  It is indeed my wife, Buffalo, MN Realtor Marci Weiche with a great new website from Five Technology. Marci wanted a high-end, warm, inviting and easy to use web design to brand her services, attract new clients and market her homes for sale.  We came up with a custom web design that hits upon these and more. This Web Design Project Features: ...

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Aug 19, 2009

Five Technology Speaks To The Central Minnesota Wedding Association

I had the opportunity on August 18th to speak to the Central Minnesota Wedding Association (CMWA) on web design, search engine optimization and business blogging at Reichel’s Event Center. The CMWA consists of over 75 businesses with talented professionals in photography, video, catering, floral, dresses, jewelry, event venues, music and more. My presentation went great and we covered a lot of great information on viewing your ...

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Aug 5, 2009

It’s A Big Event As The Crown Room Gets A New Website

The Crown Room, an event and wedding facility located in Rogers, Minnesota has released their new website from Five Technology.  The Crown Room is a premier event and banquet facility with a full offering of event services to accommodate groups up to 400 people for weddings , meetings, conferences, dinner galas and more. This website design project involved: Custom web design Built on the SMC for content management ...

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Jul 29, 2009

Cash For Clunker Websites

Five Technology has been inspired by the government attempt to improve our environment and stimulate the economy with the Cash For Clunkers program to get outdated, inefficient cars off the road. We’ve noticed the same problem with clunker websites.  They are inefficient, hog bandwidth, slow the Internet, have designs that hurt your eyes and rattle a user’s mental health.  We want to put an end to it. Trade In Your Clunker Website ...

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Jul 28, 2009

Five Tees Up A Golf Course Web Design

Five Technology is proud to release the new web design for Wild Marsh Golf Course .  Wild Marsh is a fantastic golf course located just west of the Minneapolis metro area in Buffalo, MN . Our web redesign aimed to capture the beauty of Wild Marsh and it’s surrounding nature, while making it easy for interested golfers to get all the golf course information they needed to make a tee time . This web design project involved: Custom web ...

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Jul 22, 2009

New Web Design Project For The Mental Health Association Of Minnesota

Five Technology is excited to announce the release of the new website for the Mental Health Association of Minnesota (MHAM).  This non-profit was the state’s first mental health advocacy and education organization founded in 1939. MHAM works to meet the needs of the mental health community, respond to those needs, and work to make positive changes in the lives of individuals and in public policy.  The organization had utilized a web presence for the ...

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Jul 6, 2009

Five Delivers A New Web Design For A Minnesota Trucking Company

Five is pleased to announce the release of GW Transportation’s new web design .  GW Transportation is a national logistics and trucking company located here in Minnesota.  GW provides a complete logistics and freight service including truckload freight (TL) , less than truckload freight (LTL) and specialty trucking. GW Transportation sought out Five’s web design services to upgrade their website’s design, content and ...

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Jun 15, 2009

Web Design Recap: Rosen Properties Gets A New Home

Today’s real estate market has a lot of sellers asking real estate professionals “can you sell my home fast ?”.  Rosen Properties is a Minnesota real estate service that provides home buying, selling and renting services in the Twin Cities area. An Improved Website Across The Board Rosen Properties had been using a real estate website solution for some time that lacked in many areas.  While it did provide Rosen a presence ...

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Jun 8, 2009

E-commerce Web Design: 3 Tips To Get The Sale

There is no doubt that e-commerce websites have their own set of rules.  The fact there is one defined goal for the website, to make a sale, adds a stronger focus to the website. If you are considering launching an e-commerce website or about to redesign your website, keep these e-commerce web design tips handy. 1.  Keep It Simple You have a simple goal and that’s to sell.  Make sure your navigation is easy to use and make multiple paths ...

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May 18, 2009

Hunting Gets A Bit More Social With Our Latest Web Design Project

Five Technology is excited to announce the launch of TheHuntingAuthority.com web project.  This hunting community website combined a great web design interface with a ton of features. Bringing Social Interaction To The Duck Blind The guys behind The Hunting Authority came to us with the goal of being the best website an avid hunter and outdoors person could find.  Great design, great content, great features and most of all, a voice for the ...

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May 6, 2009

The Golden Age Of Web Design

– Post written by Five Technology web programmer Brad Greenwald During the last decade, millions of websites were released year after year.  In a great trend for all involved, user experience became the dominant focus. Social media is now skyrocketing in nearly every sector for every audience. Websites are now being used on mobile phones and devices. Desktop applications are interacting with websites. Businesses are integrating a large amount of ...

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Apr 21, 2009

Giddy Up, A Website Redesign For OutWest

We recently released a website redesign for OutWest , a family-friendly horse ranch, show and horse event organization in Minnesota. OutWest had been on the Site Management Console web platform for over 5 years, but the growth of their business and interest in new web features brought them to explore a web redesign.  In meeting with OutWest’s owners and staff, we learned the new additions of horses for sale to their offering and their ...

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Apr 16, 2009

A Look At Our Minnesota Web Design Office

In our industry we often hide behind browsers, Internet connections, email and our web designs.  Just where are these web design experts working everyday?  So here is a look at our office space.  We moved into another section of our 100 year old building this winter as we found a renter for our old space.  It still needs some TLC, but you get the picture. The last photo is of our 1950’s Philco refrigerator.  ...

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Apr 9, 2009

SEO Presentation At The Buffalo Chamber Of Commerce

I was very fortunate to get to speak at the Buffalo, MN Chamber of Commerce Quarterly Luncheon today.  I presented on some ideas to help a small business website succeed, search engine optimization (SEO) and web analytics. I think I only put one person to sleep and the group had a lot of great Internet marketing questions in the follow-up. There were some great Buffalo and Wright County businesses / organizations in attendance and I enjoyed ...

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Mar 20, 2009

We’re Guilty Of A Great Law Firm Web Design

Five launched a new web design project this past week for the Minnesota and Wisconsin law firm Hansen, Dordell, Bradt, Odlaug & Bradt, PLLP. HDBOB.com now has a new interface design, content management platform, enhanced attorney profiles and a search engine friendly website. HDBOB’s past website was focused on the firm’s strong history, but didn’t offer a clear view to their current capabilities and offering. The old site ...

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Mar 8, 2009

A Small Coffee Shop Web Design Project Has A Big Future

Last week we launched the Blackwater Coffee Company & Cafe website. While the web design project was small in size on the surface, but its part of a very big service we are rolling out. The Blackwater web project included the following: Custom design elements over an existing CSS layout Full CMS back-end for updating of all website content Easy to use menu admin that allows for creating unlimited menus, categories, sub-categories, item ...

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Feb 24, 2009

Just One Website, Which One?

If you could only visit one website for the rest of the year, or just use one website the rest of your life, what website would it be? This interesting question came from my wife this weekend as she exclaimed her love for AllRecipes.com . She commented that if she could only visit one website, it would be AllRecipes.com for all of the cooking ideas she gets from it. This question really got me thinking about the value a website can have. That value is ...

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Feb 16, 2009

Five Technology Shows Website Design Work At Local Expo

Over 1,000 people walked through the doors and 65 local businesses took part in the Buffalo, MN Community & Business Expo on February 7,th 2009.  Five Tech showed off our web design work and talked with expo attendees about our capabilities and offering. Below is a photo of me (Aaron Weiche)  manning our booth. The expo is put on by the Buffalo Chamber of Commerce , a client of Five’s. It was a good time, a great way to brand ourselves ...

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Jan 30, 2009

Minnesota Web Design Is Both Hot & Cool: Corporate Mechanical

Our latest web design project to be released is for commercial HVAC and mechanical contractor Corporate Mechanical of Minnesota.  Serving the heating, cooling and mechanical needs of the Minneapolis area, Corporate Mechanical asked Five to heat up their web presence with a cool new web design and improvements to other areas online. For the project we took up the creative task of a new web design and flash element to the home page.  Corporate’s ...

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Jan 13, 2009

A Bit of Web Design Recognition Feels Good

It’s no secret the passion we have for the web and design . It’s a good feeling when our clients compliment our work, but we also enjoy when our web designs make the pages of the various CSS & web design gallery sites. Our latest project release, a website redesign for Buffalo Chamber made the cut and has appeared this week on a few different gallery sites.  It’s fun and flattering to have our screenshot appear along side plenty of ...

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Jan 9, 2009

Local Web Design Goodness: Buffalo Chamber Website Redesign

This past month we had the opportunity to complete a website redesign for the Buffalo, MN Chamber of Commerce . It’s a project I enjoyed for the fact I grew up in Buffalo, moved back 4 years ago and have worked with them on and off for the past 6 years.  The Chamber has been on our content management tool, the SMC, for over 5 years but the site’s design was about 7 years old and in need of a serious redesign. Web Redesign Needs ...

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Jan 7, 2009

Creative Web Design Energy: Energy Cost Cutters

Our latest web design project and the first to hit the web for 2009 is Energy Cost Cutters . A start-up company in Minneapolis, Energy Cost Cutters came to Five Technology needing to get a basic website rolling as they started their commercial energy audit and reduction services . The web design project included the interface design, build-out on the SMC for content management , an interactive form for the Energy Audit requests and we even went ...

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Dec 31, 2008

2008 In Review: A Website Design Company Begins

The year 2008 was a big one, mostly because it was the first year for us as Five Technology. We launched in February 2008 with a more specific and enhanced web design and Internet marketing focus then our parent company had provided to date. We benefited from our partnership/ownership with a 13 year old company ( Intrcomm ), but still had the challenges of a spanking new brand (and domain!). So for our last blog post of 2008 I thought I’d put ...

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Dec 11, 2008

A Great Web Design In The Crosshairs: Ranchline Hunting

Five is excited to launch a new web design for Ranchline Hunting . RanchlineHunting.com offers New Mexico hunting at it’s finest with their accommodations and guided hunt options for antelope, deer, elk, quail and more. This web design project involved: Custom web design Content Management with the SMC On page SEO & content structure Photo galleries Online reservation request form The ...

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Dec 10, 2008

Web Design Projects: A Sneak Peak in December

We’re hoping to have a few blog posts later this month on web design projects going LIVE.  We definitely have some great websites hitting the interweb to end 2008.  In the meantime, here is a sneak peak at just some of the custom web designs Five Technology is putting together in December. If you have a website you want to revamp and redesign for 2009, give us a shout !

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Nov 3, 2008

Web Design Project: Brandt Automation

Five is excited to launch BrandtAutomation.com’s website redesign . Brandt Automation is a custom equipment design/build firm in Minnesota and they started asking great questions in meeting with Five on their website redesign like: Why don’t we show up in Google? How do we increase the value of our website? How do we generate more leads online? How can we and how should we update content? As we dug ...

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Oct 13, 2008

Web Design Projects: A Sneak Peek In October

It’s been a couple of months since I have given you a glimpse to a few of the web design projects we have going on at Five , so here you go.  It’s easy to say we have a lot going on around here right now.  We’re hoping to have a few posts very soon covering websites going LIVE later this week or early next week, so stayed tuned for some project reviews . Here is a snapshot of just some of the web design projects so far in ...

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Oct 8, 2008

3 Tips For Making Your Website A Destination

The same way that a hot vacation spot or an amazing restaurant brings people in from a variety of sources and places, a great website should do the same. Create something of value, entertainment and enjoyment and you’ll get a faithful following, a great reputation, referral business, buzz and profits. Your website can be this same type of destination on the Internet. A solid website builds repeat users and conversions. The site’s ...

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Oct 1, 2008

Web Design Process: A Focus On Wireframes & Layout

Over the last 2 years I have become more of a supporter of layout then design.  Yes, layout is an element of design, but in the web design process they have their own areas and purposes.  This post takes a peak at the use of wireframes to help determine a websites layout and also the factors we consider in a web design layout.  It’s a great step for the web designer, production team and the client. Web Design Layout ...

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Sep 30, 2008

E-commerce Web Design Project: Ranchline All Natural

Those looking for all natural lamb meat and cuts can find great lamb packages on RanchlineAllNatural.com . Ranchline All Natural wanted an e-commerce website that not only offered the premium lamb meat from the Felix River area of New Mexico, but they wanted to offer their website visitors great lamb recipes , grilling tips and wine pairings. You can see the web design is clean and easy to navigate around.  Many e-commerce web designs ...

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Sep 17, 2008

Five Launches A Minnesota Web Design Resource With Websota.com

It’s no secret the passion we have for web design . It’s written right on our business cards and is obvious to our clients and prospects. We also get a lot of inspiration from the great CSS Gallery websites out there and we love it when our work is featured in them. All of this led us to create a website specifically for the awesome web design community in Minnesota , it’s called Websota . We’ll be featuring great web ...

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Sep 2, 2008

Clean & Simple Web Designs, Dashboards & The New Google Browser Chrome

Yeah, a lot going on in the title here, but I promise it’s all related and of value. Clean & Simple Web Design Stuart Atkinson of Bulletproof Box, a blog offering web design techniques, recently highlighted the Five Technology website as one of his 7 Fantastically Simple Web Designs. If you’ve peaked around our portfolio and read a few of our posts on web design then it’s no secret we’re fans of clean, simple and usable ...

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Aug 28, 2008

Five Product Page Or Service Page Web Design Tips

For many a small business website, it all boils down to your specific products or services and how well you show the user your features and benefits. I push clients to find as many ways possible to educate, inform, build trust and ultimately answer questions on their product or service. A good web design needs to properly display, engage and move the user to the desired goal of contact, form completion or purchase to be a success. Product / Service ...

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Aug 25, 2008

Mobile Web Design, Mobile Marketing & Nabbit’s Mobile Tagging Service

Feeling mobile? You need to be. The mobile web is continuing to grow, fueled by iPhones, Treos and Blackberrys in the hands of users that need the Internet in the palm of their hand. I’m sure you need no convincing that with over 3 Billion cell/mobile phones in the world, we are only moving forward with what we access on them and how. Here is just a glimpse on the mobile web design and marketing front. I’m sure I’ll be diving further ...

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Aug 21, 2008

Website Redesign: When & Why

While there is no specific rule of thumb in web design for when you should redesign your website, there are many factors that signal it is time to revamp things. I addressed this topic in our August e-letter and decided to post it to our blog as well. Are you in need of a website redesign ? Here are some points that might be telling you it’s time. + Time If you want to consider timeframe as one rule, an industry average is every ...

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Aug 17, 2008

Our Web Design Skills Rev Up For A Breast Cancer Awareness Event

We recently launched our 2nd donated non-profit website ( see the 1st ) for 2008, this time for the Lynnda Laubach Breast Cancer Awareness Ride .  This growing event offers a day of fun while raising money for the Cancer Center at Regions Hospital .  The main event is the 100 mile motorcycle ride and the evening ends with two LIVE bands and a pizza dinner in Rogers, MN. The 4th annual event is on September 20th and you can see all of the ...

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Aug 12, 2008

Web Design Projects: A Sneak Peek In August

The past few months Five has been very fortunate to land some great new web design projects . The initial creative and design process is always full of fun, energy and challenges. Below is just a sampling from four of our current web projects in the works. These designs are being integrated into our SMC content management system. Stay tuned for future posts on how they turned out and the specific web design, development and marketing aspects they ...

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Aug 4, 2008

McWebsites: Not Where You Should Order A Website

I get the question in many meetings to compare why thousands of dollars spent with Five Technology is better than using one of the template web design options or a packaged web solution.  Of course you get what you pay for, but here is a little question I fire back.  Would you go through a drive-thru to order a website from McWebsite’s? Yes I get a laugh, but then I also break down what I’m talking about. Guidance, ...

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Jul 30, 2008

Trucking Company Web Design Project Is An Oversized Success

Otto Transfer hauls the big things others can’t.  Giant telephone poles and other oversized loads are the common freight for Otto’s trucking and hauling services . Owner Kevin Otto came to Five with two needs.  One was to get a professional website up and the other was to make it a valuable resource for his cusotmers and staff by adding online account management and quoting.  Kevin had tried to put up a Yahoo ...

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Jul 21, 2008

Feeding A Website Design Need For A Non-Profit

To date this year, Five Technology has donated our web design services and content management solution for two different local organizations.  The first was to the “Vote Yes” committee in Delano for their efforts in getting two school referendums passed.  The second website has just recently been released and is for the non-profit Buffalo, Minnesota Food Shelf . After I read a local newspaper article on the challenges the ...

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Jun 23, 2008

E-commerce Web Design Project for little dreamers

Colorado monogrammed gifts retailer, little dreamers, has big ideas for their new e-commerce website that went LIVE last week. Business owners Nicole and Paula sought a better web design to brand their unique monogrammed baby gifts and more and they needed it powered by an easy to use content management system and e-commerce solution. Five’s custom web design coupled with the SMC was just the right solution. Some of the project ...

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Jun 17, 2008

CSS Gallery Love From CSS Vault Makes Our Day

I was so busy tending to a few web projects and tomorrow’s Five e-letter that I didn’t bother checking out our Woopra account to see how the daily traffic was flowing. It seems I was missing out on some big things as the Five website made the front page of CSS Vault today, one of the most respected CSS Gallery websites out there. Nothing like a surge in traffic (over 350 users) and some street cred among peers. The various CSS ...

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Jun 9, 2008

Web Design Projects In June

Five has a few web design projects that are getting ready to go LIVE in the next few weeks so I thought I would give you a sneak peek. If you are in need of a great Minnesota web design firm, holler at us! Besides looking good, these sites have functionality including e-commerce, an account/user management system and more.

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Apr 28, 2008

A Clean Website Redesign For Sparkling Clean

In landing a website redesign project for a window washing company we knew it had to be a clean web design, streak free content and a clear focus on local search results. Ryan Doliber, the owner of Sparkling Clean Window Washing has been in business for a few years and realized it was time to move up in the web world and decisively differ his brand appearance from the competition. Sparkling Clean Website Before When launching his business ...

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Apr 24, 2008

Web Design & CSS Inspiration Resources: Noupe

For me there is nothing better than hitting up some of the great CSS gallery websites as well as the different CSS and web resources out there. I’m one of those in a constant push to find new techniques, angles, connections and develop new lines of thinking. That said, I’m not a radical or into confusing a user for the sake of “cool”. I am however after the almighty goal of creating easy to use web interfaces and designs that ...

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Apr 18, 2008

Converting Your Website To A Content Management System (CMS)

You need a change, you need control of your website. Maybe you have depended on a webmaster or an internal employee with some web skills to make updates to your website, but it no longer is the right method. You want things to happen quicker, you want to enhance your content and functionality and you’ve heard it can be done without knowing all that HTML stuff. You want a content management system and you’ve heard right, it can be easy. ...

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Apr 9, 2008

Website Olympics, The Customer Is the Gold Medal

Winning online is something I talk about a lot with clients. In looking at things like an Olympic track and field event, your website has to win a combination of heats to get to the medal round and then capture the ultimate goal, the gold medal. Online, that gold medal is the customer … and that can be their trust, their time, their communication or their money. Here is a short summary of just some of the heats you need to win to get to the medal ...

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Apr 8, 2008

Tools For Presenting a Web Design Project Proposal

I thought I would share with you a simple overview of some of the tools I use when presenting a web design proposal to a client. While each situation can involve much more complex communication, examples and conversation … these basics are pillars of my presentation. Also consider in 90% of cases I am presenting in person and when at all possible in our office. In the case of national clients, I will jet to see them depending on the budget and scope. ...

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Apr 2, 2008

Web Design Projects Underway

Five landed some great new web design projects in March and we are currently designing and programming our little hearts out. I will be sharing more on each project as it launches but here are a few little layout snippets from a couple of them to keep you satisfied.

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Mar 25, 2008

Increase Your Business With Web Development Enhancements

Many of the small business owners and managers I talk with in the past few months are looking to apply more focus to their website and how they can better serve customers online. Most have had a website for at least a few years, some have had success with it as a lead generation tool and others admit they just created something to get it “out there” and have given it little attention. The theme with almost all of them is that with the economy ...

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