I think that’s the #1 fear most people have in hiring a web designer or agency. With so many horror stories of designers disappearing, running off with your assets, or just going psycho, how do you protect yourself and make the right choice for your conscious business or world-changing project?

First off: Look closely at the team’s track record. 

We hear these nightmare stories more often than we’d like, and we work extra hard to make sure our clients are given the highest level, highest integrity treatment possible. We pride ourselves in being there for you for the long haul, responding to each of your emails and inquiries with useful, timely, pro-active responses, and consistently over-delivering and following through on the value and service we provide.

Our core goal is to provide our clients the best experience possible, with the strongest outcome for their core business goals, and that’s what we strive to deliver on a consistent basis. You should expect nothing less!

Here’s what one of our clients, Marnee Long, Program Director for Dr. James Jealous, D.O., recently shared with us about her own experience:

“After my last experience with a website company that never divulged to me that if they disappeared I’d have to get another website done, I was skeptical on who to hire, because I did not want to get stuck with that situation again.

I wasn’t quite sure — there’s doubts when you’re hiring someone across the country — but it turned out that the work you did was fantastic, it was timely, and very well done! You were responsive, directions were very clear if I had an issue or a question, and all my questions were answered in more than a timely manner — I couldn’t ask for better.

A lot of times when you’re having a website developed it makes you kind of nervous, because you don’t really understand what’s going on behind the scenes, but your team was very good at expressing and describing all that, and keeping us up to date. You have a very effective and communicative team running, and I think that makes all the difference in the world. I like things to run very organized and efficiently, so I was very impressed, and the final product came out great!”

These are some of the key differentiators in the service we provide, and you can see it yourself throughout the testimonials our clients have shared with us.

Another major factor to consider in choosing the right agency for your life-changing work: Technology!

Along with checking into a team’s track record, testimonials and longevity, you want to be sure to check into the quality and technology of the work they provide.

Questions you should be asking:

• Are they working with the latest technologies and programming languages, or passing by with old-school design and coding practices?
• Will you be able to easily update the site and add content as needed?
• Will you receive the training you need to be able to make updates easily?
• Will your site be mobile device ready and responsive?
• Will your site be optimized for social media sharing and for search engines?
• Will the platform you’re building on be obsolete in a couple years’ time, or will you be able to continue improving and expanding your site from the foundation you have?

Technology and the online world is ever-evolving and changing at lightning speed. We’ve seen so many changes in the years since we first began providing conscious web design and online strategy to world-changing businesses in 2008 it’s unfathomable!

So, along with a solid track record, you want to be sure you’re getting a rock-solid foundation for your great work — the highest quality goods, strategically designed and developed for the needs of your particular audience.

We are relentless in providing the highest quality product possible, thoroughly testing all technical aspects and cross-browser compatibility, and developing mobile-device ready sites. We also understand the human component, and we work with you to create websites designed for your particular audience, while modeling high-end luxury brand design at a fraction of typical agency rates.

How does the team run their business?

Chris ‘The Rock’ B. — our ever rockin’ project wrangler and support guru.

Chris Badgett is our interactive project wrangler and client support guru, and he holds down the fort from his home office in Whitefish, Montana. The rest of our team are dedicated freelance professionals who are hand chosen for their particular skills, track record and expertise, and located primarily in North America — in the Los Angeles area, Portland and Canada — while I steer the virtual ship from my mobile office (currently in South America — Eastern Time!).

We use professional web conferencing and screen-sharing services, Gmail, phone and Skype to stay connected, Basecamp, Dropbox and Google Drive for project management and organization.

Every step of the way we strive to educate you and your key team members to put the control and power of your site in your hands.   

The way we approach this — we look at how we can deliver a product that benefits our clients the most, and educate you on how to maximize your investment without having to spend more. Sometimes that means making decisions that put more control, knowledge and power in your hands than our own, saving you time and money now and down the road. This is a conscious choice we make at every turn.

One of the greatest benefits of working with a team like ours is you get stellar attention, care and white glove service, with a level of quality in strategic design, technology and development you could only get with a brick-and-mortar agency at double or triple our rates and higher.

Beyond that, though, we offer something you can’t get anywhere else: Me and Chris diving deep into your vision with you to develop a really powerful world-class product together, and deliver it with finesse.

I think that’s a pretty remarkable value proposition, and it gets me excited when I think about all the great work we can support, and the people we are able to help in the world. It’s an honor to be able to do this work!

Finally, before you make your choice… 

Does it feel right in your gut? Do you feel a resonance with the people you are considering working with? Because you want to enjoy the process, and you want to really be able to trust that you’re working with high integrity people you can trust, and who share the same values as you do.

When you’re ready for a totally different experience from what you’ve gone through in the past — fumbling through doing it yourself, or having someone who really isn’t able to deliver what you really need — I hope you will contact us and let me offer you the opportunity for a free personal phone consultation. You can ask whatever you want, and I’ll give you the advice and info you need to make an informed decision on what to do next.

Whoever you end up choosing for your life-changing work I wish you only the best in all your endeavors and I hope to get the chance to connect with you soon!

Good luck and Godspeed!

Cheers,

Satya Colombo

Principal, iEnvision Media. 

Questions about how to optimize your website, rebuild your brand, or inject life and flow into your online presence? Go ahead and reach out already, and let us help get you on the right track for your business and great work in the world.   

Dragon Fire + Lion Heart + You and Me = Strong and Happy Website!

If you’re stuck in a battle with your website and online presence, you’re wasting precious time. The best thing you can do is befriend your website and stop fighting the evil technology dragon. Of course in this pursuit, as most worldly pursuits, the first battle to overcome is the one in your own head….

Usually you need a little help and support to get out of the general confusion and into action. That’s where I come in:

I offer you some sanity, a sense of assuredness, and a lot of expertise to guide you into the light at the end of the tunnel! Our team is like a bedrock for you to build your unique kingdom on. We help you get the dragon on your side, and lend you the courage, strength and support you need until you’re ready to stand on your own. 

If you want to feel good about your online presence, and have it working right for you, you have to stand behind it 100% — you’ve got to breathe life and love and strength into it — and you’ve got to tame the dragon!

It’s time to rein in the evil technology dragon and breathe some life into your website!

Once you’ve made the decision to do this right once and for all, the first step is to evaluate your site: What feels good, and what doesn’t?

The next step is to fix up your site so it feels good, it looks good, and it works good: OPTIMIZE!

The final step is to get friendly with your site, learn how to hold the reins better, and learn how to use it well. Then you get to ride the dragon.

1. Evaluate what feels good and what doesn’t:

This is pretty easy to gauge. Pull out a sheet of paper and go through the site — start free writing. You’re looking at a few factors:
Design, Function, and Emotional Resonance (what aspects of the site make you feel good, and which parts make you feel not so good).

2. Fix it up:

Take that list of what feels good and what doesn’t, and decide on what you’re going to do to fix it up! If you have some serious savvy you can take a stab at doing it yourself, but for most people the best option is just to bite the bullet and hire a professional to help you out. After years of working in the trenches we have so much more to offer than you can figure out by reading some blog posts and doing it yourself!

3. Get friendly with your site:

Build a relationship with your site, learn how it works and be grateful for what it does for you. Don’t fight your website — let it fight for you! If you don’t have a site you can update yourself easily, this is gonna need to be remedied ASAP. You should be using a content management system website for this — WordPress is our favorite, but there are quite a few options.

What I’m seeing now with my professional work in the online and web design world is there’s a lot of healing to do! The website is an extension of you in the world. The way you approach your site, work with it and use it to express yourself is a complete microcosm of how you show up in the world in your life and work.

At this moment, we have two resources to offer in helping you tame the dragon, and build a good relationship with your website:

(There is always a solution!)

1. WordPress Basics: An Enlightened Manual for Updating and Maintaining Your Website

This (totally fuh-ree) guide was created to support the good work of the world, and is available to anyone without limitations whatsoever — it’s a ‘no walls’ product.

It’s especially useful for people just starting out with WordPress, as well as those who are considering the leap to a self-hosted website platform, but also contains some very useful tips and refreshers for veterans of the platform.

2. Tame the Dragon: Website Consulting & Optimization Service

We’ve been doing this for years, but this is the first time it’s occurred to me to offer this as a standalone service — it just makes sense! We guide you through the three-step process I outlined above, and then we execute the updates for you, and help you get friendly and comfortable with your site.

I love working with conscious people to be a fierce ally and advocate for the good work you’re doing in the world. Sometimes you just need the help of a skilled dragon tamer to give you a better grip on the reins. Contact us to help tame your dragon for the new year.

Do you like animals? The spirit of the lion, and the fire of the dragon can work on your behalf if you call them in, and invite them to help. Imagine them working as part of your team — in collaboration with your passion and intelligence — it’s pretty great!  

To me, the five key ingredients in this process are Fire, Heart, Intelligence, Magic and Skill. There’s a sweet spot where these meet to make the magic happen. 

With Love,

..

Tame the Dragon!

Limited time Dragon Tamer promotion for Spring 2013: 13 hours of design/development + technical support + one full consultation ~ $1,350. Contact us for details and get your site back in your hands, and your sales and leads flowing.

Two-payment option available. Certain limitations apply. All orders subject to approval.

LA Yoga Magazine website before redesign:

LA Yoga Magazine site after redesign:

Image shows top two-thirds of the site re-visioned as a modern, content-driven, highly relevant resource for the community it serves.

One of the big challenges from the start was creating a site information architecture that allowed for easy organization of content for the editors as well as site visitors. We researched dozens of websites in the industry and worked closely with the LA Yoga Magazine team to design and develop a comprehensive site framework for a great user experience, improved social shareability and overall brand relevance.

Some website features:

• Valuable, premium advertising slots synched and managed through a professional website advertising platform.
• Full Social Media integration: Share to all major networks and ‘Like’ from every article and page. Follow LA Yoga Magazine and Facebook Like without leaving the site.
• Featured content slider: Easy to access and update for the editorial team.
• Mini feature thumbnails and excerpts automatically pulled to home page below slider.
• Featured Events app automatically feeds headlines to home page.
• Homepage Featured Category sections content and thumbnails automatically feed from new blog posts in relevant categories.

This was a really great project to be part of, and we were honored to be chosen to work with the LA Yoga Magazine team to re-envision and refresh their new website presence online!

Visit LA Yoga Magazine online