Stand Out in the (Online) Crowd
This week, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced that New York City-based businesses and entrepreneurs who want that unmistakable “Big Apple” cred are now eligible to apply for a new top-level domain: .nyc. Having a .nyc web address more or less the online equivalent of the coveted (212) area code: it shows users that the person or company does business in the city that never sleeps. Registering a .nyc address tells New Yorkers that the business is local (and possibly even somewhere in their neighborhood), and it also communicates prestige and panache to the rest of the world—after all, as you may have heard, if you can make it there, you’ll make it anywhere!
If you’re an NYC-based business and you’re planning to purchase nameofyourbizhere.nyc, good for you! If you’re not, you may be wondering if there are other ways to distinguish yourself and your web presence from competitors. Let’s check out some smart ideas on how your marketing and web design strategies can help you to stand out in the crowd.
A+ Web Design
It probably goes without saying that you want a beautiful, well-functioning page for your company. By covering all your bases with a genius web designer, you can set yourself apart from competitors who haven’t done as much homework as you have. When you sit down with your design expert, be sure you hit all the important points. What are they? To begin, you want your site to look great and reflect your branding, combining modern web design trends with tried-and-true methodologies like website wireframing. Be sure it’s quick to load and easy to navigate and browse, and if there’s a checkout or purchasing process, keep it as simple and straightforward as possible.
While you’re reviewing all the most important considerations for designing a great site, don’t forget that you want it to render equally well on personal computers, smartphones, and tablets. Employing responsive design best practices isn’t an option these days; it’s an absolute necessity!
A Great Logo
A picture is worth a thousand words—maybe more. Another way to make your site and brand stand out is by making a brilliant and unique logo your signature. We recently blogged about designing a logo, taking a good look at what works and what doesn’t. Creating a logo that’s attractive, powerful, and clever can help you to leave a lasting impression on users. Think about it: if you saw the silhouette of an apple with one bite out of it, with zero words or other details for context, you’d still recognize the brand immediately, wouldn’t you?
Superior Content
Users love discovering new material that’s relevant and valuable, whether it answers a burning question, solves a problem, or just elicits a few chuckles. So give them what they want! When you focus on providing fresh content on a regular basis—a blog is a great way to accomplish this—readers stop and take notice. They’ll bookmark your page and remember to read it when they’re looking for smart tips or a funny meme to pass to friends. And they’ll also like hearing from you (or your colleagues)—it makes the experience feel much more personal.
Are you ready to make your site stand out in the crowd, even an NYC subway platform-sized one? Get to it! If you’re not quite sure how to begin, don’t worry. We’ll have many more good ideas for you in the weeks to come.