We’re proud to announce the launch of three new websites!

McGraw Hardscapes came to Sage Island to update the look and feel of their website and to increase the functionality of the site.  Sage Island developed a fully editable site that allows for updates to the text, photo gallery images and press releases.  The design was customized to showcase the beautiful designs of McGraw Hardscapes.

The newly redesigned Flow Sciences website launched on August 14th.  The client sought our services to redesign their existing website and develop an interactive site that allowed visitors to register and login to access technical product information.  The new site includes a flash header to showcase the different product areas of Flow Sciences.  The site was developed utilizing a content management system and gives Flow Sciences the ability to edit text, images and documents contained within the site.

Nalley Properties launched their new website on August 21st. The new Nalley Properties website includes the ability for the client to enter in available properties and allows visitors to search by property name and location.  The site includes a Google Maps application that maps the available properties and display them on a state by state basis.  The site also features a maintenance request form that allows tenants to contact Nalley directly with any issues they may have.

We are happy to announce that the new Century 21 Sweyer website launched last Friday. The new site design was a collaboration between Sage and Century 21, and we have integrated a lot of new functionality including a quick search that allows users to search for properties and agents directly from the homepage. Other new features include a direct link to new listings that have come out in the last week and a new section for those interested in considering a career in real estate. The Career page was created in Flash and allows users to interactively learn about each of the departments within Century 21 Sweyer.

The most significant change comes with the redesign of the property listing search pages. The new search page has been redesigned for increased usability. The search results pages have options for viewers to select the viewing layout that suits their needs. They can choose from a basic list view of properties, a gallery view that shows larger images of the properties or a map view that plots the listings and highlights which listings are listed by Century 21 Sweyer.

We just launched a website for ACCESS of Wilmington. ACCESS (Accessible Coastal Carolina Events Sports and Services) of Wilmington is a non-profit organization that was formed in 2008 with an overall mission to create a place where people of all ages, races and abilities can actively participate together here in Wilmington, NC. After receiving kind donations, ACCESS has developed two programs now underway: The Accessible Golf of Wilmington program and the Miracle Field of Wilmington. Both of these great programs allow individuals with disabilities the chance to play on specially designed fields. Among many features, the website includes a PayPal donation link in hopes of continually collecting funds to support these great programs and eventually expand. The client is thrilled with the design and functionality of the website and is eager to view the response and traffic it gets in the near future.

North Carolina based company, Combat Medical Systems, came to Sage Island with the goal of redesigning and redeveloping an ecommerce website that displays their products and information. Founded in 2008, Combat Medical Systems develops innovative products to simplify tactical medicine. As can be seen in the website, Combat Medical Systems offers a number of highly configured medical kits and products for users of all medical skills. This new and improved website was built within a Content Management System, featuring a Flash Header, News module, WordPress Blog and a manageable shopping cart. Currently the shopping cart is set to handle orders by phone only, in the future it will be set to receive orders and automatically process the Credit Card.

Extending beyond the website, Sage Island and Combat Medical Systems’ professional relationship continues as we are continually working on the design and development for a new company brochure, magazine ads promoting specific products, product sheets, product photography, tradeshow banner stands, a secondary non-profit website and Pay Per Click campaigns.

Usability is one of the most important (and often overlooked) elements of search engine optimization. If your website is designed for the end user, you’ll reap the benefits in your search engine rankings and your customers will be more likely to interact with your website in the way that you desire.

Keep these usability best practices in mind as you design your website to ensure a good user experience and better search engine results:

Navigation

• Include a clear navigation bar that links to every page on your website and appears consistently on each page.
• Link to pages on your website internally throughout the copy using relevant, keyword-rich anchor text.
• Use breadcrumbs to show users where they are and where they came from.

Accessibility

• File sizes for your pages should ideally be smaller than 200KB to optimize loading time and search engine crawling.
• Place copy in the first 100KB to ensure that your keyword-rich content is being crawled and indexed.
• Keep pages as close to the root as possible. Users and search engines should be able to reach each page on your site from the homepage in two clicks or less.
• Utilize permanent 301 redirects for known deleted pages to land users on a similar page and maintain links.
• Use a custom 404 page to redirect users and search engines that have reached a page that no longer exists on your site back to the most useful content on your site.

Readability

• Don’t use fancy fonts for your body copy. Simple fonts, preferably sans serif, are easiest on the eyes and most likely to display properly on all browsers.
• Write clear, concise content for each page. Web users get overwhelmed with huge blocks of text, so limit the amount of text on each page.
• Break up large blocks of text into bite-sized pieces with headers.

Simplicity

• Keep your on-page code as clean as possible by moving JavaScript and style sheets into external files.
• Use animation and Flash sparingly. Too much animation can be distracting for users, and while search engines are getting better at indexing Flash, it’s not perfect yet.

Optimization

• Focus on one page at a time in your optimization, and optimize it for no more than three highly relevant keywords. This will tell users and search engines what the page is about quickly and easily.

Finally, be sure to test run usability tests with several user types likely to visit your site to catch problems that normal users may encounter. Be sure to run tests on all of the major browsers (Internet Explorer 7 & 8, Firefox, and Safari). What works on one browser may not work on another.

Over the years Zappos.com has become the top seller of shoes on the internet and it is clear why. Stocking more than 3 million pairs of shoes and accessories and carrying over 1,000 name brands, Zappos.com is the alpha of the ecommerce shoe industry. Initially recognized for strong customer service and satisfaction, Zappos.com has held true to allowing customers return shoes at no cost! I guess the old saying holds true … if the shoe fits, wear it (if not just return free of charge).

Today Zappos proves they are still a leader for the online shoe business. Stepping it up a notch, the website now offers a new way to navigate through its massive inventory. When selecting a product in Explore.Zappos.com, you will feel you have stepped into shoe heaven as similar products begin to arrange themselves. You can then continue your quest to find the dream shoe by next filtering according to price range, discount, size, color, brand and description.

This is a great interactive feature added to the website and is a ‘shoe in’ to be a big hit among customers. Check it out and satisfy your shoe fetish through a visual search!

We’re always looking for new trends in graphics and web design to offer our clients the most up-to-date design innovations. Smashing Magazine just released this list of web design trends for 2009. The list includes some great new developments in typography, graphic elements, and design — including my favorite, font replacement, which allows designers to break free from system fonts and blend typography with graphic elements for a unique look. If you’re thinking about updating your website’s design in 2009, these trends are a good place to find some inspiration.