As the 100m sprint final of the 2015 IAAF World Championships, and numerous races before have proven, there is no beating Usain Bolt on the track.
His world record of 9.58 seconds is quite impressive, however, if Usain were in the website world, he wouldn’t be winning any medals.
If your website loads in more than 10 seconds on a mobile device, you’ve already lost about 49% of your visitors.
Actually, 47% of visitors expect your website to load in 2 seconds or less, even on their mobile devices; and Google’s search engine now penalizes sites that take too long to load on mobile devices.
That’s right, just like Usain could lose a race in a matter of seconds, that’s all it takes to lose a lot of potential customers.
So now you’re wondering if your website is up to scratch, right? Let’s find out!
To get an idea of the actual number of seconds, open an incognito window (see image below), type in your website homepage and count the seconds it takes to load. This time may fluctuate a bit based on devices and browsers, but that exercise will give you a basic idea.
How to Open an Incognito Window
For a more technical approach, head on over to Google’s PageSpeed Insights and enter your website domain. If your score is 84 or below (yellow or red), you’ve got to some work to do.
Along with your score, you will see a long list of recommendations of how to improve your score, but it probably looks like it’s in another language (we call it #developerese). This is where you have to make one of three choices:
1. Leave it alone.
Forget about it. You don’t mind losing a ton of customers to your competitors anyway. You didn’t get in this business to make money.
2. Set out to fix it on your own.
You may not know all the technical stuff, but if you make your way around the backend of a website, there are a few steps you can take to improve your loading time.
You can start using a Content Delivery Network like CloudFlare (free), which has pretty simple instructions for installation here. If your site is on WordPress, you could also get some of these awesome free plugins and make a few extra tweaks as recommended by Gregory Ciotti.
Don’t install a lot though – too many plugins can also slow down your load time.
3. Give us a call.
If the advice in point 2 made your head spin, you may want to opt out of fiddling with your site. Broken sites are no fun.
Instead, give us a call or send us a message, and we can help make your site much faster than Usain.
The time this will take, and the cost, will vary based on the work we will have to do, but we will definitely discuss the possibilities with you beforehand, and you will rest easy knowing that your site is in good hands.
Now, who’s psyched to see our athletes run in the 2016 Olympics?!
You may have heard about Dubai Mall, otherwise known as ‘the largest mall in the world’.
It has over 1,200 retail stores and 200 food outlets. And last year (2014), it got over 80,000,000 visitors. Yes…that’s 80 million.
Let’s put that in perspective for a moment. Jamaica’s entire population is estimated at 2.8 million in 2015. So that’s almost 30X our entire population traversing the mall within one year!
And you imagine browsing through 1,200 stores…or picking a place for lunch from 200 options? What a conundrum!
So what could possibly be bigger than this?
Well…social media, of course!
Social media has always had a lot of visitors – Facebook, the largest network, has 936 million active users on average each day. Other networks such as Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest boast impressive numbers too. All of these networks also allow businesses to showcase their products, like they would in their stores, and click through to their website to buy. That’s nothing new.
But there’s one change being made to these social networks that’s going to blow everything else out of the water.
The buy button.
Last year July, Facebook officially announced that it would be testing out a buy button feature. Later in the year, Twitter also announced its own buy button, with this video…
https://youtu.be/dEGk5LRumJM
Most recently, Instagram and Pinterest have made their own buy button announcements.
There are a couple things to note. First, these are not yet released to the public. The respective social networks are currently testing them out with a select few retailers in the US market. When they are released, we can expect for them to only work with ads. Which means if businesses want to make use of them, they better prepare to start shelling out some cash. But that will probably cost less than Dubai Mall rent, so no worries there.
The point is that persons will no longer have to click through to individual websites to buy products they see on social media. Their credit cards and addresses will be stored directly on each social network and all it takes is literally a click of a button to purchase items. That’s huge!
The big question retailers are probably asking themselves now is whether they should be abandoning their websites and other marketing efforts and focus on social. Here’s our advice: DON’T DO THAT.
While this news stands to provide a huge benefit, there’s still a few benefits that you can’t (and won’t) get from social media.
Social media is one size fits all – You don’t have much choice in how you present your products or arrange your store on social media. You’re limited to the features they provide. On your website, you’re free to make changes as you see fit and make a unique experience for your customers.
Remember, you don’t own your social media audience – Building your home on a social media network is ill-advised. Sure, you can gain a large audience and widen your reach, and you should definitely use social media – it just shouldn’t be your main online location. Why? Because you’re just renting the space, for free. If you violate terms or upset someone, you can easily get your page closed and you couldn’t do a thing about it. That’s a blow you can’t afford.
When it comes to reaching your audience, email still trumps everything else – Sure, you have thousands of fans on Facebook and Twitter, but have you ever noticed that your individual posts only reach about 1-5% of them? Not that great, huh? Compare it to average email open rates at 20% and you’ll see why email isn’t something you should give up so easily. And again, with emails you’re free to customize and adjust as you please. Not so much with Facebook posts.
So there you have it. Soon persons will have the largest malls in the world right at their fingertips and those really awesome shoes on the way to their house in the click of a button. But that will mean that a stellar off-social-media experience will be that much more valuable – and that’s where you need to shine.
That’s usually one of the first questions we get asked when clients call.
Short Answer: It depends.
We know that’s not what you want to hear. You’re looking for a ballpark figure you can use to determine how much you need to save, or you need a quick quote to carry back to your boss. We get it. But so many factors go into a website that it’s almost impossible to give you a figure without getting some more information from you.
Here’s the great news, though…
There is no cost involved in calling us and speaking to someone who will help you figure out exactly what you want in a website, and develop a quote based on your needs.
So feel free to give us a call or send us a message and we’ll help you get started.
To give you a better understanding of what goes into pricing a website project, here are some of the factors which go into preparing your quote:
1. Brand Identity
Does your business have an existing brand identity, i.e. a logo, colours, preferred fonts, etc. or will we have to create one for you? It will cost more to create an identity from scratch, which is needed for the design process.
2. Redesign
Is this a redesign of an old site or will this be the first website for the business? In some cases, there are elements from the old site which can be brought over to the new site, which will reduce the cost and time spent in development.
3. Special Features or Requests
If you have specific must-have features in mind based on concepts you’ve seen before, these may cost extra to be developed.
4. Budget
Our clients often have an idea of how much they ideally want to spend on their website. If we know that figure, we can suggest ideas that fit into that budget. If what you want is outside of your budget, we can suggest alternatives.
5. Photography
It’s hard to find a website without beautiful images these days. Those pictures have to come from somewhere. We often ask our clients to provide these images themselves, however we can source stock photos or hire a photographer on your behalf to take them for you.
6. Web Content
Another essential element of any website is the copy. ‘Copy’ refers to the words that provide information to your audience. We also ask our clients to provide this as well, however we can find someone to create this content if required.
Of course, you can write this content yourself, but a professional will be better equipped to include the right keywords to get found by search engines, and write in a tone that’s perfect for your audience.
7. E-Commerce
If you want visitors to be able to browse your products and/or buy from you online, this is going to require additional work to create your online store.
8. Domain
Do you have an existing website URL (ours is thinkchrysalis.com) or will we have to purchase one for you?
9. Hosting & Maintenance
Do you plan to take over the site and do everything yourself (or hire someone to do it for you) once we have completed the building process, or would you like us to continue monitoring it and updating it for you?
(Quick Note: Your website is really a set of files, and hosting is a rental fee you pay for storage space for these files so that they may be accessed on the Internet. More details on this and other website jargon to come in a future post.)
As you can see, there really is a lot to consider when providing you with a quote for your website.
Hopefully, this information can help you with identifying some of the requirements you might have, which will make our conversation a lot smoother when you call us to provide a quote for your website.
In case you haven’t heard, Singer Jamaica just launched their brand new website and it’s unlike any other e-commerce website you’ve seen in Jamaica before!
Singer had a presence in Jamaica for over 100 years, and it is known for its commitment to providing excellent products for the home and top-notch customer service. It’s only fitting that their website reflects these values too.
We have been Singer’s website development partners for about 8 years and couldn’t be more proud of the association with the company that is “committed to providing employment to Jamaicans across the island and to ensuring that Jamaicans can live comfortably”. We built their first website back in 2007 and we thank them for entrusting us with this responsibility once again.
The Chrysalis team has been hard at work for a few months making sure we got everything just right and ensure that Singer customers will have the best digital shopping experience.
Here are just three reasons you’ll love shopping with Singer online:
1. You Can Shop From Any Device
Your laptop. Your tablet. Your phone. Almost any device with an internet connection and a browser can be used to browse and shop on Singer’s new online store. Believe it or not, some of Singer’s competitors actually lack this feature. As such, their customers still have to rely on the old “pinch and zoom”.
As you can see, the Singer site is fully responsive and therefore adjusts beautifully to fit virtually any screen or device so you can shop from almost anywhere.
But you don’t even have to go the website to shop with Singer…
2. You Can Shop From Facebook
Visitors to Singer’s Facebook Page will now be able to browse the store’s entire inventory and add items to their cart directly from Facebook. Just click on the ‘Shop Singer on Facebook!’ tab shown below.
When you’re ready to checkout, just click the button to checkout and you will be directed instantly to the Singer website where you can pay for your new items securely on the SSL-encrypted payment page. Which brings us to the third reason…
3. Your Purchases Are Protected
Of course, any smart online shopper knows how important is to engage in transactions with reputable businesses and with a website that protects their information.
This is why ensuring that Singer’s website had the latest in fraud prevention features was one of our team’s primary objectives when building the website.
Singer.com.jm uses 256-bit SSL encryption to protect your credit card and other confidential information. This means any information you enter during purchase is encrypted prior to transmission to prevent data capture or theft. There are also other safeguards in place on the site, designed to protect both the shopper and merchant.
All information regarding online customers is stored on a highly secured server and treated with utmost care. Singer’s privacy policy is also very clear: they will never rent, sell or trade your information to other individuals or companies.
So you’re safe to shop from the comfort of your own home, or anywhere else…
Enjoy your browsing and shopping experience on the new Singer website and be sure to share your feedback with us on Facebook or Twitter.
We redeveloped and launched the Patterson Mair Hamilton website a few weeks ago, and we are really excited to show you the new site!
Patterson Mair Hamilton (PMH) is a full-service law firm with a wide range of capabilities providing considerable corporate and commercial law expertise and experience to their clients. Their areas of expertise include Corporate Restructuring, Finance, Employment and Industrial Relations, and Estate Planning. They recently moved the beautiful offices at Temple Court, 85 Hope Road in Kingston, Jamaica – and thought they needed a new digital look to match their décor. (You will notice many of the images on the website are photos of the office.)
PMH is one of our most loyal clients – they’ve been with us since they were formed. We initially developed their website in 2006, and we also provide them with ongoing email and website hosting services. Therefore, we thought it would be a great idea to showcase the changes we made in their website, based on advancements in website design and development. But instead of writing about it, we’ll let the pictures do most of the talking…
Here’s the new homepage of PMH’s website. It features a prominent banner menu at the top, with full background rotating images.
Of course, with persons viewing website on various devices, we’ve made the entire site fully responsive. Here is what it would look like on a mobile device:
And this is what the homepage looked like back in 2006:
As you can see, we went pretty minimalist in the redesign, minimizing the Practice Areas to a submenu and creating a more visual focus.
Now here is a look at one of the Practice Area subpages on the new site:
And, in comparison, the same page back then:
Even back then, we were sure to keep the same visual theme across all pages, but now we have removed any potential distractions, to capture attention with one prominent image and make it highly focused on the main content.
We have also created websites for other law firms, including Livingston, Alexander & Levy and Wilmot Hogarth & Co. If you’d like to see more of the websites we’ve done, check out our portfolio. When you’re ready to talk to us about getting your own site modernized, give us a shout!
Like the work we did for PMH? Share it with your friends on on LinkedIn!.
Our CEO, Chris Mills was interviewed on the popular Business Computing Weekly podcast, where he talked about his journey in the graphic and web design industry.
The host, Bruce Naylor, has over 25 years’ experience in business and technology, and currently runs his own IT company, Frugal Brothers. However, he may be most known for his successful YouTube channel, FrugalTech, where he provides reviews, opinions and advice on technology.
The podcast isn’t currently available on the Frugal Brothers website, but we snagged a copy to share with you!
Take a listen:
Note: To view or share this directly from SoundCloud, go here.
Discussed in the podcast:
How Chris started Chrysalis Communications as a graphic design business in 2001 in his parents’ house
How passion for the arts in school was handled by those around him
How he snagged his first web design client against some big competitors when he had no prior experience
Biggest business mistake he has made and how he’s overcome them
Winning the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award
The most common mistake businesses make with their website, and how to fix it
His favorite social media channel, business tools and the number one piece of technology he simply can’t live without
His best advice to entrepreneurs and the top business book he thinks all entrepreneurs should read
To commemorate the fifth (5th) anniversary of the firm, Wilmot Hogarth & Co launched their new website – designed by us at Chrysalis! We had a really great time redesigning this website and we’re happy our clients love it as much as we do.
Wilmot Hogarth & Co. is a boutique corporate law firm with offices in Kingston, Jamaica. Their practice areas include Corporate & Commercial, Banking & Finance, Real Estate, Employment, Intellectual Property and Trusts and Pensions. With a business model focusing on fostering personal one-on-one attorney-client relationships, they needed a redesigned website that demonstrated their experience and sophistication.
Of course, one of our main priorities was creating a fully responsive, mobile-friendly website. We also made sure it was very user-friendly with clear navigation and a simple, yet powerful colour scheme based on their logo. Additionally, we added a few special touches to make the WH&CO. website stand-out. Along with the subtle effects in the banner images that capture your attention, we added a special pop-up effect to the Our People page to give well-deserved attention to the biographies of partners Debbie Wilmot and Matthew Hogarth.
Overall, we had a great time working with Wilmot Hogarth & Co. and are truly honoured that they partnered with us to make such a huge step. In an official announcement to their clients, they stated:
“It is with great pride that we launch our new website, which we believe appropriately represents the capabilities, spirit and culture of our firm.”
What do you do when your product is distributed island wide, being seen by thousands of people daily, but no one knows who you are? Here’s what we did for our latest graphic design client that came to us with this problem.
The Situation
Transactions E-PINS (TEPL) has machines in almost every gas station, supermarket and pharmacy islandwide – but you’d never know that. Their machines are the ones used for electronic mobile phone top up in Jamaica, selling Digicel and LIME airtime, but are understated and indistinguishable from any of the other machines in the stores.
With Jamaica’s cell phone saturation rate being over 100%, the majority of those being prepaid, many persons are exposed to these machines daily, TEPL had a prime branding opportunity. So they came to us for help.
Let’s GO!
Once the ‘GO’ name was confirmed, it was time to get to work. Branding the machines was just the appetizer – our clients wanted us to put together a whole feast. Unsure of what branding opportunities were available, they gave us free rein to put together a package that would allow their brand to become a well-recognized name.
Initially, Richard, our main designer working on this project, started out with the logo in different styles and colours. Once he showed the mockups to the client, the decision was almost unanimous – the blue and green logo was the one that stood out the most, and we agreed. Logo and branding guidelines approved, it was time to get to work on the mockups!
As mentioned earlier, we had very little limitations on the types of branding items we could work with. We designed several items including posters, window stickers and bus stop sign boards. Eventually we decided to use the items that could be used at the main locations that already had TEPL GO terminals, i.e. gas stations, supermarkets and pharmacies. Here’s the final list of our deliverables:
Design of Logo
Development of Logo Usage Guideline Document
Design of Posters
Design of Metal Flanges
Design of Window Stickers (Push/Pull)
Design of Window Stickers (Rectangle)
Design of POS Terminal Stickers (Wrap)
Design of POS Terminal Stickers (Top and Side)
Client’s Response
Overall, the clients loved the work we did. They thought we executed their vision well and couldn’t wait to roll it out to the Jamaican market. Here’s what they had to say:
“Chrysalis Communications provided a final design in keeping with the vision outlined by TEPL for the GO Brand. We are confident that the visual elements serve to highlight the multiple strengths of the brand as well as inspiring a call to action from the Jamaican marketplace.”Are people being exposed to your products every day but have no idea that your business exists? You could benefit from a branding development package like the one we did for TEPL. Send us a message to get more information on how we can help you develop the right brand identity.
If you’re one of the many Jamaicans that can’t imagine your daily life without the Internet, it might shock you to hear that 11.4% of Jamaicans have never used and never heard of broadband internet.
Here are a few more interesting stats we learned from last Population Census published by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica in 2011, and the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report for 2014-2015:
Computer Access – Only 24% of Jamaicans have access to computers, and only 27.4% of that group (approx 6.5% of the total population) have computers at home.
Worldwide Ranking – Jamaica scored 2.3 out of a possible 7 with regards to the country’s ICT usage, and ranked 88th out of 144 countries for the numbers of individuals having access to the Internet (37.8%).
Using Money Online – Only 11% were using the Internet for e-commerce and 8.4% for online banking. With Visa Debit cards, islandwide delivery and growth of couriers such as MailPac and ShipMe, this number should increase significantly over the next few years. Smart businesses will be capitalizing on this by building e-commerce into their websites (see examples of e-commerce sites we’ve built here and here.)
Check out the infographic below for even more interesting statistics from these reports (click on the image to enlarge).
(Shameless Plug: Our talented team of graphic designers at Chrysalis created this infographic from scratch. If you have some interesting stats you’d like to present visually, like we did here, feel free to give us a call!)
The team at Chrysalis did a fantastic job of incorporating the vibrant colours of our brand into the website design. Our visitors love the ease of navigation and the overall aesthetics of the site. It was a pleasure working with the developer.
As the 100m sprint final of the 2015 IAAF World Championships, and numerous races before have proven, there is no beating Usain Bolt on the track.
His world record of 9.58 seconds is quite impressive, however, if Usain were in the website world, he wouldn’t be winning any medals.
If your website loads in more than 10 seconds on a mobile device, you’ve already lost about 49% of your visitors.
Actually, 47% of visitors expect your website to load in 2 seconds or less, even on their mobile devices; and Google’s search engine now penalizes sites that take too long to load on mobile devices.
That’s right, just like Usain could lose a race in a matter of seconds, that’s all it takes to lose a lot of potential customers.
So now you’re wondering if your website is up to scratch, right? Let’s find out!
To get an idea of the actual number of seconds, open an incognito window (see image below), type in your website homepage and count the seconds it takes to load. This time may fluctuate a bit based on devices and browsers, but that exercise will give you a basic idea.
“Chrysalis Communications provided a final design in keeping with the vision outlined by TEPL for the GO Brand. We are confident that the visual elements serve to highlight the multiple strengths of the brand as well as inspiring a call to action from the Jamaican marketplace.”
Are people being exposed to your products every day but have no idea that your business exists? You could benefit from a branding development package like the one we did for TEPL. Send us a message to get more information on how we can help you develop the right brand identity. 
