An online catalog can either be a brand’s best sales engine—or its fastest way to overwhelm a visitor. The difference is in design and discipline. A great catalog doesn’t just “list products”; it curates them, guides discovery, and makes exploration effortless. If you’re loading dozens (or hundreds) of items, the key is thinking like a shopper, not just a seller as you build your website.

You only have a few seconds to make a good impression online.

That’s why good, intuitive design is so vital. Humans see thousands of images every day, so you have to give them reason to pay attention to yours. Not only is it about creating a visually arresting look, but good design engages the human brain on a subconscious level.

Almost everyone has some hesitation when it comes to embarking on a new website simply because for many, it’s unknown territory.

So here are some practical tips about ensuring that your website project gets delivered on time, on budget, and on brand—and makes you the hero!

What is it about some websites that just instantly feel right—even if you can't quite put your finger on why?

That’s because many of the visual cues are recognized subconsciously, rather than consciously.

Campaign landing pages are widely considered a best practice for advertising campaigns, and there’s solid reasoning and evidence behind this. Here’s why:

A good business website serves as an effective tool for attracting customers, providing information, and facilitating business operations.

Worried about cost overruns on your new website? They don’t have to be inevitable. Most cost overruns can be eliminated by good management, if you know how to approach the project. Here are some practical strategies:

Your website is your front door—and often delivers the first impression of your brand. But how do you know if it’s time to update it?

Is your website taking your brand to new levels? It can!

Look inside a recent website we built with the Little Theater of Walla Walla team—and see how their new site dramatically elevated their brand.

As a client, you may not realize how much you can do to get the most for your investment. The place to start is with an understanding of how web vendors estimate their costs and manage the project. Your web vendor typically allocates a set number of hours to create your new website. Usually, they will include some time in their estimate to allow for good ideas to emerge in the creative process that can't be anticipated. That's good. 

Have you ever been completely taken in by a website, but couldn’t really say why?

That’s because many of the visual cues are recognized subconsciously, rather than consciously. These include data-driven cues, color, call to action placement, type choice and format, and images.

A good website creator will pay scrupulous attention to these and other tried-and-true techniques when they develop a new website.

How do you know if you’re getting the best possible results from your social media?

You should be getting leads (or sales, if your product can be purchased online), and your audience and engagement should be growing.

Here are five visual cues that can help users navigate through your website.

Today's customers have very little patience for a so-so digital experience—so here are 10 ways to make their journey through your website easy, interesting, and relevant. 

Communication has never been more important to businesses and organizations. A company’s website is probably the most important marketing and sales tool available. It’s important to update stagnant designs after five years or more.

CMBell recently redesigned the visual brand for Stella’s Homestead, and in this entry, we’ll take you behind the scenes on some of the work that led up to this.

Creating a new website can easily slip into the “not today” category, and for good reasons.

It’s easy to get caught up in a flurry of worries like: What if I can’t find the right vendor? How can I be sure that I’ll get a website that helps grow our business? What if there are cost overruns? What if there are delays? What if I haven’t managed an outside web vendor before? Or where do I even begin?

Too often we see organizations invest in videos, and then miss the huge opportunity they have to connect with their audience by failing to get it in front of them.

Don’t let this happen to you! To get the most from your video investment, follow these basic steps to get your video in front of more people.

Why are the “Job” and the “About Us” pages so frequently lackluster on business websites?

For most, it's probably a practical reason. Once that content is developed, there's generally little reason to revisit it. It falls into that perilous category of important but not urgent, and there it languishes—missing untold opportunities to persuade, compel, and sell.

The new year is a good time to take a fresh look at your website—your front door to business—and ask “is it helping my business grow, or standing in the way of growth?”

If you’re not quite there yet, the right web development firm can help you take your website to the next level—and in the process, make it easy, painless, and affordable to give your website a true competitive advantage.

If you’re in business, it’s likely that more prospective customers will visit your website than your actual storefront. In fact, your online presence is a vital determinant in whether visitors will buy from, support, work for, or donate to your cause.

Creators of great websites understand this and artfully use the tools that can convert your visitor into a customer. You can too.

For most businesses, it’s very likely that customers will interact with your company more online than in-person. It's also the case that nearly everyone searching online for your type of business won't get past the first page of Google results; and once they visit your website, they won't stick around if they can't immediately find what they are looking for.