Roman Design Blog

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2012-11-09	Responsive Web Design integration Responsive Web Design is a new and hot trend in web design. No more separate websites that (inadequately) cover mobile devices. Single layout modifies itself for all devices. I'm vonsidering implementing it into next version or Roman Design CMS, however I see several problems with that. Some of Roman Design clients are small businesses with not much content on the website. Most Responsive Web Design sites are see use very minimalistic design to insure that elements still look good when reshuffled. However if there is not much contents and you also strip design to bare minimum, the website will look bland and unappealing. Also, I had great concerns about Flash compatibility with responsive web design. Info on the web is very sparse, but I suspect the sites that are created with responsive web design in mind will have to use no Flash at all. And I'm fond of flash-based headers, they make website look lively while still fully gracefully degradable. I actually solved Flash issues and now responsive web design works with Flash, but Flash is dying anyway, so I advise using HTML5 animation instead. It also works better with responsive web design concept. Nevertheless this trend is definitely here to stay, so I will try and think hard about how it can be integrated into typical Roman Design visually rich web design concept. By Roman Design Tags: rd-cms, design
2012-10-25	How to choose a web design studio in Toronto? I've heard it many times: my clients formerly hired a freelancer or a studio in Toronto, spend money and time and got endless delays with poor results or just a bad job, then got frustrated and came to Roman Design (via Google search or recommendation from a client). Just a few advices about how to choose a web designer or web design studio in Toronto, however it not only applies on Canada but almost anywhere: Ask questions! It's important to know how the company operates, where are its designers, what forms of payments they accept, what's the payment structure, etc. You want to get as much information as you can about the designers so you can form an opinion on whether you can trust them. Never hire web design company that uses outsourcing! Ask about outsourcing, where the company's designers and developers are located. If the price looks too attractive - it usually means web design company uses outsourcing (usually to India or sometimes eastern Europe). Outsourcing, by countless previous experiences of Roman Design clients, means total or partial failure in most cases. It just doesn't work. Even if the programmers are OK, time delay, difference in mentality, linguistic and logistical problems are a almost guaranteed recipe for disaster. Sorry for the plug, but Roman Design never uses outsourcing! And more and more businesses come to the same conclusion. Saving money and paying cheap prices sounds good, but in the end you will pay more to fix the damage. Check out online portfolio. Designer or a studio without a nice portfolio is a definite no! Make sure you like the design style, that all works in all budgets look professional and modern. Also it never hurts to check for fraud - I not only get regular phone calls from other businesses about people I've never met who that say in the resume that they worked at Roman Design, but some of them also steal portfolio examples from Roman Design. Simple way to check is actually go to some of the websites mentioned and see if they link back to the designer and if that's really the person or company you are researching. When requesting quote - be very specific and descriptive about what you need. Make sure everything is written in your specifications, to eliminate any later misunderstandings and to make sure you get accurate quotes. Roman Design has a nice and detailed Quote Request Questionnaire that will help you with that. Writing out everything also protects you from your designer asking to get more money from you later for something you want but haven't clearly mentioned when requesting the estimate. By Roman Design Tags: web design
2012-07-22	Toronto after Google updates It looks like Toronto is still confused by latest Google updates - Panda and Penguin. Some sites are hit hard, others have not suffered. Everybody is giving out advice about how to avoid penalties for the affected websites, bit I have a suspicion nobody really knows what's happening. Most advice are just common sense, but have little relevance to the updates and tend not to improve the situation. In any case, it's only prudent to be reasonable and stick to white-hat tactics only. By Roman Design Tags: google, seo
2012-07-18	Toronto Web Design and Google ranking - moral SEO dilemma As you might know, Roman Design ranks #1 at "Toronto corporate web design" query. However the most desired search term is obviously "Toronto web design" and at this term there are dozens and hundreds of black-hat SEO driven websites that spend tens of thousands to buy links and seed link farms to get their ranking. That does pose a tricky moral dilemma: use dark side of the force and get more business or maintain moral high ground and only use white-hat SEO tactics and good code practices? I decided that Roman Design will never use black-hat tactics and never spoof organic search results. I hope that honesty will pay off in loyal clients and far less risk of Google ranking problems. By Roman Design Tags: google, seo
2012-07-08	Giant Tiger photoshoot Giant Tiger store opening photoshoot on location was fun - I sat Giant Tiger mascot at a giant camping chair they sold there (who would need such a thing?) and made some good shots, which I delivered electronically the same day. By Roman Design Tags: photography
2012-06-26	NoVA Surveys Inc. website is now live NoVA Surveys Inc. website is using RD-CMS v6 and has a custom quote processing module that allows on-line quote request with user registration, issuing quotes, accepting and payment via PayPal. It's just another example of how RD-CMS can be adapted to specific business needs. By Roman Design Tags: rd-cms

Why I like Roman design: I can talk to a developer who explains things. When I send an email in at 1:00 am, I often get a response back by 2:00 am. They listen to my input, try to follow my suggestions, and explain things when they think another path my be more prudent. Of course their Website design is beautiful. They put up with the many minor changes I wanted. Value.. I feel I got a great value for my website.
- Tom Lutke
Nova Surveys, Inc.

416.931.7662

917.737.2143

905.469.4744

info@romandesign.ca

Roman Design

Award-winning Toronto Web Design Studio.
Amazing websites on budget and on time - every time!