As customers rely more on the internet to find out information about products or services and to make their purchases – it’s more important than ever for a Small Business to have a website that will help build credibility and convert a higher percentage of visitors to customers. Therefore website redesign is one of the most important things a small business can do to help succeed in business.

Building a website that converts users into leads is much harder. Ryan Landis, the owner of KitchenBuilders.net, came to us wanting just that a new website that brought in more leads. Fast forward two months and we ended up building a site that increased leads upwards of 57%. Thats over twice as many leads monthly that they receive all because of a website redesign.

The one thing you’ll notice when you visit the KitchenBuilders.net contact page is that we kept the form as simple as possible. The only two mandatory form fields are the name and email. We even made each service a check box to save the user from having to write it out. The reason why we did this is because research has found that there is an inverse correlation to the amount of form fields and conversion rate. The less fields you have, the higher your conversions will be.

When designing your new site’s forms, think about only the information that is absolutely necessary for you to collect the moment the user becomes a lead. Remember, you can always collect additional information later on.

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Website redesign can be the most effective way to increase brand awareness, online sales and new customer acquisition. Simply following a few of the most successful improvement tips can mean the difference between success and failure.

1. Create a brand.
2. Simplify your forms.
3. Create very clear call to actions.
4. Make sure it loads fast.
5. Make the content easy to read.

Lastly, remember to seek the help and guidance from a professional web designer and enjoy the journey. Working with the right professional can lead to more customers and better brand awareness for your Small Business.

I recently had lunch with an old friend. During the conversation he begin to talk about a new business he was starting. He was excited about the process of establishing his business and the process he and his team had to undertake to get started.

The conversation soon turned to the cost associated with starting a new business– business license, certifications, office space and more. All total he had, very willing invested over $20,000.

After hearing all he had done I asked, “Do you have a budget for marketing or a logo design?” Of course, like most business owners he had not and wanted to know how much a logo design would cost?

It’s subjective… like how much does it cost to build a new house? Or how long is the string? Where are you in your business and brand journey? Are you just starting out, making decisions, changes, and revisions? Or are you solidly established and in need of a complete logo redesign or brand update? The answers to these questions will help you decide on a budget, and select from the logo design options below.

You could run a contest, ask a friend or relative, or contact a local school with a design department and propose a class project. I don’t recommend any of these, but I know it happens, and sometimes people get decent results. But more often than not, the quality of the results is reflected by the price. This type of request is often called spec work, where logo design submissions are requested with no guarantee of compensation. Most professional graphic designers refuse to do spec work. Can you blame them?

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How Much Should I Spend on a Logo Design?

So what’s the answer to “How Much To Spend On A Logo Design?” The budget should be in line with the industry you are in or entering and the image you want for your company and only you can determine that.

My advice, seek help from a graphic design professional. One with a proven track record and work with them to create the desired image for your company. Set a budget, a reasonable budget, for your industry and expectations. You may even want to look for any logo design you like and reach out to them to see if you can determine what their budget was.

The bottom-line, set a budget that you can be comfortable with, work with the best possible resource for that budget and be comfortable with that. And keep in mind, as your business grows or the industry changes you can always have it redesigned.

With few constants we find ourselves dependent on simple things that give us a sense of stability. Even though the average person is exposed to upwards of 5,000 brand messages per day, the consistency of those brands give us a sense of normalcy. So when that changes too, we don’t like it.

Last week Google unveiled its redesigned, mobile-friendly logo, which updates the font from a crisp, sharply defined san serif wordmark, to a blockier, rounded sans-serif. Despite its cutesy introductory animation on Google’s homepage, the new logo made me uneasy. On some days it’s my one constant, and while that sad fact should probably unsettle me more than the subtle logo alteration, Googles move threw me nonetheless.

Despite its cutesy introductory animation on Google’s homepage, the new logo made me uneasy. Both at work and outside it, I’m dependent on Google’s search-engine. On some days it’s my one constant, and while that sad fact should probably unsettle me more than the subtle logo alteration, Google’s move threw me nonetheless. I wasn’t alone. “I hate it,” my friend announced over Gchat. “It looks like the scribbling of a child.”

An informal Ad Age poll showed that most readers were also against the shift, and the reaction on social media – which, to be fair, tilts toward negative reviews – was decidedly underwhelmed.

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Ahh, change. It’s often a four letter word (Actually it’s six letters, but work with me). Unless someone is a seasoned designer, experienced marketer or advertising pro chances are they won’t be able to express exactly why they do or don’t like a new logo design. They just know how they feel when they see it. More correctly stated, “When they don’t see the logo they have become accustomed to seeing.”

Need a New Logo or Logo Redesign?

If you are looking to have a new logo created – or perhaps just want to update your existing logo – consider working with someone who specializes in logo design or logo redesigns. They will be able to help you avoid many of the pitfalls that come with branding or re-branding your company or product.

However, even working with someone to create a professional logo design is not a guarantee that everyone will immediately like the new design. They may even write articles or blogs about just how much they and their friends “Hate it!”

But don’t worry, with one more ingredient, “Time”, change will begin to shift in your direction as your logo begins to be accepted as the norm and starts working in your favor.

Advice from mentors like Cuban and Richard Branson mean so much to so many, because they have “been in our shoes”. We can use their experiences as the ultimate sounding board for our own challenges and situations.

Here are 5 of the most important business lessons inspired by these billionaire mentors:

1. Build something that actually solves a problem.
2.Fail fast.
3.Build a great team and you’ll typically end up with a great product or service.
4.Build culture from the start.
5.Don’t be afraid to push the boundaries.

Read the full story Via entrepreneur.com

For an in-depth, behind-the-scenes profile on what it takes to achieve business success on a massive scale, take a look at “Mark Cuban: How I Became a Billionaire” from the Bloomberg Game Changers documentary series: