Here is an article that was featured on Onextrapixel looks deeper into this topic:

Change is always hard, and knowing when to upgrade or redesign  is among the most critical events in a site’s history. A successful transition from old to new will revitalise a community, give renewed interest in your content or perhaps better portray your services.

A poorly thought through redesign may cause your current user base to consider going to your competitors instead. As such, we need to highlight the methods we use within upgrades and that may hold the longevity your site requires.

Whenever you begin walking the pathway towards a website redesign, the initial question which makes itself apparent is whether to start from scratch and come up with something totally fresh and new (which hopefully will appeal to your existing audience)  or whether to take the website you have already and implement a wide series of changes and tweaks to optimize the existing experience. Both have their advantages and disadvantages but as is often the case, things aren’t quite clear cut.

For the full article go to: Web Design: Reboot, or Just Upgrade Instead?

40 Beautiful Corporate Websites

In today’s marketplace, every company needs an effective website. Of course, the purposes and needs of each company’s site will be unique, but every company should have a site that presents a professional image to visitors. That image should also be an accurate representation of the company and should work with other branding efforts to present consistent messages to customers. In this post we’ll feature 40 well-designed corporate websites.

For more go to: 40 Beautiful Corporate Websites

Showcase of Transparency in Web Design

Transparency is being used in an increasing number of websites. In some cases transparency subtly adds to the quality and character of the design, and in other cases it can be a major design element. In this post we’ll feature 35 websites that are making excellent use of transparency.

For more go to: Showcase of Transparency in Web Design

Showcase of Light Texture in Web Design

Texture is obviously a common design element that is being used on a lot of modern websites. However, texture doesn’t always have to be a part of the design that stands out immediately to visitors. Light textures can also be used to subtly improve the design of the site. In this post we’ll feature 25 sites that use texture without it dominating the design.

For more go to: Showcase of Light Texture in Web Design

35 Beautiful Web Designs Inspired by Nature

When creating a beautiful and memorable web design, many designers turn to nature to be inspired by the beauty of what surrounds us. Nature-inspired web design has become more common in recent years as large backgrounds and extensive use of images are being used. In this post we’ll take a look at some amazing examples of designs that can be created to incorporate various aspects of nature into a website.

For more go to: 35 Beautiful Web Designs Inspired by Nature

Head Up in the Clouds: Web Design that Uses Sky Elements

It is always amazing to designer incorporating different element of nature in their designs. This time the inspiration is cloud, sky and blue palette colors. In this post we are featuring some really beautiful website that used sky, cloud images and illustrations in their design.

Some of this website used stock images and some of them used vectors or combination of both. Nevertheless, the outcome is very professional and fun to see.

For more go to: Head Up in the Clouds: Web Design that Uses Sky Elements

At Intertec, most of our new website design projects feature the WordPress engine. We love it as it gives our clients the ability to update their own website using the easy to use interface and with over 10,000 plugins which extend the default installation – its hard to not choose WordPress.

Mashable released a excellent summary article on the top 5 new features with version 3.0:

WordPress (WordPress)  has long been known as a dedicated blogging platform, giving users the tools they need to publish their message and interact with readers.  However, with the official release of version 3.0, set to drop this month, the platform will be much closer, if not well within the territory of a content management system (CMS).

The list of new features in WordPress 3.0 isn’t very long in comparison to previous releases.  However, the changes that are coming will certainly have a significant impact, particularly if you use WordPress as a CMS.  Here is a rundown of the most important new features arriving in version 3.0.

Let us know in the comments which features of WordPress 3.0 you are most looking forward to.

For the full details, go to: WordPress 3.0: The 5 Most Important New Features.

One of the key strategies for an effective SEO campaign is competitor tracking. Knowing who is out ranking you and what they’re doing to achieve the results is the key to improving your performance.

Back in the old days, monitoring the 100’s of SEO variables of your competitors was just as time consuming as running your own SEO campaigns…

Now, thanks to technology and some very clever people, we have a range of tools that do the hard work for us.

To save you the effort of finding the right tools to spy on your competitors – I’ve listed my Top 10 competitor tools below (in no particular order). If you’re serious about SEO – you need to add these to your SEO arsenal.

Some are free, some offer free trials, some will charge nominal monthly fees – all are worth exploring.

Checkout the full article: The Top 10 SEO Competitor Tools for 2010.

It’s important to stand out from the pile, Smashing Magazine has compiled a great business card resource: 

Professionals in any field should always keep business cards on them because you never know when you’ll meet a potential client, partner or like-minded person. Despite their small size, business cards are one of the most powerful and handiest marketing tools. Not only do they create a link between you and your new contact, they’re also a quick way to give a great first impression. Business cards promote your skills and achievements and serve as a little container for big ideas.

Don’t underestimate the process of designing business cards; a well-made card does not just share your contact details: it generates further sharing and buzz. Like any self-promotion tool, designing a business card requires solid brainstorming and careful implementation to get the best effect.

This post targets a diverse audience. It features a collection of remarkable business card designs that could help you in your search for creative ideas. The round-up of fresh tutorials and business card templates further down might come in handy for those who don’t have the skills or experience to design their own.

For the full article go to: Business Card Design Starter Kit: Showcase, Tutorials, Templates.

This article from Design Shack gives you a simple checklist to follow:

As a web designer, you’re probably accustomed to obsessing over the layout and visual appearance of your designs. And if you’re like most, a site’s content is something you’d rather not worry about. But being able to identify weak web copy allows you to offer greater value to your client. By spotting major problems and helping him to solve them, you can position yourself as an expert who works with him…rather than as a labourer who works for him.

And if you know some basic principles for identifying and fixing weak copy, you not only increase your value to your clients—you increase your chances of getting them. Your own website will have stronger copy; more likely to persuade prospects to hire you.

So how can you tell if copy is weak? And what can you do about it if it is? Here are five foolproof questions to get you headed in the right direction.

For more view the full article How Persuasive Is Your Website’s Copy? A Simple, Five-Step Checklist.

The Web Design Ledger has put together a eco-inspired selection of websites:

A while ago we published a list with 50 Green Web Designs to Inspire You, and the post was a hit. This time we decided to focus on green websites, but green by meaning nature related websites – eco-friendly stuff, organic food, reusable energy, etc. So today you will get inspired not only by web design but also by eco-friendly ideas, which is simply great! I hope you enjoy.

For the full article go to 25 Nature Related Web Designs to Inspire You.

I know everybody and their brother does logo roundups so you’re probably sick of them, but I don’t believe I’ve ever done one and there is a particularly impressive brand of logo design that I wanted to point out.

Today we’ll look at 50 logos that are the result of going beyond the typical thought process and injecting a little wit and hidden symbolism into the design process.

For the full article go to the Design Shack 50 Fantastically Clever Logos.

At Intertec, we recommend clients consider a Facebook Page as its free and can really help business connect to customers locally and internationally.

Below is a great article that really provides some handy tips for designing a Facebook Fan Page:

Despite its privacy issues, Facebook clearly has a key role in global Internet activity. It has become a kind of universal social network, being used for both personal and business needs. For many individuals, companies and organizations, Facebook has become an integral part of their branding strategy and promotional campaigns.

Facebook provides many tools for maximizing the effect of your presence on the social network, most of all by means of business pages, also known as fan pages. Using a variety of applications and Facebook API tools, one can get creative not only with the page content, but with the design, too.

In this post, we’ll give you an idea of how to use Facebook for your business and self-promotional efforts. Below, you will find best practices for custom Facebook fan page designs, with various approaches to creating an attractive, descriptive and engaging Facebook business page. In addition, the selection of tutorials and resources for Facebook fan page development might help you get started with your own effective Facebook presence.

For the full article go to Designing A Facebook Fan Page: Showcases, Tutorials, Resources.

These techniques aren’t rocket science but are very important never the less, here is an article that describes the top 10 tips:

Let us assume that, just like everyone else, you are building a website–after all, the Web is where it is all happening now. As soon as your website goes live–and especially while you are still in the design and development phase–you need to make sure your site’s content will be found through search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing where many people go to look for information.

Whether you’re starting a blog or deploying an e-commerce solution for your clients, it’s a good idea to keep in mind some good web development practices that will enhance your chances in search rankings.

This article follows up on a previous Six Revisions post called 9 Ways To Improve the SEO of Every Website You Design, sharing with you a few more tips for improving the search engine optimization, semantics, web accessibility, and interoperability of your web designs.

For the full article go to 10 SEO Tips to Remember When Building Your Site.