DATABASE DRIVEN VS CUSTOM CODED WEBSITES

Washington Graphic Services designs and writes content, and programs custom websites for businesses large and small. Often, custom coding a new website makes the most sense for our customers, but others require database-driven websites such as WordPress.
Some websites require a specific style and design that can only be achieved by custom design and coding. This process can take longer but the end result is only limited by the creative team and programmers.
One of the most common types of dynamic web pages is the database driven type. This means that you have a web page that grabs information from a database (the web page is connected to the database by programming), and inserts that information into the web page each time it is loaded.
If the information stored in the database changes, the web page connected to the database will also change accordingly (and automatically) without human intervention.
This is commonly seen on online banking sites where you can log in (by entering your user name and password) and check your bank account balance. Your bank account information is stored in a database and has been connected to the web page with programming, thus enabling you to see your banking information. Another plus to templates are that clients can see how it functions prior to programming and that can be a great sales tool.
Allow Washington Graphic Services to show you our portfolio of created websites, and find out how we can create one for your business.

New Private Office Available Now

Downtown Bethesda: $950-$1,450 mo
Brand new private office(s) available with parking for tenant and FREE parking for your customers/clients. Office (1) 200 sq. LARGE with window, private heat/air controls. Office (2) 360 sq. VERY large corner office windows two sides plus walk in closet. Suite has lobby private entrance and suite is on main floor NO STAIRS, handicapped compliant. Bathroom and kitchen in suite. Rent includes everything, parking, utilities, taxes and WiFi/Ethernet Internet (high speed). First lookers usually take them... Call John Mier Today! 202-468-3649

Getting WordPress up and Running

During the early stages of the internet, most sites were created with a simple HTML file. These sites essentially operated as a document that a visitor could view remotely. Most individuals and businesses today expect quite a bit more functionality from their sites. Increasingly, websites are using WordPress as a way to achieve that functionality.

WordPress is a Content Management System that, once setup, provides a very easy to use dashboard for a user to add and edit content on their site. What makes WordPress so powerful, and popular, is its use of a database and page templates to create pages dynamically. This means that your content (blog posts, etc.) is stored in a database, and your page templates are kept separate from your content. This allows your site to have a handful of different page templates, but be able to generate an essentially unlimited number of specific pages by inserting the content that lives in your site’s database into those templates.

In order to get a WordPress site up and running, WordPress must be installed, a database must be setup, then the WordPress theme and its template files must be configured to look and behave the way a website’s owner intends. Compared to a single HTML file, this process is quite a bit more complex, and typically requires knowledge of several more programming languages.

Washington Graphic Services has extensive experience with a variety of Content Management Systems, including WordPress. In order to achieve the design and functionality you desire, WGS can help you select a WordPress theme, set it up on your server, configure a database, handle all of the required customization, and have your site up and ready for visitors. Once completed, you are able to add and edit content on your site using a simple, user-friendly dashboard.

If you’d like to know more about what your site can do with WordPress, contact Washington Graphic Services today!

Does your website need an SSL certificate?

If you are looking to make your business’ website more secure, you may have come across SSL Certificates as a potential recommendation, but what exactly is an SSL Certificate, and how does it make your site more secure?

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer - this technology is used to provide a layer of privacy and encryption between different communicating computer applications. You may have noticed when visiting a website, a green lock on the left side of your URL bar - this is SSL in action.

When an SSL certificate is installed on your domain, the information of your users is unreadable to anyone who attempts to steal it. The only people able to decipher it are the intended recipients at the other end of the connection.

The primary reason to use SSL is to protect sensitive information sent between computers and servers, such as credit card numbers, passwords, and other personal information. With an SSL certificate, your customers can do business with you with confidence that their information is going to be safe from identity thieves and potential hackers.

As a bonus, users are increasingly able to recognize when a site has an SSL certificate installed, and they feel more secure completing transactions. Also, an SSL certificate can even give you a boost with your search engine visibility, as Google recently announced that they will be more likely to show your site in search results if it has an active SSL certificate installed.

If you would like to step up your site’s security by installing an SSL, contact us today to learn more!

Does your site need a Content Management System?

You may have heard the term Content Management System, or CMS, in regards to you or your business’ website. But what is a CMS, and how do you know if one is right for your site?

First, a CMS is an application that allows you to create, edit, and publish content to your website. This includes blog posts, images, video, pages, etc. This allows you and your team to add and manage the content of your website with a user friendly interface, while including support for multiple users and collaboration.

There are several major reasons why a CMS might be right for your site: 1) You need blog functionality 2) You need to frequently update your site’s content 3) You need to add/remove pages from your site on a regular basis.

Alternatively, if your site is made up of information that is largely static, or that seldom needs changing, then a CMS is probably not necessary. It is important to consider your site’s specific needs, as there are tradeoffs associated with using a CMS, such as potential security issues and increased page load times.

Overall, the majority of our clients prefer the flexibility of a CMS. The ability to add a blog to your site if needed, or to quickly update content through a simple dashboard interface makes a CMS a better fit for most businesses.

If you or your business are interested in adding functionality to your site, or have further questions about what Washington Graphic Services can do to help you and your business get the most out of their website, contact us today!

Advertising a brand identity through a presentation folder

Advertising a brand identity through a presentation folder

Presentation folders are great printed materials that are used to present to the client to give an introduction about a company’s profile, services and other info. It is common that sales people are required to have this marketing collateral especially when dealing with clients. This folder can house customized proposals, letters, sales brochures, business cards and flash drives too.

Whatever a company decides on what to include in their presentation folder, it should always be clear and appealing to its target audience. It should also visually convey the message that your company would want to say. Be sure to include only important elements and useful content. Corporate folders are often printed on thick, sleek card stock to give an initial impression of the quality. Message-wise, it should also depict the company’s purpose and relevance.

Washington Graphic Services showcases premium and creative presentation folder designs for our clients to increase sales and stand apart from your competition. Call Washington Graphic Services to have our team design and build a folder for your business.

Retail, Building and Office Signs

Most businesses undergo a detailed signage review by a consultant when they first open or rebrand, but those aren't the only times you should evaluate your location's visual communications. There are many great reasons to conduct regular reviews or audits of your signage.

Statistics to consider:

• 78 percent of customers have chosen to enter a store based only on its signage and graphics.
• 68 percent of shoppers have specifically bought an item due to signage. Packaging is VERY important too.
• Studies show that signage attractiveness directly correlates to how much time a visitor spends engaged with the subject of the signage!
• 40 percent of consumers have decided not to shop at a store because the poor condition of its signage caused them to assume its goods or services were not of high quality.

Your signage also needs to adhere to laws, state and local. Municipal signage regulations change often, and many businesses are not compliant with their city's signage codes and don't know the rules for variances and exceptions. A regular review can help your visual communications remain within the law.

 
For expert assistance: Call our team!

We have 20 plus years experience in designing, creating and building signs for businesses and organizations in the Washington DC area. You can look to us for affordable, custom exterior signage, window graphics and other outdoor solutions that will help you attract more customers. To get started, contact us today!

iPhone 8 - X - Pro, Whatever they call it

When is it being released? What are the specs? What  features? What we know, and don’t.

The iPhone 7s — iPhone 8 — iPhone X — whatever Apple ends up calling the next and “ 10th Anniversary" iPhone, it's expected this fall, and with a new design and new set of features. But what will they be? There are countless Mac news and rumor sites that discuss this in detail. I’m giving you our hopes, wants and dreams on this blog posting.

We hope: All of iPhone 8's OLED have (organic light emitting diode) versions — the same type of display technology currently found on Apple Watch and Touch Bar displays — will be curved and seamless. "The upcoming iPhone may use new sensing technology, which enables the phone to respond when users touch any side of the device. But, Apple may not adopt this technology according to many news and rumor sites we have read..

Our Wants: And more powerful but also more energy efficient chip. Since Apple introduced the company's first branded system-on-a-chip (SoC) in 2010, every new iPhone has come with a new A-series chipset. If Apple sticks to that pattern, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus will ship with Apple A11 processors. New SoC typically take advantage of better processes that let them be faster and more powerful but also more energy efficient.

HD/LCD displays. Apple hasn't updated the resolution on iPhone or iPhone Plus since 2014. It makes them less than desirable for application like VR, and less than competitive when it comes to spec comparisons. It does make them more energy efficient, though, given they still use LCD rather than OLED panels.

Our Dreams: Wireless Charging. Wireless Charging. Wireless Charging. Apple must come out with a TRUE wireless charging system. Not a “pad”, not a “station”, true wireless charging…and from a real world distance. Imagine a home, a business and your car having a remote wireless point where all your devices can be charged by up to 10'-20’ away. Your devices could almost always be fully charged/charging while in these zones. No more cords hanging everywhere. Our home is a tangles mess of chargers and cables everywhere. We have become a slave to constantly charging our iPads/tablets, phones etc. Apple: PLEASE use your billions on this. Thinner more elegant phones and tablets are fine, but don’t waste your manpower on these, give us wireless charging. And while you are it, invent far superior batteries. Imagine if you could do these two things how your stock would go through the roof AND you would be doing society a great favor. Far better batteries could change transportation and home energy usage as we know it.

Bring your Lobby to Life with a Wall Graphic

The new year is a great time to think about updating and personalizing your lobby in an exciting and brand effective way. Utilize your logo and branding visuals to create custom lobby wall graphics. Washington Graphic Services can come to your space, photograph the area, lobby, common spaces, exterior and design office graphics for walls, glass, elevators, doors, almost anywhere. Send a bold message with some graphics, showcase your ethos with some graphics related to what you do, or make a statement with a large graphic of your own company brand/logo. Whatever you choose, remember that when people come into your office, your lobby is their first chance to form an impression, so don’t let that opportunity pass you by.

Update your Building with New Signage

How long has it been since you updated the signage in your building? From your exterior signs, lobby signs, direction signs, directories, parking sign, wayewards signs, all this makes an impression on your current clients and on your prospective clients. Make an impression and send the message you need to convey. Update your building signage in 2017. Our team is available to show you what will work for you and your building inside and out.

Save Energy: Retrofit your Sign with LEDs

Electricity costs money ... especially in commercial buildings and facilities. What are the annual costs for you to illuminate your building or monument signs? Most older signs are illuminated with either fluorescent or neon lighting. Both of those options cost dramatically more in energy than LED lighting and have a larger carbon foot print. The savings are so significant that your upgrade will pay for itself in 5 years. Plus, if you factor in maintenance savings on your difficult-to-access signs, the LED retrofit will actually pay for itself in 2 or 3 years. Save money and energy in 2017 with an LED retrofit.

Monthly Webiste Maintenance - 50% off!

Update your current website and keep its content maintained by Washington Graphic Services (WGS). Our team of creative, marketing, content and IT professionals can update and maintain your business website FAST.

WGS offers monthly service agreements on all web and print projects and now we are offering for a limited time 50% off our hourly rate for new website maintenance clients. If you need just a few hours a month or 100, call us, we will do it.

WGS creates new content, designs, updates, custom codes, special projects, produces and edits databases AND keeps your websites up and running with the latest HTML5 and CSS3 standards.