Hello fellow Slabsters,

Greetings from Slabmedia HQ. We've made several exciting changes to the look and feel of our Slab software we'd like to share with you, and there a few technology industry changes you should know about as you consider your web presence. The web design landscape is always evolving, and we'd like you to share in our enthusiasm for the latest developments in design and in the platforms that power the web.

1) We have a new logo! (and that's not all)

We've updated our logo with a fresh design that balances our brand identity with updated, contemporary style. As design trends come and go, it is critical for any company's image to stay relevant. Just take a look at these logo evolution examples here! However, along with the need to periodically refresh the look of a brand comes the responsibility to retain corporate identity and customer brand identification. We think our new logo does just that. We have reworked our signature "S" to include the suggestion of coding (that's a lot of what we do!), as you can see illustrated by our flashy (not flash) new homepage animation here. The logo is flatter and lighter on resources, reflecting both our sensitivity to current design trends and our commitment to speedy page-loads. We hope you like it as much as we do!

We've also been hard at work updating the look and feel of our administrative back-end, to make the Slab system easier to use (as well as easier on the eyes)! When we started building our system, "Content Management Systems" were rare, but we've always known what works for users and what doesn't, and in the next few months you should expect to see even more changes which help improve your experience on Slab.

Our proud new logo represents the care we take in designing corporate brands. We've also updated a lot of our administrative interface components!

2) Responsive (mobile) design and Search Engine Optimization

Phone and tablet internet browsing is on the rise. Earlier this year, Google announced new ranking criteria which will favor sites with mobile-friendly views in search results. We encourage all of our customers to consider implementing mobile-friendly views for their sites. Even if your site is primarily viewed on a desktop or laptop computer, your page rankings will suffer if you aren't equipped with responsive views. Our starting upgrade price for mobile views is $150. Please contact us for a comprehensive estimate.

Mobile-friendly site views will keep your search results competitive.

3) Video Video Video

With the growing competition to getting better SEO results, more and more businesses are turning to professionally created video to grab and convert your visitors. Google now values professional video as part of your overall user experience strategy. To this end, Slabmedia has recently partnered with bostonvideoproductions.com to help our clients create compelling stories for their brands. Contact us for more information, or visit their site.

A professionally produced video helps to tell your story, increase shares, and increase your visibilty online.

4) Site updates

Speaking of refreshing things, we'd like to invite you to consider updating the look of your site. We know (and value!) that many of our customers have been with us a long time (in web years), and that some of the designs that were cutting edge in 2006 are starting to look a little dated. Full-page layouts have taken off with the emergence of "mobile-first" web programming. We have great new tools like HTML5 and CSS3 to work with, not to mention new resources like Google Fonts for typography and plenty of options for photos, video, music, and ecommerce. Using these new frameworks can increase the appeal of your site and keep your users engaged for longer. Check out Barry Crimmins' new site, and our own Slabmedia.com homepage for examples of how we're adapting our easy-to-use system for use with these new design trends. We'd like to help refresh the look of your site, so please contact us to discuss the best way to move forward!

If your site's looking a little dated, touch base with us for updating options!

Lastly, we can always use, and we always appreciate, reviews of our services online at Yelp and Google Reviews. Or you can always drop us a line at office@slabmedia.com if you have any particular questions about your site or our services.

Thank you, and have a great rest of 2015!

-The Folks at Slabmedia