Maybe you’ve had a successful hair salon for years and your flow of clients is in and out like a Manhattan revolving door. Or perhaps, you just started one and are struggling to pack the chairs and fill the appointment book. Regardless, both need a website. It would seem that the latter would be more in need. But here are the top 5 reasons why both do and how it benefits the one with the successful streaks AND the one that’s a little green at the roots. Because the goals of a hair salon aren’t to create just great client impressions when they walk out the door, but even before they get there or perhaps know that you exist. How so? Read on….
1stShow that You Are a Cut above the Rest ~ Perhaps you can highlight with the talent of Picasso or have the most stylish stylists in a 50 mile radius- if you don’t advertise it, word of mouth is probably not enough to keep your book of business on the incline despite a declining economy. Grooming is one of the “extras” that many people can’t justify when the light bill is due and groceries are in need. In today’s tough economy improving the growth and profitability of your hair salon needs to be a high-priority and this is one tool you’ll want to have in the kit. Having a website shows potential and repeat customers that you really mean business about your business. It reflects another level of professionalism for clients and to the industry. Remember, the goal is to create a great impression on a client both before they come to the salon AND after they see their reflection in the mirror.
2nd Add Social Media Presence to Your Menu ~ Running a hair salon requires interaction with a lot of people and why not let that network work for you. What do I mean by that? I mean getting people to Like You on Facebook, connect with you via Linked-In and chat about you on Twitter. With constantly changing styles, promotions, and products you shouldn’t have a problem finding topics to talk or Tweet about. This is an ever-evolving industry and you can take advantage of that using the free resource of Social Media. Use it to show others that you are tapped into the most current trends in hairstyling, makeup, products or whatever your salon may specialize in. And speaking of specialties, if you have one in particular-like you wax as smooth as a baby’s bottom or have a stylist who coifs with the precision of Edward Scissorhands-then Social Media is the perfect place to create hype about the talents in your establishment.
3rdGreat Referencing Tool for the Trade ~ A website is a great place to let your work shine and the words of your clients work for you. Often, word of mouth helps as much as it can hurt. Letting others “hear” from current/past clients does influence decisions…especially in service-providing industries. Most repeat customers would love say how Thomas keeps their true roots invisible or Shelly is a Shear-tress like no other AND see it in print! No to mention that playing to a client’s ego in this manner, is also another way to keep their business at your business. I mean this is an industry of vanity after all…
4thStylistas, the Cutting Floor to Web Design ~ A great look and feel website should engage visitors and compel them to spend time there. You are in luck in this particular industry because the variety of website designs available can vary as much as shades of blond. But you also have to know which to choose based on your demographics, clientele and other such factors. Don’t forget that when selecting one, it should reflect both your vision for your business and the clientele walking through its doors. Keeping this in mind, don’t fail to have fun with it. I mean it isn’t a law firm for goodness sake-so you can push the envelope of creativity without seeming over-the-top.
5th Picture Perfect Coiffing & Selling ~ Photo Galleries aren’t fabulous only in SoHo but can be just as spellbinding on the www while exhibiting your stylists’ work. There are various choices to do so…like a slide show, a flip/style online book or even a Virtual Tour of your Salon while talent’s in motion. It will be engaging and be a non-traditional way of showing off your talented team.
Decide Who Will Make the Cut ~ If don’t have a salon website already but are now convinced you need one, here are some considerations when choosing a website designer and/or company:
Find one that you feel understands your salons demographics and how to reflect it on the website.
Know that imagery will be crucial for your website. So make sure that you have “web-worthy” photographs to showcase the talents of your team and use stock photography where needed to beautify the site.
Make sure they will write your content with commonly used keywords that are frequently used when searching for hair salons, especially in your geographic region.
At Design Theory, we’d love to help you take your business to the next level of design and success. As such, we now have great packages specifically designed for hair salons that will help you blow away your competition.
Have you ever been to a website that loaded very slowly? Did that website have some images that loaded abnormally slow, even though they weren’t that large in size? The reason for that may be that the images were re-sized improperly, most likely with a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) webpage editor such as Adobe Dreamweaver. This problem could have been avoided if the images were optimized.
Adobe Dreamweaver is a very powerful webpage editor that can be used to customize just about everything on your website, including specifying or adjusting the resolution of your images. When you click on an image you have inserted into Dreamweaver, you get the properties window, which allows you to specify the size of the image (resolution) and a host of other options.
Notice in the the above example the image file size is 4162K. That means it’s about 4162 kilobytes (or about 4 MB) which is very large. Also notice that the W and H (width and height) values are both in bold. That means that the current size of the image (266 x 140) is not the actual size of it (4096 x 2160). If you click on the refresh button next to the image size Dreamweaver will resize the image to the proper size (4096 x 2160).
If you change the size of an image using Dreamweaver’s image properties tab, you will just be changing the image’s resolution and not the actual file size. Using this method to downsize large images will make the images load very slowly.
This is NOT a good method for re-sizing an image for a webpage!
Dreamweaver wasn’t designed to be used for editing images. The purpose of the width and height boxes in the properties tab is to specify a resolution (size) for the image or object you have selected if there are no dimensions specified. A much better way of optimizing images is with Adobe Photoshop.
Using Photoshop to Optimize Images
If you have Adobe Photoshop, then you have the perfect tool for optimizing your images to display on your website. Here are some quick and easy steps to optimize your image in Photoshop:
1. Open the image (File > Open)
2. Re-size the image with the image properties window (Image > Image Size)
Notice at the top of the window where it says “Pixel Dimensions:” that the file size of the downsized image is now 109.3K which is a whole heck of a lot smaller than the original image file size of 25.3 MB.
3. Instead of “Save” or “Save As” use the “Save for Web & Devices” option (File > Save for Web & Devices).
If you look at the top right corner of the Save for Web & Devices window you will see these options:
Most of the time, I alternate between the 70 and 60 quality setting depending on the size of the image. I have set this image to the JPEG High preset, which gives the image 60 quality by default. If you are re-sizing an image for a thumbnail (320 x 240 or below) 60 is a great setting because you won’t see any degradation in quality from the original. I use the 60 quality setting most of the time, unless the image is very large (1024 x 768 or larger).
Original quality vs 60 quality
The original on the left is full quality (no compression) and the optimized on the right is 60 quality. At this smaller size, it’s hard to see any degradation in image quality at the 60 setting. As you can see, the optimized image on the right has an estimated load time of 3 seconds for a 56k dial-up connection. Of course, most users today have cable and other much faster connections, but it’s nice to know that even on the slowest connection, the image still won’t take too long to load.
4. Upload the new and improved image to your website!
Now you’re ready to load the optimized image(s) into Dreamweaver or whichever editor you use for your website.
Video of Image re-sized using Dreamweaver vs. Photoshop Method
As you can see in this video, the image that was optimized using my Photoshop method (on the left) loads a lot faster than the image that was re-sized using only Dreamweaver (on the right). The optimized image loads almost instantaneously!
Trust is one of the hardest things to give to another person in our personal lives let alone in business. However when we do decide to give it, it’s because the person has portrayed themselves in an unquestionably, trustworthy manner or have at least projected some character attributes which tells us it’s worth the risk. But before we ask a client to “ink the deal” they have to measure what’s said & done in dollars and cents and when 5 digits are on the line, they employ a vetting system like the DC Secret Service! Can you blame them?
In website design and branding, gaining and maintaining the trust of a client is ÜBER important. It’s a plastic surgery kinda trust-especially since a company’s website and branding materials are exactly that-their face to the world. If you’re on my side of the pitch table, here are some key points you might contemplate (or employ) before your next prospective or retained client meeting.
Don’t let your competency raise eyebrows! You’ve heard the old cliché come with your “A” game. When you meet a client for the first time, I say come with as many letters between A to Z as possible! Don’t just dress for success but prep for it with research! Know specifics about their industry and who their competitors are. Know about that company’s trends and how it has grown and/or morphed. Know what’s out in worldwide media about them – the good or bad press. Don’t be comfortable telling them what they already know but wow them with something they should know. You’ll have a better chance at gaining their professional trust and ultimately add more In God We Trust’s into your wallet. Engage your client into a dynamic conversation – one that requires Q & A from the BOTH of you. Questions FROM YOU TO your client conveys that their voice is important to you. Not like you don’t know anything but like you want to glean or learn something from them. For some, going in with a “wait till I show you what I can do for you” kind of arrogance can really be a turn off and leave prospective clients feeling less trustworthy of YOUR motivations with THEIR business. Likewise, this applies to repeat customers as well. It’s even more important to talk less and listen more for an ongoing, “worthy of their trust” relationship.
Plug into what’s up with the industry headliners! Who are your clients’ competitors? What are the industry trends of similar/competitor clients and how do you one up them? Their trust of you and your abilities is not just tied to your portfolio of projects but also based on your ability to offer innovative solutions to move them ahead and become industry leaders as opposed to followers.
Say I Do & Mean It! When you give a client an expected date of completion or they’re the one giving you the deadline, MEET IT or DON’T COMMIT! Nothing is worse for a budding business relationship or repeat business than not making it to the finish line. Especially when it’s the first leg of the race! Give reasonable timetables and make sure that if there are hiccups along the way that alter the timeline, communicate with the client before they have to call you.
What’s your rep? Growing up my father continually emphasized that “what people think about you can hurt you”. This has far worse consequences in the working world than the hallways of high school. If you’ve proven to be unreliable, gave shoddy work for good payment or burned professional bridges {or in some other manner} with clients, you might be the butt of a blog instead of the author. Remember, word of mouth can be the best advertising or your worst adversary. What a client thinks of you affects not just your relationship with them today but your future with all others too.
Want better customer retention and loyalty? Start earning it by giving them your best, prove your competency and follow-through with all commitments to show them you value their business and the relationship.
Call to Action: Shoot me a line and tell me – How Do You Measure Up?
Is it really necessary for a small company to have website? Can I really make SEO work for me?
Can blogging really benefit my company? Is this all just a waste of time and is any of this profitable?
In a very Dr. Phil-ish candidness, you bet your butt they do! And here’s why:
1. I’ve said this to potential clients, current clients, on previous blogs and to my friends…YOU NEED A WEBSITE! Whether you live in a big city or small town, the truth is that most of the world doesn’t know you exist. Unless your business has a product or service that is exclusive to your geographical region, you need to expand not only your mind but also your client list and profit margin. How else can a small company in Nebraska acquire a client in Maine?
2. If you have sneakers, you need laces. Since you need a website, you need SEO. It’s the only way to get higher rankings in the major search engines for your company with limitless advertising. Yes, it can be a little time-consuming at first if doing so yourself (or you can just hire someone to do it…see www.jpdesigntheory.com) but it is worth the time and your dimes. 3. Do you see the visual example of a necessary principle? The more you or someone else writes about your company and services/products exposure expansion & growth.
4. It’s evident from all the market growth and promotion of social media, it is not only big now but it’s here to stay.Customers are savvy enough now to use it to their advantage and that directly benefits your company if you get on board. Especially since customers are utilizing all the tools the worldwide web offers to discuss product/service experiences and research them prior to purchase. In the end, I hope these answers to common questions help you to understand the importance and necessity of websites, SEO and blogging. Can’t wait to see YOU on the www!
Have you ever wondered how some websites are able to integrate images so seamlessly with the background of the page that they just blend in?
Most of those websites accomplish this by removing the original background of the image and either making it transparent (see-through) or changing it to another color or another background all-together. It’s all matched to the theme of the website.
For example, notice the pastor and elder of the First Church of the Living God website (created by Design Theory) in the image below. They blend right in with the clouds in the background.
Today, I will be showing you how to remove the background of an image easily and quickly with Adobe Photoshop.
* Before you start, make sure you have opened an image in Photoshop (File > Open) *
Step 1: Select the Magic Wand Tool
Select the Magic Wand tool, located in the left menu bar.
Step 2: Configure the Magic Wand Tool
Once you have selected the Magic Wand tool, you will need to configure it using the options located near the top menu bar. For basic background removal, tolerance is the only option you need to concern yourself with in the Magic Wand configuration options. Tolerance determines how closely to match colors, and a higher tolerance means a larger selection. For this example, I used a value of 70 for tolerance because if you use anything lower you will get an ugly jagged-edged blue border around the image.
Step 3: Select the Background with the Magic Wand Tool
Now that you have selected the Magic Wand tool and configured its tolerance level, you will need to select the background in the image. Click anywhere in the background of the image and the Magic Wand will automatically detect the colors of the image, and, if there aren’t too many different colors in the image, it will detect the background. Now you see why they call it the “Magic” Wand! In this case, the background is almost a solid blue so the Magic Wand has no trouble detecting the background, and it only takes one click. If the background is not solid, or is busier than the background in this particular example, you will have to hold the shift key while you click on each color that is part of the background (Hold shift + left click). This is a basic tutorial, however, so I won’t be diving into how to do that now.
Step 4: Delete the Background
Now that you have selected the Magic Wand tool, set its tolerance level and selected the background, you simply hit the delete key and voila, no background! You are now free to use this image with just about any background you can think of.
Here is an example of what I did with my tiger:
As you can see, I replaced the background with a solid black color and added some text of a company I made up. This is an example of how you could implement this tiger picture as a logo/header element on your website. There are a lot of other ways to use this skill to make your websites look very professional and seamless.
If you have this skill and use it for your own professional application, please share your experience. If not, was this tutorial helpful to you?
Maybe you’ve had a successful hair salon for years and your flow of clients is in and out like a Manhattan revolving door. Or perhaps, you just started one and are struggling to pack the chairs and fill the appointment book. Regardless, both need a website. It would seem that the latter would be more in need. But here are the top 5 reasons why both do and how it benefits the one with the successful streaks AND the one that’s a little green at the roots. Because the goals of a hair salon aren’t to create just great client impressions when they walk out the door, but even before they get there or perhaps know that you exist. How so? Read on….
1st Show that You Are a Cut above the Rest ~ Perhaps you can highlight with the talent of Picasso or have the most stylish stylists in a 50 mile radius- if you don’t advertise it, word of mouth is probably not enough to keep your book of business on the incline despite a declining economy. Grooming is one of the “extras” that many people can’t justify when the light bill is due and groceries are in need. In today’s tough economy improving the growth and profitability of your hair salon needs to be a high-priority and this is one tool you’ll want to have in the kit. Having a website shows potential and repeat customers that you really mean business about your business. It reflects another level of professionalism for clients and to the industry. Remember, the goal is to create a great impression on a client both before they come to the salon AND after they see their reflection in the mirror.
4th Stylistas, the Cutting Floor to Web Design ~ A great look and feel website should engage visitors and compel them to spend time there. You are in luck in this particular industry because the variety of website designs available can vary as much as shades of blond. But you also have to know which to choose based on your demographics, clientele and other such factors. Don’t forget that when selecting one, it should reflect both your vision for your business and the clientele walking through its doors. Keeping this in mind, don’t fail to have fun with it. I mean it isn’t a law firm for goodness sake-so you can push the envelope of creativity without seeming over-the-top.
Decide Who Will Make the Cut ~ If don’t have a salon website already but are now convinced you need one, here are some considerations when choosing a website designer and/or company:
Find one that you feel understands your salons demographics and how to reflect it on the website.
specifically designed for hair salons that will help you blow away your competition.
This is NOT a good method for re-sizing an image for a webpage! 
