We Make Nice Websites

We created a website for the Loftus Brothers! They own and...

Mon, 07 May 2012 10:38:00 -0400

We created a website for the Loftus Brothers! They own and manage our office building in the Cascade District here in Rochester. cascadeprops.com Check it out! We love our neighborhood even more now!

Thanks to @JPizzo2 for our awesome card and #starbucks gift...

Thu, 03 May 2012 09:54:17 -0400

Thanks to @JPizzo2 for our awesome card and #starbucks gift card!

With May 1st just a day away, we thought we would put fresh new...

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:25:45 -0400

With May 1st just a day away, we thought we would put fresh new paint on the walls in time for spring cleaning. We still have a ways to go, but this is step one of our office transformation. Move out the way Martha Stewart, WMNW is at it again.

We’ve all started to settle into the second quarter of 2012, but...

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:30:55 -0400

We’ve all started to settle into the second quarter of 2012, but WMNW is also settling into one additional thing this year - a new office!

There I said it. It’s been killing me. I’ve been waiting to say that for a long, long time. A few weeks ago we signed a multi-year lease, but I could barely keep the news contained. With the exception of a few close friends, not too many people knew until this past week when we actually moved in.

This is our ‘dream house.’ Our oasis. Our daily inspiration. And a place for our clients (or future clients) to visit us and break away from the norm.

It really hasn’t quite set in for us. (Not yet at least, but it’s starting to.) We’re actually still in awe of the 15-foot ceilings, the imperfect hardwood floors, and our view of the street below. This is the place Josh and I set out find when we first co-founded the company back in September 2009. Getting an office that would inspire us on a daily basis was a big goal for us, and we are proud to have finally achieved it after two and a half years of hard work.

So far we have had a lot of fun just envisioning what (and who) goes where. The space has three built-in cubicles. You might assume that we fought over the most spacious cubicle with its enviable window, but we actually decided against making these confined spaces into workstations. Instead, we’ve kept a familiar “round table” format. All three of us decided to hunker down in the common area with our desks strategically positioned to keep communication between us barrier free. Though g-chat will probably still be the preferred method of communication during work for some (ahem, Ian), we also decided that the aforementioned coveted mega-cubicle should be converted into a conference room, fit for some serious brainstorming and a welcome change of scenery.

Our short-term plan is to give the studio a facelift and change its current color scheme to give the space a more modern feel. It won’t happen overnight, but the change will come very soon.

We don’t view this as an additional expense, but rather as an investment and a reward to ourselves and our clients. We will produce better work here. We will work here longer. We will choose to bring clients here instead of to a coffee shop, and hope they feel as comfortable as we do here. We’ll continue to grow into this space slowly over the course of many months and can’t wait to see what happens next.

Our newest site launch. http://rtccc.com/

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:42:51 -0400

Our newest site launch. http://rtccc.com/

Every design company has two main things to think about; their...

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 11:46:55 -0400

Every design company has two main things to think about; their client’s brand and their own. One pays directly and the other pays indirectly. Because we’re often so busy with client work, projects that involve our own company branding often get put on the back-burner. But every now and again we get a chance to step back and chip away at something of our own. This time, it was a mobile site. We’ve actually been meaning to build a mobile version of our own website for a while now and after months of talking about it, it’s finally complete. So if you’ve got a smart phone, go ahead and check it out!

But we do also design and develop mobile sites for our clients too. We did a player mobile application for the NHL’s Columbus BlueJackets last year and just launched a mobile site for a local senior living center, St. Ann’s Community. We’re also in the process of developing one for the Rochester Young Professionals, so be sure to check back again soon for more news on that!

- Josh

Rochester Young Professionals

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 12:24:00 -0400

Last month, we were thrilled to unveil the newest website in our portfolio: Rochester Young Professionals. RYP is a group that coordinates and promotes events for young professionals in the Rochester area that are either social, volunteer, or informational. With more than 3000 members, they are the largest young professional group in Rochester, NY.

The opportunity to re-design their website was a real honor, and we are very proud of the results. We worked hard to make it simple for users to access information about events. Another important objective was to introduce existing board members and clearly outline their roles in the group. Easy navigation and legibility helped us accomplish these goals using a cleaner and more modern interface.

The Rochester Young Professionals were a wonderful group to collaborate with. After you’re done taking a look at their fancy new website, go ahead and put one of their events on your calendar and come experience RYP for yourself or sign up to be a member here. We know you won’t regret it!

Check out some of our other work »

The internet thrives on the free-flow of ideas and the passage...

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:31:02 -0500

The internet thrives on the free-flow of ideas and the passage of those ideas from place to place. Protect IP seeks to curb that flow, and gives the entertainment industry the power to do it. It would give these private corporations the power to shut down any website that directly or indirectly promotes pirating or copyright infringement. So, that cover video your 9-year-old cousin posted of her favorite Justin Beiber song is a violation, the photo of Seth Rogen you posted on Facebook for doppleganger week crosses the line, and the gif from last week’s Big Bang Theory on your tumblr breaks the law. These websites can be shut down, sued, or have all of their US-based advertisement cancelled. New start-ups as well as old social networking favorites could be seriously crippled by this legislation.

On top of all that, there is a serious flaw in the execution. This bill will only affect the DNS for each site, still allowing access to anyone who types in the IP address. It won’t stop piracy, but it will harm websites that the government feels are not filtering links to pirated material well enough.

We do think that copyright infringement is wrong, but this level of censorship is not the answer. Protect IP creates more problems than it solves. Please consider signing the official petition against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), sending an e-mail, or making a phone call to your local politicians. These links make it fast and easy to make your voice heard.

The internet is a place to hear and be heard. Don’t let Protect IP take that away.

Small Business Saturday For some of us, November 26 is an extra...

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:17:00 -0500

Small Business Saturday

For some of us, November 26 is an extra recovery day from eating too much turkey. For others, it means waking up at the break of dawn [again] to celebrate Target’s Two-Day Sale. But what it should mean for all of us, is the perfect opportunity to support our local economy!

November 26, 2011 is “Small Business Saturday”, a day dedicated to the small businesses of America. Over 2 million people have friended Small Business Saturday’s Facebook page and even major corporations like FedEx, American Express, and Google are showing their support.

American Express launched a campaign to get consumers to “shop small” during Thanksgiving weekend. Whether you’re a business owner or a consumer, Small Business Saturday is more than just a shopping event; it’s a way of acting on our commitment to the small business in America. You can help show your support by pledging to make a purchase at your favorite shop!

As a small business ourselves, We Make Nice Websites knows how important local support is and we’re grateful for all of the opportunities we’ve received in our 2 years of business. Most of our clients are also small businesses too, making us extra thankful that we’re able to collaborate together and help make a difference in Rochester.

Please show your support for all of the hard working folks in our community and buy something local on Small Business Saturday!

RAF Reality Check at RIT

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:04:00 -0400

Last week We Make Nice Websites Creative Director Greg Cunneyworth was asked to be a part of the RAF Reality Check. The event was a great opportunity to sit down in a “speed-dating” fashion and meet senior graphic design and new media students from RIT. The students were encouraged to ask questions regarding the design industry. Because it wasn’t a portfolio review, the pressure to judge their work was off, which promoted easy-going conversation and purposeful small-talk.

We Make Nice Websites is currently looking for freelance designers to hire on a per project basis. If you or someone you know is interested in working with us, please send your portfolio to info@wemakenicewebsites.com

Re: Graphic Designer for Websites needed (Rochester NY)

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 14:57:00 -0400

Over the last two years of being in business, an inevitable question often arises, “How did you meet your business partner?” Our reaction is usually the same every time… “uhh…we… just met through a mutual friend. This guy named Craig.” Two years (as of this past Sunday) have gone by since the initial connection was made. We thought it was time to share the true story of how We Make Nice Websites came to be.

Our mutual friend Craig’s lastname is Slist. In fact, you probably know him too…Craig Slist.

Ok, so Craig is a website rather than a real person, but we tend to think of it of somewhat appropriate given the industry we got into. At the time, Josh was looking to start a business and needed a designer to help him. (Enter: Greg) I had just came home to Rochester after a short work contract in Toronto, Ontario and was looking to find a job. Instead of finding one, I decided make one.

I was recently looking back at some old emails a few months ago and found the very first email I ever sent to my future business partner and now co-founder of WMNW.

On September 18, 2009, I sent Josh this email:

Re: Graphic Designer for Websites needed (Rochester NY)

Hi Josh. I am a recent grad from the RIT School of Design. I think I suit the type of graphic designer you’re looking for. Give my portfolio a look at the website below and let me know if you’re interested in pairing up. I am fairly experienced and network myself both in the Rochester and Toronto design community very well. I’d love the opportunity to help start up a business and definitely feel I am capable of helping.

Look forward to chatting. If you have any questions feel free to phone my cell or reply.

Oddly enough I can remember exactly where I was at the moment when I wrote that and the feeling I had when I pressed ‘send’. It’s funny how things work out… 1000 cups of coffee, 731 days and over 50 clients later, we’re still working together.

When we met face to face for the first time, we met at the Pittsford Village Starbucks. Once we agreed to officially work together, we continued to meet there, develop a brand strategy, a business plan, and then closed our eyes and crossed our fingers, hoping only for the best.

Then, on December 23, 2009 I got a phone call from our very first client, whom I had been busy buying coffee from and charming for the past week or two. (And it wasn’t Starbucks unfortunately, but rather a small coffee shop in Mendon, NY.) On January 1, 2010 we officially opened the doors to business.

The rest of course, is history.

For additional company info you can see an interactive timeline on our “about” page here.

Do you have a cool story about how you started your company? Send them to info@wemakenicewebsites.com or tweet them to us @wmnw #startupstory

Back to school.... for Emily

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:39:00 -0400

Hard to believe that it was almost two months ago that I started as an intern here at We Make Nice Websites. Hit the ground running on day one when I was given the task to help with redesign the new website. Crazy to think that the new We Make Nice Websites site was designed, coded and completed all while I was there this summer. I learned a lot about the inner-workings of how a website comes about and all of the minor (and sometimes major) tweaks that are involved along the way.

Other tasks this summer included writing up a “how-to” twitter manual, helping to design a few other websites and getting websites ready in Photoshop. Learned new short-cuts when I accidentally deleted my entire background in Illustrator. Oops. And became a master of Tweetdeck for managing multiple twitter accounts. Not once did I have a Chrysler moment & post something the wrong account. I’d call that a success.

By far, my favorite project this summer was the least web design related… whoops! Can’t help my love for all things social media. For the past few weeks Greg & I have been meeting with Elaine Spaull (she’s running for re-election for Rochester City Council) helping to launch her Facebook Fan Page & Twitter account. It’s really been a great project to work on because Elaine is so awesome and gave us her full trust when making decisions on how to move forward.

As much as I would like to continue believing that it is summer, fall is coming soon! Classes start in one week and as this is my last year at RIT, I’m going to have a full course load! Fall quarter will be complete with a Web Design class of course (Josh & Ian - I’ll try to keep my 2 am emails desperately requesting help to a minimum).

Huge thanks to Greg, Josh and Ian for having me this summer and letting me work on some pretty cool projects!

Elaine Spaull - Social Media Campaign

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:00:00 -0400

When it comes to politics, we consider ourselves far from experts. Leveraging social media, however? That’s a little more our style.

For our newest client, we have the pleasure of working with Elaine Spaull, Vice President of City Council Representing the East District for Rochester and the Executive Director of The Center for Youth (@center4youth). Elaine is running for re-election in November of this year and came to us for advice on diving into the world of social media. We not only helped her better understand the power of social media, but helped her strategize and design a solution that best suited her needs as a politician and a strong community activist in Rochester.

As a digital design agency, social media is certainly covered under our jurisdiction and has been for a while, but this opportunity with Elaine has allowed to us to manage, overlook and consult her social media presence. And we must say, we think she’s doing an excellent job herself updating Twitter and Facebook daily with pictures and comments. We’re very pleased she’s found a new way to connect with the community and share her very well respected opinions and events with the city of Rochester.

Having just launched her social media campaign Monday, we’re still in the beginning stages of the project, but it’s moving right along and growing each day. Check back on Elaine’s Facebook page soon for a custom Facebook page and be sure to follow her on Twitter! @ElaineSpaull

In the News

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 11:45:11 -0400

Nothing like a visit from the media to inspire a little office clean up. We’ve gotten our fair share of press coverage in the past week and it happens to be just in time for some big changes around here! We’ve done a little more clean up around here than simply picking some things off the ground and making sure the paint stain is covered up…

We’ve been hard at work here at We Make Nice Websites on… a nice website! Imagine that. Except this time, we’re the clients. That’s right, we’re getting a brand spankin’ new website and it’s going to be fantastic. But we’ll let you be the judges of that when the time comes.

We’re a web design & development company and you’d think that designing a website would come easily. However, there is something about revamping your own style that leaves makes for quite a bit of uncertainty (ie. changing the design drastically every 24 hours). Luckily, we think we’ve found something that we’re really proud of and we’re working on those special touches as we speak.. err, type?

Stay tuned for the official site launch. In the mean time you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook or subscribe to our Newsletter for other updates!

Oh yeah, and be on the look out for a nifty article in the Brighton Pittsford Post coming soon!

Google+

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 09:59:00 -0400

With Google+ out for almost two weeks now, there has been much speculation and discussion as to what it is, if it will catch on, and how Facebook feels about all of this.

While we’re not pretending to have any strong opinions on the matter, there are a few apparent advantages of Google+ right off the bat.

Circles. Let’s, for the sake of argument, go ahead and assume that your mailman’s mom’s best friend’s dog does not particularly care about your recent discovery of some new technology for web development. Likely story. We’ll go ahead and put them in a circle called “Dogs.” Then comes along your college professor who might find that particular link handy (and might even give you bonus points for doing so). We’ll put them in a circle called “Professors.” Friday night pictures? Might want to leave your grandma out of that one, if she too has jumped on the G+ bandwagon. Circles are great for delivering information exactly to the people who will likely benefit from it most.

Less Clutter. Much similar to Twitter, Google+ allows people to follow others without the Facebook required friend request accept. It does notify you of their addition in case you feel so inclined to do the same but in order to cut down on the clutter of information pouring in, you’re able to follow just those you’re most interested in hearing from.

Video Conferencing This has yet to be determined as a good or bad thing. A week after the launch of Google+ and their new “hangouts” that allow users to video conference with up to 10 people, Facebook answered with the addition of group chat and Skype-powered Video Chat. Both appear to serve similar purposes so far.

So what does all of this mean for We Make Nice Websites?

Well, we’re going to have to be patient. Really patient, in fact, as they have not yet determined a release date for Google+ for Businesses. But don’t worry, we won’t be twiddling our thumbs over here for too long, Facebook just hit 750 million users so it seems as though that will be around for a while longer.

"The New Intern"

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 09:57:00 -0400

Google Analyzer, Twitter Organizer, or Master of Google Docs could all be words used to describe my new position here at We Make Nice Websites. I suppose “the new intern” could work as well.

After one day on the job, I’ve landed the task of revamping the social media approach of We Make Nice Websites. This includes everything from blogging about up and coming social media and web development news, managing all of the various accounts on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and creating a new look for the website!

But first for a proper introduction… I’m Emily Okey and I’m currently one year away from graduating with a degree in graphic design from Rochester Institute of Technology. Although if a degree in Twitter or social media were offered, I could be quickly persuaded to stay for another 4 years. Needless to say, I’m pretty excited to be here at We Make Nice Websites as an intern for the summer with free reign to do some of the things I love most.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter and follow We Make Nice Websites on Twitter for updates about the changes around here. The list on the whiteboard is already out of control, so I’m anxious to jump in and get started!

Giving Remodeling Magazine A Piece of Our Mind

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:40:00 -0400

A few months back, Stacey Freed, a Senior Editor at Remodeling Magazine, asked me to share some tips about SEO. What is it? What are some best practices? You get the picture. I was more than happy to share what I knew and hope it helps readers of the magazine with their online presence. (Read the full article)

For the most part, solid SEO is about following the rules. There are web standards set by the W3C and “guidelines” to follow for Google and Bing. These Google and Bing guidelines are not necessarily written in stone, but are a safe set of best practices that have proven successful.

You’d be amazed at how many “bad” websites are online. I’m not talking about websites that looked bad (although there still seem to be plenty), but websites that were developed by those not willing to follow the rules. As a result, many times the ranking of that site in search engines takes a huge hit.

In addition to a developer just doing what they are supposed to do, your ranking on Google/Bing can be improved by publishing fresh content online that is tied in with your website and using relevant keywords in your site, url, and title tag. For more information on these, you can read the whole article.

If online users are having difficulty finding your website through search engine’s or if you want to rank higher than the competition, feel free to get in touch with us.

Zoobilation 2011

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:50:00 -0400

Back about ten months ago, Mike Mooney, the owner of Full Moon Communications, asked if I’d be interested in helping do some design work for “Zoobilation”, a charity event held annually at the Seneca Park Zoo. Agreeing to help him develop a pro bono campaign for the event, Mike established a creative team consisting of myself, wordman guru Karl Weiberg, designer Dona Bagley, and father and son photography duo, Wayne and Matt Calabrese.

From there, we came together and created a few campaigns over the course of the winter which we pitched to the Zoobilation board in the spring. T-shirts, signs, programs, tickets and other collateral were created for the event, which was held this past Saturday night and was raising funds for the future lion exhibit.

A toast and champagne kicked off the event, followed by dinner, catered by the Rabbit Room. (It was delicious.) From there, everyone mingled, listened to live Jazz, drank, and placed bids on the silent auction items. Afterwards, I wandered over to the dessert table and chatted with Leslie Zinck from Lovin’ Cup, who was passing out drink samples.

The night finished with a live auction and a walk around the zoo. It was nice to see everyone’s support, including County Executive Maggie Brooks, who was also there supporting the cause. We Make Nice Websites was proud to see some of our own work out in the community for this type of event. We recently reached a company milestone of 50 clients and are honored to be affiliated with such a good cause like Zoobilation.

We can’t wait for next year!

Behind the scenes: The WMNW Blog

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:44:00 -0400

We like our blog. It’s clean. It’s new. It puts the ‘blog’ in “sexy-blog”. But most people don’t know it’s the work of our past intern, Kristen. Here’s what she has to say about it.

Hi all! My name is Kristen Palladino and I am a recent intern at We Make Nice Websites. Being a graduate of Nazareth College for graphic design and illustration, I never realized how important social networking was until I started interning with the agency. Connecting through the Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and websites is a great way to get your name out to clients. It’s also a good way to connect with other agencies and creators and keep up with the ever-changing world of design. You may have noticed a change in the layout of We Make Nice Website’s blog. One of the main projects I was assigned was to take on the task of re-establishing their social networking division of the agency, which included creating a new layout design for the blog.

With little knowledge and experience blogging, I had no idea where to begin. I started by researching other blogs by design agencies and designers, as well as some friends of mine, just to see how they each organized their blogs and to get a feel for what stories and topics to post. After much investigation, I came up with a proposal.

The layout of the blog mirrors the brand of We Make Nice Websites’, which is needed to relate and keep to their set identity. The categories you see on the right column are matched with my hand drawn icons, which organize the topics of each post. The banners on the top of the page display my hand drawn words that welcome you as you enter into the new blog! Soon, that banner will become interchangeable images of the agencies recent work, as well as other announcements.

After completing this project, I am proud to say I helped design this new layout! Good luck to all the other students and I hope you all enjoy the new design!

Kristen interned with us from Jan ‘11 - Apr ‘11 and has recently graduated from Nazareth. We’d like to extend a big thank to her for all her hard work! Read more and check out her designs on her blog!

If you’re interested in interning with We Make Nice Websites, please send your resume and portfolio to Intern@WeMakeNiceWebsites.com.

Craig Charron

Tue, 31 May 2011 11:36:00 -0400

Illustration by Chris Lyons

Unbelievably, it’s been a little over a year since the Rochester and hockey community at large discovered the heart-breaking news about former Amerk, Craig Charron. It’s also been over a year since a group of his close friends, family, and former teammates first came together to help him fight the stomach cancer he was diagnosed with. “Sharky” as he was known, lost that battle on October 19, 2010—Although his spirit, legacy, wife, and four children live on becoming the main reason we all continue to fight for him today.

The We Make Nice Websites crew has been there from the very beginning, and proud of it. We developed the website that ultimately became the main hub for the breaking news, press, and events surrounding the chairty. The website collected hundreds of ‘fan mail’ messages and thousands of dollars in donations, before and after his passing. Today, CraigCharron.com continues to be the place to do all of that. Looking forward, We Make Nice Websites feels honored to still be a part of such a dedicated group fighting for a common goal.

This past week was the group’s first meeting of the summer, discussing events like the first annual Celebrity Hockey Game. This main event will again be a huge crowd pleaser due to the chalk full roster of NHL stars like Brian Gionta, Ryan Calahan, and Scott Nichol.

For those of you who like to swing the clubs, be sure to dust them for another Celebrity Golf Tournament. I can’t say what potential names were flying around the room just yet, but I’m certain some new faces will be on the ballot box for that exciting day.

And on July 25, Murphy’s Law will again be hosting the Celebrity Bartending. How many times does the chance to be served a drink by Andrew Peters or Brian Gionta come along in a lifetime? You can get more event information at here or by calling (585) 424-4625. But get your tickets today because all of these events sold out last year, and will again this year too!