13 Logo Design Services You Can Use Today

As you build your company and website, you probably want to present something unique, something that is memorable about your company image. Many companies choose to create a logo to identify their brand and company. But often, creating an original logo when you are first starting out is too expensive.

So here are 13 logo creation applications or services that range in price from free to affordable. This list of free and paid services should help you find the best tools. One word of warning: Several of the “free” sites are free only for the creation process. Always read the fine print.

If you want to download the logo you’ve created and have unlimited use, there is a charge, and I tried to note when that occurs.  To be totally realistic, you could do some of this work yourself in Powerpoint or a decent drawing program, but there are small companies starting today that don’t have those software programs, and these mostly Web-based tools might appeal.

Free (or Mostly Free)

Supalogo is one of my favorites for creating a super-fast font-based logo. You type in your text, pick some options and hit download. You can even look at samples and click edit and start from there. Nicely done.

Logo Victory is a completely free logo design tool that lets you download a jpeg image. If you want other file formats, they have a small upgrade charge. They also offer paid services starting at $49. This was one of the only sites that offered a no-strings free logo.

Marketsplash is a completely free (with registration) logo design service. I was impressed with it. It is built and run by HP, which I mention in other places, but this tool lets you download a few different versions of your logo with a simple registration.

The Logo Creator is free logo creation software. No trial, no demo, fully free in return for a tweet. Yes, a tweet on Twitter and you can have their software for free. From the logos showcased on the site, it looks like a fairly robust application. The offer was tested and worked at the time of publishing this post.

CoolText lets you type out your company name and then choose different ways to stylize the font itself. Handy, fast and free if all you want is your name with a bit of energy to it.

Logo Ease offers a fully free logo creation tool. You have to register, but they let you create and download (they send you the link) the logo that you spent time creating. When you get your download link, it comes with instructions to include a link back to their site. They also offer paid services.

Logo Craft lets you select an icon from predefined categories, then add text and effects. Once it is ready, save the logo or download it for future use. You can access the logos you created anytime and edit them further. Very easy to use. They also offer a custom design service starting at $49.

Flaming Text is similar to CoolText, but I liked a few of their different options. I could see using sites like these for a young company, a nonprofit or a project. For some companies, this is all they might ever need.

Real World Graphics offers a few Web apps to help you create icons or favicons (those tiny little symbols you often see on websites and in social networks).

Sherv.net offers Icon Maker, which can be ideal for those who are building a company around their personal name and identity. It will let you take your photo into a cartoon-like drawing. It might work well for those building a Facebook page, too. Admittedly, this one is more of a fun creation tool and not a serious branding option.

Logo Venture is another service that appears to be best custom logo design service, you can get a logo for as low as $49.

LogoBlog is a free logo creator similar to CoolText and Flaming Text. No registration, just download your completed font logo in a few different formats.

GRSites offers logo creation, text box creation (such as for a sidebar or additional column area on your blog or site), and other design features like textures. They do ask for a link back to their site, but offer some nifty tools.

Tweak offers a completely free logo creator for a low-resolution JPEG image file. If you want a higher resolution JPEG or an EPS file for a high quality print job, you can purchase them for $9.95 and $29.95, respectively. Fast and easy to create, focused on font specific layouts, and you have to register to get to the download page.

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A Look At The HostGator Web Hosting Service

The HostGator web hosting company has a reputation within the industry for providing best hosting services. It has specialized in reseller and budget products that enable the operatives to increase the profitability of their businesses. The organization was started in 2002 and was primarily based in Dallas within Texas, USA. Their hosting is undertaken primarily from the jurisdiction but they have an international perspective. The support network is particularly effective and they offer different options for their clients. Their reputation within the industry is virtually unmatched. Nevertheless you have to be prepared to pay that little bit extra in order to get the service. 

The Site Builder is a great bit of help to the users who are not experienced in the more technical aspects of their work. According to an Independent Review Panel, this was as good as it gets in terms of budget hosting.

Services: The HostGator web hosting service enables the client to transfer lots of data within the month. The support network is provided on a 24/7 basis and there are multiple channels for the purposes of communication. A strong network means that this service can help even larger businesses to improve their competitiveness. If you want to make use of the site builder then you have to pay a bit more. It uses the Red Hat Linux 9 platform which is great for handling large volume transactions. There is a stepped series of categorized services that start at Budget. They then move on to Dedicated Servers and Reseller products. You will not be short of web space if you decide to use this product. The critical elements in the delivery include template designs, an ENOM domain reseller account and WHM Auto-Pilot billing managers. There are no restrictions on the amounts of principal domains and subdomains that you can use.

The MySQL database is expansive. It perfectly complements the CRON, PHP 4.3.1 service as well as the Curl facilities. There is the GD. Spam Assassin which is useful if you want to control the amount of communication which is available to you. Finally you get RV-Skin and Fantastico perks. A C-Panel is used to control the operations of your business. The action list includes the DOT Project, Master Flex, PHP-Auction and Nucleus. You also get the OS-Ticket and the Coppermine Photo Gallery. A multi-language platform improves the international credentials of this product. You get a multi-theme skin management software package which is particularly effective. The customization model improves the usefulness of system. The usage policy is somewhat restrictive. For example you are required to pay an extra $2 in order to gain access to the site builder. That figure is attached to every single website. However a non-reselling account can use this service for free. The confusion is not helpful.

Pros: We love the email ticket service. Other communication perks include the instant messenger and toll free phone service. The members of the team are very conversant with the technical details.

Cons: There is absolutely no reason why anyone should pay extra in order to enjoy the privilege of the site builder. The company has lost a step in terms of giving flexibility to consumers.

Rating: The HostGator web hosting service gets 4 stars out of 5. They could get more if there is a coherent pricing strategy.

Jonathan Griffin is the editor of Best Host News, a site dedicated to reporting on web hosting related consumer news. He is particularly keen to provide a place where people can find honest and up to date information on hosting providers.

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The Importance Of Web Design For Small Businesses

In the modern world, firms and individuals are increasingly using the internet to enhance their businesses. Website design/development is one of the most essential services required on the internet by both individuals and firms. Web design and development requires special skills because potential customers can be disappointed by the layout and design of the website. There are several firms offering website design in Toronto and in other parts of the country. However, not all the firms provide quality and professional website development.

A good working website should not only have an incredible layout and design but also provide the relevant information about the services and products your business offers so that it can attract more traffic and potential customers. Business owners and individuals should hire website designers who will create user-friendly websites that are easy to navigate. While hiring website designers, it is important that you see their portfolio and you should determine whether they have experience in website design.

Website design is a process that involves strategic planning, meeting customer needs and demands, actual site designing and development, testing, publishing and re-evaluation. Designers should involve customers at each phase of the process so that they can provide their input or suggestions. Website design is a vast field made up of services such as search engine optimization, graphic and logo design, website development and maintenance, web applications, internet marketing and custom software development.

Website Development
Website design requires dedication, a sense of purpose, creativity and professionalism. Experience is also very essential in web development. The process of web development entails designing a website, creating web content, liaising with the client and scripting. Web development may also include a non-design element known as coding. The input for website designing should come from a team of experts like an interface designer, an online marketing strategist, an information architect and a creative strategist. The team is responsible for developing a great website that will improve your business.

Website design may fail for several reasons such as lack of trust-building elements, message mismatching and website design shortcomings. If website visitors do not trust your capability, then they will not transact with you. Some examples of trust-building elements include use of original images, professional-looking design and third party validation. Online marketers and interface designers are responsible for determining what works or fails when it comes to trust-building components. Web designers can create a site that does not provide the relevant information to customers. If the information does not meet the expectations of customers, then the website will not achieve the business objectives.

Website development has its shortcomings especially if the designers take shortcuts. Some of the shortcomings may make the website to be incompatible with some browsers or mobile phones or web pages may take a lot of time to load and some links may be broken. Such websites may require redesigning which is expensive. Website designers should create fast, amazing and interactive websites. The designers should also create perfect websites on budget and time.

Graphic and Logo Design
First impressions mean a lot to business owners. A website may require illustration, animation, freehand drawing and photography. These forms of graphic designs will determine whether your business flourishes or sinks. Logos and graphics speak directly to potential clients about the brand you are selling. They also inspire trust, familiarity and reliability. Logo design is the foundation of branding because logos capture the essence of the firm and its core values. In today’s competitive business environment, firms must have logos and graphics on their websites and other products.

Internet Marketing
Having a running business website is just half the battle. A website should have ample traffic. To achieve this, a business may consider hiring internet marketing services. Internet marketing can take the form of search engine optimization (SEO), pay per click or link building. SEO improves the ranking of your website on search engine results thereby increasing traffic to your website. Pay per click (PPC) is highly efficient in increasing traffic to a website although it comes at a cost. Internet marketing requires creativity and dedication. The marketing team should be able to mix aspects of web design/development with advertisement, for better results.

Each and every strategy used should not only increase traffic to a particular website but also increase business sales. By hiring a full set of web solutions and services, a firm or individual will have a web presence and better platform for marketing their brands.

This post is written by Larry Smith, the Director of Marketing at Cloud SEO, who is an expert in Online Advertising and SEO and a specialist in the management of Google AdWords Advertising Campaigns.

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