Signature

We take a tremendous amount of pride in our work. Nothing is as exciting as the next project we get to show you, and we love that our clients are kind enough to let us put our signature on their websites. We look at that signature just as any fine artist would, and if for some reason another designer takes over the work, we’re the first to insist that our name be taken off.

But there’s a dirty little secret among web designers about how you sign your website.

You see, when it comes to search engines, one of the keys to getting your website ranked more highly is to have people link to you using the keyword phrases that will help your business.

So if you’re a web designer and you want more people to find you in Google because they’re searching for “Portland web designers,” you would link to your website with that phrase. Rather than what we use, something like “Made by Needmore Designs.” Google will think more people consider you an authority on “Portland web design,” and more people will find you there by searching.

This is good advice if that’s your only goal. However, our goal is to make great websites, without compromise. Indeed, our best clients find us by looking in the footers of other websites they like, or by asking their friends. That’s where a good client comes from. Our best clients don’t come to us randomly from a Google web search.

But more importantly, we think it’s ethically questionable to leverage your work for a paying client to benefit your own business, especially without disclosing that fact to your client. We don’t want to be that kind of business.

That’s why you will only see “Made by Needmore” on our sites. Not a bunch of keyword phrases.

Raymond Brigleb

Creative Director, dreamer, partner, father, musician, photographer. Has been known to ride the rails. Pulls one heck of a shot.