Uplinker announces that it is the recipient of the Web Excellence Award for design and development of the Collection at McCormick Square website. We don’t do what we do for the awards, but it’s always an honor to be recognized!

What are the Web Excellence Awards?

Affectionately known as the WE-Awards, the Web Excellence Awards celebrate the very best of the web, honoring those who demonstrate exceptional talent and achievement globally. The 2025 competition included over 850 submissions from 18 countries spanning five continents. Entries were received from all corners of the globe, including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Greece, New Zealand, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, the United States and others.

Embracing digital brilliance and honoring web excellence

The winners of the Web Excellence Awards are selected through a meticulous evaluation process based on a standard of excellence. The process is led by top-tier professionals from diverse backgrounds, who follow objective guidelines across multiple criteria. Each entry is assigned to several experts from various backgrounds. Entries are evaluated and scored on a ten-point scale for excellence in  –

1. Innovation and creativity
2. Functionality and usability
3. Content and overall user experience
4. Visual design and aesthetics
5. Technical quality and performance
6. Overall experience and impact

Learn more about the project in our portfolio or check out some of Verve’s other awards.

Uplinker is a brand marketing agency that drives transformational growth through standout creative and strategic marketing. The agency specializes in web design, branding, and digital marketing for a clients making a positive impact on people and the planet.

A critical part of any new business launch is spending time, money, and research refining the company’s messaging and carving out a unique identity. That initial hard work usually pays off with years of success and satisfied customers. But as time goes on, industry and marketplace changes may make the original branding strategy less effective. Or the marketplace hasn’t changed, but the business has. Here are seven situations that can help business leaders know when rebranding makes sense.

Contents
A startup has outgrown its brand
An established business needs clarification
Changes in culture and audience values
Mergers and acquisitions
The business mission and vision has changed
A brand isn’t connecting worldwide
A new website is needed

1. A Startup Has Outgrown Its Brand

Brands, just like people, need to evolve. Startups begin with an ambitious plan and a vision for the business, but new opportunities can move it in a different, more profitable direction. The focus of the organization’s products or services may have shifted. To continue moving forward, the branding process can help you clarify focus and re-evaluate priorities which is then reflected in updated positioning, promise, message, look and feel – and that more accurately conveys the size, trustworthiness, and gravitas of the company today and its vision for the future.

2. An Established Business Needs Clarification and Focus

Times change, people change, and competitors change. When the macro-environment changes – such as your strengths relative to key competitors strengths or customers’ need for the products you produce – changes in the priorities of products and messaging are necessary to help the company stay competitive. For companies that have been around for a long time, rebranding often includes paring down and/or consolidating product lines or initiatives. The branding process can help you revisit the organization’s competitive strengths and potentially streamline, consolidate and refocus sub-brands that might have been added over the long history of a legacy brand. Time also can take a toll on consistent implementation of brand messaging, look and feel. A rebranding effort can help you relaunch and communicate in a compelling and consistent way across all communications. Read our case study on rebranding the legacy Kiefer brand.

3. Changes in Culture and Audience Values

Is the business still resonating with its audience? Even companies producing quality products or services may find that popular trends or societal changes are drawing their customers and potential customers to other options. The company itself may not need to change substantially, but messaging may need to be overhauled to resonate with an evolved target market. For example, the weight loss industry has a long history of focusing on counting calories and modifying habits. However, messaging from traditional companies like Weight Watchers and newcomers such as Noom centers on health and wellness over the scale to appeal to a new generation more interested in clean, healthy living.

4. Mergers and Acquisitions

An acquisition or merger is one of the most common reasons for a company to implement a rebranding initiative. When a business or divisions of a business merge or are acquired, rebranding provides clarity about the newly formed organization.

In the case of mergers, rebranding involves the consolidation of the two companies. This can happen even on a small scale when brands consolidate within the same company. For example, Tyndale House Publishers, a book publisher, consolidated two non-fiction brands from different publishing divisions. Tyndale Momentum, the name of one of the existing imprints, was carried on for the newly combined business unit. But to signal a fresh new start, the team agreed to a completely new logo and visual identity for the brand.

In the case of acquisitions, rebranding can help reflect the relationship between the two companies. Is the purchased company fully incorporated into the buying company to the point of losing its name and previous identity all together? Does messaging and visual identity need to reflect a balance of the two organizations? There may be times when a recent acquisition can be a branding asset that the buyer wants to use to diversify and expand its offerings and audience. Holding companies may keep the purchased company’s logo intact while also using using the parent company logo secondarily to add credibility. The rebranding process can provide direction on the relative priority of entities and how that is best communicated.

5. The Business Mission and Vision Changes

An organization’s vision and mission help communicate its purpose, fuel employee motivation, and provide direction for organizational priorities and decision-making. Over time, businesses may choose to shift focus, enter new markets, or reposition for the future. A new brand identity can be an effective way to signal a change in direction or realignment of product and service priorities. Clarification of messaging and visual look and feel can help businesses communicate these changes to their customers and other stakeholders, creating a sense of momentum and excitement around the company and buy-in for the new direction.

6. The Brand Isn’t Connecting Worldwide

It may be time for a rebrand when a business identifies a gap in how the brand appeals to customers from different cultures and countries outside its dominant country customer base. While customers and competitive situations differ across countries, having a global, consistent brand promise and visual identity is essential. Global branding may sometimes be an exercise of helping to consolidate and bring consistency created through a slow erosion in the implementation of the worldwide brand by local country offices. Conversely, a global brand may never have been intentionally developed beyond a rudimentary stage such as name and logo.

7. A New Website is Needed

Sometimes, rebranding is simply about refreshing a company’s brand messaging, look and feel. A new website always leads to a rebrand. The process of website design and development necessarily means evaluating the priority of products and services and analyzing the audience and the actions desired on the site. When a website is old enough to prompt the investment in a new site, in our agency’s experience, it 100% of the time leads to an updated visual brand identity that is  unique, memorable, and that communicates the organizational strengths that set it apart in a crowded market.

Rebranding is more than changing a logo or colors – it’s about redefining and repositioning the business in the market to help achieve accelerated growth and success. It takes time, effort, and resources but is worth the investment bringing clarity in business priorities and consistency in messaging, look and feel that creates efficiency. Learn more about Uplinker’s branding services.

By Joan Begitschke, Chief Brand and Marketing Strategist.

Launching a new website or revamping an existing one can initially seem daunting, but choosing the right web design company for your needs will make the process smoother and ensure you get the results you want. Here are ten key questions to ask when comparing proposals for the work.

1. Who will be on your design and development team?

Most agencies will give bios of the people working on your new web project. Review their backgrounds carefully, looking for experience in brand management, search engine optimization (SEO), storytelling, programming, and design. Ask if they handle most of the work in-house or outsource it. A team with diverse skills lets you know they have the marketing heft to help you build a website that aligns with your overall strategic business goals.

2. What is their experience and comfort level with your “must-have” features?

Most organizations have certain website features or functionality that are “must-haves.” For example, nonprofits may need a blog to promote events and charity updates or a donation button for one-time and recurring donations. Also, a small business could require a robust e-commerce shopping cart to sell physical and digital products. Take time to think through your “must-haves” and make sure the agency you choose has expertise in those areas.

3. How do they handle hosting, security, and maintenance?

No matter how your site is built, make sure your needs for hosting, security, and maintenance can be handled by your web agency, especially if internal IT staff are not web development experts In our experience, IT typically does not feel it is their job to update hosting PHP, website themes, or WordPress versions, for example. In addition, technical glitches that will occur on your site dues to changes outside such as computer operating system updates, browser updates, and social media platform changes should be handled by your web agency or other outside web development expert.

Most web design agencies want to continue to care for the sites they create and provide technical maintenance packages based on the scope and size of the individual site. Agencies may also provide ongoing content updating service for clients who do not have staff or interest in adding, updating and deleting content themselves.

4. What work will be done related to search engine optimization?

Website development firms often list search engine optimization (SEO) as a part of website scope. Be sure to ask them what types of SEO work is included. It’s essential to design your site from the outset with search engine optimization in mind – from how the site content is organized to the use of headlines and subheads on individual pages, as well as the backend creation of SEO titles and meta descriptions. Need a quick primer on SEO? Check out SEO basics from Semrush.com.

5. What is their website design and development process?

Each agency will have a slightly different process for website design and development. A quality firm will include discovery, content strategy, design, programming, production, debugging, and launch stages. Once you clarify the project’s scope, ask for a timeline, what is expected of you and your team, who will be your point person, and how you will collaborate and share files.

Tip: If a relaunch, confirm they will handle redirects, which are URLs from your old site that will need to point to a new page on your new site. You want to avoid anyone coming to your site getting a 404 Not Found error. Redirects can be a significant amount of work depending on the size of your site, especially if it has e-commerce.

6. Will you be able to easily edit the site yourself if that is desired by in-house staff?

If you or your team needs to make regular content updates, request a content management system that is easy to use, along with a certain number of hours for training. You don’t want to find yourself in a situation where your site looks beautiful, but every time you want to make basic updates, it’s challenging. If you have a web maintenance agreement, your agency can also provide ongoing consulting for the times when you want to do something a little out of the ordinary on your site.

7. How will the agency address web accessibility?

Making your site more ADA accessible helps people who are blind, deaf, or need screen or voice readers easily navigate and understand the content on your site. Simultaneously, you’re improving the user experience for others with multi-sensory options beyond the typical point-and-click. Why wouldn’t you want to be inclusive and make your site helpful to as many people as possible? That said, if your organization receives federal funds, your website is required to be ADA-compliant. Ask agencies if they use one of the many software products available that adjust a website’s design and UI to meet the needs of the disabled community.

8. What platform will they use to build your site and why?

Know what platform and technologies they will use to build your site and how their strategy will help you meet your goals. This is particularly important if you’re on a tight budget. A custom build may not be necessary if your website only requires typical functionality. You can ask an agency if they are open to customizing an existing template on an open-source platform. If your requirements are more extensive and you will need a custom site, make sure they break down what they plan to do, what technology they’ll use, and if there are any limitations and why.

9. How much will the site cost?

You may include a budget for how much you want to spend in your request for proposals (RFP), but an agency may look at your list of requirements and propose a different amount based on the anticipated work involved. If the new proposed amount is way more than you expected, re-consider your “must-haves.” Also, keep in mind that small fees can creep into the budget if you want to make changes after the project’s scope is agreed upon or you’ll need creative assistance beyond the site’s overall design. Find out their rates and process for any changes beyond the initial scope.

10. Do they have a portfolio of work you can review with references?

Not only do you want to see their work, but you also want to talk to previous clients who have worked with them. They can give you valuable insight into how trustworthy the design firm is, how they work, and if they are a good fit for you.

If you are interested in learning more about our web design and development services, give us a call at 630-964-6056 or schedule a meeting at your convenience.

Email marketing is a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes. It continues to be the most relied upon marketing channel with 72% of brands using it in the customer journey.¹ Email allows brands to connect with potential and existing customers, build relationships, and drive sales. And yet – it’s so easy to underutilize this tactic!

A Strong One-On-One Marketing Tool

As a highly targetable, longer form one-on-one communication tool, email marketing inherently has the potential to create a strong return on investment. And in fact, while return on investment varies by type of business and objective, email ROI ranged from $51.56 to $59.44 according to the DMA Marketer Email Tracker. And no surprise. Necessarily, with email, you are communicating with the subset of your audience that already knows you and cares enough to have given permission to receive email communications from you – a self-selected, at least somewhat interested, audience.

While we all know this, it’s easy to let email drop off your strategic marketing priorities. List building is a long-term effort. And the benefits of customization through list segmentation can also be daunting to execute. However, any improvements you can make to leverage your use of email marketing will likely be worth the effort. And if it’s not attended to, you may find that customers easily opt-out as easily as they opted-in.

Contents
Common email strategies
Email list building ideas
Creating effective email campaigns

Common Email Strategies

Brands use email marketing for a variety of purposes, but two primary objectives are relationship building and sales. Considering your objective(s), consider this rundown of common email marketing strategies:

Promotional Emails

Promotional emails are some of the most common types of messages your company will send to customers. Are your campaigns sufficiently targeted so that recipients are likely to be interested in the communication? Are you using personalization to the degree that you can? At minimum, you’ll want to use your subscriber’s name and customize as much as you can. Small detail but list building should always include gathering separate first name and last name so you can address recipients appropriately. Lists should also gather information or be segmented by what they subscribed to receive in the first place.

Welcome Emails

This type of communication is about building a connection and creating brand loyalty. If a person has provided their email and given permission to receive communications, it’s common courtesy to respond with an acknowledgement through a welcome email. Content in the email should be brief and work to start the relationship off on a good foot. For example, you may –
•  Say thank you. If relevant, offer a discount or freebie thank you gift for signing up to start the relationship off well
•  Provide brief information that further introduces the recipient to the brand
•  Find out more about what your customer needs. If your email software provides for it, ask them to create a profile that will further refine the communications they will receive.

Ecommerce: After-Purchase Emails

Once you make a conversion and get someone to make a purchase from you, you have the chance to use your email marketing strategy to keep building the relationship. Thank them for the order. If appropriate, include information about related resources that help the customer get the most out of what they’ve just bought. Services organizations may want to include links to a resource library or helpful informational downloads.

These emails aren’t meant to be pushy or overly sales oriented. Rather, they are meant to show that your company is committed to a great customer experience. You’re building trust and a positive feeling that they made the right decision. It can also give your customer an easy way to reach out to your support team if they are in need of any help.

Re-engagement Emails

Re-engagement campaigns are designed to bring back inactive subscribers. Make an offer they can’t refuse if it’s an ecommerce list. Or if a newsletter subscriber, promote popular articles or downloads to re-engage. If you have a very old list, this can also be a way to clean out old lists. Invite people to unsubscribe to get those who truly are not interested off your database.

Newsletters

Newsletters are a staple for all industries, for-profit and nonprofit alike. They should offer value and most importantly, just enough information to entice recipients to click/tap over to your site for the fuller story. Your goal is to keep the interaction going and not just dead end with the reading of the email. Send regular updates about what’s going on with your brand, innovations in the industry, and helpful information. You want to show customers you care, it’s worth receiving communications with you and continue the customer-brand relationship.

A newsletter is also a good place to offer deals and discounts and make people aware of any upcoming sales or product launches you have planned. You can even give early access to newsletter subscribers, offering them an incentive to sign up and stay involved with your brand. This improves your ability to generate new sales later in the relationship.

Drip Campaigns

Drip campaigns are a great way to engage with potential customers using a series of automated emails based on specific actions taken and at predetermined timing. It’s helping move people with potential interest from a potential customer to a paying customer. The obvious usage is for lead generation. Other examples include abandoned cart email sequences and reengagement campaigns.

Drip campaigns use software platforms that allow you to pre-write messages and automate them on a preset schedule in response to specific engagement points. For example, you can have an email set to go out to people who haven’t made a purchase in 90 days, those who sign up for an event, those who provide information to download a white paper, etc. The goal here is to spark interest and bring a possible customer into, or back into, your marketing funnel. Since these are not people who are fully engaged with your brand, the emails should offer something of value such as a discount on their abandoned cart, free trial, or other offer.

Building Your Email List

The more you can collect and access information about the people you email, the more you’ll be able to write content that is of interest to open, read, and click through. This can be done through purchase information and opt-ins to topical lists.

Here are some ideas for building an email list:

1.     Offer a lead magnet. A lead magnet is a valuable resource that you offer to people in exchange for their email address. This could be a free ebook, a template, or any type of resource that your audience would find valuable. For example, one of the ways our client National Garden Bureau gains signups to their extensive email list is through popups on the website offering ebooks related to key content on their site:

2.     Offer sign up to receive notice of blog updates. Add a sign-up form to your blog articles. Uplinker designs almost all website blogs with a blog sign-up. If readers have enjoyed an article, they may be interested in being notified when new content is posted.

3.     Host webinars or events. Any content or experience of value should be “gated” where visitors provide an email address to receive it or attend.

4.     Run a contest or giveaway. Use a contest or giveaway to attract new subscribers. You can ask people to enter by providing their email address.

5.     Offer a discount. Consider offering a discount or other incentive to encourage people to provide an email address. This is common for first-time customers on ecommerce sites.

6.     Offer trial usage of your product or service. Service platforms often use this to continue engagement and buy-in. Rather than going so far as to require the potential customer provide a credit card, requiring an email address for a trial lowers the bar to engagement and starts the process to “close the deal” on a paid subscription.

It’s always best to build your own lists. Avoid purchased lists at all costs. List building will continue to be even more important with tightening privacy laws and practices.

Creating Effective Email Campaigns

My view is that there are 3 main factors for success in any direct marketing tactic:
1. Your list
2. Your offer, and
3. Quality of creative execution

Be Mindful of Who You’re Communicating With

As with any communication, it’s important that the content is written in a way that will resonate with individuals on your email list. To the degree possible, you’ll want to understand their interests and how they came to be on list. Even just trying to image yourself in the consumer’s place and mindset can be helpful to communicate appropriately.

Gather the information you can as separate fields and as your list grows you’ll be able to segment effectively by  relevant demographics, behavior, and preferences and tailor your email marketing efforts to meet their specific needs and interests. For example, criteria such as location, purchase history, engagement level can be extremely helpful in tailoring messages that result in higher open, click-through and conversion rates. We all wish we knew more about our lists than we do but at minimum aim to segment by at least one relevant factor—such as past purchases or how they opted-in.

Craft Engaging Subject Lines and Offers

Subject lines are analogous to old direct mail’s teaser envelope copy. You’ll want to give just enough information to let the subscriber know what the email is about and pique their curiosity to open it. We aim for a maximum 60-character count  email subject line. And always use custom “preheader” copy – the copy that subscribers see in their inbox before fully opening the email – to help get them engaged.

Good Creative Matters!

Once opened, your email should expand upon the tease in the subject line. The design should be engaging and functional for both desktop and mobile. To achieve a high ROI, make sure to personalize your emails and design clear call-to-action buttons and text links.

Test and Optimize Your Campaigns

Testing and optimizing your email marketing campaigns allows you to test difference-making elements of your email campaign. If you have a large list and future emails can benefit from the test, it’s worth the effort. Results can be surprising. You can test any aspect but subject lines, headlines/offers, and lists are typically the biggest difference makers. Subject lines would be a first step, as increasing your open rate can make a significant difference. By judiciously testing and optimizing your campaigns, you can improve the performance of your email marketing overall.

Utilize Marketing Automation

Marketing automation is a powerful tool that can help you to optimize and streamline your email marketing efforts. By automating repetitive tasks, such as sending welcome emails, abandoned cart emails, and follow-up emails, you can save time and resources, and focus on more important aspects of your campaigns.

Review Metrics and Make Improvements

Every email service provider (ESP) provides metrics. You probably receive these after your sends. Try to set aside at least a yearly review and create a tangible plan for making at least one significant improvement to your program for the next year. Again, the three big areas for improvement are likely going to be with your lists, offers and/or creative. For example, a new email template design might be implemented with an updated mix of content. A “small” thing such as perhaps adding a section at the bottom with a monthly freebie offer could make a meaningful difference in sales and engagement.

Investing in an Email Marketing Strategy for Growth

Email is one of the most effective tactics in the marketing toolbox yet is easy to underutilize. With more than 4 billion people using email worldwide – and a whopping 92% of online users in the U.S. using email – it’s worth considering a tweak to improve your current email efforts. Among online users 25-56 in the U.S. Statista reports that 98% use email. Email is one of the best marketing tools every company has, but as simple as it sounds (“Let’s email our customers”) it can be hard to get started and keep the momentum going.

Uplinker is here to help. Our experts can help you figure out what types of offers work best for your target customers, how to craft offers that get clicks and even measure your conversion rates. Reach out to start a conversation about your email marketing strategy.

¹ DMA Marketer Email Tracker, 2021.

Images pack a punch. The visual aspects of web design have the power to ignite emotion and create a compelling and memorable brand experience. The right website imagery brings dynamic expression to a page and has the unique ability to catch and hold visitors’ attention.

As the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Images communicate more easily than words. And people absorb information from images more quickly than from text. That said, research verifies that people think in both words and images. Good website design should intentionally integrate both ways of thinking for optimal communication.

We hope the insight provided below will benefit you in two ways. First, you’ll have a better understanding of how digital agencies approach imagery for websites. Second, we hope this is helpful for internal marketing teams considering imagery solutions for the wide variety of marketing communications.

Imagery Sources for Web Design

Original Photography

If at all possible, a web design agency will create unique imagery with original photographs and professional graphic design. While manipulation and creative editing of stock photography is most often used by agencies to create a distinctive brand experience, original photography and illustrations is sometimes a better option to set your brand apart because it injects authenticity and uniqueness that cannot be replicated.

As an example, our client Kiefer Aquatics chose to invest in a photoshoot for key imagery that could capture and connect with their consumer base of young competitive athletes wearing Kiefer-branded swimwear. Through Kiefer’s relationships with high school swim teams and aquatic facilities, they were able to secure real-life young athletes for our shoot. This provided settings that captured the camaraderie among real-life teammates that is a trait of the brand. And because website design was part of a total rebranding initiative, the photography was also able to be used across a variety of communications which helped to justify the cost.

A photoshoot also made sense for Particle Technology Labs. The company is a leader in the niche industry of particle testing. Original photography and videography was used to set them apart by showcasing the actual lab. Customers can see the size and quality of the facility “first-hand” as well as actual chemists doing testing.

Royalty-Free Stock Images

In many situations, the more affordable option of stock photography is sufficient. It’s often surprising what can be found on websites such as Shutterstock or iStock, for example. We have found images for websites for such seemingly hard to find photos. For instance, Uplinker designed a website for an association of gastroenterology nurses. We found royalty-free stock images of patient procedures being conducted that were an excellent fit for the association’s website.

With over 24 million static and video images available on Shutterstock, it’s important to know how to search. While typing in general keywords can be productive, designers also often imagine specific scenarios and then use filters to quickly narrow options and find just the right image.

Stock imagery, however, also has some downsides to consider:

1. Overused Photos
One problem with stock photography is that many of the best images, especially the inexpensive or free ones, are ubiquitous. Web design agencies typically do not work with free image sites for websites for this reason. In general, the higher the price of the stock image, the higher the quality and uniqueness.

This is especially common for images associated with a particular industry, which happens when you shop for photos by topic. If the image is key – such as the main image on a site’s home page – it’s important to customize images in particular that include people. The “best” images in narrow industries may likely be used by others. You do not want to take the risk that the same images have been seen on competitors’ sites and are connected with another brand.

2.  Generic Feel
The more common “problem” with stock images is that they look “stock.” In particular, overly happy people in staged scenarios signal a smaller organization and somewhat implicitly less-than-the-best products and services. Photography contributors to stock sites want their photos to be used in as many contexts as possible. A popular image generates more income than one that only a few people download, so contributors strive to create photos appropriate for general use. All too often, they succeed by producing flat, generic-looking images.

Licensed Images

In between unique, brand-specific photographs and basic stock fodder are licensed images. These are stock photos, but they are only available with purchased licensing, which restricts the usage of the photographs in various ways, greatly reducing the overuse issues of stock photography.

Licensing costs and rights vary by artist and the company issuing the license. Generally, the higher the price, the more exclusive the user’s rights to the image will be. Licensed imagery is significantly more expensive than standard royalty-free images.

How Web Agencies Create Unique Imagery on a Budget

The best of all worlds for most situations is to create original graphics from royalty-free stock photography. Designers alter royalty-free stock images in ways that make it distinctive such as through unique cropping, applying color overlays and filters, or combining the initial picture with other images can all make something fresh and unique out of the ordinary.

Imagery is important because it allows the human mind to make associations and build familiarity with a brand or a product line. Effective branding uses appropriate images and graphics to bring your products and information together into a cohesive brand look. Images are an essential design element.

Effective web design starts with objectives and many components go into creating a user-friendly site that delivers – information architecture, copywriting, design, programming and search engine optimization to name some important skill sets. But we hope this has been helpful on the important aspect of imagery, a key element of your website’s overall brand look and feel. Uplinker focuses both on the strategic, content, and metrics side of web design and development as well as the feelings evoked through the use of color and imagery.

To learn more, please reach out. Uplinker is a Chicago-based web design agency with a team of professionals ready to help!

By Joan Begitschke, Chief Brand and Marketing Officer.