Blog

Overview

• Introduction
• Redesigned from 2025 version
• Section-by-section description
  • Header Section
  • Hero Section
  • Content Sections
  • Call to Action (CTA) – Newsletter Section
  • Footer Section
• Conclusion

One thing in life that is constant is change. If we aren’t changing, we aren’t living. With that, we are announcing the official redesign of 9o9Brand.com.

9o9Designs has completed the redesign of 9o9Brand.com from the initial release a year ago. The redesign was reimagined to include the 9o9 color palette in addition to fully embody the core products of 9o9 Brand which include 9o9Tech – the app development division, 9o9Domains – the domains division, and yours truly, 9o9Designs – the website development division.

The reimagined website includes the following sections:

Header

The header section remains simple in design but now offers 3 core navigation links with a hamburger menu that provides an expanded method to access additional content.

Hero/Banner

The hero section includes the display of core products with a learn more button that reports to the services page which includes a catalog of services.

Content

The content section highlights the core products individually with links to each of the core product pages, 9o9Tech (Apps), 9o9Domains (Domains), and 9o9Designs(Websites). Direct access to each core product website is accessible from the respective core product page.

Call to Action (CTA) – Newsletter

The call to action, newsletter sign up section leads to a pop-up form where site visitors can join 9o9 Brand’s email list.

Blog Section

The blog section is an RSS feed that retrieves the latest blogs from 9o9Tech.com, 9o9Domains.com and 9o9Designs.com. 9o9 Brand’s blog section serves as a most recent blog repository for all of the product blogs.

Footer Section

While the footer section is similar to the previous design, it was updated to contain links that align with the corporate nature of 9o9Brand.com.

The overall new design is designed to expand to support the core product websites as well as the client’s access to resources. The new design is a refreshed, modern embodiment of the brand that offers simple boldness with a means to deliver relevant content. In true 9o9Designs fashion, the redesign is simply another stunning, modern website.

Overview

• Introduction
• Color Models
• Understanding RGB
• Web-safe Colors
• Converting CMYK to RGB Hex
• Why Does Color Matter?
• Brand Recognition
• View-ability (ADA Compliance)
• Conclusion

Do colors matter? Yes, colors matter. In digital design there are two types of color models that are used, RGB and CMYK.

Color Models

RGB is the Red, Green, Blue model. RGB is used for digital; for computers. 16,777,216 colors can be created using the RGB color model.

CYMK is the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black color model. CMYK is used in ink toner for print. 16,000 colors can be created using the CMYK color model.

The color model that we care about most is the RGB color model because that is the color model that is used for websites, although it is important to understand the CMYK color model.

Understanding RGB

Colors, when used in code should be in hex format. Hex format is a 6-character format (0-9, A-F) preceded by the pound symbol. The first two characters represent the Red in RGB, the middle two characters represent the Green in RGB, and the last two characters represent the Blue in the RGB. For example, in review of the hex #38A093:

Note: hex is not case-sensitive – a and A are interpreted the same.

Web-Safe Conversion

If the characters in each position repeat, this represents a web-safe color. A web-safe color means that the color will not deviate based on the monitor that displays the color. The color will look the same across all monitors. Web-safe color were particularly important in the early years of desktop computers when monitors did not have the graphic ability to read complex hex codes. Modern monitors can now interpret and display non web safe colors without deviation. If you prefer to ensure that your colors display the same across all monitors, convert the color to a web-safe color by altering the colors manually. For example, using the color above: #33AA99 is a comparable web-safe color for the above detailed hex.

CMYK Conversion

If presented with a CMYK, which looks like this for the above hex CMYK(65, 0,8.13, 37.25), use a converter tool such as https://colordesigner.io/convert/cmyktorgb to convert the CMYK to hex. This will provide the 6-character hex equivalent.

Why does color matter?

Reasons that color matter can include aesthetics, brand recognition and view-ability (ADA compliance). Of course you want to use colors that are aesthetically pleasing. Because I “like” or “love” this color is usually the first go-to reason when a color is chosen. This reason is great, but two other important factors should also be considered in the choice of colors, and these factors may matter more than “liking/loving” a color.

1. Brand Recognition. Colors have been studied and through various studies, general feelings are known to be associated with colors, this is known as color psychology. Color psychology is important for reasons of evoking a particular emotion when seen. Adjectives like trust, admiration and disgust are described when viewing certain colors. It could be important o choose colors that are in alignment with the emotion that you would like to evoke from your target audience.

1. View-ability (ADA compliance). According to the Color Blind Guide ¹ roughly 12 million Americans are color blind². Being color blind does not mean that color cannot be seen. It generally means that a person who is color blind has difficulty distinguishing between two similar colors. To remedy this issue, colors need to be displayed with enough contrast between them so that a person who is color blind can distinguish between them. To know if a color is friendly to the color blind eye, use a tool to view how a color is potentially seen by a person with color blindness. This RGB Blind tool is a good tool to use https://rgblind.com/color-blind-color-picker³.

In conclusion, when choosing colors for your online presentation, yes choose colors that you like, but also consider if the colors evoke the desired feeling from your audience and in the spirit of inclusivity, can be viewed by people who are color blind.

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¹ CYMK Conversion tool, https://colordesigner.io/convert/cmyktorgb

² Color Blind Guide, https://www.colorblindguide.com/post/colorblind-people-population-live-counter

³ Color Blind Viewer, https://rgblind.com/color-blind-color-picker

Overview

• Introduction
• The three requirements to have a website
1. Domain Name – details and cost
2. Hosting – details and cost
3. Website Files (Design) – details and cost
• Additional Optional Cost
• Support
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

So, you want a website, but think it’s too expensive, or you don’t know everything that is involved with having a website.  Well, that’s what this blog is about.  The moving parts of a website and the cost to anticipate.

To create a website, there are 3 things that are required:

• Domain Name
• Hosting
• Website (Design) Files

Here are the details on the three things that are required:

Domain Name

The domain name is the address for your website.  This is the name that a user enters into a browser to land on your website.  You can read our blog post on how to choose a domain name here. But, what should a domain name cost?  The cost of a domain name varies, but can be as low as $12 depending on a couple of factors. The factors include:

The TLD (Top Level Domain). The TLD are the characters after the first dot (.) in the domain name, i.e. .com,, .org, .name. The type of TLD and the scarcity of use of the TLD is what governs the price of the TLD.

The ownership. Is the domain on the primary or reseller market. If the domain is not owned by another individual or corporation and is available for sale for first time use, the domain is on the primary market. If the domain has been purchased and the owner is willing to sell it then the domain is on the reseller market. Domains that are on the reseller market tend to be more expensive because they are usually names that are in high demand and are pre-owned – the price is set by the owner.

Hosting

A website is a set of files that contain instruction on what to display to a browser in the event of being requested on the Internet. The files reside in a folder on a web server (a computer) connected to the Internet.  When a user enters your domain name into a web-browser the web server responds to the request by displaying the website details that you requested. Those files contain code.  The code is the instruction. The folder where they reside is hosting. If you do not own a web server that is connected to the Internet, you must purchase hosting to store your website code.  There are various types of hosting. The most popular and economical type of hosting is shared hosting. Shared hosting cost as low as $8/month for a nominal amount of space.  The cost varies and is based on the amount of storage needed, the type of server needed and the amount of storage needed.

Website (Design) Files

The final required component for a website is the website files.  The website files contain the code for your website. The code for your website is the instruction that is sent to the browser.  The basic code for all websites is Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).  Integrated to function with HTML are other programming languages that enhance the functionality of the website.  HTML provides the basic page layout, paired with Cascading Stylesheet (CSS) provides the basic aesthetics for the layout. Greater functionality increases the cost to have the files created.  It is possible to create the files yourself (DIY) or you can use an online website or webpage generator.  The DIY route would be the most economical route. If extensive programming is not required, it is possible to hire a web designer to create the website files.  If extensive programming is required, a web developer is the best route. Hiring a professional could cost approximately $100/hour. A basic website design can take approximately 8 hours and varies based on number of pages and complexity of the project.

Additional Costs

After the website is built, there are additional costs that may affect the bottom line. The other cost includes Support and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

• Support
• SEO

Support

Everything in life requires maintenance. A website is no different. Anything can happen, code can become outdated due to new standards or specifications introduced or you may simply want to make some simple modifications to your website. For this, you will need ongoing support. If you do not go the DIY route, support will add an additional cost. Support can cost as little as $30/month, though the price varies and is set by the company or professional.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is what you do to your website to help it become more noticed when users visit a search engine and ask it a question. Everyone’s desired position is to be at the top of the first page of search engine results. To get to that coveted position, one must be extremely popular and do a lot of work to get to that position. There are many factors that go into getting to the first page of search results and optimizing your website to get you to that goal is an option. This option can be an added service. SEO often is more expensive than the website development cost. On the low end, $1200/month is the approximate cost for this service.

With consideration of the base cost of the required components of a website, you can build a website for approximately $20 + your time (DIY route) or $820 with minimal or no functionality and hiring a professional. See, building a website may be more affordable than you thought! Maybe!

All prices that have been provided are estimates based on my experience and will vary based on who you work with. You can use this guide as a general start point to understand the basics for what you need and the benchmark start price to reasonably expect when shopping around.