Design Us All LLC

32 Simple Yet Unique Website Ideas

Peter Merrill — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 15:21:15 +0000

Over the last few years I have been designing and developing websites as a hobby and a way of earning an income. In these years I have never had a shortage of ideas for personal projects that at one time I thought would make a good website or app. In fact, so many ideas were popping into my head I decided to create a list for them so that I could keep track.

The website ideas that you will see include a large majority of the ideas that I have had, but there are a few ideas that I don’t want to publish yet. Hopefully there will come a time where I have some more time to get to them.

Please feel free to look through this list and if you like one of my ideas go ahead and use it. I can only hope that if you do use an idea of mine and build a website around it that you will give me due credit.

Without further ado, I present to you my list of 32 unique website ideas. Some are rough drafts and some have been thought out, only the right person can make them work.

Please excuse the brevity of the items in the list. This blog entry would be extremely lengthy if I went into great detail for each idea.

1. A website for finding people that want to make friends. A friend finder service.

Search by city
Find people willing to reach out and become your friend.
Get to know your city
Also, for people that are in a new city, school, etc.

2. A website where people upload pictures of themselves disrespecting rival teams.

Includes all major sports
Photo gallery (obviously)
“Top smashes” section. As in the most disrespectful.

3. A website where people log in, upload a picture of themselves that day, then “check-in” to places as the day progresses. People in the area can see who has checked in nearby, look at their daily picture, and comment if they’ve seen that person at that location or not. This idea came to me when FourSquare was just getting started.

Upload a picture of yourself each day or where you are.
This website turns every day into a game of hide and seek.

4. A website where people tag and upload photos representing their life. These photos are placed on a single page to make a collage of life for each user.

5. A website for people to rate and discuss what courses they have taken. This is similar to ratemyprofessor.com, but geared towards actual courses.

6. A website for people with domain name problems. At one point or another we have a hard time finding the right domain name for our project. Users will submit an overview of their website with possible domain name choices. Other users rate them and provide feedback.

7. A website for people to rate and share experiences at their workplace so that prospective employees have a place to see how they will really be treated on the inside once they get to know everyone. This website idea was actually one that I began developing. I haven’t had the time that I need to finish the website or get businesses and employees on board.

8. A website for finding out where celebrities are now in their lives. I’m not sure if this actually has any real world value but I thought it would be interesting to build a website that documents what (former) celebrities are up to now.

9. A website where users asking others if a website idea is a good idea. This idea came to me after I started a few personal projects only to find out that the public was not as interested as my research showed.

10. A website where people choose what products they would rather own. The idea is based loosely on the hotornot.com concept of rating people.

11. A website where people post, discuss, and resolve pet peeves.

12. A one page website that aggregates social network statuses or posts from people in your area.

13. A website or browser extension that creates a list of websites that you may be interested in based off of your browsing history, etc.

14. A website where people post their recent accomplishments or things that they are proud of doing. Instead of liking posts people could hand out kudos.

15. A website where people can connect and play multi-player games with others that are within a specific radius. For example, gaming with people in your neighborhood.

16. A website where people take a picture of something they have just purchased, upload it to the website, then compare it to how the product looks in advertisements.

17. A website where people have to post statuses to host a website. This idea turns traditional “post to host” website hosting into a social network that rewards your activity with space to host your website. My mind may have been a little overactive for this one.

18. A website where people can watch movies or video clips and leave comments right in the film. It’s like a soundcloud.com for videos.

19. A website contest where people upload a video of what they can do in 30 seconds. Video clips are then rated and the winner gets a prize.

20. A Website for business to employee schedule management. Focusing on mobile schedules and going paperless. I was inspired to create this website when the place that I worked at would post my work schedule on my manager’s office door and the only way that I could see it was if I rode the bus into town. Upate: A comment left by “Nick” notified us that there is a website that does something similar to this.

21. A website where controversial topics are proposed and users pick a side then defend it.

22. A search engine for each year. Users would come to the website, select a year, then enter a search term.

23. An SMS geographical targeted mobile marketing and business specials app. I actually began developing an app that would send a coupon to a user’s phone when they got within a specific distance from a store. I thought it would be useful if people could get coupons from their favorite stores when they were close enough.

24. A browser add-on or desktop app that lets you copy and paste more than one thing at a time. The idea is that of a clipboard but a clipboard that saves everything you copy with your mouse to a que where you can later retrieve them by right clicking. I believe that this idea came about when I got frustrated after switching between tabs in my browser to copy and paste text one line at a time. Upate: A comment left by “Bram” notified us that there is a program that does something similar to this.

25. A website like StumbleUpon but for people’s social profiles. An alternate take on this idea was one of a website that aggregates dating profiles and lets people browse through them instead of being forced to visit each website individually.

26. A simple website where people can brag uncontrollably. Brags can be voted as impressive or unimpressive.

27. An Android or iOS app that uses the phone camera to count puzzle pieces. It will let people know how many pieces they are missing. Hopefully if this app is built the frustrating feeling you get after putting a puzzle together only to find out that you’re 1 piece short will be forced into extinction.

28. A website where couples can find other couples in the area and become friends. This idea is similar to a dating website but set up in a way that couples can find each other and schedule a double date together.

29. A website like FourSquare, but for visitors to a website. A script that is installed on a website logs users that visit the most. Those that are the most active will become the mayor of the website. Each time a user visits a website that has this enabled is equivalent to a FourSquare check in on this website.

30. An app that aggregates the views and stances of politicians.

31. An app that logs the life of phone battery over time in a line graph format.

32. A website that uses the StackOverflow API to let users follow others and see their questions, answers, and badges in an activity feed like a social network. A social network for StackOverflow and other StackExchange subsidiaries.

Please post a comment with a link if you know of any websites that are similar to the ideas that I just shared. I’ll do my best to update this list as time passes.

I would be honored to to build one of these ideas for you. Please contact me if you’re interested in discussing an opportunity like this.

Last but not least, if you appreciated this list please use the buttons below to share it with your friends.

Mobile Devices – The Future of the Internet?

Håkon Underbakke — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 19:22:04 +0000

As all of you know, mobile devices, like phones and tablets, are getting more and more popular. The reason is obvious. With new technology we are able to fit more into less. But what about the internet? Will Internet for desktop and laptop computers eventually cease to exist?

Even the big companies like Apple and Microsoft are slowly integrating more and more features from mobile devices into their operating systems. Apple’s latest versions of Mac OS X have noticeable borrowed many features from the iPhone operating system. Everything is pointing to a mobile future. This is especially true now that Microsoft has revealed that Windows 8 will borrow some familiar mobile technologies, such as a touch screen.

The number of mobile Internet searches actually doubles every other month and smartphones are now being bought more than PCs. Imagine how many smart phone users there will be in the next couple of years. It’s very hard to say what this will mean for web designers and how consumers will interact with websites in the future. Designing for mobile devices may become more popular than designing for desktops and laptops.

What do you think?
Are mobile devices really going to take over the Internet, and how will this effect web designers in general?

Press: Business North Newspaper

Peter Merrill — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 19:33:05 +0000

The following was featured in the Business North newspaper on April 5, 2012.

It takes most entrepreneurs years to build up the confidence to strike out and start their own business. One young person, Peter Merrill, decided there was no time like the present to reach for his dream.

At just 20 years old, Merrill opened Design Us All LLC, a web site and mobile app development company based out of Duluth in February.

“I always dreamed of having my own company and I guess I just decided to do it one day and that’s that. I know there is a need for honest web services that aren’t charging $1,000 – $2,000 for a simple web site,” he said.

Already an experienced developer, Merrill started his business by freelancing his services through web sites that connect developers with companies looking to create new web pages. Through his previous experience working with local web developers, Merrill said he found the confidence he needed.

“I taught myself how to build web sites and code mobile apps, and I’ve been doing that for about four years. I just gifured that was good enough to go into it for other people,” he said.

It was through that confidence that he sold his web site “Thirdie,” a social media site like Facebook, for $1,500. Merrill also decided that despite being a sophomore at the University of Minnesota Duluth, the time was right to take a break and stop taking classes.

“Right now I’m taking it one day at a time. I really want to build my business and return to school, but depending on how well my business does in the next couple of months, I’ll decide whether school is in my immediate future or if I’ll have to push it back. Really, I am dedicating my whole self to this business at this point,” he said.

It hasn’t been difficult to find work. Merrill began under the Design Us All moniker in December, and was able to launch his business’ own web site in March. Since the launch, the web site has attracted the attention of online web site design contests receiving nominations for “Best Website Design” from CSSWinner.com, “Best Designed Website” showcase from CSSBased.com, and was featured as “Best Website Design” by CSSDepot.com. Despite a slow start to getting some local business, Merrill has been able to find work across the globe.

“Its weird how that works. I’ve done work for people in Switzerland and all over the world and even though I’m based in Duluth, it’s been a challenge to get into the Duluth market. You would think it would be the other way around, start local and work your way around, but I’m narrowing it back to Duluth,” he said.

Angie Allen from the A.G. Thomson House Bed and Breakfast was happy to choose Merrill to design some of her company’s web content. While Angie likes to keep up with changing technologies, having a young perspective was a breath of fresh air.

“I see Pete as a wealth of information not just for computers, but he has a vision for where things are going. He seems to have a great vision for creating new technologies and new apps,” she said.

Allen said that for her, just being able to bounce ideas off of Merrill and use him as a soundboard for new concepts has been extremely valuable for her small business.

Merrill hopes that by catering to small business needs, he will be able to break into that market. He said that by doing his research and taking the time to understand his clients’ wants and needs really sets him apart.

“One way I’ve been combatting my young age is just being there for my clients and explaining every process and how it is being done and through quality work. Let my work speak for itself,” he said.

So far it has. Since Merrill began working, he has seen a 57 percent increase in sales each month. The pace has allowed him to finance the company directly using just his own funds. Merrill hopes to one ay expand his fledgling business, eventually hiring more employees and renting an office in Downtown Duluth.

“I’m taking Duluth by storm; you have to be aggressive in this type of business,” he said.

Allen also believes that Merrill’s vision will lead him to success.

“He’s just one of those kind of guys whose mind if always working like ‘what can I create next?’” she said.

Press: Duluth News Tribune & Superior Telegram

Peter Merrill — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:32:12 +0000

The following appeared in the Superior Telegram newspaper on March 9, 2012 as well as the Duluth News Tribune on March 10, 2012.

A high school hobby led Northwood School graduate Peter Merrill down a career path. The Minong teen taught himself to build websites while he was in high school. By his senior year, Merrill had launched his own social networking site, thirdie. He recently sold the site, which boasted 3,100 members at the time, and used that money to start his own web design company, Design Us All LLC.

“It’s just what I love to do,” said the 20-year-old, who now lives in Duluth. He said he gets a sense of accomplishment from turning a blank page into a finished project. The design process is like a big puzzle, Merrill said. It can take 80,000 characters to define a web page, all tested to check how each possible mouse click could affect other pieces of the design.

To date, Merrill has built mobile apps and websites as well as provided print design and consulting services to a number of clients. They include a smartphone app for Thatimg that lets users browse funny photos and post their first thoughts, a personal loan and lending website called Sou-Sous and a webpage for WEKA Services in Switzerland.

Not only does he build websites, Merrill said, “I build websites in foreign languages.”

Angie Allen, who owns the AG Thompson House in Duluth with her husband, Tim, tapped Design Us All to do logo and image work for their business.

“He was wonderful to work with because he listened to what I asked for, and was able to pull together the ideas for me quickly,” Allen said. The bed and breakfast relies almost entirely on its website for reservations. It’s their first impression to potential guests.

“And while we have a host company that provides our primary website design, I have asked Peter for smaller projects that I need to get completed quickly,” Allen said. Design Us All always makes them a priority, she said.

Merrill designed the company to cater to small businesses, individuals and organizations. He promises quality work for honest prices and also offers consulting services.

“If you can dream it, I can build it,” Merrill said.

The Duluth entrepreneur has spent hours researching companies and contacting potential clients. The self-taught programmer has kept current with web design “languages” and standards since his technological hobby began. He’s also studying marketing at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Now, he’s hoping that more clients, particularly from the region, give Design Us All a call.

For more information, go to http://designusall.com or call (218) 248-6155.

Web Design: Importance of Project Research & Planning

Peter Merrill — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 17:08:32 +0000

We hope that this article will help web designers understand the importance of project research and what planning needs to be done before starting the design and developmental phases.

Many web designers get off to a bad start by creating mockups of what they think their client will want. This behavior is not sustainable and will lead to the failure of a project. Every web designer needs to open their minds and dig deep into their client’s industry in order to learn about what they are trying to accomplish. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, this will make it easier to better understand a client’s goals, competitors, and business plan.

Some clients will want an app or website to simply extend their brand and provide information about their company. Some will take an analytical approach and focus on attracting leads while others will want to cater to a specific market. Keep this in mind and also remember that it is important to take a good long look at a client’s short and long term goals in order to understand their target audience.

The target audience is the most critical part of a design because almost every client wants to tell a story, promote their goods, or provide a service. In order to successfully get their message across it is important to understand to whom they are trying to sell their products, how their customers will make their decisions, and what they want or need from your client’s company.

Here are the key points:

Open your mind and dig deep into a client’s industry.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
Understand a client’s target audience.

This article was inspired by step 1 of our creative process.
Stay tuned for future installments.

General: Welcome

Peter Merrill — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 17:22:28 +0000

Hello,
Through this blog, we will write about our experiences, mobile/web design, and anything that we find interesting.

We thought it would be appropriate to use the same information in this entry as is found on the “About” page. Because this is our first blog entry, we would like to take this time to properly introduce ourselves and tell you more about our background.

Please subscribe if you would like to be notified when our next entry is published.

Design Us All LLC was founded in Duluth, Minnesota by Peter Merrill.

Design Us All came into fruition after we had grown tired of hearing about companies that were limiting their clients by charging over-the-top rates for their services.

Meet the CEO

Peter Merrill

Peter discovered his aristic abilities while in high school when he was asked to join a local band. During his time in the band, he assumed the responsibility of maintaining and designing the band’s MySpace profile.

This sparked his interest in digital design and he then decided to teach himself how to build websites. The first website that he created became an instant success, it grew to 2,000 members in its first 6 months and was featured in local newspapers.

The success of his first website encouraged him to continue to improve his design skills. Over the next 4 years, he contributed to the creation of over 20 new websites.

A few years later Peter moved to Duluth, MN to pursue a Marketing degree at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. After completing one year there he was hired as a web designer and mobile application developer for a local design agency.

While working for this design agency, Peter picked up many valuable skills and decided to start his own digital media company.

If you’re interested in learning more about Design Us All or have a project you’d like to discuss, please contact us.