Sunday, April 27, 2008

Web Design Tips To Boost Up Your Natural Ranking

The web design industry is indeed extremely competitive. So how do we go about choosing a web design company that offers websites that are not only well designed but equally important, a website that ranks well on major search engines? Considering the fact that the top 30 search results get 90 % of traffic, once you have published your website online, the next question you will certainly ask your self is How to generate revenue and have my fair share of this traffic?

The web design aspect is important if your goal is to generate revenue from your online business. You can generate revenue by running online advertising campaign or improve your natural ranking.

You will most likely want to advertise your business on major search engines like Google or Yahoo. How to optimize your web design in order run your online advertising campaign most effectively? First of all your site must be laid out in an organized fashion. A newcomer in the web design industry will undervalue this aspect as their major focus is on the “look and feel” of their web design. Organizing your site into themed based sections is of utmost importance. When marketing advertising space to potential clients whether is it through Adsense or Yahoo Search Marketing, you will have to convince them that the content of your web page will be relevant to them. Your goal is to attract the most internet marketing clients as possible. This should be the most crucial aspect of your web design.

The next web design aspect you have to take into consideration is the text relevance and keyword density on your themed page. While planning your web design, take into consideration that it is the text, not graphics, that will boost your natural ranking. Most search engines are programmed to read text, not graphics. A web page designed with too much graphics will result in it being completely by-passed by search engines. If we take the example of a travel tour agency, your website could have a tour section, a hotel accommodation section, a currency conversion section and car rental section. In each themed page the text written should be relevant and have a keyword density of about 5 %.

Your objective is to get the major search engines to rank not only the home page but several themed pages from your website. For example Google's strength is in the ability to gage or extrapolate relevance of an article from its overall content and the number of times a keyword appears. However do not over-use competitive keywords. Be creative in keywords or phrases. For example if you are a web design company, the keyword web design is a very competitive one. This means that on search engines, for the keyword web design, a lot of companies are competing to have a good ranking. On the other hand, for less competitive keywords like “web design London”, the competition is less fierce as only local businesses are targeted.

With the internet being utilized more and more, business realize that carefully planning their web design is a crucial step to guide web visitors to your revenue generating pages.

About the Author
Lauren Forget is the Search Engine Marketing specialist of Discount Web Design (http://www.discountwebdesign.co.uk) a leading Web Design and Search Engine Marketing firm. Please feel free to republish this article provided you keep this resource and the hyperlink.
Published At: www.Isnare.com

The Newbie's Guide To Small Business Web Design

You’ve got a concept for a business, are excited about putting it out on the Internet, know a little bit about computers and the Internet, but know nothing about building a web site, or web design.

You can still be highly successful and save money by doing the job yourself so long as you’ve got the willingness to learn and the time to spend on the project. It can be fun … and it should be.

The contents of this article will greatly improve your knowledge of web design without causing you to feel overwhelmed. Keep this article as a reference point, check off each part as you go through the process of development, and, in due time, you will have an effective web site for marketing the information, product, or service you wish to provide to your customers.

Domain Name

Keep it short and relevant to your business. Do not get frustrated trying to lock down a domain name by settling on anything to get you web space. You will soon realize that every word on your web site has relevancy to its success. Register for no less than two years. Serious businesses don’t renew yearly. You have to show that you’re going to be sticking around.

Web Hosting

Don’t mess around with small time web hosting. Affiliate yourself with a reputable company that provides top-notch service, as the rewards with regards to security and support are worth the extra dollar.

Web Site Construction

The basis by which people choose to build their web site is at their discretion. Microsoft FrontPage is a worthy choice for those of you who are new to web development and starting from scratch. Instead of reading books to learn about web design and development, you may be much better off using Google, MSN, or Yahoo to find the answers to your questions. Use “quotations” around your question in a search bar to get more specific answers.

Layout

Building your web site on a template is a fine way to start, but you may want to learn how to build from nothing. The mistakes that you may make along the way will prove invaluable. It is strongly recommended that you go with Tables instead of Frames, and if you don’t have a clue what either means, just do a little reading about the two on the Internet before you start building.

Resolution

It would be a safe bet to keep your web site at no more than 750 pixels wide, regardless of the fact that more and more people are going to 1024x768. If your site is geared towards older folk, then you can count on the majority being at 800x600 for easier reading. You don’t want to alienate your visitors by having them scroll to see the whole page. Be sure to check that your web site pages show up the same in all browsers.

The Intro

Never ever put “Under Construction” or any other type of phrase that says that you are incomplete on your web site. Your site is young … it is never incomplete. Try to refrain from saying “Welcome to …”. You should think of your web space as being real estate. The space you use up with unnecessary text is a waste of advertising.

The Text

Keywords, their place on a web page, whether they are bolded or not, and the number of times each word appears on a web page are factors that determine how high you end up in search results.

HTML Tags

Before I say anything further, don’t get freaked out by HTML code. It not as hard as it looks. Again, do a little reading on the Internet … this time about Meta Tags and Keywords. You will have to make sure that your Title, Description, and Keyword Meta Tags are bang on with the text on each web page you build. You can use many free Tag Analyzers found on the Internet to check relevancies.

Graphics

Graphics increase load time and looks. There’s a fine line between too little and too much. Use customers, not friends and family to gauge what is appropriate for the way your web site will look.

Random Tips

You may need to read a little to learn how to implement some of these tips, but nonetheless, they are here for your consideration to improve the placement of your web site in search results:

1) Make sure your TITLE is right below the HEAD in the HTML code. 2) Use one or two keywords in an ALT Tag to describe your images. 3) Get links pointing at you from sites sharing similar content.

About the Author
Austin Culley is a freelance web designer living in St. Albert, Alberta, Canada ... http://members.shaw.ca/aculley/

Published At: www.Isnare.com

Avoid These Web Site Design And Writing Gaffles

Is your website doomed before it even gets off the ground? A badly-designed website can turn off potential customers before they even think about buying your product. Here are some website design mistakes that you should avoid.

1. Don't load your web site with a lot of high tech clutter. As a rule, avoid using fancy animation or script code unless it is absolutely necessary.. Those things only serve to distract from your sales message.

2. A website that loads slowly is just about the most annoying thing on the Internet. Don't use large graphics or anything else that dramatically increases your site's load time.

3. Don't make the mistake that everyone will totally understand your web site message. Use descriptive words and examples to get your point across.

4. Don't write your strongest point or benefit only once. You should repeat it at least 3 times because some people may miss it.

5. Don't push all your words together on your web site. People like to skim; use plenty of headings and sub headings.

6. Stay focused. Don't use site content your target audience isn't interested in. If people are coming to your site to find info about fishing, then don't include soccer content.

7. Keep a unified theme. Don't use 50 different content formats all over your web site. Use the same fonts, text sizes, text colors, etc.

8. Stick to the basics. Don't use words your web site visitors might not understand. People are not going to stop and look in a dictionary, they will just go to another site.

9. Don't let your selling words and phrases go unnoticed. Highlight important words and phrases with color, bolding, italics, underlining, etc.

10. Don't forget to use words that create emotion. All people have emotions, people will have more interest when they are emotionally attached.

11. Don't use unnecessary words or phrases on your site. You only have so much time to get your visitor's attention and interest; so make ever word count.

12. Stay organized by avoiding the "cluttered" look. I see plenty of websites that have banners and graphics strewn all over the place with no rhyme or reason. These sites look awful and , needless to say, I click away from them as quickly as possible.

By avoiding these website design mistakes, you increase the odds that visitors will stay on your site long enough to make that purchase.

Copyright © 2005 Ronald Gibson

About the Author
Ronald Gibson is a Web Designer and Internet Marketer. He is the Webmaster of AffiliateUtopia.com, which offers information about some of the best money making opportunities on the Web. For more information, visit: http://www.affiliateutopia.com/
Published At: www.Isnare.com

Affordable Small Business Web Design - 5 Tips

When creating an affordable Web site for your small business, there are certain things to keep in mind from a design perspective that can make or break your site. Even if you do not plan to spend a fortune on your site, paying attention to each of these items you will ensure that the final product is something of which you can be proud.

Here are 5 tips for designing your small business Web site, even on a budget:

Tip #1: Make sure your Web site loads in 5 seconds or less: Have you ever tried to view a Web site only to find that it takes 10 or 20 seconds to come up on your screen? Unless it has been recommended by a friend or you have some other burning desire to visit the site, you probably likely gave up and moved on. The first 5 seconds is very important in terms of the attention span of your visitor. During that period, you need your site to load and for the visitor to be able to "get" what your site is about. If it takes longer than this, your visitors will run out of patience and leave. Tip: if you want to show off a long flash presentation, try featuring it on a page other than the home page.

Tip #2: Limit the menu bar to 5 options: Your Web site needs to be singular in purpose and focused in appearance. If your site is trying to be all things to all people, it will end up being of value to almost nobody. The simplicity and focus of your site design is reflected in your navigation and symbolized on your home page by your menu options. If you believe your site requires more than five menu options, make some of them sub-menus that are available only after the user selects one of the five main options.

Tip #3: Make clearly visible a call to action: Ever shopped at an IKEA? Their stores have a non-traditional layout that allows you to look around freely and yet literally leads you from one section to another, right on through to the multiple cash registers and food goodies waiting for you at the end of your path. Let this serve as a model for how to set up your Web site: on every page, you need to make it abundantly clear to your site visitors just exactly what it is you want them to do. Do you want them to contact you? Order your product or service? Add a comment to your Web site? Whatever it is, make this call to action very easy to spot both textually and graphically from anywhere on the site.

Tip #4: Provide free and clear access to additional help options: You do not want to lose sales (or visits, or whatever your goal for your visitors maybe be) just because you failed to give someone the chance to ask a question. Just as with your call to action, make it clear to visitors that no matter where they are on your site they can easily locate help via phone, e-mail, live chat, call back, user forum, or knowledge database. Hint: present the various options in a prioritized manner depending upon anticipated user needs.

Tip #5: Show consistency among other design elements: The look-and-feel of your site as a whole is really just a combination of all of its individual components. Pay close attention to every detailed component of your new site. Use appropriate colors and graphics, pay attention to font size, make sure your messaging is readable and makes sense, and make sure images look crisp and appealing. Items that you think are minor might form the basis for whether someone chooses to stay on your site or find that of a competitor.

Whether you are designing your own site or hiring a professional designer, pay attention to these items and you will have a winning site for your small business, even on a budget.

About the Author
Andy Doan of iConvex has been saving small businesses from Web site grief for over 6 years. Get your free, no-hassle quote at www.iConvex.com (First time customers: mention coupon code AT0045 to get a 10% discount).
Published At: www.Isnare.com

Web Design And Low Fluff Tolerance

There’s a part in the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang where Caractacus Potts, played masterfully by Dick Van Dyke, has the opportunity to visit with candy maker Lord Scrumptious about a treat he had invested purely by accident.

Lord Scrumptious appears in every way a very busy man and a rather no nonsense character. He gives Caractacus a short period of time to pitch the idea – and he’s keeping track of the time while he continues with his daily routine.

Caractacus seems to stumble all over his words and is hardly a convincing salesman. He tries, but Lord Scrumptious is bored. Still gazing at his watch the aforementioned Scrumptious says, “Time's up. Had your chance. Muffed it.”

All over the Internet, at this very moment, online users are demonstrating something similar when they back away from an online store that failed to give them what they wanted.

Times up.

Had your chance.

Muffed it.

When it comes to web design you cannot rely on proverbial cotton candy and carnival hotdogs. Internet users are demonstrating a low tolerance for fluff. The Internet is made for u-turns and people are taking them.

Can you define what your site does that can keep a visitor in place? Is your site easy to navigate? Is your content compelling enough to cause visitors to take a second look? When you look at your stats do you find that the majority of visitors spend 30 seconds or less perusing your site?

These really are questions that first time online businesses should evaluate, but these questions are not limited to noobies. Existing businesses that want to reinvent their web presence should learn to be very bold and objective about what their site can and can’t do.

Too many times web design will center on what appeals exclusively to the business owner. This reminds me of watching those home selling shows on TV. Homeowners are constantly told to minimize and neutralize in order to allow guests to visualize the home as their own instead of appealing to a singular style that may be hard for them to get past.

That’s not to say your website should be bland, but you may want to get outside input into style designs and textures. Web builder software can help by providing multiple proven templates that can take some of the guesswork out of the basic style.

Learn not to overload your site with nonessentials. Learn to maximize bullet points and headlines. Learn to inform and use summary text boxes.

Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising is an example of seeking to make your content pop with as few words as possible.

If we’re to learn anything from the nervous Caractacus Potts it would be that you need to be decisive and don’t shy away from a call to action. Don’t be belligerent, but believe enough in your product that you don’t have to experience the words…

Times up.

Had your chance.

Muffed it.

I honestly think web users are looking for sites that make it worthwhile to visit and that inspire them to make your Internet location one they are happy to return to over and over again.

About the Author
Make Your Own Website in minutes with HighPowerSites.com or Build Your Own WebsiteEBOOK BUSINESS at BooksWealth.com. with BuildAGreatSite.com. Start an

Published At: www.Isnare.com

Web Design Stance On Back Button And How To Use It

Any experienced web designer should know without having to be told that the Back Button is an extremely part of any web page. Your web design company certainly expects you to understand this fundamental concept of web design. You should realize the truth of this claim after having surfed the internet and visited various web sites for some time. All too often, however, web designers take this important button for granted. "Back" or "Back to Home/Start" links that are sometimes built into web pages are frequently poorly designed, and do not lead users to the page that they were previously on. Directing a user to the exact page that they were on before they were linked to the current page requires more than a little programming knowledge. When they do not function properly, these “Back” links reflect poorly upon you site and often discourage visitors from exploring more of your site.

How People Browse the Web

A large number of people online visit web sites with no specific purpose in mind other than to gain a general idea of what that web site contains. If what they see in the first few seconds on the site does not interest them, then their cursor immediately moves to the Back button in the upper left hand corner of the screen to bring them back to their previous page. Some people use this button so often that they fail to realize how much they rely on the Back button for their convenience. They visit one site after another, scrolling up and down each one, and after determining that the site contains nothing of interest to them, head straight for the back button and away from the site.

Do Not Try To Impact This Negatively

Web designers all over the world have a common reaction to this phenomenon – they do their best to prevent it. Regardless of which web design company you work for, or what programs and tools you use to create your web sites, you do not want visitors to simply skim your web page before leaving. No, you want them to stay. And some web page designers take extreme measures to try to prevent visitors from leaving their sites.

Some program the page to open in a window that does not have a back button, others make their page open in a new window and cause the old window to close. It is not difficult to see that web users will quickly become annoyed with this, and it definitely does not present you or the web design company you represent in a good light. By doing this, web designers cripple their own web sites because they have deprived visitors of the standard controls used to navigate websites and they have also ensured that the visitors will leave the web site as soon as possible and not return. This is hardly ideal for either web designers or their customers. So, instead of fighting the back button, try using its presence to your advantage.

How to Take Advantage

Taking advantage of the back button does not entail giving your users instructions on how to use the button. They already know this. Instead, you want to take advantage of the fact that the visitors to your web site are thoroughly predictable in that they will inevitably head for the back button after some time. Try to take advantage of this constant attention paid to the back button. Here are some ways that you do this:

• Any advertisements or branding elements that you put on your web site could be placed in the upper left hand corner of the site, near the back button. They are likely to receive more attention here from visitors using the back button than anywhere else on the page.

• Make your branding elements or advertisements links to other pages. By doing that, you create the chance that visitors might just link themselves to another one of your pages if they miss the back button of if you are branding elements catch their attention.

• Make use of the server logs to obtain information about the pages that visitors to your site were on before they were linked over. This will provide your web design company and clients with important information that they can make use of. If you know what sites visitors to your site usually return to, you could provide a direct address to those sites from yours. If, for example, visitors are coming from a search engine, then you could provide visitors from there with an object that will connect them with that search engine and also help them search your site. It is important to remember that one of the most helpful things designers can do for visitors is to include details on how to search your site. This is likely to earn you the appreciation of not only your visitors, but also of clients and your web design company.

About the Author
Moe Tamani is a Dallas SEO consultant for a leading Dallas Web Design company.

Published At: www.Isnare.com

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Top 5 Basic Elements Of Web Design

Web design is very much like most other forms of design in terms of the general rules and basic elements that are involved. These rules offer you a guide to the best and easiest ways of combining the different elements of a design into an attractive and functional website. A good web design company understands the concept of quality over quantity, and takes the effort to make each web page as functional and aesthetically appealing as possible. As you work to help your web design company to build a site design that is both useful and look good, make sure you keep the elements of design that follow in mind.

Web Design Balance

The fundamental concept behind Web design balance is an appropriate layout of the heavy and light design elements on any page. The layout of the page will eventually determine how well balanced your design is. It is important to ensure that each page achieves balance throughout, and not only in the top part of the page. It is not uncommon for your web design company to give you guidelines to follow such as making sure the text and other elements are all centered on the page or that you should arrange everything according to a preset grid system to help you achieve the required balance. The three main types of balance that you may consider as you design your page are:

Symmetrical. Symmetry can be achieved by repeating everything that you do on one side of the page on the other. A heavy design element on the right should be matched by a similar one of the left. The elements should not be exactly the same, however, because that would make your page look uninteresting and uninspired.

Asymmetrical. Building a website with an asymmetrical design theme can be difficult. However, with the right combination of colors, texture and overall layout, the result can be very aesthetically pleasing.

Discordant. Web sites that are discordant are usually associated with action or movement and thus should be used accordingly. They tend to cause some distress in viewers and thus are best used only for websites that contain special or unusual content.

Web Design Contrast

Web design contrast is not limited solely to the interaction between different colors on your web page, but also includes the interactions between texture, shape and size. Image contrast can be achieved through changing the size of the images as well the positioning of bright or dark images. Contrasting text can also be achieved by varying the size, weight and type of fonts used. The font used for links, in particular, should be properly contrasted so that they stand out. Remember not to overdo the contrasts on your web page, however, because that will make your site extremely unappealing to readers.

Web Design Emphasis

Web design emphasis is the creation of certain key areas of interest which attract the attention of the reader. Web design companies often caution designers against trying to make everything on the page stand out. Trying to emphasize everything on a page will make the design too uniform and difficult for the reader’s mind to encompass. Therefore you should only emphasize key elements in your design, allowing them to guide your reader to regions of interest or information on your page. Semantic markup, varying font and image sizes, contrasting colors – all are ways through which you can alter the emphasis placed on each element of your design.

Web Design Rhythm

Web design rhythm involves the use of repeating elements throughout your web site designs in order to achieve consistency and cohesion on each page. Some elements of your design will benefit from repetition throughout the web site as this will ultimately create a rhythm that is attractive to readers. Repeating the title of each page, creating a background that makes use of repetitive patterning and using the same navigation controls throughout the site are all excellent methods of creating a successful rhythm in your overall design.

Web Design Unity

The basic concept behind web design unity is the grouping of similar design elements together and the separation of differing elements. By organizing your web site in this fashion, you can create a site that is coherent and efficiently organized. Proper placement of individual elements in the layout of each page is essential to achieving web design unity. Examples of this include varying the distance between elements in your layout, changing the values for margins and padding and varying the amount of empty space surrounding text objects.

By taking of all these design elements into consideration when creating your web site, you can ensure the pages you create are all attractive, useful and attention grabbing. By applying them in to appropriate fashion, you will be able to complete your web design projects to the satisfaction of your customers.

About the Author
Moe Tamani is a SEO web design consultant Dallas Web Design.

Published At: www.Isnare.com

6 Web Design Tips To Grab Attention

Is every good website design specialist knows, a well designed web page is able to draw the focus of readers to the content, news and events that the client you are designing the page for specifies. Of the many methods that can be used to accomplish this, often the easiest and simplest method is to simply modify the size of headline font. Using a moderately larger font to highlight headlines is very useful for attracting the attention of readers. Newspaper and media companies understand this concept well, and a great web design company should too.

Using Typography to Capture Attention

Most website design specialists should be familiar with the idea of changing different aspects of the font used on a website in order to capture the attention of readers. It is important to note, however, that this does not mean making headlines as large as possible. There are some general guidelines concerning typography that every web design company should know and adhere to. Some of the more important ones are as follows:

Web Design Tip #1: Only emphasize the most important content. Having large fonts throughout the site makes it unattractive and will not successfully engage readers. A good web design company understands that only headlines that are of particular interest to customers should be highlighted. You should only highlight headlines that will make readers read the rest of the text because they really want to know more. You should also keep the font size at an acceptable level. Ridiculously huge font sizes are not attractive to readers at all.

Web Design Tip #2: Larger is a relative term. Having a headline with larger font means making the font larger than that used for the rest of the text. Make sure the headline font is not too much bigger than the normal text, because that would look ridiculous. Having a huge headline but text that a reader has to squint at to read is not likely to attract any positive attention.

Web Design Tip #3: Determine beforehand what font sizes to use and when. A good web design specialist gets the client to decide which headlines and titles should be highlighted through an increase in font size and also exactly what font size to use. You can then follow this standard throughout the duration of the project. Your web design company will benefit from this agreement, because it will allow you to properly refuse any last-minute requests from clients to change the font size of particular headlines or titles.

Font size is not the only aspect of fonts that can be varied in order to increase readership of the web page that you are designing. Changing other aspects of the font you use can also be effective. You can switch between fonts from the same family in order to highlight certain points or content. For example, using the font Sans-Serif for most of the page and using Serif, which is more striking, to highlight more important content. Other properties of fonts that can be varied are color, weight and style. Bold or italicized font is also attention-grabbing.

Fonts are not the only option to consider when trying to make parts of your website stand out and capture the attention of online readers. Modifying other aspects of the site can also prove useful in attempting to improve readership. Some of them are listed here:

Web Design Tip #4: One word – pictures. Pictures are a universal form of communication and they are very effective at making your web page more interesting, holding the attention of readers longer.

Web Design Tip #5: Use different templates. Changing the way content, links and menus are arranged is a good way to keep readers interested in your site, instead of letting them become bored with a repetitive design.

Web Design Tip #6: Make use of animations. If a picture says a thousand words, then a moving picture says a million of them. Your web design company or your client may request that the site you make contain animations, which are even better than pictures at grabbing the attention of visitors to the site. Remember that animations take longer to load than normal web pages, however, and heavily animated web sites may take longer to load than the reader is willing to spend waiting.

By using the techniques that have been laid out in this article, capturing the attention of readers may seem like a relatively easy task. A good web design specialist must remember, however, not to overdo it. While it is all too easy to fill your website with all manner of colourful, oversize text, you must remember that the aim is to make certain points stand out. Also, you must learn to use your judgment in deciding the magnitude of emphasis awarded to different types of content. A sale definitely does not merit as much emphasis as a global conflict. Therefore it is in your best interests, and those of your web design company, to ensure that emphasis is given in proportion to the importance of the content.

About the Author
Moe Tamani is a SEO web design consultant Dallas Web Design.

Published At: www.Isnare.com

Website Copywriting Using The SEO Web Design

This is a more recent style of website copywriting however it is also effective in the aspect that the search engine optimization technique is growing in popularity more and more everyday. However, you won’t find this type of web site copywriting as inexpensive.

This type of web site copywriting is specially designed for the search engine optimization. However the skills of the web site copywriting using the SEO web design enhances your web site beyond belief.

They are the type that are unlike no other web sites you have seen. The advertisements are accurate and the keywords are all included in the SEO web design of your web site as well. This will ultimately attract or generate more traffic and potential customers to your website. With this type of website copywriting technique there is no way to lose. That is if you actually have products or information that others need or want. The design however of your products and how they are displayed are up to you. The SEO web design takes care of the advertisement and the keywords, as well as the a portion of the text that appears on the website itself.

This type of website copywriting works with big business web sites and small business web sites as well.

As far as personal web sites the website copywriting uses a simpler form of search engine optimization but will allow the same results.

Remember however, that this type of website copywriting is not one of the less expensive ways of going about web site copywriting. If this is something that doesn’t fit really in your budget, all you have to do is simply search on web site copywriting and you will find that several results will appear. It may take you a while to go through and find the type of web site copywriting that best fits your budget plans.

Most of these web site copywriting sites, will offer the same quality service, they are simply not as detailed.

You can also choose to have SEO as part of your website. This you can do by once again doing a simple search on services that pertain to this specific detail about your web site.

Remember that with whichever web site copywriting service you go with, knows all about your web site, how it is set up and possibly some of the products or information you offer on the website. This will make it easier for them to use as many keywords that are specifically designed just for your web site and not any other. Although other web sites are sure to come up when a search is done on the keywords searched on.

The generation of traffic that is directed to your web site could potentially be customers and possibly returning customers. If you get new products on your web site you can also use whichever web copywriting service once again, to ensure the quality of your web site. Many web sites do a lot better using the SEO system although there are those web site creators who don’t go by keywords for the searching on their web sites, so their results are definitely lower, and different.

About the Author
Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various subjects. For more information on website copywriter checkout his recommended websites.

Published At: www.Isnare.com

Web Design And The Cookie Cutter House

If you live in a large city or if you travel you can often find a large section of homes that look nearly identical. If you’ve never lived in one of these homes it can be easy to believe that finding your home in a sea of similarity might be difficult.

However each home, although incredibly similar at first glance, are amazingly different inside. Each home has a custom floor plan with multiple options that help the homeowner make their home distinct in spite of any similarities that may be present.

Some who may have hired their own homebuilder may view these mass produced homes with a bit of disdain simply because it is a homebuilding process they are not used to and they observe the process as something less noble than the home building process they used.

If you ask these homeowners what they think about their homes they will bring up overall cost savings by accepting the exterior style because the homebuilder was able to purchase large quantities of the building materials at a reduced rate. These homeowners also enjoy the ability they had to customize an ample floor plan. In most cases these homeowners are very happy with their choice.

This scenario bears a significant resemblance to websites designed using web-building software. When a business hires a web designer to craft a fully customized website it can seem less than a positive experience to build a website using templates that may also be used by other businesses.

The rationale seems to be that when developing a website you are obliged to reinvent the wheel every time you want something new. This is a philosophy that is welcomed by the web designer who makes a livelihood by developing sites for individuals and businesses, but it is a philosophy that makes very little economic sense.

If you’ve ever set up a social media site then you know you can work to make that site very much a reflection of your personality. Web building software allows the same ease of use as a social media site along with powerful tools for business applications. Most of these online web-building solutions also offer hosting services and support.

Each template is fully customizable for photos, graphic, text and banners. You can load the template of choice and in most cases select a different template at will. This allows maximum flexibility with a means for allowing the business owner to craft the website into an online portal that is a very personal reflection of their ideas.

Unlike homes that may bear a resemblance the use of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies in your web design is always going to be the most effective means of letting others know where you are.

Just like homeowners who were able to realize significant overall savings by using the building methods of mass production the online business owner can see immediate and long-term savings by using web building technology to design their business website.

It could be that web-building technology is the future of web design for business. If so, it may be worth some ‘present day’ investigation.

About the Author
Online Website Design with HighPowerSites.com or Easy Website Design at BuildAGreatSite.com. Get ebooks to sell at BooksWealth.com.

Published At: www.Isnare.com

Web Design – Have You Forgotten The Call To Action?

In writing there is a term called ‘passive voice’. In literature this is where the narrator TELLS the reader what is going on instead of allowing dialogue and event descriptions to SHOW the story to the reader and allow their imagination to fill in the gaps. In the first case the reader is not very involved in the action of the story, but in the second scenario they are not only invited into the full body of the story, but they feel as if they are part of the action.

In web design you have to find a balance between simply showing your site visitor what you have to offer and being pushy in an effort to make a sale. On approach is heavy handed and the other is a bit timid in approach.

When you TELL, but don’t SHOW you wind up with a very sterile site that infuses no one with passion to make a purchase. Visitors simply leave with a lot of facts and figures they aren’t sure what to do with.

When you SHOW, but don’t TELL you can get a visitor excited about the product without ever bringing them back to a call to action.

Let’s see if this makes sense. Let’s say you have a website dedicated to cosmetics. Your knowledge-based content does a great job of pulling the site visitor in on an emotional level. They learn a lot and find your site valuable. However, this visitor may well leave your website never even considering a purchase. They may have even thought the article was simply part of a site designed to extend knowledge to visitors. You have to remember that sometimes your web pages are accessed through a search engine and if there is no call to action they may exit with good information and nothing more.

A call to action at the end of your knowledge based content encourages your reader to take the information they have gleaned from your site and apply it to a purchase of products from your website (or as past of an affiliate revenue sharing program) that can tangibly enhance what they have learned.

Never be afraid to place a call to action in your website. You need to let your visitor know they can do something with what they now know.

If you are not passive about drawing your audience into an understanding of the product you should also not be passive about making it easy for your customers to take the next step.

Interestingly you cannot make the assumption that by simply describing something better you will increase your sales. While it is likely sales are predicated on knowing what you are buying there is a greater chance of a sale when someone understand the emotional tie to the product.

When you help your reader connect with your product in an active way you may find not only new customers, but also motivated repeat customers that willingly share your story and perhaps your call to action.

About the Author
MAKE A WEBSITE in minutes with HighPowerSites.com or BUILD A WEBSITE with BuildAGreatSite.com. Start a HOME BUSINESS and RESELL EBOOKS at BooksWealth.com.

Published At: www.Isnare.com

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Web Design Work And How To Price The Services

One of the important aspects that your web design company has to consider to a great extent is to know just how much they will charge for services. If you are part of a web design company, this problem is most likely not part of your coverage and you will have to rely on others to do the quoting for you. However, if you are doing freelance web design, you will have to think about just how much you will charge for each project. To give you an idea of how much your work is worth, there are a few things you need to consider. Here are some factors you need to think about before you quote a price:

1. Web design factor #1: The nature of the project. Before you start evaluating any web design project, you will need to determine the nature of the project - how much effort it will entail and just how extensive it is going to be. To help you know this, here are some guide questions:

I. How many web pages do you need to make?
II. Will they require you to create images or designs from scratch as part of the project?
III. Does the client have ready made content for the site or do you have to do everything yourself?
IV. Will the client require multimedia, Flash, scripting or programming?

Depending on how much work load you expect and what the answers are to these questions, feel free to raise or lower your price.

2. Web design factor #2: The deadline. Practically, you have to know how much time you have to finish the project. The more urgently they require you to finish, the more you charge. However, make sure that you agree with a schedule that is possible for you to meet.

3. Web design factor #3: Your experience. The more experience you have in web designing, the more right you have to charge higher. This is true for a web design company as well. The better the image of the web design company, the higher they generally charge for their expert service. However, make sure that your price is relative and reasonable. If you, for example, have seven years of experience in HTML yet very little on Flash, and your client wants Flash, do not rely on your seven years of HTML experience to raise your price.

4. Web design factor #4: The long-term maintenance required. If you or your web design company provides site maintenance on top of the site design, you should charge accordingly for maintenance coverage. If the client wants you or your web design company to cover maintenance of the site, it is better to get a separate contract for this aspect of the work.

5. Web design factor #5: The present going rate. Knowing the going rate can be a little difficult. For starters, you can ask other designers in your area. You can also check out the salary and pricing of web design companies in your area relative to their experience and level of service. Benchmark from there to determine how much you deserve.

6. Web design factor #6: Your target earning. Of course, you should also consider just how much you want to make out of the project. You might, for example, have a project that you want to do not for the salary, but because it is fun. There are also some design work that might be uncomfortable for you and you need to work extra hard to complete it, such that you want to earn more for the additional effort.

Rules of Thumb

Here are some rules that you need to follow in accepting and pricing your projects. Keeping this in mind will spare you and your web design company from a lot of headaches:

1. Never accept a project which you do not have enough resources to complete. If a client requires Perl due in a week’s time and you have no idea how to do Perl, do not assume that you will find yourself a Perl programmer in time to do the project or that you can learn it in a matter of days. This is simply impossible!

2. Come up with a clear and specific contract. You do not want to end up providing more service than you initially expected.

3. Always be honest. Your clients expect your integrity; if you tell them that you can meet the deadline, and then meet it. If you can't, inform them about the situations as soon as possible.

A web design company usually quotes their prices based on the same factors. Of course, they usually give you a set salary with bonuses, benefits and additional pay for excellent job done.

About the Author
Semul Johnson is a Marketing expert with a leading SEO services company specializing in SEO web design.

Published At: www.Isnare.com

Web Design Guide To Creating Better Links

Needless to say, links are one of the most vital parts of a web page. Your web design company will definitely require you to come up with links in the sites you make to please your clients better. When people think of site contents, what generally comes to mind is the text that is written on a page. However, know that the page content also includes images and everything else relevant that is included in the page's web design.

In Web Design Links Reinforce Scannability

It is a proven fact that online visitors who view a page are generally drawn to images. But aside from that, it is also proven that their attention is also immediately caught by links because they are underlined and set in a different colour from the rest of the text. Your web design company will strictly advice you to make your links stand out in order for them to catch the eye of your readers. Of course, your text content or web copy must able to reinforce scannability of your page. Fortunately, the addition of links that stand out well make the content even more scannable. Bear in mind during web design though that these links will only be effective if they are related to the site content and the linked text. Your web design company should know better.

Web design Tip #1: Links on Your Home Page

Unless you are web designing a site that is only made of 1 page, your home page should have links to all the other parts of your website. Bear in mind too that most online readers will scan through your home page much more than they are likely to read it, so you need to make sure that your links speak for themselves and are self-explanatory. However, avoid a home page that is made up only of links, and nothing. Doing this will defeat the purpose of scannability; the links will no longer stand out. Also, never make your link title fancy or make your readers guess where the link will lead to. Your web design company will also be pleased if you put in links to the other general pages of your site.

Web design Tip #2: General to Specific is the Way to Go

When online users search for information, they usually start from the general and eventually get more specific as they try to narrow down their search. Using the same logic, try to think of those links in your site as a funnel. You have to start with a general category at your top page and narrow it down further as your readers search for what they want.

Web design Tip #3: How to Write Links and Setting Them

Here are some tips to come up with better and more clickable links:

• Check your log files and look for a trend of what people are mostly searching your site for. Use the most commonly used words as your links to other parts of your site.

• You should also verify that your links actually go to where you have implied for them to go. Do not take the risk of ruining your client's image (and that of your web design company) by links that lie. When readers find that the information they are searching for is not there, they will leave and will not likely return.

• Write your links as clearly as possible. If you are linking to an e-book, your text should read something like "this e-Book..." Moreover, the link should actually go to a page with an e-Book in it, and not an online store or a biography of an author.

• When web designing, never make the mistake of playing games with your links. Do not put those links just for the sake of putting them. Your web design company will surely require you to put links that are as straightforward as possible. Remember that your web design company wants to be of service to readers and to the clients to whom you are making the page for. Therefore, make sure that you only put in useful links.

Create links that are incorporated into significant content. Your links should be more than just a list of links that will not make sense on the part of online users. Make sure that the links contain explanations on what it contains. If you are presenting a link that leads to more links, you need to make sure that you add in an explanation of what the readers should expect so that they will not be surprised to see a list of links. Your web design company will indeed appreciate such efforts.

About the Author
Semul Johnson is a Marketing expert with a leading SEO services company specializing in SEO web design.

Published At: www.Isnare.com

Web Design – You Are Replaceable And That Should Make You Happy

In the past there was always a fear that automation would replace (or displace) honest, hard-working citizens. While this may happen, there is reason to look at automation as an ally in online business.

If you were to conduct an online search you would likely find businesses that rely on personal contact, personal check and other hands on details as the only means of facilitating a sale.

I have encountered a few in recent days and this always has the feeling of being either ‘old school’, simply inefficient or a very small company. This always leads me to ask, “Why are they small?”

Beyond how customers may perceive this type of business it is important to note that from the standpoint of a business owner you may be spending more time working toward completing a sale than actually developing product.

By automating the process of sales you may find you have a more satisfied customer while eliminating a great deal of the personal headache you experience at making sure each customer is contacted personally.

Web Design Automation

When you work to develop your online store it is important to choose a design option that will enable you to work as hands-free as possible in online sales.

This may include…

Autoresponders – All this automated email delivery system to provide the most immediate contact with new and returning customers. This eliminates the need to develop an individual reply to each customer.

Forms – This can allow customers to provide a targeted response or question. It can aid in helping you understand their needs and in forming a reply (or developing a comprehensive FAQ section). This is another example of helping the customer without the need to baby-sit every online sale.

Automated Checkout – This may be your most valuable ally in automation. This can allow your customer to access an immediate sale. They don’t have to wait for you to receive their email and respond when they may be less interested, they can simply make the purchase and move on.

A cost-effective way to establish an online business with automation as your ally is through the use of template rich web builder software.

This can allow you to make your site as automated as you need it to be at a cost that is much less than standard website development costs.

The benefits of automation in website design really is an important part of both streamlining your business as well as allowing you to concentrate more fully on site development, marketing potential or product development.

About the Author
Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of HighPowerSites and many other web projects. Get your own website online in just 5 minutes with HighPowerSites at: http://www.highpowersites.com. Start your own ebook business with BooksWealth at: http://www.bookswealth.com

Published At: www.Isnare.com

Tips For Working With A Web Design Agency

When a web design agency gets a job from a client that they have never dealt with before, they go through a very specific process in order to fully satisfy the client. If you are thinking about starting a web design agency and you want to offer your services, your main focus will be on gaining a solid reputation and maintaining it. So, follow the steps that hundreds of agencies have followed in the past in order to provide your clients with exactly what they expect and need.

The first important thing is to establish exactly what you will do and what you won’t do. When clients go to web design agencies, they usually expect to be presented with a fully functional web site. But many design agencies don’t offer coding services, and simply offer design. This has led to many conflicts in the past, and it is a good idea to make it clear what you are going to give them when you’re done working. It may even be a good idea to draw up a legal contract that you can use for all your clients, and change small details within.

After you’ve established what you can and can’t do, you’ll start to gather information about the project that they need done. Different objectives for the web site should change the design considerably, so make sure to ask them all the important questions before you get started. Around this time, you should also get a feel for how hands-on the client is (IE, whether they will want you to present them with options the entire time, or whether they want you to take charge of the whole thing).

Now you should have all of the information that you need to get started and build them a killer website. While you add every feature of the site, you’ll probably have several different ideas that can’t all fit together. One good approach is to create all of these ideas as mockups, and show them to the client before you do any more work. Have the client pick one to build on, and work from there. That way if they’re dissatisfied with the final product, it isn’t your fault, and they can’t ask you to rework the whole thing for free. Just make sure that you cover all your bases and act professional when dealing with clients, and you’ll have a successful design agency soon enough.

About the Author
Visit National web design agency for a great design: http://www.nationalwebdesign.co.uk/

Published At: www.Isnare.com

Testing The Waters With A Web Design Agency

When selecting a web design agency, it goes without saying that you should take a look at the company’s own website in order to get a better idea of their skills and abilities. Similarly, you should ask the company for some references and to provide you with the URL of other sites they have created. Be certain to take the time to view several of these sites thoroughly in order to make sure they are user-friendly and are attractive. In addition, you can get a general feel for the designer’s methods and style while viewing these sites.

Selecting a web design agency should go further than just viewing sites the agency has created. In order to get a better idea of how the designer works, ask him or her to take a look at your current site if you have one and to offer suggestions. This way, you can determine if the designer has the ability to think on his or her own and to offer creative input. If you do not already have a website, select a few sites from the Internet and ask the designer what he or she thinks about the site and to offer suggestions for improvement.

Since you will have to work closely with the web site designer, you want to make sure that you can communicate clearly. By viewing sites together and discussing them, you can get a better idea of whether or not you are on the same wavelength. If you feel that the designer is truly listening to you and understands what you are looking for, you just might have found the right person to do the job. If not, take the time to discuss your ideas with other designers. There are plenty of web design agencies available and it is well worth your time to find the one that best suits the needs of you and your company.

About the Author
If you need a reliable web design agency, visit http://www.nationalwebdesign.co.uk/

Published At: www.Isnare.com

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Finding The Perfect Web Design Agency

Before you start on your search for the perfect web design agency, it is important to have a clear idea of what your goal for your web site will be. Based on your goals, you will be able to better focus on the individual qualities and characteristics that various web design agencies bring to the table.

In general, there are four basic business objectives that creating a website can accomplish. These include:

Gain new customers and retain old ones
Sell products to new target markets
Reduce the amount of paperwork and administrative duties you have to perform
Increase the awareness of your product

More than likely, you hope to have a website that can accomplish all of these tasks. Nonetheless, you will likely have one area that is of particular importance to you. While this may change as your company changes and your customer base expands, you need to go into the planning of your website with clear objectives.

Once you have determined the main purpose of your website, you can then set out to find a web design agency that can best help you meet those goals. Believe it or not, you might not always select the same web design agency to work with for your business. As your business goals change, you might find it better to utilize the talents of a different web design agency that has more experience with that particular area of business and web design.

Regardless of the web design agency you select, the better understanding you have of what you are looking for, the more smoothly the web design process will go. Of course, you may not have the exact details of the design created in your mind. After all, that is part of why you are hiring a professional to help you with the job. At the same time, you should take the time to sit down and chat with the professional about your goals and about the general philosophy of your business. That way, you will be sure to have a great site up that reflects your business in as short of time as possible.

About the Author
Need a good web design agency? Visit http://www.nationalwebdesign.co.uk/

Published At: www.Isnare.com

Easy Ecommerce Web Design Tips

Without a doubt, ecommerce is what drives the Internet. The Internet’s life force is due thanks to ecommerce and the loads of money making opportunity in cyberspace today. With the introduction of emerging e commerce web technologies and an advent of ecommerce design specialists, anyone could participate in selling products and getting technical with a built site.

Before beginning with an ecommerce website design, organization must be tended to. Products should be carefully arranged and organized with an Excel spreadsheet. Customers love to see product images, so be sure to include these and label its copyright wherever appropriate. Expert website ecommerce builders usually set their base on EBay, which is like a museum in itself with all of the different angled shots they take of products. Building your own ecommerce website is all about organization. If you’re selling a few dozen products, it is important to divide your site into product categories.

Product categories are important for easier navigation and lookup of any item. If you’re selling alcohol, product categories could include wine, whiskey, liquor, beer, and gin. A product ID number should also be assigned if your inventory is large for easier tracking. You might want to hire an Elance copyrighter or write short descriptions for each project, along with measurement full charts if applicable. Your ecommerce web design should include the product price, shipping charges, and tax charges as well.

As they say, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Building any ecommerce site requires a secure merchant account system that lets you collect money on the spot. Shopping carts and payment processing is necessary, and many web developers are able to do this for you. One highly recommended payment processor is Paypal. Paypal is the official payment processor of thousands of sites today, including most EBay auctions. Another important thing when it comes to an ecommerce website is the domain name that you choose. Be sure to limit slashes as it’s harder for visitors to remember. A domain name like haroldsjewelry.com sticks a lot more than Harold-S-Jewelry-Outlet.com.

Finally, your ecommerce website needs to be backed by a reputable web hosting company. Web hosting companies charge for the privilege of keeping your site on its internet space and charges are assigned depending on how much space you consume along with the amount of email accounts and the use of added features. Many web hosting services also come with supplementary services like site statistics. All in all, building an ecommerce website is a venturous proposition that should bring plenty of profitable rewards.

About the Author
Matthew is the currently the founder of a review website to help shed light on some Home Based Business Ideas. The website includes reviews, forum, articles, free eBooks and more. Matt is 32 years old and currently living in San Diego, California.

Published At: www.Isnare.com

Your Goals In Web Design - Is The Key Looks Or Usability... Or Both?

If you are in the process of drawing up plans for the design and development of your business website, or even for a personal website, you may be wondering whether or not the goal in regard to website design and development should be looks or usability. In many ways, this has been the great debate when it has come to website design and development: Looks versus design.

In reality, when it comes to the great debate of looks and usability when it comes to website design and development, both elements are of vital importance. If you want to create, design and development the most ideal website venue, you will want to keep both looks and usability in mind. Your final goal when it comes to website design and development has got to be both the looks of the website and the usability of the website.

Through the years, many people have tried to make the argument that you cannot judge a book by its cover. In so many ways, this is the babbling of a person who is the author of a book with a poorly designed cover. In fact, the cover of a book is very important - and reputable publisher would tell you that this is the case. The same holds true for the look of a website. A person surfing the Net naturally will stop and pay closer attention to a website that looks nice, that is attractive and designed in a pleasing manner. Therefore, when it comes to your own website design and development goals and plans, you must keep the element of the looks of the website in mind.

Once you've got the attention of a prospective customer or client by designing and developing a nice looking website, you've got to keep them at the site. If you create a website that is difficult to utilize - that is not user friendly - the potential customer or client will bounce off somewhere else in no time at all. You will lose a client or customer because you website is not usable. Therefore, it is imperative that when it comes to your website design and development that you make very, very certain that the final product is completely user friendly.

By following the suggestions outlined for you in this article you will be well on your way to designing and developing a website that is not only attractive but also user friendly. You will end up creating a website for your Internet business that ends up generating revenue and profits for you.

About the Author

Published At: www.Isnare.com

Web Design Tips For The Small Business

Ask your self these two simple questions before you begin your web site project. “What message are you trying to deliver and who you are trying to deliver it to?” I feel this is where you need to start before you even talk to someone about Web Site Design.

Get to you message fast. What do I mean? Most people have a very short attention span. When I get to a site I want to know what the site is about fast. I do not want to read about how long you have been in business or that your company is named after your favorite hunting dog? Tell me about all that other stuff on secondary pages. What I want to know is how can your company or product help me now.

Do not overload your visitors with to much information. If you have multiple products that you will be marketing on your Web Site, Design the Site so that each product has a page. You should mention your products or services on the home page but do not go over board.

Do not over load your site with a bunch of flashy animations. It is a distraction from your message and that is not what you want your visitors to remember. You can use these animations on your site but pick and choose wisely where to use them.

Keep it Simple. All of us have gone to pages that were so complicated to navigate that we left and went to another web site. The first site might have had the exact item that we were looking for but we could not find it. That company lost a sale because their Web Site was too complicated.

Just Keep it Simple!

Does you competition have a Web Site? If they do, then take advantage of this. Do not copy the competition’s site but use it as a way to better develop your own site.

Keep your site up to date. Nothing makes me leave a Web Site faster than old out of date content or content that I have seen over and over again. If you no longer sell an item or offer a service, why is it still on your site? Why do you have a message about your half off end of the year sale when it is April? It does not take much time or effort to keep your site updated.

How will people find your Web Site on the Internet? This is a very important step. You can have the Best product on the Best Web Site and if nobody can find you then you are just spinning your wheels. You must choose the correct keywords and place those keywords in the proper place on your Web Site. If you call your product something, but the customers call it something else, then they will not find you.

Web Site Design is a balancing act between how you want your site to look and how you want your site to function. If you are building your site your self of have a Web Design Company build it for you, just make sure that your site functions properly and that it contains relevant up to date content. And remember you almost always get what you pay for.

About the Author

Published At: www.Isnare.com

Quality Web Design And The Future Of Your Business

When it comes to web design, quality must be the one constant, and that quality must be built into the design, not tacked on afterward as an afterthought.

The concept of web design is focused on building the front end of the web page, and with providing the visitors to that web page with a pleasurable and profitable online experience. How this interface is designed can make a huge difference in the success or failure of any web based business, so it is essential to get the web design right the first time around.

Anyone who has even considered building a website has no doubt heard of HTML (hyper text markup language) and it is true that HTML is the language of the Internet. During the web design process, the web designer uses HTML to control how the web page will appear on the end user’s web browser screen.

When designing a new web page, or when redesigning an old one, it is important for the designer to remember that although Internet Explorer still holds a commanding market share it is no longer the only game in town. The remarkable popularity of alternative web browsers like Firefox and Opera mean that web designers must make sure that the pages they create load and operate as intended not only on Internet Explorer but on a number of alternative web browsers as well.

It is important as well for the web designer to make sure the web page operates properly, and looks great, on a number of different screen resolutions, monitor sizes and color depths. For instance, many new laptops use a widescreen format with a longer screen, and not all web pages have yet been redesigned to take advantage of this widescreen format. It is important therefore for all web designers to keep up with the ever changing technology to make sure their pages work properly no matter what the size of the screen, the color depth or the screen resolution.

All who work in the field of web design must also be familiar with the many tools and languages that are used in the field, including such popular names as ColdFusion, ASP, PHP, Macromedia Flash and more. As more and more ways to surf the web, from cell phones to portable video players, hit the market, it will become even more important for web designers to use the latest technology to build the best possible web sites for the end user.

After all, when it comes to surfing the web, it all boils down to the experience of the end user. If the user of the web site is not satisfied with his or her experience, they will not return, and no web based business can survive for very long without a steady stream of repeat customers.

About the Author
For more information visit Orange County Web design and Search Engine Optimization Firm SIMPLIFYING THE WEB

Published At: www.Isnare.com

3 Traits Of Quality Seo Web Design

When it comes to web design, there are so amazing designers out there. Most web designers are very creative and have a strong artistic background. They are able to use their artistic talents to create layouts that are guaranteed to catch the eye of your visitors. Unfortunately, there is one major thing that most web designers are missing. The majority of web designers are not familiar with the concepts and implementation of search engine optimization techniques. Even if a web designer has at least some basic knowledge of SEO, the majority do not worry about implementing search engine optimization strategies into their designs.

While this may seem like a trivial detail, it can actually be the root of some major problems. No matter how attractive your web site is, if it is not indexed by the major search engines, the traffic it receives is going to be minimal. Once you realize this is happening, you are going to have to hire someone with SEO knowledge to fix your layout. Therefore, you may end up paying double for something that should have been done the first time around. Whether you are a web designer or someone getting ready to hire a web designer, here are three traits of quality SEO web design:

Usability: As a general rule of thumb, if the design of a web site makes it easy for your human visitors to navigate, it will also be relatively easy for search engine robots to access, crawl and index your web site. Making your site user (and search engine) friendly includes minimizing (or completely eliminating) things such as Flash, Javascript navigation and layouts designed with tables. By designing with usability in mind, you can be sure that your visitors and the search engines will be happy with your web site.

Avoid Being Sneaky: Because web designers are generally very creative people, they like to push the envelope when it comes to designing web sites. Although this mentality can result in some truly amazing web layouts, it can also cause problems if taken too far. When creating a web site layout, it is important to keep the web master guidelines of search engines like Google in mind. Incorporating things like hidden text into your designs is a sure way to get penalized (or de-indexed) by search engines. It is ok to push the envelope with your designs, but just make sure that you avoid doing anything that the search engines tell you not to do.

Onpage SEO: Although this is the last item on the list, it is actually the most important. On-page SEO is the basis for quality SEO web design. It is vital that properly implement things such as title, meta, H1 and H2 tags, along with internal linking and the other key components of on-page search engine optimization. Taking the time to employ these practices will make a significant difference in where your web site ranks in the search engines.

About the Author
Noon-an-Night Marketing offers a variety of search engine marketing services. Visit Noon-an-Night today to learn more about their SEO web design services.

Published At: www.Isnare.com

Friday, April 18, 2008

Get Results By Not Making These Web Design Mistakes

Three Common Mistakes When Designing A Web Site

I like to compare our society to the Mazda’s ‘Zoom Zoom’ slogan. Everyone today is just zoom zooming all over the place. So, who wants to read your long drawn out explanation of well…anything? Or scroll left to right? Or even read out of date material? No one. Described below are reasons why and solutions to the problem.

Yes, You Can Have To Much Information

When creating your site keep it simple. No need for paragraph after paragraph, simple short sentences will do just fine. Use creative eye catchers such as:

• Customized bullets make things easy to read, reduce space and draw attention
• Numbers (1, 2, 3) do too, they lead the reader to what they want to know

Our zoom zoom society wants their information quick and easy. Lists with subheadings are extremely popular, as well as links to another page explaining a topic. Even if it explains something minor it stands alone, is easy to access, and quick to read. This keeps the scroll bar longer and the page shorter. The viewer’s eye easily gets lost in all that information and no one wants to scroll forever.

Click, Click is easier and less frustrating than skimming.

Pictures, video’s and other graphics distract when they are everywhere. They draw attention away, not too. Highlight what is important with a graphic. If that is simply your logo on every page that surely is enough.

Yes, Horizontal Scrolling Is Bad

Standard Web pages usually for Dreamweaver default are 600 (h) x 480 (w) or 640 (h) x 480 (w) and Flash defaults are 1024 (h) x 768 (w) or 550 (h) x 400 (w). These are measured in pixels, the unit of measure used for the screen. When staying inside these lines you eliminate horizontal scrolling. Website viewers already scroll vertically and don’t want to scroll horizontally. Again in our zoom zoom society that just wastes time.

If you have horizontal scrolling it is guaranteed that less than half of your viewers are choosing not to scroll over. So stay inside the lines.

Yes, Your Site Can Go Out of Date

Have you ever seen a Website that says, Last Updated: January 2007? Or How about, Last Updated: January 2004? You’ve probably seen something similar. In the Web world outdated means three to five months. Updates are important because they prove to your viewers that you care about their interest. Keep their interest by maintaining and updating your site. Don’t get carried away not everything standard has to be updated, but a few minor additions or deletions are always good.

These three features gone wrong can discourage viewers and down ratings. If you have too much information, horizontal scrolling and / or out of date information you can fix it in a flash. You can also simply avoid them completely.

About the Author
Malerie Giaimo is a Public Relations intern for Kinetica Media, an internet marketing company. Visit www.kineticamedia.com to see how their proven services can enhance your customer loyalty. Kinetica Media can also provide you with more information about web design.

Published At: www.Isnare.com

4 Top Benefits Of A Professional Web Design

A professional web design is essential to internet success. This is especially true for businesses. While there are many software programs, tutorials, and do-it-yourself websites available across the internet, nothing can compare to a professional web design, for so many different reasons. Here, we are going to show you the top four benefits of a professional web design and why no business should take a chance on anything but professionalism.

Benefit #1 – First Impressions DO Count

Surely, you remember your mother telling you, the first impression is all you get in life. This still holds true in life and on the internet. Your website is your access to a world of customers and your customer’s access to you. It is a proven fact that you have no more than six seconds, that is right six (6) seconds, to grab a potential customer’s attention. If your website is not professional designed in an appealing nature with easy navigation, fresh content, and believability, you will have lost them almost instantly.

Benefit #2 – More Sales = Greater Profit

It is yet another proven fact that the right design will increase your sales. If you are new to website design and fail to include the fundamental aspects in your website, there is a great chance that your sales and profit will suffer as a result. With professional web design, the designers, project managers, and any person that works with the company knows just what it takes to create a profitable website, which will increase sales, and ultimately your profit.

Benefit #3 – Product Highlights

No matter if you offer 1 product or 5,000 products, a professional web designer will know just what it takes to highlight the right products. They have a good idea of your targeted audience, what they are looking for, and how to properly highlight products for increased sales. The same applies with services as well. It is necessary to show the best of what you have to offer in order to convert visitors to paying customers.

Benefit #4 – Unique

Perhaps one of the best things about a professional web design is the fact that your website will be yours and only yours. There will not be another website on the internet that looks like yours. When you use templates found on the internet or WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editors, there is a good chance that hundreds of other webmasters, just like you, have the same exact template. Potential customers want to see something new, fresh, and unique. They definitely do not want to see the same website over and over again.

There you have it the top four benefits of a professional web design. There are so many more benefits, but the above four are the top reasons why you should be choosing a professional design company.

About the Author
Get your Professional Web Design at http://professional-web-design.org.uk/

Published At: www.Isnare.com

Web Design – Free Development Tool

When working on your web design you want to make sure your ecommerce business logo is a positive reflection of the work that has gone into building your site.

For some online stores there is a limited supply of financial resources from which to draw for a new logo or business graphic.

I recently stumbled across a service on the web that can provide free logos for use in any kind of application. You may wish to have a banner ad designed, a logo, a button or creative elements for a print campaign.

While I have no stock or personal interest in this company I do have an interest in web design and this service provides a unique tool in developing visual material for your site.

The team at logobogo.com developed the site following the success of a sister site called radiodaddy.com. The second site allows radio professionals to voice material for podcasts, online radio stations or even traditional AM/FM stations. This is also done at no cost.

I decided to give LogoBogo a try and posted my request. Within 24 hours I had three professional choices to look at from three different designers.

There are certain rules to follow when making your request, but the fully produced material I reviewed was very well done and something I would be comfortable using.

From a pure marketing standpoint LogoBogo is a draw for professional graphic designers because it allows their work to be seen by many and can often result in paid work if the customer wants to work on additional material with the same designer. For the owners the site is filled with advertising and Google AdSense which helps pay for the site expenses and upkeep.

The LogoBogo website boasts the ability to create 3D art, traditional art, logos, banners, paintings, gaming graphics and icons.

If nothing else you have a significant brain trust that can provide tips and suggestions for the implementation of graphics within your site.

If you decide to use LogoBogo I might suggest being as specific as you can about the graphic or logo that you need. If you have special colors, fonts or sizes you need be sure to pass that information along. These designers are offering their skills at no cost. The more detail you can provide the better the chances are that your logo will reflect your desired outcome.

Website design can be a very personal exploration and locating as many useful tools as possible just makes sense. Logos and graphics can help you maximize the visual impact of your web design.

About the Author
Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of HighPowerSites and many other web projects. Get your own website online in just 5 minutes with HighPowerSites at: http://www.highpowersites.com. Start your own ebook business with BooksWealth at: http://www.bookswealth.com

Published At: www.Isnare.com

How To Find The Right Web Design Company For Your Business

It's amazing how many people out there are a jack-of-all-trades. I was speaking to someone the other day about their business, and we entered the domain of websites and how to build a successful site. They confidently stated that a 'friend of theirs' will help them put their business online as they preferred to go the cheap option at this stage, and that there friend was very talented on the computer. I expect to hear from them in a few months.

Why? Since when was web design so easy that anyone can do it? Why are some people paying tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars to develop their site and others think they can get away with developing a site for a hundred dollars and get similar results? I'll guarantee you that the major companies who invest time and money into the web are not stupid.

I can usually tell who has a very good chance of making their website a success. They understand that their website is a constant testing ground, trying new headlines, offers and articles, helping their clients to achieve business goals. Or maybe its an internal website designed to manage members of the organization and the information flow between them. Point being, they know why they’ve built it, who’s using it and how they can make it better.

So that is the first key to selecting a Successful Web Design Company – do they understand that your website is designed to meet the objectives of your business and your clients. Do they understand its not just a promotion tool for the front page of their website. You see, I have worked with many designers, and they do get very particular about their design. Change it and all hell breaks loose. But in the world of the internet, we can measure to the nth degree whether the design is successful and this means the first design may need tweaking, or god forbid a complete work-over. You must have a web design company who can assist with your testing, and suggest practical changes that will assist your business.

One other pre-requisite to finding the right Web Design Company is obviously their portfolio. Do they have a list of websites that they have worked on across a range of industries. Can they adapt to your business and build a site that communicates your brand. I must stress here though, it is easy for all of us to get swept away by fantastic design, even though the website itself might be doing nothing for the business itself. That is why testing and flexibility is so important to your business.

Now, I could go into the technical details of what else is absolutely essential when building a website, but that is for another time. In future articles I’ll build for you a checklist of what you need to know to find the perfect web design company for you.

About the Author
The article that you have just read is by David Mau from Neoterik Website Design. Neoterik provides a broad range of services including Website Design, Flash Website Development and E-Commerce.

Published At: www.Isnare.com