Web Site Design

These days if you are in business and don't have a website you are missing out on an abundance of customers. Everyone that has a computer in their house will be using one of the search engines (google, Yahoo, Msn etc.) to look for your business. There are over 20 million searches done every hour on the internet in the UK alone. If your business is not appearing on these search engines then you are losing out to your competitors that are looking for what you do.

You will be asking yourself I have done without a website till now so why would I need one? It is a good question If you are currently doing well with your business then that is great but can anyone turn round and say that they don't want anymore business? If you do say that then what happens if your business starts to lose some customers then you will start to try and get new business elsewhere. A website is THE way to generate extra enquiries and more business than any other means of advertising.

More and more people these days are turning to local searches and with broadband the internet is connected in their house 24 hours a day 7 days a week. In all honesty do you even know where you keep your yellow pages anymore? There is really no need as with the internet if you need a plumber in your area goto yahoo and type in plumber ( your area ) and a list of sites will come up with plumbers in your area. If you are a plumber how much would you pay to have your site appearing on those searches above your competitors? How much would that be worth to you in business terms?

The answer is easy... A lot. 5 or 10 years ago that listing in the yellow pages would mean as much to you as the listings you get on the search engines today.

A website for your business could be for several different reasons. You could use your website as a brochure to advertise the products you offer how much more could you show on your website compared to an advert in the paper? Instead of having a few lines in the paper explaining your business you could have 10 or 20 pages outlining what you do and the products you offer and give a more in depth description of all your products. For an ad in your local paper for say 3 lines of text would cost you say £50 for 1 week if you had your own website it would cost say £250 per year and the website would be online and available to view 24/7 365 days a year.

You could also use your website to keep your existing customers in the know on exactly what you are offering. If your existing customers go onto your website and sign up for your newsletter everymonth you could email them any product updates you have. If you don't have the time to email you could also have a news section on your website that can be updated on a monthly basis and that would allow your customers to log into your website and view any updates since their last visit. New business is good to develop but your existing customers are already doing business with you so why not use your website to maximise the sales you get from your existing customers.

All in all a website for your business is an essential to to maximise profits for your business. To generate new business and also to keep your existing customers up-to-date with any changes or product ranges that they could be interested in. More business or not the choice is yours.

About the Author:

Peter Hartley has been designing websites successfully for 3 years. For more information on prices and packages please visit http://www.lastminutevillaholiday.co.uk/web_design.htm

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Article published on December 15, 2005 at iSnare.com

Web Design Tips

Web Design is an art, yet following basic steps can help lead even a non-artist to a good design. For the novice or the expert, there is always more to learn with these web design tips.

Web Design Tips

1. Graphic Design of the Site

There is a saying “First impression is the last impression.” The design of the site is one of the most important aspects to be considered while creating a web page. If the design is good and easy to understand then visitors are more likely to view many pages of the site. An ugly, unclear site is likely to result in pages being closed without looking at the content at all. The layout of the entire site should be consistent and each web page should look as a part of one web site. The same content presentation style and color scheme should be followed throughout the pages of the site. The content of the site should be divided into logical sections. For purely artistic sites, there are obviously exceptions to these rules. For sites aiming to make money these guidelines should almost always be followed.

2. Limit the Use of Plug-ins Required to View Your Site

Try to avoid the use of extra components which the user needs to download to view the web page. People tend to avoid downloading unnecessary plug-ins and they might close the web page without viewing it if they have to download and install a new plug-in. However, some external components have become very common. Components such as Java Applets, Shockwave and Flash components, and Active X components are becoming standards for web development.

3. Avoid Unwanted Tools and Effects

Don’t use every tool that is freely available on the market. Page statistics buttons are common, yet most decent web hosts provide the same service with no advertisements required. People also use effects like fade-ins and outs, which can slow down a user looking for information. This is a potential source of irritation.

4. Clear and Concise Content on Web Site

In most cases, the content of a site should be clear so that the visitor knows from the very first page what the site is intended for. To reach the most visitors, the information should be clearly conveyed without the use of jargon that an average person might not understand.

5. Update the Site Regularly

If you want people to revisit your website then make it a point to regularly update your site. If visitors always find new information on your site then they are likely to visit again. If the information is always stagnant then it is very difficult to keep a visitor's long-term attention.

6. Limit the Use of Graphics

Using many images can cause page downloads to be slow. Slow web sites are irritating to visitors on slow connections and fast connections alike. Further more, search engines do not index text in images.

7. HTML Coding Standards

Proper coding standards should be followed for cross browser compatibility. For example, many people omit the use of alt tag for images and people with slow internet connectivity might have problems viewing the images. If alt tag is present then at least the visitor will know what is missing. Proper height and width attributes ensure the page is viewed correctly as the page loads. http://www.w3.org/ provides a widely used standard.

Web design tips can help you over a hump with a site. Use them to get the most bang for your buck.

About the Author:

Halstatt Pires is with the Internet marketing firm - http://www.marketingtitan.com - a San Diego Internet marketing and advertising company offering automated web site systems - http://www.businesscreatorpro.com - for e-commerce solutions.
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Article published on December 07, 2005 at iSnare.com

Web Design Planning

When designing or redesigning a website the most important part of the project happens before any graphics or code are created.

Start by determining the primary goals of your website. Are you using it to sell your products or services? Maybe it’s intended simply to advertise your offline business, provide support to your existing customers or build your company brand. Whatever the goals are, clearly defining them ahead of time will better guide you in the actual creation process.

Next, remember that first impressions mean everything. Your website design must be professional and portray the right image for your business. Most web surfers decide within seconds of reaching your main page if they will browse deeper into your site or click away to another. Studies have shown that this decision is usually made based on the appeal of the design rather than the text copy. This means that your site design has to grab their attention and convince them that you’re offering something of value fast.

Chances are you’re not a graphic designer or web coding guru, so how can you develop a professional design? We get asked this question a lot by potential clients at www.banpronet.net especially from owners of home-based or new small businesses.

You basically have two options, hire a professional designer or firm to create your website or purchase a website template. Templates are pre-made designs that allow you to just add your text and product graphics. Templates have the advantage of being able to go live with your website quickly and usually for a very low cost, however they also have the disadvantage of being seen on numerous websites, so you won’t stand out from the crowd as well.

Either way, keep in mind that your website design is what most online visitors to your site are going to judge your company on, regardless of your industry, so it must be as professional as possible.

About the Author:

Chrissy operated her own Web Design business for 6 years prior to joining http://www.BanProNET.net In addition, Chrissy provides free webmaster resources at http://www.WebCodingHelp.info

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Article published on November 15, 2005 at iSnare.com

How Not To Get Web Design Work

I get the occasional web design lead from my website. I wanted to find a company I could pass these onto. So I put an ad on a freelance site. It specified the programming qualifications needed, stated that the successful candidate should have good English, and was for companies only.

The replies I got were enlightening. So much so, I made a list of things applicants did wrong. Here it is.

I should point out I was initially prepared to give everyone a fair go. After the first twenty-odd emails, my attitude changed. I was looking for reasons to delete applicants. I only needed one successful one; with 100+ replies it was getting to be a headache, so I decided a brutal approach was needed.

1. Failed to read the spec.

Many applicants couldn't write properly in the English language. Many were individuals only. Result: instant deletion.

2. Failed to address the spec's criteria.

Applicants bragged about how great they were. Many copy-and-pasted standard marketing guff about 'solutions' and 'partnerships' into their emails.

To engage anyone's interest about a proposal you need to talk less about yourself and more about the benefits to *them* of using you. One of the first things I learnt about applying for jobs is you need to show how you meet the criteria in the job description; see if you can find the employer's wavelength.

3. Lots of jargon.

You quickly tune this out. Anyone dealing with web companies probably gets a lot of this. Applicants should talk to the client about *the client's* site and *their* needs, and avoid techno-babble.

Write an application letter. Leave it for a while, then edit it. Brutally. Short punchy sentences, no guff. Talking convincingly about how you can make the client money would be an attention-getter.

4a. 'Coming soon' client-listing pages.

You say you've done work for lots of clients, then put up a 'coming soon' sign on the web page where your client list is supposed to be. Hmmmm.

4b. 'Under construction' pages on your company web site.

This looks bad; something you'd see on an amateur's site. Another reason to bin your application.

4c. Only put up pictures of sites you've done, rather than links to the actual sites.

I'd have liked to see some working example sites. Pictures can be faked, and they don't show background programming.

4e. No mention of your main web site URL.

Let us guess where your own site is (if you have one). It's more fun! I tried guessing from the email address. After a while I didn't bother.

4f. No hyperlinks at all.

Just a short email spiel saying "I am great designer, hire me". Next!

5. Using Yahoo.com or Hotmail.com for your email address.

A pro designer shouldn't use a freebie email address service. Basic web hosting costs $5 a month these days.

I can conceive that a web designer might use a freebie account for some special purpose, but your own domain name is a basic advert that goes out in each email you send.

6. Bad spelling and grammar.

Western civilisation is doomed, if using SMS jargon becomes the standard way to write to people. It doesn't impress old frts lik me, fr strtrs :( Especially if you're looking for work where good spelling and grammar are important.

7. Front-loading Flash designs.

I admit it, I don't like Flash. I especially don't like it when it loads slowly on my broadband connection. I suppose it might impress an ignorant client, who doesn't know the economic consequences of having a Flash-heavy site.

8. Don't phone the employer up.

Unless they say 'canvassing will disqualify', 'phoning the employer is a good idea. Why? Because geeks are famously introverted and tongue-tied, supposedly. So if a web site designer can communicate clearly over the telephone, that, coupled with a good application, puts you streets ahead of the email-only applicant.

No need to jabber. A polite enquiry to establish contact will do. "Just checking you've got my CV", that sort of thing.

9. Keep yourself mysterious.

Emails are impersonal. Anything that can establish you as a human being, a person, a potential ally and friend, is good. It'll make you more memorable. No need to jump out of a giant cake, 'though!

However, you have to fulfil all the other criteria as well. However great a guy you are, if you're a Unix man and they want Windows, forget it.

10. Leaving unclear phone messages.

One chap left a phone message, in which he mentioned his site, twice, but not his 'phone number. His pronunciation was bad, so I guess I'll never know how good he was.

11. Too far away.

Most replies were from India, Ukraine, Romania etc. Anyone who was closer to home (the UK) stood out. I mention it simply as a winnowing criterion.

Also, I needed someone who could land contracts from UK residents; good English, written and oral, was important.

12. Give your rates per hour.

Forget that. You're not a lawyer. Web design jobs can be clearly defined, in terms of time, work and software required. A definite price can be agreed on in advance. It's called a contract. Otherwise, you leave the client open to escalating bills, and yourself to mission-creep.

13. Delay applying.

The first few applications were more scrutinised. After that, fatigue set in. After one hundred, only an applicant who seems a real prospect would be given more than five seconds' scrutiny.

About the Author:

T. O' Donnell ( http://www.tigertom.com ) is an ecommerce consultant and curmudgeon living in London, UK. His latest project is an ebook on conservatories, available at http://www.ttconservatories.co.uk. T. O' Donnell freeware may be downloaded at http://www.ttfreeware.co.uk.

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Article published on August 17, 2005 at iSnare.com