Web Design Development Articles

The world seems to be getting smaller all the time and the Internet has played a large part in that. It is also interesting to look at how the web has affected world trade. In the beginning world trade was a much harder task. After all it could take weeks to get a simple piece of communication through. With the telephone, things became much faster and much easier, but there was still a long way to go.

In the beginning of the 1990s people began to use the Internet for information and gradually more people began to communicate via email. It was a good way for people to keep in touch and businesses began to see how this fast communication could aid their commerce.

With this new way of sending information people could communicate so much faster and this meant that traders could communicate easily throughout the world. It was inexpensive and super fast. By seeing how email had helped business, companies began to see the benefits of creating business websites. They could see that if all businesses had websites it would make communication a lot easier for customers and traders.

They could see that buyers, who usually may have to call up by telephone and wait for days for a reply to their query, could get the information that they require instantly online. Things that used to matter like different time zones and speed no longer were an issue

Before web hosting there were very limited options for businesses. However, as the hosting companies grew, so too did the buyers and suddenly businesses could easily get a piece of web real estate and reach customers, who may never of heard of them otherwise..

At first the process of creating and hosting a website was very expensive, so online businesses were limited, but as competition increased, prices lowered and this enabled many more people to buy hosting and create a web page. This allowed trade to blossom even within communities.

Buyers and sellers were able to meet within these communities and trade increased. It did not matter where you were from, what country, what class, you could get a website and have a web presence and you could buy and sell.

Eventually there were options to get hosting for free. These hosts are funded by advertising and this meant that anyone could create a small web page. They could share photos and information with family and friends easily and instantly. People could sell and buy things that they had never dreamed of before.

People could trade from home and it has opened up world trade to millions. This has allowed world trade to grow by billions of dollars and huge companies have emerged.

Ah, the homepage. Increasingly the first impression of your business, this piece of prime real estate can make or break your cred. So what can you do to keep your visitors reading? Check out these 10 do’s and don’ts to give your homepage the edge.

DO make it blatantly obvious what your website is about

Whilst this in itself sounds blatantly obvious, this is the one thing you need your website to achieve. Together, taglines, menus, headings and a concise blurb can immediately identify who you are and what you do.

DO set the theme and tone for the rest of your website.

Although your homepage does not strictly have to be identical to the rest of your website, it strictly has to set the theme and tone. Consistency between pages means your visitors won’t have to re-learn the way your website works each time they browse to a new page.

The layout grid, menu names, colours, fonts and writing style should not be up for negotiation. This is particularly important for those visitors who don’t land on your homepage upon entry.

DO tie your layout with your call to action.

Think of how you’d like your sections to flow together, then logically organise them on the page to lead to your call to action. Whether you’d like your visitors to sign up to your newsletter or read your blog through to buying a house online, this applies to all websites, regardless of your size.

DO make the text easy to scan.

Stick with short blocks of two to three sentences. Bolden your carefully considered keywords, but don’t be too bold-happy; you’ll annoy rather than assist.

DO make it a cinch to contact you.

Having a contact page with your contact details may not be enough. If your call to action requires your visitor to pick up the phone and make a booking, then make sure the call to action and the phone number is on your homepage.

Go one step further and have this available on every page. Many print a particular page from a website for future reference or to show another. Make it easy for them to contact you without having to revisit your website.

DON’T make me think.

This is what your homepage (actually, your entire website) should do. Steve Krug’s Don’t Make Me Think! chats about how we really use the web and techniques to make our websites a breeze to use. I love this book because it’s to the point, purposely short and a great laugh to boot. You should see my copy.

DON’T try to promote everything.

You’ll only clutter the homepage, bugger the layout and make your visitors think. Constantly remind yourself about the role of your homepage and stick to it.

DON’T have a Flash spectacular as your homepage.

Not only are you making life difficult for search engines to crawl and index the key page of your website, you are driving your visitors to click on one very popular button: skip. Don’t let your visitors start their website experience on the wrong click.

DON’T scare the wits out of your visitors with music.

They won’t be impressed - or likely to visit again. Enough said.

DON’T use images that take an age to load.

Images too big in data size will keep your visitors waiting… and waiting. Use images which are small in size and load quickly yet are sharp and clean to view. Unprofessional images portray unprofessional business.

Without great web design, you cannot have great business. Thus, it is imperative that your website is the best that it can be, and that if you need to cut corners in starting your business, that you don’t cut corners with your website design. There are so many different options to choose that you can easily become overwhelmed, but it’s important that you don’t stress over it. There are plenty of qualified designers out there that can help you create the website of your dreams, if you are willing to ask for help. Sure, it might be an extra expense that you weren’t anticipating, but in today’s fast-paced e-commerce society, you cannot have a successful business without a web presence, so web design is essential to your company.

If you find templates that you want to use, you might be able to handle designing your own website without assistance from professional designers. However, if you want your web design to be top-notch, it will definitely be a worthwhile investment to hire a web designer. There are so many different options that you have with a website; you shouldn’t limit yourself to do-it-yourself templates just because they’re cheaper than investing in good website design services. Cost shouldn’t be your first priority with this aspect of your business, because the investment of a good website will pay for itself for many years to come by providing you with ongoing business for your company.

From the actual number of pages and what content you want, all the way down to the color of the font and background, web design can be completely customized, which is a great benefit to those who want to stand out from the crowd. There are so many choices that it might seem overwhelming, but you can often get a free consultation and help in choosing what would work best for your company and its specific needs. With the growth of internet business, your website needs to be 100% original and stand out from the crowd in order to get business. There are billions of websites that you’ll be competing with, so this is something you need to take very seriously.

As always a good website design will mean nothing without good traffic. Make sure you test, test, and retest your website using targeted traffic not random untargeted traffic that you bought from another website.

It is well stated fact that the positioning of your site on the search engine largely decided its success rate if you trying to sell service or product through online medium. It actually can make or break your presence in the web world. For this reason only, rising a site’s ranking on popular search Engines is the most desirable thing for a webmaster. And when it is so desirable, it is natural to believe that that the task is equally tough. In fact, in order to double or triple your visitor count or to boost up your customer base, you have got to perform a series of smartly planned SEO actions including the very prominent activity of implementation of SEO web design skills.

SEO is a bouquet of several intelligent techniques designed to get you the web traffic your site including SEO friendly web design. It plays a pivotal role in achieving results you can bank on and lets you create an eye catching site that has all the necessary options to retain your visitors and have them click their way to the shopping cart, membership sign up or wherever you want. On the other hand, even visitors prefer to stay longer on sites with good presentation rather than complicated appearances. Moreover, in this hyper-competitive new web environment, several websites have declared that the old techniques of click-based advertising and hyperlinks are not of much use now. Hence, all such facts clearly prove that website design contributes as one of the significant elements for internet marketing and business and thereby, should be focused with great heed.

Let us now take our attention to a much obscure question - what makes a good and profitable web design? The most important features of any SEO Friendly site design are good Content Management, pleasing presentation, technical aspects, enhanced visibility and user friendly. A user often judges the site by its presentation and content, hence, content should always be informative, unique and relevant. Moreover, it should be written in the interest of customers or and upon the focuses of your website.

Secondly, presentation must involve captivating usage of graphics, textures, colors, tones and so on. As far as the technical aspects are concerned, intelligent utilization of HTML coding, graphic designs, flash, alignments, multimedia and other such things should be united together to create an exclusive web design. Third important aspect that should be highlighted while creating your SEO friendly site design is direct interaction with potential customers and visitors. A site can be termed as an effective website design only, if it is highly user-friendly and SEO friendly and thus, these two points must be adequately embedded into the making and processing of a website.

In today’s immensely saturated internet environment, advertisers have has confirmed that easy and appealing site visibility is king. Ensure that every page of your site has the “title” and “description” tags with good keywords to describe the page content. Also, remember that the number of words for the title should not go beyond 9 and that for the description must not cross 20 words in order to stay within the limits of most search engines.

So, if you are thinking of getting your site revamped or freshly designed, dig well through the market before reaching to any decision. Gensofts india is one of the trusted names in the fraternity of good, genuine and authentic site designers.

My wife and teenage daughter enjoy watching a reality TV show called, “What Not to Wear.” The show’s guests are ordinary people who are nominated by their friends and relatives because they are “walking fashion disasters.”

I have to admit that it’s amusing to watch the nominees stand awkwardly by as fashion gurus Stacy London and Clinton Kelly begin the fashion transformation by throwing out virtually every piece of their wardrobes.

Most guests on the show don’t want or think they need a makeover. But by the end of the program, when they see their “new look” in the mirror, their reluctance and fear have turned into excitement and gratitude.

Does Your Website Need a Makeover?

Like the guests on “What Not to Wear,” you may be the last to know.

Why? Because when you’re totally enmeshed in the daily pressures of your business, it’s hard to take the time to step back and objectively evaluate your website. Besides, you might lack the expertise to make an accurate appraisal.

But your website is important! Often it’s the only image of your business others see. It needs to be professional and effective if you want to make a positive impression and get the results you want.

If your website isn’t up to snuff, you’re losing money right now! A modest investment in upgrading your website can pay big dividends.

To Find Out If Your Website Needs a Makeover, Answer These Eight Questions:

1. Can visitors to your site quickly discern what you do and why they might need your products or services? If you don’t emotionally connect with them in the first few seconds, they’ll move on.

2. Does your home page clearly present your USP? Your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is the major advantage that differentiates you from your competition. It must be so strong that your prospects will be moved to choose you!

3. Is your copy clear, concise, and convincing; or is it verbose, rambling, and boring? Streamlining your copy by 15% can increase the impact of your site by 30%. Focusing on the benefits of your products and services will excite your potential buyers. Focusing primarily on the facts and features of your produces and services will put them to sleep.

4. Is your site well designed? Make sure that it’s easy to navigate and inviting to read. Choose a writing style, colors, and graphics that are appropriate for your audience.

5. Does your website make it easy for visitors to take the actions you desire? Design your site so that it converts visitors into leads and leads into buyers. Invite them to sign up for your newsletter, download your white papers, request sales information, place orders, and take the other actions that will build your business.

6. Do you back up your assertions with supporting evidence? Testimonials are powerful sales tools. Scatter some throughout your site and place the rest on a separate “Testimonials” page. Showcase completed projects and samples of your work. Offer free downloads of white papers and articles you have written. They’re convincing evidence that you know your stuff.

7. Do you anticipate and overcome probable objections? Neutralize the questions and concerns your visitors might have by addressing them directly and convincingly. Offer a money-back guarantee and other incentives to help put your prospects at ease.

8. Is your website optimized for search engines? Have you placed the right keywords in the right places so as to increase your search engine rankings? Have you successfully integrated keywords into your copy without diminishing the impact of your marketing message?

A Brief Word about Marketing

While we’re on the subject of search engine optimization (SEO), here’s a word of caution. Beware of SEO “experts” who promise to catapult your site to the first page of Google. Most are more interested in your money than your rankings.

Before you spend lots of money trying to rank high with the search engines, ask yourself how important search engines are to your business. Only a few businesses will get top billings, and they’ll expend lots of time, money, and effort to do it.

Use cost-effective methods to get your message out and drive traffic to your site. For example, consider publishing a newsletter or blog. Send out news releases. Submit articles with links to your site to on-line directories, so they in turn will make them available to thousands of websites.

For sound advice on intelligent Web marketing, read “Guerrilla Marketing on the Internet” by Levinson, Meyerson, and Scarborough and “The New Rules of Marketing and PR” by David Meerman Scott.

Well, What’s the Verdict? Does Your Website Need a Makeover?

If you answered “no” to any of the eight questions above, it probably does. Don’t delay in making the necessary investment of time and money to upgrade it. The sooner you act, the sooner your new, improved site will be increasing your profitability 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

Content is the most important part of a website - it informs the customer of your products and services, acts as a sales pitch and is the most influential factor when converting a visit to a sale.  The saying “content is king” has been around for many years and is still as true today as it has always been.

When creating website copy, many people write off the top of their heads.  They know their products or business well so they are able to do this and still write fairly effective content.  However, once in place this content is often left unchanged for years.  As time goes by, the message becomes less and less relevant.  A good way to check if you are one of these people is to ask yourself “what does my content say?”  Many people will be unable to answer this in detail because they have not read through their site’s content in many months or even years.

In order to your content as up to date and relevant as possible, it is advisable to read through your content every few months.  Look at your site through the eyes of your visitors, thoroughly reading and scrutinising content.  Ask yourself how relevant the content is to the keywords that it appears under.  Ask yourself whether the site looks trustworthy.

When you have looked at your site in detail, go back to the search engines and visit your competitors’ sites.  Go through the same process and ask yourself which website you would buy from and why.  Look and the strengths and weaknesses of all of the sites when compared to yours.  Which site gives the best price? Which is easier to navigate?  Which ones provide free delivery?  Once you have done this, you will have a much better understanding of how you can improve your site to help convert visitors into sales.

Remember that today’s Internet shoppers are very shrewd.  They will shop around for the best deal and small differences can make or break a sale.  Even if your product has not changed, the market will have and the most successful marketers and managers will know exactly what their site says and exactly what their competitors’ sites say.

Good multimedia website design can prove to be the strongest positive factor for certain sites helping in putting your business in higher profit skies! It is a combination of various types of media like animation, audio components, content, photo images, videos and so on.

When a skilled website designer combines all these elements together in proper harmony, results can be very enticing. Right amount and kind of multimedia assimilation in a website can lead it to be excellent looking and interactive. It might sound simpler but developing interactive multimedia sites can require special skills and systematic planning for perfect online presentation.

Selection and combination of these elements is dependent on your company’s aim and the message you wish to convey to the target audience. It can be well decided by your web designer after quoting all your priorities and needed details. Take care that while trying to woo the customers, your multimedia website design does not loose track of the primary message to be conveyed.

Before beginning the project understand what are the specific requirements and the budget. If the exact objectives of the project are clear than crafting the plans for multimedia development becomes easy and hassle-free. Make a plan about what materials and human personnel would be needed for timely completion of project. You can also prepare list of problems that might be faced while execution of the plan and difficulties that can occur so that back-up plan can be made. Therefore effective planning is always helpful in multimedia development.

Planning of multimedia project depends upon your company budget, so it is mandatory to have an idea how much can you spend for such projects. Based on which elements and components are to be inserted in the project, the costing can be calculated. So you can decide which features to be used and which to be left out.

After that follows the designing process, where the website designers frame out designs giving life to the ideas and imaginations. Time period needed for project completion is affected by its size, complexity, techniques used, skills being deployed, etc. The design and its quality are affected by the software being used and how compatible it is with different media forms. The technology of multimedia can be utilized for producing advertisements, brochures, cartoons, product demonstrations, slide shows and so on.

After designing the multimedia website design project, test it for perfection. All the elements and its performance have to be tested with various operating systems. This process would show the designer and let them know if any loopholes are present so that the final product is flawless.

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Custom website design has more to do with how you lay out your website and less about hiring a company to set up your site the way you want it. When you first consider what your website should look like, you are going to want to include certain pieces of information. Before you even stop to consider what you are going to write on your web pages, consider what type of web site design layout you want. Once you have determined that, putting the text into place is easy.

A Custom design should include a bare minimum of pages that are important for every website, especially one that is selling a service or product. These pages can always be expanded upon at a later time, but for now, your custom website design only needs to include the most pertinent information. Yes, you have the option of hiring a professional to work on your custom website design in South Wales, but when you meet with their representative to talk about your website you can go in forearmed with your own idea about how your website design should look.

So what should you include as a bare minimum in your design? Here is what we recommend to start with;

Home page - this is the page that tells your customers what you are offering them and it should give them an overview of what they will find on your website.

Products and services - these pages should be the life blood of your custom website design as they are the reason your visitors are surfing your website. You should have a separate page dedicated to each product of service that includes as much detail as possible about your product or service including your price and whether or not you offer any form of warranty or guarantee. Also, make sure you include your return/replacement policy so that your visitors know where they stand.

Contact Us and About Us - these pages need to be included in your website design as they give your visitors important information about where you are, how to contact you, and what your credentials are that qualify you to sell the products or services you are offering. Put your contact information on as many pages and in as many places possible so that your customers can easily get a hold of you.

Frequently Asked Questions - this page should include standard questions and answers that everyone will ask over and over again. Start out with the basic stuff and add to the page as more and more people start to ask the same questions that you have yet to include. By making sure this is a component of your website design in South Wales, you will save both you and your customer time and money.

There are plenty of other pages that you can add to your website as it grows, but by starting out with these few pages in your custom website design you will find yourself off and running in no time.

So you want to have a professional design for your website, but you’re not sure where to start when it comes to finding affordable web site design in Cardiff South Wales? You are going to find yourself feeling confused .

That’s okay. You have every right to be. It’s hard to weed out the amateurs from the professionals, the English speaking from the non-English speaking. However, the task is not as daunting as it sounds. You just need to know what to look for when it comes to hiring an affordable web site design firm.

When you start to look for an affordable web site design firm go ahead and search for them on the Internet using a search engine like Google. The websites that pop up at the top of the list is a good place to start, but remember that their idea of affordable may not match yours. Compare these affordable website design companies and don’t be afraid to go a page or two deep in the search in your comparison. You may find the perfect company on page four as compared to a company on page one although if they are good they should be on page one!

Another way to find an affordable web site design company is by visiting forums and message boards that deal in web site design. The designers who are really interested in perfecting their craft and helping you out will be hanging out here. Read through the boards and all of the comments that are made to find the ones who seem to be the most helpful and know their business. Check out their profiles, websites, and other references listed to make sure they represent the type of affordable web site design firm that you are looking for.

Rating sites that rate customer satisfaction with affordable web site design providers is another place to look at. These sites rate all sorts of things, not just web designers, so you may find information on something else you need without even trying. Additionally, try using a freelancer service or freelancer company that offers web design. This is another place where people who are in the business and are truly wanting to help hang out.

Whatever affordable web design firm you choose in and around South Wales, make sure you check them thoroughly before hiring them. Don’t be afraid to ask for references and get a quote for your work in writing complete with a time line for completion. Ask questions about things you’re not sure of or don’t understand and make sure you are clear about every aspect of the project and the agreement you are going into before you pay for the work. Never pay for the job up front. Instead put the payment in escrow or pay in stages until the work is done.

While you want someone that is affordable to design your website just keep in mind that cheaper is not always going to be better. You want the company you work with to be professional and to follow your specifications. You can easily find affordable website design in and around Cardiff if you don’t mind taking the time to look for it. The right company will pay off for you, and if you like the work they do you’ll be more likely to recommend them to someone else.

Regardless of what type of website or business you’re pursuing on the web, you and your site must be seen as “credible” in the eyes of your visitors or it’s “game over” before you even get started. Visitors must believe you are someone who “knows their stuff” and is worth their time.

Therefore, instantly establishing this credibility is vital to your site’s success, especially online where people are still very distrustful of what they see and read. And if you’re selling something this “distrust meter” takes a giant leap of faith.

So here are some eight quick ways to instantly build trust with your site’s visitors and remember you only have a few nanoseconds to accomplish this difficult task.

So try these quick trust building methods:

1. Credibility Pre-header. Many marketers and webmasters try to get or place a credibility pre-header above their content, especially if you’re selling a product. “America’s #1 Affiliate Marketer according to Time Magazine, reveals all his secrets…”

Or something along those lines, but keep in mind, this pre-header must have a neutral third party blurb or statement which can be backed up. Quoting respected important sources such as major magazines, news programs, well known organizations or even other important web sites will instantly help establish your credibility in the mind of the viewer.

That’s why on a lot of sites you see such things as “As seen on Oprah” “As seen On CNN” or even the old stand-by “As seen on TV” will add credibility to what follows… just use the same concept on your own site. While you may not be able to boast those kinds of claims… you can usually come up with some important (well known websites) which feature your work or content. I like using sites like “Featured on Ezinearticles.com”, “Featured on Buzzle.com”, “Featured on SiteProNews”, while those places don’t have the power of a Larry King, Dr. Phil or Oprah… they do establish some instant credibility in the “eyes” of your visitor.

2. Picture and Bio. Have your picture and bio at the top of the page so that readers can instantly see who you are. Give your major accomplishments and successes because you must prove that you’re worth their time. Many savvy marketers use a two-columned page format where one side is used to establish credibility… where you place your picture, your bio, any awards your site has won and tons and tons of testimonials from your visitors and site users.

Use this whole side column all the way down your page to establish your credibility. As readers are reading your content or sales letter, they can glance over to see what you’re saying is backed up by other people.

3. Testimonials. As mentioned above, you should have testimonials on your page and plenty of them. These will give credibility to what you’re saying. You should also place a few of these testimonials in your main sales letter as well as to use the credibility of the person giving the recommendation to your best advantage.

Many big-name online marketers (Gurus) do have enormous credibility in the “eyes” of those reading the content. These testimonials can go a long way in establishing your credibility as well. Use as many as you can possibly get. Don’t forget that also adding recommendations from the BBB (Better Business Bureaus) and placing securely buttons/logos does also help in establishing your site’s credibility.

4. Use Videos. You have probably noticed many people are now using videos on their sites and content. Videos are an excellent way to immediately establish contact and credibility with your viewers… you are indeed a “real person” and not just some written words floating in cyberspace. Of course, the more personality and likability you can bring to these videos will help further establish your credibility.

Many marketers and webmasters also use videos for their testimonials, anyone can make up fake text testimonials and place them on a web page but actually seeing and hearing 10 or 15 videos of customers talking about your product or content will definitely give you more credibility.

5. Professional Graphics and Design. We have all seen the cheap-looking template site that immediately says “template” in the mind of the viewer. Now the actual content on this site may be great but surfers are becoming increasingly web-savvy and will know a cheaply designed site when they see one and immediately hit the back button. Ouch!

Your site must appear professional in the “eyes” of the beholder. Using professional graphics and design will help you establish immediate credibility for your site. In that split second when you have to capture your visitor’s attention, you want to make that all important first impression a good one. You want them to say “This site’s a Keeper!”

6. Use Social Media Sites. Visitors want to know you’re a real person or company, so establishing profiles in all the social media sites such as Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace, YouTube, Linkedin… gives credibility to who’s speaking. They can check you out and see what everyone is saying about you. They can discover who your contacts are and what kind of reputation you have built up. These social sites can have enormous influence in building a solid relationship with your visitors. It can definitely help establish your credibility; so use them.

7. Content And Writing. Of course, the proof is in the pudding, your content must be compelling and convincing. It must show you know what you’re talking about and that you’re worth reading. All the flash and window dressing will be worthless if you don’t have quality content on your site.

It is this quality content that will ultimately establish your credibility in the minds of your visitors. All the other factors are important but “what you say and how you say it” will be the main determining factor in how much credibility and trust you earn from your site’s visitors; so choose your words carefully.

8. Pre-built Credibility. One last point on establishing online credibility has to be discussed. I believe many webmasters don’t fully understand the importance of building credibility BEFORE your visitor even gets to your site. Your marketing strategy doesn’t just start at your site, it must include building your brand and reputation outside of it.

One obvious example, getting top rankings in Google for your major keywords does give your site a lot of credibility. Or achieving top rankings in any search engine for that matter, but especially in Google, I have found getting top rankings gives credibility to your web pages. People respect Google and they have come to respect the search results and in turn, some of this credibility is passed along to your site.

Another more important way to “pre-build” or “pre-sell” yourself or your site’s content is to write simple articles that are distributed all over the web. Visitors coming to your site from these articles will already be more familiar with you and your information. You have hopefully already gained some credibility in their eyes and may just be worth checking out.