Web Design Development Articles

Those of us who’ve been involved in running websites sometimes forget that the process of putting together one’s first site can seem a little daunting.  Although I barely remember building my first website, I do remember having that “will this really work” feeling and the slight nervousness associated with it.

If that’s the way you’re feeling as you approach your first site, take a deep breath and relax.  It isn’t nearly as difficult as you might think.  In fact, it’s going to be relatively easy for you to put together a good site that will serve its function for you.

That’s because the Internet has really grown up over the last few years. Part of that maturation process has involved putting tools and information in the hands of those who are just getting started.  Once upon a time, not so long ago, building your own site was a real “do it yourself” project.  You had to learn a great deal from scratch.  Today, there is so much readily available guidance and so many great tools that anyone can get started on the web very quickly.

That should make you feel a little better.  Just in case it doesn’t completely settle your nerves, however, let me remind you of one other thing:  You can’t break anything.  This isn’t like flipping the switch on some kind of electrical project.  Nothing can explode.  No one is going to get hurt.  You don’t need to worry about the risk of fire!

That’s really one of the most beautiful things about building a site.  If you goof up, you can correct the mistake.  Nothing is carved in stone and there’s always a “do over” available if you want it.  You can’t do any real damage to anything and you can keep on plugging away until you get things exactly the way you want them to be.

If you still have a few butterflies and you’re wondering if you’re going to be able to get this done, take a little time to get some good website building tutorials before you dig in.  Knowledge is power and a little extra information may help you to do a better job while adding to your comfort level.

Before you know it, you’ll be totally comfortable with site building.  It won’t be long before you’re saying, “I remember building my first website.  It wasn’t that rough,” to someone who’s getting ready to take the plunge for the first time!

Ideas are one thing, putting them into action is another thing entirely. You find out that many people come up with ideas for websites that they never get round to executing. Some never get as far as ordering a website hosting service, while others do substantially better by getting a website up but fall victim to one factor or the other and later abandon the same website that they have invested their money and efforts in. This is a very bad habit and even the most focused of individuals tends to fall victim to this habit at one time or the other in their lives. When it comes to the Internet however, the number of people guilty habit seems to be a lot larger. If you are really interested in avoiding the circumstances that may lead to you abandoning your website and a potentially great idea, you might want to take a look at these ten tips that will guide you and show you how to follow through with your ideas.

1.) Have a Detailed but Flexible Plan - Having a plan is essential when you want to put your idea into play. Your plan should be as detailed as possible and incorporate various elements that will be needed before your website takes off, when it takes off and after it has been fully launched and is in operation. This plan should be detailed but flexible allowing any necessary modification when the need arises.

2.) Tailor Your Idea to a Budget You Have Available and Which You Can Afford - When you’ve come up with a detailed plan, you’ll have a better chance of running through everything and figuring out how much your plan is going to cost you. If the final cost is more than what you are prepared to put up with, don’t shelve the idea and forget about it, instead take a look at the plan critically and see what can be removed and how you can reduce costs. Also make sure you have the funds available for the project.

3.) Keep it Simple, Avoid the Complex - A lot of people have ideas that tend to incorporate everything great they can think of. This is usually a recipe for disaster, handling a website that has different capabilities and features is a whole lot difficult than juggling a bunch of tennis balls. If you want to start a news website, focus on one or a few niches, keep your website design simple and make sure you have enough content to keep your website going. Avoid doing complex stuff right from the start like adding video features or twelve sub-categories of news items, doing too much too soon is one quick way down the road to having an abandoned website as you’ll quickly find out that you can’t keep up. Once you’ve figured out the basics and you know how to handle the complexities of managing your website you can make more complex upgrades gradually.

4.) Profit is Good but You Need to Work First - Not every website is started as a hobby, a large number of website ideas are started to make money and there’s really nothing wrong with wanting to operate a website idea that makes you money. However if you aren’t ready to take out the time to develop, maintain and market your website when it is launched and you want results quickly, you are pretty likely going to abandon your website pretty soon. Take pride in working on your website idea, adding content, getting incoming links and other things that should make your site popular over time. It’s also important to have tracking tools to ensure you are making the required progress, in time success will come.

5.) Avoid the Doomsday Crowd - If there’s one thing you get a lot of on the Internet, it’s free advice from people you don’t know. Free advice isn’t always what you need, you’ll find a lot of people telling you that your idea is a dumb one and if you listen to a lot of this kind of stuff, you are bound to get discouraged pretty easily and you’re bound to abandon your website and all your ideas. Think positively, avoid unnecessary negativity and work hard, find a means to constantly improve your ideas and you will be on the path to a having a successful site.

6.) Choose Something That Interests You - It isn’t exactly compulsory that you must set up a website that deals with stuff you are madly in love with, but you must be fairly interested in whatever your website or idea is about. If you find the subject matter boring the chances are that you won’t want to deal with the equally bothersome and boring task of constantly updating your site.

7.) Choose a Hosting Package That Meets Your Needs - People tend to pick out hosting plans as if they are in a bodybuilding contest, there’s a lot of interest in getting a large package with all the available features. If you can afford it and it’s really what you need, fine. However, don’t go looking for the biggest if it does not match your immediate needs. You might find it hard to keep up with payments later on and leave your site abandoned.

8.) Have a Website That is Easy to Update - The reason blogs are so popular is because they are easy to set up and easy to update. A website that is hard to update is never attractive to the owner and least of all its audience.

9.) Fresh Content is Constantly Required - Even if your website is a business website, find a way of getting content that is frequently updated and which is about something that has to do with what you have to offer. Fresh content is the key to repeat user traffic as well as new visitors. Always keep more content than you need ready for addition in case you fall into a situation where you are short on ideas and your site requires updating.

10.) Seek Out Similar Websites - No one is an Island unto themselves, if your website concerns a particular niche, make sure you take the time out to seek out other websites and people who operate in that niche, this way you catch up on information, learn new tricks and constantly have a chance to improve and update your website.

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.

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!

1. Frames or no frames?
In deciding whether your site should or should not have frames, please note the following:

(a) Advantages of frames:

• Allows a faster loading time since fixed.
• Navigation bar or header made at the top in the frame gives easy access to the visitor, i.e., no scrolling back and forth for the user.
• Improve the navigation by providing a clear structure.
• It makes changes to be made very easy if fixed with CSS.

(b) Disadvantages:

• Search engine crawlers can not navigate through the frames i.e. no indexing in the search engines.
• Many visitors find frame annoying.
• A visitor cannot bookmark any specific page of your website.
• The URL of every page remains static. All pages will open under the same URL.
• Another common problem pertains to Refresh and Reload . When a visitor tries to refresh any page, it will take him back to original frame set.

(c) Research what kind of site you want and who are your potential visitors. If you are to cater to a wide audience and are interested in getting your site crawled by search engines, you will find one option and that is, “better go without frames”.

(d) Do not forget to offer a site map or index to facilitate the navigation and access to any information you provide.

2. Charts:

(a) Too many graphic slows the load time. Keep in mind that the majority of users when entering a page that takes long to load, usually get tired and go.

(b) Also keep in mind that many users to navigate more quickly “shut down” the graphics load. However, a website with little or no graphic is “boring” and unattractive. The visuals help to keep the visitor. Incomplete sentence

(c) Use graphics, but with prudence. Text offers an alternative to graphics, especially if they link to other pages.

3. Do not forget to check that your website is working properly with the two most popular browsers (Internet Explorer and Firefox). As majority of the users around the world explore internet on these browsers only.

All those cute little doodles and colorful designs are great, but is that what makes your web design successful? Just ask any of those that spent hours on the design of their website or hundreds of dollars to have a spruced up site? They will quickly tell you that the designs and special little art work is not the only reason for the success of the site, in fact many of these business owners had to learn it the hard way. Looking great is important and a site must be aesthetically pleasing, but it must also incorporate tools and other facts that bring people to the site. Without a good marketing campaign the site can be as colorful and pretty as possible, but without traffic and revenue it won’t stay that way long.

A web design should be one that looks good and draws visitors, but also has internet marketing campaigns built in. A well designed site is one where the visitor, customer or prospect is unaware of the fact that they are even being marketed too. The keyword rich articles and other pay per click advertising that may have landed them on the site is soon forgotten when their attention is drawn by another part of the site. Keeping the attention of the visitor and ensuring that their interest is peaked is the most important part of any advertising plan.

So to sum it up a web design should be one that is catchy, and maybe even those fancy little doodles as well as designs. Just make sure that the marketing is also well carried out and the site will succeed much faster!

What Is Royalty-Free?

Royalty-Free refers to material that may be used for profit without paying royalties to the original creator.

What Is Stock Photography?

Stock photos are existing images that can be purchased and licensed for commercial or personal use.

What Are The Benefits Of Using Royalty-Free Stock Photography?

Webmasters and publishers can keep their website and ad campaign costs down by using royalty-free images in their marketing materials and webpages.

How Much Do Stock Photos Cost?

The prices of stock photos vary. Some micro-stock photography websites charge as little as $0.99 per photo, while other stock photo websites charge several hundreds of dollars for the use of a particular photograph. In most cases, when you purchase a license to use a photo, the rights are non-exclusive, meaning that others can purchase and use the same image in their marketing materials and websites. On the other hand, if you purchase “exclusive” rights to a photo, it means that you are the only one allowed to use that specific photo.

What Is Micro-Stock Photography?

Micro-Stock Photography is an offshoot of traditional stock photography. Micro-stock photography generally refers to a stock photography company that sources their images almost exclusively through the Internet. They often accept images from amateurs and hobbyists, and sell the images royalty-free at a very low rate.

What About These Royalty-Free Clip-Photo CDs Available On The Market?

Stock photos are often available on CD-ROMs containing hundreds of royalty-free images, at prices ranging from $30 to $300 per disc. Web Design Elements ( http://www.webdesign-elements.com ) is an example of one such disc vendor. Web Design Elements offers CD collections of stock photos, logos, and web layouts, all related to a specific theme.

How Do Photographers Protect Their Images On The Stock Photography Websites?

Photographers use a variety of techniques to protect their photos from being stolen or used without permission. Some photos are encrypted, while others are only viewable at a low resolution, or re-sized to thumbnail proportions prior to purchasing a license. Still others embed watermarks in their photos.

Can I Use Stock Photos Free Of Charge?

Not usually. Stock photography websites contain thousands of existing photographs that can be licensed for specific uses. Legally, you cannot use a photo you find on the web without the photographer’s permission. In regard to copyright laws, businesses must be very careful when using unlicensed photos — the penalties and fines for improperly using an unlicensed photo can be steep. Keep in mind that there are also risks in using “free” photographs.

Many of the free photo websites contain collaborative works from multiple photographers and artists. While the websites may attempt to monitor the images in their collections to avoid violation of copyright laws, there are no guarantees. If you opt to use photographs or images from a free portal, it is important to keep this in mind.

There are a number of options available to webmasters and publishers in need of images for web content, marketing campaigns, or packaging. Regardless of the website selected, be sure to read the agreement and licensing terms carefully to ensure that you are adhering to the guidelines.

Permissions: Permissions and notification of use not required.