December 8, 2008 at 7:01 am · Filed under Web_Design
You’ve thought about it and you’re ready to go. You’re ready to give your business an online presence. You want your own website. That’s great but unless you are doing it yourself, you would be shopping for a website designer. Some people would design their own websites but most people prefer to save themselves the time and money and hand the job over to the professionals.
But how do you choose a great website designer from the countless website designers in this world? How do you determine who is good and who is passable?
The below may help you decide.
View the web designer’s website.
Ask to see the designer’s own website. Yes, one would expect a designer to first and foremost design a great website for himself but you would be surprised that some ‘web designers’ may not even have his/her own website!Once you get to their website, how do you like their website? Is it designed in the kind of style you want? Overall, a web designer’s website should give you a good indication of what you are getting, in terms of style and design.
Check out their previous work.
Next up is their web design portfolio. By this I mean work that is done for a client and is live on the web. Get the website designer to show you his or her portfolio. Great designers will often prove it with a good work portfolio which in many cases are online for you to view anyway.
Look at their experience.
It is practical and makes sense because the longer they have been in the business, the more they understand the Internet and its character and the better they can design for it. In the web design business (as with any technology-related business), things move really fast. A good web designer should be able to show you that he has been around long enough to understand how the web works and how he or she should design for this medium.
Ask about website usability.
It is possible to design a gorgeous website without any idea of making it usable or even user-friendly. Designing a website for usability means the designer is able to focus on users’ needs, making it easy for users to navigate around the website and achieve what they came to do. It’s not about satisfying the website owner or the web designer’s ego. An effective web designer combines both form and function when designing a website so it sets out to do what it is supposed to do. After all, your purpose for having a website is to gain attention for your business, sell your products and services and give your competitor a run for their money, right?
Ask about future support for your website.
Ask if your web designer is willing to support your web needs in the future. It is myth that once you get a website done, it is finished. With web technology growing by leaps and bounds, getting a website is just the beginning of the story. You need to plan for future growth and your web designer should be able to design with the future in mind. What happens if you want to add a forum to your website? Or a membership-only site? Can it be done? What about having a content management system? How about extra programming, e-commerce capability and other add-ons? Granted, not every web designer can support programming but he or she should let you know that if you need it, they can get it done for you or else find someone who can do it for you.
Nic Sim is the owner and founder of http://www.RedboxStudio.com - a web design firm dedicated to helping solo professionals and small businesses go online affordably and successfully with its easy to use, no-fuss Redbox DIY Website.
Visit http://www.RedboxStudio.com for more details.
Tags: ecommerce, professional, web portfolio, web programming, web usability, website designerecommerce, professional, web portfolio, web programming, web usability, website designerShare This
August 4, 2008 at 7:14 am · Filed under Web_Design
Design And Layout
Before we cover the basics of designing an ecommerce website, let me ask you a simple question: Which do you think is more likely to succeed? A website with a clear, simple and professional design, which is well targeted at the niche market? Or a website with flashy animation, graphics or audio that detracts from its primary purpose - to convert visitors to customers?
Obviously, a clear and professional design is better able to convert online visitors to paying customers. When designing your website, pay attention to the following:
Since the online community is generally impatient, your homepage must be able to capture the visitors’ attention within the first few seconds, or they are likely to lose interest quickly and leave your website. In general, you should aim to capture the visitors’ interest within the first ten seconds of their visit and persuade them to continue browsing your site. Thus, your headlines and sub-headlines should be well written to catch the visitors’ attention and get them to continue reading.
Your salescopy are the words that capture your visitors’ attention and compel them to make purchases. A good balance between salescopy and graphics on your website enables you to present the value of your products effectively. Do not focus solely on either aspect - a good balance of both gives you a sales process with the highest chance of sales.
Navigation must be consistent. Your navigation links must be named clearly, and your navigation menu should be placed consistently on a specific location of your web pages, like horizontally across the top or vertically on the left. As a rule of thumb, your visitor should be able to access any information they’re looking for with a maximum of 3 additional clicks.
The opt-in offer is a web form that you can use to collect the visitors’ email addresses. Apart from getting visitors to buy from you, the secondary purpose of your site should be to collect the visitors’ email addresses, allowing you to send product promotions to them in future. Hence, your opt-in offer must be placed at a prominent spot on your website, e.g. on the top-left corner of your homepage, to yield the highest visitor opt-in rate.
When designing your website, there is one crucial point you need to keep in mind - your website serves as a platform to display your catalogue of products to your customers. The aim of your website is then to convert the visitors of your website into buyers.
Remember to focus on leading the visitor through the sales process step-by-step. Produce clear instructions and directions to tell the visitor what to do, and not leave the visitor to figure out how to make a purchase. This is an extremely important factor influencing the conversion rate of your website.
Images
The images you display on your site should mainly comprise of photographs of your products. Do not include fanciful ‘cartoon’ graphics or animation - these make your site appear unprofessional, and drive your visitors away in a hurry!
With regards to the image file formats, all your photograph files should be in the JPG format. This is the best format to display your pictures with excellent quality and low file size at the same time. Don’t forget - the time it takes for your webpage to load should be capped at a minimum.
On the other hand, images like your business logo and navigation buttons should be in GIF format. These pictures do not require resolution as high as your photographs - and the GIF format offers the lowest size for such files.
Keywords And Search Terms
Your business keywords and search terms are also critical considerations when designing your website. Deciding on your keywords beforehand optimizes your website for the major search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN. Given below are the steps to take for proper search engine optimization.
Before writing your content and salescopy, first brainstorm a list of keywords related to your business. The Keyword Suggestion Tool from Yahoo! Search Marketing is very useful for producing a list of keywords. The exact number of keywords depends on the range of products you have.
When designing your website, include these keywords in the page titles, meta tags and heading tags. Doing so will definitely improve your search engine rankings for those particular keywords. Additionally, you should also sprinkle your keywords uniformly throughout the page when writing the page content.
Browser Compatibility
Apart from Internet Explorer, the online community also uses other internet browsers like Netscape Navigator. When designing your website, you need to ensure that it is compatible with other internet browsers, or your website will appear with a messy layout. Ensure that visitors using other browsers like Netscape can also view your product catalogue with ease.
Things To Avoid
Overuse of banners, graphics and color. Too many pictures or banners only distract the visitors from their purpose - to browse through your products and make a purchase. To reiterate, your website should have a simple, professional design that serves one purpose only - to get your visitors to buy from you.
Slow loading time. How many times have you left a website during the first few seconds of your visit, simply because you were too impatient to wait for the entire webpage to load? Remember to design your website such that it loads within the first 2-3 seconds for an average broadband user. Minimize the size of your graphics if possible.
Patterned, colorful backgrounds. Do professional websites like Amazon.com or Yahoo.com use patterned or colorful backgrounds? Using a white background is a safe bet in most cases.
Poor spelling and grammar. The text on your website must be grammatically correct with accurate spelling. Nothing diminishes your credibility as quickly as poor spelling and grammar.
In conclusion, you need to pay attention to the design and navigation, the images, the keywords, and also the browser compatibility for your website. Avoid fanciful graphics, slow loading time and inaccurate spelling when designing your website. Remember - the single critical aim of your website is to convert your visitors into paying customers.
Ray Yee is the founder of Dropshipperscentral, a website that provides a wealth of informative articles, guides and resources on everything you’ll need to know about setting up and marketing a Drop Ship Business. Click here for the Drop Ship Directory from http://www.dropshipperscentral.com
Tags: ecommerce, online store, web design, web development, web programming, websiteecommerce, online store, web design, web development, web programming, websiteShare This
July 24, 2008 at 3:09 am · Filed under Web_Design
You’re trying to run your business, please your customers, supervise employees, and now you have to find a great website builder, too? The process can seem so overwhelming that many business owners simply put it off until they fall too far behind the times. Then they rush and find a designer who may, or may not, meet their needs.
The key, however, is taking the process one step at a time. Choosing the right website builder for your design needs is essential, but first you have to set aside some time for self-evaluation and planning.
Consider Your Needs
What are you really looking for in a web designer? Do you just need a logo or do you need a full service website package? Maybe you put together a website already and need a content management company to come in and update your site regularly. Whatever your needs, define them as you begin your search so that you can communicate your needs clearly with your prospects.
Plan Your Budget
Choosing a web design firm often comes down to money in the end. You may not be able to afford the very best firm in the industry, but that doesn’t mean you have to choose the worst either. Before searching for a web design firm, decide exactly how much you would like to spend and how much you can spend. Your plan should provide you with the ideal cost and with what you would be willing to pay if the perfect company’s services cost a little more.
Create a Timeline
How long do you have to put this site together? If you only have two weeks, then you need to find a company who can effectively deliver the product in two weeks. You may have to sacrifice features to finish so quickly, but you need a company who can deliver on time.
If you have months to put together a site, then choose the best company for the job. If you have the time to create a sensational site, and if you have the money to back it up, create the best site possible. Just know that if you say you have months and then change your mind, your design firm will not be able to finish everything immediately.
Determine Their Specialty
Web design firms generally specialize in certain technologies, and you need to be able to determine whether their specialties will meet your needs. Always ask for three examples of their technology. Anyone can tell you that they can do something, but that doesn’t mean they have done it. You don’t want your web design firm to be learning how to bid on Google AdWords or figuring out Flash Video while trying to complete your site on time. Let them prove their expertise with specific examples from their portfolio.
Always Contact References
Look at a web design firm’s portfolio carefully. Ask for references and then contact them. Talking to past clients is the best way to discover exactly how a project turned out. Although the company may be able to provide you with testimonials, talking to another business owner will always provide you with a more detailed, honest description of the project’s success or failure.
Make Your Decision
After you have evaluated your needs, created a budget, set a timeline, and contacted references, you are ready to make your decision. Remember that you should always meet with the contact person in person if possible or have a phone conversation so that you can determine whether your personalities mesh. You’ll be spending a lot of time working with this company, and you want them to be the best, but you should also make sure you find someone you can get along with so that the process is enjoyable.
This article was written for Animal 57 Productions, a Boston web design company, by Amber Smith, President of Polished Papers, LLC.
Tags: Flash designer, graphic artist, internet marketing, web design, web programming, website designerFlash designer, graphic artist, internet marketing, web design, web programming, website designerShare This
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