SEO and Internet Marketing News

What is a website?

A web site usually consists of text and images. The first page of a web site is known as the Home page or Index. Some web sites use what is commonly called a Splash Page. Splash pages might include a welcome message, language or region selection, or disclaimer. Each web page within a web site is an HTML file which has its own URL.

After each web page is created, they are typically linked together using a navigation menu composed of hyperlinks. Faster browsing speeds have led to shorter attention spans and more demanding online visitors and this has resulted in less use of Splash Pages, particularly where commercial web sites are concerned.

Turning a website into an income source is a common practice for web-developers and website owners. There are several methods for creating a website business which fall into two broad categories, as defined below.

1. Content based sites

Some websites derive revenue by selling advertising space on the site

2. Product or service based sites

Some websites derive revenue by offering products or services. In the case of e-commerce websites, the products or services may be purchased at the website itself,

What makes a Successful Web Design

Content:

It is important to ensure the content of the site is clear, crisp and simple for a visitor to have quick access to information on the product or offerings. Simple and effective content can generate more business and can increase search ranking

Theme:

A good theme is a very important factor in web designing. An attractive theme will make the site eye-catching and it should be simple and user friendly. Provide a useful template for effective illustrations, links and content presentation.

Navigation:

Navigation should not be confusing. All the links have to be properly arranged and presented as related to the theme. The visitor should find the navigation transparent in order to access the information

In the past, Web designing services comprised, mainly of the web design coding and part of search engine marketing. But in today’s time, web designing service is an all encompassing service, which provides complete web solutions package to its clients. This is because, people these days do not have the time and resources to spend on creating a website. They look for a one stop answer to all their queries.

Today, web designing services provides not only website designing and coding, but they also include content development, search engine marketing, on page and off page optimisation and search engine optimisation, link exchange programmes, email marketing, newsletter marketing and many more.

Some of the main services required for a Web solution:

o Web Programming Web Designing & Development

o Usability & Interface Designing

o Search Engine Optimization

o Flash Animation

o High End Web Solutions

o Interactive Applications

o Online Forms & Database Integration

o Designing Solutions

o Logos

o Banner Ads

o Graphic Designing

o 3D Graphics

o 2D & 3D animation

o Special effects

o Maintenance

To maintain the web services you need to outsource the services to a well established web designing and development solution. There are thousands of companies providing web designing and development services. Use any search engines (Eg: Google) and use proper keywords like “web designing and development solutions”, “Bpo Services” to list the best web designing and development service providers.

Hope you will find this informative in selecting the best web designing and development service provider. If you are still stuck and want help to select Web Designing and Development Company. Please click the link below.

Sai Bpo Services (UK) Ltd

Web Designing and Web Development services

http://www.saibposervices.co.uk/Web-Designing.aspx

Author: Sajith Vijayan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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The basic elements and principles involved in web design are true for all other types of design. These principles will show you the most effective way to put together the various design elements to come up with a good and effective site. A good company emphasizes the fact that web design is not simply about slapping all those HTML tags on the page, but it involves the use of principles to build a pleasing and useful design. Your company will need you to make the most aesthetically attractive and effective web design, so make sure you keep these elements in mind:

Balance:

Web design Balance is the equal distribution of the heavy and light elements on a singly page. Balance in your web design is concentrated in your page layout. You must achieve visual balance in your web design all throughout the page, not only in the initial view. You web design company might commonly suggest you to center the text and all the other elements on your page. It is also very common to set your page on an invisible grid system to create the balance that you need. There are three types of balance that can be achieved when designing a page.

• Symmetrical. This is achieved by placing all the elements in an even fashion – a heavy element on the left is matched with another on the right. Be careful with symmetrical balances as you do not want your site to look flat or plain boring.

• Asymmetrical. These are more challenging to build, but there are strategies to achieve this which can include the varying texture, color and image positioning and size to arrive at a pleasant looking page.

• Discordant. Symmetrical. Web sites that are off-balance suggest action or motion, so you can create a discordant design on purpose. This type of designs make viewers uncomfortable or uneasy, so they are best used for sites that are intended to make people think.

Contrast:

Web design contrast is more than just about colors and black or white, but also involves contrasting shapes, sizes and even textures. You can take full advantage of contrast by changing font size, weight and family to provide textual contrast and varying sizes of images and elements. However, be careful not to blast your readers or scare them off with contrasting colors which are way too loud. The links on your content should be contrasted well to draw most attention.

Emphasis:

Web design emphasis involves the main points where the eye is drawn into in a design. One of the mistakes that your web design company may warn you not to make is to have everything in the design stand out. Keep in mind that if everything in the design has equal emphasis, the entire page will tend to appear too busy for comfort and may end up unappealing. What you should focus on instead is to create a visual hierarchy in the web design – to put emphasis only on the right elements. You can use semantic markup to provide emphasis even without the use of styles; change the font size of image size in order to emphasis or lessen emphasis on them; or you can use contrast in colors for added emphasis.

Rhythm:

Web design rhythm, also known as repetition, brings the much needed internal consistency into your web site designs. Almost all elements in your design can be repeated in order to create pleasing rhythm into your design. For instance, you can repeat your headline a few times for more emphasis, repeat the same image across the page, create a background that is tiled and patterned with repetitive elements, or repeat a particular style to provide site design consistency. It is also a good idea to repeat the navigation elements in your site design across the pages of your web site.

Unity:

Web design unity, also regarded as a site’s proximity, is the what keeps all the similar elements in the site alike and those diverse further apart, and pulls everything together into one integrated whole. Unity when it comes to web site design is mainly achieved through the proper placement in your layout. You can implement this in many ways. You can, for example, adjust the layout of your elements to put them close or far away from each other. In the body of your page, you can change the spacing around the text in your page contents. You can further achieve unity by playing around the box properties and change the margins and paddings.

A good web design company keeps in mind all the basic design elements with each and every page they design and collaborate with. This way, you and your web design company will come up with web sites that are pleasant looking, effective and attractive. As the web designer, it is important that you keep these elements in mind and apply them appropriately to your page web design.

Semul Johnson is a Marketing expert with a leading SEO Company specializing in organic SEO.

Author: Semul Johnson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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You’ve decided that Web design is the career for you. You’re ready to jump into the game, but you’re going to need some education on how to design Web sites first. However, with literally hundreds of schools offering courses in every possible permutation – Web site design or graphic design with a focus on Web sites; certificates or full degrees – how do you decide which program meets your needs?

Skills taught in a Web Design program

Web site designers require a vast array of skills, not all of which are (or can be!) taught in the classroom. However, there are certain skills that all Web designers should know. First among these is HTML (HyperText Markup Language) code, which comprises the building blocks of the Web. All Web sites, no matter how fancy or how focused on Flash animation, consist of HTML at their core.

Although most designers now use Web editing programs such as FrontPage or Dreamweaver to design Web sites, in order to understand what is actually happening when the Web site loads, you need to know HTML. For entry-level positions, this markup language can be enough, but for more advanced positions, you should learn one or more other markup languages, such as XML (eXtended Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), as well as one or more scripting languages, such as JavaScript
and ActiveX.

You will also need to learn the basics of making a Web site look neat and professional. Although it may seem elementary, there are a wide range of techniques involved in creating a Web site that flows well. A logical site is designed to allow the user to quickly understand the purpose of the Web site, and to easily find the information he or she needs. Although this is obviously more of an art than a science, there are many techniques that help users navigate each page within a site more effectively and quickly. As a Web
site designer, you should be fluent in these techniques.

To work on Web sites, you’ll also need to understand the basics of how a computer operates. These technical skills enable you to set up and modify the Web site. Being able to use FTP (File Transfer Protocol) clients to add pages and upload site changes is paramount. So is being able to modify the site contents manually by using text editor software. Some of this software allows you to view changes instantaneously, such as the Real-Time HTML Editor, which is available online. Other text editors are included with your
office computer, or can be installed, enabling you to work on site contents outside of a site editing program.

Finally, depending on the specific career path you have in mind, you may need to have other skills. If you are focusing more on the graphic design aspect of Web design, you will need to focus on learning about vector and raster graphics. Raster graphics, comprised of grids of tiny pixels, are dependent on the size and quality of the image – photographs are raster images, for example, and can look blurry or sharp, depending upon image size and resolution. Vector graphics use geographical points and coordinates
instead of pixels, and can be resized without losing image quality. Typography, or the art of choosing and using fonts and typefaces, is also important. Page layout, or the skill of combining pictures, text, links, and animated images on a Web site to create a pleasing overall design, is also very important.

If, however, you are more interested in the technical aspects of maintaining a Web site, you will need to focus more on server administration, namely by learning to use Web server software (such as Microsoft IIS or Apache), and understanding how to run log analysis so you can track who visits the site, and how frequently you receive unique visitors. There are other specific domains in the field of Web design, including site optimization, security, usability, and quality assurance. Each sub-specialty in the Web design field requires the knowing the design basics described above, plus additional skills which you can learn in class and on the job.

In summary, these are the type of Web design classes you can look forward to taking:

• HTML and other markup/scripting languages
• Web site graphics and layout design
• Some technical skills necessary to publish a Web site
• Other skills related to the specific type of Web design career you want to pursue

How Do I Know This Web Design Program is Right for Me?

There are a large variety of Web design programs, which run the gamut from certificate programs to full degrees. These programs are offered at learning institutions ranging from small, private schools to large, public schools – and everything in between. Finding the specific Web or graphic design school that meets your needs from the many available can be a challenge. Here a few questions to ask yourself when deciding upon a course of study in Web design:

• Do I want to study online or at a traditional school?
• Can I fit a full-time program into my schedule, or should I go part-time?
• Do I want a degree program, or a certificate program, which is usually quicker, and can help me get into the field more rapidly?
• Am I willing to change my schedule or where I live to learn these new skills?
• Am I more interested in the technical end of Web sites, or would I prefer to work on graphic design and page layout?
• Does the Web design program I am interested in offer all of the classes needed for the career I want to focus on?
• Does the school help graduates with their career planning by offering job or internship placement assistance?

By answering these questions, you are well on your way to figuring out which is the right Web design course for you!

Computer Career Center, with campuses in El Paso, TX and Las Cruces, NM, offers a certification program for graphic and Web design specialists. For details about the Website/Graphic Design Certificate Program, or for more information about how you can fit it into your busy professional life, visit the school’s Web site at www.computercareercenter.com.

Author: Bill Laboon
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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At the risk of simply stating the obvious, web designers design websites.

However, even a brief surf round the web shows that not all websites are the same (or as effective) and, by implication, not all web designers create websites in the same way. Whether websites are good, bad or indifferent, web designers have a huge responsibility for the ultimate success (or failure) of any website.

How Do Web Designers Design Websites?

The first thing that a professional web designer should try to do is to understand the client’s exact requirements. Entering a few basic search terms for a client into a search engine should give an indication of the current state of the client’s web presence and might trigger some obvious questions that the web designer should ask the client.

The client’s answers to the following questions can be helpful to the web designer:

- Is a new website required or does an existing website need to be redeveloped?

- Is an e-commerce website or an information only site required?

- What products or services does the company or organisation provide?

- What is the client’s target audience?

- Does the client have demographic information about the target audience?

- What information is to be provided via the website?

- How does the client use logos and branding?

- What competition does the client face from other websites?

- How will the website be updated and maintained?

Web Design Software

Although interactive web design software is available online, particularly for creating blogs, the available templates are usually quite restrictive and often lead to the creation of websites with a similar look and feel. Most web designers avoid this approach because the resulting websites tend to be very stereotyped.

Besides the option of writing HTML, ASP and Javascript web pages from scratch, web designers have a choice of web design software packages available for creating web pages, for example, Adobe Dreamweaver and Microsoft FrontPage. However, simply having suitable web design software tools available is not enough to guarantee the creation of a functional website that looks enticing.

Benefits of Bespoke Website Design

The overall layout and navigability of a website is absolutely critical to its success. Research has shown that if a user doesn’t find what they’re looking for on a website within four mouse clicks, then they’ll look elsewhere. Therefore, it is essential for the web designer to get the basic structure of the website right. Aesthetically pleasing images and fancy colour schemes count for nothing, if users can’t find their way around the website. In addition, a good web designer will always create a website that is easy to update and expand.

“To begin at the beginning …”

The most important page on any website is the home page.

Any web designer who forgets this basic fact is likely to come to grief. A website’s home page is the starting point for most visits to a website and indicates to users what the website has to offer. The web designer should include a meaningful title or one sentence tagline on the home page explaining what the website is all about. The home page should make clear the important items that the website contains and how the website can be easily navigated. Most web designers consider that for a website home page, ‘less is more’. What this means is that the website user should be presented with a clear uncluttered view of what is available, without distraction from excessive detail and whizzy graphics.

Choosing a Web Designer

Like other forms of design, web design is a combination of taste and functionality. Looking at websites that the designer has created previously is always a good starting point. However, it is also important for the client to communicate directly with the web designer; the web designer will need to interpret the client’s requirements because in the end it will be the client’s website, so the client must be entirely happy with the final result.

E-Business Engineers Ltd are a leading website designers that offer all types of bespoke commercial and traditional web design. To view some sample designs log onto our case studies page [http://www.e-businessengineers.com/Case_Studies.asp?PCID=5].

Author: Paul Giles
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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The Internet is more popular than ever and any business that is not online is losing out to its competitors. With many businesses and individuals now being aware of the tremendous power of the Internet, it has become very important for them to find a suitable web designer to carry out their project.

Unfortunately, the success of the Internet has also given the opportunity for unqualified and unprofessional web designers to market their services making it very difficult for clients to determine to best web designer for them. If your web site is made by a bad web designer, it can have a detrimental effect on your business and cost you dearly!

What Makes a Bad Web Designer?

Bad web designers are everywhere and they are able to dupe clients into giving them their business because most clients don’t know the difference between a good designer and a bad one. Even directories of ‘approved’ web designers found on the Internet return nothing but incompetent web design ‘wannabies’ whom given half the chance will provide you with a website that will make your competitors very happy indeed. Here are the main things that indicate a bad web designer:

• Lots of animated gifs on their pages
• Overuse of Flash and JavaScript
• Unflattering/ clashing colours
• Badly written content
• A table based layout
• Shoddy graphics
• No mention of web standards or accessibility
• A website that does not validate at http://validator.w3.org

What Makes a Good Designer?

Now you know the danger signs when you’re looking at the website of a designer you are considering. Here is a list of factors that indicate the designer may be worthy of you time:

• A well chosen, attractive colour scheme
• A clean, crisp, easy to navigate layout
• A CSS based layout
• Mentioning web standards and accessibility
• Well written, clear and concise content
• A web site that validates at http://validator.w3.org

As well as the factors listed here, the designer should maintain good communication with the client at all times. They should treat the project as if it is their own and endeavour to surpass all of the client’s expectations.

Where Can I Find a Good Web Designer?

One of the best ways to find a designer is to look on the major Internet search engines such as Google or MSN. However, be careful because the results supplied by these search engines will list hundreds of thousands of results and finding a really good designer amongst them could be difficult. Click through some of the results that sound suitable and subject them to the criteria already mentioned above.

There are numerous directories on the Internet that contain links to web design companies. Some of these directories claim to only link to ‘approved’ web designers, but don’t be fooled into hiring a web designer from one of these directories. In reality almost any site can be included into these directories and inclusion does not mean the designers are reputable or reliable. There are probably many good designers in these directories but finding them amongst the list of bad ones could take some time! Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, but be aware that inclusion into to most directories means little.

One thing to take into account when hiring a web designer is location. Due to the nature of the Internet you could hire a web designer anywhere in the world but keep in mind that if there are any problems you may wish to meet face to face. However, if you find a designer you are sure is suitable for you and they are located in another country don’t be afraid to give them a try.

A final word of warning about choosing a web designer; beware of hiring a web designer just because a friend or acquaintance has recommended them. By all means check their website and see what you think but just because your friend is happy does not mean they have a good website. Your friend could be blissfully unaware of the damage being caused by their badly designed website.

Andrew Ward is a professional web designer from the UK. He is an advocate for web standards and is working on http://www.realdesignnetwork.com to try and help promote web standards and standards based web designers.

His personal site is http://www.2scopedesign.co.uk

Author: Andy John Evans
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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As a web designer, I get all kinds of requests for information other than web design, and as a web designer I’m not really suppose to be able to do things outside of the web design area. I believe there are a few misconceptions about what exactly a web designer does. In this article I am going to nail down exactly what a web designer is and what they should be able to do. First I’ll touch of the differences between a web designer and a web developer. A web designer is someone who creates the visual design and layout of a web page. A web developer is someone who does the behind-the-scenes programming of a website. For example a web developer creates the code for database websites.

Web designer’s definition:

They give business/organizations a web presence by building them a website. Web designers are professionals who organize information, create page layouts, while communicating the business’s information/opinions in a website. Web designers create another medium for the business to expand into. Creating a website enables the business to attract new customers, showcase its services/products, and to do business across countries (as opposed to one location).

What things do web designer’s do?

That’s a really good question. It is definitely hard to nail down what every designer must do in order to call themselves a web designer. A good web designer should be able to do both the design and the development, unfortunately for you the consumer, it doesn’t always work that way.

Your web designer must be able to perform the following:

* Understand and keep current will all new emerging technology

*Layout web pages using HTML, XHTML, XML , and other programming languages

*Program HTML (hand code), JavaScript and CSS

*Translate your ideas, needs and expectations into a web page

*Design navigation elements (such as navigation bars)

*Create graphics in Photoshop or any other professional imaging software

* Effectively participate in a web development team

* Have an understanding on how to create Flash (authoring software used to create animation programs)

*Understand and implement web standards

* Have an understanding of Search Engine Optimization

* Have a basic understanding of typography, graphics and color theory

* Understand needs of users and of usability testing

* Have ability to analyze a target market

* Understand cross browser problems and how to fix them

A great web designer also has knowledge of coding languages such as:

* C++

* Python

* Java

* JavaScript

* Cold fusion

* SQL

* PHP

Sometimes it might be difficult for a web designer to have all those different programming languages under their belt. It is like knowing English, French, Chinese and German. Quite complicated. The more languages they know the better. Well that should help you on your search for a good web designer!

Alicia Harper is the owner of a Vancouver Web Design company and is a professional web designer [http://www.alicia.beseenwebdesign.com].

Author: Alicia Harper
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Professional web design has become vital during recent years. A few years ago, it was estimated that a visitor to a web site took about 8 seconds to decide to stay on that web site or click the “Back” button. That was then, this is now: Your web site has only about 4 seconds to make an impression on the visitor. That is not much time at all! Today, people want instant results. Few people even wait to see the entire web design before making their decision. If your web design does not grab their attention immediately, they won’t stick around. And if your web site does not offer something of benefit, they won’t bookmark it and they won’t come back (more on that later).

So, with that in mind, let’s discuss some practical ways to grab the attention of web site visitors. Then, in a future article, we will talk a little about keeping their attention with good web site content. Remember, people spend most of their time on the Internet reading. They read search results, news items, how-to articles and forums. A professional web design company will take this into account. But that is for later. First, we have to keep visitors attention (remember the 4 second rule).

Get to the Point.
We live in a fast-paced society and we are used to instant results: Microwave meals in 5 minutes, lose 5 pounds in 5 days, 30 minute oil changes, see results from fitness equipment in 20 minutes a day, and on and on.

The Internet is no different and it actually may be less forgiving of web sites that don’t deliver results quickly.

The 4 second rule that we spoke of earlier does not mean that your entire web page must load in 4 seconds. Rather, it means that a visitor to your web site has to at least see something interesting within that 4 second window. So, to test your site, while it is loading, ask yourself:

• How much time passes before I see anything?
• What is the first thing I see on the web page?
• How much time passes before I can read some text?
• How long would it take a visitor to determine what the web site is about?

Try this suggestion yourself and then try to enlist the help of some of your friends. The more people you have to test your web site, the more thorough your results will be.

Ideally, the site should load top to bottom and left to right. However, your design should adhere to the reading habits of your target audience. Some countries read from right to left so, make sure you know your audience. Also, the most eye-catching elements should load first. Once these load, they will grab the visitor’s attention. Then, the rest of the page can finish loading.

What Graphics Format Should I Use?
This is probably one of the most overlooked aspects of web design. How many times have you visited a web site and cringed at the slow loading pictures. I’ll bet you did not stick around to see everything load.

In most cases, web sites that have this problem were created by someone who bought a Web Design How-To book, created a web page that says “Hello World” and now think they are an expert. Or, possibly they are learning web design and created this slow loading site as a favor for a friend or family member. At any rate, hiring a professional web design company will prevent bad design from happening to you. In the meantime, here are some very basic guidelines regarding those very important web site graphics:

More about the .JPG file format:
.JPG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format allows images to contain up to 16 million colors. It also supports Variable Compression, which allows you to reduce the size of the image at the cost of some of the detail. In order to take full advantage of this feature, you will need a graphics program which will allow you to preview the image after you have compressed it. Some of the more popular graphics programs are Photoshop, Fireworks and Corel Draw.

JPG is not a good format for images with only a few colors or for text created as an image. The finished image will be of poor quality.

More about the .GIF file format:
.GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) support up to 256 colors. It also supports “transparency” which allows you to specify the background of the image to be invisible, thereby letting the web page colors show through.

Graphics in this format are also “looseless”, meaning the final quality is not adversly affected by compressing.

Boiling it Down.
For the most part, here is a good way to determine what format you should use for the graphics on your web site:

• If your graphic has many colors (such as a photo) use .JPG as the format, However, make sure that the file size is not so large that it prevents the web page from loading quickly. Find a good balance between image quality and file size.
• If your graphic has only a few colors (such as a chart) use .GIF as the format.

Of course, this is somewhat oversimplifying the very important role of graphics in your web site design. If you hire a professional web design company to create your web presence, he or she should follow these guidelines during the design process. You should make sure that the rough drafts you receive from the designer adhere to good design standards.

Make Them Want More.
Of course, no matter how well organized your web site is and how effective it is at grabbing the visitor’s attention, they have to view your web site as important. You have to give them reasons to stay and browse your site, to bookmark your site so they can refer to it again and to tell others about your site so you can build new visitors.

We will consider how to tackle this aspect of quality web site design in an upcoming article. That article will focus on three main ways to keep visitors coming back:

1. Offer something of value
1. Newsletter
2. Free tips
3. Monthly coupons
2. Good, quality marketing copy
1. Put effort into the words of your web site.
2. Remember, the Internet is made up of web pages and for the most part, pages are meant to be read.
3. Easy to use web site navigation.
1. If visitors can’t get around easily on your web site, they won’t stay very long.

Crystal Coast Technologies is a web design team headquartered in Swansboro North Carolina. We specialize in Flash web design and database driven e-commerce. Our blog contains more tips and the latest tech news, including security alerts.

Author: Anthony Muhaluk
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Like going on a blind date, choosing the right web designer can be an adventure fraught with false hope.

Unlike a big corporation, a small business generally has a tight budget–especially when it comes to advertising and promotion–to engage a big web design agency to serve their online marketing needs.

With the understanding that a cheap-looking website is not the best way to represent your business–or that you do not have unlimited funds to throw at web designers on the off-chance that you’ll get something that resembles what you want–there exist good small design studios and professional freelance web designers with reasonable rates, fortunately.

Here are some tips on how to choose the right one to meet your small business needs.

Web Designers vs Web Programmers

There are many web designers who are actually programmers who know little, if at all, about design. They use templates that are created by other professional designers. Unfortunately, templates aren’t customized to your unique business.

Moreover, with advances in software applications, it is easier than ever to create and build a website. These software can help anyone build a website without knowing a thing. However, there is a distinct difference between creating and designing one.

Design, be it web or print, is about communication. Without the necessary design knowledge how could the programmers do an effective job communicating with your prospective customers?

How Can Good Design Help Your Business

Design is about you–what you know, what you see, and what you have to say. Behind every design is a vision, a purpose, a reason to be. Web design is not about decoration but communication; about making your words and vision visible, giving it form and body for all the world to see.

While the sales copy of your website remains vital for the effective selling of your products or services, the use of typography, color, graphics and layout help lead your prospects read and navigate your website.

This makes your page a pleasure to read and increases their overall user-experience.

A professional, well-designed website has been proven to increase sales!

Web Design Process

The web design process is also a matter of planning, what to include and what to exclude, good design, appealing text, how to sell, what business plan to follow, and more.

Like any other marketing medium, it requires a lot of work by individuals who understand what visitors and the search engines like to see: properly organized text. Combining a nice layout with SEO isn’t easy, make sure the designer understands both the human and search components.

The result is pages that perform well for visitors and rank high for specific keywords.

No doubt, there are many who can turn out professional websites, but few who will volunteer to spend dozens of hours consulting with a client, designing a clear and unconfusing website, and sweating over ad copy, pictures and all the major and minor details — in essence, creating a online marketing vehicle.

Online Marketing

The number one mistake that most first time web site owners make is that they don’t know what to do with their site after it’s designed. It is very possible to have a beautiful site designed for you and no one ever sees it.

A website is merely another means of marketing your products or services. With hundreds, if not thousands, of websites sprouting out everyday, competition is fierce. Having a “web presence” for your business has virtually become an understatement.

A good designer will not only help you create a professional looking site, they will also ensure that your site gets a good ranking with the search engines so that your site can be easily found online. Make sure that your designer will optimize your site for the search engines and submit it to the major search engines. Your website need to rank reasonably well in search engines.

Moreover, small business should seriously look into harnessing the power of the social media and sound web marketing design to increase the exposure of your services and products to extend your reach.

Is a Website Just a website

In the online world, traffic and targeted prospects is the life blood for you website. A pretty website becomes a white elephant if no customer visits it.

Does the web designer practice what he preaches? How much traffic is his website receiving?

To get an estimation of the amount of traffic, go to http://www.alexa.com, enter his URL to get the traffic details. You’ll see the Traffic Rank for his website. As a general rule of thumb, if the traffic ranking isn’t within the 1st Million globally (e.g. Yahoo ranks no. 1), then his online marketing effort certainly has much room for improvement, even for his own business website.

Offline Marketing

Small businesses exist in numbers far larger than big corporations.

It is ever more important for your business to stand out from your competition with a professional, consistent image–your corporate identity, namely from your web design, company logo, to the offline marketing collateral such as business card and flyer designs etc.

Having the same company to design both your online and offline marketing collateral have significant advantages of consistency and cost.

Word of Mouth and Testimonials

Word of mouth is a good indication of someone who knows his stuff.

If he comes strongly recommended by trusted friends or family members, chances are he’s created design solutions that work for their business quite well. Ask them whether it was a good experience or not.

Most designers will have testimonials from previous clients on their website. It’s a good idea to see what his customers are saying about his services. Follow the web links and try contacting some of them. You should have a feel after talking to one or two. This also ensures the testimonials are not fake ones that were simply “made up”.

Chemistry is Key

You are going to have to share aspects of your business, from visions to operations to preferences to competition, with this person.

So it’s important that you feel comfortable enough with him to be honest about your business details and goals, as well as ask as many questions about his advise as you need to. Does the designer seem friendly and are they willing to answer all of your questions? Does he respond promptly to your emails and/or phone calls?

A good designer will keep in touch with you every few days, at least. You don’t want to get down to the final days of creating the site only to find out you don’t like it!

Look out for his modus operandi during the first meeting. He should be asking you extensive, detailed questions about your requirements and goals, in order to analyze your needs.

Someone who is more interested in telling you the different design packages he can offer you is probably more concerned about making a quick buck.

Website Maintenance

A common issue with most small business is a lack of technical skills. What happens if you want to update the content after the project has been completed? Can you update it yourself without any HTML knowledge?

Content Management System

Would your website be built on a content management platform such as Wordpress or Joomla? This will allow you to update, edit and add pages on your own without going back to the web designer. Thus saving time and cost.

Engage your Customers via Blogs

If you are marketing your business on the web and you don’t have a blog, you will always be beaten down by your competition.

A Blog platform allows you to do things no one else in your market can do with static websites. This means you don’t just have a web site, you have a search engine magnet and an interactive community builder that will drive targeted, willing-to-buy visitors to your site.

Price

This is an important factor for any small business to consider.

Although there is no clear-cut rule as to what an “average” price for web design is. In most cases, you get what you pay for. You are paying for this his expertise, time and experience.

Be realistic about your budget. You may not have all the bells and whistles such as animation and special effects.

It is more important to create a successful website that has a good position in the search engine and one that you are very happy with the look and function of than to save a couple of bucks. If you get a good site, your site will be able to grow with your company and, hopefully, that’s for a very long time!

The savvy, experienced web designer can implement your ideas and enhance them, spotting possible pitfalls and making recommendations along the way–and he’ll help you to understand the procedure and give you the benefit of his experience and understanding of the Web, so that you come away not only with a website, but with an enhanced understanding of the Web and online business. In short, he’ll work with you and be effective.