| |
| |
|
Web Design |
|
|
|
All about Web design.Tips For An Effective Website
A successful website is something that everyone venturing into the new arena of Internet marketing and communications wants to have. Your website will often be a potential client's first impression of you and your business. That being said, it is vitally important that your website represent you in a favorable manner. Your website is a component of your overall marketing strategy and should be reflective of your business and current marketing presentation. Just as your brochures and other print materials represent a level of quality and professionalism, your website should also represent that same level of quality and professionalism. As a point of comparison, you most likely wouldn't have just anyone design your company's marketing materials or for that matter, prepare your tax statements. Similarly, it is important that the person creating your website know how to effectively communicate both your message and style, and be able to create an effective experience for those visiting your site. What does it really take to have your website be successful, and what are some of the most important steps you can take to make that happen? 1. If you intend to have a unique domain name for your website, you must first check to see if it is available. You can check to see if a domain name is currently registered at http://www.internic.net. 2. Set a budget for your website. It is important to know how much you can spend on your project. In considering costs, remember that a website is a complex matrix of text and images and a professional execution is very important. As a generalization, the larger your investment, the greater your return. In order to spread your investment over time, you can also grow and expand your website gradually. Don't forget to include costs for promotion and advertising. 3. Determine the purpose for your website and the intended results. Does this purpose support the mission and vision for your company? The number of options and variables that are possible in the design of a website are virtually endless. Without a clear idea of the purpose for your website, you may end up putting time, energy, and money into a project which doesn't meet your needs. If you know in advance the results you intend to achieve, you will be better equipped to create a website which will achieve those results. 4. Consider the design and layout of your website. Is it easy to use? Does it take too long to download? Is it easy for Internet visitors to find information? Does it meet the needs and expectations of your visitors? Several smaller pages eliminating the need for scrolling are often more effective than one long page. If an Internet visitor doesn't have a positive experience of your website, she/he probably won't return, or won't tell someone else about it. An effective website often creates a reason for the visitor to return. This reason can take the form of unique information that changes on a regular basis, interesting and useful resources, or a way for visitors to communicate with you or with each other. Use your website to build a relationship with your Internet audience. 5. Promote, promote, promote. No one will find your site if you don't let them know about it. Your site must be posted to search engines such as Lycos, Yahoo, and Excite. There are approximately 20 to 30 main search engines and several hundred that are smaller or specialized. You can find an extensive list of website submission sites, services, and resources at http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/Site_Announcement_and_Promotion/. Include your website address on all your marketing materials; business cards, and advertising; you can even paint your address on the side of a company vehicle. The idea is to have as many people see your site address, and thus your website. You may also consider hiring a publicist to help you get the word out. 6. If at all possible, begin your website now. The companies which have been on the Internet the longest are those which achieve results sooner. If you are in an industry which isn't widely represented on the Internet yet, so much the better - you'll be able to start off with a larger market share. It's estimated that there are about 200 million people using the internet with 75% of them in North America. Start your Internet presence today! About The Author Steve Lillo author of Websites That Work! is the President of PlanetLink, a website design and consulting firm which specializes in creating websites which get results. They also provide their Web Rx Service for increasing the effectiveness of existing websites. PlanetLink can be reached at http://www.planetlink.com or by telephone at 415-884-2022.
MORE RESOURCES:
Web-Design - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Integrating Advertising into Your Web Design If you are going to be placing ads on your website, you'll want to put some thought into how you'll integrate them. Poor integration of ads into your website will cause visitors to click away fast. Meta Tags - An Introduction A long, long time ago? In a galaxy far, far away?meta tags were the key component to search engine rankings. Okay, it was about 2 years ago, but that's a long time in the Internet galaxy. How to Force Your Visitors to Order Immediately! This may comes as a surprise to you but, if you're using popups on your website (which you should), then chances are you're using them all wrong. Almost everybody is. 10 Nifty Ways to Prolong Your Visitors at Your Website Increasing the length of time a visitor is on your website will dramatically improve your conversion to sales. Use these ten points to check you are prolonging to stay of your visitors. 7 Benefits of HTML Validation You may not bother with html validation or writing simpleand clean code when designing your web site. Later you mayfind your site is slow loading, appears incorrectly in themain browsers and does not rank well for the major searchengines. Keep Them Coming Back - Update Your Site If you are anything like me, your website is a reflection of yourself. It contains your thoughts and communications, exposed to the entire world at all times. Its No Good Having A Killer Product If You Dont Have A Killer Website Read the title of this article over a couple of times in your head so it really starts to sink in.So what does this title really mean. Ten Design Mistakes to Avoid Avoid these mistakes and your site will be steps ahead of your competition. 1. Selling Multiple Products? Avoid These Top Blunders When your web site sells more than a dozen items, you may face a fierce challenge of helping shoppers find what they are looking for. You'll need to classify products into categories, but these will serve as obstacles and even dealkillers if those categories do not match those in the headsof shoppers. Make it Clear What Your Website is About Just about every list of the "Top 10 Web Design Mistakes" includes at least one reference to either1. Not clearly specifying the objectives of your website, or2. Color Scheme for Your Website? Yes, in a world that is obsessed with makeover madness, even your website needs to follow specific color guidelines when picking out "what it will wear". The colors you use when designing your website tell an awful lot about your business, though you may not know it. Eight Website Pitfalls, and How to Avoid Them Clutter: Too much noise, too much text, and too little white space mean that customers ignore the content. Customers often scan pages quickly, only reading titles or input prompts until they reach the content they want. When Good Computers Go Bad Remember the day that you got your new computer (or the hand-me down from Uncle Larry) and you pulled that shiny case out of the box? Once you finally had all of the cables properly mangled into anunmanageable ball, you powered on, the screen lit up and off you went. The PC was fast, programs loaded in the blink of an eye, and Internet surfing was a breeze. Essential Strategies To Make Your Web Copy Attractive To Your Target Audience Reading on the web is different than reading in all other formats. People approach it differently and you need to have strategies that capitalize on those differences so you can connect with your prospects. The Testimonial Trick One of the most popular methods of traffic generation is the link exchange. Not only can they generate fairly targeted traffic from other related web sites, the number of quality links to your site is also a major factor determining your web site's ranking in major search engines like Google. 10 Tips for Killer Website Design Does website design make a difference in how long people will visit your website or if they'll stay and shop? You bet. You've seen the websites that scream "bad idea" and you know those folks are losing potential customers to their ineffective website design. Web Site Design Mistakes Some wise human once said "Learn from the mistakes of others. There isn't nearly enough time to make them all yourself. Developing An Effective Physical Therapy Web Site Physical therapists have unique web presence needs. An effective site must:* Introduce the practitioner, and outline his or her style of treatment;* Provide straightforward content establishing the practitioner's credibility;* Review services and common procedures performed by the practitioner;* Inform the prospective client of the features and value of selecting the practitioner as a service provider;* Offer immediate contact options, including a web e-mail form;* Display office locations complete with photos, address, and driving directions. Affordable Website Design In Manchester If you have a business, big or small you may be thinking of getting yourself a website.The world wide web is another way of spreading your message or selling your product. Getting Along With Your Web Designer You're all ready to get started creating your web presence and you've found a skilled web designer to build your website for you. Do you know what he needs from you to do an efficient job? Good web design requires cooperation between the architect and the user to create a product that will serve its intended function, and you don't have to be an internet expert to do your part.
|
|
Web Design Articles Home Page | Web Design Articles Site Map | 1AFMhosting.com Trafficfish | EZmatic | GetSonic |
| © 2006 |
