Tuesday, June 16, 2009

10 Tips For Effective Web Design

Whether you are creating a website for personal use, or for commercial and profit purposes, we all want something creative and effective. But it isn't always easy to know what creative web design solutions will really work. Everyone is trying to get ahead using the same old tricks, and most of them are useless. That is why I have put together the top 10 effective tips for creative web design solutions. If anything will assist you in creating the perfect website, it is this list.
  • Develop A Clear Goal - It is a common mistake that many webmasters make, and it is the ultimate kiss of death: beginning development without a clear goal in mind. You need to know who your target audience is before you please them, after all.
  • Analyze Your Audience - Once you know who you are aiming for, put yourself in their place. What do they want? What would appeal to them? What kind of web design will attract their attention the most?
  • Draft With Care - You should always have a 'draft' version of your website before you have a final product. As you create your design there are sure to be some mistakes, and you will want to catch those in the 'construction stage'. This includes easy faux pas like grammatical errors, redundancies, and misinformation.
  • Be Direct - The worst thing you can do is leave your point ambiguous. People won't want to search the site without a clear motivation in mind, so make sure it is clear from the front page.
  • Match Keywords With Content - Don't use keywords that are not relevant to your goal. Offer plenty of keywords that are related to what you are trying to sell, but make sure it is something that can be kept prominent on the site, rather than catching people outside of your demographic.
  • Use Regular Analysis - Just because you get a good view of your target audience in the beginning doesn't mean that data won't continuously change. Statistics are fluid, so keep an eye on your target, and make good use of audience analysis software and tools.
  • Keep An Eye On The Competition - I don't mean those trying to outsell or out-traffic you specifically. What I mean is you should visit sites, read content, and pretty much keep in the loop with your demographic.
  • Be Credible - Use every tool you have to prove and reinforce your credibility. This means using reviews, testimonials, sources, and anything else you have in your arsenal, at every available opportunity.
  • Be Focused - Don't waste time or space advertising anything you don't need to. Keep the focus on you at all times, and create a site that will always lead back to your original goals.
  • Put Your Best Face Forward - I can't tell you how many horribly matched sites I have seen, where the colors, shapes, and images were all wrong. This has a serious effect on your audience, so you should always be sure to use simple, creative web design solutions to keep things attractive.

In able to successfully perform online you will need good Creative Web Design Solutions. If you need web Design Consulting feel free to visit Creative Web Design by [MN]interactive.com.

Saturday, June 06, 2009

Creating Your First Website

If your new to the world of making websites then you may be thinking its gonna be a real hard job to create one from scratch with no experience. There are many ways in which you can build or acquire websites with basically no experience other than been able to type and follow simple instructions.

You could take the easy way out and buy an existing website that has already been made and is ready to market, or you could develop your own, which is much more fun.

Before you can design and develop your website you will need a couple of things to get started. First, you would require a domain name, preferably one that has a relevant name to its main topic. Secondly, you would require a website hosting account.

When finding a website hosting provider, ensure that the software provided includes a website builder as this would be a great tool which enables anyone to create a website with a professionally designed look.

You see, all you need is a domain, web hosting and a website builder to make a website. The website builder that is built in to your hosting software will allow you to create eye catching website pages in minutes. You can follow the step by step instructions and by the time you've finished all the steps, your website will upload itself to your domain name.

If you already know what subject your website will be then you need to add unique content on your site. If you copy information from other sites then your site will not rank as well in the search engines as your site will be seen as duplicate content. So ensure that you either write unique content yourself or pay an article writer to create some content for you. You can usually get a 500 word, search engine optimized article for $10 across the internet, so its worth it.

Upload a few pictures to your website using the website builder that are relevant to your websites content so it looks a little more professional and easy on the eye. Images are always great to break up the page and of course, break up the content. This helps users concentrate on the text and your visitors will be more drawn to read your content.

Now all you need to do is add links to a few products that are related to your subject. By adding these your effectively monetizing your website. You will have to sign up to a few affiliate companies so that your able to earn commissions on any sales made through your website using the banners provided by the affiliate companies. Or you could simply add your Google AdSense code and generate revenue from every click sent from your site.

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Monday, May 25, 2009

The Importance of Communication Between Lawyers and Their Web Design Firm

Effective communication with a Web design firm should begin long before you actually hire the designer who will build your site. This is because the most efficient way to hire a Web designer is to know what type of design you want for your law practice. If you know what types of designs you like in advance, then you will have a better idea of whether or not the designer can build the site that you envision.

One of the best ways to brainstorm ideas for Web design is to start with the competition. Find out how other Websites are targeting the clients you want to attract. When you "shop the competition" you can learn a great deal about how the Internet is used to generate business. If you see a design you like, ask if the designer is capable of building a site similar to it.

While you might think this is the designer's job, not yours, the process will be much more successful if you and the designer are on the same page about where how you view the final product: a Website that looks as good as it performs.

You may never have access to the true ROI a law firm receives on its Website, you can tell from a user's point of view, how effective the Website is in creating a compelling online identity.

Also, before you hire the designer, it's important to pick a point person to communicate with the designer, who will eliminate miscommunications between the designer and the law firm. This person should receive feedback from as many people as possible regarding the desired design of the site. The feedback should be complied into ideas that can be expressed to the designer.

Once you have hired a designer who you feel would most successfully execute the firm's and have a point person in place, you can begin the editing process. That means that the point person will bring the latest versions of the Website back to the law firm for feedback.

When it comes to feedback to the designer, be kind. Remember to treat the designer with the same respect that you would treat other law firm members. A little constructive criticism can go a long way and is the key to keeping your relationship with the Web designer a positive one. When you critique the designer's versions, be kind, but also be direct so you can get the changes you need.

Once you have completed the revision process, and have a final Web design, be sure that the point person is thorough by getting feedback from everyone in the law firm. There's no sense in accepting a design that decision makers have not reviewed. Be sure that the point person has the authority to accept the final design.

Finally, announce your new Website design. Submit press releases about the release of your new site. Redesigning or launching a Website is great news that should be shared with the media so you can get the proper recognition your Website deserves. Don't forget to change the Web address, if necessary, on law firm business products such as letterhead and business cards.

Sarah Van Cott, started her Web development back in 1999. She currently is the content development manager for WebJuris, an attorney Website design and legal marketing firm. Her career includes content development for SignOn San Diego, Law Info and the Santa Fe New Mexican.

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Web Design - Tips to Find a Good Web Design Agency

If you intend to create a website, you are at the right place. In this article, I will share with you some tips to choose the right web design agency to create your website. There are my web design agencies that can fulfill your needs. But sometime when we have too many choices, we don't know which agency is the right one to engage.

To look for the right web design agency for your needs, you must conduct a thorough research first. The internet is a great place to do your research. Search engines, forums, directory listings, and blogs are great places to look for suitable web design agencies. Other than online, you can also look up your local directory such as Yellow pages.

A good design agency can translate your business needs onto your website. Maybe you are thinking of putting information about your product or service together. Or perhaps you have lots of products that you wish to sell directly online. A good designer will look into your business objective and design a website that will fulfill your needs.

Next, you want to get a web design agency that is willing to spend the time to understand your needs. If an agency offers you solutions before listening to you, you should be careful. Also, many agencies claim that they offer customized solutions and designs. Look at their portfolio. If they are offering customized designs, the websites that they create should not look similar. If they are similar, most likely they are using a template to design websites and command a premium fee from their clients. You will not want to work with someone who is not being honest to you.

Also, you want a company that has experience and expertise to fulfill your needs. In order to verify this, look at their previous work and determine their quality. Do you like what they design for their clients?

Once you have shortlisted a few web design agencies, is time to contact them and ask for quotes. Usually, agencies will need you to pay 50% of the payment first before they start the project. Upon completion of the work, you will be required to pay the remaining 50%.

Do not expect the right web design agency to find you. If you want a good agency to design your website, you must look for them. A good business website is very important to your company. It will get you more business and strengthen your brand. So, get a good company to create your website.

Cheow Yu Yuan is the co-founder of OOm, an online marketing agency providing web design services.

Check out more web design portfolio here.

Please feel free to republish this article on your website, or distribute it to your friends or clients, as long as you leave the resource box intact.

For more information visit Toronto Graphic Design

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Become Part of Site Build Family As You Build Your Own Website

You too can build own website with a little knowledge of the basics and the ability to follow certain easily explained instructions. But why do you need to build your website? In these trying times, the only recipe for success is to build your own website that can attract traffic and customers. For small businesses, online is the only portal where they can succeed as times are very difficult these days. You too can build own website with a little technological knowledge.

But before you go about building own website you have to know your target audience or customers. What sort of business are you in to? What stuff you need to sell or market? Is there anything special you need to give out to the customers? And who would they most likely be? After all these days the web has become the basic forum as well as the backbone of all small businesses. They need successful recipes for success and that can only be available and replicated again online.

But it is not everywhere you get the right information to build own website as there are chances that you can fall in a trap. Many advertise success rates that you haven't verified and checked out. Much of their marketing depends on promising things they cannot deliver or that is unrealistic. When they talk about their charges, they also quote figures that would raise your eyebrows not because they are very expensive, but they are so unbelievably cheap. Can they really offer quality products at such unthinkable prices? You need to ask yourself before you think of using their services to build own website.

What happens is that you get hands-on tools and guides that you can know about when you read the reviews, clicking here and knowing how their success rates are proven and verified. You can build own website easily with some basic knowledge and easy steps.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

The Importance of a Well Designed Website

In today's economy, Internet savvy business owners are realizing the importance of operating a website for their online presence. More and more businesses are switching from traditional marketing to online advertising as a way to combat the economic downturn. Businesses should make it a priority to put their efforts into recession-proof marketing techniques. These start with a well designed web site.

A well designed web site is not just pretty; it must have good content and be "search engine friendly". When choosing a web design company, be sure to ask if they create Search Engine Optimized sites. Sites that contain content, links, and html code that gets noticed by search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN. This is key. You can spend a lot of time and effort getting a beautiful web site, but if no comes to it what good is it?

Now that you have chosen a web designer who will be sure your site meets Web 2.0 standards, what do you put on the site? Here are some keys to good content and site organization.

• Provide credible, original content in as many forms as possible.

• Update your site regularly, providing valuable, timely information.

• Share everything you learn.

• Target your site's content to your users needs.

• Be sure your site loads quickly, use optimized graphic file sizes.

• Make your site easy to read.

• Use interactivity to engage users.

• Make a well-organized site structure.

• Become the expert in your field.

• Have a secure site if you are selling online.

• What's on your web site

• Where to find it.

• How to contact you

• Why they should explore further

Everything else is just gravy. Most people will spend approximately 8-10 seconds looking at a homepage and deciding to stay or move on to somewhere else. It is called a homepage because it is the "home camp" of your web site. It is where visitors can return to, to continue exploring your site. It should thus look a little different from the rest of your site.

A common homepage mistake is to write too much. Most visitors do not read your home page, they scan it. There are billions of sites out there, who has the time to read every homepage. This is why it is important to make the homepage simple and concise. Let them know what is on your site and why they need to explore further. Create links leading to more detailed content on separate pages. The content on your web pages should be written with your visitors as well as the search engines in mind. Include the keywords or keyword phrases that pertain to your business. This way the search engines "robots" will detect the high relevance of your site when people search for the keywords that you have chosen.

Behind the scenes there is a lot going on as well. That is why it is important to choose a reputable web designer or firm. These are the invisible things that visitors do not see, but benefit from nonetheless. It is the "stuff" that gets your site noticed by the search engines and making your business easy to find on the web.

Some of the "invisible" includes:

* Architecture

* Technology Choices

* SEO Planning

* Graphic Design

* Programming

* Content Production

* Marketing and Promotion

* Maintenance Strategy

Build THE website you need to increase your brand awareness, grow your business, and explode sales.

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Monday, March 30, 2009

Get Your Web Design For Free!

Designing a website can be hard work. You need to know HTML and CSS, and other internet codes. Or you have to pay someone to do it for you. If you're on a hosting site that offers templates, you find that the web design is often stale and static - there's not much room for flexibility or creating the web site you really want to see. This is where being involved with an Open Source community can be highly beneficial to you.

Using Open Source for Design and Functionality Purposes

The Open Source model began with programmers and has been successful for and applied in media, education, government, and private business web sites. It's a collaborative development, and offers you a great way to incorporate new ideas and the latest concepts into your website's design.

With open source software, you can design your own graphics, CSS and HTML while relying on templates and code resources. And it's all for free!

Your Open Source Options

1. Basic CSS Layouts - this is great if you want the freedom to create an original design, but need help setting up a basic layout. Using an open source CSS template, gives you a clean slate for you to incorporate and build your design, graphics and text into.

2. Complete Web Design - downloading this type of software offers you a complete template that requires minimal tweaking. You not only get CSS, but HTML and some graphic files to help you put up your web site fast.

3. Open Source Design Programs - instead of paying for software like Front Page, Dreamweaver, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, you can download programs that do the exact same work for you (and sometimes more) for the price of $0.00. Some programs are only usable with Linux systems (Cssed and Bluefish), while others are good for all systems (Nvu, Quanta Plus, GIMPShop, Inkscape).

Using Open Source models for your website is a great route to go - whether you already know what you're doing in web design and just need a little help, or if you're completely new to it.

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Thursday, March 12, 2009

Web Design Communication

Your website says a lot, in fact it says everything. So make sure it is really saying what you want it to say. Your website speaks directly to your current customer and to potential investors and consumers. So, you need to know how to effectively communicate with your web designer, even if it's just you!

You Are Designing Your Site

If you have the necessary skills to design a fantastic website, good for you! You may have no communication problems...or you may have too many. One of the most difficult things to do when running your own business is remove yourself and look at something objectively. You put all of the effort and hours into your business, and the same goes for your website. You may think it looks great. But will your customer?

There are two main problems in designing your own website: it may look amateurish and there may be one too many errors. So, to get past this, go to your favorite websites. Why do you like these sites so much? Are they full of high quality pictures? Is it easy to navigate? Is the information right where you need it to be? Finally, is the overall look professional?

Communicating With Your Web Designer

You know what you want, now get it. Only you can tell your designer what you want. If they don't want to listen, find a different designer. More than likely you chose them because they have a strong portfolio and you want your design to reflect that. If you aren't quite getting what you want, don't be afraid to tell them. Remember though, just like you might be emotionally tied to your work, your designer might be too. So communicate tactfully.

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Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Hire a Professional For Web Design

There are many aspects of your business you can tackle yourself even if you do not have a working knowledge of them when you get started. It is in these areas you can learn and develop skills quickly so that you can start making money. Web design is not often one of those areas. If you have the skill to do so, by all means go for it. If not, you may want to consider hiring a professional for your web design needs.

When it comes to hiring someone to manage your web design, there are a few things to keep in mind. For example, you likely want to ensure that the company has the skills and experience to handle the tasks you would like. Let them know what you want. You also want to ensure that the company has the time to do the work. If they have ten other projects they are working on, your project is last in line, in most cases.

When consider web design options, keep your options open. You may be able to hire someone that does not have the same level of skill and experience and they still give you fantastic quality. The key is to know where to draw the line. Use past work experience as an indication of what they can do for you. Be sure to use a contract, too, to help ensure that the website they design for you is top quality.

Hiring a professional to handle your web design is a good idea, especially if you are hoping for a profitable start quickly.

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Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Create a Website Simply and Easily

Countless numbers of online sites are in existence now, fulfilling numerous functions. A lot of individuals opt to create a website to debut a company, publish blogs, or offer web surfers instruction or entertainment. Regardless of your intent, designing an online site is enjoyable and effortless!

To create a website, initially you have to do some brainstorming. Determine the intention of your online site, as well as your intended viewers, since certain website concepts might be aimed at a really specific demographic. Being aware of all of this will go a long way toward making it easy to create your website.

The next step is determining how much time and money, if any money at all, you want to invest into your website. You can opt to create a free website, and this is the best option for those looking to start a website just for fun. If you are trying to make money off of your website, whether through advertising or by providing a good or service, you may want to invest some more money in it.

Moreover, in case you are building a web site for the purpose of launching an online business, remember that these take a considerable amount of time. In case you are setting up a content web site merely for your pleasure, it will need only occasional maintenance.

Before you start up a website make sure you have planned exactly what you want to do with it. Then you can choose a domain name and host. If your website is an online business, then consider paying for a name that is suitable for your product. Once you have done this, you will want to create your website. A number of hosts have programs that you can use that will create your website for you, which is ideal especially if you are creating a website for fun.

If you are trying to make money and are going for a more professional type webpage, you may need to start a webpage from scratch. This will mean learning some of the programming language like HTML. You will be able to create a specific type of design for it since its one of the easiest programming languages to learn. You can update your site yourself instead of needing to hire someone to do it if you become familiar enough with HTML.

At last, you can upload your internet site and check whether it's working properly. Get some acquaintances and/or relatives to do a trial run, so you know whether you have any problems that need fixing. If it's meant to be a marketing site, put it on the popular search engines and get its URL out there as much as possible. Using this guidance you should be prepared to start up a well functioning internet site. I wish you much success in your great new adventure!

If you wish to create a website that has a more professional feel, more so for those who are trying to launch a business online, you might wish to build a web page from scratch. If you cannot afford to hire a person to create it for you, this will involve learning some programming language like HTML, which may be the easiest programming language to pick up. With it, you can assemble a truly specific design. Moreover, once you've got a fundamental comprehension of HTML, you can update and maintain the site on your own instead of paying others to do it.