Web Site Designers

2007-11-16T03:41:00.000-08:00

Should I Do My Own Web Design?
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Matthew_Bredel]Matthew Bredel

You have something to sell or a message to spread and you want a website. What should you do? Should you pay a lot of money to hire someone to do it for you? Or, should you learn the art of web design yourself. There are pros and cons to both sides of the fence.

The Do It Yourself Web Designer

If you do decide to learn building a website as a do it yourself project, you can save some money and gain some knowledge. Web design programs are out there that are boxed solutions that you can use to create your own brochure-ware type website or to even a robust online store. There are products that you can buy for cheap or on the higher end that can help you manage and create your website. You could even go with an open source platform like OS Commerce. Those with a bit of a technical aptitude might find the process interesting and fun.

The downside to this is that many of these web design software products either are too advanced for the novice user or are too simple and not advanced enough for the purpose you want it for. You could find that you are frustrated easily by the technical aspects of the software being above your comfort level or could find that the web design software doesn't have all the bells and whistles that you were hoping for. A word of caution: Don't bother signing up for a free community website that's hosted by someone else. The publishing on the website might be super simple but no one is going to take you seriously if you have a free website and are trying to promote a business on a professional level. A simple and hosted point and click website is ok for playing around but not for a professional business.

Hiring a Pro Web Designer

Hiring a web design company can be a great way to get a professional looking website and even your own online store. The downside here is that some of these sites charge a lot of money and when you're a beginner web entrepreneur you might not have that kind of cash floating around. If you want professional results but don't want to pay a fortune, you might choose to look for a freelancer. You can find them on webmaster forums and online bidding sites where you can create a service request and allow professional freelance web designers to bid on your business. This can be a great option as you can control the pricing and see a professional web designer's portfolio of work before you use their services. Some website owners do part of their web design. You choose the web designer that's in your price range and that provides the quality you want. A word of caution here is that you don't want to go based on price alone otherwise you might be unhappy with your results.

Matthew is the developer of TheWebReviewer: [http://www.thewebreviewer.com]Legitimate Home Based Business Reviews, and NetWebVideo: [http://www.netwebvideo.com]Mastering SEO, Adwords, and Affiliate Marketing. Matt currently lives in San Diego, CA and is married with two children and has been an online marketer since 2006.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matthew_Bredel http://EzineArticles.com/?Should-I-Do-My-Own-Web-Design?&id=821947

Posted By: Illusion Technologies
http://www.illusiontechnologies.com

Web Site Designers

2007-11-15T03:09:00.000-08:00

Web Site Design - The Must Do's for a User Friendly Web Site Design
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Sean_R_Mize]Sean R Mize

There are large companies out there that hire graphic and web site designers to make sure that the design of their web site is the best. But not all companies can afford the fee of these designers. So if you have a business online and want to polish your web site design, here are some useful must do’s for you.

1. Flash animations are not search engine readable. So if you are using them, you are missing one important way of getting more traffic to your site. Additionally, they are usually in large files so they do not load fast. People may get bored waiting for the page to load. So get away with flash animations.

2. Also, there are times that your page may load slowly if there are a lot of texts or graphics on your web site. You can actually compress the images to make sure that your page will load even the customers are not yet done counting 1 to 5.

3. Check for broken links on your site. You know, you can lose a lot of clients if there are many links that are not working on your site. These broken links will drive away the clients from your site.

4. You can validate the HTML on your site with the use of validation services online. They can help you fix these code errors on your site. Once the HTML codes are right, you can make sure that the customers will have better experience.

5. You should also know if your site is compatible with other browsers. Of course, you would not want to lose other clients just because they are using other browsers. So have your site designed to be compatible with any browser the clients may use

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article marketing success, ‘Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide‘

Download it free here: [http://www.secrets-of-internet-success.com/ezwebdesign.html]Secrets of Article Promotion

Sean Mize is a full time internet marketer who has written over 1574 articles in print and 11 published ebooks.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sean_R_Mize http://EzineArticles.com/?Web-Site-Design---The-Must-Dos-for-a-User-Friendly-Web-Site-Design&id=662627

Posted By: Illusion Technologies
http://www.illusiontechnologies.com

Web Site Designers

2007-11-14T00:59:00.000-08:00

Web Site Designers

2007-11-02T01:40:00.000-07:00

Choices on Website Design
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Joe_Solaman]Joe Solaman

So you have come to the conclusion that having a website to showcase your business or organization on the Internet is a cost effective and expedient way to advertise. One question you may ask yourself is what took you so long to figure this out? Right now your competition has their websites up and going and they have had more time to gain a lead on promoting their websites.

If you manage your recourses carefully and make the right decisions, you can in fact eliminate any lead that they have gained and see your website better rated or positioned in the search engines. To start with you are going to need a professionally designed website, because people are going to judge you and your business by the appearance of your website.

One problem you will face is deciding just who you are going to have do the design work on your website, because there are so many website designers that have opened their doors on the Internet. The reason behind this is the availability of cheap website design software that can turn just about anyone into a website designer over night.

They may be lacking in creative skills and don't have any understanding of keyword function and certainly don't have the creative writing skills that are required for writing first rate script but they are website designers none the less. If you are serious about your website and have plans on it being successful then you are going to have to have it designed by a seasoned pro and that is just the way life works.

If you won't let a beginner cut your hair then why on earth would your trust your website that you are counting on to making you money to a beginner. Choose a reputable design company that has an established track record to do your work and you will be rewarded with a first rate website that represents you well and is able to compete on the Internet.

Written by Joe Solaman. Find the more information on the latest [http://www.dolphinpromotions.co.uk/webdesign.asp ]Manchester Web Design as well as [http://www.dolphinpromotions.co.uk ]Web Design Company.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joe_Solaman http://EzineArticles.com/?Choices-on-Website-Design&id=755209

Posted By: Illusion Technologies
http://www.illusiontechnologies.com

Web Site Designers

2007-10-31T22:24:00.000-07:00

Website Design - Usability Versus Accessibility
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Rich_Goldman]Rich Goldman

A big mistake many people make is to confuse usability with accessibility. Not only are the two very different, but the tendency seems to be that one is deemed less important than the other. Although they must both be taken seriously, it's true that many of the ideals surrounding accessibility still apply to usability and vice versa.

Optimising a site's usability will help to make it more accessible, or at least provide a better frame to build upon. If your wider audience finds the site hard to use, it'll almost certainly be problematic for those with disabilities or learning difficulties. By the same token, the degree of consideration that goes into addressing accessibility is just as valid when it comes to usability.

Putting The User First

If you strip all the fancy stuff away from Web design, pages are ultimately being built for people to use. Forget showcasing every Flash gimmick you can muster from your repertoire or bombarding people's browsers with bandwidth busting images, and you're left with providing the best content delivery service you can offer. Before you even start formulating ideas or beginning to think about firing up Dreamweaver, you should have it clear in your mind that usability is about putting the needs of the user first. Remember that designing anything from shoes to sites is judged on how the final product performs.

This will then help you conduct one of the most important stages in most design processes and especially software engineering: requirements elicitation. Most professional new media agencies will already be familiar with this procedure, and will use it to establish a stable understanding of what it is the user expects to see, with project success dependent upon meeting it. Whether you are being commissioned to create a site for a specific client or hope to launch something that will more directly attract traffic, it will be an essential exercise to acknowledge what the end user's expectations are.

Requirements Elicitation

The key point to remember about understanding user requirements is that you're unlikely to get them spot on first time. This means that a consistent stream of communication throughout the design process is paramount to getting as close to their expectations as possible. Talking to the users, recording what they say and trying to pin down exactly what they mean is the only sure-fire way to meet their needs.

It's also important to bear in mind that the people you're designing for are not necessarily privy to the kind of 'developer speak' you might be comfortable using. This is where the production of graphical diagrams or descriptive case studies can be effectively used to portray how you see the project going. Navigational flowcharts, example site maps and perhaps data flow diagrams for eCommerce solutions are all good ways of presenting complex info without bewildering others with technical jargon.
Similarly, there's no reason why a shared direction for the way visual elements are going can't be achieved with page mock ups. Flat digital drawings of possible template designs can be put forward and scrutinised, before a period of prototyping more sophisticated page elements, interfaces and navigational structures gets under way.

Professional Help

if you're not overly keen on conducting widespread usability studies yourself, or perhaps realise that it isn't viable, you can always rely on the services of others.

Professional consultancies or specialist agencies are common, and offer a range of complete solutions that span all the major processes. Usually they will also give your site a preliminary evaluation to ascertain whether it really requires the full usability treatment, and how best to pursue everything. it then really comes down to identifying what needs and goals are motivating the Web site, or establishing what it's expected to achieve. This can lead to a detailed analysis of what the target demographic will be, so a cross section of the audience group can be studied.

A sample of 'typical users' will usually be asked to attend testing sessions that will observe participants as they experience the site. This can range from simply asking them to navigate through the content freely for a certain length of time, to setting them certain tasks and scenarios.

While encouraged to 'think aloud' at all times, their feedback is monitored and recorded either by sophisticated tracking software or by video. Designers are encouraged to sit in on the sessions and hear how users perceive the site, and perhaps whatever improvements they might suggest. At the finish, all participants are asked to submit their overall impressions of the site during thorough interview sessions. All the findings are then compiled into detailed reports that will form the foundation of any future design revisions and new projects that arise from the findings.

Conducting User Surveys

When rounding together a sample of your users isn't a realistic option, there are other ways of getting feedback. Many sites will include email addresses or contact forms so visitors can submit their thoughts, but this doesn't ensure that you'll receive the kind of valuable response you want. it can be more useful to provide electronic questionnaires that will gauge user opinion more effectively.

Using a specialist program will allow you to publish sophisticated interactive surveys quickly and easily. The benefit here is that the results can be logged to a server before a more detailed statistical analysis can be processed and interpreted when administering any practical improvements. There are some off the shelf software solutions that will perform remote evaluations of user actions as they happen in real time. This kind of approach must be made clearly known to visitors before they participate, as tracking their behaviours covertly would compromise areas of the data protection act, and certainly result in mistrust if it were discovered.

However, some interesting data pertaining to areas of the site or the actual interface would be revealed from the way different people approach the content. Just by tracking link paths or cursor activity, you would be able to ascertain how navigation was perceived, and perhaps how effective the visual signposts such as menus, buttons, and anchors are at directing the actions of your audience.

This provides one of the truest pictures of user perception, because the subject is likely to behave as they naturally would when casually surfing the Web. When under more strict 'lab' conditions they may feel pressured by the environment or the presence of an examiner, or feel conscious of the time they are taking to perform. It would also have an adverse effect if they expected to use hardware, peripherals, operating systems or browsing software that they may not be acquainted with.

By making judgments on how typical visitors interact the site in their own homes of workplaces, it will help to differentiate how the novice or experienced user fares without any disruptions.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rich_Goldman http://EzineArticles.com/?Website-Design---Usability-Versus-Accessibility&id=665469

Web Site Designers

2007-10-29T21:57:00.000-07:00

Web Site Designers

2007-10-27T01:56:00.000-07:00

Website Designers You Can Trust
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Sandra_Bekhor]Sandra Bekhor

What do you need to know before hiring a website designer?

A website designer needs to be skilled at designing a functional website that is strategically relevant to your business goals and also compelling to your clients or patients. Additionally, your website designer needs to be trustworthy so that you can free yourself from the following concerns...

Plagiarism:

As a direct result of the readily available information on the Internet, there has been a rise in the level of plagiarism at both schools and businesses. In fact, it is not infrequent for plagiarized content to find it’s way onto websites unbeknown to the company owners and once it does they are quite exposed to unpleasant legal ramifications.

Black hat methodology:

‘Black hat’ is a term used to describe unethical techniques employed by website designers to optimize a website for search engines. These techniques were successful a number of years ago. Search engines have since accounted for the techniques black hats use in their algorithms and they now respond to these strategies by permanently de-listing the offending website, quite a severe penalty at that. The following are examples of black hat methodology:
Spamming –submission of a website to a search engine multiple times
Cloaking - sending search engine spiders to pages or text not visible to readers
Keyword stuffing – inappropriate repetition of keywords in an effort to improve the keyword density of a website page

Copyright infringements:

Similarly to plagiarism, copyright infringements have peaked since the inception of the Internet. Website designers that conduct themselves in an unethical manner use copyright images to build website content without having first received permission or purchased the rights to do so. As is the case with plagiarism, businesses could potentially be unaware of the circumstances surrounding the images on their own websites until such time that the owner’s, or other rightful users, of those images would come across them.

The mysterious nature of Search Engine Optimization strategies (SEO):

Since there continues to be such a shroud of mystery around the subject of search engine optimization, website designers can potentially claim that they have delivered these services when in fact they have not. Now although a website designer cannot be asked to provide guaranteed results for their search engine optimization efforts, they can certainly be held accountable for the specific actions that they have implemented in this effort.

Armed with this knowledge about these possible pitfalls involved in hiring a website designer you should be in a better position to select one that is trustworthy and as a result protect your professional practice or small to mid size business against unpleasant and unnecessary legal, financial, professional and search engine ramifications.

Bekhor Management is a full service [http://bekhor.ca/]business and marketing consulting firm in Toronto, Ontario focused on building better business for professional practices. Our Internet marketing services include [http://bekhor.ca/toronto_marketing.html]website design, development and search engine optimization. Sandra Bekhor speaks, teaches and writes about practice development for various professional associations. We invite you to visit the [http://bekhor.ca/marketing_branding_strategic-planning_publications.html]marketing, strategic planning and website design resources on our website or call us at 416-969-9600 for an initial consultation without fee or obligation.

Copyright 2007 – Sandra Bekhor. All rights reserved. You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article and give the author credit.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sandra_Bekhor http://EzineArticles.com/?Website-Designers-You-Can-Trust&id=718694

Web Site Designers

2007-10-24T02:27:00.000-07:00

Good Website Design
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Guri_Jeff]Guri Jeff

Now days, every organization either big or small owns a website. But, there are just few websites who have higher return on investment (ROI) or large amount of visitors visiting websites everyday. This is because they have a well-designed attractive website. The appearance of the website is the first thing that one observes while browsing through. Therefore, it becomes a perquisite while designing.

But before working towards design of the website, it is important to evaluate the kind of website you would be creating. The different types of website i.e. dynamic and static have different parameters for designing. Based upon your requirement, you can design an appealing and attractive website.

Features of a Good Website

Every website has different parameters for designing. But, there are certain features or parameters which remain same for a good website. They are:

Color Scheme: Selecting a right color combination is very important for your website. If your website is related to children, then select bright colors like red, orange, green, etc to attract their attention. While designing a professional website, it is important to select color scheme which are in-sync with corporate colors of the organization. The colors should also gel with the overall theme and type of services/products offered by the website.

Navigation: Navigation provides an intuitive way for visitors to follow. The navigation has to be uncluttered and concise, so that it is easier for visitor to browse through the website. You should preliminarily have consistent left and bottom navigation throughout the website.

Layout: Layout defines the structure of the website. Nowadays, website’s web page real estate is 1024 X 768 resolution; web page real estate is the area in which website is covered as compared to full screen. The font size should be 11 or 12 pixels, so that the text is easily readable. Prefer to select a professional font face rather than fancy fonts.

Loads Quickly: Website should have graphics to make it appealing, but avoid having loads of graphics or scripting as it will increase the website load time. If websites takes more than few second to load, people tend to get annoyed and browse through another website.

Overall the website should have a user-friendly and well-organized professional look to attract millions of visitors.

WebSmartz Flash Website Builder

Flash Website Builder is one that allows you to do flash website design in just a few simple steps even if you don’t know any graphic designing tools. Websmartz is one such website designing software. This software is best for creating Trendy flash website templates. Within few minutes, you can build flash designer websites, website flash intros and HTML or Flash templates. For more information, visit us at www.websmartz.com

Guri is a professional website designer and web content writer who has designed and written content for hundreds of websites. In this article she discusses Features of a Good Website and an easy solution to create websites, flash intros and presentations i.e. Websmartz software. For more information, please visit http://www.websmartz.net

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Guri_Jeff http://EzineArticles.com/?Good-Website-Design&id=779370

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-10-20T05:15:00.000-07:00

Ideas for Good Website Design
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Chris_Burbridge]Chris Burbridge

There are so many factors that go into creating an attractive website design. At the same time, I thought I might give you a ideas for good website design that you can use right away, if you are thinking about how to create a good design. These are things that I frequently notice, and that I notice not everybody does pick up on.

Choose a font size that makes your text readable. A lot of web designers are very young-in their twenties. I’m not (I’m 41), so maybe this comment reflects this. But this is not a bad thing! The majority of your audience-depending on who that is-may well not be in their teens and twenties. A number of web fonts do look kind of cool at small sizes.

But they are going to be a lot easier to read at a higher font size, like the one you are reading now. Ultimately, your site visitors will thank you more for being able to convey the information quickly, than by looking “cool”.

Pay attention to the width of your text column. The wider the column is for your body text, the harder it will be to read. You just need to weigh this against the other factors that affect readability, such as: the age of your target audience, the readability of the font you are using, the length of your material and its complexity, etc. Just be sure the overall effect of all these choices leads to easy to read body text. And remember: nobody likes to read as much text on a web page as they do on the printed page!

Remember: people don’t “read” a web page, they scan it. Countless studies, as well as common sense, indicate that when people go to a web page, they don’t sit and “read” it in the way they might read a page in a book. And yet, it’s easy to forget this when we’re writing our copy and putting it up. Therefore, remember these things:

Utilize lots of visual “cues” that will help your reader scan for the information that’s most pertinent to them; this can include bulleted and numbered lists, bold sections of a paragraph, and boxed sections-like “callouts,” for important take-away information.
Write in shorter, simpler sentences than you might otherwise.
Write in shorter paragraphs.
Put yourself in the shoes of a busy person who’s searching for relevant bits of information.

Leave plenty of “air” between text and other elements. When I started doing graphic design in the early 90’s, I was taught by a very anal, meticulous friend, who schooled me to become very attuned to the amount of spacing between different elements of the page. A problem I often see is: for some reason, an otherwise decent design has too little “air” (white space) between text and design elements. Play with your design elements, and really "feel" when the feel balanced. Give the spacing that each one needs.

There are many ways in which you can play with giving your design this feeling of air, and ultimately, playing with the spacing between elements, until it all “feels” right-airy, roomy, and balanced-can go a long way to creating the impression of a professional, well-put-together design.

I hope this gave you a few more ideas for good website design. There are plenty more, but these are a few that you may not have thought of.

Chris Burbridge is a web designer based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He specializes in helping people use the web effectively, to generate results based on a clear, focused outcome, and leave the swamp of website ambiguity that so many small businesses find themselves in.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Burbridge http://EzineArticles.com/?Ideas-for-Good-Website-Design&id=770161

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-10-19T00:18:00.000-07:00

Be it the Business or Personal Website Design, Just Go For The Best
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Anne_Catherine]Anne Catherine

Today, it has become inevitable to have a website for the any business because of its quick potential to reach millions of customers. Apart from commercial usage, it has become a pride for business persons or anyone to possess a web address in their visiting cards. Personal websites are also equally dominating the web these days. Everyone loves to share their pictures and reveal their personal information to their friends and family around the world. Most of the personal sites are created as a static page but to have interesting pages, one can prefer dynamic one. Business websites always focus on the customer choice and ease of use. Thus, a website can drive people's attention only if it is designed professionally. It simply indicates that you should seek help of a good web design company to work out things in a perfect manner. It is not expected that every customer would know your web address. What all they do is to search their needs on various search engines. Thus, make sure your site is search engine friendly and search engine optimized. Sometimes masterly made websites result into a flop due to lack of search engine optimization.

So, now the question is how to get a winning website? The immediate answer for this question is to hire a professional web design company, check out their previous client list, and have a glance of their websites for the quality and professionalism. Furthermore, you should keep an eye on the following points to get hold of the best website.

* Attractive homepage with standard text * Easily accessible buttons and links * Presentable colors to view without irritation * Organized pages (Search engine optimized) * Quick downloading

Nowadays, more and more web designing companies are coming up offering affordable prices but do not go for cheap prices and believe in "PAYING GOOD AND GRABBING THE BEST"

These days, real estate web design is more in demand as people are always interested to get cheap and best property. And if it comes with such an attractive display and information, then prospective of real estate business and website designing becomes even brighter. Many web design companies offer excellent expertise in real estate website design at reasonable prices for business as well as personal use.

Well, be it corporate or your personal web image; do not think twice before getting help of a good and reliable [http://www.infysolutions.com/ ]web Design Company to present your best on the road. If it is a business site the make your step ahead in your dreams of achievement and if it is your personal site then improve your relationship with others and show who you are through this web world.

The writer specializes in writing on technical topics like offshore software development, custom software development, ecommerce development, website design. To know more about the Software Development Company, visit http://www.infysolutions.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anne_Catherine http://EzineArticles.com/?Be-it-the-Business-or-Personal-Website-Design,-Just-Go-For-The-Best&id=690265

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-09-17T22:32:00.000-07:00

Do You Really Need A Website?
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Don_Pooley]Don Pooley

Nope. You certainly don't need a website.

But you don't need many of the things you've come to rely on, such as your cell phone, e-mail, or faxes.

And there's no point in having an Internet presence if those you want to reach lack computers or online capabilities. Or, if you have nothing to say. But, if you do have something to say, and your audience is accessible on the Internet, then consider a website.

Years before the Internet, I prepared a brochure to give to people who wanted to know what I did. It was pocket size, so I always had a few on hand to give out. And it was more impressive, and more descriptive of my services than a business card. Think of a website as an electronic brochure with many advantages over a printed brochure, such as:

1. It's unlimited in quantity. You don't have to get a few thousand printed every time you run out.

2. It's easily updated and, if you do it yourself, cost-free.

3. You can link it to your newsletter and other sites to extend its usefulness to the reader.

4. It also gets much wider exposure than any printed brochure ever could.

Initially, the only cost will be the time you spend not watching TV commercials. Most of us can afford that.

The first thing to do is decide what you want your web site to tell people about you. To do that, you don't need a computer, just a pad and pencil. Put them by your TV chair so you can scribble stuff down during commercials. Write a phrase about what you do. Then scribble down your qualifications. And what you do for your clients. Plus what they do for you (i.e. how you get paid).

Don't worry about grammar, spelling, or even forming sentences at this stage. All that comes later.

Can't think of anything to say about yourself? Ask your significant other, a client, or a few of your clients. Find out what they think you do, and why they deal with you.

If after a week your pad is blank, forget it. You're not ready for a web site. Why? Because the most important thing about a web site is content, and if you've got nothing to say, you've got no content.

When you've filled a page or so about what you do, and the benefits of dealing with you, it's time to reshape it. Start by dividing all the stuff you've written into two parts, qualifications, and other. In the qualifications pile include all the phrases that describe why prospects should deal with you. Try to turn them into a paragraph or two of benefits, and call them your Professional Background.

The other pile consists of what's left over, maybe your age, family life, hobbies, etc. Rewrite all those phrases into a more readable form and call that your Personal Profile.

Now you can turn on your computer, and type it all into your word processor, edit it so it hangs together and makes sense, then save it as MySite so you can copy it into your web site.

You now have some content for your website. For clues on how create it, visit http://www.lifesites.org

-----------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 2005, Donald F. Pooley, Inc.

Don Pooley has shared his marketing know-how with audiences
in major Canadian cities, London, Australia, Chicago, New
York, San Francisco, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and now in
his free ezine, TIP. Subscribe at [http://www.eTIP.ca/]http://www.eTIP.ca/, or
get free article downloads, and redistribution rights info
at http://www.eTIP.ca/Downloads/Publish.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Don_Pooley http://EzineArticles.com/?Do-You-Really-Need-A-Website?&id=7745

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-09-14T03:17:00.000-07:00

Before Approaching Website Design Company, Know The Principle Of Website Design And Development
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Rashmi_Saxena]Rashmi Saxena

Internet technologies are evolving rapidly and every one is running to get a website. But just hold for a moment, you might be wasting dollars on nothing but just an on line book. A website represents a company that should be worthy to make a good impression over its visitors. Only an interactive designed website can help you to attract and retain your targeted customers.

Key ingredients of an interactive Design & Developed Website:

1. A website when conceptualized must make sure that it has all that it takes to get the visitors stick to & return to it.

Your Website is your source of information over net, so the better the information you have presented on your site pertaining to your topic, the more traffic you are possible to generate. In other words, make sure that your website offers and displays the entire basis requirement needed by a visitor to stick and return to your site.

2. Constant Updating

To bring more traffic and returning visitor it is important to keep upgrading and updating your products and useful content of the website. Maintaining up-to-date and accurate content, especially the product information will allow your visitors to have the latest information and updates about the services or products you offer. This would help you & your website increase traffic manifolds.

However it is always recommended that if you require regular updates in your website it is better to have dynamic website through which you can easily add / delete or modify any information online without the need of any IT person.

Dynamic websites are the most effective and popular, because in this you have all the flexibility to change the content / pictures / price at the website. You can easily upload information of your own, preferably through password protected administrative interfaces which are empowered by dynamic websites. Hence continuous modifications or up-gradations can easily be done through a dynamic website without approaching a website design company.

3. Easy Navigation

Navigation of a website is a very important element to help your customers scroll through your website, specially the products/ services section.

An easy and simple navigation can make your visitor figure out how to get to the product order page, query page or any other relevant page of your website. In other words navigation is the one of key ingredients which must be strongly supported by a website.

4. Effective Product/Service Listing or Presentation

An effective Product or service listing page is another key factor for a web site to be interactive with the visitor. This page must contain the complete hierarchy of products you offer. The list must open up a dedicated page having the detailed description that might be useful for the customer.

5. Contact Details

Keeping company profile and up-to date contact details including physical address and e mail makes an authentic impression on visitors. If a visitor requires any specific information which is not specified on your website then they may contact you via this.

To conclude, there are a number of [http://www.plasmainteractive.net]Wesite Designing And Development Company who designs numerous sites every day, but its success depends on how effectively and efficiently the company has designed and developed the website. If your website succeeded in presenting things what its visitors expect i.e. what you serve and what they need, then it would be a pleasurable experience for both.

A [http://www.plasmainteractive.net/webdesign.aspx]Web Design and Development Company based in Dallas, Texas USA, having variety of [http://www.plasmainteractive.net/webdesign.aspx]website design package to meet need of everyone.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rashmi_Saxena http://EzineArticles.com/?Before-Approaching-Website-Design-Company,-Know-The-Principle-Of-Website-Design-And-Development&id=714745

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-09-13T01:53:00.000-07:00

Quick Web Site Design
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Sean_R_Mize]Sean R Mize

With the Internet daily visited by billions of people worldwide, web site designers are becoming increasingly popular. No wonder why so many people are dying to have a very competitive website. If you are a web site designer who wants your expertise become more rewarding, here are some tips for you.

1. Find the right client. Having talent for web designing isn’t enough but finding the right clients can make it more lucrative. There are big and well known websites looking for talented people like you. Clients can also be found in a number or freelancing sites that offer good money.

2. On presenting yourself to your potential clients, make sure to show them your updated portfolio and proficiency. Never leave a client unsatisfied. It will be for sure that recommendations for your services to other clients will happen if you make it a habit in making your clients happy and feel satisfied with what they got. Be sure to ask them for referrals. They might know some people who own websites who might require your services.

3. Always make it a point to update yourself with the latest web designing trends and keep up with the competition in your area of expertise. There are free tutorials you can take advantage of or you can just attend proper schooling if need be.

4. Be sure to price your work correctly. Charging too much, your potential clients might see you as overconfident. Charging too little, they may think you don’t have confidence in your work. The level of competition keeps on getting higher with so many great web designers in the Internet. You should be able to present superb service that is priced sensibly.

5. There are also affiliate programs you can involve yourself with. You will be given a percentage of profit by many websites if your site points to theirs and assist them in making some revenue. Charging membership fees can be an option especially if you have excellent quality content on your website and you can limit access to a certain part of your site.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article marketing success, ‘Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide‘

Download it free here: [http://www.secrets-of-internet-success.com/ezwebdesign.html]Secrets of Article Promotion

Sean Mize is a full time internet marketer who has written over 1574 articles in print and 11 published ebooks

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sean_R_Mize http://EzineArticles.com/?Quick-Web-Site-Design&id=693411

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-09-12T02:32:00.000-07:00

The Advantages For You In A Custom Web Site Design
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Lee_Hopkins]Lee Hopkins

A custom web site design is a great asset to any business, regardless of its size. It not only brings more customers to your business, but also makes people remember your company. To develop web site materials that are creative, unique and compelling, you are giving your business the edge it needs to compete with other businesses. A custom web site design also gives your business that professional appearance customers trust.

You can find several companies online that will create a custom web site design made specifically for your company. At www.intrinzicdesignz.com, you can create a website design by picking a pre-made template that is relevant to the services or products that your business offers. This online company offers you the opportunity to develop web site materials by yourself -- so you can be sure that your website will be unique and specific to your business. They also have a custom administration area so you can maintain your custom web site design by yourself. With reasonable prices and a website design by you, this is an ideal way to promote your company's products.

Another online company that will develop web site materials for you is www.customwebsitedesign.com. This custom web site design company has a long name but it provides a great service to businesses needing custom web site designs. They offer a variety of graphics and information that you can put on your website and offer buying and selling options for customers who visit your page. Their custom web site designs are attention-grabbing and give potential customers a reason to return for more.

Several online companies provide custom web site design services. The professionals at www.webdesignoffice.us are no exception. These highly-trained designers can give you the best possible custom web site design to increase your customer base and give you a competitive edge against others in your industry. You can also be sure that their affordable rates and packages are ideal to fit your custom web site design needs, while still working within your budget.

Custom web site designs are vital to the success of a company in today's online world. You can do a custom web site design yourself, but hiring a custom web site design company will give you that extra touch of professionalism. It will also save you time -- so you can concentrate on making your products and services superior to that of your competitors instead.

Lee Hopkins the author of over 130 articles on business communication, and is recognised world-wide as one of Australia's leading experts in online business communication, including Social Media or Web2.0 as it's also known as.

To connect with him, please call him on +61 8121 4444 any hour of the day or night; if he's asleep you can leave a voice message!

Visit his site at http://www.LeeHopkins.com to find many more articles on business communication. Whilst there, why not pick up a complimentary copy of his 'Social Media White Paper', which explains all about this latest seismic change to the business communication landscape!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Hopkins http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Advantages-For-You-In-A-Custom-Web-Site-Design&id=640266

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designing

2007-09-04T03:01:00.000-07:00

Scope and Features of Website Design and Application Development in India
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Varun_Saxena]Varun Saxena

Nowadays, most of the web application development projects fizzle or remain unsuccessful in fulfilling user's requirements. If somehow projects are completed, then they go beyond the set budgets and time lines.

Scope of the Web Application

Prior to start developing a web application, scope of the application should be thoroughly analyzed and documented, considering the users of the product, it's benefits to them, etc..

Competitor Analysis

Review competitor's websites, figure out the goods and bads in the other website. This will help you to know the dos and don'ts which can lead your application overtake your competitors. Additionally you can consider other functionalities that you can add in your web application.

Practical Solutions

Don't rush towards web application development process, before starting the process, thoroughly estimate the time in man- hours, resources needed, etc.. Document everything you discuss, allot and your micro parts of the applications and all complexities involved. This will surely help in making your project a success.

Don't Push your schedule

It is suggested not to push the development process or prepone the schedule for marketing reasons. Modifications in the schedule may lead to several bugs, which may cost even more than the estimated. Hurrying your programmer to complete the modules before the time specified for that, can not help the application development a success. If you are managing the project keep the original estimated time and the development plan and not the exigency.

Quality Testing

Test your application with different possible and impossible parameters as many times as you can. Intensive testing is needed in this competitive product world. Use effective testing tools and methods that most appropriately works with your applications.
Besides product or module testing, everybody involved in the process should follow the standards and procedures of the company. If your team does not have a good stand on Quality you can not achieve quality web application.

Be a little more careful and particular, I am sure your application will be a success. [http://www.dimensioniseo.com/WebDesign/WebsiteDesign.html]Web Design India and [http://www.dimensioniseo.com/WebDesign/ApplicationDevelopment.html]Web Application Development India are the main solutions which are provided by Dimension India Seo Company.

This Article is published by Varun Saxena, SEM Consultant for Dimensioni [http://www.dimensioniseo.com/]SEO Company India

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Varun_Saxena http://EzineArticles.com/?Scope-and-Features-of-Website-Design-and-Application-Development-in-India&id=680969

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-09-03T05:37:00.000-07:00

Web Site Design - 8 Steps to Web Site Design
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=James_Krawder]James Krawder

If you are interested in web site design, there are 8 steps that you need to understand when it comes to web site design. By coming to an understanding of these 8 important steps, you will be well on your way to enjoying web site design success.

1. When it comes to web site design success, you need to make sure that you understand how to make a web site visually appealing.

2. In addition, in your efforts towards quality web site design, you need to ensure that any web site you build is user friendly. How easy is it for your visitors to use.

3. Content is fundamental when it comes to your web site design efforts. You must ensure that the content is interesting, informative and entertaining as necessary.

4. Along these same lines, you will also want to make sure that you apply search engine optimization principles to the creation of the content for your website.

5. As part of your web site design efforts, you need to ensure that you properly install metatags appropriately throughout your web site.

6. Of course, as part of your web site domain efforts, you need to make certain that you select an appropriate domain name for your web site.

7. Consider adding keyword enriched articles to your web site in order to enhance the amount of traffic that is drawn to your website.

8. Make certain that if you are interested in professional web site design that you set up a solid technical support system for your clients.

Use these eight steps to design your web site and you will be on your way to web site success.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Krawder http://EzineArticles.com/?Web-Site-Design---8-Steps-to-Web-Site-Design&id=701916

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-09-01T03:30:00.000-07:00

Web Site Design - 4 First Steps to Web Site Design
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Sean_R_Mize]Sean R Mize

The internet can rightly be considered as the most important source of information exchange and sharing today. The number of websites on the World Wide Web is rising constantly. As a result of this ever increasing number of web sites, the field of web designing is becoming very important now. Never before was it as important as it is today. As the number of web sites is increasing at a very fast pace, all web sites need their unique selling points to stay in business. If they do not pay all due attention towards these small points, they will not be able to survive the competition. This is the reason that web site designing has become as very important art and science in the present world.

If you want to design a web site for your web base business, you can either design it yourself or you can hire a professional who can help you in this regard. Your web site can be a really good one if you pay close attention towards those issues which are vital to the success of your online business. First of all, you need to be sure about your business’s requirements. If your business is a selling business, you need a specific type of web site, if it is entertainment oriented; your web site needs to be designed in an entirely different way. Once the frame work is there, you must pay attention towards the space you have on your web site. You can sell some space to other web sites by placing their links on your web site.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article marketing success, ‘Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide‘

Download it free here: [http://www.secrets-of-internet-success.com/ezwebdesign.html]Secrets of Article Promotion

Sean Mize is a full time internet marketer who has written over 1574 articles in print and 11 published ebooks.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sean_R_Mize http://EzineArticles.com/?Web-Site-Design---4-First-Steps-to-Web-Site-Design&id=650652

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-08-30T02:04:00.001-07:00

Controlling Scope Creep in Web Design
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Steve_Allan]Steve Allan

This article covers scope creep in web design. Scope creep, the pushing outward of the project specifications by the client, has happened to practically every design firm out there. In this article I will cover the more basic ways to deal with scope creep in a manner that pleases the client and keeps you profitable.

The first aspect to consider for controlling scope creep is the need for setting out very clear design specifications for the project from the outset. The client needs to agree to a set web project and what will be included for what cost. The very worst thing you can do as a designer is say you’ll design site Y for X amount, period. If Y is not specified the client then has free rein to request improvements, changes and add-ons ad infinitum. And you’re limited to X in fees, not a good result.

But even if you stipulate what is to be provided expect scope creep to happen. When the client first approached you they probably had little idea of what they wanted apart from a completed website. As the project continues and they become savvier, they will ask for changes, be it extra pages, an email newsletter, a blog or some such. How you deal with these requests is important. We will discuss the two main alternatives below.

Give them the change for free

This is fine if the change will be quick to implement. If it’s less than half an hour’s work, say, then go ahead and do it. But you should let the client know it is outside the scope of the project however. That gives them their first warning about adding more demands later but it also shows them that you are prepared to do something for nothing (they don’t need to know how long it really took). This adds value to them and can cement your relationship with the client whether they are new business or existing clients.

You may also consider doing larger changes in an initial project for free if there is the possibility of more work down the track. Again, it may be good for business. But bare in mind that such behaviour can create a precedent in the client’s mind. They may then expect other, larger changes for free too.

Charge them for changes regardless

You may decide that any changes outside of the scope, regardless of the amount of work involved need to be added to the final bill. That’s fine of course but you need to be ready to handle such an event. Once the request comes through, analyse the work involved and price it up. Then you can contact the client by email or letter and simply state that improvement Y is outside of the current project specifications and will cost X dollars to complete. You will undertake the changes as soon as you have confirmation from them to proceed. It’s that simple. The negative side of this approach is that new clients may not appreciate your inflexible attitude and look elsewhere.

Either approach can work although I tend to use the first method. Good customer relations can be worth far more than the immediate revenue forgone. One last word of warning: be consistent across all projects with any strategies you employ. Clients can easily talk to one another and if one finds out they’re being treated differently (worse), they’re leave you and from then on the only time they will mention you is to warn others away.

Steve Allan works are as web designer in Christchurch, New Zealand. His areas of specialty are ASP.Net, database design and user interfaces. http://www.chimeradesign.co.nz

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Allan http://EzineArticles.com/?Controlling-Scope-Creep-in-Web-Design&id=692628

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-08-29T04:03:00.000-07:00

How To Design A Site In 3 Simple Ways
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Sean_R_Mize]Sean R Mize

Designing a web site is considered both fun and interesting to most designers. To others, designing a web site the first time is a traumatic experience most especially if the site requires a lot intricate and complex design. Nonetheless, designing a web site should be a combination of fun, interest, pressure, and enjoyment. After all, when designing a web site, it is the innovativeness, creativity, ingenuity, a small amount of technical skills and a droplet of fun and enjoyment are all that is required. To people who are starting to begin designing a site, the following tips are best advised.

? It is always good to look at the design in general view and then synthesize the whole design into several, small components. In a nutshell, what this means is that when designing a site, you should be able to come up with an outline of it. This will allow you to focus on the specific details of the site without overlooking some of the more essential elements of it.

? Always think about the graphical and virtual design at a latter part because these are just considered add-ons. The most essential parts of the web site are the basic frames and structures, which includes the general and specific tabs. To follow are the virtual design elements of the site.

? Think about the contents of the site, too. The main content of the site is the content. Therefore, it is equally essential that you give ample amount of focus and emphasis on what the site is going to contain. After all, when net users visit the site, they primarily look at the information embedded on it and secondary would be the graphical design of it.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article marketing success, ‘Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide‘

Download it free here: [http://www.secrets-of-internet-success.com/ezwebdesign.html]Secrets of Article Promotion

Sean Mize is a full time internet marketer who has written over 1574 articles in print and 11 published ebooks

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sean_R_Mize http://EzineArticles.com/?How-To-Design-A-Site-In-3-Simple-Ways&id=692966

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-08-27T00:02:00.000-07:00

Top Website Design- 3 Vital Elements You Can Learn for the Best Website Design
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Cynthia_Pinsonnault]Cynthia Pinsonnault

A top Website design has 3 things going on that together improve search engine rank and help make customers out of site visitors.

There's usability.

The most important thing to consider is your Website's usability. Everything else in a unique Website design should interact with the usability.

There's search engine optimization.

Search engines are looking for the same things users are looking for in a site and they will recognize and reward a usable Website design. And SEO feeds the Website usability if the site is optimized properly on relevant keywords. For example, the very first part of Web usability is assisting users to find what they are seeking. Good keyword research and placement in your pages does that. So Website usability and search engine optimization work together.

And then the last element is aesthetics.

If Website usability and search engine optimization create an easy-to-find, easy-to-use Website, then aesthetics becomes icing on the cake, creating a unique Website design, building a brand image, making a more inviting site, and helping visitors feel more comfortable, all of which feeds back to the Website usability and search engine optimization results.

You need all 3.

All 3 of these elements go into the unique Website design of a page. All of them are part of designing a Web page and if you leave out any one of them you reduce the effectiveness of the Website design just that much.

Great search engine optimization will only bring people to your Website. It won't make a sale. A gorgeous Website design that no one can find produces nothing. An easily found and beautiful Website that is hard to understand, has very little valuable information and uses sloppy navigation will only hold the Website visitor's attention for so long until they move on to less stressful Websites.

So top Website designs use, first and foremost, good usability techniques because if people get to your Website and they can't use it, then none of the other work has meant anything. So that's first. It has to be a usable Website design. Then, the Website has to be well optimized for search engines so that people will find it. And finally, you want a unique Website design that is professional looking and attractive enough to hold the interest of visitors and make them want to see more.

What can you do to improve the balance between these 3 elements on your Website?

Learn more about [http://www.pinscreative.com/articles/top_website_design.htm]top Website design by visiting http://www.pinscreative.com. Sign up for the newsletter or subscribe to the [http://pinscreative.blogspot.com]Ballyhoo Blog for more information and tips on marketing and branding, graphic design, advertising, and Website development.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cynthia_Pinsonnault
http://EzineArticles.com/?Top-Website-Design--3-Vital-Elements-You-Can-Learn-for-the-Best-Website-Design&id=587293

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-08-25T05:27:00.000-07:00

Quick Web Site Design - How to Skip the Hard Part of Web Site Design
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Sean_R_Mize]Sean R Mize

Are you trying to make your own website but can't even go past the design stage? Do you feel stuck where you are and tempted to abandon your attempt? Before ditching this project altogether, you may want to hear about quick web site designs that can help you skip the hard part of creating a website.

You don't have to start from scratch just to create a website. A lot of affordable software packages offer ready-made templates that can easily be filled out using click-and-drag technology. They are marketed towards people who wish to build websites for personal or small business use.

If you're worried about being stuck with a non-personalized website as a result of using templates, you'll be glad to know that software packages offering quick web site design allow you, the end-user, a lot of flexibility to practice your creativity. In some cases, you can even design your own templates which you can create in a user-friendly GUI. You don't have to delve into lines of lines of source codes only someone with solid technical skills can comprehend.

You can also experiment with Javascript, CSS, Flash, Swish, and XML. Flash and Swish allow you to have colorful animated graphics as decorations. Javascript can help you insert functions in every page that can help your visitors explore your website with ease. CSS gives you the freedom to choose the color and style of text and fonts. You never have to worry about having a seemingly mass-produced website with a little effort on your part. The level of customization you can give your website is only limited by your own imagination and willingness to take risks.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article marketing success, ‘Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide‘

Download it free here: [http://www.secrets-of-internet-success.com/ezwebdesign.html]Secrets of Article Promotion

Sean Mize is a full time internet marketer who has written over 1574 articles in print and 11 published ebooks

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sean_R_Mize http://EzineArticles.com/?Quick-Web-Site-Design---How-to-Skip-the-Hard-Part-of-Web-Site-Design&id=691331

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-08-24T00:02:00.000-07:00

How To Find A Cheap Web Designer
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Steve_Hill]Steve Hill

Despite what many people might think, there are a number of people out there offering a cheap web design service. By cheap you might then believe that the quality would be of a rather poor standard however this is not always the case. I have managed to find a couple of very professional web designers who do not charge an arm and a leg and in this article I will explain how and where I found them.

It mind sound a bit sad and that I am an anorak but I actually spend a lot of time reading and contributing to the search engine marketing forums. I have actually learned quite a lot from doing this and around two years ago I met a chap who offered to design a ten page website for under a hundred pounds.

I replied to his offer and later had a conversation on the telephone with him. He seemed liked an educated type of guy and he agreed to build the site as long as I provided him with all of the content.

Around a week later this guy called me to let me know that the site was now live on the internet. I have to say that I was more than impressed with his efforts, customer service and the overall finished product. He has built me many more sites and I am sure that he will continue to do so well into the future.

A good friend of mine was looking on ebay around six months ago and saw an advert offering a five page website for only £40. My friend was more than pleased with the results and actually paid a little more to have a few more pages included.

As well as looking on ebay and on the forums, it could be beneficial to look in yellow pages and in newspapers to find a cheap web designer.

Stephen Hill runs The How To Stop Stammering Centre, he has a number of websites including: [http://www.stammering-stuttering.co.uk]stuttering [http://www.adaptatech.co.uk]dvd duplication service [http://www.stutter-stuttering.com]stuttering info

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Hill http://EzineArticles.com/?How-To-Find-A-Cheap-Web-Designer&id=687693

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-08-23T02:39:00.000-07:00

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-08-22T00:05:00.000-07:00

15 Website Elements That Attract Visitors
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Catherine_Franz]Catherine Franz

Here is a quick list of components that make a website
attractive. They are listed in layers of attractiveness
beginning with the "must" haves, to "nice to haves."

1. State the website's purpose up front and clearly of the
site. Do this as quickly as possible. The visitor needs to
know immediately if they have landed on the right site.
They also need to know "what’s in it for me to stay here."
If you don't provide this, they are gone. 90% of the sites
on the Net don't do this.

2. Give visitors the ability to search for exactly what
they are looking for, if they have something exact in
mind. A "site search feature" satisfies this best. Allow
the search feature to be prominently displayed and not
hidden away somewhere. It is best place in the navigational
system so that it shows up on every page. Sales letter only
websites are an exception to this rule. Return visitors and
visitors that have something specifically in mind, want the
option and ability to find what they want fast. So give it
to them.

3. Photos allow connection. Especially to people who
process visually. Clip art gets them to pay attention,
however, it doesn't create much of a connection. Personal
photos connect within reason. Keep them less than three to
a page. One photo always needs to be in the top portion of
the screen on the first page. It doesn't need to be large,
but attractive.

4. Ways to capture visitors information wherever possible.

5. Place items on the site that keep them lingering. Audio
and video are one of these, yet there are other less time
consuming and inexpensive ways to keep them entertained.

6. Articles. For solopreneur sites, your own written
articles. For other sites, articles with various authors
yet on focus.

7. Interactive elements. For example: response forms,
quizzes

8. If you use a shopping cart, it must be fluid, no
hiccups. PayPal is not a shopping cart, it’s a hiccup. All
auto responders must be well written and positive. If
someone purchased something, they need the energy of "thank
you."

9. Give offers that are of value.

10. Clear path of where a newcomer can start if it is their
first visit.

11. Newsletter that is consistent with the 80/20 rule.
80% value and 20% marketing.

12. E-courses of value.

13. Well-written e-books: 50-75 pages, plus valuable
information (info not found anywhere else). Length doesn't
do more than provide perceptive value. Once purchased and
the vastness is only fluff, then your credibility is shot.
Complimentary e-books meet the same requirements.

14. Give them other ways to receive more on...you if you are
the focus...or the information if that is the focus.

15. Automated referral system. If you want referrals for
your products or services, make it easy for you to get them.
Set it up so it’s as automatic as possible, and clear and
easy for someone to send you a referral. Be clear on what
and how you want to give for that referral.

Catherine Franz is a Marketing & Writing Coach, niches, product development, Internet marketing, nonfiction writing and training. Additional Articles: http://www.abundancecenter.com blog: http://abundance.blogs.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Catherine_Franz http://EzineArticles.com/?15-Website-Elements-That-Attract-Visitors&id=3205

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-08-21T02:44:00.000-07:00

Web Page Design Tips
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=John_Dave]John Dave

Web Page Navigation

To wonder never why left you in the viewers your Web site initially? Well, the answer must have “to explore your Web site”. If so indeed, your web page design must disappear easy on navigation. To proceed to a menu of the bonds through the page with the top or to swallow the left. The bonds of the texts are always better. And yes, for a good web page design, the model of bond must be formed on all the pages, does not import what the pages are approximately.

The Colors

If you are inside for the bottom of color for your web page design, to contribute itself to the serious thought. Not this bottom of color is bad intrinsically. Colors pastel seem nice, but if you consider that human eyes more are accustomed at the white zone (as in the event of books), it will be all the more reason to just do that for your web page design.

The Links

Even if your principal bonds of navigation are last cry, to make sure that the other text binds the sport an easy glance. In much of a web page design, one does not mark outside bonds of the texts of the other contents. This occurs if you choose close relation-similar colors for both. The minor that you want in your web page design is to confuse your visitor with the anomaly of bond. Another interesting point to occupy itself indicates bonds visited with a distinct color. Nothing is more frustrating than visiting the same page on several occasions.

Easy Reading

For any web page design, the contents are regarded as bread-and-butter. The text-size of control of the contents with models is in the fashion nowadays in much of designs of Web page. However a common refrain among the serious viewers is to enable them to decide the size of the texts. This claims the capacity to give to the coast the text to the need. Afterwards on your list of good Web page the design must be to arrange your texts for the easy reading. We point out that the reading of the screen is different from the copy of reading. The attention on the screen is short. To thus choose a decent web page design which deals with specificities like the lists bulleted, the short paragraphs, the sub-headings, accentuated key words and it of the kind. Come to the police forces, many tests on line were carried out by experts as regards profitability. Those which emergent because most readable and generally preferred are Verdana and comic however of other types such as Arial, courier and Georgia also find acceptance in the web page design.

Screen Resolution

Time maintaining to explore the resolution of screen you would choose your web page design. In perceptible spite of shift to the high resolutions of screen, there are many viewers which feel always comfortable with the lower resolution. the Pixel 640x480 can have passed, but not also are the Pixel 800x600. If you are alive with this scenario, you will make well to span your web page design on the percentage of the size of screen instead of the width of repair in Pixel. If your preferred web page design is for resolutions, you will find the titles to obtain encumbered in small screens and the covering of the texts. The best option would be to establish a parity among various resolutions of screen so that your web page design does not loosen the harmony.

Browser Compatibility

Not all the navigators show your [http://webdesignheaven.blogspot.com/ ]web page design in the same way. In date of now, Internet Explorer 6 is held large with approximately 60% of all the users. Firefox comes after but delays IE6 by a broad margin to 25%. Since between them, both control one 85% overpowering of acceptance, it may be just that your web page design conforms obligatorily to both, if not for others like Mozilla, Netscape and opera, which orders collectively just approximately 5% of navigator-reach.

See more : http://webdesignheaven.blogspot.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Dave http://EzineArticles.com/?Web-Page-Design-Tips&id=681079

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-08-19T23:29:00.000-07:00

Web Design - Skip Intro
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Scott_Lindsay]Scott Lindsay

There are two words that I come across on the web that tend to draw the same response as a telemarketer or spam. These two words tend to be a distraction to me on a very personal level and often feel like I am wasting my time.

Skip Intro

This little notice shows up on sites that include flash and video elements when you access their opening page.

Perhaps I shouldn’t find this problematic. There are lots of wonderfully produced sites that include a dynamic opening that is both memorable and tastefully done. However, just like spam messages in my inbox, there are an equal number of these opening screens that are distracting and do nothing to endear me to these online businesses.

I suppose I am simply one among the many who simply want to get to the business of doing business without the formality of an over the top opening page.

On a positive note, these types of opening pages can be very well done and provide a meaningful welcome and introduction to a company. The problem tends to be that many consumers often feel as if they are play flash roulette. They know it’s coming, but they have no idea if it will be worth their time, and they generally suspect it is not. Too often they are not disappointed.

When this mentality if prevalent the back button is often the most desired option in dealing with the longing to save time and patience.

Really this scenario is sad. After all, a business has spent time and money in web design options and the end result may not be as appreciated as they would like. In fact, this design element could potentially result in fewer conversions from visitor to customer.

It could be that a web developer is pitching the idea of an elaborate flash design for your opening page. A better idea may be to develop any elaborate pages after your primary design is complete.

When it comes to web design you can develop your own site using site builder software at a fraction of a web developers fee. This option allows you to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t. Then if you want to add frills you can revisit the topic. You ultimately save money in the short term, may find a better conversion rate in the long term, and no one will need to skip the intro.

Sometimes a straightforward approach is a powerful sales tool.

Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of HighPowerSites and many other web projects. Get your own website online in just 5 minutes with HighPowerSites.com at: http://www.highpowersites.com Start your own ebook business with BooksWealth at: http://www.bookswealth.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Scott_Lindsay http://EzineArticles.com/?Web-Design---Skip-Intro&id=679970

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-08-18T02:37:00.000-07:00

Quality Website Content
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Theresa_Momber]Theresa Momber

Keep it simple. People using the internet are looking for quick easy information. Give it to them. The typical internet user wants to sift through quickly to find what they need. If they click on your site from a search engine and it takes more than about 1.5 seconds to load, there’s a good chance they’ll hit backup before they even get a chance to see what you have to offer. Resist the urge to load your site with large image files and impressive Flash files which will just drive potential traffic away. Strive to keep your load time short.

Keep it easy to read. If they wanted to read a book they’d go straight to Barnes & Noble. Keep your content short and easy to find. Long paragraphs are your enemy. Stick to short paragraphs and sentences. Make use of bullets and numbering. Make keywords bold in select locations. Use italics where appropriate. The typical web browser is skimming. Make it easy for them.

Be original. Write your own articles if at all possible. Search engines love unique content and you can improve your rankings if your site has a great deal of original content. If you are not confident in your skills as a writer, consider asking someone for help or even hire a local college student. Just give them a bullet list of points you want to make and ask them to write it up for you.

Use spell check. Any decent word processor will have a spell check function as well as a grammar check function. Make use of them. You want your website to look professional and misspelled words say to viewers that you are unprofessional, incompetent and untrustworthy. It’s harsh, but true.

Proof read. Don’t rely on spell checker alone. There are a great many spelling and grammar mistakes that word processors will not pick up. You may have a missing word, duplicate word, phrase or sentence. You may have simply used the wrong word like ‘too’ instead of ‘two.’ Get someone else to proof read for you. It’s harder to catch your own mistakes than someone else’s.

Keep it relevant. Make sure your content is consistent with the aim of your website. Make sure it is relevant to the needs of your viewer. If your website is selling garden products, it might be best to avoid writing articles about your favorite sports team. You can start a new website for that.

Keep it current. Don’t let your content get out of date. Review your articles regularly and update as needed. Check to make sure your facts are still true. If you have links to outside websites, and you should, make sure they are still active. Make sure any contact information on your site is up to date. When you are finished reviewing, start again.

To learn more please visit http://cashcrafters.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Theresa_Momber http://EzineArticles.com/?Quality-Website-Content&id=675187

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-08-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-08-16T02:01:00.000-07:00

How And Why To Build A Linking Strategy For Your Web Site
By Michael Rock

Why would you want a linking strategy for your site? The most
important reason is to drive traffic to your site, which in turn
would increase visitors that would either purchase from you,
make your web site more popular, or reach a larger audience to
inform for your cause. The second reason to develop a linking
strategy for your site is to help increase your rankings in the
search engine. With Google this is very important for
achieving high web rankings, and I expect the other search
engines to follow suit relatively soon.

There are many ways to develop a linking strategy where
the links to your site will multiply without any effort from
you. This is the most effective way to generate links to point
to your site. In this article we will discuss how to do this,
debunk myths, and how to do this without unintentionally
harming your site's status.

Debunking myths:

Linking software

I personally don't approve of linking software that does
the work for you. Why? Because the software does not do a good

enough job where it can tell if the site it has the same theme
or relative content that matches your site. Many errors slip
through the process when this is done, that can cause damage to
the reputation and rankings in the search engine. Also each
site that you would like to link to you should have a decent PR
ranking from Google to help your site's rankings. (PR ranking
is a method that Google uses to put a value on the web site)
If you have too many web sites pointing to you with a poor PR
ranking it could actually make your site drop in the rankings.
And in addition sites with excellent PR rankings would help
your rankings a great deal.

Linking farms and automated link exchanges

Linking farms and automated link exchanges are not
recommended for the same reasons as the linking software. Poor
quality links and potentially harmful to your site. In
addition these two methods carry another danger. If the site
that links to has been put onto a black list for spam, and your
site points to that site your web site will automatically get
black listed and your rankings will go down as well.
That is why I prefer one way links to your site instead of
reciprocal links.
It may sound hard to do, but it isn't and I will show you a way
to do it below.

The more sites pointing to your site the better. Right?

Wrong! In the past search engines would rank you higher
in the search engines by judging the value of your site to the
number of links pointing to it. But because people have abused
and try to cheat this system, the rules have changed. Now they
actually penalize you for too many sites pointing to yours if
they are deemed suspicious. For instance many other sites
pointing to you with the same IP address (caused by you putting
up mirror sites to build links), links that point to that do not
have the same content as you ("once I saw a web design site
having a reciprocal link with a lingerie site"), and links that
have low PR rankings pointing to your site (in this case the
more the merrier does not work). "I've seen a site with only 10
links pointing to it (links from government sites) do better
with searches than a site that had over 10,000 links pointing
to it."

Another thing to consider: Google has just bought rights
to register domain names. So, here is a theory of mine that may

show up later. Google may update their algorithm to check
links to see if the domain name those links are registered
under contain the same registration information. This way it
could penalize sites that register a bunch of domain names to
point to their site and try to cheat the system. "The only time
you would like a lot of links pointing to your site is if they
are from respectable sites, have a high PR ranking, and have
relative content."

Who links to your site now?

An easy way to find this out is to type in
link:www.yoursite.com into a search engine and you will receive
a list of web sites currently pointing to you. Are they quality
links?

You can use Google toolbar located at their site to read
the PR ranking, an add-on extension for Firefox, or visit a web
site that will tell you the PR rankings of sites that you type
in. If you type in page ranking tool in the search engines
you'll find plenty of resources for this.

Who links to your competitors that are high in the search
engines?

Examine and study the links to and from your competitors
web site to learn more. And request links from the same people
for your site.

How do I build links pointing to my site?

These are a list of ways to build links to your site that are
one way links instead of reciprocal links. I highly recommend
these ways to build a solid link foundation:
1) Content and more content. Content will increase your
rankings in the search engine and people are more likely to
link to you if you have valuable content. One time I had a
large college link to one of the articles at my site for a
research paper. The college had a high PR ranking and the link
is in their archives. (This is a way to have your links
multiply without the effort)

2) Add a link to us page to your web site. Where you can give
the visitors to your site to apply a text link or banner. I
recommend a text link to your site that contains keywords for
your site. For example, web development contractor would point
to my site via hyperlink. (This is a way to have your links
multiply without the effort)

3) Start a blog on your site that people can go to and bookmark
for the latest information in a category that relates to your
site. (This is a way to have your links multiply without the
effort)

4) Offer a free helpful 'how to' e-book to give away that has
links inside of it that point to your site. (This is a way to
have your links multiply without the effort)

5) Submit to online directories. Online directories usually
have high PR rankings and get picked up by other directories
and web sites to include on their sites.

6) Write a testimonial for a site you like that has the same
relative content as yours. Chances are that if you praise
their site and sign it with a link (to your site) of who
praised them they will post it on their site giving you a free
one way link.

7) Create a free article directory asking people to submit
articles to your site, and in exchange for posting their
articles on your site have them post a link on their web site
stating where their article can be found. (your site) I've
seen people put a list of where there article can be found to
impress the visitors on how popular they are. (This is a way to
have your links multiply without the effort)

8) Lastly, and most importantly write articles yourself! When
I wrote my first article I submitted it to 25 places. (places
with higher traffic views) and the next day over 180 sites were
pointing to my web site, because I had a nice keyword enriched
link pointing to my site in the article. The next day the
total was over 300. How do you find out if they are pointing
to your site? Type in your article title in quotes into the
search engines and then you'll find out how many sites are
posting your article on their site. (This is a way to have your
links multiply without the effort)

One thing to do for sure is monitor your results. Who is
driving the most traffic to me? Which ways of linking are
producing multiplying links without any effort on my part?
Which links are actually harmful to me? Do these links
compliment my site? Do these things and I guarantee you that
the links to your site will increase ten fold.

Be looking for more articles soon!

Copyright © Michael Rock
www.TheInternetPresence.com

About the Author: The owner of this registered company has over
twenty years experience with DOS, windows business applications,
numerous programming languages, artistic development, and web
design. Other areas of interest include web marketing, web
promoting, and business marketing and development. After the
persuasion of those praising his work, he decided to go into
business himself and highly suggests everyone else to do the
same. Internet Presence was founded in 2003 from a desire to
become independent. Less than 1 year later Internet Presence
has had accounts in three different states anging from a locally
owned auto collision repair shop to a glass packaging industry
that sells its product worldwide.

Source: http://www.isnare.com

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-08-14T04:56:00.000-07:00

Five Innovative Ways To Get The Word Out About Your Web Site
By Catherine Franz

Finding innovative and unique ways to distribute information
about your product or service is the key to success on the
Internet. Here are five ways to help you increase your success.

1. Directory Linking

Create separate directories for each topic on your web site. No
more than 25 -- the major search engines will bounce you out or
black list you if you have more than 25 on any one page. A few
years back, the search engines didn't make this distinction,
however, now they do.

Always request that your web site be listed on other people's
web site. All they can do is say no. However, they might say
yes. Design a template e-mail for this request. You can do so
in a "signature" as well as in Outlook.

Have a few different sizes of directly linking paragraphs
available for quick submissions.

2. Bonus Advertising or Exchange

Do you have a product or service that doesn't sell well?

Let others add it to their offers as a bonus. Offer it as a
freebie for someone else's product or service.

Create a template e-mail that others can use to cut and paste
into their e-mail or broadcast system to send out to their
subscribers. Goal -- make it as easy as possible on the
receiver to propel the information to their lists.

3. Trade Autoresponder Space With Other Businesses

Find others who send out information with autoresponders.
Exchange ad space. You will want to keep the product or service
exchange to noncompetitive or complimentary to your product.

You can agree to exchange top, bottom or middle space.

Let's say you send out articles via autoresponders. Add their
ad in between the article.

If you are an affiliate, add a sales pitch and link into the
various articles. Keep the number down to one or two ads per
article. That is if you want people to keep requesting more
articles.

4. Voice Mail Tip Line (This is my favorite!)

Start a free quick tip line. Offer a daily, weekly, or monthly
tip on your services or products through your telephone voice
mail system.

Some people change their message daily as to their
availability. If daily, create enough for five days a week for
three months. That is a total of 60 quick tips. After the
three months, start the segment all over again.

Add an ad for an upcoming event or the next place of your
speaking engagement.

Quick tips are best though. People will leave more messages
and you will not feel guilty about letting the phone call go to
voice mail.

5. Content Swap

Exchange articles or other content with other web sites. Who
are the gatekeepers for your business? Find their web sites,
exchange articles.

You could trade articles, top ten lists, etc. Both parties
could include a resource box at the end of the content.

If you know of their service or product personally, write a
two-liner testimonial.

About the Author: Catherine Franz, a Certified Professional
Coach, specializes in infoproduct development. Newsletters and
additional articles available: http://www.abundancecenter.com
blog: http://abundance.blogs.com/inthelight

Source: http://www.isnare.com

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-08-13T23:07:00.000-07:00

Keep Your Web Site Content Relevant
By John Metzler

Visitors and search engines love content-rich web sites, but
just having a lot of content on your web site is not enough. It
all has to be relevant to a main topic with each page or section
of the web site having a specific theme (And yes, this includes
any resource or links pages the site may have). Each page should
have its own topic and content should not stray to a different
topic.

If you are promoting your graphic design business and have a
page on business card design, stay on the topic and refrain from
using a page title such as "Graphic Design company in Vancouver,
Canada - business cards, logos, letterheads". Your want the
business card design to be the most important key phrase.

There are two main reasons for content relevancy. The first is
so that visitors have an easy time understanding the flow of
your web site. Visitors who have to search through multiple
pages to find the information they're looking for won't be
visitors much longer. The average web site user takes about
three seconds to decide whether or not stay on a site. A clear
idea of what your site is about should be apparent immediately,
followed by easy navigation to other pages that display further
topics in more detail.

The second reason for keeping content relevant throughout your
web site is for search engine algorithms. Keyword relevancy is
an important part of search engine optimization. The more
relevant your web site's content is for a specific term, the
more likely the site is to show up near the top of search
results for the term.

Keyword density is another big deal with search engines. There
is an optimal ratio of key terms to the overall amount of text
that must be used for search engine optimization purposes. The
more unrelated terms that are used consistently throughout the
content will bring down the percentage of more important
keywords. Keyword density matters throughout an entire web site,
not just on certain pages.

Other areas to keep an eye on are the contact page, about us
page, and any other pages that you may not think are important
to have optimized for search engines such as advertising info,
privacy policy, etc. For instance, some web sites have pages
devoted to reciprocal links. There's nothing wrong with them
unless you link out to a lot of unrelated web sites. The
keywords that are used in the anchor text and surrounding
description text will detract from your overall site content if
they are not related. Incoming links from unrelated sites are
fine, but keep in mind that the links page counts as part of
your web site as a whole.

Consider using a reciprocal links page as more of a resource
for visitors instead of a long list of irrelevant sites. This
not only appeases search engines but your visitors as well. And
as mentioned before, both visitors and search engines should be
kept in mind when creating web site content.

About the Author: An expert at organic SEO, John Metzler has
held executive positions in the search engine marketing industry
since 2001. Read more of his search engine optimization articles
at http://www.freshpromo.ca/

Source: http://www.isnare.com

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-08-13T23:01:00.000-07:00

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Desig...

2007-08-11T04:03:00.001-07:00

Web Site Design - Create a Website for Business Success With This Step by Step Help
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Alan_Kirby]Alan Kirby

Many of us today find it hard to think of life before computers and the internet. Yet, there is still a lot of confusion about the infrastructure of a website and what it takes to design, create and maintain one. This article outlines the basic steps to help you learn how to make a website.

Domain Name

The best place to start the process is with a name for your site; a domain name. The most popular domains are dot-com names (.com). Also high on popularity are dot-net (.net), dot-org (.org), plus many others including dot-info (.info), dot-biz (.biz) and dot-us (.us).

Unless you are looking for a very unique name, most combinations of one or two common English words with the famed dot-com tag at the end are already claimed. This is where creativity may be required to find ways to make your domain name unique. To start searching for your domain name you’ll need to go to a domain registrar such as Network Solutions. Registering a domain name works essentially like a lease, granting you permission to use the name as long as you maintain the nominal annual fees to keep it registered.

A good domain name should be short, but still reflect your website; you want your visitors to remember their way back. Avoid using initials (unless they are as well known as CBS or NBC). Avoid hyphenation if possible or overly long names. A good domain name is memorable and easy on the tongue. The best test is to find several good candidates and test them by speaking the names out loud. How easy are they to communicate, and to spell? How well do they represent the mission of your site?

In some cases, it may be advantageous to purchase a domain name that someone else has the rights to. The fees for this type of transfer of ownership can command some hefty fees though. Bidding usually starts around $500, but the right name can fetch a million dollars or more.

Organization and Research
Once the domain name is secured, the next step is to create an outline.

Start by creating a list of the ideas to be coveredGroup the ideas into major categories that will become web pagesLook at similar or competitive sites for more ideasThink about how you want your site to lookThink of photos or illustrations that will best complement your messageFind and document examples of web sites that you like the bestSort these ideas into a finished outline
Here are some web design samples that may help you as you consider your options. All of this organization and research may sound a lot like what you learned in English class you were paying attention weren’t you?

Selecting Keywords

Keywords are a group of words that best describe the topic of your site. They are the group of words your customers would use to find you in a web search. For example, if you sell eyeglasses, and you only use the words “eyeglasses” to describe your products but your potential customer searches for “prescription lenses” or “designer frames” your website will probably not be found.

Finding the best and most popular keywords and using them effectively is a vital part of driving more traffic to your site. For best results you should use a keyword research tools like Wordtracker. Wordtracker can compile a list of terms people search for, indicate how often they are searched for, and even help you discover keywords you may not have considered. Developing a database of customer searched keywords will help to focus the efforts of the next step most successfully; the script.

Writing The Script

Writing a script for the web is not like writing a book. Most people will read at least a chapter of a book before giving up. Web pages however, are not treated the same. After all there are just too many choices! We live in a “sound bite” world and surfing the net is no different. When a visitor comes to your web page you have between five and ten seconds to impress them that they are in the right place before they reach for the back key on their browser to search out the next candidate. Your web pages need a clear and easily understood message with interesting graphics, good pictures and a great script.

A great script on the web is short, to the point and broken up into easy to digest pieces. It is filled with keywords pertinent to your topic, but not to the detriment of your message. Effective use of headlines, sub-headers, bold or italicized phrases, links, bullet points and other lists all can work together to make your message stand out and tell the story. The headline can also be a creative tool to capture the desired attention.

Whew, don’t despair! The best way to start the process of script writing is to go back to the outline. Write the first draft and then start refining the results. Don’t forget about other things already written like brochures, flyers, and other advertising. This may provide a better base to build upon, while generating fresh ideas in the process.

Like the sculptor who chips away stone to create a beautiful statue one hammer stroke at a time. Great scripts are written very much the same way. Read through, change and improve again and again. When you think you are done read your script out loud. Keep working until the desired result is there.

All About Links

There are two basic types of links on a website; forward links and backward links. Simply put, forward links connect to other pages and sites. In order to be useful the links should be relevant to your topic. Create links to professional organizations you belong to, equipment or software related to your topic, or articles of interest to your readers. Use your imagination.

Backward links are links from other sites to you. Again, the key is to have relevant information about your topic on the page with a link to your site. Possible sources are web directories, blog links, forum posts or social networks such as digg.com and technorati.com.

Why are links so valuable? They make your web site more important to search engines like Google and Yahoo. The more backward links you have from pertinent sources, and forward links to relevant information, the better your site will be ranked; and that will help you to get found.

Photography One picture is worth a thousand words; and a great picture will help communicate your message quickly. Pictures can:

Grab the attention of visitorsConvey the importance of your company or projectIllustrate an important pointCreate warmth and strong feelingsIllustrate your product or service

Whether you have digital photos or scans of slides and film, having a number of good and appropriate pictures on your site can make a huge difference.

Graphics and Design

This is the stage where the basic shape of the site page is formed. There are many decisions to be made such as:

What does the banner header and footer look like?What shapes and lines will provide the page form?What color palette should be used?What monitor resolution should the page be designed for?How are other resolutions going to be accommodated?Where should the primary page links be?Will there be secondary links and/or drop down menus?How will the logo be incorporated?

Needless to say, this is a very important step in the process, as the look of the entire site will depend upon the decisions made here. Unless you are an experienced web designer, your company or organization will undoubtedly benefit from using a professional web design company for this phase. Graphics and design is where art meets form.

Creating Template Pages

Once the Graphics and Design step has been completed and approved by the client, a template page is usually created. Often there are different templates used for the home page, and for other pages; but the idea here is to create a working model that can be used for page layout. One key advantage of using template pages is changes universal to the site, such as the information in the header or footer, can be changed once on a single form, rather than changing many individual pages.

Page Layout

Having a completed script is certainly a tremendous head start for web page layout; but creating a well laid out web page involves more than cut-and-paste. There are many nuances that must be worked out in the process of converting from a word processor to a HTML page. Emphasizing headlines, creating bullet points, establishing boundaries around photos and designing the flow of a page is all part of the process.

Cascading Style Sheets

Cascading Style Sheets, or CSS for short are valuable tools for the competent web designer. They provide the instruction set that defines the color, size, position and other parameters of each class of text, graphics and other elements on a website. The CSS can also create challenges for the designer, as different browser editions will display a page differently than the others. This means that provisions and workarounds are frequently required in order to maintain a consistent look and feel across various platforms.

Form Pages and Programming Form pages are used to collect information or to do other jobs on a web page. Examples include:

Email forms that protect the recipient from SPAMInformation forms for collecting data such as name, address, phone, etc.Calculation forms to add, multiply or perform more complex equationsUpload forms allowing users to send attachment

More complex forms are possible such as applications, and ecommerce Upon submitting a form multiple actions can be taken such as sending an email to the website administrator, in addition to sending an automated response to the sender.

Email@

One of the benefits of having a dedicated domain is the ability to keep the same email address, regardless of who your internet service provider (ISP) is. If you’re ever had to switch from one ISP to another you know what I mean. The ability to set up nearly limitless email addresses @yourdomain.com can provide the capacity for your organization to grow without fear of running out of names.

E-Commerce Web Site

If you want to sell your wares on the internet you may be ready for an ecommerce solution. This will allow you to reach an audience 24/7 that may otherwise be inaccessible to your goods and services. Once your shopping cart solution is in place; listing photos, descriptions and prices of your products are only the start. A successful ecommerce site is tuned to achieve the best conversion rate, making sure that each step along the buying process is comfortable and assuring to your shoppers.

Page Optimization

A good web site should be optimized for:

• Quick downloads of pictures, graphics, and other elements

• Good navigation that is easy to understand

• Logical organization and grouping of pages

• Good page names making information easy to find

• Good titles and subtitles to allow quick information scanning

Web Server or Web Host

The Web Server is the real computer where your web site is stored. It could be in your office. It could be provided by your web developer, a web host service in your town, or hundreds of miles away. Since it is connected to computer users from around the world, it’s really not so important. What is important is:

Is it fast? Will it allow multiple users access at the same time?Is it well connected? Can the photos and videos be efficiently downloaded?Is it secure and safe from hackers and intruders?Is it backed up? What if the power goes off?

Website Updates and Maintenance

A good web site is one that changes on a regular basis. Depending on the design, these updates can be made by the average user or performed by your web developer. Your site should reflect:

New products being addedNew announcement being madeA shift in policy or directionNew employees added

Big projects being completed Your web site is your communication tool with the world. In order to maintain the interest of viewers it needs to stay fresh with new information all of the time. This is also key to creating better content, and better content is key to being highly ranked by search engines. The more highly ranked your site is the more likely you are to be found by your customers.

Website Advertising and Promotion

The best website in the world will not be found without doing something to get the word out. Using good keywords, getting links to your site, and making regular changes to your content are good choices to promote and raise the visibility of your site, but those methods take time. A much quicker method is through the use of pay-per-click campaigns.

Pay-per-click advertising is provided by the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN and others. It is a fast track method to buy visibility on the first page for searches pertinent to your content or chosen keywords. The basic steps to create a pay-per-click campaign are:

Select keywords that your customers might use to search for your servicesSet a geographic area for your ads to appearWrite ad copy to attract customers to click on your adsSet a maximum amount that you will pay per clickSet a daily maximumYou pay only for clicks to your web site

Your ad will appear in the area marked sponsored listings. It will be higher or lower than the other sponsored listings based on the maximum bid that you offer in relation to the others, among other factors. The cost to have good visibility on a page will depend largely upon the amount of competition for the keywords being bid on.

Don’t overlook using some of the simplest forms of advertising to help get the word out such as adding your website address to your business cards, flyers, newspaper ads, to the bottom of every email you send out, etc. If you already have brochures printed, get some printed labels to apply with the new information. If you use methods like radio, television or billboards be certain that your website is present in those ads too. This form of advertising is generally called cross-promotion. The web is a 24/7 sales agent that can only work if it can be found.

Web Design Services

Designing a web site design for your company or organization is an important task. This guide seeks to provide a simple overview to help you to understand and prepare for the steps involved. Knowing what to expect as you create your website, whether through the services of a professional web designer or creating it on your own will help you achieve the best results possible.

About the Author
Alan Kirby is President and founder of All Pro Media, Inc. All Pro Media provides web site design, video production and advertising services to numerous companies and organizations including corporations, hospitals and medical practices, small businesses, churches and other institutions. Located in Burlington, NC; All Pro Media’s customer base is primarily in central North Carolina from Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and RTP to Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem.

For more information about All Pro Media visit the company website at http://www.allpromedia.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_Kirby http://EzineArticles.com/?Web-Site-Design---Create-a-Website-for-Business-Success-With-This-Step-by-Step-Help&id=596111

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-08-09T04:00:00.000-07:00

A Website Design Strategy That Works For Local Businesses
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=G_Michael_Simmons]G Michael Simmons

The number of poorly designed websites, from a business standpoint, continues to be a problem especially when a local business is the focal point of the site. The unfortunate thing is that design flaws that lead to eventual web failure are totally avoidable. The problem is that most web designers take the aesthetic approach to web design; that is design and “the professional look” takes presence over business principles.

I review a number of local business web sites for their owners, to find out why they draw little if any traffic and business. Through the years I have developed a strategy that if followed in the planning stages of a site will greatly increase the chances of that sites success. I call it InterWeb Success Strategy. It is based on a simple three step process:

1. Identify: This is the most often overlooked part of developing a website, yet it certainly is the most crucial one to guarantee success. You must be able to identify the terms and things that your potential customers are searching for that relates to your business or service. I have seen many sites that are built upon the “billboard” principle, which is “highlight what you do and hope enough people see it that the message will stick”. Sometimes that will work in the offline world, but the online world is a different animal. Online, your prospects are the hunters-you are the hunted. They know what they are looking for, what solutions they need. It is up to you to provide them the information they seek. Tools such as Wordtracker™ and Google’s Keyword Suggestion Tool are great resources to dig out your prospective customers online searches and incorporate them into your website design strategy.

2. Strategize: Now that you know what your prospects are looking for, you have to develop a plan to both bring them to your site and get them to use your services. There are a number of ways to build traffic to your site, the problem with most local businesses is that they have a misguided belief that websites are self containing cash machines. Put it up and let it do it’s thing. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. Like anything worthwhile, work is involved. You must plan to continually update your site, adding relative content that provides searchers with valuable information. The more you solve their immediate problem, the more inclined they will be to use you and your products/services.

3. Optimize: Once you have developed a plan in regards to your prospects needs and your products or services, you must be able to optimize your presence on the web so that your site is found. One analogy that I keep referring to with my customers is “you can build a Ritz Carlton in the middle of the Mojave Desert, and nobody will visit or know it is there”. You must think out a plan to get your site ranked as high as possible for the major keywords on your site. There are numerous ways to achieve and maintain high search engine rankings. My suggestion would be to visit your local library and check out a book on Search Engine Optimization and at least have a working knowledge on what would be the best strategy for your particular situation.

By following this simple outline you will avoid many of the pitfalls that de-rail many a local businesses sites. And your website will become a central point of your marketing efforts to grow your business, both online and offline.

The author, Michael Simmons, owned his own business for 27 years before going into web marketing. He now specializes in optimizing the web presence for local businesses through website development. You can visit his website at http://www.gmsimmons.com He also utilizes video, developing web video ads thru http://www.proweb-video.com He can be emailed at [mailto:mike@gmsimmons.com]mike@gmsimmons.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=G_Michael_Simmons http://EzineArticles.com/?A-Website-Design-Strategy-That-Works-For-Local-Businesses&id=655973

Illusion Technologies: Web Site Designers

2007-08-08T05:31:00.000-07:00