|
|
| Web Design Information |
|
|
|
|
Design With Purpose
If your website is falling through the cracks, the chances are that the site has no message, no central core to build traffic or a core readership. Websites that try to do everything usually fail. We begin every web site evaluation by helping you define your web site goals. You can do this yourself. Knowing what your site is supposed to accomplish should be the first step in your design process. Your website success starts with understanding your site's purpose and goals. Start by grabbing a notepad and pencil and begin brainstorming your website's purpose. Write down everything that comes to mind. Some common goals include:
Now ask yourself what is most important? Prioritize your web site goals so you can prioritize your web site's needs. Sometimes your list will not be linear, it may look more like a bubble chart or be structured more clearly. Your priorities should be reflected in the site organization. Do you lead with you top priorities or are they shyly hidden within your site map? It's time to get real. Once you understand your goals go to your site and see how close you are to achieving them.
Your website content should reflect your site's purpose and nothing else. Start a blog if you want to offer your poetry, opinions or family photos. Don't try to sell widgets and cats on the same site. Focus your attention and you'll grab the attention of the search engines and your target audience alike. A web site evaluation that doesn't begin with these basic questions is doomed to be useless. Don't waste your time fixing anything on your site until you know what it is supposed to do! JoMarie Thomson of Crucible Designs has been designing websites since 1997. She offers website success strategies on JoMaries Dot Com for do-it-yourself website makeovers.
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Tableless Web Designs: Why I Switched Since I made the switch 6 months ago to a tableless design on my main site, I've noticed some interesting things: My search engine rankings have dramatically improved My bandwidth usage has dropped about 50-75% I can now make changes to the look and feel of my site easily by just changing the one file, the stylesheet. Let's look at why my search engine rankings improved. Now that I have less un-indexable code on my pages, the search engines can now spider my site quicker. Less code, more content, therefore a better ranking. Makes sense, doesn't it? Bandwidth costs money, and unless you have a really good hosting plan with lots of bandwidth, then your larger files will take up more room on your server, and take a lot longer to load. Tableless designs use up considerably less bandwidth and are more accessible. Every once in a while I may want to alter the look of my site. I like to change font colors, link colors, menu items, etc?Before I started using tableless designs, these changes took me hours to do. Now I just open up my stylesheet, make the changes I want, and in a few minutes I have my site updated with the new look and feel. It's so easy! For a client who wants to make their own changes, tableless designs could literally save them thousands on tech costs. Most of my clients still want sites with tables. I now give them the choice of either style. After all, the customer needs to be happy, right? Some people have the misconception that utilizing tableless designs means having a boring and less graphical site. Nothing could be further from the truth. Take a look at one of my favorite websites: http://www.csszengarden.com/. At that site you can really appreciate what can be accomplished through css-based tableless designs. Beautiful! Make the switch to a more profitable, usable, and accessible website! Copyright 2005 - Karen Blundell Graphic Terms- The Basics Part I You're almost set. The content of your website, e-book, or software is complete. Ready to put together your e-book or software on the market. In order to turn your prospect into buyer, the look of your e-cover is just as important as the content. What to do? If you're adventurous and seeking the how-to's of self-design below is a short list of terms you'll need to know. If you're considering having your e-cover professionally designed (smart move) the terms below will help you talk intelligently about your project. Web Site Design Mistakes ? Database Parameters In URLs Creating a web site takes thought, planning and execution. Unfortunately, many designs are dead in the water before they are even published as far as search engine optimization is concerned. Whatever you do, avoid these critical mistakes. Put Up A Website And Start Promoting In About An Hour I can't figure out people who have products or information to sell who do not have a website. With some people, it's fear of technology; others just haven't realized that we've entered the electronic age. If you are not in the latter category, and you are reading this article, put up your website today -- it will take you about an hour! Website Woes: Top Five Offenders I see a lot of mistakes, but here are the top five offenders you need to correct to give your site a boost. How To Shop for a Web Design Firm? While few companies can boast as we do that our first ten clients are still with us today, many companies often change Web design firms to get a new perspective on how their Web presence could look and perform. The following paragraphs serve as a Buyer's Guide to use when shopping for a new Web design company. How to Use Sliced Graphics to Layout Your Web Site The problem with designing your site as a graphic, is that it would take too long to load. Your visitors would leave your site immediately and move to your competitors web site. How can you resolve this? Website Design - Choosing Your Colors Wisely Colors convey emotions and emotions heavily influence the decision-making process. Your choice of colors for your website should mirror the message and feeling you to hope to communicate to the viewer. Let's take a look at some colors and what they mean to you and your website. Blue - the color of stability Cheap Web Design If you think it's simply a case of who will do it for the best price, think again. Cheap Website Design In Birmingham Due to the large number of people offering website design services in Birmingham, there is always a bargain to be found. Maximising Web Site Viewability - Browsers With so many different configurations internet users have their computers set up with, it can be difficult to decide how web sites should be configured so that it is viewable in as many configurations as possible. Flash Web Design - The Wave of the Future? There are two camps when it comes to flash web design, those who believe it is the wave of the future and those who do not. To decide which camp you want to be part of, you of course need to learn a little bit about flash web design and try it out as well to see how you feel. The following overview on flash web design should help you form at least a basic opinion about flash web design and whether it is here to stay or not. 3 Tips For Writing Content That Will Make You Sales Content is king. Without content your website is an empty shell, a skeleton with no flesh, an empty vessel. Content can redeem the worst designed website. The right content can make your phone ring off the hook and flood your inbox with people wanting your product or service. Content is the most important ingredient in the recipe for your website's success. If you have engrossing, valuable and relevant content you are onto a winner.. Branding Web Strategy Mistakes - Brand Identity Guru 1. Lack of overall strategy and clear definition of success: Affordable Web Design In Birmingham If you have a business, big or small you may be thinking of getting yourself a website. Lead Capture Pages Explode Your Direct Sales Business Online! Are you building a direct sales or mlm business online? Using lead capture pages can significantly improve your recruiting results and save you lots of time and money! I have known a few people who earned 5-figure monthly incomes in their mlm businesses and they used lead capture pages for Internet marketing. Online Businesses Still Ignoring Dial-up Market In this article you will find the parallel between two Internet connections that makes serious actions trough financial market, leading this to great profits or huge losses. Dont Overdo it! Have you ever been to site with so much ad clutter that you wanted to just leave? Odds are you have, and odds are even better that you did in fact leave! Always refer back to the KISS philosphy. Keep It Simple Stupid! A Website Checklist If you've just finished building your new website (or revamping your old one), how can you be sure it's "ready for prime time"? Or maybe your site's been around for awhile and you think it may be due for a makeover. Because Web technologies, techniques and standards change so rapidly, even a website that seems "cutting edge" when it's built can look obsolete a year later. Or maybe you started out with a barebones website and finally have the time and/or money to take it to the next level. If you'd to give your website the once over, here are ten aspects you should consider: Is a Web Site Builder Right for You? A web site builder can be a real life saver to someone without advanced HTML knowledge or tools. Web site builders allow a relative newbie to the internet create a professional website in very little time. How can you know if using a web site builder will meet your needs? Here are some things to consider...
|
| home | site map |
| © 2005 |