Free
web design primer & tips
Do
you want a web design that customers will want to visit, and
search engines will want to list? Then you might find the follow
information helpful.
Getting
customers to come to your web site is the job of web promotion,
search engine optimization and submissions.
But getting them to stay, explore your site,
and buy from you, is the job of web design and marketing experts.
It
takes a good product, good prices, and minimal waiting for help.
Fast loading is a big plus. But at the same
time, your Web site should be attractive and professional looking.
Often, you must choose between sacrificing load time, and
sacrificing elaborate attractive appearances.
Statistics
indicate people will go elsewhere if the page takes longer than 10
seconds to load. Of course, that will vary according to the
type of modem or connection your customer has. It also changes
depending on how fast a server your web hosting service provider
has.
User
friendliness: Whatever
your site offers - whether it's a product, a service, or information
- it should be easy to access.
Identifying
your goals
Whether
you're building a new site, or updating an existing one, start with making a list of your goals.
What do you want to achieve?
- Provide
information? Sell a service, or product? Or a combination?
- Do
you already have a business, and you just want a Web presence so
customers can find you online?
- What
categories do you want in your site? (e.g. About us, product pages,
executive bios)
- Do
you want to be able to have online credit card transactions? Phone
ordering or info?
- Will
you need special features for users to interact with your site?
- Do
you already have a logo?
- About
how many pages do you need?
- Do
you want your site to gather data for marketing purposes?
Web
design can be as simple or complex as your imagination and/or budget
allows.
Web
Design and Web Development
There
are two major components to designing a Web site: the "front
end" and the "back end." While there can be quite a
bit of crossover, for the most part design refers to the front end,
development to the back end.
The
front end
is what your customers see: pages, images &
text. Web
designers concentrate on the front end, choosing the best images
& fonts and determining how they should be arranged.
A
good Web designer knows what works visually on
various computer screens, browsers, and understands the technical
aspects of the Internet, as it relates to web design.
They
also know what other experts need to be involved to have a
successful website.
The
back
end are the aspects of a site that make it work, but aren't seen
by visitors, like order forms,
newsletter sign-ups, chat rooms, or E-commerce sales
transactions. Web
developers work on the back end.
We
Do it All – or just the “parts” you need
Our
team has decades of experience with graphic design, Photoshop,
web hosting, web development, custom programming and databases,
search engine placement, credit card merchant accounts, domain
names, and more. We can do as little as consult with you on
“honing” your present site, or provide a
complete turnkey ecommerce operation. We also do website maintenance for our own designs or existing
sites.
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